https://www.huntingnut.com/ HuntingNut en-us Wed, 15 Sep 2021 15:36:08 GMT 1440 CPG-Nuke Dragonfly HuntingNut News http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html https://www.huntingnut.com/images/logo.gif https://www.huntingnut.com/ https://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=96 Ammunition informally called “ammo” is the material fired, scattered, dropped or detonated from any weapon. The word comes from the French la munition, for the material used for war. In the modern age, almost all shopping is done online. So, if you are looking to buy ammo online, its the great way to save money on ammunition. Buying ammo online can be a great way to buy hard to find ammunition at great prices. Things To Know Before Buying Ammo online Beforing buying ammo online there are some important facts you need to know. Know about your state laws: You can buy ammo online but there are some areas where ammunition can’t be shipped in. A few examples are New York City and Washington D.C. In other areas, you can’t get it shipped to your house. Ammunition can only be shipped to a federal firearms license holder in these areas. Some of these are Massachusetts, New York, Chicago, and most of California. However, keep in mind that laws can change. Always double check your own state laws before buying ammo online. Know about shipping charges: Beforing buying ammo online know about shipping charges. Some companies offer free shipping and some others charge extra shipping charges for some areas. What you need to do is check out each website listed, read the FAQ page, the About Us page, check for hidden fees, etc., and decide which one you like the most. Look for ammo deals: Many ammo retailers offer affordable ammo deals. Before buying ammo online search for affordable ammo deals. Best Places To Buy Ammo Online: Find best place to buy ammo online. Below we are sharing the list of popular online ammo stores where you can get best ammo deals from your popular brands. Outdoor Limited: Outdoor Limited is one of the best online ammo store to buy ammo online from top brands. A leading online ammo store for bulk , box & case quantity. All the ammunition listed in the website is in stock & ready to ship. Top brands available. Special bulk ammo deals for; 22lr ammo, 223 ammo, 9mm ammo. Live inventory, safe, secure & fast shipping services always. Ammo Board: Ammo Board, is another leading online ammo store for all bulk ammo needs. They only offer bulk ammo deals. All the ammunition listed in website is in stock & ready to ship. Free shipping always. Foundry Outdoors: Foundry Outdoors is another online ammo store to buy ammo online. They offer great deals on wholesale ammo for rifle, handgun, shotgun & rimfire ammo to satisfy all your customer needs. They only supply ammunition to distributor only. Sign up today for account with us and you will unlock the special prices. Fast Shipping & best customer services with real time tracking services. Bulk Cheap Ammo: Bulk Cheap Ammo is a leading online ammo directory. In stock ammunition, guns, magazines and reloading components at affordable price from top brands. There are more than 100 online ammo vendors listed in the website. Best place for gun owners to find in stock ammo real fast & compare the pricing with different vendors & get best deals on your favourite ammo on a single page. Cheap Ammos: cheap Ammos, best online ammo store for discount coupons. Discounted ammo deals are available on Cheap Ammos. huge stock of cheap ammo available for sale in bulk and box quantities, that is ready to ship from NC. Recommended Top Ammo Brands There are many ammo brands available. Here the list of top brands based on price, availability. WINCHESTER (RIFLE, SHOTGUN, HANDGUN AND RIMFIRE): Winchester ammo can be found around the world in their signature white and red ammo boxes. Rifle, shotgun, handgun and rimfire 22lr ammo, they make it all in almost every caliber imaginable. REMINGTON (RIFLE, SHOTGUN, HANDGUN AND RIMFIRE): Remington is another famous american manufacturer of American firearms and ammunition. Founded in New York, and it holds the distinction of one of the longest continually operating manufacturers in America. CCI (RIMFIRE AND HANDGUN): CCI, or Cascade Cartridges Inc., was founded by mechanical expert Dick Speer in 1951. Today CCI is a leader in rimfire ammunition, and they also produce centerfire pistol ammunition in select calibers. HORNADY (RIFLE, SHOTGUN, HANDGUN AND RIMFIRE): The Hornady ammunition company was founded by Joyce Hornady in 1940. FEDERAL PREMIUM (RIFLE, SHOTGUN, HANDGUN AND RIMFIRE): Federal Premium Ammunition is another true American original ammunition. Popular product lines by Federal Premium include Premium Personal Defense, V-Shok and American Eagle. So, buying ammo online is really very helpful to get best deals at affordable price. Another new way to find ammo deals for cheap ammo and bulk ammo is to use a real time ammo listing directory website like Bulk Cheap Ammo. Wed, 15 Sep 2021 15:36:08 GMT https://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=95 Hunters have used shotguns for a long time now. Not only are they easy for shooting smaller targets that move quickly, but they can do a substantial amount of damage to bigger targets as well. With all the shotgun brands and models that they have to choose from, many hunters continue to use the Remington 870 over all other models. Remington is a brand that has existed for a century because of the high-quality construction and performance reliability of their shotguns. The Remington 870 is a pump-action shotgun, which is the reason why it is so reliable. If you were to purchase some semi-automatic shotgun, then you wouldn’t have nearly as much reliability as the Remington 870. Instead, you would have a weapon that may have malfunctions during the reloading process. The pump-action of the Remington 870 will greatly reduce the chances of malfunctions. There are many versions of the Remington 870 such as the Remington 870 Express and Remington 870 Tactical, but the most popular one used for hunting is the Remington 870 Wingmaster. This particular shotgun contains a forend and stock made out of wood and it is truly an American classic because it is one of the first Remington 870s to actually be used for hunting. Its two most popular gauges are the 12-gauge and 20-gauge, but you can choose other gauges as well. But what is most admired about the Remington 870 Wingmaster is its durability and strength. In fact, it is even stronger than many of the modern-day shotguns because the Wingmaster is manufactured with quality in mind. Another reason why hunters love the Remington 870 so much is because it is one of the most affordable shotguns out there. Most shotguns that are suitable for hunting will cost over one thousand dollars. However, you can purchase a Remington 870 Express for under five-hundred dollars and it will be more reliable than those more expensive shotgun models. And if that’s not enough, the Remington 870 can be upgraded with new parts in case you want to get rid of the factory-grade parts that come with the weapon. You can add or exchange lots of parts on the weapon such as the barrel, stock, forend, choke, safety, follower and so on. This allows hunters of all shapes and sizes to get more comfortable with their Remington 870 and to adjust the weapon in a way that makes it easier for them to shoot their target while maintaining accuracy. When you use a Remington 870 shotgun for hunting you’ll want to upgrade your shotgun with a long barrel and a choke that is suitable for shooting the game that you’re going after. Long barrels are good because they have Rem choke system. Remember that chokes will allow your shots to be constricted in different ways as the birdshot comes out of the barrel. So, for example, if you wanted to hunt wild turkeys in the forest then you would use a tight turkey choke. That way, the pellets are more constricted and will shoot out into a shorter radius around the turkey, causing more damage to it. Now if you wanted to hunt smaller game like ducks, you would want a wider choke on your shotgun so the pellets could