lancetkenyon

I start my Bergers jammed .005, so I know pressure will go down once I get my load development down. Then play with seating until my 1/2" groups become 1/4" groups and call it good. I have never seen really finicky results with Berger VLDs either, but they do get better if you play with them a bit.

I have killed a couple deer with my .25-06 Ackley. My first was with a Barnes 100 TTSX @ 488 yards quartering on sharply. At the shot, I thought I had missed, as the deer just stood there. No flinch, kick, hunch, run, nothing. I chambered another round and was just starting to squeeze the trigger (about 15-20 seconds had passed since first shot) when he stood straight up on his hind legs and fell over backwards without a kick. The bullet had entered right at the front right shoulder, and exited at the left rear hip. No blood other than from mouth/nose. Good thing he did not go anywhere. I did have some blood shock on the front quarter. The next was with the 115 Berger HVLD. I shot my buck in 2014 at a distance of approximately 150 yards. Strong quartering on. Shot entered right at right side neck/shoulder junction, exited behind left shoulder. Deer went 10' in 2 seconds and piled up without any further movement. Massive blood trail. Not a lot of blood shock. I and others have also shot deer and javelina with a .250 Ackley. Close to ballistics between .257 Roberts and .25-06 Rem. Deer were both broadside and shot between 40 and 150 yards with Barnes 100 XBT and 100 TSX. Deer both ran about 40 yards each and piled up. Not a big blood trail, but enough to follow. Javelina was shot with a 100 SMK. Dropped like a sack of hammers. Shot was from elevated position, and entered top of shoulder, exited in 2 pieces, one at lower shoulder, one at stomach area. Pig was a mess inside. I also shot a coyote at 1327 yards with the 100 SMK. It went down. Not much else to say. I have found the Barnes good for penetration, and dead is dead, so hard to complain. Accuracy was less than other bullets. About 3/4-1MOA out of a sub-half MOA gun when shooting other rounds. Bergers are the most accurate, along with SMKs. They penetrate fine from what I observed, and every rifle I have now shoot one of these two bullets. I think putting the bullet where you want it is priority #1. And Berger and SMKs just go where I point them, every time. Even at long range.

.650 BC for a .308" 170gr. bullet is phenomenal! You don't hit that BC with a Berger until you pass the 210gr. VLD @ .631. The 215gr. Hybrid is just over that @ .696. A 210gr. SMK is only .645 G1 BC, and the 240gr. SMK is only @ .711. Post a photo of the bullet. What is the overall length of the bullet? It has to be at least 1.5-1.6" long, right?

Awesome looking dog. Good luck in finding him. Bump for the morning crowd to keep an eye out.

I have been waiting a long time, and I actually built an "antelope gun" about 11 years ago, thinking I had to be getting close. A .25-06 Ackley. Boy, I had NO IDEA it would take this long to draw a tag. I have used that .25-06 Ackley to take a few nice mulies, so I have no issues with the gun performing. I have made first round hits out past 1350 yards with it. But I am also building a new LR rig as we speak, so it will be out in the field with me as well, if I ever draw a tag. I will continue scouting all spring/summer, and if I do draw a tag, I will double my efforts, and try to get a hit list together. I have an antelope I have watched for over a year, and right now, he is #1 on my list. I found a #2 this past weekend, and I will be trying to get some closer shots of him over the next few months. If some of the guys like Flatlander and SirRoyal (and anyone else who knows goats) don't mind, I would like to send you some photos and let you be the judge.

Here is my take on Coues. I rarely hunt them, but here is what I have found in my limited experience. Coues deer are small compared to mulies. Both in body size and antlers when comparing mature animals. If a Coues looks big, SHOOT IT! 100" is a great mature Coues, while for a muley, that is maybe a 1.5-2.5 year old buck. Touching your thumbs together and making a basket with your fingers, would be a normal Coues, maybe 70+"? Body size, Coues tend to be anywhere from the size of a large German Shepard to 150# for a toad. Mulies start at 150# to 250# for a brute, sometimes even bigger. Look at the home page, on the right hand column under the tabs titled "90-100" "100-110", "110-120", etc. for some great Coues. A range finder is a must for Coues in my opinion. They look so small to me, I almost always over estimate the yardage on them. And good glass is imperative. Without those, it is very hard to judge a Coues. Good luck in 2015. Post up results and scouting reports.

