MSRP 749.00 Wow! Some retailers selling for under $600. Claim to fame? The Howa Action! And it’s a Weatherby! Guaranteed under an inch with best in class ammo they say. Can this puppy hunt? We shall see…More soon!
Author Archives: Ed Hale
New Nosler Custom .338 Winchester Magnum Brass For Sale
Nosler Custom .338 Winchester Magnum Brass (50 Count) for sale. New in original wrapper.
$65 Free Shipping USA Only.
Send email to erhale@comcast.net to purchase.
What’s new in Hunting Knife/Saw – The SwingBlade-Pak
It ain’t cheap but a great investment at $99 bucks. The blade that has the rounded end is for gutting as in a gut hook and for caping. The blade and saw is a Japanese AUS-8 steel and the blade is 3.6 inch shaving sharp for gutting and caping. Comes with orange handles too for easy visibility. I saw it at Bass Pro too. Love the quality leather sheath. The video below sells the caping/gut hook tool easily and is field tested.
https://www.outdooredge.com/products/swingblaze-pak-szp-1
If you are looking for a new and innovative product for field dressing this may be it.
The other China made product is the Kodi-pak.
Check it out!
Hand-Loaded Nosler AccuBond LR 142 grain in Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor
The G1 ballistic coefficient for this bullet is .719. The fact that it exceeds 0.7 is world class long range capable of delivering game killing energy at over 600 yards for the 6.5 Creedmoor.
Tech Talk – It has been said that the bullet has a secant o-give and needs more room away from the lands when chambered than your normal bullet but having said that, it does not take from accuracy on bullet jump.
A few days ago, I loaded up some Nosler AccuBond LR’s in 142 grain with IMR 4350 and W760 Powder specified by Nosler in my almost new Ruger American. I used 41.5 grains IMR 4350 and 40.5 grains of W760 powder, max loads. I selected the powder because they were among the fastest at the muzzle and geared for delivering lots of energy at longer ranges.
The cases were Nosler Custom and the primers were CCI BR2’s. Cartridge overall length followed the Nosler Manual of 2.805 and they fit the Ruger magazine perfectly and fed perfectly.
First IMR 4350 cold shot with the Ruger American was 1 inch higher than subsequent 4 shots. Accordingly, I eliminated the cold barrel shot from the group. If I included it the spread was 1 1/8 inch and if I eliminated it the spread was 7/8 inch.
Estimated velocity out of the 22 inch barrel was around 2670 fps after subtracting 60 fps and the 2 more inches in the Nosler manual using a 24 inch barrel compared to the 22 inches of the Ruger.
The W760 Powder shot 1 3/16 five shot group with an estimated velocity of 2610 fps accounting for the shorter 22 inch barrel.
Examination of the primers looked normal and extraction was easy. These loads were terrific.
The results indicate that this grouping for IMR 4350 is terrific for shots in a 6 inch circle at 600 yards. Further that the energy for deer suggests 650 yards where 1000 ft-lbs was calculated and the velocity was 1802 fps. Windage at 90º moved the bullet 28 inches at 10 mph crosswind. That is a lot! Quartering crosswind of 14 inches. The shooter would have to adjust for the crosswind or get closer to the game, a much better scenario. At half that distance 325 yds the shooter would only be off by 6 inches in a 90º wind and have elk killing energy of 1500 ft-lbs.
Below is the Ruger American Predator. A great affordable rifle for anyone!
The Scope was a Leupold VX-3. See them at https://www.leupold.com/search?q=vx3
In a perfect world, early morning and just before dark usually offer little wind for those longer shots.
Killing game cleanly is the name of the game!
Good Hunting!
© 2017
Sportsmen Never Knew there was a “Bump Stock”… What to do?
I have been shooting, hunting and writing for decades. I have been to several club ranges and never came upon someone shooting full auto like fire with this bump stock device. Never heard of it till the Las Vegas Massacre. Accordingly, I believe there are few of these stocks out there. It was created, I understand, for the “disabled” to be able to shoot. Sounds a bit crazy to me!
The NRA is correct to advance the review of its regulation as do most citizens.
All add-on devices should be on the table to review.
I do believe that the Bump Stock should have come to higher attention by ATF to Congress during the Obama Administration.
NH Rifleman Magazine believes that this device and any attached device that could suggest full automatic fire be scrutinized and/or regulated.
New Hampshire Fish and Game Clubs Tighten Member Requirements
Most all New Hampshire Hunting and Fishing and Shooting Clubs require NRA membership and indicate that they are in good standing as a Citizen but my Club, Chester Rod And Gun in Chester, NH has taken it further to require documentation of proof.
