Category Archives: Big Game Hunting

Articles about Big Game Hunting.

Meat from a Laboratory? Hunters are on the increase!

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Meat from a laboratory? Do you trust big business approved by the federal government to provide lab grown meat for you to eat?  They say government approval is coming soon. Is that really beef you are eating? Where is our society going? Where is the connection to the natural world? If you are so dependent, I submit you will lose essential survival and leadership skills essentially becoming sheep.

It was COVID that urged many to try hunting! As a hunter, I like to see the animal that makes my meat rich protein diet.  Hunting does that! In fact, hunters must understand the relationship of game and its surrounding field and forest, find the animal, make a clean kill, remove the guts, skin it, package it, and refrigerate or freeze the meat for future meals. The fruit of the hunters labor is celebrated when the game is in hand and at the dining table. You are the provider and you have first hand knowledge of the field care of your meat. Below, a wild pig taken with a crossbow.

Chops I cut myself for the table and freezer.

The process of hunting has provided meat for civilization for hundreds of thousands of years and it is family oriented, skill rich, survival rich benefits that nature can provide. Remove the survival instinct to forage and kill for food, and we become sheep, dependent on its master for food and protection.

During two recent episodes we as society were shocked that the grocery stores were closed. First recent episode; Katrina, that storm several years ago, so devastated the landscape that we humans were forced to forage and hunt for meat and have a weapon to protect ourselves and family.

The second event we are living in right  now, COVID 19. Remember the meat and pork scare last year? Grocery stores for some meat supplies were bare! Panic meat purchases ensued. I have had such a successful year hunting that I was  never really concerned for meat. My freezer was full of lean, organic protein rich game meat.

Making my own ground meat!

Do yourself a favor, learn to hunt, and forage, it is an essential survival tool. Along the way you will learn survival skills and trust in your own abilities.

Decades ago in one of “Outward Bound’s”  Colorado ( https://www.cobs.org/)programs, students had to be alone in the woods for three days, called a “solo” and among other things you were given a live chicken. You didn’t have to kill it, but it was there facing you every day. Grass shoots and herb tea for three days or roasted chicken on a spit? Your choice! When your stomach wants food it sort of growls doesn’t it.

When I was 16 years old, I attended the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School (https://www.hiobs.org/) for 28 days, and learned survival skills and more about myself. I “solo’d three days on a small island off the coast of Maine. I did not have a live chicken but had access to mussels and sea urchins and sea weeds such as glasswort, plants bulbs like rose hips, plants like goose tongue, dulse, chicory and wild peas.  No it was not manna from heaven but I grew to like it. I forage for wild edibles even today when i  am hunting. When I was in Newfoundland a few years ago I had sea urchin eggs and wild peas on the shore. And lots of Codfish!

See you in the woods!

Good Hunting!

© Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved.

 

Dry Age Bag Test for Moose and Venison 14 days

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Some of you are aware that I wrote about dry aging wild game recently in special dry age bags. I used a dry age bag recently for 14 days. I dry aged some moose and venison.

 

I had intended to dry age some moose and venison steaks for 20 days. Well, the meat darkened and shrank, and shrank. Today, I was thinking of a delicious steak and had to open the dry age bags at day 14. What did I find? I found that there was no odor, and that the surfaces had a hardened cover of dried meat.

Day 1

Day 14

The bag was easily removed. The meat was dry on the outside as you see below

and dark in color.

I used a sharp knife to trim the surface. Below looks like a lot of trim but is very thin shavings. Not a lot of waste.

No mold or odd smells just darker in color. I sandwiched two moose steaks and stacked together and that worked out ok for drying the periphery of the moose meat.

 

Now for my wife to try it, I Sous Vide a dry aged moose rump steak  and venison back strap from this process to a 115 degrees with herbs, salt, pepper and a tablespoon of Worcestershire and olive oil for 1.5 hours and then seared on a hot grill. The center was rare to medium rare. I sliced thin slices for her. She said, flavor was good and tender. I liked flavor, but was not as tender as I had hoped after 14 days of dry aging. The best way to age is with much thicker pieces, like a leg roast, but I only have steaks and back strap. Was it worth the effort? The jury is still testing and hopeful.  I did have good luck dry aging without bags for 3 days with moose rump steak. Will try that again! When I use bags again, I will let it age longer.

