300RUM

Rookie long range shooting mistake by Big Browns made me think of one of my own at short range. How do you screw up a 100 yard shot with a rifle on a stationary deer? I have seen myself do it, let me explain. It was the last day of a long weekend and I hadn’t had much luck. Never mind a trophy, meat in the freezer would be nice right now. I had decided to spend the day in a nice little saddle that overlooked some promising terrain. I was only a few hundred yards away from my ATV climbing toward the saddle when I noticed some deer making the same climb on the next ridge over. There was a spike in the group. I already had venison steak on the grill before I slid my .300 Ultra out of the Eberlestock pack. My shooting position was not real good but the deer had spotted me so moving was not an option. I could not see the deer from a kneeling position so I stood on the loose hillside in a heavy wind trying to stabilize the rifle. It was awfully wiggly, worst case of spike fever I ever had. I finally thought I had it and squeezed the trigger. BOOM. I recovered from the recoil and saw the spike standing there, shaking his head and flopping his ears. Before I could cycle the bolt he was gone. The flames on the grill flickered and went out. It looked like a clean miss but I still went and checked for blood. None. I went back to my shooting position to try and figure out why I had so much trouble with the shot. Yes the hillside was loose and it was very windy. When I slid the rifle out of the pack again the problem was obvious. The scope was set to 22 X. I normally turn it down to minimum power when I am moving just for situations like this. I had forgot to turn it down this time and then did not notice when I looked through the scope for the shot. Just like Big Browns I will share my screw-up so hopefully you can avoid trying it for yourself.

Don't blame yourself about the twig. I have been hunting archery for about 25 years and it still happens to me. Bare little twigs can be very hard to see. They will totally screw up your shot if your arrow clips one. Animals I have missed because of it include a real nice 5x5 buck and a monster 7x7 bull.

I can see the family dinner table argument already. Is it the son-in-law's fault for not re-zeroing the rifle or your fault for not checking the zero before taking your shot? Excuse me, could you please pass the gravy.... Fortunately, it was a clean miss. It was a 2 weekend hunt so I got a second chance. I took my 7mm-08 AI out following game trails one day and found another spike. Sat down, tightened up the sling and dropped him at 330. He was delicious.

Some people run their mouths like a single shot, others full-auto. Does the potential for a screw up increase with the rate of fire?

I didn't apply for it but I drew a "limited opportunity" elk hunt once. It was when you could not apply online for a couple of years a while back, you had to mail in an app. When we checked the draw results we had a hunt we had not applied for. It was a bull tag so no reason to complain, right? The tag was archery 4B at the end of November, after archery, muzzloader and general seasons. I would get up in the morning in the 15 degree weather and put my canned peaches on the stove to thaw them out so I could eat them. Then, all bundled up, I would head out looking for elk wondering how I would ever draw my bow with all those clothes on. The elk , after being chased and shot by all the previous hunters, were so spooked brushing a blade of grass sent them running. The hunt was not considered to be limited opportunity but It sure seemed like it.

A happy outcome for everyone.... The original tag holder was recently able to get his mother out of the hospital. She is in a nursing home because she still needs frequent medical attention but that beats being in the hospital on your death bed.

I did look at March. Unless I missed something it looks like the compromise would be MOA reticle & turrets in 2FP or MIL recticle and turrets but in 1FP.

It is a gradual process of wear every time you fire the gun. At some point accuracy will begin to deteriorate due to throat erosion and rifling wear. Group sizes will begin to expand. The more you continue to shoot the more accuracy deteriorates. Your accuracy expectations dictate when the barrel is shot out. A benchrest shooter would scrap a barrel most hunters would think is still OK. If you have bullets tumbling through the target sideways your barrel is long overdue to be replaced or your barrel's twist rate is unable to stabilize the bullets you are using.

I have had my .300 ultra for around 16 years. I installed the 4th barrel a couple of years ago. They are still useable when I remove them but at a certain level of accuracy loss I choose to replace them. I have a load worked up and the rifle is always ready to go hunting. Like you are suggesting I don't shoot it frequently. I have a .308 that is my "practice gun". It is easy on barrels, uses half the powder and I can scrounge brass for free.

Checking with the sheriff would be another idea. Have they reported their stuff missing? Have they been reported missing? Were they injured while hunting and evacuated? There are a number of possibilities.

I have used them in a etrex 20 for about 6 years. I was introduced to the maps by a NMDGF regional supervisor. A public land ranch I had drawn a antelope tag on was riddled with private and indian owned property that I was not allowed to hunt. It was a mine field. He suggested I try a trial offer that was available at the time for my hunt and assured me I would purchase the product based on it's performance. He was correct. Having your GPS screen color coded to indicate land ownership is very useful. The color key is the same used by BLM & USFS maps. Being able to see contour lines on your screen when you zoom in is also handy. I have it running on 2 units, my hunting partner and father have also started using it and like it. I have not experienced a con yet. I have not used a rino, but I expect the software should work fine on it also.

I started my hunting career with a leupold 3 x 9 that had a duplex reticle. I knew the distance from the center of the crosshairs to the point where the reticle became thicker for each power setting at 100 yards. If needed, I had a small protractor with a weighted string to put on my barrel and measure angle. I had notebook containing my trajectory at the average hunt elevation and temperature, 10 mph wind drift, less than 90 degree wind correction factors, wind estimation tricks, average animal body measurements, angle cosine chart and anything else I thought might be useful. The last item was a small battery & solar powered calculator. With this setup I could range my target, adjust for incline or decline and wind then fire a calculated shot at my target, not just a guess. At the time laser range finders were mostly a military item and tiny computers almost unheard of. I’m sure at least half of you are picturing me in a nursing home, 48 is a little young for that. Technology has advanced rapidly. These days I use a laser to range the target. My kesterel meter transmits to applied ballistics in my phone which gives me a firing solution. If all that technology quit in the middle of the hunt I could still function. I still carry that notebook. My scopes have MIL calibrated reticles (MOA works just as good). The rifles have ACI indicators mounted on them and there is a calculator in my GPS. Technology can take the day off and leave you hanging for a number of reasons. Anyone have some more interesting backup system tips?