spread within a wider radius toward the target. This would ultimately increase your chances of hitting a small, fast moving target like a duck. As for the sighting, long barrels have longer sighting plane which makes it easier for the shooter to aim properly. If you had a short barrel, the shorter sighting plane would make it harder for the shooter to accurately aim. The Remington 870 is a multi-purpose pump-action shotgun that is suitable for home defense, law enforcement purposes, and hunting. The big question that a lot of novice hunters have is, what kind of animals can you hunt with the Remington 870 shotgun? The basic answer to this question is all types of animals. You could hunt ducks, geese, pheasants, grouse, turkeys, chukar, doves, or even deer with a Remington 870 shotgun. It doesn’t matter how big the animal is or how fast the animal is. The Remington 870 has the power and ability to stop any animal in its tracks. That is why the weapon has been used by hunters for nearly a hundred years now. Of course, you must set up your shotgun with the right choke and ammunition before you go out hunting for a particular type of animal. That way, you can improve your chances of hitting the animal without wasting lots of time and ammunition. The Remington 870 provides users with the versatility of customizing their weapon in a way that suits their shooting needs. There aren’t too many other shotguns on the market that give you such a wide range of upgrades and choices. You just have to understand which chokes and ammunition are suitable for whatever it is you’re hunting. For example, if you are using slugs as ammunition for your Remington 870 and you go out trying to shoot flying ducks with it, then you’re likely going to have a difficult time hitting them. You would need shotshells with pellets in them, like birdshot in order to increase your chances of hitting the ducks because the pellets will spread within a wider radius when they leave the barrel of the gun. Now if you wanted to hunt a bigger animal like deer, then slugs might be more appropriate because you need more precise ammo with more stopping power. Slugs will likely kill the deer upon impact whereas pellets would just cause the deer to suffer in pain. This is what makes the Remington 870 so great because it allows you to use different chokes to control the spread of your shots and different ammunition for the animal you’re hunting. You could literally hunt any type of animal with the Remington 870. Just make sure it is legal to hunt the animal you’re going after in your particular location. Vitaly Pedchenko, owner of the Rem870.com – blog and forum about Remington 870 shotgun. Competitive shooter and gun enthusiast. Author of the “Complete Remington 870 Guide” ebook. Thu, 16 Feb 2017 02:12:55 GMT https://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=94 I've been toying with getting more mileage from my .375 H&H rifle. While I have developed some good hunting loads with several different conventional bullets, I wanted a cheaper, reduced recoil load that I could use for both hunting deer or just having fun at the range. Casting my own bullets was an obvious starting point as they work out at a fraction of the cost of conventional commercial bullets. After significant development, I have finally settled on the following load: Projectile: Cast from wheel weights plus 2% tin. Molded in a Lyman 375449 Mold and water quenched then aged for 3 months (not sure if ageing makes any difference). Lubricated with Lyman Orange Magic lube and using a Hornady gas-check. Powder: 50.0 grains AR2206H (identical to H4895) Primer: CCI magnum Case: Winchester C.O.L: 88.5mm Averaged Velocity: 2133 fps Accuracy: shoots 1MOA consistently - a nice load! This load shoots exactly 3.0MOA lower than my normal hunting load using conventional bullets. No sign of leading in my rifle at all. This load feels about the same as a 180 grain .3006. Yet to try this load on deer but I intend to once the weather improves. Also developed a subsonic load for the .375 H&H. This load comprises: Projectile: Cast from 100% lead. Molded in a Lyman 375449 Mold and air cooled only. The aim is to achieve a soft projectile. Lubricated with Lyman Orange Magic lube and using a Hornady gas-check. Powder: 13.0 grains Trailboss Primer: CCI magnum Case: Winchester C.O.L: 88.5mm Averaged Velocity: 1033 fps Accuracy: shoots 1.5 MOA Using a Gunworks Maximus supressor, this load makes the same amount of noise as a .22LR subsonic round fired with a suppressor. I'm yet to try this load on game. Shoots clean with no sign of leading in my rifle. This round drops 14MOA compared to my conventional hunting loads, however, there is no deviation left and right. While developing this load I tried a range of Trailboss powder weights from 25.0 grains to 11.0 grains using the same 100% lead projectile, case, primer, lube, and C.O.L. I recorded velocities for loads less than 19.0 grains Trailboss. Average velocities were: 19.0 grains Trailboss - average velocity of 1277 fps Group approx 6MOA 18.0 grains Trailboss - average velocity of 1230 fps Group approx 2.5MOA 17.0 grains Trailboss - average velocity of 1227 fps Group approx 6MOA 16.0 grains Trailboss - average velocity of 1171 fps Group approx 6MOA 15.0 grains Trailboss - average velocity of 1128 fps Group approx 6MOA 14.0 grains Trailboss - average velocity of 1073 fps Group approx 6MOA 13.0 grains Trailboss - average velocity of 1033 fps Group approx 1.5MOA 12.0 grains Trailboss - average velocity of 978 fps Group approx 2.5MOA 11.0 grains trailboss - average velocity of 921 fps Group approx 2.5MOA Groups comprised 3 shots and there seemed to be an improvement in group size at around 13.0 grains Trailboss. All rounds shot cleanly with no sign of instability in my rifle. Next task will be to further refine this load with smaller powder increments between 13.0 - 14.0 grains Trailboss. Wed, 12 Oct 2016 16:34:29 GMT https://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=93 There have been many types of bows throughout their evolutionary history. As simple as they seem, bows have gone through thousands of iterations to become what they are today. Starting thousands of years ago with primitive humans, bows were first made of simple materials but have now evolved to include materials such as carbon fiber and fiberglass. As a visitor to this site you have more than likely shot at least one type of the four currently most popular bows, but have you ever thought about exploring other types of bows? Read on to learn more about your options- maybe you’ll even consider purchasing another bow type after learning a bit more! Longbow Made from a single piece of wood or several laminations, the longbow is a highly primitive yet deceptively effective form of the common bow. This bow has recently seen another surge of popularity. If you haven’t shot a longbow in the past, now is a great time. This type of bow is easy to pick up and is often a secondary bow of choice for archers looking to have a bit of fun with a twist. Importantly, all types of archery competitions in the UK recognize the longbow type (field, flight, clout, target) but only in world archery field and 3D internationally. These types of bows were first known to be used in the early 13th century and do not have the same velocity as the compound or recurve bows. Recurve Bow Historically this type of bow is known for being used by men on horseback and today it is known best for its use in the Olympics. It you take a look at the shape of the bow, you can immediately see where it gets the name “recurve” from. As with all types of bows, the central portion of the bow points away from the archer and the limbs gradually curve backward- but in the recurve bow, the limbs distinctively change direction once more and begin to once again curve away from the archer at the tips. Simple physics tells us that this shape of bow takes some tension off the draw and gives the bow a bit of added power. If you were taught to shoot a bow the old-school way, you may have seen this one as a kid. The modern version of recurve bows are takedown because they consist of three parts and a