Announcement;
Author Archives: Ed Hale
Synthetic Estrous Deer Scents Work
I published this article in February 2021.
A Father’s Day Fishing with Grandkids
Yesterday June 6, I went Mackerel fishing out of Hampton, NH on a party boat with my son Jason and grandchildren Amelia, Thomas (fraternal twins) age 9 and Calvin age 6.
No masks! Hurray!
I had happily planned on paying for the trip for all. As I neared the parking in Hampton, NH, my son called my cell and said; “Just pay the $5 dollar parking fee Dad”. I’ve paid for the trip, “Happy early Father’s Day”, he said.
I parked my truck right beside his and when I got out, the kids each greeted me with warm hugs. I love it! So long with masks on that it was very special to not have one on my face.
Jason and I were prepared for the trip with food, snacks, drinks and warmer clothing, hats, sun screen and of course fishing rods and a 5 gallon bucket for all the many mackerel we would catch.
This was a first for the grandkids to not only fish for the first time but a first for dad and grandfather (me) to share time learning to fish in the ocean, get splashed near the bow with cool salty ocean waves, and jig with a fishing rod.
The kids took to jigging the rod under Jason’s patient tutelage, and I was right there praising him. And they were eager and happy to learn.
In the middle of all that we caught a few fish, not as many as we expected but the inquisitive nature of the kids, each in turn picked up the fish by hand and examined them closely.
It was not mackerel madness that can sometimes happen if we ran into a big school of them, but it gave us Dad’s close loving time with the children.
We shared potato chips, watermelon, bites of my ham sub sandwich as we fished and giggled and hugged to stay warm in cool salty air up near the bow. What I caught was more than any fish, I caught the love of my son, and my loving grandkids. It was a great Father’s Day! Sometimes what you catch, can’t be measured in fish, but can be measured in love!
Enjoy!
© Copyright 2021
Islamorada: Hunting Black Fin Tuna and Mahi Mahi with Rod and Reel
Out Hunting big Trophy fish with Dee Cee Charters and Captain Chuck, Islamorada, Florida April 29, 2021, with my twin brother Richard and nephew Rick.
https://fishingbooker.com/charters/view/1081?booking_persons=2&booking_children=0
April, they say, is not the best time for sailfish or marlin as you can chew up a day trolling and come up on the short end, so we concentrated on top water for Blackfin Tuna and Mahi.
Below, I caught the first Blackfin tuna of the trip.
Below is a big fight, a king mackerel ate a smaller blackfin tuna we were reeling in and brother Richard had a real fight. The king got near the boat and spit the hook but wow, what a fight!
Let’s see what else bites!
Ed Hale – New Hampshire Rifleman-Editor in Chief
Glorious Morning Sunshine!
Morning has Broken! Glorious Day! Thank You Lord!
Below a 2 part video of my Mahi coming aboard.
Rick is a professional fisherman when he is not working in the Electronics industry. Loves to catch and eat Albacore Tuna and Pacific Salmon.
Tackle at the ready…
My First Fish a Blackfin Tuna
These Blackfin’s fight hard. Sea is getting heavy with 8-10 ft waves.
Ricks first Blackfin!
No Sir, you ain’t getting off my line!
Another on for the Cooler!
And Another Tuna
Say Ahhhhh….for the Camera.
Up close, such a beautiful Blackfin!
First Mahi of the day by yours truly. I love the colors!
Just having the time of my life! What a thrill!
Richard’s Picture perfect Blackfin Tuna! A gorgeous fish!
Another Mahi!
First Mate unhooking a Blackfin.
All fish were filleted. We ate some on the beach as Ed’s Sashimi Shooters and I took the rest home frozen.
I brought a soft thick zipper freezer bag to hold the frozen bagged tuna and mahi in my luggage. After 12 hours of travel, it was still frozen solid.
We had a spectacular time with Captain Chuck and the first mate. I would book a trip again!
Later after filleting by our first mate, I invented my own Blackfin Tuna Sashimi Shooter while on the beach with thin slices of cucumber on the bottom of a large shot glass or Dixie cup next some pickled ginger, a small 1/2″ square or so of raw tuna (sashimi), add wasabi paste to your liking, another slice of ginger, topped off with avocado and add a teaspoon of soy sauce to the layers. Shoot the whole thing in your mouth and chew. My eyes pop with the wasabi! Wash it down with your favorite beverage like beer or white wine. WOW! You can get fancy if you like with sesame seeds etc. if you like. But on the beach, a plateful those simple Sashimi shooters below took over a beach party with a pack of little Dixie cups full of the ingredients. Lots of smiles! Good Shootin’.
