Shooter's Bible Guide to the Hunting Rifle and Its Ammunition
Author: Thomas C. Tabor
Date: 2013-10-01 06:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Firearm
Publisher: Skyhorse
Rights: All rights reserved.

Shooter's
Bible GUIDE TO

The Hunting
Rifle & Its
Ammunition

Shooter's
Bible GUIDE TO

The Hunting
Rifle & Its
Ammunition

THOMAS C. TABOR

Copyright © 2013 by Thomas C. Tabor

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-62873-540-6

Printed in China

Carl Labuschagne, shown here with a .450 big bore rifle he built himself and his pet Jack Russell Terrier, Gearbox.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to retired South African professional hunter, devout gun enthusiast, my personal mentor, and the best man I’ve ever known—Carl Labuschagne. He has inspired me, challenged me, and taught me the ways of Africa, its game, and its people. Carl is a man’s man and a person I feel honored to have met and consider a friend.

This fine New Brunswick, Canada, black bear fell to a single shot from the author’s Ruger 1B single-shot rifle chambered for .300 Win. Mag.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Section 1: Selecting the Right Stuff

1. Which Rifle and Design?

2. Is a Custom Rifle a Possibility?

3. Is a Wildcat in Your Future?

4. Nasty Big Bores for Nasty Critters

5. How Much Weight Do You Want in a Rifle?

6. Is a Plastic Stock in Your Future?

7. Matching a Cartridge to Your Hunting Needs

8. The Pipsqueak Rimfire Cartridges

9. A New Era: Short and Fat Cartridges

10. The Right Bullet for the Game

11. What to Look for in a Good Hunting Rifle

12. A Few Favorite and Not-So-Favorite Rifle Cartridges

Section 2: After Your Rifle Purchase

13. Barrel Break-In and Other Barrel-Conditioning Procedures

14. Nasty Bores and Other Attacks on Your Firearms

15. Sighting-In Your Rifle the Right Way

16. Sights, Scopes, and Other Things to Look Through

17. Airline Travel With Firearms

18. Quick, Detachable Scope Mounts

19. Is Handloading Right for You?

Section 3: In the Field

20. Making the First Shot Count

21. Steep-Angle Shooting

22. Bullet Placement

23. Don’t Blame Poor Shooting on Bullet Deflection

24. Is Weather Affecting Your Shooting?

25. Take a Rest for Steadier Shooting

26. Influences That Can Hinder Accuracy

Section 4: Tips and a Little Advice

27. Taking Care Of Your Ammo

28. Common Gun Storage and Handling Problems

29. A Few Tips for Better Hunting Success

30. Shooting Myths, Misconceptions, and Outright Distortions

Contacts

Acknowledgments

Index

INTRODUCTION

My love affair with firearms and shooting began at a very early age. I must have been about four years old when my brother, eight years my senior, received his first rifle: a well-used and somewhat abused Remington .22 Single Shot. My brother, like most older siblings, had made it perfectly clear that I was nothing more than a nuisance to him and a hindrance to his activities. On this particular occasion, though, he allowed me to tag along while he headed outside to test his rifle for the first time. I don’t remember his exact instructions, but I was told in no short terms to stay back and out of his way while he placed a tin can upright on the lawn. Walking back from his newly acquired target, he took a single cartridge from his pocket, fed it directly into the chamber, and closed the bolt. I watched silently, not even knowing exactly what was about to take place, while he pushed the box of ammo back in the front pocket of his jeans, pulled the firing pin plunger back to cock the rifle, took a somewhat unsteady but careful aim, and fired.

I don’t remember whether he hit the can or not, but when that trigger was pulled, something happened that lives on in my psyche to this very day. Immediately, tears began streaming down the side of my young face, but surprisingly enough to my brother and my parents, those weren’t the tears of being scared by the blast of the rifle. I was crying because I wanted the rifle for myself. Being the youngest of four children, pampered by both my sisters and sometimes coddled by my mother, few could make an argument that I wasn’t a bit spoiled. At the time, no one in my family had a great deal of interest in firearms, hunting, or shooting, but my father did own an old Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless .32 Caliber Revolver, which had been passed down to him from his own father. After witnessing my little temper tantrum over the .22, he proclaimed to my mother that he was going to cure me once and for all of this infatuation with guns and quickly disappeared into the house. A few minutes later, he reappeared holding his less-than-pristine .32 and a ragged box of shells that might have been purchased when the gun was new.

My father’s plan was simple: Thinking that fear was the great inhibitor in life, he would scare this new-found love right out of me. The way he saw it, the much louder muzzle blast from the short barreled .32 would surely send me scurrying to the security of the house, never to want any part of firearms again. Like a cur dog that had once been blasted with a shotgun for getting into the neighbor’s chicken coop, he was convinced that his fiendish plan was that of sheer genius. Ignoring the protests of my mother, he picked me up in his arms, had me wrap my tiny fingers around the grip of the .32, and pulled the trigger. Once the loud blast had settled away, the tears began to roll down my rosy cheeks again. Obviously, his plan had worked. Or so he thought. But when he put me down, rather than run to the safety of the house, I reached up in hopes of shooting the pistol again.

That little story played itself out more than six decades ago. Even though I don’t cry quite so much these days when I want a new gun, some things simply don’t change over time. Now I have a fewguns of my own, including the old .32 that started it all those many years ago. It hangs on the wall of my gun room bringing back memories of my days on the farm of my childhood. Sometimes when I look at the .32 hanging there, I begin to wonder how my life would have been different if dad hadn’t tried to drive away my new love by fear, but obviously I will never know. Nevertheless, I’m happy that things worked out the way they did.

It was a couple of years after the .32 incident took place that my folks finally relented and presented me with a secondhand BB gun. If you are like me and now find the hills a bit steeper than they use to be, you might know what kind of BB gun it was. It was a lever-action Daisy equipped with a plastic brown stock and a magazine tube located just below the barrel, which always seemed to need filling. And in the right front pocket of my shorts was always the little cylinder shaped red BB box with a pooched-out end.

Living on the farm was the perfect place for a kid with a BB gun. I would wander around making believe that I was on an African safari hunting all types of dangerous animals. Any bird, frog, or snake I encountered was considered fair game, most of which easily escaped the wavering influence of my barrel. The only problem during my adventures was that my scrawny arms weren’t strong enough to cock the BB gun, so after each shot, I had to hunt up someone to do the deed for me. You would think that would have made me a better shot, but I don’t remember being too successful at hitting much of anything in those days. Typically, I would elevate the muzzle of the rifle well over the top of the critter then pull the trigger, only to watch the shiny BB slowly arcing its way in the general direction of its target. It almost always seemed that my intended victim would quickly vacate the premises without any sign of bodily injury.

A few things got in the way of my dedicated pursuit of hunting and shooting adventures over the years. There were things like a job; being surrounded by people who didn’t share my interest in firearms and hunting; a wife and a couple of daughters who joined me somewhere along the trail; some hard financial times; and when I lived in an area that didn’t lend itself to the hunting of even the most meager quality of game. Nevertheless, none of those obstacles detoured my love and desire to shoot and hunt. At every opportunity I had, I structured my life accordingly. Today, whether I’m hunting dangerous game in exotic corners of the world, in pursuit of a trophy quality deer, elk, or moose in the American West, or simply shooting ground squirrels around my home in Montana, I find there is no better sport than hunting to test your endurance and to challenge your abilities. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have experienced a lifetime of hunting adventures, beginning with those on the farm in pursuit of “dangerous” game with my trusty Daisy BB gun in hand. If this book helps you to become a better hunter, be able to place your shots more accurately, enjoy your adventures a little more, or introduce someone new to the phenomenal benefits of hunting, it will have been a rousing success.

—Thomas Tabor
Stevensville, Montana, 2013

SECTION 1: SELECTING THE RIGHT STUFF

A fine trophy whitetail buck like this one has the ability of making a hunter proud. Photo courtesy of Howard Communication.

1. Which Rifle and Design?

All hunters have a tendency to lean toward the style of rifle with which they feel most comfortable. That is certainly understandable, but the decision of which rifle to use should be based on a proper understanding of both the positive as well as the negative traits of each design, not simply centered around a personal preconceived bias. I have my own partialities, but those preferences have come from many decades of wandering the world looking for adventure in the form of huntable game species. Even so, what might be considered the perfect match in one hunting situation might be totally inappropriate for another. For some of my hunting, I prefer the simplistic nature of a single-shot rifle, but many times an old reliable bolt-action rifle might be best suited for the adventure. Occasionally, I have found that a semi-automatic or a pump-action makes a better fit, and of course, there are times—particularly when trying to sort out a problem in dangerous game hunting—when a big-bore double is the best choice. To me, that diversity of choices doesn’t detract in any way from hunting. Rather, it adds a bit of flare to the planning and execution of the adventure.

For many years, the Winchester lever-action rifles, and in particular the Model 1894, were considered the ultimate hunting rifle. These designs propelled America into the world of reliable firearms and offered more diversity of use than any previously constructed action. These were, and still are, phenomenally well-built and dependable rifles with many fans throughout the world. But no longer are these Winchester saddle guns considered the best choice for most hunting pursuits. There are still a few hunting and shooting situations that favor rifles of this class, but most hunters today would benefit from a different style. Lever actions generally lack the strength needed to handle many of the larger, more powerful cartridges that have become commonplace for hunting. Also, most lever-action rifles possess tubular magazines, which will dramatically limit the type of ammunition that can be safety shot from these guns. When cartridges are stored inside a tubular magazine, the points of the bullets come into direct contact with the primers of the preceding cartridges. Because of this, only ammunition possessing flat- or round-nosed bullets is generally considered safe for use in these types of firearms.

Even though shooting ammunition containing blunt-nosed bullets solves the issue of safety, these are generally considered to be ballistically inferior when compared with their more streamlined counterparts. Recently, however, there has been some advancement made in this area by Hornady with their new LEVERevolution ammunition. This ammunition is loaded with the company’s new Flex Tip expanding (FTX) or MonoFlex bullets, both of which contain pointed bullets, which are considered safe for use in tubular style magazines. The difference is that these bullets possess a flexible, soft rubber-like insert within their tips. This helps to streamline the shape of the bullets, thereby increasing the ballistic coefficient values for better overall ballistic performance. Yet when these tips come into contact with the primer of the preceding cartridge, there is no danger of an accidental discharge.

