General George S. Patton referred to the M1 Garand as "the greatest battle implement ever devised". It has certainly proven itself around the world in many conflicts since. I wholeheartedly agree with Gen. Patton’s assessment.
I've never been without one since I was issued my first in 1954 & there is no way I will ever part with mine. Unfortunately it had been sitting unused in the safe since the late 80’s due to my aging eyes.
My first attempt to ransom the old girl was to mount a Burris FFII, then a Millett red dot, and finally the Primary Arms 3X scope. Well, they say the third time is a charm; I guess they are right.
One final trip to the range with fresh eyes refined the zero. First five shot group was a tad low & right, measuring .65”. Took 4 clicks left & up 2, then shot five more rounds measuring .76”. Called it good to go, with great visions of a coyote in the old girl’s not too distant future.
Unfortunately, on 13 October, a blown truck tire had spoiled that first trip and it was looking like it would be mid-January before the opportunity would present itself again.
I felt very blessed, when things took an unexpected turn for the better just five weeks later and I was able to get up to another ranch for a quick afternoon hunt.
Figured we would be able to squeeze in six abbreviated stands with any luck at all, by planning our stands only one half to three quarters of a mile apart and of relatively short duration. It had been over a year since I’d been on this ranch, so this was to be primarily a scouting trip but would also provide an opportunity for the shakedown cruise of the M1’s third reincarnation.
The afternoon confirmed that our old favorite stands still held coyotes. While a bit more time on stand as well as a more stealthy setup would most likely have been more productive, we would have to settle for the run and gun approach this time.
The ranch is 14 miles long and 1 mile wide, running NNE. The north pasture is approximately 2 miles long, dotted by numerous well pads. The remaining pastures are separated by a centerline fence, which provided the setting for stands four and six.
It’s been a wetter than normal fall and grass in the open pastures is knee high or a bit more, so visibility along the edges is not too good. Therefore, we hunted the intersections of fence lines and roadways, hoping the coyotes would be accustomed to oil field traffic and not be too alarmed at the sound of the jeep.
Two and a half hours after leaving home, we had the jeep’s tires on the ground, and another ten minutes found us on stand 1.
Opened up stand 1 with an invitational howl and, as these coyotes are not usually vocal, was pleasantly surprised to receive an answering howl from the southwest almost immediately.
Fifteen minutes later I declared it a dry stand and we moved to #2, another favored setup on the east fence. Started out w/female invitational again and, after a short silence, followed with adult cottontail.
I’ve been concerned as to whether I’d be able to see the small one moa dot in the field with this new optic, so was aiming it at a coyote sized bush located about 175 yards down the sendero and had about decided that would be the outer limit for my old eyes.
Haven’t used Lightning jack in a long time, so, at the 14 minute mark, gave it a try. Immediately after the switch, a YOY stepped out @ 150 yards, posing perfectly broadside while staring at the decoy. As luck would have it, a very slight shift of the rifle was all it took to center his shoulder.
Took up the first stage on the NM trigger and, as had occurred countless times in competition, long years past, the 2nd stage broke almost automatically @ 4.5# as the reticle settled on his shoulder, this time launching a 125 gr Nosler BT @ 3050 fps instead of the slower 168 gr. Sierra Match King.
Even with the light bullet and the heft of the M1, recoil was sufficient that I lost my sight picture and upon recovery, my first instinct was to wonder if I could have possibly missed? Was pretty sure the sight picture had been as perfect as I could make it, but could not see any sign of a dead coyote.
POA and POI turned out to be one and the same, however, and the coyote had just gone down so fast I could not see him, lying hidden in the grass (indicated by CQB ring of scope reticle above). He had dropped right where he stood without a twitch. Ya gotta love the 125 NBT for coyotes in either the 308 or 30-06 if you don’t save fur.
The fact that I could not remember the steps of big Al’s happy dance was no indication of a lack of satisfaction at having finally been successful in bringing my old M1 full circle from retired warhorse to successful coyote hunter.
STAND 2: D= Don, M=me, C=call & decoy, Coyote, came in from the north, final resting place indicated by star
Stand three was dry so we headed south to a cattle guard on the center line fence which has produced in years past. Stand four, we set up on opposite sides of the cattle guard on center line fence. I was facing north and Don was watching west. About 10 minutes in, he spotted a coyote cross my sendero, heading west, but just beyond my view.
We continued to call a while before deciding to move on to stand five, just shy of a half mile west along the same roadway. I placed the call NE of my position on a long sendero while Don watched back to the east. We thought we might catch the attention of that coyote that had crossed to our north on stand 4.
About 12 minutes into the stand, Don slipped up behind me and said a coyote was milling around the cattle guard, sniffing the area we had just left. The coyote walked back & forth across the road four times while Don watched, then sat there for a few minutes looking around. Don said this coyote was a different color and much larger than the one that had crossed north of us earlier. We had just enough time to make a move to stand 6 to try and take advantage of the SE breeze in an attempt to get his attention, but that was not to be.
We ended the day, four hours and 6 stands later, having one vocal reply and three called. Only one shot fired, but crossed off one more item on the old bucket list. Proving the old faithful M1 still has it 65 years after our first introduction…..…priceless!
