Monthly Archives: April 2018

Texas Whitetail Hunt with Larry Weishuhn – Booked

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I was reading my e-mail a few days ago and saw a 2018 invitation for a Texas Whitetail Hunt with Larry Weishuhn known as “Mr. Whitetail”. I looked forward to meeting Larry sometime, and here comes this hunt, gift wrapped for me. I just have to open my wallet!

Mr. Whitetail's Trailing the Hunter's Moon: An Adventure Journal

Larry has published several books on whitetail deer is a big proponent of using rattling antlers to call in a buck and in fact so am I, especially during the rut.

I have taken NH bucks with rattling antlers and a grunt call with rifle and muzzleloader in years past.   I harvested a New Hampshire Bull Moose with similar tactics. I used 2 inch dry tree limbs to whack together and shook a small oak sapling with dry leaves and my nasal Moose call for that one. Truth is, I haven’t seen many NH bucks of late. I did see only one last year, but he saw me first. Big racked New Hampshire bucks are few in comparison to Texas so I hope to see enough to be selective. This is my first western hunt and hope it won’t be my last.

My research finds that many Texas Hunts charge a trophy fee for SCI scoring bucks above 150 class, not so here. This hunt is a low fence free range deer hunt and I get to take the buck of my choice (no trophy fee) and two does. We eat our venison and share with family. I booked with Wildlife Systems, Inc. of San Angelo Texas with Greg Simons – Owner and a Wildlife Biologist. Greg has known Larry for years…

https://www.wildlifesystems.com/rocky-creek-ranch.html

I will not hunt directly with Larry but he will be in camp with 7 other hunters and talking about whitetail hunting on the 25000 acres before us in camp. Can you imaging just 8 hunters at a time on 25000 acres of prime deer habitat? And talking around a campfire!

I will be hunting with the Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard in 6.5 Creedmoor I have been testing and my Leupold VX-6 3 -18×44 scope. Of course, I will load my own cartridges for the trip and shoot a 140 grain class bonded bullet like the Nosler AccuBond or solid copper like the Nosler e-Tip.

I am flying American Airlines and round trip was very cost effective We will take meat back both on the aircraft (up to 70 lbs for $100) and ship some from his meat cutter there.

Good Shooting!

© 2018

 

Rainy Day Turkey Scout with young Grandsons

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It is NH School vacation week. My two grandsons were bored to death at home on this rainy day, so I said, “lets go scout for turkeys”. The older one 13 said “yay” the younger one was not convinced. But both like to ride in my full size pick-up. Are you going to take the big pick-up Grandpa?” the younger one asked. “Yes I am” I said with a grin! Ok, I’ll go too.

I knew a spot where I see and hunt them not far from home. When I arrived to the spot, it was if the turkeys were planted there just for us. We saw more than a dozen and six of them were full grown bearded Tom’s. I had my camera and they had binoculars. We did get close.

Turkey at a Stop Sign…what is that all about?

Time to cross the road…

Betcha can’t see me!

Ok, time to boogy out of here.

I bet if I go around this parked truck they wont see me.

 

My grandkids had a blast seeing these Tom’s. We talked about when I was going to hunt them. “When the season opens”, I said. Soon enough it will be May 3rd. We shall see. “But we can only hunt them in the woods and fields away from homes and roads”, I said. Maybe the turkeys know something we don’t? These turkeys were near roads and houses…

Good Hunting!

© 2018

 

 

Sig Sauer Academy -Intermediate Defensive Handgun 103 Review

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Yesterday I took the Sig Sauer Academy – Intermediate Defensive Handgun Class 103 in Epping, NH. Here is my review…

The Intermediate Defensive Class I took was an all day class 8:30AM to 5 PM at the SIG SAUER ACADEMY In Epping, NH.

It was just what I was looking for, a course jam packed with shooting skill builders for self and home defense with a great deal of safety instruction too beginning with Muzzle Management (where you pistol points) and Trigger Management ( finger off the trigger till your going to shoot). Below we prepare to engage targets from behind barriers.