The Winchester Model 1894 clearly is an American classic. Its design is dependable and reliable, but for most hunting situations today there may be a better choice. Photo courtesy of Winchester.

Because most lever-action rifles are chambered to shoot low-pressure cartridges, such as the .30-30, .32-40, .44-40, or in some cases ammunition more commonly suited for revolver use, they are not ideal for long-range shooting. In most cases with lever-action rifles, your shooting range is restricted to about 100 yards, or maybe slightly further. The one major exception that comes to mind is the old Savage Model 99 that was frequently chambered for .308 Winchester. But even though the Model 99 had a long and notable reign as a favored hunting rifle, Savage discontinued it years ago. This being the case, if you have your heart set on a .308 lever gun, maybe you can find one that has been hiding in the corner of a loan shop or on the used rack of your local sporting goods store. The good thing about this situation is that if you find a Savage Model 99, chances are favorable that it will be chambered in .308 because Savage produced many more in that caliber than in all other cartridges combined.

Semi-automatics have been around for many years, but when it comes to hunting, they have historically taken a backseat to the more popular bolt-action designs. Many of the mainstream firearms manufacturers produce traditional semiautomatics in both rimfire and centerfire calibers, but possibly the most well-known and universally accepted rifle for hunting purposes has been the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). These are well-built rifles available in some of the best hunting calibers, even some of the more powerful and effective magnums. But from my own personal experience, like many lever-action and pump-action rifles, the semiautomatics frequently lack the high degree of accuracy I look for in hunting rifles.

Pointed tipped bullets are generally considered unsafe for use in rifles possessing a tubular magazine, but Hornady’s FTX bullets are an exception to that rule. The FTX’s soft Flex Tip® technology provides higher ballistic coefficients than flat-or round-nosed bullets and are considered safe for use even in rifles like the Winchester Model 1894. The FTX bullets are available as a handloading bullet, or in Hornady LEVERevolution® ammunition. Photo courtesy of Hornady.

Today, however, there is a new trend afoot. I believe it all started with the worries of many Americans over the ever-expanding tentacles of governmental control, concerns over the possible collapse of our US culture, and the seemingly rising amount of violence both here in our country and abroad. Whether those claims are justified or not, this has led to an increased interest in assault style rifles (ARs). In recent years, the desire by many to own an AR—also known as an MSR, or modern sporting rifle—has reached such a fever pitch that manufacturers have in some instances been unable to build them quickly enough to satisfy the demand.

As the fascination in this somewhat nontraditional style of rifle grew, hunters began to take notice. The first of those to recognize the possibilities were the varmint and predator hunters, but the use of ARs is now expanding into other hunting arenas. Early on, the major concerns that slowed this progression into the hunting community were largely twofold. First, even though the normal chambering of 5.56mm caliber, or its civilian counterpart the Remington .223, might have been fine as a defensive cartridge, they lacked the necessary firepower to get the job done for all but the smallest game animals. And second, the lack of consistent pinpoint accuracy was of even more concern. Before long, the manufacturers began to take notice of those issues, and soon the choices in cartridges grew to include some favorite hunting calibers like the .243, .308, and various others. Accuracy also began to improve to a point at which the AR became a viable option, even in the arena of middle-sized game hunting. Even though I will always have a preference for the more traditional style of rifles, especially those that possess a finely crafted piece of walnut adorning a nicely blued barreled action, many shooters do not share the same priorities. Those individuals find their own type of beauty within the AR platform, which is fine.

ARs are quickly creeping into the world of varmint hunting and to a somewhat lesser extent, even into big game hunting today. Shown here, the author (left) with his friend and host of the television show Student of the Gun, Paul Markel.

I was amazed several years ago when I attended my first hunting trip during which we used ARs for Wyoming prairie dogs and coyotes. All the rifles were chambered in the typical .223 caliber, but even as such, I was blown away at how accurate these guns had become in recent years. Using Federal Premium factory-loaded ammunition, I found that making shots of about 300 yards on the tiny prairie dogs wasn’t all that difficult, which meant they also worked their magic on several coyotes. Since that time, I have been on many similar hunts, and the performance of these rifles continues to amaze me. Some manufacturers are now further expanding the caliber choices to include the economical and fun-to-shoot .22 Long Rifle, and in at least one case, there is even a .17 HMR model. Without a doubt, ARs are here to stay as a practical option for hunting. Even though they will likely never replace the bolt action as the most popular style of hunting rifle, I predict the public will continue to see more ARs being used for the hunting of middle-sized game in the near future.

Even though there are a few manufacturers still building pump-action centerfire rifles, encountering one in the field while hunting is about as rare as locating a trophy class jackalope to shoot at. Pumps suffer from many of the same limitations with which semiautomatics and lever-action rifles are plagued. They frequently can’t withstand the pressures produced by many of the more favorable, high-performing hunting cartridges and are seldom found in calibers larger than a .308 Winchester.

The author tried out several .223 chambered AR rifles on a Wyoming prairie dog shoot and found them to be surprisingly accurate out to about 300 yards. Portable shooting benches like this Shooters Ridge Voyager Shooting System™ are excellent for this type of semi-stationary hunting.

There are a few double rifles still being produced today, but for the most part, a double is designed for use in close quarters with critters that have a tendency to stomp, gore, or eat their pursuers. There is a lot of romance associated with the double rifle, but its applications are so severely limited that many hunters would find them too restrictive for most hunting scenarios. The double rifle is not what anyone would call an overly accurate firearm. On the contrary, it is intended to be a quick pointing weapon with a lightning fast second shot if called for. The preferred range would likely be around 50 yards, and seldom are they used over 100 yards.

Because double rifles possess two distinct lines of trajectory (one for each of the barrels) the manufacturer always attempts to regulate the barrels to impact at a common point in a specific range while shooting a particular load. Change the distance of the shot or the ammunition, and you will likely get two different points of impact. Double rifles are frequently the product of old-world craftsmanship that has been passed down for generations. The vast majority of the best double rifles is imported from Europe and is sometimes inscribed with the top names in the business, such as Holland & Holland, Churchill, and Purdey. These names are the ultimate in craftsmanship and quality, but at a price few hunters would find affordable. If you are contemplating owning any of these rifles, you can’t think in terms of hundreds of dollars, or even thousands. It is more likely they will carry price tags in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Of all the various rifle actions, the bolt action is currently the most popular when it comes to traditional hunting and will likely hold that status until we have all turned to windblown dust or are using laser guns. A bolt action is the strongest action for a hunting rifle, and a properly designed one is capable of handling the pressures generated by the most powerful cartridges. My own preference for a bolt action is largely based on its versatility. Most cartridges are capable of being chambered in a bolt-action rifle, with the possible exception of those having a rimmed case. A few manufacturers have tried to use rimmed cartridges in bolt-action guns, but they usually run into difficulties. This cartridge design seldom works well in clip and magazine-fed bolt-action style rifles because they are frequently plagued by feeding, extraction, and ejection problems. Nevertheless, for virtually every rimmed cartridge in existence, there are several non-rimmed one that essentially mirror their performance.

This fine coyote fell prey to the author’s Remington 700 VL SS™ TH chambered in 22-250 at a range of about 300 yards. This rifle is equipped with a Leupold VX-III 6.5x20x50mm LR scope and tips the scale at a whopping 12 1/2 pounds, which doesn’t make it the best choice for the hunter looking for a walk-about rifle.

Possibly the most favored styles of bolt-action rifles are the Mauser, the Winchester Model 70, and to a slightly lesser degree, the Remington Model 700. These actions come with many favorable traits that work well in a hunting environment. All three of these actions are strong and reliable, with the capability in most cases of handling the high chamber pressures encountered in many of today’s cartridges. I find the three-position safety on the Winchester Model 70 to be one of the best designs in the business. I particularly like the typical location of this safety and the ease of access it provides. When the safety is in the middle position it remains on, yet the bolt may be opened to remove a live round from the chamber. This is a desirable feature that is lacking in many other designs. On the contrary, many two-position safeties must be taken off of safe to open the bolt when the rifle is in the cocked position.

The Winchester Model 70 began to fall out of favor with shooters in 1964 when the company’s management implemented a series of cost-saving methods, which resulted in a decline in quality. As part of that plan, they began moving away from the high-quality machined parts in favor of cheaply made forged ones. They also changed the Model 70 cartridge feeding system from the far superior controlled round design to a push feed. In the controlled round design, the extractors engage the rim of the cartridge as the round leaves the magazine and firmly holds it in position until it is ejected from the rifle. In the push-feed design, the cartridge is released from the magazine, whereupon the bolt simply pushes it forward into the chamber. The extractors engage at this point for the cartridge case to be ejected as the action is reopened.

The pre-1964 Model 70 Winchesters are highly praised by shooters and hunters throughout the world and became the standard that many other rifles were, and still are, judged against. But when the consequences of Winchester’s 1964 actions began to settle on the public, consumers began to retaliate, refusing to purchase anything that bore the Winchester logo. The years that followed were unfavorable for the company and eventually resulted in a number of reorganizations and transfers of company ownership. In 1980, Winchester officials had to settle for a spin-off into an employee-owned company, which took the name US Repeating Arms Company.

The Winchester Model 70 safety is one of the best in the business and is frequently copied by other manufacturers. When the safety is in the center position, as shown here, the safety remains “on,” but the bolt can be opened to remove a live round from the chamber.

Somewhere along the trail, the company must have recognized the error of their ways and attempted to regain the reputation Winchester once enjoyed. This involved a move in the direction of a higher-quality product line, but they also retained some of the lowend products to position themselves in both sales arenas. Unfortunately, those changes didn’t work out in favor of the company, and more reorganization followed, eventually splitting the company into various factions. It is a sad story of how a world-renowned firearms manufacturer, through a series of poor management decisions, could so easily fall out of favor with shooters. Winchester is on the mends, however, and slowly making a comeback. Starting with only a few models, they have continued to expand their production base annually and now include a fairly good selection of rifles from which to choose.

