What Kind of Hunter Are You?

I found this to be a good read.
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/stages.html

A Good Read on the Best Rifle

My experience with rifle hunting was much the same - read Jack's book, bought a M700 Classic in 270 Winchester in about 1980, loved it, and still do.

http://www.sportingjournal.com/main79.shtml
When I was in high school back in the 50s I was a big fan of outdoor writer Jack O'Connor. He said the .270 was the ultimate deer cartridge, and that was gospel to me.

When I turned 16 Dad let me buy a used .270 Remington 721 bolt for $75. That November I was walking through a cut when a doe stood up from behind some slash. When I shot the deer charged off out of sight. Heart pounding, I ran along the clear blood trail and found her piled up not far away. There was a big exit hole, and when I opened up the chest cavity it was full of blood and lung tissue. I was mightily impressed.

That was 45 years ago, and I still feel the same way about the .270. In my hands and others it has accounted for over 40 deer, well over a dozen caribou, a black bear, and a moose, almost all one-shot kills. Very good penetration, complete even on quartering shots, giving good exit holes and blood trails. I've had several face-on brisket shots on deer penetrate into the hindquarters, and one "Texas heart shot" (at the base of the tail on a deer facing directly away) that penetrated forward into the chest cavity.

Best Rifles

Didn't know about the MG UL or the Luxus - both look very interesting!

http://www.mgarmsinc.com/MGA-UltraLight-Rifle.html
http://www.luxusarms.com/

I enjoyed this list:

10. Savage 111 Hunter XP
Times are tough right now and not everyone has a pile of money to spend on a rifle they may only use a few days out of the year. The Savage Hunter "package" is an accurate, durable and dependable rifle that comes with a Bushnell 3-9X40 scope and mounts right out of the box. This turnkey setup retails for just over $500 and, thanks to Savage's reputation for accuracy, will likely outshoot many rifles available at twice the price.




9. CVA Accura V2 209 Magnum Muzzleloader
Some states don't allow deer hunting with a center-fire rifle, so for those chasing whitetails in places like Illinois, a "deer rifle" has a ramrod. CVA's flagship muzzleloader isn't much of a handicap afield thanks to its stainless-steel Bergara barrel and 209 shotgun primer ignition. It's quick to both load and clean due to its Bullet Guiding Muzzle and quick-release breech plug. Add a quality scope where the rules allow it and you're ready to hunt.




8. Marlin 1895G "Guide Gun"
When deer live in thick brush and shots are quick and close, your deer rifle needs to be powerful, compact and easy to handle. Marlin's Guide Gun in .45-70 is only 37 inches overall and feels lighter than its well-balanced 7 pounds. In its modern loadings, the .45-70 doesn't lack for horsepower and the lever-action allows for quick follow-up shots. A great choice for when things are fast and close, my Guide Gun wears a set of X/S ghost ring sights and is my go-to for the thick stuff.




7. Hill Country Rifles "Harvester"
Custom rifles are great and there's nothing that inspires confidence like a rifle that shoots bughole groups, but that kind of rifle often involves the equivalent of a few mortgage payments. Hill Country Rifles offers "accurizing" services for factory hunting rifles, but also produces semi-custom rifles it calls the Harvester line. You basically get a factory Remington 700 barreled action with a precision cut crown, pillar bedded into a McMillan fiberglass stock with a free-floated barrel. The trigger is also tuned and the barrel is inspected with a borescope. Each rifle is guaranteed to shoot sub-MOA groups at 100 yards with factory ammo. For the hunter looking for something in-between an off-the-rack rifle and a full-custom build, this is a great choice.






6. MG Arms "Ultra-Light"
Not all deer wander around on flat ground. Sometimes deer hunting means backpack hunting in the high country where every ounce adds up. MG Arms Ultra-Light rifles weigh in at as little as 4 ¾ pounds and are both accurate and reliable. Made from skeletonized Remington 700 actions with match-grade stainless-steel barrels, jewel triggers and Kevlar stocks, these rifles carry like a bag of feathers but hit like a bag of bricks. I'm currently evaluating one in .300 WSM and absolutely love it. Forget what you've heard about lightweight rifles being hard to shoot; these guns carry, point and hit with the best of them. At $3,695, they are not cheap, but it takes lots of skilled hand labor to turn out this kind of hardware.