Good Eating!

Heavy Bullets in .277 Caliber – See The New 6.8 Western Cartridge

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As I was reading below in Outdoor Life, the . 270 WSM (Winchester Short Magnum) favors lighter weight and stable bullets in the 130 to 150 grain class with a 1:10 twist rate. But what about a 165 or 175 grain bullet? Not so much as a longer bullet, for the same twist rate. It becomes less stable. Seems that Winchester engineers and hunters looking for a .270 with more moxie than the WSM for Big Game had to design the cartridge to fit a longer heavier bullet and came up with a new cartridge last year, the 6.8 Western and then design the twist rate faster 1:7.5 inches. If you like the .270 WSM then you also might like the new 6.8 Western in a Winchester Rifle if you shoot big game at long range, like on a western hunt. To reach further, the 6.8 Western is topped with a Nosler .277 165g ABLR with a G1 Ballistic Coefficient and Sectional Density that is tops in its class for retained energy. As well a Sierra bullet in the 175g class is available as well. The cartridge fills a hole for long range western hunting for those who choose that long range hunt capability. 

https://www.outdoorlife.com/story/guns/the-new-68-western-is-a-versatile-big-game-hunting-cartridge-from-browning-and-winchester/

 

The cartridge is made by both Browning and Winchester. 

Great Winter Reading! But wait! I did a ballistic chart on the 165g Nosler AB. Lets look! The MPBR for this round is 333 yards with a 4 inch radius for elk/moose and still packs over a ton of energy at that range. Wow! And with a sectional density of .307 penetration is unbelievable with the AccuBond LR.

 

 

Trajectory
Input Data
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.600 G1 Caliber: 0.277 in
Bullet Weight: 165.0 gr
Muzzle Velocity: 2950.0 ft/s Distance to Chronograph: 0.0 ft
Sight Height: 1.50 in Sight Offset: 0.00 in
Zero Height: 0.00 in Zero Offset: 0.00 in
Windage: 0.000 MOA Elevation: 0.000 MOA
Line Of Sight Angle: 0.0 deg Cant Angle: 0.0 deg
Wind Speed: 10.0 mph Wind Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Speed: 10.0 mph Target Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Height: 12.0 in
Temperature: 59.0 °F Pressure: 29.92 in Hg
Humidity: 0 % Altitude: 0.0 ft
Vital Zone Radius: 4.0 in
Std. Atmosphere at Altitude: No Pressure is Corrected: Yes
Zero at Max. Point Blank Range: Yes Target Relative Drops: Yes
Mark Sound Barrier Crossing: No Include Extra Rows: No
Column 1 Units: 1.00 in Column 2 Units: 1.00 MOA
Round Output to Whole Numbers: No
Output Data
Elevation: 6.520 MOA Windage: 0.000 MOA
Atmospheric Density: 0.07647 lb/ft³ Speed of Sound: 1116.4 ft/s
Maximum PBR: 333 yd Maximum PBR Zero: 283 yd
Range of Maximum Height: 157 yd Energy at Maximum PBR: 2178.2 ft•lbs
Sectional Density: 0.307 lb/in²
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 *** 2950.0 2.642 3187.8 0.000 0.0 ***
100 3.3 3.1 0.5 0.5 2790.0 2.499 2851.4 0.105 18.4 17.6
200 3.5 1.7 2.1 1.0 2635.7 2.361 2544.8 0.215 37.9 18.1
300 -1.2 -0.4 4.8 1.5 2486.6 2.227 2265.0 0.332 58.5 18.6
400 -11.5 -2.8 8.8 2.1 2342.4 2.098 2009.9 0.457 80.4 19.2
500 -28.2 -5.4 14.1 2.7 2203.0 1.973 1777.7 0.589 103.6 19.8
600 -52.1 -8.3 21.0 3.3 2068.2 1.852 1566.9 0.729 128.4 20.4
700 -84.1 -11.5 29.4 4.0 1938.4 1.736 1376.4 0.879 154.7 21.1
800 -125.4 -15.0 39.7 4.7 1813.8 1.625 1205.2 1.039 182.9 21.8
900 -177.2 -18.8 51.9 5.5 1695.0 1.518 1052.4 1.210 213.0 22.6
1000 -241.2 -23.0 66.3 6.3 1582.4 1.417 917.3 1.394 245.3 23.4

 

21-Jan-21 13:36, JBM/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

Good Hunting!

