Mike S

8.2 pounds

6.5 123AMAX from a coues buck last week. impact velocity about 2450 FPS (430 yards). Not much weight left but did not shed the core.

Congrats on a great deer and family hunt.

Put a heavier scope and steel bottom metal on mine and it's feeling porky at 8.4 pounds.

I'd want to consider the bullet construction vs. expansion velocity window for each at your intended range. If equal, on to step 2. Are you talking just the best group for each load or some large number of groups average? What range? If statistically sound, on to step 3. You could cross check the MOA difference in wind drifts at the max range you wish to shoot and see if its greater than the 0.14 MOA grouping difference. I'd expect it is. Or I would would just flip a coin and go kill stuff as from field positions you'll never discern 0.14 MOA (1.4 inches at 1000 yards). It's easy to get wrapped around the axle with this stuff... :-) Sounds like a keeper though!

Hunters, Phoenix Rod and Gun Club is having a Hunting Rifle Shoot on Sunday Nov 13th, 8:00AM, please arrive early for set up. Cost is $15 for non club members, $10 for members. We will be shooting animal targets ranging from coyotes or javelina to deer, bear and antelope from 100 to 400+ yards from field positions, some with time or other constraints. There will be several different stages with fewer than 35 rounds fired. You can use different rifles (hunting type of appropriate caliber) for different stages if you wish. This isn't intended as a shooting match but rather an opportunity to practice with your hunting gear and techniques in field conditions. Bring anything you would use on a hunt and nothing you wouldn’t. It will be at the PRGC High Power Range. PRGC is at the southern end of 7th AVENUE (not street) up against the mountain. HP is accessed at the gate to the left at the back of the public range parking lot. For additional info see: http://arizona-rifle... ... -PRGC.html Hope to see you there. Feel free to post or PM with questions Mike Samer Hunting Rifle Shoot Director

Hope you can make it. Just returned from my coues hunt or I would have responded earlier.

Bump for a shoot November 13th. Come out and get a little practice in before your late season hunts. Starts at 8, arrive by 7:30 for set up.

Great shooting, hopefully you didn't just jinx yourself...

Have a great one!

My first guess would be that the bullet wasn't pushed all the way down to the powder when loading...

Pretty sure I used him 10 years go for an antelope and was very satisfied. Need to call ahead as they had limited freezer space.

.270 and a strong bullet.

I asked a similar question while buying a lion tag in person at the old AZGFD Greenway Ave office. I was specifically asking if it was a problem if I had the tag and a rifle on my brothers deer hunt. I was told that this is Arizona, I could carry a rifle whenever I wanted outdoors and I wouldn't even need a lion tag to do so on my brothers hunt. If I remember correctly the AZGFD person was was Tice Suplee and she went on to a discussion on how good lion meat was...

Great binos. I used a set for several years.

That was back when we referred to you as firstcouesisblabbermouth... You are much better now.

Found it:

Different brands have slightly different outside diameters. I posted a chart here a few years back. I'll see if I can find it again. This can be used to advantage if the pockets loosen up...

Those are headstamps... grin. Bullet?

Some great points brought up in the above posts and while I agree things can be over-analyzed, the converse is often true as well. Big or Bust, nice buck in your avatar, what did you shoot him with?

Good info. I'll definitely have to check the neck uniformity on any new brass I buy. I'm pretty well set on older brass at the moment and it is much more uniform than that, less than .001 from what I have measured. I often measure runout on loaded cartridges , just to confirm die set up if nothing else. Most are less than .003 in my 6.5-06 or .257 Roberts for example. I'll typically measure my hunting loads and pick the best for confirming my long range zero's and hunting (<.001). That said, I have shot some pretty good groups with crooked ammo, I suspect a lot depends on the particular chamber's throat geometry.

I have turned necks for a custom chamber where I wanted additional clearance to give a clean bullet release, but otherwise wouldn't worry about it in a hunting rifle with an appropriately sized chamber neck for the brass I was using.

Here is the Forest Service link. Basically no camping or horses in the area draining into the inner basin. http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=55110&actid=50

I have seen more elk than deer just at and above the timberline on the peaks, but I have seen both. That would be a fun hunt, I'd give it a try. You can't overnight in the inner basin though.

I've heard great things about their packs and they are definitely lighter than my Mystery Ranch 6500. I would however be more concerned with how a pack handles loads and its durability in our abusive AZ brush than a little extra empty pack weight that is hard to differentiate when fully loaded... for me at least. Lot's of good packs out there these days.