handle. These parts are referred to as the riser and a pair of limbs. Compound Bow This advanced form of bows makes apparent the iterations that these weapons have been through. Physics has dictated distinctive curvature in order to optimize all aspects of using this bow. Often times you will see metal risers and composite limbs on compound bows and obviously there is a bowstring. The limbs are shorter than the other types of bows and there is a clearly complex pulley system that depends on wheels or cams. These types of bows were first produced in the 1960’s and utilize the complex pulley systems to assist the archer in holding a heavy draw weight even at full draw. Because of this attribute, these bows have deadly accuracy and give the archers additional time to aim without incurring muscle fatigue associated with normal draw weights. Crossbow Crossbows are thought to originally come from China. Upon first glance, crossbows bear resemblance to firearms due to the way they are held and fired. The bows are drawn back by a crank and the string is attached to a trigger mechanism that is locked into place until it is pulled. Crossbows have short ranges and often do not perform to the standards of other types of bows. Performance of this type of bow can be increased with heaver draw weights but the amount of weight required must be disproportionally heavy to perform near the level of a more advanced bow type. Crossbows are the most highly regulated type of bow. Sun, 25 Sep 2016 00:22:30 GMT https://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=92 2014 Utah Mt Goat hunt, Beaver Ut. The story of this hunt started 17 years ago, when my wife chose to apply for a Mountain Goat tag. We knew it would take a long time to draw, but it would be worth it. Each unsuccessful year of drawing gains a "bonus" point that helps increase the odds of drawing. The system is set up to guarantee a person a tag if they put in long enough. I thought she would have a better chance at getting that than Bison or Moose in Utah. As it turned out, this certainly was the right decision! In the spring of 2014, we got the drawing results that stated she finally drew her Mt goat tag for the early season hunt, in the Beaver Utah unit. We immediately started making plans, getting vacation time approved, Googling up gear ideas. We even decided it was finally time to upgrade the old spotting scope I've used for 20 years, I figured it would save us alot of hiking come hunting time to be able to glass canyons from a greater distance. We decided to head down to this mountain range around the 4th of July, to camp and scout a bit. We arrived in the town of Beaver, ready to head up the canyon. We still had over 1/4 tank of fuel in the truck which I decided was enough, but my wife wanted me to stop and fill up. I said we were fine, she said she really thought we should stop, so I decided "ok fine, we'll get gas". At that point we pulled off in a small gas station / mechanic store and started pumping fuel. It was an incredible stroke of luck that we stopped there! A very friendly older man was filling up paper towels and asked where we were going camping, my wife said we were headed up to look for Mt Goats as she drew a fall tag. He stopped and said "That's neat, the guy I work with actually guides for Mt Goats up there". I immediately asked if this guy was around and if we could talk to him. Sure enough, he was there and we had a great time chatting. Sometimes in life you meet people you just "click" with, Kasey Yardley was certainly one of those. He seemed very knowledgeable about goats and had alot of experience hunting them. He talked about taking Karl Malone up for a nice goat, and he took Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner up last year for a nice goat. We continued to chat and I asked him his prices. He quoted me a reasonable "working mans price" and said "We'll go in on horses, have alot of fun and get her (my wife) a nice goat. It will be alot of fun". I said that sounds fantastic. I told him I'd call him later in the week when we got done with our trip and let him know our decision. The road up from Beaver was steep, halfway up we turned off onto a dirt road which was even steeper. It was in good condition, just steep. I used 4x4 low range to drag our camp trailer up it. The main flat everyone camps at is called Big John Flat and is located at 9,950ft elevation. Unfortunately, we didn't know the Forest Service gates off the road at different elevations in the spring to keep trucks from tearing up the muddy roads. As the snow melts off lower elevations and the roads dry, they unlock a gate allowing traffic up to the next gated section. It was July 3rd and the top most gates were still locked because of a few snow drifts that hadn't melted yet, one of which was still 17ft deep. Limited by the few roads up there, we made some short hikes and glassed with the new spotting scope into various valleys and up on ridges. The new spotting scope was just incredible, such a difference over the cheap 20 year old Bushnell spotter that had been dropped or fallen off an ATV more times than I could ever count. We saw many deer, lots of elk but no Mt Goats. Finally on the last day we were camping, we drove up to the locked gate, and hiked up a to a flat spot and glassed again. We were rewarded with a view of 30-40 Mt Goats feeding up the ridge a mile away. Pretty stoked to see goats, knowing we'd be hunting them in a few months. After we returned from the camp, we made the decision to hire Kasey and his group to get us into the goats. Going in on Horses and Mules sounded like a much better deal than trying to do this solo on foot. We called him up and worked out a deal to hunt. There was one hiccup though, we received a letter from the DWR stating they would begin a helicopter transplant a few days before her hunt was to start. They stated they didn't think it would affect the hunt as Billies should be in a different area, as it turned out, the billies did move into different areas but it worked in our favor. As we got close to the season, we finally locked down the day we would hunt and a time to meet up. Sunday morning, we met up with Kasey and his partner, Kurt Wood at 5am, then trailered the horses up to 11,000ft and unloaded. We saddled up and headed up across the mountain tops and enjoyed the rising sun. Beautiful sun rise touching Mt Baldy in the Tusher mountain range. The tops of the Tushar mountains are rolling terrain, with big cliffs dropping off the east sides. Along the top, its relatively easy going terrain that certainly doesn't look like its at 12,000ft! As we were enroute to the spot we were going to hunt, we spotted a herd bedded down ahead of us on the trail. Barely visible in this picture on the right side on the ridge. From a distance of 400-500ish yards we could see 2 billies worth getting a closer look at. We left the horses and circled around a peak to get within 380 yards. Most of the goats were bedded down. From this vantage point it was clear there were 2 +9inch billies worth shooting, as well as a huge 11inch nanny We setup packs as a rest and Heather got setup for a potential shot. As we watched the goats, they laid down and continued to sleep. After 30 minutes we decided to move closer and carefully made our way down to within 340 yards. A better look at the two shooter billys, in the center. From here, we continued to watch the goats... for another hour. All the while my wife laid prone looking through her rifle scope. She got pretty numb being in that uncomfortable position for so long. Eventually the bigger billy shifted position exposing the vitals and we decided to let her try a shot. Unfortunately, fatigue had taken its toll and her shot was just low on the goat. The herd quickly reacted by jumping up and wandering uphill over the ridge. They didn't really understand what the sound was, so they seemed to calm down as they moved up and out of sight. Kurt felt they wouldn't go very far and we could quickly move up and intercept them. As we moved up and crested the ridge, there was a "wall" of rocks that hid our approach allowing us to get within 240 yards of the