Enough Knife for Hunting? Fixed Blade! Updated with Moose Knife.

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It was Crocodile Mick Dundee that said, “Now that’s a knife!” I like  a nice fixed blade for hunting. Perhaps not as big as Mick’s. Having said that; If you are hunting/camping or in a far off outdoor setting where you need a chopping ability to mark a trail or cut a branch in an emergency in say the wilds of Northern New England and miles from civilization like Canada or Alaska. I am comforted, in far off places, with a larger knife both for utility and for defense, like I am with a big bored rifle. 

Around home a nice hunting fixed blade that is mid-size, are a compromise, where you don’t look foolish for carrying a big knife locally and still have a point which has a measure of defensive capability. Below is a website that shares blade styles for our education. 

https://www.knifebuzz.com/knife-blade-shapes/

 

Some, like me, like a knife for its cool look, that is gonna still be part of how and why you choose a knife. 

Steel for your blade? What are you gonna do with your blade? General use?  Honestly, I think if you have difficulty sharpening it then I would not own it. Stainless 400 series stainless, 1095 and similar are great choices for sharpening. Yes, there are better steels but you will pay dearly for them as a finished knife.  From a hardening standpoint, I think that Rockwell hardness of around 57 to 60 HRC is hard enough yet can be  sharpened. 

Non- Stainless is great for sharpness but needs care to prevent rusting. Damascus blades are not stainless but that combine two metals and when etched they show a beautiful contrast.  Wide hunting drop point or straight back blades are pretty to look at and are ideal for gutting and skinning. 

Several years back, I purchased this full tang Damascus drop point blade blank made out of 1095 steel and 15n20 and I carved and installed a burl maple handle and fancy brass pins. Sheaths can also be a work of art so sought out a USA sheath maker and had this rattle snake skin sheath made. The knife stays sharp for my use on deer.

A better image of my hunting knife below.

 

I have several knives! I have a gut hook knife for deer hunting but there were times in far off places when I needed to cut a piece of wood for my drag rope or make a shelter from spruce bows if you are lost. A gutting knife does not chop wood job very well however. For deer hunting I carry both my Damascus Knife on my hip and my gut hook knife in my backpack. Today most knives come with a nylon or cheaply made leather sheath. I prefer a sheath equal to my knife thus I am willing to spend more on a custom sheath. 

The world is your oyster today. I like US made products if possible and I stay away from CCP made goods. German made knives are ones to consider if US made are not available. Or, do like I did,…  build your own knife from a blank.

This winter I am building a straight back bladed moose hunting knife from 400 series stainless where the handle material can be costly, like stabilized burl maple and the sheath is custom made for me in the USA with tooling on vegetable tanned leather.  The largest investment is time in your workshop.  And that can be rewarding and fun especially in winter. 

Here is the Moose Knife with 6.5 inch cutting edge “straight back” blade.  Notice the forward edge is a bit wider. I am still finishing the handle. I am pleased with its progress…Great camp knife too!

The Sheath is not yet designed but it will be as great looking as the knife with some tooling on the leather. 

 

Good Hunting!

© Copyright 2021

 

 

Weatherby, Leupold and Nosler AccuBonds in 6.5 Creedmoor – Whitetail Magic

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The Weatherby Vanguard in 6.5 Creedmoor was a great choice for my Texas Whitetail Hunt. And so was my choice in Leupold scopes and Nosler Custom cartridges, tipped with AccuBonds!