All the fish were frozen and taken on the plane to my home freezer. I had Sashimi Shooter’s for lunch while writing this article. Sooo Good!
Good Hunting! Good Shootin’!
© Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved.
Scopes Can Fog Up On A Cold Weather Hunt – What to do?
Ok you are sighted in with your scoped rifle and ready for your hunt. Are you really ready? I was out deer hunting locally with my scoped muzzleloader using an older scope I had in the closet. It was late September when my older scope was set up. It worked great at the range at 72 degrees. But on my local hunt, it was cold and raining/snowing. I looked through the scope when I was on my stand and saw fog in the scope. Figuring I got the scope glass wet, I wiped the glass but it was still foggy. As it turns out the scope had lost its gas filling.
So I am going on another cold weather hunt but way more expensive, with an older scope.
What to do?
I put my scope in the refrigerator for a few hours, months ahead of time. You should have a clear view through your scope. If not you need to contact your scope manufacturer as many scopes have lifetime warranties. No fridge, or the scope is already mounted? Use ice cubes in a plastic bag around the scope to mimic the outdoor temperature.
Give that a try…
Good Hunting!
T/C Encore Pro-Hunter 30-06 with Hornady 180 grain GMX
The Hornady GMX means Game eXpanding. The bullet is all gilding copper and has a cavity that opens up on contact like the Nosler E-Tip.
The advantage is that it retains 95% of its original weight, has no lead in the GMX bullet and appears to expand and penetrate better than some lead core Hornady spitzers.
https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2009/7/20/hornady-gmx-bullet/
I hand loaded the 180 grain GMX using RL 22 and got about a 1.5 inch bench rest group at 100 yards. The velocity should be close to 2800 fps, thus packing a real whallop. Great on Moose, Elk and Deer. Felt recoil is quite a bit more, rightly so, than my 6.5 Creedmoor but for Moose the 30-06 would be my choice of the two cartridges.
On big deer, I think that the 180 grain is a good choice for a 300 pound Northern Maine bruiser buck or a bull moose. it will drop them fast. You just got to make the first shot count with the T/C Encore!
Energy at 200 yards is a huge 2200 ft-lbs. Is it a brush bullet? I don’t really know, but if t hits vitals, that animal is going down. I do like the fact that if it hits bone, it stays together and there is no lead in the meat to cut out. The big difference is that the 180 grain fully loaded, has more recoil than the average hunter would be used to. A 150 grain would recoil less. When dealing with heavy recoiling rifles, be smart, get a new state-of-the-art recoil pad that reduces felt recoil by 50%, like the Pachmayr Decelerator. And don’t shoot a whole box of ammo at the range, get bruised, and complain about your rifles kick. It is the shooter that needs to get smart, not the rifle.
Good Hunting!
© Copyright 2021
The Venerable 30-06 in a T/C Encore Pro-Hunter with Nosler E-Tip
The Nosler Expansion Tip (E-Tip) Hunting bullet is a copper alloy monolithic (solid) hollow point spitzer designed for long range but has both short and long range benefits. No, it does not have surface shock like a round or flat nose but it is capable amazing energy transfer and no lead to deal with.
As I said in my last article that round and flat nose are great brush busters however for bottleneck cartridges they are in very short supply at this time. It just so happens that I own a T/C Encore Pro Hunter Muzzle Loader and a 30-06 Springfield Interchangeable barrel. Honestly, I had it set up for muzzleloader and it shoots real sweet so I resisted making the conversion to 30-06 until now. I gave in to the temptation because in my ammo cupboard I just happen to have some store bought Nosler 168 grain Expansion Tips (aka E-Tips) cartridges. I successfully used them on a 350 pound wild boar hunt a few years back. The shot was 30 to 40 yards max.
I will show you what it did. Here is the entrance wound.
Busting through the super tough shield on both sides, here is the exit wound below! Keep in mind that the boars “shield” forced the bullet to fully expand just on entrance and give up a ton of energy inside the animal before exiting. I would not expect this massive damage in a thin skinned whitetail.
Energy delivered was on the order of 2600 to 2700 ft-lbs. More than enough for Moose but you see the copper alloy stays together up to 95% intact says test data. These images are from the Nosler website; www.nosler.com
Gel test below by Nosler.
