The Mauser from Hell
Strap in, guys. This is a long and bumpy ride down the bunny hole of rifle loony-ism. It all started back in 2013. SuperCore was cleaning out his gun safes and I picked up his K98 Mauser in 8X57. He’d been having trouble getting it to shoot. He’d taken it to two local gunsmiths. The first had hosed it up and the second had gone to jail on charges he’d willingly sold guns to known felons before mucking it up further. I picked up some 8X57 dies and some 8mm bullets, and went to work on a load, figuring I … More . . .
What’s the Best Factory Ammo?
Just a while back there was fellow asking me about ammunition for his deer rifle. “What’s the best factory load?” he asked. “For me,” I replied, “I’d say it was the 30-06 180 grain Musgrave round noses.” “I’ve never heard of Musgrave!” he said. “You probably wouldn’t.” I replied. “A boatload of the stuff came in from South Africa back in the 80’s. It was the one and only time I saw it.” “What about now?” “I haven’t bought ammo at the store since Clinton was in office.” I said. You probably think this is going to be another shamanic … More . . .
Woke up this morning (and bought myself a gun)
It’s raining graupel this morning. It’s above freezing; the little ice balls are hitting the roof and making such a racket that it woke me up. This is not the sort of day for thinking about turkey hunting, but there it is. The switch inside my head has but two settings. One setting is for deer. The other is where it is now. I have already been to the basement once this morning to check on supplies of ammunition. I have enough 3-inch #4’s to last for a few more seasons. My calls are still all packed up. However, I’ll … More . . .
Eight weeks and Counting
I just watched the countdown timer cross the 8-week mark. It’s now exactly 2 months to the start of Kentucky’s Modern Weapons Season. I stayed home from the farm overnight. It was going to be hot and muggy and thunderstorms have been moving through since sundown Friday. I’ve been busy down in the shamanic reloading cave all week, replenishing the larder. 25-06: 117 gr Hornady SPBT over H4831sc 30-06: Lots of 150 and 165 grainers over H4895. 30-30: 170-grain cast lead over H4895 — more green powder coated stuff 308 Win: 165 Grain Hornady SPBT over H4895 357 Mag: 125-grain … More . . .
A New 100-Yard Target Stand
Back when I was wringing out the new Ruger American Predator in .223 REM, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. There was a lot of wind, and my groups were getting spread out horizontally a good 4 inches while the vertical difference was less than an inch. I looked into it, and the horizontal deflection of a 20 MPH wind on that load was indeed 4 inches at 100 yards. I frequently have gusty winds out at camp when I’m sighting in deer rifles, so I began thinking about a fix. The nice thing about having a place of your own … More . . .
Wringing out the Ruger American Predator
I was out shooting with my new Ruger American Predator in 223 REM. Overall, I impressed with a lot of things. There are a few flaws, but they are minor. I am also very happy with the Bushnell Banner 6-24X40mm scope I mounted on it. My only beef is that this is not a rifle that single-feeds easily. Feeding on the magazine so far has been flawless, but popping a single round in, no matter what bullet or seating depth, invariably causes trouble. I’m had that trouble before with a couple of rifles. It is a minor irritant. I have … More . . .
Scotty’s Birthday
Scotty is turning 13 this month. Scotty’s decided that a squirrel hunting trip was a perfect birthday gift. So, he approached me to see what all it would take. No one in the family had received Hunter’s Ed, so there was an overnight trip down to a class down in central KY tacked on to the deal. It was Yute Weekend last weekend, but there were no more Yutes. Little Mooselette is still a couple of years away from her first deer hunt. The farm was open so . . . Nobody got a squirrel, but that didn’t matter. Big … More . . .
The Whelenizer Makeover
The Whelenizer is back on the rack, I had a blast trying out my new cast loads down at camp over the weekend. I went with the idea of loading as I went, 5 rounds at a time, and I got a chance to survey all the territory between 42 grains and 50 grains of H4895. Accuracy was best between 42 and 44. I was able to break 2500 with 50 grains, however both the accuracy was poor and the velocities were all over the place. My conclusions are as follows: 1) 43 grains of H4895 gave consistent velocity and … More . . .
News from the Shooting Bench
I have been working feverishly with new cast loads for my 35 cals. This past weekend, I finally got a chance to run them through the chronograph. 35 Whelen I pulled the Whelenizer out of the rotation last year in preference to my new 30-06 Ruger Hawkeye. This year, it was time to put it back in. I have been casting RCBS 35-200-FN with gas checks, and then powder coating them. My old Whelenizer load for the Rem 7600 was a 200 grain Rem CL over H4895, running at slightly reduced velocities– roughly equivalent to a 358 WIN. I started … More . . .
How Many Shots to Sight-In a Rifle, REALLY
I’ve in the midst of sighting in a bunch of deer rifles. I changed out a good number of scopes over the past year, and now 30-some years of experience is coming to bear. In general I can say that I have been on the paper with the first shot and it has taken about 15 shot to be confident with each rifle. Angus is just starting out with his WIN 670, and it has taken him 40. Both those numbers seem high for a seasoned veteran. I said I had over 30 years of experience. I did not say … More . . .
The Last 30-06 Arrives
Thursday Well, the shaman’s last 30-06 arrived. They called from Hibberd’s in Cleves. The rifle was in. I went over to pick it up. John slid out the box, and then it hit hit me: Exactly when did I do this last? It’s funny, but I could not figure out exactly when was the last time I went to a store and cracked open the box on a factory-new rifle. Was it 10 years ago? 15? I finally had to shove it out of my mind, because John was looking at me wondering why I wasn’t opening the box. I … More . . .
My first .22
If my first .22 had been anything like the rest of my shooting experience, I would now be a tropical fish enthusiast. If memory serves me, it was a Savage. It was semi-auto. It had a birch stock and the pressed checkering looked like it had been done at home at a kitchen table with a wobbly leg by someone with a severe learning disability and palsy. My first memory of it was all the years it sat in my Grandfathers closet. I used to ask him about it. He said he had bought it when he first moved into … More . . .
Reduced Recoil Loads
From the D&DH Forum Postby MSHunter » Sun Jul 03, 2011 6:26 pm Here is a question for you more experienced reloaders. On Hodgdon’s website they have a sheet of youth/reduced recoil loads. In the paragraph before the load data they state that a medium burning powder be used and that the amount of powder to use be 60% of the maximum load. They recommend this for any load that uses H4198 powder. So my question(s) is/are as follows: Does one select the maximum load within each bullet range and use the 60% rule? For instance a 100 grn bullet … More . . .
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