BuckeyeSpecial
New member
NOT USED were: rangefinders, digital cameras, bipods, shooting sticks, or tripods (I did use a tree once and a fence post twice), ATVs or golf carts, sandbags or shots off a pick-up truck hood, large diameter varmint contour barrels, scopes with ballistic plex reticles, VLD or moly bullets, spotting scopes or binoculars (although I do own both), rifles with “blue-printed” actions, or those goofy elastic cartridge carriers on the comb of the stock (try shooting in the sitting or offhand position with those!).
With the exception of the 3 shots alluded to above, all shots were from the offhand or sitting positions. I typically covered 1-2 miles walking when I went out in temperatures from 95+ to the mid-50s; kills ranged from 20 feet to +250 yds. I made approximately 75-80 % of my shots.
And, as usual, there were several spectacular misses offhand at short range due to chuck fever. My best day was 8 and my worst day was 0 (more than a few times). Most of my hunting is for farmers who want them ALL DEAD and I try to comply, so getting that last one or a previous miss may mean a couple empty evening hunts (or more) until an opportunity for redemption presents itself.
[For those who think my scorched earth approach is akin to market hunting the game population, come visit me and we will find more in the same place next year….]
Rifles used were a Remington Model 7 with a 21” Douglas Featherweight SS barrel in 22/250 (circ.1992) and a Remington 788 in .222 with a 24” CM barrel (circa 1979?). Scopes were a Leupold 3-9X Compact on the 22/250 and a Tasco 3-12X on the .222.
Loads were: 22/250 - 35 gr. of IMR 4064, Speer 52 gr. HP bullet, W-W cases and CCI large rifle primers; for the .222: 22.5 g+/- Exterminator (don’t have the manual handy so check that one), 50 gr. Hornady V-Max bullet, W-W cases, and CCI small rifle primers. No factory ammo was used. The V-Max bullets were used for kicks as I had a box; they don’t kill as well as the cheaper Hornady 50 gr. SX or Sierra Blitz. Likewise, the 52 gr. Speer is a lot less expensive, kills great, and is a true classic in the 22/250 than say Nosler Ballistic Tips (I have pretty much loaded and shot them ALL).
For those nimrods who think early July is the end of the season due to excessive vegetation, my advice is sharpen your hunting tactics with cut hay fields, country lanes, railroad grades (with permission), old building foundations…..keep hunting! I shot my last 4 in harvested soy bean fields a on a bright Sunday afternoon on October 19th.
With the exception of the 3 shots alluded to above, all shots were from the offhand or sitting positions. I typically covered 1-2 miles walking when I went out in temperatures from 95+ to the mid-50s; kills ranged from 20 feet to +250 yds. I made approximately 75-80 % of my shots.
And, as usual, there were several spectacular misses offhand at short range due to chuck fever. My best day was 8 and my worst day was 0 (more than a few times). Most of my hunting is for farmers who want them ALL DEAD and I try to comply, so getting that last one or a previous miss may mean a couple empty evening hunts (or more) until an opportunity for redemption presents itself.
[For those who think my scorched earth approach is akin to market hunting the game population, come visit me and we will find more in the same place next year….]
Rifles used were a Remington Model 7 with a 21” Douglas Featherweight SS barrel in 22/250 (circ.1992) and a Remington 788 in .222 with a 24” CM barrel (circa 1979?). Scopes were a Leupold 3-9X Compact on the 22/250 and a Tasco 3-12X on the .222.
Loads were: 22/250 - 35 gr. of IMR 4064, Speer 52 gr. HP bullet, W-W cases and CCI large rifle primers; for the .222: 22.5 g+/- Exterminator (don’t have the manual handy so check that one), 50 gr. Hornady V-Max bullet, W-W cases, and CCI small rifle primers. No factory ammo was used. The V-Max bullets were used for kicks as I had a box; they don’t kill as well as the cheaper Hornady 50 gr. SX or Sierra Blitz. Likewise, the 52 gr. Speer is a lot less expensive, kills great, and is a true classic in the 22/250 than say Nosler Ballistic Tips (I have pretty much loaded and shot them ALL).
For those nimrods who think early July is the end of the season due to excessive vegetation, my advice is sharpen your hunting tactics with cut hay fields, country lanes, railroad grades (with permission), old building foundations…..keep hunting! I shot my last 4 in harvested soy bean fields a on a bright Sunday afternoon on October 19th.