Lets take it to the range! I knew that it was likely not going to shoot MOA because I remember mumbling about the 2 to 2.5 inch groups at 100 yards. Yep, that is what I got 2.5 inch groups at 100 yards. I did notice that the cold shot was dead on. Although I prefer moa accuracy, this works well for hunting in the thick stuff like the boar above. If I hand loaded this, I can get it to MOA for sure. The boar certainly did not know the difference!
Good Hunting!
©Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved.
6.5 Creedmoor Superformance Load Data with Lapua Mega 155 grain Soft Point Flat Nose
As I have written in recent articles, round nose and flat point bullets in short range thick brush environments, can deliver more immediate impact energy to the big game you are hunting at shorter ranges under 200 yards than with some of the long range designed spitzer bullets. The reloading issue is, to get a round or flat nose bullet in a bottleneck cartridge, you must find the bullet and hand load it. Sadly, many round/flat nose bullets are no longer manufactured or are reduced to special manufacture runs. The Lapua Mega 155 grain flat points have a brass jacket and are very hard to find, if at all. The Lapua Reloading Manual is no longer available.
Accordingly, I had to determine the cartridge overall length – COL to the lands in my rifle, which are 2.68 inches and then I back off the lands to 2.64 inches. I used a spent case and pinched the opening to hold a bullet marked with black magic marker and loaded it in the rifle and closed the bolt. Note: Hornady says COL Max is 2.8 inches for the spitzers. My max COL is much less. Caution: Each rifle may be different. These calculations and data are for my rifle only, a Weatherby Vanguard Weatherguard with a 24 inch barrel topped with a Leupold VX-3.
My research of reloading data found that Sierra and Hornady had some data for 150, 153 grain and 160 grain bullets. Powders were typical, such as IMR 4350, H4350, IMR 4831 but one powder stood out, it was Hodgdon’s Superformance powder. The powder was published by Hornady for the 153 grain A-Tip Match up to 42. 9 grains max load providing 2650 fps. Superformance allowed me to work up a load safely to higher energy than the other powders but not at max load.
I did so in half grain increments beginning with 39.5 grains and looking for any signs of overpressure like a really flat primer or gas leaks. I did so with 2 shots for each 1/2 grain increment followed by case and primer inspection, all was normal. I stopped at 41 grains and loaded three rounds for group. I did not chrono these but based on the 153 grain data by Hornady I was in the 2550 fps range. The primers were still rounded and not flattened. Here is my group at 41 grains of Superformance at 75 yards, no wind. Looks like 1/2 inch group. Nice!
Below is the Trajectory and Energy table at 2550 fps. Delivered energy for elk is said to be 1500 ft-lbs, thus we are good for elk at 180 yards.
This load is for Northern Whitetails with a flat-point, should mushroom very well. It will be devastating on a 300 pound whitetail buck at under 100 yards at 1800 to 1900 ft-lbs, A Hammer in anyone’s book!
| Calculated Table | ||||||||||
| Range | Drop | Drop | Windage | Windage | Velocity | Mach | Energy | Time | Lead | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (yd) | (in) | (MOA) | (in) | (MOA) | (ft/s) | (none) | (ft•lbs) | (s) | (in) | (MOA) |
| 0 | -1.5 | *** | 0.0 | *** | 2550.0 | 2.375 | 2237.6 | 0.000 | 0.0 | *** |
| 25 | -0.3 | -1.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2487.5 | 2.317 | 2129.2 | 0.030 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
| 50 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2425.9 | 2.259 | 2025.1 | 0.060 | 2.1 | 4.1 |
| 75 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 2365.2 | 2.203 | 1925.0 | 0.092 | 3.2 | 4.1 |
| 100 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2305.3 | 2.147 | 1828.8 | 0.124 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| 125 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 2246.3 | 2.092 | 1736.4 | 0.157 | 5.5 | 4.2 |
| 150 | -0.0 | -0.0 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 2188.1 | 2.038 | 1647.6 | 0.191 | 6.7 | 4.3 |
| 175 | -1.2 | -0.7 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 2130.8 | 1.985 | 1562.4 | 0.225 | 7.9 | 4.3 |
| 200 | -2.9 | -1.4 | 4.5 | 2.2 | 2074.3 | 1.932 | 1480.6 | 0.261 | 9.2 | 4.4
|
I compared this Energy data to my earlier article on my downloaded .375 Ruger. See below.