The Mauser Model 98 is also an impressive action that has gained a reputation for being strong, simple, safe, and well-thought-out. This particular design, which has been copied by many firearms manufacturers, has spawned a new generation of high-quality rifles. Like the pre-1964 Model 70s, it’s also as a controlled round feeding action.

Another fine and reliable bolt-action rifle is the Remington Model 700, which has been around since 1962 and is used in virtually every aspect of shooting, from military and police to marksmanship competitions and hunting. The Remington 700 is highly favored by military and police sniper units, and it also seems to be popular within the test labs of many ammunition and bullet manufacturing companies. I have owned many Model 700s over the years and, though they have received some bad press recently from the antigun movement, I have never had an issue with any of them.

The alleged problem stems from the Model 700’s safety design because a handful of people have claimed injuries or deaths when one of these rifles were said to accidentally fire. Whether these allegations have any validity, or whether it simply amounts to a well-orchestrated attack on the firearms industry, has not been established to my satisfaction. The allegations have been extensively covered during a television documentary on CNBC, but many believe that this network has a well-established bias when it comes to firearms, which must be taken into account. I only know that after many thousands of rounds put through my own Model 700 rifles and years of hunting with them, I have never experienced a problem. It seems a bit odd to me that there should ever be a shooting injury like those alleged to have occurred in these cases. Surely no one wants to be carrying a rifle model that has a history of accidental discharge. However, if the gun is always carried in a safe manner, with the muzzle never pointed toward a person, the concern of shooting someone accidentally wouldn’t exist. In reality, even if the firearm were not equipped with any type of safety, if it is always pointed in a safe direction, there would be little worry of anyone being shot.

John Englert, a close friend and shooting compadre of the author, takes aim on a Montana ground squirrel with his Pre ‘64 Winchester Model 70 chambered for the wildcat cartridge .22 Ackley Hornet.

The last category of actions is one of my favorites— the single shot break-open design. Singles have always been close to my heart, and I have used them to take many game and nongame species. On several of my African safaris, I limited myself to single shots, taking along a couple of Ruger No. 1B Rifles. These are exceptionally strong actions of the modified falling-block design. On those African hunts, I frequently used a .300 Winchester Magnum for the larger plains game and a 6mm Remington for the smaller animals, but on several occasions I used my professional hunter’s Ruger No. 1 chambered in .223. I also used a custom Ruger Single Shot Rifle that I had built myself, chambered for .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, to take a moose in Montana, a gemsbok bull on the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, and the largest mule deer buck I’ve taken to date.

This gorgeous Purdy double rifle is an excellent example of gun-building artisanship.

In addition, I have used a Ruger 1V rifle chambered in .22-250 for varmints and predators for many years. I like the no nonsense simplicity of a single-shot rifle, and I believe using one has a tendency to encourage better shooting in a hunter. Even though a single shot can frequently be reloaded almost as quickly as a shooter can cycle a bolt-action rifle, I believe, psychologically, the thought of only having a single round of ammunition in the rifle works to encourage better accuracy. I only wish there were more single-shot break-open designs available today to choose from. The Ruger No. 1s are likely the most popular with hunters, but Dakota Arms makes an excellent one, though it is a bit more costly than average.

2. Is a Custom Rifle a Possibility?

Like so many other facets of shooting, the choice of purchasing a production-built rifle, which is essentially ready to dirty its barrel, or go the more laborious route of having a rifle custom-built, is a matter of personal preference. There are benefits to both, but what most hunters find is the most crucial consideration is that of the cost. Unless you are contemplating the purchase of an elite top-of-the-line rifle from one of the world-renowned premier gunmakers, most custom-built rifles will bear a heftier price than their production-built counterparts.

Buying any rifle is like purchasing a new car: As soon as you drive it off the lot, or in this case walk out of the gun shop, the value starts a downward spiral. The difference between these two products is that the car continues its downward descent until you finally decide to donate it to your local church for a small tax write-off. But when it comes to firearms, the value over time will often change course and increase. Generally speaking, however, custom-built firearms seldom increase in value as quickly as high-quality production-built guns.

Even though there are obviously some negative aspects to custom-built firearms, there are many positive points that need considering. Take, for example, the idea of breaking away from the crowd. You can be the only hunter you know to have a rifle built to fit your preferences precisely, and when you pull it from its case, it immediately captures everyone’s attention. I know this is starting to sound like an ego trip—and some of it likely is—but to put the scenario into perspective, I liken owning and using a custom rifle to wearing a finely crafted tailor-made jacket or a pair of custom-made boots. Just putting the jacket or boots on can change the owner’s outlook on life and boost his or her confidence. And because a custom-built rifle is an extension of the shooter’s likes and preferences, it too can become a confidence builder and have the ability to lead to better shooting performance.

It is surprising how few parts actually go into the construction of a custom rifle, but it takes a great deal of labor and knowledge to get those parts assembled properly.

One of the first steps in constructing a custom rifle is the assembly of the barreled action. In this case, the author’s gunsmith, Dan Coffin, is using a metal lathe to cut the barrel threads.

If you decide that the custom route is one you want to embark on, you will face plenty of decisions, with possibly the most crucial being who will build the rifle for you. This can be a tough one to iron out because not all people who call themselves gunsmiths are capable of doing a first-rate job. If you don’t make the right decision, the entire project could be in jeopardy. If you don’t already have a gunsmith in whom you have complete confidence a good place to start your investigation might be at your local sporting goods store or gun club. These people might be able to lead you in the right direction. But even then, it is imperative that you follow up by checking out the gunsmith’s credentials, experience, and accomplishments. Only then should you commit to using his or her services. After that, you should sit down with the gunsmith and discuss all the possibilities in detail.

A gunsmith’s eye is best described as the eye of an artisan. (Shown is Dan Coffin of the Victor, MT based Coffin Gunsmithing).

There are essentially two approaches to a custom rifle. You can begin with a production-built firearm and have it rebuilt to your specifications by replacing the parts as you feel necessary, or you can start with a new action or barreled action, and build it from there. I’ve done both and have always been satisfied with the end results. Some, but not all, firearms manufacturers make available their actions or barreled actions for sale individually. If I’m building a rifle from the ground up, I try to avoid the use of new barreled actions simply because this eliminates the possibility of using a higher-quality barrel. I would much prefer to purchase the action by itself and then select whichever barrel I feel will provide me with the best performance. Ironically, new rifle actions sometimes carry price tags that are higher than many good quality production-built rifles. Because of this, sometimes it simply makes good sense to purchase a used rifle that is in top-notch shape, and then to rebuild it to your specifications. In this case, you might even be able to sell the parts you remove to help offset costs. Whatever approach you decide to take, you need to discuss those details with your gunsmith prior to beginning the work. No gunsmith has a complete knowledge of every possible aspect of firearm creation. He or she might be more familiar with Remington Model 700 actions, or CZs, or some other design. As long as you accept the quality aspects of one of those actions, it might be wise to go along with your gunsmith’s recommendations rather than utilizing an action with which he or she might not have as much experience.

Gunsmiths use a reamer in order to cut the chamber into a new barrel (bottom). A go-gage (top) is used to check for headspace and to make sure the chamber is tight, accurate, and meets SAAMI specifications.

Once the type of action has been decided on, the next step is to start thinking about a barrel. You might be surprised by just how many barrel manufacturers there are to select from. My gunsmith is particularly fond of the barrels coming from Lilja, but Shilen and Douglas produce some excellent products as well. To some shooters, it might be surprising to find out that Wilson Arms supplies all the barrels used on the Cooper Firearms of Montana’s rifles. Cooper has the reputation for building some of the most accurate rifles found anywhere, and in my opinion, that is a noteworthy endorsement for those barrels. In fact, when I built my last custom .300 Winchester Magnum Rifle, which has become my primary elk rifle, I equipped it with a Wilson barrel, and I’ve never regretted it.

One of the most important considerations when building a custom rifle is to decide on what action to use. This particular one was built by Montana Rifles and became a part of the author’s custom .270 Weatherby Magnum.

A few things to consider when selecting a barrel is the twist rate, contour, type of metal, and whether the barrel comes from the factory lapped or not. Let’s take each of these one at a time. First, the twist rate is an important consideration, particularly if you are intending to shoot heavier or lighter-than-normal bullets for that particular cartridge. Your gunsmith or the barrel manufacturer can certainly advise you on the best choice for your particular hunting situation and needs.

Barrels are frequently available in a range of different contours. Your intended use of the rifle will largely determine which is best. If you are constructing a rifle for mountain hunting where you pack your rifle for miles and days at a time, you might want to consider a pencil-thin contour. On the other hand, if you do all your hunting from a tree stand, you might want a little heavier contoured barrel to provide a higher degree of stability. But using a lathe, your gunsmith generally can turn down a barrel to smaller dimensions if necessary.

Do you want a stainless barrel to either match the finish of the action or add contrast to a blued action? Even though many people believe that stainless steel barrels are more resistant to wear than chrome-moly barrels, they really aren’t. Keep in mind, however, that stainless barrels cannot be blued in the traditional manner. If you want a stainless rifle with a blue or black finish, it must be baked-on. It has always been a puzzle to me why these finishes frequently cost more than a high-quality blued metal finish. I don’t like the looks of them nearly as well as a nice, traditional blue job. Nevertheless, some hunters feel this finish provides the rifle with protection from the elements, which they likely do. If, on the other hand, you decide to go the traditional bluing route, it will be necessary to decide whether you prefer a matte finish or a gloss blued look. The procedures to make either of these finishes are very similar. The only difference is that to produce a matte appearance, the parts must be glass-bead blasted prior to the metal going into the bluing baths.

Lastly, lapping is nothing more than polishing out any imperfections and tooling marks that might have been developed as a result of the barrel’s manufacturing process. This is, however, a job best left up to the professionals. Most high-quality barrels come from the factory already lapped, which is a major advantage to be considered when purchasing a new barrel. If, however, your barrel hasn’t been lapped, I will cover this topic in a little more detail and provide an alternative to factory lapping in chapter 13, “Barrel Break-In and Other Barrel-Conditioning Procedures.”

