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A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

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A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

Old 01-10-2008, 09:39 AM
  #1  
Nontypical Buck
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Default A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

This story was referred to in another thread so I though I'd repost my account here.

I had one of the more interesting hunts I ever have had opening day this year. Only one shot presented itself early, a decent buck at 282 yds. I hesitated and he bolted, so it was probably good I didn't fire. After sitting until about 10am, I was cold and decided to still-hunt down the creek I was sitting on. I hadn't gone far when I saw a nice buck standing on the ditch 1/4 mile away, and watched him disappear into the ditch. The only way to get to him would be to crawl across the field. I decided to leave my peep sight equipped ML behind and take the one scoped for long range work since I didn't want to be helpless if he popped up when I was halfway across.

An hour later, tired and cut up, I reached the far side. Two does ran up, and I decided that since the buck could have slipped out I'd shoot one if they presented an opportunity. By the time I crossed the ditch and set up, the biggest was bedded 200 yds out with another adult and a yearling standing. When the lead doe stood back up at 209 yds, the scope was dialed up and I sent the 200gr Shockwave downrange. When the smoke cleared, only 2 deer were standing and they were apparently unconcerned that the matriarch had decided to lie down again. I rolled on my back, reloaded, and ranged the 2nd doe at 180 yds. I took some clicks back off, and down she went.

As I reloaded for a second time in 2 minutes, I realized a guy was in a treestand 300 yds away watching the whole thing. Rifles are illegal here so I figured he was scratching his head pretty good and I got a chuckle out of that. I decided the buck must have bugged out with the shooting if he'd still been there, but reset the scope, bottomed out the magnification, and snuck down 80 yds to his last location to check. The decent 8-pt exploded from an impossibly small patch of grass at my feet, and I struggled to get a lead on him at 20 yds and 3.5X but managed. I fired and he rolled, scratch 3 in 5 minutes.

I reloaded, went and marked the does on my GPS quickly and returned to the buck. As I climbed out of the ditch I realized 2 more does were standing 300 yards away near where I started my crawl. I dropped down and ranged one at 302 and clicked up for that, but it jogged down further and I ranged at 338 and added a few more clicks. A very light breeze from the right, I held about 6 inches right and fired. I recovered from the recoil and the smoke cleared just enough to see her roll in her tracks, about 20 minutes from when I started shooting.

It's not often I get a day calm enough to be shooting that far, but I'd put in the time on my 400yd backyard range to be comfortable doing it. I recovered one bullet, from the 209 yd shot, under the offside skin after breaking both shoulder blades. All others were pass-thrus. I was impressed to still see expansion and pass-thru penetration past 300 yds.

The guy from the treestand waited almost an hour by my truck to find out what I was shooting. He knew I was hunting a game warden's land and it couldn't be a rifle. I'm told he spread a bit of a tale in the neighborhood, I'm sure by next year someone will be asking my about my half mile shot or something similar.

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Old 01-10-2008, 12:35 PM
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Default RE: A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

That's some great shootin. Nice buck too, love the pic with the little one, get'em hooked while they're young.What's your set upit must be quite thefinely tunedML to be consistantly shootin out that far.
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Old 01-10-2008, 01:16 PM
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Default RE: A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

Spaniel

What a wonderful story, excellent shooting and that sure is a happy little future ML hunter you have there!

Congrats!

Tahquamenon
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Old 01-10-2008, 01:23 PM
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Default RE: A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

Fun story. Should be interesting to find out what muzzleloader is was. Hopefully not one those Aught six smokeless savages
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Old 01-10-2008, 02:05 PM
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Nontypical Buck
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Default RE: A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

Nothing so exotic. It's a stainless/fluted thumbhole stock Omega. I shoot 110gr FFg 777 and the 200SW. The gun was near-MOA when I got it, but had an issue with shifting POA when the torque on the action screws changed. I floated it, installed aluminum pillars, and bedded it. It is now just sub-MOA when I do my part.

I initially tried every single weight of Dead Center bullet with it, and the 200 and 250 SWs. The DC bullets are nice but I could not push them over 1800 fps before they lost accuracy (I know a lot of people with this issue, must be the soft lead). The BC of the 200SW is a little lower but is more than made up for by pushing it to 2100fps.