Regards,
hm
I've never been without one since I was issued my first in 1954 & there is no way I will ever part with mine. Unfortunately it had been sitting unused in the safe since the late 80’s due to my aging eyes.
My first attempt to ransom the old girl was to mount a Burris FFII, then a Millett red dot, and finally the Primary Arms 3X scope. Well, they say the third time is a charm; I guess they are right.
One final trip to the range with fresh eyes refined the zero. First five shot group was a tad low & right, measuring .65”. Took 4 clicks left & up 2, then shot five more rounds measuring .76”. Called it good to go, with great visions of a coyote in the old girl’s not too distant future.
Unfortunately, on 13 October, a blown truck tire had spoiled that first trip and it was looking like it would be mid-January before the opportunity would present itself again.
I felt very blessed, when things took an unexpected turn for the better just five weeks later and I was able to get up to another ranch for a quick afternoon hunt.
Figured we would be able to squeeze in six abbreviated stands with any luck at all, by planning our stands only one half to three quarters of a mile apart and of relatively short duration. It had been over a year since I’d been on this ranch, so this was to be primarily a scouting trip but would also provide an opportunity for the shakedown cruise of the M1’s third reincarnation.
The afternoon confirmed that our old favorite stands still held coyotes. While a bit more time on stand as well as a more stealthy setup would most likely have been more productive, we would have to settle for the run and gun approach this time.
The ranch is 14 miles long and 1 mile wide, running NNE. The north pasture is approximately 2 miles long, dotted by numerous well pads. The remaining pastures are separated by a centerline fence, which provided the setting for stands four and six.
It’s been a wetter than normal fall and grass in the open pastures is knee high or a bit more, so visibility along the edges is not too good. Therefore, we hunted the intersections of fence lines and roadways, hoping the coyotes would be accustomed to oil field traffic and not be too alarmed at the sound of the jeep.
Two and a half hours after leaving home, we had the jeep’s tires on the ground, and another ten minutes found us on stand 1.
Opened up stand 1 with an invitational howl and, as these coyotes are not usually vocal, was pleasantly surprised to receive an answering howl from the southwest almost immediately.
Fifteen minutes later I declared it a dry stand and we moved to #2, another favored setup on the east fence. Started out w/female invitational again and, after a short silence, followed with adult cottontail.
I’ve been concerned as to whether I’d be able to see the small one moa dot in the field with this new optic, so was aiming it at a coyote sized bush located about 175 yards down the sendero and had about decided that would be the outer limit for my old eyes.
Haven’t used Lightning jack in a long time, so, at the 14 minute mark, gave it a try. Immediately after the switch, a YOY stepped out @ 150 yards, posing perfectly broadside while staring at the decoy. As luck would have it, a very slight shift of the rifle was all it took to center his shoulder.
Took up the first stage on the NM trigger and, as had occurred countless times in competition, long years past, the 2nd stage broke almost automatically @ 4.5# as the reticle settled on his shoulder, this time launching a 125 gr Nosler BT @ 3050 fps instead of the slower 168 gr. Sierra Match King.
Even with the light bullet and the heft of the M1, recoil was sufficient that I lost my sight picture and upon recovery, my first instinct was to wonder if I could have possibly missed? Was pretty sure the sight picture had been as perfect as I could make it, but could not see any sign of a dead coyote.
POA and POI turned out to be one and the same, however, and the coyote had just gone down so fast I could not see him, lying hidden in the grass (indicated by CQB ring of scope reticle above). He had dropped right where he stood without a twitch. Ya gotta love the 125 NBT for coyotes in either the 308 or 30-06 if you don’t save fur.
The fact that I could not remember the steps of big Al’s happy dance was no indication of a lack of satisfaction at having finally been successful in bringing my old M1 full circle from retired warhorse to successful coyote hunter.
STAND 2: D= Don, M=me, C=call & decoy, Coyote, came in from the north, final resting place indicated by star
Stand three was dry so we headed south to a cattle guard on the center line fence which has produced in years past. Stand four, we set up on opposite sides of the cattle guard on center line fence. I was facing north and Don was watching west. About 10 minutes in, he spotted a coyote cross my sendero, heading west, but just beyond my view.
We continued to call a while before deciding to move on to stand five, just shy of a half mile west along the same roadway. I placed the call NE of my position on a long sendero while Don watched back to the east. We thought we might catch the attention of that coyote that had crossed to our north on stand 4.
About 12 minutes into the stand, Don slipped up behind me and said a coyote was milling around the cattle guard, sniffing the area we had just left. The coyote walked back & forth across the road four times while Don watched, then sat there for a few minutes looking around. Don said this coyote was a different color and much larger than the one that had crossed north of us earlier. We had just enough time to make a move to stand 6 to try and take advantage of the SE breeze in an attempt to get his attention, but that was not to be.
We ended the day, four hours and 6 stands later, having one vocal reply and three called. Only one shot fired, but crossed off one more item on the old bucket list. Proving the old faithful M1 still has it 65 years after our first introduction…..…priceless!
Regards,
hm
