Preparing to Test the Savage 11/111 Long Range Rifle:
This Savage 11/111 rifle with the long 7mm Remington Magnum cartridge requires either a scope with a long body or a modified Weaver extended base. The VX-6 requires an extended base. I found this out with lots of research the Weaver Rep. Weaver 402m part #48429. I have not put it on the rifle as it has been ordered but not installed. More to come…
Some say a picatinny rail can work but will hamper reloading.
Below is the VX-6 3-18 44mm CDS Illuminated. Leupold has sent this scope for me to test. Lets see how it works.
This scope is not for any hunter, it is a scope for a Long Range and Short Range and everywhere in between hunter that wants the best in just one scope that does it all, short or long, and knows your bullet’s Ballistic Coefficient too.
As my friend on the Radio says;
Don’t touch that Dial!
When I have a need for speed, I choose Nosler Bullets like on my African Safari, my Moose Hunt and my Bison Buffalo hunt and whitetail hunts. Nosler bullets are proven by millions of hunters to bring home the game. Of course you have to do your part and put the bullet in the vitals.
I have both 140 grain and 150 grain Nosler E-TIPS to test with the Savage 11/111 Long Range Rifle in 7mm Remington Magnum. In fact I shot a few today with loads I am working up for hunting. I used IMR 4831 pushing these pills at around 3020 fps.
The E-TIP or Expansion Tip Bullet is one of the finest Hunting Bullets in the World. It is solid gilding Copper and not a drop of lead to be found. It is soft enough to expand in game and hard enough not to leave copper in your barrel. I have been shooting E-Tips for years and I just love them for accuracy. I will take them hunting this fall for whitetails.
Data from JBM Ballistics Software provides the following results based on a Muzzle Velocity of a 150 grain bullet at 3020 fps and a BC of .498 (G1).
Max Point Blank Range is 300 yards for a 6 inch target.
Range of maximum height 145 yards 3 inches high.
Max PBR Zero is 256 yards.
Energy at 300 yards is 2044 ft-lbs
Velocity at 300 yards is 2477 fps.
This is a recipe for putting your deer down but pronto from zero to 300 yards with a shot to the vitals. WOW!!!
© 2015
Ok not Invisible but very well camouflaged I said: but to game animals a shiny barrel or stock is like putting a reflective mirror on it! I bet that Game from far away as 600 -1000 yards and more yards can notice it. Duh! Do you like camouflage on your turkey shotgun? Why not your rifle too if it has a synthetic stock. I have been putting camo on my rifles for years with high quality camo tape. My wood stocked rifles got removable camo tape on the barrel and help me get closer to wary game while on my African Safari.
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Now you can camo your whole rifle, shotgun, scope, truck and more. I like Mossy Oak Graphics at their website below are video instructions how to camo your rifle.
http://www.mossyoakgraphics.com/rifle-wrap-mossy-oak-camo-skin
Another camo method I have used below on my wooden stocked rifles is McNett Camo Form™ Protective Camouflage Gun Wraps and they are easily put on and easily removed. It is very thick and protective too.
Allen Company offers Cloth Camo tape. One of the most cost effective hunting purchases you will ever make. Ok your gonna hunt Brown Bear with a Mirror barrel and stocked Rifle? And get one right? Ok you might, but with a un-mirrored camo barrel you maybe could have shot a real record brown bear instead of an OK bear. Hunting trophy game is measured in covering the minutia of what could spook the game. Smell, sight, sound etc. Or seeing a keeper buck instead of a fork horn.
Don’t forget to camo your scope too. I will be doing that this fall as I have not in the past. Why? Cause I was not thinking clearly! More on Camo for game…© 2105
The long awaited Savage model 11/111 Long Range Rifle in 7mm Remington Magnum has arrived and in excellent shape thanks to the heavy double boxing methods they use.
The scope mount bases on the rifle are a Weaver style with slotted bases. I will be testing this rifle with the VX-6 3-18 44mm CDS Illuminated Boone and Crockett as the add says ZERO TO 600 IN ONE SECOND. This is not just a scope it is a visionary light amplifying, magnifying, crystal clear to count antler points and scope your game from zero to 600 yards before squeezing the trigger kinda scope. Yea but it is not for everyone, it is for the hunter that wants it all, the very best in spades, anywhere on the Planet. More on it too!
Installation of the scope, which has a 30mm tube requires rings that will fit the Weaver base and high enough for the 44mm Objective lens to clear. My friends at Leupold are fast shipping a pair of correctly fitting rings so I can begin testing. Patience is a virtue and a good hunter must have patience. I hope to be at the range next week with it. I am hand loading rounds for it according to SAAMI specifications.
More Soon! I do have plans for this rifle and Scope combo that are equal to the tasks they can accomplish.
Thanks to my friends at State Line Guns Ammo and Archery, an FFL dealer, for receiving my rifle and the FFL paperwork. http://www.statelineguns.com/ I highly recommend them, fast, friendly and knowledgeable!