goats who were then feeding in front of us. Kurt quickly got his spotting scope set up and tried to identify the bigger billies which was hard to do as they were feeding away from our position. It became quickly apparent the bigger goat on the right was one of the two "shooter" sized billies. With the distance widening quickly, we got Heather set up on the rocks as a solid rest and waited for a clear shot. With only moments to try and get a shot off as they moved away from us, this billy on the right seemed to be the best choice for a shot. Total stud goat, all fluffed up and looking really buff. What a bruiser with the big neck hump. Finally he was clear of the other goats, and stopped quartering slightly away. This picture is only a few seconds from my wife's shot, it hit perfectly with a 165grn Nosler Partition right through the lungs. The goat reared up with the shot then took off, running out of sight to the left. We gave it a short time to expire as we waited for Casey to bring up the horses. He arrived, a bit worried that there was a big cliff just past where we last saw the goat. We hurried up and looked over the edge of the steep hillside. The remainder of the herd was scrambling out the bottom, nothing appeared hit and it seemed to be a few missing. We split up on the ridge and started looking for blood, I moved west, Heather and Casey went east. Kurt and the boys were behind us still. I worked my way a little further down the ridge to see better when suddenly 50 yards past me some rather large rocks went tumbling down the hillside. I quickly moved over and saw the head of the billy swinging around. Crud! It was still kicking a bit and sliding down the steep hillside. I carefully moved as fast as I could back over to where Heather and Casey had gone and finally found them, a big waving of arms got them headed my way. I stayed higher on the ridge to give them room to move up on it, took a picture as it laid there, tail still flipping around. With the goat potentially able to slip further down the steep hillside, they decided to put one more anchoring shot into it. Done deal! After that they moved up and verified it was done. Big smiles all around! It was pretty treacherous where the goat came to a rest, we were all slipping and sliding in the rocks on the steep slope. But everyone was pretty thrilled with the harvest. Smile says it all, very happy with this billy. They aged it at over 6 years and +9 inch horns. A very nice trophy. Posing and picture time. We got him up on this rock and shot a bunch of different pictures. Picture doesn't show it but we were all hanging onto the side of it to keep it upright. It had nice hair for as early of a hunt as it was, they would put on more over the next month but we were thrilled with how well his cape looked. Nice beard and "chaps" down the legs. Never realized how bushy of a tail they have either. Me, our boy Tate and Heather: Smiles all around! Kurt, Tate, Kason and Heather. Kurt Wood, Kasey Yardley and Heather. Great bunch of guys, very fun to hunt with. My favorite picture, goat looks really bushy and the thick horns really stand out. Picture looking across the canyon we were on. The purple cliffs on the left edge is where Karl Malones goat tumbled down. I am so happy this one didn't take a similar tumble. Top of the world. Not many places you can hunt Mt Goats from a Horse. Its a very unique and cool mountain range. Google earth showed we were at 11,800 ft where the goat was killed, We were only 400ft from the top of the highest peak in the range. Trail ride back. My boy Tate. Me on a Mule. Kasey, Kason and Kurt. Made it one heck of a fun hunt. I think I know what the family Christmas card will be this year Fri, 12 Sep 2014 22:46:43 GMT https://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=91 In the process of researching a new scope selection, I investigated the bullet drop compensation (BDC) reticles I found in scopes that I could afford to purchase. I saw no clear choice for my application. Each manufacturer’s BDC set-ups had advantages and disadvantages. Here is an overview of the different reticles I looked at in alphabetical order with Mil-Dot at the end. Burris has a Ballistic PlexTM and a Ballistic Mil-DotTM Reticle. They both have similar BDC tics on the lower portion of the reticle but the latter gives you the advantages of Mil-Dots on the upper and horizontal cross-hairs. The Ballistic Mil-DotTM is only offered on higher power scopes, 4-16X and above and 14x is used for the BDC reference. There is no wind compensation integrated with the Burris reticles. The Ballistic PlexTM crosshairs are designed for a 100-yard zero for standard calibers and 200 yards for flatter shooting calibers. The Ballistic Mil-DotTM crosshairs are designed for a 100-yard zero and intended for flat shooting calibers. Burris has a wealth of information on their website but it is hard to find. Try the web address below to download Burris’ BDC files. With a Ballistic PlexTM and 100-yard zero, my .308 would be 2 to 3 inches high beyond 300 yards. Using a 200-yard zero, the ballistic match had even more disparity between this BDC reticle and my .308 rifle’s trajectory. DOA Bushnell has introduced a BDC reticle called DOATM, Dead On AccurateTM. It is designed to be sighted in at 100 yards with aiming references out to 600 yards and is referenced to the scope’s maximum power setting except for their 4.5-30x scopes which are referenced to 20x. Heat mirage affects could be an issue on hot days with the 2.5-16x and 4.5-30x models. Scope power can only be decreased to tune to your ballistics if your rifle doesn’t shoot as flat as Bushnell’s BDC settings except for the 4.5-30x models. The DOATM reticle is unique in that it provides range estimating by references 18” or 24” wide marks to the ears tips of a whitetail or mule deer, respectfully. Deer in Southern States typically have an ear tip to ear tip spread of around 13 inches. To get the DOA’s range estimating technique to work, you have to be looking at a large deer and get the deer to look in your direction. This isn’t the case for other BDC reticles that provide range estimates based on the height of a deer’s chest cavity. The best application of these spread marks is to reference antler size when the deer is at a known range. The DOATM crosshair reference points use a 1 MOA filled-in circle, 4 times the size of a typical crosshair. There is no wind compensation designed into this scope other than what you can derive from the 9” and 12” reference marks each side of the vertical crosshair. Using a 100-yard zero with my .308 rifle’s trajectory and magnification set at 13.5x for the 2.5-16x scope, the ballistic impacts were on at 200 and 300 yards, an inch high at 400, then much higher at longer ranges by 4 to 10 inches. I found this to be the case with other calibers using boat-tail bullets. The only close ballistic matches I found to this reticle at longer ranges were with flat-based bullets, e.g., Remington’s .243 100gr Core-Lokt and Federal’s.270 130gr Soft Point, .270 150gr Soft Point Round Nose, or .30-06 150gr Soft Points. These are not bullets I would use for long range hunting. Cabela’s Alaskan Guide Rangefinder BDC scopes have the quickest range estimation to shot down-range that you can find. You don’t have to twist any knobs, take your eyes off your target, or take your rifle off your shoulder to read a dial. The reticle grows and shrinks with magnification, like a European-style scope, so range estimation and BDC work at any magnification setting. This means there is no capability to change magnification to tune the BDC reticle for your rifles performance. The advantage of this set-up is simplicity, e.g., you don’t have to remember to set a magnification to get the correct BDC or worry that it might get bumped off your setting. There are no thick posts to help with low-light situations. The scope is intended for a 200 yard zero with 8 inches of trajectory drop at 300 yards, 23 inches at 400, and 44 inches at 500, typical of .30-06-like performance with boat-tail bullets. The only tuning you can do to match your rifle’s performance is to sight your rifle in slightly