 

Shots were perhaps a bit longer than 150 yards, a cake-walk for the creedmoor. The synthetic Monte Carlo style stock takes all kinds of abuse and still looks new. I geared this rifle for New England deer hunting in ice and snow. The barrel and metal surfaces has a weatherguard coating ( a stainless  look) as a rust preventive. We had no rain or stormy weather to contend with, just hot and dry.  Coupled with my Leupold Vx-3 and Nosler Custom 140 grain AccuBonds, it was whitetail magic.

When I arrived at the ranch, a few of us shot our rifles to ensure they were on target. I set up for a 100 yard shot at a black one inch square, upon the recoil, I could not see the bullet hole, but the Ted the lead guide said, ” It’s dead center in the black”. Ok, I said with a grin, “ready to hunt!”

On the Weatherby, it was a very cost effective at around $800, the only thing I changed was the trigger, it was fine as it was but I wanted a bit lighter trigger, so I dropped a Timney trigger in. The beefy looking bolt is very smooth to operate, I like that! I think that I will hunt New England this next year with the Weatherby. For those considering this rifle or caliber, you cant go wrong for big game deer, elk and black bear.

If you would like to read and see a few video’s of the hunt see below.

November Texas Whitetail Hunt on the Cargile Cattle Ranch – By Ed Hale

Good Hunting!

 

© Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved!

November Texas Whitetail Hunt on the Cargile Cattle Ranch – By Ed Hale

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The sun was shining brightly as my plane touched down in San Angelo, Texas on November 11th, 2020. It was a glorious day, and I was on an exciting hunt! 

I last hunted in the Lone Star State in 2018 and wanted a chance to see and  maybe harvest an even larger buck than in 2018 which was already a  huge 144 B&C buck. 

At the baggage claim, I was greeted by Clayton Kibbe, 19 years old, in his new Blue 4×4 Jeep, later to be  my guide.

Clayton, boastfully tells me of his bona fides, he was brought up in a serious hunting family around the famous 825,000 acre King Ranch in South Texas and its Legacy. He proved that time and again! 

I arrived in camp and Ted the lead guide said I had the choice of  any bunk. Nice! Camp is simple, and part of the Cargile Ranch, a house for bunks and bath, a large barn, and dining building, but very functional with a separate dining room for a dozen hunters or more.

Pictured below on the far end is Ted our lead guide, Clayton and hunter Brian who is getting  married  next  month. Congrats! Yes, you can see the Covid social distancing here too!

On the hunt there were just 4 hunters in camp as the rut has just begun. The following week will see a dozen hunters. In the kitchen is Rhonda, Ted’s wife and the camp cook and teacher of 30 years now retired. Very knowledgeable and fun to talk to! Thanks so much! I teased her when I arrived! “Beach  Boys “Help me Rhonda” she smiled. She is also a skilled hunter and a great shot, attested by her husband Ted on Huge Moose and Deer and Safari hunts! Hunters Skip, in the hat, and Sawyer, another young Texas hunter getting some dinner.

The Whitetails on this ranch are managed by Greg Simons of Wildlife System, Inc. The cattle ranch is around 24000 acres with dozens of hunting blinds set up in it. Most of the trees on the property are mesquite, large juniper with some live Oaks in the mix.

The hunting box blinds are slightly elevated, mostly hand made of plywood, with several highly elevated box blinds. Below view from one of the many blinds. These simple blinds are great! Just keep those hornets away, and they did. 

Texas Wildlife folks say there is plenty of game here in the Edwards Plateau this year. But it has been a dry summer and hard on the deer, we discovered.

 The ranch owner John Cargile showed up and we chatted about the deer health and dry weather. The Texas State folks mandate that the ranch should harvest 200 does this season to balance the herd. I hope they do as I saw near to 100 deer or more on my 3 days afield. 

On November 12th just in the morning alone we counted 30 whitetails and ended the days count in the 50’s. That is more deer seen than in my lifetime in New Hampshire, many were 8 point bucks. I brought 2 rifles but chose the Weatherby in 6.5 Creedmoor as the shots may be longer. 