I do not think 12-14 months is outrageous to wait for an animal to return from a taxidermist. I think 3-5 months is amazing, but I wonder if the original cape was used? Not saying it wasn't, just questioning how it was tanned so fast. Awesome if it was. But, 18+ months, and having the work farmed out to another taxidermist is ridiculous. I have only had one bad experience with a taxidermist, and this is not the one. My current taxidermist, Krueger's Creations, is close to my house, reasonably priced, and does fantastic work. He is one of the 12 month wait guys though for a shoulder mount, but worth the wait. He has exhibits at Sportsman's, several museums, and even the Smithsonian. Plus he is a P&Y, B&C & SCI official scorer.

Ahh. Well, then I am sure you know a ton about pronghorn. Thanks again for the info.

Dang....I hope they don't all put in for the unit I want.....

How many with 23 points?

Awesome info, keep it coming! Eli, any relation to Tony Grimmett?

Same here if any sz small pants left after your meeting I may try for my dughter cuz I usually hand her camo she swims in. :] You guys are more than welcome to them. I don't remember how big your daughter is, but if they will fit, they are all yours. Or I could split them up and do half and half. Your guys' call.

Get as low to the ground as possible. Sit on the ground, lower the tripod with legs spread as far as possible, and try not to put up the main shaft extension. Maybe even try to get in behind a tree to help get out of the wind. I was up north this weekend, and it was pretty cold and windy up there too. Even got some snow flurries as we were packing up to leave. We packed for cold weather though, so the only thing cold on me was nose and cheeks.

So my brother and I went up north to start the scouting for antelope this year, as I think I have a legitimate chance of drawing a tag this year. We got a late start, but with antelope not being a nocturnal animal like deer and elk, I didn't see that as too much of a problem. Plus I got to sleep in a bit. So we get up to the northern unit, and were seeing a few antelope, but nothing to put on the hit list. We were glassing close to the truck, and looking across a lot of real estate. We had seen a ton of ravens (or crows, whatever), and they were all around. We had been glassing in one spot for a couple hours, and decided to move to a different location. We parked near a small power line and got out and set up the tripods, as we had seen some goats in the distance. We had been there about 15 minutes, and were about 100 yards away from the truck parked by the pole. We were glassing intently when we heard what sounded like a firecracker go off, and then a thud, back near the truck. Scared the crap out of me, as I thought someone snuck up behind us with a .22LR. We looked at each other like "WTF was THAT???" I think that was even said. We walked back to the truck to see what it was, and this is what we found..... It appears the raven landed on the lines above to feast on a small bird (unknown if the small bird had had the same fate, or was caught by the raven). When the raven landed on the wire, he apparently landed with feet on separate lines, either two phases, or a hot and neutral, or hot and ground. Well, it did not end well for the raven. He still had a small bird leg firmly in his beak at time of death. When he made the circuit connection, it blew off both of his legs. You can see the burns on the foot. The other foot. He was "throwing me the double bird". Hard to see, but there is a smaller bird carcass still in the lines. It looks like it blew up too. Still flexible I did find a nice antelope to put as #2 on my hit list for the year later in the day. Now all I have to do is get a tag.....

I agree with glassing into the wind. Look into the deeper canyons and the lee side of hills.

So in doing some research, I have found some general answers to my questions. But I am still wondering what AZ hunter's observations are. 1. Yes. In northern US< they have been known to travel 160 miles. 2. Late October-early December 3. 3-4 miles. 4. 5.

Fantastic hunting season! Beauties.

Boy, I hope so! Because I saw a beauty already.

Still, no one has stepped up and asked for the camo I offered. Maybe I am just in a grumpy mood this morning, but it irks me to see people state that they beg for items to donate to a kids hunt/organization, yet they do not respond to pick up said items. Even a PM or post with "I'll take it" would get me motivated to meet up and get the items to that person.

Must've been a crow then....

Up to 500 yards is easily doable with a 9X, but even better with a 12X max magnification. We were recently shooting steel to 850 yards with the .223s, and 12X was plenty to get there. Any of those scopes would suit you well. I would go with a 2.5-10 or even a 3-12 if it were me. But I know how I like to shoot LR, so I might be a little biased. 3X is plenty low for shooting close or fast moving targets.

What is your price range? Looks like around $500? How far do you plan to shoot it?

Nice. Work with seating depth too. I bet you can shrink those groups further. Plus, if seat them long, you can get more powder for more velocity with no more pressure.