high or low at 200 yards to better fit the trajectory drop marks at longer ranges. You can also do simple windage estimation because the centerline circles allow you to project a 9-inch cone either side of the center crosshair at any range. If this BDC reticle closely matches your rifle’s performance, like it did my .308 and the .30-06 factory ammo I checked, it is a good option to consider. Cabela’s new EXT Reticle was recently introduced on their Pine Ridge and Alpha Series scopes. Unlike Cabela’s Alaskan Guide Rangefinder (above), it is intended to be sighted in at 100 yards. You can also tune the EXT Reticle to your rifles trajectory by lowering magnification if your rifle doesn’t shoot as flat as the EXT Reticle’s ballistic compensation or increasing magnification if your rifle does shoot a flatter trajectory (up to 20%). On their Alpha Series 3-12x scope, the EXT Reticle is referenced to 10x for rifles with .30-06 or similar performance. The directions do not provide any MOA values so I set the scope up in a vise, viewed a point target at about 100 yards to eliminate parallax, and used the elevation turret to click off the distance between BDC marks. The ballistic drop for each BDC reference at 10x measured as follows; 200 yard-tic, 3”/1.5 MOA; 300, 11.3”/3.75; 400, 25”/6.25; and 500 yard, 46”/9.25 MOA. Again, increasing magnification above 10x reduces these values proportionally and reducing the power setting increases these values proportionally. Horizontal BDC crosshairs are 3 MOA wide at 10x except for the wider 300 yard reference which is 8 MOA. This equates to 24 inches wide, 12 inches either side of the crosshair at 300 yards at 10x. For my .308 with the 3-12x scope, the ballistic match was right on at all ranges with the magnification set at 9x. I verified this with shots at 100 and 300 yards. Based on factory data, 9x was also a good power setting for.30-06 ammo with 150 gr boat-tails. My .270 Win with 150 gr Berger VLD bullets had a good ballistic match with the power set at 10.8x. This scope provides an affordable and effective BDC solution. This can also be used to measure rack size. Using the crosshair on top of the back of a deer, you can get a range estimate using the BDC marks referenced to the bottom of the chest. Nikon’s BDC reticle uses a series of circles for aim points sized to be 2 inches at 100 yards or 2 MOA, i.e., 4 inches at 200 yards, 6 inches at 300 yards, etc. There is no wind compensation integrated with their BDC reticle. The reticle is designed for a 100-yard zero for standard calibers and 200 yards for flatter shooting calibers. The top and bottom of the aiming circles can be used for intermediate ranges. With a 100 yard zero, if you rifle shoots flatter than the reticle’s trajectory compensation, then you can either compensate for point of impact being high or sight in for 200 yards and turn down the magnification to tune the scope to your rifle’s trajectory curve. As an example with my .308, the downrange impacts would be 1 to 2½ inches high with 100 yard zero (this would be considered adequate for most hunting situations). I could sight in for 200 yards and get a good trajectory match with a 3-9x scope set on 7.6x magnification. If I want to shoot at 9x with a 200-yard zero, I would have to define specific ranges for each circle. Example, the first 1st circle would be on target at 285 yards, the 2nd circle would be on at 375 yards, etc. http://www.nikonhunting.com/en/Nikon-Products/Scopes Leupold has a capable set-up with range estimation and wind compensation available on their VX-III scopes. Range estimation is accomplished by adjusting magnification until the animal’s chest fills the crosshairs up to the tip of the top thick post then reading the range in hundreds of yards on the other side of the power ring. Range estimation assumes an 18-inch chest depth. Wind compensation on their Boone & CrockettTM Reticle is for a 10 mph crosswind component. Depending on the performance of your rifle, zero ranges are designed to be 200 or 300 yards with some calibers requiring a lower power setting for accurate trajectory matching which is marked by a small triangle at 8x on their 3.5-10x and 11.2x on their 4.5-14x scopes. You can fine tune the BDC reticle to your rifles performance by adjusting the magnification to provide proportionally more or less bullet drop. In the case of my .308 and their 3.5-10x scope with a 200 yard zero, the BDC reticle would be tuned with the scope set on 8.8 magnification. Specific reticle details regarding calipers, bullet velocities, and MOA of reticle markings can be downloaded from the Leupold’s website, file name “Leupold Ballistics Reticle Supplement” (see link below). The Leupold VX-III scopes have less range of magnification than other manufactures, e.g., 3.5-10x vs 3-12x, 4.5-14x vs 4-16x. Leupold’s 4.5-14x is nice at the higher power settings but if you read the specification, their 4.5 is really a 5x magnification (4.9x). EBX Weaver is entering the market with a BDC reticle (Fall 2009). Their EBX reticle is offered on their Super SlamTM scopes which have a 5:1 magnification capability, e.g., 2-10x, 3-15x, and 4-20x. The EBX provides wind compensation for a 10 mph crosswind component. You should be able to fine tune the EBX reticle to your rifles performance by adjusting the magnification to provide proportionally more bullet drop if your rifle doesn’t shoot as flat as Weaver’s BDC. Preliminary plans are to reference the EBX reticle at full power. If your rifle shoots flatter you will have to use different ranges, e.g., .270 Win 110gr bullets would be 200 yards, 330, 455, and 570 yards (use link below for your specific caliber). In the case of my .308 and their 3-15x scope with a 200 yard zero, the BDC reticle would be tuned with the scope set on 13.5x magnification. If Weaver goes into production with the EBX reticle referenced to full power, then there is the possibility heat mirage affects could be an issue on hot days with the 3-15x and 4-20x models. If Weaver references the EBX reticle on these two models to a power setting less than 15x and 20x, then these models will have the capability to be tuned to for flatter shooting rifles. http://www.weaveroptics.com/resources/ebx/ The Mil-Dot reticle is a standard for almost every manufacturer and has a center crosshair with dots spaced one milli-radian apart, the equivalent of 3.6 MOA or 3.6 inches at 100 yards. The dots are typically 0.2 mils in diameter. A Mil-Dot scope can do it all; range estimation, BDC, and windage. However, it takes some calculation and memorization of what range each mil-dot represents. Some shooters affix a ballistic reference card to their rifle stock. Range estimates for a deer or antelope sized target, assuming an 18-inch chest, are 5 mils for a deer at 100 yards, 2.5 mils for 200 yards, 1.7 for 300, 1.25 for 400, and 1.0 mil for 500 yards. Military sniper scopes of the recent past have been 10x which has become a standard reference for many variable power Mil-Dot scopes but not all. Thus, check to make sure what magnification power the Mil-Dot reticle is reference to. Some manufacturers will use the scopes maximum power. You can search the web and find abundant information on how to use a Mil-Dot scope. http://www.eabco.com/Reports/MildotRep01.htm http://www.mil-dot.com/ It turns out that a Mil-Dot reticle can be an effective BDC reticule if your muzzle velocity is around 3000 fps and your bullet's BC is near 0.5. The link below takes you to a thread with an excel spreadsheet that can you can use to tune a mil-dot reticle to your firearm out to and beyond 500 yards along with lessons learned trying to shoot at these distances. Bullet Drop Compensation w/ Mil-Dot Reticles: an Alternative Closing There is an aspect of BDC reticles that I didn’t realize before I bought my Mil-Dot scope. You can usually reduce magnification to provide increase trajectory drop, but if your rifle shoots flatter, there is typically not an option to increase magnification to reduce trajectory drop because most of the BDC settings are already designed for a scope’s highest power settings. Your option is to sight in at a longer range like 200 