5. Ruger M77 Hawkeye Compact
Deer rifles don't have to be big to be effective and if you're climbing in and out of vehicles and treestands, a full-size rifle can be an albatross. The Hawkeye compact is light and small, yet maintains a traditional "American Classic" appearance with its walnut stock and satin-blue finish. A 6 pound .243 or 7 mm-08 would be just about perfect for the majority of whitetail hunting in the East, and would be a treat to carry up the mountains out West. They retail for under $900 and include rings and bases, which saves you a few extra bucks.




4. Luxus Arms Model 11
Single shots are rifleman's rifles—sleek, simple and classy. It's rare that I've had a second shot at a deer so, for me, they aren't much of a handicap. The Luxus Arms Model 11 is a petite take-down rifle capable of switching barrels to just about any caliber, but the real star of this show is the exhibition grade Turkish walnut that turns this little rifle into a head-turner. As the first guy to actually take one of these guns out hunting, they hold a special place in my heart. The best part is that, if you don't see any deer, you'll be happy just to stare at the stock.




3. Kimber 84M Montana
With rifles that are functional, accurate and trim, you can tell that Kimber's design shop is full of guys who actually hunt. The stainless-steel and synthetic Montana is the most utilitarian of the 84M lineup—this rifle is built to get wet and dirty and sometimes that's what it takes to get the buck of a lifetime. As much as I love the beautiful French Walnut on the Classic Select Grade, I wouldn't give rain or snow a second thought with the Montana on my back. Chambered in short-action classic cartridges like the .257 Roberts and .308 Win., the 5 ½ pound Montana is lot of rifle for the money.




2. Echols Legend Sporter
If no expense is to be spared in the pursuit of big game, it's hard to match the functional masterpiece that is the Echols Legend series of rifles. Painstakingly hand-built from Winchester Model 70 actions by Utah gunmaker D'Arcy Echols, the Legend is the epitome of understated perfection. Most people would expect that a custom rifle costing more that two dozen Savage 111s would feature garish engraving and inlays, but the Legend's artwork is on the inside. Every surface is machined and polished, and most components are built from scratch. The synthetic stocked Legend doesn't stand out from across the room, but those fortunate enough to own them swear by their performance afield.




1. Remington 700
You can argue over which deer rifle is the best, but with over 5 million rifles produced over the last 50 years, it's hard to argue that the Remington 700 isn't the most popular. I shot my first deer with a 700 and, though I hunt with other rifles, there's not a season that goes by without me carrying one of my Remingtons afield. The 700's diverse lineup offers about as many flavors as Baskin Robbins, but the classically styled CDL epitomizes the American deer rifle.

Back on Target

I am building a bullet backstop so i can rejoin the shooting game with my kids on my in-laws' farm without worrying about spraying the farm with lead/copper.  The start is two sheets of treated plywood, cut in half and joined into a square with screws and 2x4s as the corner posts.  I'll bury this about an inch into the turf, and fill it with sand, logs and such.  As I shoot through the front, I'll add layers of plywood as needed to keep the sand at bay.  I'm sure of the boomers will shoot through, but they won't explode into showers of lead fragments, as by then they'll just be poking along.  A box full of lead pieces beats an acre laced w thousands of bullets.

Kids are excited to try the 22s again!

SB on A&M

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/9/16/4734202/alabama-texas-am-johnny-manziel-aj-mccarron

A good read - and the questions I had after reading:
Mettenberger can't run, can Bama defend him?

LSU receivers are good, but they are not as tall as Mike Evans; can Bama CBs cover them at least sometimes?

The LSU D - as good as VA Tech at the line of scrimmage?  If so, has the Bama O-line matured enough to handle it enough to have a running game against talent like LSU will bring?  Can the then experienced O-line defend AJ?