The class instruction also touched upon the serious nature of having to defend our family and life with a firearm and it’s personal psychological and legal impact.

Here’s to being prepared and ready… but hoping that time never comes. 

Personally, I received “hands-on” training with the Sig P320 I am testing, but you can use any approved semi-auto pistol.

Courtesy Cabelas Image

Many students had their own SIG pistol, one had the Glock 17 or similar in 9mm or 40 cal. There were no 1911 or 45 cal shooters today and most all shot 9mm pistols. We had attendees that were lawyers, engineers and educated folks from local and far.

Before class I met a student that just arrived after a 26 hour drive from Texas to take a week long instructor class. They come from around the world too. Below our instructors Justin Christopher and assistant instructor Julia Banks. Justin, a former policeman and martial arts instructor and Julia an active NH police woman. Justin teaches all levels of Pistol to both military and civilian. Very Impressive!! 

This course is serious training and has you shooting at torso silhouettes targets as soon as safe handing practices and a discussion among the students and expectations were completed.

We covered a wide array of topics while at the outdoor range such as:

  • Review and reinforcement of SIG Principles
  • Presentations and recovery from the holster
  • Sight picture and its relationship to size and distance
  • Trigger control
  • Shot delivery
  • Refining shooting fundamentals
  • Reloading techniques
  • Malfunction clearance procedures
  • Single hand techniques
  • Moving then shooting
  • Target to target transition drills

We covered shooting fundamentals quickly as we are already have some skills. But moved to hone our grip, shot delivery, trigger control for the SIG and keeping the bullets in the core of the targets.

We all made improvements rapidly with Justin’s leadership and had fun too.

Every gun will eventually have a malfunction or a jam of some kind, for many reasons, so we practiced with each-other clearing the malfunction safely and continued shooting.

I have to say that I was simply delighted with the SIG P320 handling with very low recoil to my hands and came back on target so much faster than my Kimber 1911 in 45 Cal. The P320 I was shooting had a 15 round capacity in each of the two magazines provided. I did find loading the new magazines by hand to be very difficult, thus I recommend that a speed loader tool is an essential purchase if you wish to shoot volume like we did.  I was impressed with my improved shooting skills with at P320 in my hand. The second target in from right is mine, yes, the one with the center punched out with a big hole. Nice group!

 

We each shot around 300 rounds of ammo!!

Here is a photo of the successful students in attendance. I’m the chubby old guy in the middle!

This course is worth every penny!!

I highly recommend it!!

I give it an A plus!

Other classes such as Conceal Carry and other special training such as competition follow this course.

Go to https://www.sigsaueracademy.com/

And sign up!

Look for more on New Hampshire Rifleman’s further testing of the SIG P320

Good Shooting!

 

IMR 4895 and H4350 Powder Tests 6.5 Creedmoor in Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard with Nosler AccuBond Long Range bullets

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The very cost effective Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard in 6.5 Creedmoor is a real hunting rifle designed as an all weather rifle and resists rust and corrosion day to day in the field. I love it for the less than $600 dollar price tag. Wow!

I wrote about the rifle earlier but I wanted to see what powders work best in this Weatherby with the Nosler ABLR 6.5 in 142 grain. The Nosler AccuBond Long Range is a magnificent hunting bullet as the lead core is bonded to the gilding copper jacket for maximum weight retention and penetration at a wide range of velocities.  I know that RL-15 groups well 0.9 moa but at max load it was only traveling 2424 to 2440 fps and calculated to have shot variation at 600 yards at just over an inch and I believe acceptable in a hunt and shoot situation on deer.  Accordingly, I tested IMR 4895 with 36 grains powder. Below is a 100 yard 5 shot group at around 1 moa with velocities of around 2460 in a cold barrel. As the barrel warmed in shots 3,4, and 5, the velocities went up above 2500 fps

Next I shot H4350 with 41 grains powder with initial velocities of  2523 fps in shots 1 and 2. In shots 3, 4,and 5 shot velocities increased just above 2600 fps.