or 300 yards and or learn to compensate for your bullets impacts being high at each range tic. As it turns out, a Mil-Dot reticle is best for my application because my .270 Winchester load, using Barnes’ 110 gr TTSX copper banded bullets with their higher velocity, shoots flatter than the BDC reticles I considered. The only BDC scope that would have come close to matching my rifles performance was the Burris Ballistic Mil-DotTM but at the longer ranges my impacts were still high. If you rifle is a flat shooter, I would suggest doing some homework to see how well the BDC scope you intend on buying can be matched to your rifle’s performance. This may also be important with standard calibers because each BDC reticle is different. The link below takes you to a thread that includes an Excel worksheet that allows you to compare trajectories for the different BDC reticles and determine what magnification setting best tunes to your rifle’s performance. If you fine tune a BDC to your rifle’s performance by reducing the scopes magnification, you will most likely need to mark that power setting in some manner as a reference. The examples of BDC tuning to my .308 in the paragraphs above were done referencing ballistic trajectory tables and the fore mentioned Excel spreadsheet. In all cases, verification of your rifle’s performance needs to be accomplished with shots downrange. Remember, there is no substitute for practice!!! Scopes with BDC Reticles for Centerfire Rifles Wed, 07 May 2014 00:57:55 GMT https://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=90 Paper cartridges for muzzle loaders by Mike Hines When I started doing Civil War reenactments in 1981 the first thing I learned was to make paper cartridges for my reproduction 1853 Enfield. Over time I experimented some and found a method that has worked well for me. “Rolling” a live cartridge is slightly different than making up a blank one so I’ll explain both methods. My tools for rolling paper cartridges consist of a brass tube with a plastic funnel glued into one end and wooden dowel that will slide inside the brass tube. For a .58 or .69 caliber cartridge I use a 0.5” diameter brass tube. I want the cartridge to fit inside the muzzle for easy pouring. For a smaller cartridge I’d use a smaller tube, maybe a 0.375” diameter tube for a .45 caliber. An easy way to cut the paper is suggested, I use an X-Acto cutting board. The original Civil War paper cartridges consisted of five parts: the bullet, the powder, a paper powder tube, a paper wrapper and a piece of thread to tie off the end of the cartridge. The powder tube was made of a heavy paper; card stock seems to work well. The wrapper needs to be sturdy enough to endure moderate handling but weak enough to be easily torn using the teeth. Newsprint paper works well. You might have to do some experimenting to determine what size to cut your paper for the powder tube. You want the tube to hold your powder charge with just a little room to spare. For the 60 grain charge (by volume) used in the .58 caliber I found that a 2” by 2.5” rectangle would work. I marked my brass tube with a permanent marker 1.5” from the end so I’d have a powder tube that tall. The standard wrapper for the .58 caliber cartridge is a trapezoid shape with base measuring 4.33”, the short side measuring 3.0” and the long side measuring 5.25”. The long side runs the length of the cartridge and the pointed end will be the part you tie off. I again marked my brass tube 4” from the end to show the correct position for the wrapper. Now to get to rolling… Place the piece of card stock for the powder tube in position on the brass tube and roll it around the brass. Fold the seam across the opening of the brass and then fold the rest of the paper in to close the end. Use the wooden dowel to push down through the brass to help secure this fold. Position the bullet at the closed end of the powder tube and wrap them both with the outer wrapper. Twist the exposed end to conform to the shape of the nose of the bullet. You can stand this on the funnel end of the brass tube while you tie the pointed end off with a piece of strong thread. Invert the brass tube and pour your pre-measured powder charge into the cartridge through the funnel. Slide the cartridge off of the brass tube, nose down of course! Flatten the wrapper tube from the end to just above the powder tube. Fold this flat across the mouth of the powder tube and then up the side of the cartridge. Some like to fold this tail in half lengthwise, or even into thirds, to provide a better grip for your teeth when opening it. For a blank cartridge I dispense with the powder tube, and obviously the bullet! I cut a 4” square of newsprint and wrap it around the brass tube, leaving about 0.5” hanging off the end. Fold this as you do with the powder tube to close the end. Dump the pre-measured powder into the funnel. For .58 caliber blanks I use 30 grains of powder, all you need is the bang and some smoke. For .69 caliber I have to step up to 50 grains to get reliable ignition. Apparently the smaller charge can lie beneath the path of the spark in the larger bore. Slide the cartridge off of the tube and fold the tail as before, a little above the level of the powder. Note that the cartridge paper is discarded and NEVER placed in the bore for reenactments! To use the cartridge you hold it in the right hand with the bullet down. Grip the cartridge so you control the powder tube and push the tail up for easy access. Grip the tail in your teeth and tear it off, exposing the open end of the powder tube. Spit the tail out, unless you like chewing newsprint. Dump the powder into the muzzle of the gun. Break or tear the wrapper again to remove the powder tube. This can sometimes be done by striking the muzzle with the tube, right behind the base of the bullet. You should now have just the wrapped bullet in your hand. Squeeze the bullet out of the wrapper into the muzzle, discard the rest of the wrapper and ram it home. A really accomplished shooter is said to be able to fire three rounds per minute. Really makes you appreciate metallic cartridges, doesn’t it! Mon, 30 Dec 2013 16:53:00 GMT https://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=89 PACT High Speed Digital Precision Powder Dispenser by Mike Hines (originally written in 2005) Whenever I make up loads that will be near maximum pressure for hunting, or that require extra precision for matches or varmints, I like to weigh every powder charge. The spherical and flake powders generally meter very well, so all I need to do is throw the charge with my old RCBS powder measure and stick it on the scale to verify the weight. However, I never seemed to have much luck doing that with the extruded powders that I’ve been using in some rifles. Charge weights varied too much around what I wanted. My procedure for those powders has been to throw a charge a little lighter than I want, place it on the scale and trickle the rest of the charge in with a manual trickler. I get good accuracy like that but it’s time consuming. And I’m already pretty slow when loading! I’ve been using a PACT electronic scale to weigh my powder charges for quite a while. It is just as accurate as my old RCBS beam scale, and it sure is faster and easier to use! The scale has an infrared communications port built into it, but I’d never tried to use it. I knew that there were some electronic powder dispensers around, but my impression was that they were very slow. Then I read about the new PACT “high speed” dispenser that worked with their digital scale using the infrared port. This unit has two speeds. It uses the high speed to dispense most of the charge and then switches to low speed to trickle in the last bit. Midway had the dispenser on sale at the time I started looking. Since I was getting ready to test some more hunting loads I bought one to see if it would speed up my loading process. When you look into the bottom of the powder hopper on the PACT you’ll see that it has two feeding tubes to get the powder to the scale pan. One is the high speed, high volume feed and the other is the “trickler”. The key pad has the regular numeric keys plus