Below is my new Tactacam video footage of my shot on a Texas 8 point buck. I had the Tactacam up near the muzzle and not quite level as the picture is quite a bit angled. I will have to fix that on the next hunt.  Don’t get dizzy… 

You can see the Weatherby rifle flash and the buck jumping 3 feet off the ground at the shot. It was an excellent shoulder hit with Nosler Trophy Grade 6.5 Creedmoor 140 grain AccuBonds as you will see in the later video Part 2. My Leupold VX-3 scope did it’s job with great clarity!

My Crazy Smile tells it all,  for the buck I just harvested. A nice shot from my Weatherby and great buck! I was using a Leupold VX-3 scope. This buck did not come close to my other buck but he was mature and somehow I felt compelled to the shot. I had a great rest, and a steady aim!

Later my hunting friend Skip, who lives just outside of San Antonio, shot an even better buck. Well, actually he shot and supposedly missed one as he and guide Clayton found no hair or blood. He didn’t! We eventually found him after the coyotes started eating his back side the next day. A call to the office allowed  him to take a second buck but had to pay an other sizable harvest fee. Skip didn’t hesitate on the extra fee and was rewarded with this nice buck. He offered me the buck deer meat and I accepted. 

Below are the many Angus cattle, momma and calves in a protective munge. What’s goin’ on, they  moo, as they are transfixed by us hunters. 

I made it back home safe and sound with some 30 pounds of boned venison that I took on the plane in a wheeled cooler. I had Rhonda buy the cooler for me at the local Walmart for $24 bucks. Thanks Rhonda!  I located a game processor in town that would ship the rest of the frozen boned venison back via ground. It was expensive but I love my wild game meat.

Here back in Plaistow, NH I began the process of butchering the boned meat. Below are backstraps that I have laid out to remove silver skin. I vacuum seal all of  my game   meat, it is essential to prevent freezer burn and can last a very long time in a freezer. I do have a large power meat grinder for making burger and sausage.

 

My wife and I enjoy cooking and chefing in our large kitchen and wild game is often on the menu. We have moose, boar and deer in the freezer. Since I have retired, I enjoy chefing a step above menu for when Sue gets home from her duties as microbiologist and medical technologist at a major hospital. Great to get the PPE off!

We love venison cooked in our blue Dutch oven below. Somehow the antlers just don’t seem to fit!!

But it creates a great finished product. OMG Sooo Good!

In all I harvested one buck and 2 does and will receive meat from Skip’s buck making 4 deer in the freezer. Should last us, along with other organic wild game a very long while indeed. I haven’t bought any beef burger all year.

Check out my Thanksgiving recipe for Venison Jalapeno Poppers!

Good Hunting and Eating!

©2020 All Rights Reserved!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Times for Deer Movement – Thoughts On The Rut

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From my experience, the rut has the largest effect on deer movement, so I recommend you hunt into the rut. Why?  Bucks that are in search of a mate are more susceptible to be attracted to calls, rattles and scents. Bucks that have found a  mate or does that found a buck are less likely to be attracted to sounds and smells.

Early aggressive buck behavior and receptive does, for mating begins here in the Northeast in very late October and peaks around November 20th or thereabouts.  By late November nearly all does have neared completion of the first estrous cycle. As I said, bucks are harder to pull away from does as the rut progresses. Late November, Post rut, the bucks are looking but most does are bred, but now bucks can again be more  susceptible to calls like a doe bleat. In the photo above,  my brother and I filled our tags after Thanksgiving with two dandy New Hampshire bucks taken  near the 13 mile woods above Berlin! My brother took his with a Ruger M77 in 300 Win Mag and my buck fell to a 338 Win Mag. Neither buck took a step!

Snow helps hunters see where the deer tracks are, and increases the ability for hunters to see deer. It is best to dress warm and stay still on a deer stand, eat a candy bar and hunker down. I learned this hunting near the 13 mile woods near Errol, NH when I took my first deer many years ago. I was “on stand” earlier than those in our hunting camp. I greeted them going out with my deer in tow as they were coming in.

My best times to call in a buck are the last week in October and first week in November. I have observed does at dusk moving toward buck bedding areas during the early rut.  Below, this little buck was called in with a fawn bleat.