What I learned from this test, which was done in very little wind at about 40 deg. F, is that cold barrel velocities for hunting in the first 2 shots of each powder made an impact difference at 600 yards that was measurable with a trajectory calculation  A velocity spread of 20 fps for say a long range 600 yard shot with a 2 inch drop variation on the target as calculated with JBM Ballistics with H4350 was not acceptable to me for a kill shot. And 11 fps spread from shot one and two with IMR 4895 equating to a one inch drop difference at 600 yards and is acceptable. The best way to see that for real, is to shoot at 600 yards and measure vertical spread. Horizontal spread is more a factor of wind at that distance and perhaps the largest factor of all in a shoot/no shoots situation if the crosswind is say near 90 degrees and 10 mph or greater. The hunter must have done his or her homework to prove the shot by practice at long range and know what works or not. It is better to pass on a marginal shot and wait for a better one or get closer to the game. We owe it to the game we hunt!

Good Shooting!

© 2018

 

 

New Competition Season, New Rifle, New Loads: Sneak Peak

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Sneak Peak:

It’s my favorite time of the year again!!  I’ll be doing some powder/ bullet load development for the new rifle to get a good starting load for competition starting this Sunday, report to follow….

Projectiles to be tested are:

Sierra 175 TMK, Berger 185 Juggernaut, Nosler 175 RDF, Hornady 178 A-Max (discontinued)

Powders to be tested are:

IMR4064, Hodgdon  Varget, IMR4895, VVn550

Looking forward to burning some powder and seeing what she likes!!

Sako TRG-22 in .308 Winchester 1:11” twist, 26” bbl Mounted is a Leupold Gold Ring 7-42x56mm competition scope w/ 34mm tube in vortex precision matched rings.

See you at the range!!

2018 © All Rights Reserved.

New Hampshire Rifleman Introduces its new On-Line Store

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We have had some t-shirts and high end embroidered hats made for us here at New Hampshire Rifleman Magazine. Now we are offering them to our readers.

The store allows readers to show some pride with a hat or shirt in a New Hampshire Magazine written for Sportsmen and Women and for hunting and shooting families.

Hunting and shooting after all are fun sports and get you out of the house, away from the TV and away from the trappings of electronic gadgets and phones. 

Enjoy!

Cold Bore or Just the Shooter?

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Many of us have experienced the first shot of your rifle prints a little high and the rest settle into a group. Part of it is perhaps a cold shooter too. I have experienced this but I do not believe that I am the cause, all the time. New shooters more than veteran shooters experience lots more variation in shot placement on cold shots. Do you have a flinch? Some do! Do you know on the first shot where your trigger will break? Did you yank the trigger? No!

Some rifle barrels do this high and right thing, again in my 50 years of shooting, particularly thinner barrels. Call it what you want, temperature can change harmonics of a thin barrel more so than a thicker one on the first shot. Further that cleaning and shooting that first shot will go through the barrel faster and differently, hence it is wise to fowl your barrel with a few rounds. An article suggested running a bore snake before shooting or to run an alcohol patch. I don’t think that is necessary and neither do those that depend on the first shot.

Know your rifle on first shots and if necessary and adjust accordingly by adjusting your aim point on that shot. If you are shooting a 600 yard match and you are off by an inch (1 moa) at 100 yards then you are off by 6 inches at 600 yards. adjust the aim point for it without touching your scope. Again, know your rifle and ammo diet. That means putting shots on the target regularly. Every rifle is different…

Dry firing practice helps before shooting for groups! It aids in knowing where your trigger breaks. If your trigger is heavy, think that a new trigger can help!

Good Shooting!

© 2018

SIG SAUER ECHO 1 Thermal Reflex Sight – Day 1

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This Echo 1 Thermal Sight (1x or 2x only) appears to be more a Camera type sight.

 

It is very cost effective at $1150 retail vs $3000 or much more for others. This sight is intended for night hunting wild boar, and predators such as coyote and the like. It is good for home defense in a nighttime situation provided you have good batteries.