The traditional method of hot gun bluing involves a very carefully controlled rusting process that produces the desired blue appearance. If the rifle is to have a matte finish the parts must be glass bead blasted before beginning the hot bluing process.

I am sometimes amazed by how many shooters do not recognize the crucially important role a trigger plays in accuracy. I suppose it is a matter of perspective because I have, on occasion, had shooters comment about liking a particular trigger only to find, when I try it, that the movements are so atrociously bad that I fear nightmares will surely follow. Poor trigger movements and excessively heavy pulls have the ability to turn even an experienced shooter into someone who might appear more like a quivering young school girl who squeezes her eyes tightly closed at the first sign of a loud noise. Just thinking about such things makes me feel antsy and queasy. A significant portion of new rifles and even many new actions do not come with what I would consider to be even marginally good triggers. They frequently have slack and creep in their movements, the contact points have seldom been adequately polished and honed for smooth operation, and more often than not it will be set to extremely heavy trigger pull weights. In this case, you have a couple of options available. If the trigger isn’t too badly designed, you could have your gunsmith complete a trigger job on it, whereby the working mechanisms are polished and adjusted. Or you could opt to simply toss the trigger in the junk bin, where it sometimes belongs, and replace it with an aftermarket unit from a company like Timney, Jewell, Basix, or another quality manufacturer.

If you don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to evaluating trigger performance, there is no better education than hands-on experience. It is likely that your gunsmith can help by allowing you to try some different triggers firsthand. Any competent gunsmith will likely have a few rifles on hand, maybe those he or she personally uses, that are equipped with high-quality triggers. By trying a few of these, you should be able to quickly recognize the inherent differences and learn to appreciate how crucially important triggers are to your hunting performance.

One of the enjoyable things about building a custom rifle is being able to select such things as the checkering pattern. The author decided to use this particular semi-fancy pattern on two of his big bore custom rifles. Checkering was done by Pam Wheeler of Stevensville, Montana.

Once the barrel has been fitted to the action, the next step is to inlet the roughed-in stock.

If you are considering a synthetic stock for your custom rifle, your gunsmith can likely purchase whatever style and color pattern you prefer, and then fit it to your rifle. On the other hand, if you are thinking about equipping your rifle with a wood stock, your gunsmith might have someone else rough it in. The woodworking aspect of constructing a custom-built rifle is its own field and because of this, many gunsmiths will farm the initial stock work out to someone else. In this case, when the gunsmith receives the roughed-in stock, it will likely be somewhere around 95 percent inletted and shaped. From there, it is frequently the job of the gunsmith to complete the inletting process, do the final stock fitting to his or her customer, and apply the necessary finish.

There are a lot of variations in stock designs and, of course, different varieties and qualities of wood to be considered. These are serious matters, and you need to explore all the possibilities before making any decisions. Many species of wood are used for gunstocks, but the vast majority of shooters stick with something from the walnut family. The price of gunstock wood is largely based on its availability. Keeping in mind that the sawyer may only find a single walnut blank that meets exhibition grade standards in several dozen trees, high-quality wood can be extremely expensive to purchase. But the initial cost of the wood blank should be kept in perspective with the entire rifle-building project. By the time the stock is finally fitted to the rifle and finished, several hundred dollars will have been invested solely in the labor to get it to that point.

Based on that, it would make little sense to attempt to conserve on expenses by purchasing a utility-grade piece of wood. I’m not going to attempt to convince anyone to spend several thousand dollars to purchase one of those one-in-ten thousand exhibition-grade blanks (unless you are in a much higher income bracket than I am). I would, however, discourage anyone from unnecessarily hindering the quality of the end product by purchasing a plain-Jane piece of walnut simply as a means of saving a few bucks on the front end. By selecting a grade of wood several levels below exhibition grade, possibly a nice AA or AAA quality piece, you will typically be getting a lot of gorgeous figure in the wood for no more than it costs you for the labor that goes into processing it. To me, there aren’t many things more beautiful than a nicely figured piece of walnut. I can clearly envision at least one thing, but that is a topic for an entirely different type of book, which has nothing to do with rifle shooting.

The author’s most recent custom-built rifle is an octagon-barreled .270 Weatherby Magnum. This rifle contains a custom stock of AAA grade Carlo black walnut with a pistol grip cap made from a piece of bighorn sheep horn. Dan Coffin, of the Victor, Montana-based Coffin Gunsmithing, built this rifle for the author. It was responsible for taking 2 mule deer and an elk on its first hunting season.

Along with the many major decisions you will encounter when having a custom rifle built, there will be innumerable minor considerations to face. A few of those might be whether you want iron sights on the rifle along with the capability to mount a scope, the quality, style and thickness of the recoil pad, or maybe you want a buttplate instead—a skeleton buttplate and pistol grip cap look pretty darn nice. Do you want to add a personal touch to the stock by having a pistol grip cap, or end cap, made of something special? Or how about personalizing the metal or stock with your initials? Do you want a target crown cut in the muzzle—always a good idea—or a muzzle brake or other system like a recoil reducer placed in the buttstock? The type of stock finish is also a consideration, as is if it would be advisable to install cross bolts in the stock, and of course there is the matter or checkering. All these details and many more must be carefully taken into account before you start your project, so that once completed, the rifle will be the perfect match for your style of hunting and preferences.

Taking a personalized approach to the design of a custom rifle has the ability to incorporate a bit of yourself into the gun. To demonstrate how you might do that, I will use a few of my own custom rifles as examples of what is sometimes easily possible. Take, for example, my .17 Mach IV varmint rifle. Years ago, I cut a black walnut tree down, which had been growing for many years on a piece of property owned by one of my daughter’s school teachers. Over time, it had doubled as a fence post, and the tree had grown around the barbed wire that was nailed to it, particularly to the dislike of any sawyer. And yes, I did have permission to cut the tree down. Even though at the time I had no idea whether I would ever find a use for them, my idea was to have as much of the tree cut into gunstock blanks as possible. After the blanks had been cut, I used beeswax to seal the ends for control of the drying process and to prevent the formation of seasoning cracks. For many years, the wood sat in my shop slowly air drying until one day, I got the idea to have a varmint rifle built. Selecting a piece that had moderate figure in it, I took it to my gunsmith and laid out my plans. Just the fact that I’d cut the wood myself from my daughter’s school teacher’s yard made this stock something special to me. But I went one step further and used a piece of bighorn sheep horn for the pistol grip cap. Sheep horn polishes beautifully, and it added yet one more unique aspect to the rifle.

Mercury recoil reducers, when installed inside the buttstock of a rifle, can go a long way to reduce felt recoil, but they can add significantly to the weight of the rifle. In this case, this single reducer weighs a full pound.

A major challenge when building the author’s big bore rifles was the redesigning and fitting of the quarter rib. In this case, the rib was modified to accept both iron safari-style sights and a set of quick detachable Leupold QRW scope mounts.

In another case, I used a piece of elephant ivory to make a pistol grip cap for a Ruger 1H .375 Holland & Holland Single Shot Rifle I built myself from a factory-barreled action. It turned out great and gave the rifle an accent few others could match. I had taken part in a feral buffalo culling operation in the Northern Territory of Australia a few years ago, and I returned with a few pieces of buffalo horn specifically intending to use them for various projects. I wound up putting some of the pieces to good use in rifle-building projects and, if I ever get some time, I plan on using more for knife handles. I even used a piece of that same horn to add a little personal accent to a synthetic stock for its pistol grip cap.

For two other rifles, which have custom wood stocks, I did the same thing and even included a piece for the forearm cap on my custom .300 Winchester Magnum Elk Rifle. Every time I pick up one of these rifles, it reminds of those days in the outback helping my ranger friend cull the unwanted buffalo off the Down Under aborigine lands. While having my matching set of big bore safari rifles built, which I will discuss in more detail later, I used some pieces of leadwood that I’d brought back from my friend and professional hunter’s ranch in South Africa to make the pistol grip caps and forearm end caps. I saw this as a way of honoring a very good friend and, as such, every time I see those rifles, a flood of incredible safari memories comes to mind. The way I see it, if you can incorporate some of yourself into your custom rifle, it is like having a trophy head mounted to hang on your wall: It allows you to recapture the great hunting adventures you’ve experienced.

When building a custom rifle, the possibilities are endless. A little metal engraving like this on the bolt handle has the ability to add a bit of class to a rifle.

Engraving is also a possibility, as well as gold inlays if you so prefer. Even a small amount of engraving has the potential to add flare to a custom rifle. Another major consideration is whether to have the stock checkered. On occasion, I have heard some ill-informed individuals say that checkering only hides or detracts from the grain of the wood, but those claims are absolutely wrong. The wood grain shows through the checkering well, and any checkering, even a modest pattern, will go a long way to enhance a stock’s overall appearance. Checkering patterns are widely varied, from the exquisite and intricate to the more subtle and plain patterns. As can be expected, the more lines per inch and the more elaborate the pattern is, the longer time it takes to produce, and the more it will cost.

Even a small amount of engraving on a custom rifle has the ability to add a great deal of eye appeal.

3. Is a Wildcat in Your Future?

Much like folks who crave the adrenaline rush from driving a sports car when a more practical choice might be a family station wagon, sedan, or SUV, some hunters have a similar urge to deviate from the norm. For these individuals, this sometimes takes the form of a rifle chambered for a wildcat cartridge. Even though it would be much easier and cheaper to purchase a production-built rifle chambered for a common cartridge that any Walmart could amply supply, the wildcat shooter puts convenience aside in order to walk a path less trodden.