keys for “ENTER”, “RESET”, “CALIBRATE” and “DISPENSE”. There are four LED indicators for “Scale”, “Calibrate”, “Memory” and “Dispense”. The powder hopper holds a pound of powder and has a baffle built in. The use and orientation of the baffle is important to proper operation. Setting up the dispenser was a breeze. There are only three pages of instructions which I highly recommend that you READ! Part of these is how to activate the scale’s infrared transmitter and establish communication with the dispenser. You have to place the scale under the dispenser to line up the infrared ports on both devices. The “Scale” LED will be on solid when the scale and dispenser are communicating. Make sure you have a pan on the scale before you push any buttons so you won’t make a mess. The dispenser must then be calibrated for the powder you are using. Apparently there are some “smarts” built into it that constantly adjust to optimize the feed rate. To calibrate you just fill the hopper with the powder you are using and hit the “CALIBRATE” button. One thing I always do, and did here, too, is to tap the hopper with something, a screw driver or wrench, to settle the powder a bit before I start trying to measure. The “Calibrate” LED will blink while the unit runs its routine. The dispenser runs around 150 grains of powder into the pan in spurts for about 2 minutes. The exact amount isn’t important. The dispenser is learning what speed to spit out powder to get to the desired weight as fast as it can. When the calibration is finished the “Calibration” LED will be on solid. Once the calibration is complete operation is equally easy. Simply punch in the charge weight you want using the numeric key pad and hit the “ENTER” key to store it. Don’t forget to use the decimal point key! The “Memory” LED lights when you have a weight stored. When you are ready to throw a charge you just hit the “DISPENSE” key. The “Dispense” LED will start blinking and the dispenser spits out the requested amount of powder pretty quickly. If the charge comes up short you can press the “DISPENSE” key again to trickle a little more in. The time varies some between charges as the dispenser corrects itself on each cycle. I set the charge weight to 50.0 grains of H4831SC and tried ten cycles. The average time was 25.0 seconds with a high of 34.6 and a low of 16.3. I loaded twenty .260 Remington cartridges to get used to using the PACT. I noticed that a few charges came up 0.1 grain short. The instructions say that the dispenser tries to never throw an overcharge. However, a couple of times it overshot by up to 0.3 grains. When that happened the next charge would dispense more slowly. It seemed to me that the tuning could be a little too tight, causing it to occasionally overshoot the corrections. I called PACT to ask about that and they said that that was just the way it worked. However, I knew that I wasn’t talking to one of the “high tech” folks there. The dispenser comes with a certificate for a free software upgrade so I might get to use it for this. To compare the new dispenser with my old method I loaded up some .260 Remington cartridges using H4831SC powder under a Hornady 140 grain SST bullet. The charge weight was around 45 grains. The PACT was set to give me the exact weight. The RCBS thrower was set to throw about 0.5 grain less than the desired charge, according to my usual practice, with the rest of the powder being trickled in by hand. I timed how long it took me to load ten cartridges by each method. The cases for the comparison were prepped and ready for the powder and bullet. I threw a weighed charge and then seated a bullet before going to the next cartridge. I took my time, as you always should when loading. Using the RCBS and the manual trickler it took me 17.4 minutes to load ten cartridges. Using the dispenser I was able to seat a bullet while it measured the next charge so the time was 10.3 minutes, including one “re-throw” that went over weight. I had to use the “trickle” feature a couple of times to bring the charge up to full weight. The PACT instructions mention that, for large powder charges, you can throw most of the charge with a manual measure and then use the PACT to finish it up. That method could speed up loading the really big cartridges. Emptying and cleaning the PACT was a bit more difficult than with the RCBS. Even after you dump the powder back into its original container you need to shake any remaining powder out of the feed tubes. I pulled the powder hopper off to make sure that the tubes and baffle weren’t holding any residual powder. Some compressed air might save some time here. For now I’m using a small paint brush with long bristles to make sure there is no powder left in the dispenser. I found that I like the convenience of using the dispenser. I’ll admit that the overshooting issue worries me some though. I think what I’ll do for now is to set the dispenser to throw a charge 0.1 grain low then use the “DISPENSE” button to trickle in the last tenth when I need to. Being able to throw a charge in one case while seating a bullet in another sure is a time saver! Since the timed test I’ve loaded some other cartridges using both extruded and spherical powders and was very pleased with the PACT. I don’t know if the dispenser will work with other brands of scales. If you don’t have the electronic scale, PACT or one of its distributors sells a kit with both scale and dispenser included. Mon, 30 Dec 2013 16:52:52 GMT https://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=88 Remington 700 CDL in .35 Whelen by Mike Hines In my continuing effort to plug perceived gaps in my gun collection (at least that’s the excuse I tried on my wife) I had decided to get a “medium bore” hunting rifle. Obviously “medium bore” is a relative term but I use it as John “Pondoro” Taylor defines it in “African Rifles and Cartridges”, that is “A rifle the caliber of which is not less than .318” nor greater than .375”. (See note below.) Possible uses (maybe I should say hopeful!) include elk and bear hunting. A couple of obvious choices in this range of cartridges are the .375 H&H Magnum and .338 Winchester Magnum. But I wanted something a little different. I wasn’t as interesting in earth-shattering energy as I was in just a bigger, heavier bullet at “standard” velocities. I started looking hard at the .338-06 and .35 Whelen. These cartridges would give me the bigger bullet I wanted without belting me out from under my hat with recoil. The .338-06 would pretty much have to be a custom job while there were a few commercial .35 Whelens around. The .338 caliber seemed to have a better variety of premium bullets available though. Decisions, decisions… While at a gun show a couple years ago I saw a new Remington 700 CDL chambered in .35 Whelen. I liked the looks and feel of the rifle and, after wandering around deliberating for a while, I bought it for $600. A local gun shop sold me a Burris Fullfield 2 scope, 3-to-9X with the “Ballistic Plex” reticle. Hornady dies, as well as brass and bullets were ordered from Midway. The Remington 700 hardly needs any description. It is one of the best known bolt action rifles around. The CDL, or Classic Deluxe, has a satin finished walnut stock with a black fore-end tip and grip cap. I very much prefer this stock finish to the shiny one seen on some Remington guns. The 24 inch barrel also has a satin finish. The barrel twist is 1 turn in 16”. There is a two position safety, back is “SAFE” and forward is “FIRE”. This rifle has Remington’s new R3 recoil pad, designed to reduce felt recoil. Overall length is 44.5” and, with the scope mounted in Leupold rings, it weighs just less than 8 pounds. The .35 Whelen cartridge is simply the .30-06 case necked up to accept .358” bullets. It was developed by James Howe in 1922 and named after Col. Townsend Whelen. The intent was to create a sort of “poor man’s” .375 H&H Magnum, a classic African cartridge, for use on large American game. I’ve read a couple articles detailing its use in Africa too. Remington finally made it a commercial cartridge in 1988. Although the .35 Whelen performance falls short of matching that of the .375 