I am pleased with this new requirement as of September 1, 2017. It gives “peace of mind” that members are documented in good standing by a state or federal document or license. It is likely that other Outdoor Sporting clubs have now or going to have similar requirements of evidence of citizen standing and not legally prohibited from owning firearms.
NEW REQUIREMENT: Effective September 1, 2017, all members of the club must show in person satisfactory documentary evidence that they are not legally prohibited from owning firearms by December 31, 2018. This documentation is viewed, but not retained, by a staff member. The acceptable forms of documentation are:
The acceptable forms of documentation are:
(1) a current, unexpired State or Federally issued firearms license,
(2) a NFA Tax Stamp,
(3) a NH armed security guard license,
(4) an active law enforcement ID,
(5) a current Active Duty, National Guard, or US Reserve Military ID card,
(6) a State Police background check from the applicant’s State of residence,
(7) a signed and notarized affidavit certifying that the applicant is not prohibited from owning or using firearms (this document will be retained)
Please share with your outdoor shooting community!
Good Shooting!
Sandpit Deer Tracks and Stuff…
Why do deer go into fields and sand pits at night? It’s a deer nightclub in October! A place to be seen and smelled. Putting face to inter-digital gland cent and track size is a tell-all about prep for mating come the end of October. The inter-digital gland is located between the hooves of deer.
Sandpit or gravel like open areas are places I can go in early October to see who is in the neighborhood for bucks and does. Which doe still has yearlings still tagging along can be discerned. And just how big and wide is that track, how rounded or not can tell me that a big buck is hanging around. I am no great whitetail hunter who gets a deer in NH every year but when can, I try to put 2 and 2 together.
My twin brother at left and I did just that a while back! He was shooting a 300 Win Mag and I was shooting a .338 Win Mag, my African Safari Rifle back then. Needless to say both deer fell right there! My nephew swears that the .338 hit the deer so hard that some of its hair stuck in the tree…on end. Maybe so! I shoot big guns very well, besides, no one wants to borrow the .338 so I don’t have to worry about abuse. When I go north I like the hand-loaded .375 Ruger slowed down. Big 230 grain bullets in heavy brush! In open areas the 6.5 Creedmoor, or .270 works fabulous.
Last year my buck was arriving at 2 AM so that didn’t work well. And there were too many hunters pushing the deer to new areas, like behind homes.
I believe whitetail deer use these open sandy areas to leave track size/shape and an inter-digital scent to say who they are to the does and to the potential bucks competing for mating rights.
Check those sandy areas out!
© 2017
The Left Jumps Again at Gun Control in the Wake of the Las Vegas Mass Murders…
My sincere prayers go to all those in Las Vegas that were killed and injured by this heinous evil man.
The “left” sees this another opportunity to ban the so called assault weapons or black long guns and magazines that hold many rounds from law abiding citizens.
The simple fact is that criminals or evil doers circumvent law every single day and will get a gun on the black market or by robbery. This madman apparently found a way to make the semi-auto rifle fire as an automatic. A felony! Did he care? No! Can you legislate that? No!
Below is an interesting examination at the CATO Institute of the “Cost and Consequences of Gun Control.” I thought a good read…
https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa784.pdf
The article Concludes”
“Firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens
enhance public safety.
Firearms in the wrong hands endanger everyone.
Responsible firearms policies focus on thwarting dangerous
people and do not attempt to infringe the
constitutional rights of good persons.
Background checks on firearms sales can be improved
by including more records on persons
who have been adjudicated to be so severely
mentally ill that they are a genuine threat.
Extending federal gun control to private
intrastate sales between individuals—and to
firearms loans among friends and family—is
constitutionally dubious, and imposes severe
burdens for no practical benefit. Such a system
is futile without registration of all firearms.
Gun owners have justifiably resisted gun registration
because it has facilitated gun confiscation
in the United States and other nations.
*************************
New: Primos Trigger Stick or Bog-Pod? Updated
Don’t Own one yet! Maybe today for that steady shot! This from youtube.
I examined the mono-pod, bi-pod and tripod styles at Bass Pro in Hooksett, NH. See my video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKfe1BcnGnA
The Red head was light in weight but cumbersome to open each length but once set it looked solid without further tests and under $40. My primary concern was weight and not cumbersome to set up. It failed the cumbersome part.
The Bog-Pod was strong and looked durable, had a bag to put it in with large white letters saying BOG-POD so big that the shoulder bag looked as much white as black. The bag? Not good in the deer woods by my account..too much white like a deer tail.