Will AJ's performance from last year against LSU - couldn't hit anyone until that last drive - be avenged this year?

More importantly - will they stay awake enough to avoid an upset by the likes of Mississippi?

Finishes at MatchGrade

http://matchgradearms.blogspot.com/
Nifty explanation of the types of finishes one may find.

I bought a 25 WSSM used from Gunbroker recently, which I may have in my hands by a week from tomorrow with luck.

Have dies, have powder, need brass, scope, rings.  100g bullet, superformance, 3381fps, not bad!  If that's what it really will do ...

Scovill Instructs "The Drill"

I read this bit by Dave Scovill in the March 2004 issue of Rifle Magazine and have wanted to do it ever since.  I may have enough liberty this year to try it.  One doesn't need to use an ancient cartridge in a lever gun, either!  I'll be banging away with a 223, and just taking one shot per distance to confirm zero with the hunting rifles.  But I have no doubt this will make me more confident and competent in the field.

"Here's the drill.  Sight the 300 grain bullet in at 175 yards, dead on then move the target back to 200, then 225 and ultimately 250 long paces.  At hte greater distances, the target should be at least 8 inches in diameter, or 12 to 20 inches out to 22 an 250 yards, depending on individual eyesight.  Hold at the center on the bottom of the round bull, 6 o'clock.  Place the target high on a target board, and place another target just below it, so you can track the bullet drop from the 175-yard zero.

"Then, start, shooting.  Don't give any shots away.  That is, treat each shot as if it were the last. Concentrate, then concentrate some more - no fudging, no excuses and no whining.  Take responsibility for every shot.

"If you fire 10 rounds at 175, 10 more at 200, 10 more at 225 and 10 at 250 yards, that's at total of 40 rounds.  Just do your best, scope or iron sights, then, move teh target in to 150 adds.  Assuming you are a normal/average shot, you will no doubt be amazed at how well you can shoot at 125 to 150 yards.

"This is what I call pushing the envelope.  Forget about the short-range, easy stuff out to 100 yards; stretch it to the improbable limits.  Go through this exercise three or four times (once per week for a month) and you will be a better shot with the confidence most folks think impossible.

"No, I'm not suggesting you shoot at game at 250 yards, or even 225, but anything inside 200 paces that is the size of a coyote or larger should be an easy target.  Even a jackrabbit out between 175 and 200 yards should be in deep trouble.

Dave goes on to discuss antique rifle ballistics - pointing out that these old lever guns can launch a bullet under 2000 fps but still shoot completely through an elk at 200 yards, which isn't something I would have ever guessed.  He also makes the point that you can use recoil protection to make the session more enjoyable.  Then he continues:
"Of course, at some point in time you will want to get away from the bench and fire 30 to 40 rounds from a variety of shooting positions, with and without shooting sticks, at ranges from 100 to 250 yards.  When you do, the recoil that beat you up on the bench won't seem nearly as brutal and you ability to concentrate for each shot will improve tremendously."

I like this story:
"You can push the envelope as far as you want to, or as far as the terrain will allow.  Several years ago I was looking forward to an antelope hunt with a Winchester model 17 .348 WCF, so I went through "the drill" three times out to 200 yards.  Then the target was moved back to 250 yards, and I paced the distance to a rock on the other side the valley at 540 long steps, pretty close to 550 yards according to my days on a survey crew.

He discusses the load for the .348, and then:  "When I felt reasonably competent on the 250 yard target, I switched to the rock.  Out of the remaining 78 rounds fired from a padded rest over a tree limb, I hit the rock, about 18 in diameter, 56 times.  (In the bright Arizona sun, you can see a 250 grain lead alloy bullet splatter on a rock at that range, and you can hear it, albeit it takes awhile for the sound of drift back across the valley.)  And the area immediately below the rock, and a bit left, looked like it had been machine-gunned. in effect, if the target had been an elk, I would have hit it about 80 percent of the time, or about 50 percent on a deer-sized critter.  From that experience I learned a great deal mostly that I had a tendency to pull the shot low and left, which also showed up on the 250 yard target.