I like late October to first week November. If muzzleloader hunting, it is prime for getting a shot at a big buck moving normally that is not disturbed. He can be called with a grunt tube or rattled in. In the right wind, you can often smell tarsal gland, that means there is a buck in front of you! That happened to me, but I was too young to understand its implication. The buck slipped away.

Often these bucks are not far from does and waiting for them to come into estrous, constantly smelling them down wind. Or when bedded on a hill side, smelling the updraft in early morning. I took a dandy eight point during muzzleloader season by grunting and rattling. I saw a doe nearby so I played like two bucks vying for the chance to mate.  The hidden buck came in for a fight. I shot him at 20 yards and he went down  ker-plop.

I took another eight point by sneaking in his bedding area and used scents to create curiosity during the first day of Shotgun season. He came in looking from almost behind me. I thought it was a squirrel! I saw his antler first, then his head. My shotgun was pointed in the wrong direction, I gasped  mentally. The buck new something was not quite right but curious to see my face. I kept hiding my face as I raised the shotgun in alignment with a tree so he could not see it. Finally at 20 yards I swung the shotgun to shoot. In less than a second he bolted but stopped broadside at 40 yards, still  not sure what spooked him. A one ounce slug was on its way and struck his shoulder. A follow-up shot finished his curiosity. This particular hunt was my best ever because I got the drop on him in his bedroom.

Why does rifle season kill so  many deer? There are lots of deer hunters looking and bumping deer into hunters.

Rattling and buck grunting is not as effective in late season so I would not include it in my tool bag for mid November.

Finding a vantage point for active deer trails that cross, with wind advantage are great places to take a stand, as are places you expect hunters to push deer in your direction.

There are several large deer studies that conclude that moon phase effects deer in a minor way. Perhaps the most deer movement related to the  moon is when it nears a  new  moon phase where data and experience suggest there is slightly more daytime  movement. Hunting the moon phase, based on the existing data, is not reliable but helps if your gonna hunt those days anyhow.

Being observant of the wind  is your best friend. Keep the wind in your face if “still hunting”.

Shoot A BIG’UN

© Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Rifle Comb Cheek Weld Remedy with 50mm Scopes

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Many of today’s hunting rifles have standard height combs on the rifle stock. So you want to buy a new scope for it with a large 50mm objective lens to get more light at dawn and dusk? That’s fine, however your all important cheek weld is now too low for optimum eye alignment. Some think that raising your head a bit is ok. Not True. What you have introduced, without a good cheek weld is a variable that can move your bullet impact depending on how your hold and or rest your rifle and how your eye aligns inconsistently with the crosshairs. What to do?

There are several options. Some folks tape foam onto the comb. For me it is an ugly option. I prefer a slip on like Beartooth comb raising kits or Hornady. Many kits include height adjuster foam and have zipper pockets and bullet loops too.

Beartooth Products StockGuard 2.0 Rifle Model Buttstock Cover Neoprene

Products like this are a great and inexpensive add-on. I like them a lot. If you aren’t getting one now, then put one under the Christmas tree!

Good Hunting!

 

How far is too far for a rifle hunter to shoot?

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The question is about hunter capability and ethics. The question comes up usually on a western hunt where distances can be really far. A good hunting guide will help!

Lets talk about the good hunter. 1. The hunter should be practicing for the distances he or she expects to shoot game e.g. 250 yards or 500 yards and know the in’s and outs of bullet drop, as well as range and wind deflection as ranges get longer. Lets talk about a super nice 10 point buck at 482 yards feeding broadside. Your rifle is a .308 Winchester with a150 grain spitzer bullet exiting the barrel at 2700 fps. You set up the rifle expecting longer than normal shots so you zero at Max Point Blank Range (MPBR).

How do you set it up, assuming you are skilled enough to hold your buck fever in check?