A wildcat is a noncommercial cartridge you either design or someone else has developed previously. In the late 1950s and 1960s, wildcatting was at its best. During that era, it seemed as if every gunsmith, professional or amateur, was experimenting with some form of new cartridge. In a few cases, those trailblazing experimenters were rewarded when a firearms or ammunition manufacturer took notice of their pet cartridge and moved it into full commercial production. Examples would include well-known cartridges such as the .22-250, .25-06, .35 Whelen, and more recently, the new .17 Fireball and .17 Hornet. But for every cartridge that managed to reach that pinnacle of success, there are hundreds of others that never saw their fledging designs make the big time. Some of those cartridges were simply not worthy of full production, such as the appropriately named .22 Eargesplitten Loudenboomer. This ridiculous design involved necking down the huge .378 Weatherby case to accept a tiny .22 caliber bullet. On the other hand, there are many other wildcats that turned out to be great performers and are still favored by shooters today, but were never commercialized. Just a sampling of those would include such great cartridges as the .20 VarTarg, .30-338, and many other improved designs.

Possibly the most prolific and best known of the cartridge wildcatters was P. O. Ackley, who seemed in his lifetime to have reformed and manipulated virtually every available piece of brass to satisfy a desire to turn something old into something new. The details of many of these cartridges are covered in Mr. Ackley’s informative book in two volumes, Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders. Another, somewhat less-known wildcatter was Elmer Keith who, after many years of prodding and nudging, finally convinced Remington to put his souped-up .44 Special into production. Keith’s dream came true in 1955 when Remington decided to offer Dirty Harry’s own caliber—the .44 Remington Magnum.

The Garin SureStrike System wildcat cartridges (left) were designed to have a similar shoulder angle as that used on the Weatherby cartridges (right). This helped to provide a maximum amount of case capacity for the powder charge.

Like many shooters, I have found myself drawn to the nonconformity of wildcat cartridges. My first major experience in wildcatting was when I purchased a used rifle from my local sporting goods shop, which had originally been chambered for .30-06, but somewhere along the way was rechambered to .30-06 Ackley Improved. This purchase gave me a great way to ease into the world of wildcatting because not only had the rifle already been rechambered, it also came with a set of a reloading dies to match the new cartridge. This rechambering resulted in a an increase to the muzzle velocity of about 200 feet per second over that of the standard .30-06 Springfield.

Some say this particular cartridge was one of Ackley’s most controversial wildcat designs, but I take strong issue with those accusations. Even though the ‘06 Ackley falls short in performance when compared with some commercial .30 caliber magnums, it comes with its own set of advantages, including the ease at which a rifle can be converted. Unlike many of the .30 caliber magnums, it only takes running a reamer into the ‘06 chambered rifle and, voilà, you have a high-performing wildcat ‘06 Ackley without changing the bolt face to accommodate a belted case or the expense of purchasing a magnum-length action.

Cartridges that are considered “improved” designs utilize the same parent case, but by expanding the walls of the case and sometimes changing the angle of the shoulder, it results in increasing the powder capacity. This often increases the velocity of the cartridge. The advantage is the ease at which the conversion can be accomplished and the fact that both the standard commercially available previous cartridges and the improved wildcat cartridge can be safely fired in the same rifle. For example, in the case of the .30-06 Ackley Improved, not only can you fire the newly designed Ackley rounds, but you can substitute the standard .30-06 cartridges. How neat is that? If you run out of ammunition on a hunt, all you have to do is locate a box of standard .30-06 ammunition, and you are back in business. In fact, that is how the improved cartridge cases are formed: Standard .30-06 ammunition is fired in the rifle possessing the improved chamber dimensions. This results is blowing out the brass to fit the new chamber. After that, a set of reloading dies possessing the new dimensions are used to reload the cartridges.

Wildcat cartridges sometimes require forming dies in order to gradually and progressively reform the cartridge cases to the desired specifications. Shown here are the author’s dies for his .17 Mach IV. The 2 dies on the left are the forming dies. The Form #1 die (left) will squeeze the neck of the .22 Fireball case down to about .193” in diameter. Form #2 die (second from the left) will progressively reduce it further to about .175”, which is then followed by the normal full-length resizing die to take it the rest of the way. Once formed and loaded, the cartridges will usually need to be fire-formed to complete the process.

Another prolific wildcatter was the O’Brien Rifle Company of Las Vegas, Nevada. One successful design O’Brien came up with of which I am a big fan was the .17 Mach IV. A few years back, I had my gunsmith build a rifle for varmint shooting in this caliber, and I have loved it ever since. We built the rifle using a miniature Mauser style CZ 527 action and equipped it with a thumbhole stock and a Shilen barrel. Varmint shooters have used this cartridge for many years, particularly for shooting ground squirrels and prairie dogs at a long range. I often wondered why one of the firearms companies didn’t commercialize this cartridge, but shortly after I had had my rifle built, Remington did just that, calling it the .17 Remington Fireball.

The author’s Coffin-built custom thumbhole .17 Mach IV rifle took this coyote with a single shot at about 200-yards. The little 25-grain Berger bullet dropped the coyote literally in its tracks with a shot through the lungs.

There are several dimensional variations floating about for the .17 Mach IV, which is sometimes common in the wildcat arena. Largely because of these nonstandard characteristics, Remington chose to abandon the name .17 Mach IV in favor of their own name. Both cartridges utilized the .22 Fireball as their parent case. For all practical purposes, these two cartridges are ballistically identical, but the ammunition might not always be interchangeable. For safety reasons, Remington is insistent that no one should attempt to shoot a .17 Fireball cartridge in a rifle chambered for .17 Mach IV. In order to produce the cartridge cases for the wildcat version, you begin with .22 Fireball cases. Through the use of forming dies, you incrementally step down the neck diameter to accept the .17 caliber bullet. After that, the cases are fire-formed to complete the process.

The author’s custom-built .17 Mach IV rifle turned out to be the perfect medicine for critters like this badger.

In recent years, .20-caliber cartridges were given a great boost when Ruger and Hornady came out with the .204 Ruger. Although this is a great cartridge, a wildcat that I like much better is the .20 VarTarg. Like the .17 Mach IV, the .20 VarTarg is based on the same .22 Fireball case. I tested a Cooper Firearms of Montana Model 21 Rifle chambered in .20 VarTarg a while back and absolutely loved both the rifle and cartridge. The name VarTarg comes from combining “Var” from the word varmint and “Targ” from target. Todd Kindler, the editor of the quarterly publication Small Caliber News, is credited with developing this cartridge in 1995. Within a short time span, small-game and varmint shooters began to take notice, which made this a popular choice within the shooting communities. Even though the .20 VarTarg moves bullets out of the muzzle slower than the much larger .204 Ruger, it is a more efficient cartridge.

I consider all .20-caliber centerfire rifles to be 250- to 300-yard firearms. Just because the bullet leaves the barrel of a .204 Ruger more quickly the real limiting factors affecting little bullets like the .17 and .20-calibers are the wind and waning trajectories at a long range. But when it comes to the .20 VarTarg, there is a word of caution that is important to point out. When I first began reloading for this cartridge, I found a considerable amount of data, some of which I eventually deemed unsafe, at least in the rifle I was loading for. I frequently found I couldn’t get anywhere close to what was listed as maximum loads. Discussing this with the officials at Cooper, I was told that they had the same experience. As is always the case when handloading, you should start with minimum loads and only gradually work up from there, constantly checking for signs of impending pressure.

A few of my other favorite wildcats include the .243 Winchester Improved and the .257 Roberts Improved, both of which are Ackley designs, the .22 K-Hornet, and the .30-338. In reality, no matter what you are looking for—from a tiny wildcat centerfire .14 caliber all the way up to something for dangerous game, like the .600 Overkill—there will likely be a cartridge that will get your blood pumping. If you can’t find something you like that has been previously designed, you could always strike off on your own to produce your own cartridge, and maybe even name it after yourself. To make the transition into wildcatting easier, some semi-custom rifle shops, such as Cooper Firearms of Montana, will gladly construct a rifle for you based on whatever specifications you provide them.

The Garin SureStrike System of wildcat cartridges covers a broad array of bullet choices to select from (L-R): .30 Carbine (for comparison purposes), .25 Garin, 6mm Garin, 22 Garin, .20 Garin, and .17 Garin.

A few years ago, I got involved with a California wildcatter by the name of Paul Garin III, who had commissioned Cooper Firearms of Montana to build him a set of five matching wildcat rifles. Garin had developed his own five wildcat cartridges, all of which were based on a .30 Carbine parent case. Each was necked down from the straight-walled Carbine design into the neck diameters of .17, .20, .22, 6mm, and .25 calibers. At that time, Garin was going to call his new creations the GCARBs. Preceding that name would be the caliber designation. Eventually, he decided to simply use his name instead.

Even before the first rifles were completed by Cooper, I was contacted by Garin and asked to do some of the preliminary testing and load development work for the new cartridges. It seemed like a fun project, but because of my own time constraints, I agreed to only work on the three smallest cartridges—the .17 Garin, .20 Garin, and .22 Garin. Because I was working with borrowed rifles, my load development work didn’t push the cartridges to their full potential, but even so, I was quickly impressed with the results. A significant portion of my work was done on the range, but I did get out a few times for some varmint shooting. On one particular trip afield using the .17 Garin, I smacked a skinnier-than-usual ground squirrel at a whopping distance of 542 yards. This clearly exceeds the normal capabilities of any .17 caliber, and it certainly impressed me.

Once we’d burned up a considerable amount of powder and Garin was assured of his project’s success, he set up a business called the Garin SureStrike System. In essence, this was a way of commercializing his cartridges without going through an established firearms manufacturer. His company can now provide virtually everything needed for those calibers. A prospective customer can purchase a ready-to-shoot rifle for any of the cartridges, and Garin can distribute anything needed to reload them.

While testing and working up loads for the .20 Garin, the author shot these 3-shot 100-yards groups. Even though the target on the left appears to have only 2 holes, it too was a 3-shot group and helps to demonstrate the fine accuracy of this cartridge.

Paul Garin of SureStrike System commissioned Cooper Firearms of Montana to build his first 5 rifles, one rifle chambered in each of his cartridges.