Ed Hale – Editor/ Owner
What a great day in the sunshine of my own back yard to get my grand kids interested in archery and bow hunting. Here is Christian (9) and Joshua (8) trying for a kill shot on a whitetail target.
Today there are inexpensive ways to get youth involved in Archery. Fiberglass starter bows for 30 dollars or less. Arrows for $2.50 each. A hip quiver for 2.50 each and there you have it. Pull weights are 10 to 25 pounds and in many cases an arm guard or finger tab is optional.
The object lesson here is safety; safe bow and arrow handling, how to shoot beside each other, and how not to run to get your arrows. They have sharp points so with some attention to shooting form, pointing arrows always down range, we can then have lots of fun. The quiver gives a sense of pride as they collect their arrows for the next shot. And when they hit the target give a hoot for their success! I am grooming these kids as future hunters so I have found youtube video’s of youth hunters taking their first deer.
And I had a blast teaching them! © 2015
According to the many short articles I have read on the .243 Winchester suggest that because the .243 is easier on felt recoil that the shooter will have more confidence, enhanced accuracy etc. I agree with that! Light Caliber Shot Placement on deer with the .243 Winchester should always be “ideally” the double lung shot and broadside or slightly quartering away as with all calibers. A large magnum caliber needs lots more of perfect practice to make long range kill shots in the field conditions as the recoil must be dealt with. That said, if competent with a larger caliber, use it! More delivered energy and a larger caliber allows more latitude on shot placement as in a head on frontal shot taken with a large caliber capable of deep penetration but can result in more meat damage too.
A doctor bowhunter once shared the medical term for double lung hit is a bilateral pneumo-thorax. The lungs cannot inflate and carry oxygen because air enters the bullet holes as the air is attempted to inflate the lungs. Accordingly, the animal loses consciousness and dies a fast painless death. Recovery of this animal is often less than 50 yards from where the deer was shot. Of course you can shoot them surgically in the heart with a much smaller invisible target the size of a fist and shoot low and miss and a few more inches hit the shoulder bone. Or you can shoot for the larger oval of the lungs. When I hunted Africa, all my kills were one shot with rifle and bow and arrow and I shot them all in the same place. The Lungs! If the bullet or broadhead does its job of either mushrooming or slicing wound channels then death is moments away. My most spectacular double lung hit on a Pennsylvania 6 point buck was with my bow, and the deer ran 60 yards and expired after being hit with a 4 blade Muzzy broadhead at 20 yards. The arrow was painted bright red from tip to knock. Of course the deer ran those 60 yards in less than one minute. Watching your bullet hit deer after the shot is critical if it takes off. Just like in bowhunting, if you are in a tree stand, take out your compass and take a bearing on where you shot and where you last saw your game. A fast broadside kill makes for better venison and less damaged meat. © 2015
What is best in 30 cal for deer and bear depends on your likes and dislikes. Likes would be a round that has ample penetration and energy at ranges out to say 300 yards. That would be the 30-06 and .308 Winchester. At less distances the 30-30 Winchester is a low recoil rifle that often is in a lever action model such as the Marlin 30-30. From a reloading perspective, brass from any of these 30 calibers is readily available. Bullets range in weights from 110 grains to 220 grains for the .308 and 30-06 and best of all you get to choose the bullet like the Nosler AccuBond or the Hornady InterBond that are so well constructed. Other manufacturers are aplenty so there are more choices. For years I shot game with Nosler Partitions a great choice! The AccuBond and IB from Nosler and Hornady respectively have a high ballistic coefficient (BC) for long range use. If shots are under 100 yards then a round nose will act more like a hammer as it enters the vitals. I shot a buck with a round nose at 25 yards and it collapsed and the deer fell stone dead, not taking a step so pointed bullets are not always the norm here in the northeast.
On the Magnum side is the 300 Winchester Magnum, .300 H& H Magnum, the 300 Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum, .308 Norma Magnum and the .300 Winchester Short Magnum to name a few. They can be hand loaded up or down to mimic the .308 or .30-06 energies and velocities and when needed to shoot further at say 600 yards. Most popular of these is perhaps the .300 Winchester Magnum. Most all 30 Cal rifles have the blessing of a wide range of bullets, weights and powders.
If you are not a hand loader then I would stick with cost effective off the shelf ammo and rifles in .308, 30-06 and 30-30. You can go into any store that sells ammo and find these cartridges cost effectively anywhere.
Tips for new shooters and veterans alike is to make sure that the recoil pad is one of the newer high tech recoil pads that absorb up to 50% of felt recoil. Simms SVL and Pachmayr Decelerator sell slip on pad and mounted pads that will be sure to make you smile instead of wince at the shot.
In closing, I have opted to shoot magnum calibers that I can hand load down to .308 or .30-06 or even the 30-30 level as long as accuracy does not suffer. If you wish to compete at long range then the .308 Winchester is widely available and a best choice for brass availability.
Make every shot count! ©2015