He concludes:  "So push the envelope and run "the drill".  It doesn't matter if you use an iron-sighted lever action or a scoped bolt-action sporter.  When you can pound an 18-inch rock consistently at 550 years, anything short of 250 yards in the field should be child's play."

With that thought to feast on and the prospect of another good Bama team to drool over, I'm having a grand end of summer, hope you are too.

Bear Made Famous

Only two other college coaches can claim at least four titles. One is John McKay of Southern California. The other is Paul Bryant, the coach known as Bear who made Alabama football famous.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/sports/ncaafootball/alabama-routs-notre-dame-in-title-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

More Hunters!

This just in: hunting is hot again. After years of decline, the number of Americans taking to the woods to kill critters jumped by over one million between 2006 and 2011, to a total of 13.7 million, according to a new report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The number of folks fishing surged too, from 30 million to 33.1 million.

How to explain this? Maybe recession-battered families are trying to save money by killing their own dinners - but if so, it doesn't seem like a very good investment, considering that the survey found the average hunter spent $2,465 on gear, travel and permits last year. Maybe it's because more urban lefty hipsters are taking to hunting as the latest type of locavore, planet-friendly eating, as Slate writer Emma Marris insists based on a few well-turned anecdotal examples. Whatever the reason, though the trend is bad news for woodland creatures, it's probably good for the environment. Hunters tend to be big supporters of nature conservation programs. Sorry, Bambi, but we all have to make sacrifices.
http://www.psmag.com/uncategorized/were-shooting-more-animals-50863/

"Coach"

"The word "coach" comes from the word stagecoach, which was the major mode of transportation used by people before the automobile. Whether it was drawn by a horse of steam engine, the stagecoach took people from one place to another. The coach in athletics does the same thing - he or she is able to take people from where they are to where they want to be. This is the essence of what a coach truly is.
http://www.coachhoover.blogspot.com/

The Spike

To spike or not to spike, that is not the question. One team's player
made the play. That's what mattered.
http://smartfootball.com/game-management/should-georgia-have-spiked-the-
ball

The History

Afterward, Alabama Coach Nick Saban went on and on about his conference:
the impossible schedule; the long list of contenders, each with at least
one loss; the rosters filled with so much N.F.L. talent that Alabama and
Georgia could nearly stock a competitive professional roster by
themselves. The SEC, Saban correctly noted, "will test your mettle."

His sister, Saban continued, did the math: SEC teams made up 60 percent
of the top 10 and only 20 percent of B.C.S. bowl teams. All the
reporters laughed. But Saban had a point.

And so, the question lingered. Does Notre Dame, the country's No.
1-ranked team, have any sort of chance? Would the dream final end up in
a blowout?

Notre Dame did win that game in 1987. The Fighting Irish do lead the
series, 5-1. They did topple top-ranked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in
1973, did defeat No. 2 Alabama in the Orange Bowl in 1975. This, of
course, is not 1973 or 1987. Notre Dame has more than a slight chance in
2012, a good one even, but it might want to start on the prayers this
week. Just in case.

"Run That Play Right"

Jenkins, still baffled by Alabama's blocking, sought out Fluker after
the game. During the game, Jenkins would collide with Steen or Fluker,
who would immediately get their hands on him and steer him out of the
hole. If Fluker occupied Jenkins, or defensive lineman Kwame Geathers,
Steen would come in from the side and move him just enough for Lacy to
squeeze through.

"They caught me off guard because nobody had ever used it on me,"
Jenkins said of the blocking strategy. "Somehow, he would draw my
momentum to him and get in front of me. They were technically sound. It
was position blocking."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/sports/ncaafootball/alabama-can-thank-
eddie-lacy-who-can-thank-the-line.html?src=recg

How'd They Do It?

Last year, Bama had little big play capacity; they could sometimes make
it happen in the vertical game, but not consistently. This year, Cooper
and Bell have been able to get so far open that Mccarron can reach them
even on days when he's not throwing his best. And that's a good thing,
because last year's team won on the back of a defense that boggled the
mind to watch. It was the most dominant D I have ever seen, and that I
ever expect to see.