H&H it is a step up from the .30-06 and is in the ball park with the .300 Winchester Magnum. Rifle bullet weights in .358” start at 180 grains and go on up to 310 grains. When looking around before buying the rifle I had overlooked the premium bullets from Swift and Woodleigh so that concern was covered. One interesting aspect of the .35 Whelen is that you can use .357” handgun bullets to make plinking loads. The Speer #13 reloading manual lists loads using the 158 grain .357 bullets that produce around 2000 feet/sec. These could be used for practice or maybe varmints. However, the slow twist that makes this possible might prevent me from using the heavier bullets in this caliber. Manipulating the Greenhill formula for calculating twist I come up with a “suggested” bullet length of around 1.2”. Velocities over 2000 ft/sec allow you to use a slightly slower twist. The Hornady 250 grain spire point bullets I have measure 1.26” long. Swift Bullets lists a 280 grain A-Frame as 1.345”. One of these days I might give them a try. For my first loads I chose the Hornady 200 grain jacketed spire point bullets to use for whitetails. After looking in several loading manuals I saw that the fastest load used Hodgdon BL-C(2) powder, which I had on hand. Federal 215 primers would light off my first test loads. As usual I started with cases that were resized full length and trimmed to length. The powder charges were kept below maximum loads from the manual. I was wondering what the recoil would be like so, before sighting it in, I fired a few rounds from the rifle to get a feel for it. I immediately noticed two things. First, this 700 had a terribly heavy trigger. I later measured it at about 8.75 pounds. It broke cleanly but was way too heavy for practical use. Second, that R3 recoil pad really worked! Felt recoil was quite manageable; maybe even less than my .280, which has a thinner rubber recoil pad. The scope had been bore sighted using the proper tools at the shop where I bought it. This put the point of impact about a foot low and foot right at 100 yards. (Remember that if you think that bore sighting is “good enough” for hunting.) As I zeroed the rifle I also used a Chrony chronograph to check the velocity of my load. After I got the rifle zeroed I fired one 3 shot group to try to check the accuracy. I didn’t have high hopes for accuracy given the trigger situation. I ended up chronographing eight rounds using the 200 grain bullets over BL-C(2). Actually I had chronoed more but I fat-fingered something on the printer and erased the other velocities. Anyway… The average velocity was 2638 fps with a standard deviation of 26.4 fps. Best of all, my last three shot group at 100 yards measured 0.8”! Considering the heavy trigger pull I was pretty pleased! The ol’ PointBlank software was put to use once again. I used it to calculate the recoil energy at 27 ftlbs and recoil velocity at 14.9 fps. For comparison a “standard” .30-06 load with a 150 grain bullet would have 19.9 ftlbs of recoil energy and a recoil velocity of 12.8 fps in the same weight rifle. A .375 H&H with a 300 grain bullet would be more like 50 ftlbs of energy and 20.2 fps velocity. This particular .35 Whelen load generates 3090 ftlbs of muzzle energy. Remember that this load is below maximum and the max load would be closer to 3500 ftlbs. The .30-06 would have 2700 ftlbs of energy at the muzzle while the .375 H&H shows 4500 ftlbs at the muzzle. If you compare book velocities with the same weight bullet, 200 grains, they look something like this: .30-06 – 2550 fps, .300 Win Mag – 2850 fps, .35 Whelen – 2800 fps. All in all I’m pretty pleased with this addition to the family. It is well balanced and just feels good in my hands. It’s a good looking rifle too. The R3 recoil pad sure works as advertised. The trigger has been replaced with one from Timney. The .35 Whelen cartridge has plenty of power and I was somewhat surprised by its accuracy. This rifle should get its turn in the woods this fall. Wonder if any of those Smokey Mountain elk could wander over this way… Note: John Taylor was an African hunter and writer. He wrote about cartridges ranging from the .22 rim fires to the .600 Nitro Express. He defined cartridge classes as follows: Large bore – A rifle the caliber of which is not less than .450”. Large Medium bore - A rifle the caliber of which is not less than .400” nor greater than .440”. Medium bore - A rifle the caliber of which is not less than .318” nor greater than .375”. Small bore - A rifle the caliber of which is less than .318”. Miniature – A rifle the muzzle energy of which is less than 1,500 foot pounds. Magnum – A rifle the muzzle velocity of which is not less than 2,500 feet per second. Mon, 30 Dec 2013 16:52:41 GMT https://www.huntingnut.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=87 Essential information for new handloaders! by Mike Hines I seem to see the same kind of question over and over again in the online forums that are about reloading your own ammunition. “I just started reloading for my .373 Wiffenpoofer rifle and need to know what load to use …” Every time I see it I cringe a little. I have one simple answer to all these questions; READ A MANUAL!! There is nothing wrong with asking for information on favorite loads or for suggestions for better loads but every handloader should have a hand loading manual with the basic information readily available on his bench. Every bullet and powder maker has this information available. Most experienced handloaders have a favorite manual or two but all of them contain valuable information. My first suggestion to anyone wishing to start loading their own ammunition is to just pick a reloading manual and spend some time studying it. There are plenty of them out there and all have recommended powders and suggested starting loads for any number of cartridges. You just have to take the time to read the information. When Billy Bob Reloader on the internet says a load is safe that doesn't mean that it really is. Double check the load against what the bullet and powder manufacturers recommend. Trying to gain a few feet per second at the possible expense of safety just isn't worth it. Over the years I’ve seen and heard several people say that they didn’t need a book because someone had showed them all about loading their own cartridges. When I first started loading I had a “mentor” who was teaching me the ropes. I also bought a couple of books and read them on my own. I soon learned that my “mentor” was downright dangerous in his practices! He proved this by blowing up a cartridge and damaging the weapon. Luckily none of the three of us standing there was hurt by the pieces that went flying around. I’ve kept that case on my loading bench for over 30 years as a reminder to be careful. If you looked on my loading bench you'd see that I keep a number of different reference books handy. Some are full blown manuals, others are little more than brochures. There are more, older manuals stashed on my bookshelves. My personal preference is to use the data from the manufacturer of the bullet I’m using for that particular load. I will also reference the manual from manufacturer of the powder I’m using. If there seems to be a difference I stick with the bullet manufacturer’s recommended load. The manuals that I seem to pull out most often are, in no particular order; "Modern Reloading, Second Edition" by Richard Lee Speer Reloading Manual #14 Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading, Seventh Edition Hodgdon's "Annual Manual" I would also recommend "Handloader" magazine to everyone interested in making your own ammunition. And don't forget that there are many component manufacturers’ websites which also contain reloading data One of my favorite quotes is “Experience is learning from your mistakes. Wisdom is learning from the experiences of others!” An unfortunate fact of reloading is that gaining the initial experience on your own, without good reference material, could lead to damaged equipment or even severe injuries. Why risk that when there are so many good, proven sources of information already available? Mon, 30 Dec 2013 16:52:29 GMT