Speer Hot Core Semi-Spitzer 235 g 375 Ruger Downloaded for Big Northern Whitetails Or…
The 6.5 Creedmoor with the Lapua Mega 155 grain Flat Point is the clear winner for energy, and will mushroom on the entrance of the hide, but either cartridge and bullet will do the job well for the loads discussed.
Good Hunting!
©Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved.
Speer Hot Core Semi-Spitzer 235 g 375 Ruger Downloaded for Big Northern Whitetails Or…
I have yet to kill a nice buck here in New Hampshire or Maine with Speer’s Hot Core 235 grain semi-spitzer. It is more like a round nose than a spitzer. I like round and flat nose for thick brush hunting. And it drops them fast!
I have been writing about them for some time as a great bullet for the .375 Ruger or .375 H&H when loaded down for Whitetails at medium to short range. It is easy on the recoil and hits-em hard. Muzzle velocity is 2200 fps with powders like A 5744. I am still using up my SR 4759 powder but they no longer make it.
Good mushrooming is accomplished near to 2000 fps, give or take leaving the optimum distance to game at just over 100 to 150 yards or less. Typical shot distances for heavy timber and brush is around 40 to 60 yards so this bullet will work well and make a big hole in, and a bigger hole on exit. This bullet, I believe, being more round nosed, is more of a brush round. It should stay together if it encounters some twigs and small whip saplings.
I took some to the range this week to give the .375 Ruger and me some exercise. I expected sub-moa groups at 100 yards and I was not disappointed, though I shot only 2 rounds. I have proven this round already as an excellent performer on targets.
| Calculated Table | ||||||||||
| Range | Drop | Drop | Windage | Windage | Velocity | Mach | Energy | Time | Lead | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (yd) | (in) | (MOA) | (in) | (MOA) | (ft/s) | (none) | (ft•lbs) | (s) | (in) | (MOA) |
| 0 | -1.5 | *** | 0.0 | *** | 2200.0 | 2.049 | 2525.1 | 0.000 | 0.0 | *** |
| 25 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2130.5 | 1.984 | 2368.1 | 0.035 | 1.2 | 4.7 |
| 50 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 2062.2 | 1.921 | 2218.7 | 0.070 | 2.5 | 4.7 |
| 75 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1995.1 | 1.858 | 2076.7 | 0.107 | 3.8 | 4.8 |
| 100 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1929.4 | 1.797 | 1942.1 | 0.146 | 5.1 | 4.9 |
| 125 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 1864.9 | 1.737 | 1814.5 | 0.185 | 6.5 | 5.0 |
| 150 | -0.0 | -0.0 | 3.8 | 2.4 | 1801.8 | 1.678 | 1693.8 | 0.226 | 8.0 | 5.1 |
I will be comparing this round to my 6.5 Creedmoor with 155 grain Lapua Mega flat nose ammo very soon. Which round will be better? Time will tell…
Good Hunting!
© Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved.
Outdoor Campfire Cooking
Spring is here! Time to get outdoors to camp and have breakfast, lunch and dinner with mother nature. There is nothing like cooking a hearty meal over a wood fire with the right tools and set-up. Below, eggs, beans, sausage and sliced potato up in Pittsburg New Hampshire along Lake Francis.
There is nothing like Peach Cobbler in a Dutch Oven.
In a wilderness setting, a frypan is king and there are coated lightweight frypans and even titanium for less weight if backpacking but if you have the option of a heavier fry pan there is always cast iron which hold heat well.
I grew up visiting grandparents who never knew what air-conditioning was, like in the hot summer, accordingly we cooked over a contained wood fire and played outside till nightfall.
Frying foods in a large cast iron skillet was a great way to cook breakfast, eggs, fried potato, and thick ham slices and a pot of baked beans with salt pork, Put the bread right near the fire and let it toast a bit.
Maybe your like me, I also like onion and pepper and sausage fried with the potato and you can even scramble eggs and add it to the frying mix. In fact that brings me to a cast iron Dutch oven for cooking over a fire.
We had a bbq grill basket with handle too for foods that we can just flip the basket to cook the other side.
Like salmon steaks, Asparagus, sliced zucchini and summer squash, roasted bell pepper and onion. Spray the basket with olive oil to keep food from sticking.
OMG I am already getting hungry. A new easy grill dish I saw recently was baked potato sliced open and then fried on the grill with beans/ chili , salsa and melted yellow cheddar topped with sour cream and flakes of cilantro. Of course a nice cold beer or sparkling spring water to help wash it down!
Enjoy!
©Copyright 2021