When choosing to head down a road less traveled, sometimes there are unexpected ruts and obstacles to encounter, and wildcatting is no exception. A couple of mine came when I had my .500 Jeffrey Rimless big bore rifle built. Even though this particular cartridge would be more akin to a priority class cartridge than an actual wildcat, there is little difference when it comes to potential problems. And even though I anticipated issues from the get-go, such as having to convert the magazine over from the typical Z arrangement to a single stack feed, I didn’t anticipate the magazine spring wouldn’t be capable of properly handling the heavy-ended .50-caliber cartridges. I had to do some pretty serious looking around to find an aftermarket spring that would work. Feeding problems can sometimes be encountered when shoulder angles are changed, cartridge walls are blown out, or bullet diameters are changed, but this is where the expertise of the gunsmith comes into play. His or her experience will be a great help in eliminating these types of issues.

It is always extremely important that the dimensions of your wildcat chamber match precisely those of the reloading dies. When I began the project of building my .500 Jeffrey, I knew from my research that there were several accepted variations in the chamber dimensions for this cartridge. Fortunately, I was able to get the people at Pacific Tool & Gauge, who had agreed to build the chamber reamer, together with the Hornady people, who would be fabricating the reloading dies, and they worked together to ensure that both were perfectly matched. I was fortunate to work with such highly qualified professionals, and with their combined effort, everything dovetailed and worked out perfectly. It would be unrealistic to believe that such a good working arrangement could always take place, but at a minimum, you must make sure that everyone is working with the same information.

There are 5 basic cartridge rim designs. Shown here are examples of those (L-R): Rimmed (30-30 Win.), Rimless (.308 Win.), Rebated (7mm WSM), Semi-Rimmed (.220 Swift) and Belted (.300 Win. Mag.).

When selecting a wildcat cartridge, an important consideration is the cartridge case-head design. There are basically five different case-head configurations commonly available today. These are rimmed, rimless, semi-rimmed, rebated, and belted. Unfortunately, not all are conducive to every rifle action. For example, rimmed cartridge cases were primarily designed for use in break-open style firearms and lever-actions. A couple of examples of rimmed cases are the very popular .30-30 and the .22 Hornet.

Rimmed cartridge cases can sometimes be problematic if attempts are made to use them in a magazine-fed bolt-action rifle. Hornady and Savage recently found this out when they began working with the .17 Hornet. Eventually, they were able to maneuver through these issues with some success, but I believe everyone would agree that it was a major hurdle to overcome. The most common cartridge head designs utilized in bolt-action style rifles are the rimless or belted. There have, however, been a few rebated rim cartridges used, such as in the case of the .284 Winchester and, more recently, the short magnums and ultra magnum cartridges. Possibly the least common case design is that of the semi-rimmed, which falls between the rimmed and rimless designs. These cases typically have rims that are only slightly larger than the case head and incorporate an extractor groove like that of the rimless case. The idea behind this design was to eliminate the feeding issues associated with rimmed cases when used in box style magazines, yet allow for the headspacing at the rim of the case. The most common example of this style of case is probably the .220 Swift.

Taking a trip on the wildcat side can be a lot of fun, but it must be approached cautiously with a great deal of thought and planning. However, the payoff received from taking an animal with your own wildcat cartridge can be a rewarding experience that can’t be matched by simply purchasing a production caliber over the counter. Without a doubt, most ventures into wildcatting will cost you more both in time and dollars, but the bounty can be extensive.

4. Nasty Big Bores for Nasty Critters

When it comes to which cartridges should legitimately carry the label of being a big bore, there are differences in opinion. For the most part, those differences fall on the low end of the spectrum, primarily with some shooters believing that the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum should qualify. But even though the .375 Holland & Holland is frequently considered minimum in some countries for use on dangerous game, I can’t quite bring myself to consider it a big bore cartridge. That opinion, however, shouldn’t cause lovers of the .375 any despair. The .375 Holland & Holland Magnum has an almost irrefutable reputation as being an effective killer of the meanest critters the world has to offer. But I would personally draw the line at the various .416 cartridges. Any rifle possessing that diameter bore and larger is justified in categorizing as a big bore in my opinion.

Big bores have always been close to my heart. I suppose this attraction has its roots in their colorful historic past and the important role they played on the Africa’s Ivory Trail. Or maybe part of my incessant urge to own and shoot rifles with barrels resembling a stove pipe simply comes from the idea that no matter what manner of beast is challenging me, the rifle I am holding in my hands will be up to the task. But no matter what the reason, there is something about big bore rifles that draws me to them much as lions are drawn to the great wildebeest migration.

Even though I’d owned several production-built big bores over the years, I always dreamed of having a cus-tom rifle that fit my own unique design. In my mind, this was a serious project—possibly the only big bore rifle I would ever have made—and I wanted to get it right the first time. Nevertheless, for years I wasn’t able to move the project forward because I couldn’t make up my mind about which cartridge to have the rifle chambered in. Even though many of the newer cartridges, particularly those developed and produced by companies like Dakota and A-Square, were tremendously appealing, I wanted a cartridge that came with more old-world culture and charm behind it. As odd as it seems to me today, it took me more than a decade to reach a decision. In the meantime, I’d pawed over virtually every piece of literature I could lay my hands on pertaining to dangerous game weaponry, but it wasn’t until the umpteenth time that I was meandering through my dog-eared copy of Cartridges of the World that I finally figured it out.

The author’s matched set of big bore rifles, consisting of a .500 Jeffrey (bottom) and a .416 Rigby (top), are the ultimate in dangerous game hunting rifles. Both are equipped with identical Leupold long eye relief scout style scopes and QRW quick-release mounts. The weight and physical size of the .416 was purposely scaled back as compared to that of the .500.

Looking back, I have no idea why it took me so long to recognize what seemed so logical, what was right there in black and white. This particular cartridge had the historic charm and colorful history behind it that I was seeking. At one time, it was considered the most powerful cartridge in the world and capable of taking any animal the earth might offer up, including a charging bull elephant that could tip the scale at a whopping 7 tons—if you could find a scale large enough. Handloading bullets were readily available and, although not necessarily economically priced, a couple of different manufacturers could supply the cartridge cases for reloading. Also, it came close to generating the muzzle velocity that many professional hunters in Africa feel is the ultimate for a dangerous game rifle, which is 2,400 feet per second. The cartridge that had managed to escape my detection all those years had been in front of me all along: The perfect match I’d been looking for was the .500 Jeffrey Rimless. To clarify one thing right off the bat, there are actually two correct spellings of the name Jeffrey. More commonly found today is the spelling that places the “e” in front of the “r”, but I prefer the old-world spelling, which reverses these letters.

Shooting a big bore off the bench can be a brutal experience. Shown here, the author’s custom .458 Winchester Magnum rifle rose several inches off the sandbags at the shot.

I suppose the delay while waiting for my decision did benefit me in one way. When I began my preparation for the project, I didn’t have a competent gunsmith I felt I could trust at my disposal. I was fortunate, however, to make contact with a man I view as a master gunsmith and craftsman who not only has a significant background in rifle construction, but also has extensive experience building big bores. Dan Coffin of the Victor, Montana-based Coffin Gunsmithing turned out to be the perfect match for this project and several that followed. Since that initial encounter, Dan has built me several rifles and has aided me in a variety of my adventures and even, on occasion, with some of my misadventures.

The history of the .500 Jeffrey is a little vague. Rightly or wrongly so, W. J. Jeffrey gets much of the credit for the cartridge, but the original developer was most likely August Schuler Waffenfabrik of Germany, who initially called his cartridge the .500 Schuler. Jeffrey probably picked up on the Schuler design and began producing a very close rendition to it, naming his the .500 Jeffrey Rimless. The first were produced in 1927, but Jeffrey only built twenty-three rifles with that chambering. Nevertheless, they quickly became known as an effective killer of African dangerous game. The name Schuler and Jeffrey are frequently interchanged when talking about these cartridges, but no one should consider these rounds to be identical or that they are in any way interchangeable. Even though they share similar ballistic performance, there are sharp differences in the shoulder angles. The Jeffrey shoulder is a bit longer and set at roughly about 12.5 degrees, whereas the Schuler shoulder is shorter and at a bit over 19.5 degrees. If a Jeffrey cartridge were to be placed in a rifle of the Schuler chambering, you would likely have a severe case of excessive headspace. And if the reverse were attempted, you probably wouldn’t be able to close the bolt.

If you are going for a walk in elephant country, it is a requirement to be heavily armed. Notice the tree that has recently been pushed over by an elephant. The author’s son-in-law is packing a custom-built .450 A-Square Short that belongs to the author’s friend and confidant, Carl Labuschagne.

Some of the more common dangerous game cartridges include (L-R): .600 Nitro Express, .505 Gibbs, .500 Jeffrey Rimless, .416 Rigby, .450-400 and the.375 H&H Magnum.

Much of the credit for the favorable reputation of the .500 Jeffrey goes to famous African hunters like John Taylor and Tony Sanches Arino, who fostered a belief that the .500 Jeffrey was possibly the best big bore cartridge ever developed. But over the years that this cartridge has been in existence, the interest in it has become stagnant until just recently. Currently, however, several mainstream rifle manufacturers are chambering rifles in that caliber, and companies like Norma and CORBON are offering factory-loaded ammunition for it. I don’t profess in any way that I had anything to do with this newfound interest, but I find it interesting that after so many years of apparent stagnation, others in the shooting business finally recognized the charm and abilities of the .500 Jeffrey shortly after I discovered them. Cartridge cases, although not cheap by anyone’s imagination, are readily available from the American firm Jamison, the Swedish firm Norma, and from the Australian-based Bertram.

More people are killed by hippos in Africa than by any other animal. Going after these huge brutes, you need every bit of firepower you can obtain from a big bore rifle.

In the early years, the .500 Jeffrey was usually loaded with 535 grain bullets, backed by 90 grains of Cordite. But this didn’t come close to tapping into the full potential of the cartridge. Today, with a wider variety of heavier, better-constructed bullets and significantly better powders, the .500 Jeffrey has continued to increase in quality with age. These innovations mean that it has the ability to launch a big 570-grain bullet on its way at close to 2,400 feet per second, producing nearly 3¼12; tons of energy. Even the modern A-Square and Dakota cartridges show little to no advantages over that level of performance. Furthermore, the .500 Jeffrey stacks up decently even when compared with the enormous .600 Nitro Express. Even though the .600 Nitro Express can send a monstrously large 900-grain chunk of lead and copper out of its barrel, it does so at a slower pace, which impinges its ability to penetrate as deeply as the .500.