My Choice was the Primos bi-pod Gen 3! Not heavy, easy to set up instantly. Just pull the trigger on the bipod and your pod legs extend by gravity. Let the trigger go and the height is set. Cant mount a camera on the bi-pod at $130.00 but you can on the tripod at $160.00 and carry more weight.
You decide whats best for your hunting situation!
Good Hunting!
© 2017
Smith & Wesson Announces New M&P® M2.0™ Compact Series
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: 1-844-772-5159 |
Smith & Wesson Announces New M&P® M2.0™ Compact Series
M&P M2.0 Pistol Platform Expanded to Include Popular Compact Pistol
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., (September 29, 2017) – Smith & Wesson Corp. today announced the addition of its new M&P M2.0 Compact pistol series to the recently released M&P M2.0 pistol family. Available in 9mm and .40 S&W, the M&P M2.0 Compact pistol series builds upon the popularity of the new M&P M2.0 platform in a versatile, carry-size configuration. The M&P M2.0 Compact pistol is purpose-built for both personal and professional use.
James Debney, President and CEO of American Outdoor Brands Corporation, said, “When we introduced the M&P M2.0 pistol family back in January, we announced our plans to expand the next-generation M2.0 product platform beyond the full-size design. Our M&P M2.0 pistols represent a growing family of products, developed through feedback from our professional and civilian customers to deliver the performance and features they desire. Offered in both 9mm and .40 S&W, the M&P M2.0 Compact pistol series features a 15 or 13 round capacity depending on caliber, and a 4-inch barrel, blending a feature set that offers both shootability and concealment. The M&P M2.0 Compact pistol series bridges the gap for those who want a single firearm for professional use, personal protection, carry, or practice at the range. We believe the new M&P M2.0 Compact series will be sought after by consumers whose purchase option in this category has, until now, been limited primarily to the Glock 19 or 23.”
The M&P M2.0 Compact pistol series offers consumers a reliable, striker-fired pistol that delivers a compact carry advantage with the advanced M2.0 feature set, including an aggressively-textured grip, four interchangeable palmswell inserts, and light, crisp M2.0 trigger with a tactile and audible reset. The pistol features a solid, molded polymer frame designed for comfort and durability, as well as the optimal M&P pistol 18-degree grip angle for a natural point of aim. Chambered in 9mm and .40 S&W with a 4” barrel, the M&P M2.0 Compact pistol comes standard with a white-dot front sight and a white two-dot rear sight, and either a 15 round 9mm or 13 round .40 S&W magazine.
M&P M2.0 Compact pistol features include:
Superior Ergonomic Design
– M&P pistol’s optimal 18-degree grip angle, providing a natural point of aim
– M&P pistol’s low barrel-bore axis – more comfortable to shoot, faster aim recovery
– Four interchangeable dimensional palmswell grips for best-in-class fit: S, M, ML, L
– New aggressive M2.0 textured grip for enhanced control
– New front cocking serrations
Superior Performance
– New M2.0 crisp trigger with lighter trigger pull
– Tactile and audible trigger reset
– Accurate 1 in 10″ twist barrel in both 9mm and .40 S&W
– Extended rigid embedded stainless steel chassis to reduce flex and torque when firing
– Tactical white 3-dot steel sights for quick target acquisition
Superior Controls
– Ambidextrous slide stop, reversible magazine release, and optional ambidextrous thumb safety
– Simple M&P pistol take-down lever, for easy disassembly and maintenance
– M&P pistol sear deactivation lever – safe take-down without having to pull the trigger
Superior Finish
– Armornite® – hardened nitride durable corrosion resistant finish on barrel and slide
The M&P M2.0 Compact pistol is available both with and without an ambidextrous thumb safety, and priced at an MSRP of $569. The pistol ships with two magazines, including two magazine extender sleeves for use with full-size magazines, as well as a limited lifetime warranty and lifetime service policy.
For more information about the M&P M2.0 Compact pistol series, including spec sheets and images, please click here.
For more information on Smith & Wesson products, please visit www.smith-wesson.com
About Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Corp. is a provider of quality firearms for personal protection, target shooting and hunting in the global consumer and professional markets. Smith & Wesson is world famous for its handguns and long guns sold under the Smith & Wesson®, Performance Center®, M&P®, Thompson/Center Arms™, and Gemtech® brands. Through its Manufacturing Services Division, Smith & Wesson Corp. also provides forging, machining, and precision plastic injection molding services to a wide variety of consumer goods companies. For more information on Smith & Wesson, call (800) 331-0852 or log on to www.smith-wesson.com.