Specifications:

Below, you are looking at an electronic daylight 50 yard image as I see it on the rifle. There are several image color settings, I chose this orange color as there is good separation of the target.

The bullseye is a hand warmer taped to the center of the target. Since it is warmer than the surrounding surface, the thermal image shows up as a bright spot in a field of black. The front lens ring can be turned either clockwise or counter to focus. Out of the box the sight worked but the PR 123 batteries that came with it were depleted after 30  minutes.

I bought 2 pair of new batteries and they work fine. I had the sight on constantly for 1.5 hours and still left me with 82% of the battery life. You must read the manual to operate this sight correctly.

You can choose a reticle style from a simple cross to an open plex, square dot, no reticle and a user reticle. I like the simple cross. Below image captured at 25 yards.

I found the directions very readable. To the left of the screen is a joystick which operates the sight. Below is 25 yard and 50 yard shots with my AR-15 223. Two shots in the hand warmer and one in the tape were my final shots for that test.

Any rifle with mil-spec Picatinny rail will serve for mounting. The image capture can be 5, 15 or 30 seconds of video.

In nighttime the joystick is tactile (you can feel it) to push it to turn on. I had trouble focusing my eyes so I will experiment with distance from the screen to my eyes.

So far so good. Familiarity helps. Next is nighttime images. This sight can also be used off the rifle as a night camera to capture thermal images.

© 2018

 

 

 

The Little 6.5 Creedmoor? A Game Changer! By Ed Hale

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The most famous of recent Internet YouTube video’s below show Wayne van Swoll taking a Bull Elk at 603 yards with the “little” 6.5 Creedmoor (low recoil) and got full penetration and an exit wound visible in the video.

He used a 129 grain Hornady bullet. A look at the Hornady site and found a bonded bullet with a .485 G1 Ballistic Coefficient. Assuming a 24 inch barrel and a hot load he was likely able to achieve a muzzle of around 2900 to 3000 fps with Superformance Powder if he used that. We can guess that he did but don’t know for sure.

A look at the JBM ballistics site of such a round looks like this at 600 yards; This Elk got hit with Deer killing energy of around 1000 ft-lbs and still got an exit wound. Why is that?

The reason there is great penetration is largely due to this bullets sectional density, which is in the .260 class for this bullet. I thought it was .280 but was in error.  The Hornady 143 grain ELD-Xspanding is higher as is the Nosler ABLR 142 grain both of these SD’s are above .290 and would have been perhaps slightly better choices for this game animal. That said; the 129 grain bullet did punch an exit wound as well. The bullets small diameter vs its mass makes it penetrate far better, placing this high in the CXP3 game killing class. And with low recoil this cartridge is easy to shoot, thus increasing accuracy at long range, “less recoil than the .270 Winchester, more accurate, and holds its energy better and longer”!!

A look at a 129 grain Nosler AccuBond Long Range at the same speed arrives at 1200 ft-lbs, 200 more ft-lbs of energy with a G1 BC of .561 traveling at over 2000 fps. But the load data for Nosler max’s out at 2810 fps making each round nearly identical with just over 1000 ft-lbs of delivered energy.

Preferred energy published for Elk size game is around 1500 ft-lbs. But the .264 diameter and sectional density made it a game changer as others are able to do the same with ethical results putting Elk down with one broadside clean killing shot.

In hind sight I would have chosen a heavier 6.5 bullet with high BC and a .290 class sectional density such as the Hornady ELD-X Precision Hunter 143 grain or the Nosler ABLR in 142 grain as they would arrive with a bit more energy and buck the wind a bit better too. I do have to say the 129 grain did its job magnificently regardless.

Taking a Moose with the Creedmoor can be done with heavier bullets in the 140 grain class but the shooter should opt for broadside shots. The Swedish hunters use the 6.5×55 with great success.

Having said all that; The “little” 6.5 Creedmoor is the talk of the gun world in Target as well as Hunting.

© 2018