Once I’d decided on the cartridge for my custom big bore, I commissioned Dan Coffin to build the rifle for me, and I worked closely with him in every phase of its construction. Since 1990, Coffin has been the private gunsmith for the country singer Hank Williams Jr., and the job of maintaining Williams’s vast collection of firearms is a massive undertaking. However, Coffin frequently takes outside custom rifle work on a case-by-case basis and has an excellent reputation when it comes to big bores. Previously, he did much of the custom metal and stock work for the big bore manufacturer American Hunting Rifles Inc., which frequently included calibers up to the massive wildcat .600 Overkill—essentially a belted rimless version of the .600 Nitro Express, but designed specifically for use in bolt-action rifles.

All buffalo species are tough critters to bring down. Nevertheless, the author’s custom .500 Jeffrey made short work of this 1-ton Australia Northern Territory water buffalo.

Because I figured this would be the only custom big bore rifle I would have the chance to build, a considerable amount of effort and thought went into every phase of its development and construction. Everything worked out to my satisfaction, but my suspicion that the gun would be a one-and-only piece in my collection turned out to be false. However, that’s a story for another time.

One of the next big decisions to make was which action to use. Eventually during a consultation with Dan, it was decided that we’d use a CZ 550, a moderately priced modified Mauser design that possesses a controlled round feed and Mauser-style extractors. As good as the CZ actions are, they are not without problems, which would have to be faced and resolved. CZ seems to be very proud of their single-set trigger, but neither Dan nor I were enamored of it, particularly when it came to a big bore dangerous game rifle. So, we decided to swap that trigger out for one of Dan’s own designs. Also, the style and positioning of the bolt handle would need changing. We felt it would require too much removal of the stock wood to accommodate its current positioning, which would weaken it when a big bore needs all the stock strength we could muster. Finally, to ensure reliable feeding of the cartridges, the typical Z-stacked magazine would need to be converted to a single-stack feeding system. We found later that a heavier magazine spring would be necessary to keep the end-heavy cartridges aligned properly with the chamber.

The author took this fine Asian water buffalo in the Northern Territory of Australia with a single shot from his custom built Coffin Gunsmithing .500 Jeffrey Rimless rifle loaded with 570-grain Barnes Triple Shock X Bullets.

Taking a hands-on approach to the project, I’d volunteered to track down many of the parts we needed, the majority of which I found available from Brownells via mail order. This wasn’t how Dan usually operated, but I felt it gave me the opportunity for more involvement in the process. I had many years to think about this venture and clearly had plenty of ideas about how the rifle should look, feel, and shoot. I wanted it to have the outward appearance of an older dangerous game rifle, like those built by Holland & Holland, Jeffrey, and Rigby, yet I didn’t want to ignore the possibility of adding new features and design changes that could enhance the rifle’s performance.

To keep the recoil to a minimum, the barrel was left heavy, measuring 21mm at the muzzle and 25mm where it joined the receiver. This was a non-traditional taper, but one that seemed to fit the desired look and feel of the rifle. The stock was also constructed to be heavy and included two 1-pound mercury recoil reducers in the buttstock. Traditionally, most big bores are equipped with only iron sights, but I wanted the option of using a low-magnification scope in addition to the safari sights. But one thing that I feared, possibly even more than a close encounter with an angry Cape buffalo, was getting slapped in the eye by the rim of a scope from a rifle like a .500. Carl Labuschagne, my mentor, retired African professional hunter, and the man I have dedicated this book to, offered me some advice on this. He also liked the idea of having the option to use a scope on a bolt-action big bore, but he insisted on the use of long-eye relief style scopes, which preferably would be mounted using quick detachable style mounts. His own rifle chambered in .460 A-Square Short, which he built himself, was set up in that manner with a scope typically used on a handgun. I felt this would be a major hurdle to overcome, but Dan didn’t think so and suggested that we start by mounting a Dakota Rifle quarter rib on the barrel directly in front of the action. The rib would then be modified and machined to accept a pair of Leupold QRW scope bases, and a two-blade safari express sight would be added between the scope bases.

Big bore rifles come with a lot of recoil, but that recoil can be less offensive when the rifle is shot off-hand. In this case, the author was testing a Kimber Caprivi rifle chambered in .458 Lott.

Even though possibly not the best choice in a long-range elk cartridge, the author took this fine bull elk behind his western Montana house with a shot from his .416 Rigby at a remarkable 320 yards.

Rifles with a heavy recoil like this one have the potential to be hard on stocks, so we decided to use the typically stronger French walnut over the black variety. For further protection from the abusive recoil, Dan glassed in the action and installed the usual two standard cross bolts through the side of the stock. For even more strength and stock-damage resistance, a second lug was attached to the underside of the barrel in front of the main lug, and it too was glassed in place. Dan had learned that little trick while working on the American Hunting Rifle’s big bores, and it proved to be very effective.

Once the rifle was completed, I topped it off with a Leupold FX-II 2.5x28mm IER Scout scope, which made the perfect match for a rifle intended as a close-quarters deadly encounter firearm. Eventually, I settled on handloads with 570-grain Triple Shock X Bullets as its primary cartridge, which shot exceptionally well. Though I was remarkably pleased at how the rifle turned out, I couldn’t resist the thought of having a second matching rifle built. So about a year later, I embarked on another big bore project, which would be chambered in another historical cartridge—the.416 Rigby.

The two rifles would be built as a matching set and as such, they would likely never be separated. The only difference was that the .416 was scaled back in size and weight from the massive dimensions of the .500. After having the .416 built, I was anxious for it to see a little action, but regrettably I couldn’t find a single dangerous game trip on my calendar. So I opted instead to use it on my local Montana elk hunt and took a fine 6x6 bull that very first year at the amazing distance of 320 yards. Even though this particular cartridge wouldn’t normally be my first choice for shots at that range, it did an effective job on the bull by taking out both front shoulders with its handloaded 400-grain Barnes Triple Shock X bullet. This was a great way to break in the new rifle, but in all honesty, I would have to place the .416 Rigby in the category of a 200- to 250-yard rifle. At 320 yards, its trajectory starts to wane badly, and even though this shot was a good one, it impacted lower than I had anticipated.

On the lower end of the dangerous game cartridges is the .458 Winchester Magnum, which was developed by Winchester in 1956. The advantage in this cartridge lies in the fact that its case is a mere .006 of an inch longer than the .30-06 Springfield. This makes it acceptable for use in standard length bolt-action rifles, and because of this, it is one of the most commonly found big bores. But in my view, the .458 Winchester Magnum is severely lacking in powder capacity. Handloading for the cartridge almost always his was the results in heavily compressed powder charges. In addition, many professionals in the safari business simply don’t believe that the .458 Winchester Magnum has the needed backbone to be considered as a dangerous game cartridge. One of those nonbelievers was the famous late Jack Lott who, after a particularly nasty encounter with a twice-shot Mozambique Cape buffalo in 1959, decided his .458 Winchester Magnum rifle didn’t have the right stuff. After not finding a cartridge he was happy to replace it with, he eventually drew out the specifications on a diner napkin for what would eventually become the .458 Lott. Lott utilized the cartridge case of the .375 Holland Holland Magnum as its parent, but trimmed it to a length of 2.8 inches. The longer case of the Lott, over the 2.5 inch case of the Winchester, came with the obvious benefit of increasing the powder capacity, which is a limiting factor for the Winchester version. The increase in capacity accounted for about 200 to 250 additional feet per second in muzzle velocity, thereby making it possible to send a 500-grain bullet on its way at around 2,300 feet per second.

The accuracy of some big bores can be remarkable at times. The two new impact points on this metal silhouette were produced by a .458 Lott chambered Kimber Model 84 Caprivi rifle at 250-yards. Separated by no more than the width of a single .45-caliber bullet, no one could expect any better accuracy from a rifle deemed to be essentially a short-range weapon.

One of the advantages inherent in the .458 Lott is its ability to safely fire .458 Winchester Magnum ammunition. In a pinch and out of ammo while on safari in some distant Africa land, the ability to substitute the more common Winchester Magnum ammo is a real plus. In this case, you would certainly be more likely to find a box of .458 Winchester ammunition than to locate a box of the rarer .458 Lott shells. For shooting practice, firing .458 Winchester cartridges allows the shooter to get used to a rifle without being pounded quite as profusely by the recoil. There are, however, a couple of important considerations when shooting the .458 Winchester Magnum cartridges in a Lott chambered rifle. First, because of the longer chamber length, it would be a good idea to do a thorough cleaning of the rifle after the shorter cartridges have been shot, just in case there is some buildup in the front of the chamber. Second, you should not expect the .458 Winchester cartridges to impact at the same point as the .458 Lott cartridges. While testing a Kimber Caprivi rifle, I found that factory-loaded Hornady .458 Winchester Magnum cartridges shot about 3.5 inches low and 2 inches to the left at 100 yards from where my Norma .458 Lott factory ammo did. This was the case even when both cartridges were loaded with identical designed 500-grain bullets.

African Cape buffalo are considered by many professional hunters to be the most dangerous animal on earth to hunt. To go after these big and tough brutes, there is no such thing as too much gun.

Recently, a new wildcat version of a straight-walled .458 has been created called the .458 Express. This cartridge has the potential for even better ballistic performance due to its longer case length of 2.99 inches. I haven’t had any firsthand experience with this particular cartridge, but for the shooter looking to stay in the .45-caliber big bore platform, it might be a valid alternative to consider.

Of all the big bore rifle cartridges, the massive .600 Nitro Express certainly captures a great deal of attention wherever big bore lovers congregate. This was another brainchild of W. J. Jeffrey, and when it was first introduced in 1903, it was touted as the largest and most powerful British elephant gun in existence. Of course since that time, that distinction was lost first to the .500 Jeffrey, and then on a worldwide basis when Weatherby introduced their .460 Weatherby Magnum. Nevertheless, the .600 Nitro Express is an awe-inspiring cartridge with the ability to fling the equivalent of a two ounce fishing sinker out of the muzzle at speeds approaching 2,000 feet per second.