Saturday, I kept saying "run the ball, just run it" after seeing how
close to impossible it was to protect AJ. I felt like the typical arm
chair quarterback who pretends to know what's best, even though I didn't
know a tenth of what Bama's OC did or does. Nonetheless, I could see
what anyone could see - they could not stop the run. And eventually,
the team's success against the run paved the way for the game winning
pass to Coop; what a beauty!

Bama 2012 was outplayed twice, first against LSU and then against A&M.
The other games they played, they looked sharp, tough, prepared. Being
ready and focused is a habit. They rallied to beat LSU and fell five
yards short against the team led by the most dynamic player in college
football this season. In the SEC championship, the team's maturity and
discipline was the edge that helped this team win, again, in a tough
situation, after four kicking game miscues that would have ended the
hopes of a lesser team.

Last year's team was dominant and nearly mistake free and did not depend
upon an explosive offense to win. This year, when they win, it is via
tenacious defense in combination with an offense that can make up ground
if needed, and that can run you into the ground if you don't stuff the
box. It's fun to see the shift in capacity, combined with the Saban
formula for discipline and focus, working out.

Bama 32, UGA 28

"For much of the game against Georgia, just when 'Bama seemed to gain momentum it was almost like the Tide was playing under a curse. Successful fake punt? Coming back on a pre-snap penalty. Three downs from inside the UGA two-yard line? Interception. First down deep in UGA territory on a pass interference penalty? Nevermind, tipped ball. Oh, going to kick that field goal? Forget that, blocked and returned for a UGA touchdown. Game winning interception? Overturned on review."
http://www.rollbamaroll.com/2012/12/2/3718008/initial-impressions-from-the-sec-championship-game

If you'd have told me Bama was going to have two fumbles, one on the goal line and one on a kickoff, a pick in the end zone, allow a fake punt for first down, blow a fake punt that would have been a first down, and have a field goal blocked/returned for a TD - I'd have said, "They will lose."

If you had said Bama's going to run for 350 yards, I'd have said "It won't even be close."

Wrong and wrong.

Bama v. UGA, 2012

"Advantage: Alabama. Everything the Tide does on offense revolves around
its running game, and Georgia is 11th in the SEC against the run".
http://www.kfvs12.com/story/20198096/sec-championship-position-analysis-
favors-tide

UGA gives up an average of 192 y/g rushing - if that means Bama can run well, this game won't be close.

Bama D line - can they beat up an underdog Dawgs O line, and keep Gurley and Marshall to a reasonable number of yards?

Bama secondary - can they get the help they need from the front seven's pressure on Murray to slow down the dog pass attack?

AJ - will he throw like he threw in the LSU and A&M games? Or will he hit 67% as he has for most of the season?

Can the Tide's much heralded O line slow down the dawg pass rush?

However, all of the above will matter little if Lacy and Yeldon are off and running, in which case, it's going to be a long day for UGA.

I hope to never become so deluded that I think I can guess what will happen in a football game, but I don't feel that worried about the Dawgs going into this one.

State of Analysis

.35 Whelen: overlooked, misunderstood, vastly underrated

Magic calibers, field results, logic.  Can we have that and still enjoy shooting and goofy new cartridges?  Shooting in ballistics is easily reducible to mathematical precision, but field results are not.  That's why there are so many myths and legends about magic cartridges - and we believe them, relish them even. 

I like mulling over cartridges and playing around with ideas like smaller cartridges and rifles that generate more terminal impact, or huge powerful cartridges that provide killing authority for big animals a long ways away.  But the reality is, I bought a M700 Classic in 270 Winchester in 1980, and none of the fancy, pricey rifles I've bought since are significantly more capable than is that one.  In fact, with the new Barnes 110 TTSX loads, I can launch a bullet from that rifle at 3400 fps, nearly matching either 257 Weatherby or 270 WSM killing power and trajectory.  In other words, fooling around with cartridges and terminal ballistics is not a practical man's work.