Good point about cleaning. Clean from the breech end using a bore guide. Cleaning from the muzzle end can damage the muzzle and degrade accuracy.

There are a number of variables in barrel life. The capacity of the case in relation to bore Diameter, or How much hot gas is getting forced through what diameter hole. The choice of powder. The velocity of the bullet. The length of the bullet, or how much bullet surface is in contact with the barrel. How much the shooter lets the barrel cool between shots. The diameter of the barrel, or how much mass it has. The quality of the barrel steel. I have seen a 300 ultra barrel deteriorate in 1000 rds. I have a heavy barrel 308 with over 5000 rds that can still hold under 1/2 inch.

When you fire a bullet at a uphill or downhill angle You need to correct the range used for your elevation adjustment to what it would be if you were at the same elevation as the target and firing without raising or lowering the muzzle. This is accomplished by multiplying the actual range to the target by the cosine of angle to the target, based on 0 degrees at horizontal. Many new range finders have a option to provide the user with either the actual range to the target or the corrected range to the target, adjusted for a incline or decline, and can be switched between the two. Check the manual if you are not sure. A gun mounted ACI or ADI can also measure the angle, figures tend to get rounded and a little precision is lost. Some ballistic programs can use some phones to measure the the angle. However we do it the range to the target needs to be adjusted if the target is uphill or downhill. A 500 yard shot at 30 degrees uphill would be considered a 433 yard shot for elevation adjustment. 500 multiplied by 0.866, the cosine of the 30 degree angle. Ballistic programs will do the necessary calculations for us with precision but we have to enter the correct data. If you are using a ballistic app check what it wants entered, the actual range to the target and angle to the target or the adjusted range to the target. I expect most apps want the actual range and angle so they can do the math and because windage adjustments need to be done based on actual range. Check your range finder to see that it is providing what the app is asking for. If you enter the adjusted range from a rangefinder into an app that expects actual range the provided firing solution will be off.

Just testing new browser to see if "quote" works, much safer.

The angle function multiplies your line of sight distance by the cosign of the up or down angle to your target. The adjusted "angle" distance is what you would base your elevation adjustment on .Wind does not care if you are aiming up or down. The bullet has to travel the line of sight distance through the wind all the way to your target. For windage adjustments you still need the line of sight distance.

If you ever run into that problem on something you can't warranty there is a piece of hardware to repair it. A screw thread insert, often called a heli-coil. You Drill out the hole a little larger, Tap it then screw in a insert. Chose the insert set with a matching internal thread as the original ones. You have new threads. I have repaired all kinds if things with them. Sucks to scrap an expensive item over a stripped thread.

I worked my way up to the 15 gr of 231. At that charge I got a nice crisp Ackley shoulder. Just like developing a load start low & work up. Your case capacity is larger so you may need a little more powder. Do remember, even though it is a blank the muzzle end is still dangerous. I thought of one drawback to a brake with this process. It will probably spray the corn cob all over the place!

I can't even figure out how the get the quote function to work (like you did with what I typed) and you want me to do a video? My 7mm-08 does not have a break but a break would not change anything. You are firing small a charge of fast burning pistol powder in a long rifle barrel. Your projectile is a bunch of ground corn cob and a piece of cleaning patch. The "projectile" provides enough resistance for the fast burning powder cause a sudden pressure spike that is enough to fire form the case. The powder has burnt out and pressure is dropping long before anything gets to the muzzle, so a break makes no difference. As a bonus the process cleans the barrel. Well, at least I can figure out a smiley face.

You can fire form with blanks if you want. I do it for a 7mm-08 AI as follows. Prime the case, put 15 gr WW-231 in it. Fill it to the neck with tumbling media, wad a piece of cleaning patch in the neck to hold it all in. Put it in the gun, pull the trigger and POP you have a Improved case. I do it in the garage and nobody has called the cops yet.

Ok, how about a Weird Al style parody of Under Pressure, done as Over Pressure?

2 Rem 700's with Jewels at 1.5 lb. 1 Rem 700 with Timmney at 2.5 lb. AR with Timney at 3 lb.

I have a Viper HT 4-16-40 on a AR. It's close cousin of the PST. The first few times I used it the optical quality bothered me a bit. I was used to only looking through a pair of Nightforce NSX scopes. Then I did a reality check, opened my wallet and looked at how much extra money was still there. Optical quality improved substantially. My scope passed a 36" tracking test at 100 yards for both elevation and windage dead on. It serves me well on the AR which is just a plinking toy and not a main hunting rifle. I think it should be a fine scope for your backup rifle. You can always upgrade later if you feel the need. Look around and you can find negative comments about Nightforce or Swarovski also.

Another lightweight stock option is High Tech Specialties. I got one for $200 delivered for a lightweight 7mm-08AI build. I had to do the final fitting in the receiver area and barrel channel, bed it, cut it to length and install the recoil pad. Loaded and ready to hunt the rifle weighs 7.2 lbs. It is possible the stock may not handle a magnum cartridge. You would have to ask them about that. 717 - 484 - 0405