A check for ballistic data on your bullet shows MPBR is 225 yards and the following data;

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 *** 2702.9 2.442 2432.9 0.000 0.0 ***
25 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.2 2648.4 2.393 2335.8 0.028 4.9 18.8
50 1.3 2.4 0.2 0.4 2594.6 2.344 2241.9 0.057 10.0 19.0
75 2.2 2.8 0.5 0.6 2541.5 2.296 2151.0 0.086 15.1 19.2
100 2.7 2.6 0.8 0.8 2489.0 2.249 2063.0 0.116 20.4 19.4
125 3.0 2.3 1.3 1.0 2437.1 2.202 1977.9 0.146 25.7 19.6
150 2.8 1.8 1.9 1.2 2385.8 2.156 1895.5 0.177 31.2 19.9
175 2.3 1.2 2.6 1.4 2335.1 2.110 1815.9 0.209 36.8 20.1
200 1.3 0.6 3.4 1.6 2285.1 2.065 1738.8 0.241 42.5 20.3
225 -0.0 -0.0 4.4 1.9 2235.6 2.020 1664.3 0.275 48.3 20.5
250 -1.8 -0.7 5.5 2.1 2186.7 1.976 1592.3 0.309 54.3 20.7
275 -4.0 -1.4 6.7 2.3 2138.4 1.932 1522.7 0.343 60.4 21.0
300 -6.7 -2.1 8.1 2.6 2090.7 1.889 1455.6 0.379 66.7 21.2
325 -9.9 -2.9 9.6 2.8 2043.6 1.847 1390.7 0.415 73.0 21.5
350 -13.7 -3.7 11.2 3.1 1997.1 1.805 1328.2 0.452 79.6 21.7
375 -17.9 -4.6 13.0 3.3 1951.3 1.763 1268.0 0.490 86.3 22.0
400 -22.8 -5.4 15.0 3.6 1906.1 1.722 1209.9 0.529 93.1 22.2
425 -28.2 -6.3 17.1 3.8 1861.6 1.682 1154.1 0.569 100.1 22.5
450 -34.3 -7.3 19.4 4.1 1817.8 1.643 1100.4 0.610 107.3 22.8
475 -41.0 -8.2 21.9 4.4 1774.7 1.604 1048.8 0.651 114.6 23.0
500 -48.4 -9.2 24.5 4.7 1732.3 1.565 999.3 0.694 122.2 23.3
  1. Is there enough bullet energy to take this 482 yard shot ethically? 1000 ft-lbs is Marginal but ok according to many sources.
  2. Is the bullet traveling fast enough to mushroom correctly? Not really well.

3. Where do you aim?  If the wind is blowing parallel with the deer at say 10 mph across his chest toward his rear? You guestimate 22 inches of wind deflection makes you aim off the deer’s body. Can you still ethically shoot? Or should you try to close the distance?

Close the distance is the smart and correct answer? The bullet will likely not mushroom correctly at that marginal speed and you have no point of aim at 22 inches off the target, and bullet energy is marginal. You do risk wounding the deer.

Ok we are still hunting that same deer and close the distance to 275 yards (range finder) and he still does not see us. The bullet is traveling at over 2000fps, good mushrooming speed and energy, but will be off target by 6.7 inches. Can you compensate and aim 6.7 inches left or right? Yes! Bullet drop is 1.4  inches low. I would not  try to compensate for 1.4 inch drop, your fine.  Do you have a good rest for your rifle? Yes, my backpack, if I lay prone.  If you are rock solid on the deer with crosshairs and adjusted for wind deflection, then I would take the shot. The flight time is just over a third of a second at that range.

Ok, after that exercise, is that what you do when shooting long distances? Think about speed, drop, energy? If so then you are giving the deer your best to ethically take him.

A wise hunter who shoots longer ranges, should have made these calculations for limitations before hand and practiced for such a shot. I have  made a table to tape to my rifle in some cases. The JBM data indicates that  at 325-350 yards this rifle/bullet combo has reached its limit on speed and energy and that wind deflection at 90 degrees is 9 to 11 inches left/ right. And bullet drop is 10 inches low. The hunter must have skill to compensate. We didn’t discuss things such as temperature and altitude and shooting angle either. Lots to think about!

I used JBM Ballistics Trajectory to get this data. Try it!

https://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

Good Hunting!

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