For 3-4 years I head a Leatherwood scope on it that had a cam adjustment so that after programming in the trajectory I could just set the cam to the right range and shoot. That died this summer, so I got a tactical-style scope now so I can set the exact number of clicks for the range (always laser ranged, of course). I don't like hold-overs/unders, imprecise. I don't know how much I shot it with the new scope but I burned 2 lbs of powder in a month and a half, so it was a "bit" of shooting to get familiar with the trajectory. It helps to have a 400yd backyard range.

Yup, my daughter already seems to like hunting shows. My wife just shakes her head....

Say yah to da UP, eh Tahquamenon? I did my undergrad at Michigan Tech...
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Old 01-10-2008, 02:34 PM
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Default RE: A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

I have mixed feelings about such stories being posted on the internet. On the one hand I want to say you did some great shooting, but on the other I feel you are adding fuel to the fire so far as the traditionalist stance against inlines.Given that you shot 4 deer within a span of 20 minutes and at extended ranges - I would have to agree therewould bevery little difference in outcome had youbeen usinga Ruger #1 in .270 Winchester.

I would also hope there is an over-abundance of deer in that area and that your family loves venison.
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Old 01-10-2008, 03:40 PM
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Default RE: A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

Maybe I should take some responsibility here since I made the original post of spaniel's phenomenal shooting, but I'm not sure for what.

He exemplifies everything that makes a good long range marksman- knows his gun, knows his load, knows his range and knows his routine. This isn't a Kentucky windage affair here, he states very clearly that it was laser ranged and clicked in to hold dead on and that he practices on a 400 yd. range. I say good for him, we all could stand to learn something- practice until you are confident in your abilities and stick to them. He has even gone to the trouble to customize and accurize his gun. More power to him!

As the .270 comment goes, some of us don't have the fortune of living in a state where centerfire rifles are a legal weapon, but there are areas where long range shooting is a necessity. Inline muzzleloading has opened a whole new door for us and we like it

No need for judgemental comments here, especially when we can learn from his experience...
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Old 01-10-2008, 03:57 PM
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Default RE: A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

I agree Zuqunruhe. Kudos to spaniel for doing his homework. Marksmanship and confidencecount more than any other factor - gun, load, bullet, range, whatever.

Two guys in my club drew blood on bucks this year, one with a .308 and one with a .270. Both shots were right around 100 yards from a rest in a box stand with the animal standing still broadside. One hit the deer just abovethe knee of a front leg. One hit the brisket just forward of the leg (as far as we could tell). Neither deer was recovered. These are guys who shoot a half a dozen rounds on the club shooting range at the beginning of the season and figure they're ready to go.
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Old 01-10-2008, 05:30 PM
  #9  
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Default RE: A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

My furthest shot ever was 265 yrds on a 8" steel plate w/ a 270. 120-130 yrds w/ a BP. Never had the spot to shoot further for testing.
AllI can say is that is EXCELLENT shooting mister. You had the time, made the commitment and your sucess proved out. A confidence building experience YOU will never forget for sure..
Congrats,
Steve
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Old 01-10-2008, 06:08 PM
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Default RE: A good day - 20min and a hot barrel

Zugunruhe

What we, us inline users, really need to be careful with is that the general population does not assume everyone with an inline - even an Omega - can make these types of shots as a norm. I really feel that is what Underclocked was trying to say in his post...

I feel you are adding fuel to the fire so far as the traditionalist stance against inlines.
This is a huge concern across the nation... Nevermind that back in the day that marksmen could shoot a conical from a sidelock 1200 yards and kill a man... that does not matter... what matters is the feeling that an inline has this tremendous advantage over a more conventional muzzleloader. This argument was used in Idaho this year and inlines were declared illegal for ML hunting in Idaho - even though we could not use a modern inline anyway - no scopes - no 209 or rifle primers. Because of the common thought that inlines are far superior, that was all that was needed to get them banned here. and many other states are looing at the same thing.

Again in UC's post he says...

I have mixed feelings about such stories being posted on the internet.
I do not think you read that from the heart - he was not nay-saying anything about the accomplishment and it was a great one... he is saying that posting such a thing will have it's adversities.... spaniel's post is going to be used over and over again by the the organized traditional groups as leverage to get Fish and Game depatments to swing to thier side. It will appear on sites you have never seen and it will be used as leverage. There will be nothing mentioned about spaniel's skills and his dedicated practice - It will be played to say look what a guy with an inline can do.

So in general I wish the ranges had never been posted also - not to diminish what he accomplished - but not to serve as ammunition in the traditional vs. modern muzzleloader.

I hope more than UC and I see the point...



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