Unlike many of the other older British cartridges, the .600 Nitro Express was never loaded with black powder. It entered the world as a smokeless powder cartridge and in its own specific cartridge case. Commercially, there were two loads produced by Kynoch. The most powerful of these contained 110 grains of powder, and the lighter load was loaded with ten grains fewer. According to John Taylor, both of these loads contained metal-covered bullets weighing 900 grains. The 110-grain load generated 14 tons of pressure, produced a muzzle velocity of 1,950 feet per second, and muzzle energy of 7,610 foot-pounds. The lighter load, using the same bullet, reportedly produced 11 tons of pressure, 1,830 feet per second muzzle velocity, and 6,840 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. Taylor went on to indicate that the lighter of these two loads, as I could easily imagine, was more pleasant to shoot, yet produced acceptable results on dangerous game. Jeffrey designed their double rifles around the lighter load, for what reason I’m not sure. Double barrel rifles are typically regulated at the factory to shoot a load. Doing so allows the bullets from both barrels to impact at the same point at a given range. When loads are changed, it sometimes results in the barrels shooting to entirely different points of impact.

Like a lot of cartridges, there is some controversy surrounding the choice of a .600 Nitro Express as a dangerous game weapon, as many other old-time ivory hunters seem to prefer cartridges like the .500 Nitro Express, .500 Jeffrey, .505 Gibbs, and especially the .577 Nitro Express. Much of this preference comes from the fact that these smaller cartridges typically send their bullets out of the barrel faster and thereby achieve better penetration than the large .600. Nevertheless, Taylor reported in his writings that he once took down an elephant with a frontal brain shot using his .600 Nitro Express, instantly dropping the bull in its tracks. To check the depth of the bullet’s penetration, he stuck a piece of bamboo into the wound. Once the stick found the end of the channel, he marked the depth and pulled the stick out. When he compared it to his 24-inch rifle barrel he found that the depth of the bullet penetration exceeded that length by a full 3 inches. He also shared a story of shooting a buffalo that was only 9 feet away. Using soft-point bullets, it reportedly split the animal’s head wide open, or as he described it, “much as you can split open a watermelon by bouncing it on a rock.” Even though Taylor occasionally used soft-point bullets in his .600, he preferred solids, or as he called them, “full-patch bullets.”

Many of the largest big bore cartridges were designed for use in break-open rifles, like the .600 Nitro Express (left). An equivalent performing wildcat cartridge, the .600 Overkill (right), provides an answer for those shooters preferring a bolt-action rifle.

The .577 Nitro Express has a distinguished reputation as an elephant terminator and was frequently con-sidered a must-have in many ivory hunter’s battery of rifles. First introduced as a black-powder cartridge in 1880, it made the transition to smokeless powder more smoothly than some other cartridges. For many years, Carl Labuschagne used a .577 Double on many of his safaris, taking down virtually everything from warthogs to bull elephants with it. I didn’t realize just how well known Carl and his .577 had become until a few years ago when I was attending the Las Vegas SHOT Show. I struck up a conversation with another South African professional hunter who had a booth at the show. After deciding my bank account wasn’t plush enough yet for another venture to the Africa, I asked if by chance he knew Carl. After thinking a moment, he first said, “No,” but a moment later followed up with, “Oh yeah, he is the .577 guy in South Africa.”

For the largest of game animals, like the elephant, hunters need every bit of firepower they can muster up.

The author’s daughter takes a rest in the footprint of a very large bull elephant, showing the massive bulk of these huge beasts.

That response caught me off guard and without really thinking through his answer, I simply replied, “No.”

The professional hunter quickly followed up, saying, “Yeah, he is.” It then dawned on me that Carl really was “the .577 guy,” and that he was well known for his admiration and use of the .577 Nitro Express.

Two versions of the .577 Nitro Express exist. The original offering came with a 2.75-inch cartridge case, but later a 3-inch version was added. There are still a few rifles being produced with the 2.75-inch chambers today, but if you are going to be able to capture the full potential of this fine cartridge, the only way to do so is with a 3-inch chambered gun. The 2.75-inch chambers seem to be more attuned to the lighter-weight bullets, which aren’t the best choice when it comes to the tough critters for which the cartridge is best known.

It would be a shame to talk about big bores without bringing up the massive .700 Nitro Express. Even though the .700 isn’t encountered often and doesn’t have the historic significance many other big bores do, it comes with an interesting story behind it. In all likelihood, the cartridge might have never come into existence if it hadn’t been for the London firearms company of Holland & Holland refusing to build a .600 Nitro Express for a Californian by the name of William Feldstein. When Mr. Feldstein contacted the company to inquire about building a .600 Nitro Express Double, he was told that they had temporarily halted production of the .600. Apparently, their response didn’t sit well with Mr. Feldstein. What it did was inspire him to join forces with Jim Bell, of Bell Basic Brass, formally Brass Extrusion Laboratories Ltd., and with Bell’s assistance, the two of them designed the .700 Nitro Express in lieu of getting a .600.

For the big bore lovers who are seeking the ultimate degree of firepower, the .585 Nyati is in a class by itself. Even though this cartridge isn’t considered a production caliber, it would have to rank at the top of anyone’s list of the most powerful shoulder-held sporting arms in existence. Being capable of sending a huge 750-grain bullet out the muzzle at speeds approaching 2,500 feet per second certainly produces a great deal of killing power. Delivering more than 5 tons of energy at the muzzle, this certainly qualifies as a phenomenally powerful weapon and begs the question of when you’ve gone too far. Considering that a .30-06 will punch the shooter in the shoulder with about 21 foot-pounds of recoil energy, the .585 Nyati will pound the shooter with over ten times that level of felt recoil, or more than 220 foot-pounds. Many experts consider that level to be very close to the maximum that the human body can tolerate, and it would certainly be well beyond what most shooters could likely withstand.

Unfortunately, many of the really great performing big bore cartridges were specifically designed for use in break-open rifles, either single shots or doubles. And because the price of double rifles can quickly flatten your wallet, this essentially removes the possibility of ownership for those of us who possess a less-than-robust bank account. There might, however, be a way around this dilemma through a Montana-based company called American Hunting Rifles. They are now building rifles in a series of wildcat cartridges that emulate the performance of many of the older British calibers, but in a design that functions well in bolt-action rifles. Currently, they’re making rifles chambered for such cartridges as the .500 AHR, .585 AHR, .600 AHR, and .700 AHR, which have similar ballistic performance as the .500 Nitro Express, .585 Nyati, 600 Nitro Express, and the .700 Nitro Express, respectively. The company sells custom-built rifles chambered for those cartridges, as well as loaded ammunition and virtually everything that goes with such things. So, even though you might have always dreamed of owning a .600 Nitro Express Double Rifle but couldn’t afford it, maybe a .600 AHR will do almost as well.

Ryan Englert will be sure to remember this day hunting with his father and taking this great whitetail buck. Photo courtesy John Englert.

5. How Much Weight Do You Want in a Rifle?

Target rifles are frequently built heavy and for good reason. A heavier rifle will typically be steadier to shoot, and the barrel won’t heat up as quickly. But hunting is an entirely different game than poking holes in a piece of paper while sitting comfortably at a shooting bench. Even though accuracy is important in both of these disciplines, it comes down to a matter of degree. Even though a single millimeter may be all that is standing in the way of a competitor becoming a hero for the day, a hunter isn’t held to quite the same degree of accuracy to be successful. Having said that, accuracy is no less important for a hunter than it is for a target shooter. We all want to make clean, quick kills on our animals, and doing so takes a high degree of accuracy and shooting ability. If we are tired from carrying a heavy rifle around all day, that can offset any benefit that might be provided by the heavier gun. Sometimes it is better to compromise on weight to benefit you in other ways.

The early ivory hunters certainly recognized the problem of packing heavy rifles over long periods of time. Fearful of not being in top-notch shape when they were called upon to do battle with a big tusker that was hell bent on destroying them, the bwanas always had faithful gun bearers shadowing them, ready to hand them their rifles when called on for a shot. Even though your rifle might fall shy of those big bores that frequently weighed upwards of 20 pounds, and in most cases the animals you are pursuing aren’t intent on destroying you, the problem of stress on your body from packing a heavy rifle is essentially the same.

Even though a rifle having an advertised weight of 8 pounds or more might not seem all that heavy, it is important to recognize the fact that the weight only accounts for the empty, barren rifle. Now add a scope, mounts, a sling, scope covers, maybe a bipod, and load it up with ammunition—what once was looked at as reasonable might be half of what it weighs now.

Not many years ago, if you wanted a lightweight walkabout-style centerfire rifle, you had two options: You could either have a custom rifle built for you, made specifically to your lightweight desires, or you could skeletonize and modify an existing rifle to get rid of any unnecessary bulk. But that has changed with a new generation of factory-built lighties, many of which fall nicely within the 6-pound classification. For example, when Kimber first came out with their Model 84L, which had a weight of a mere 6 pounds, 2 ounces including its real walnut stock, it was considered the lightest production centerfire on the market. A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of testing one of these fine rifles and found it to be excellent in virtually every aspect. Even with its light weight, it shot amazingly well off the bench. Winchester’s Model 70 Featherweight now tips the scale at a low of 6 pounds, 8 ounces and the Ruger Hawkeye runs only a little heavier at 6 pounds, 12 ounces. Remington’s lightest Model Seven comes in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces and their Model 700 Mountain LSS is only 2 ounces heavier. Not ignoring the contributions of Savage Arms and Weatherby, Savage’s Model 11/111 Lightweight Hunter chambered in .223 Remington tips the scales at only 5 pounds, 8 ounces and Weatherby’s Mark V Ultra Lightweight, equipped with a synthetic stock, goes even further under the targeted 6-pound weight class at only 5 pounds, 12 ounces.

At one time the Kimber Model 84L was considered the lightest production-built rifle in existence. It tips the scale at only a modest 6 pounds, 2 ounces. Photo courtesy of Kimber.

Kimber was able to achieve such a lightweight in their Model 84L rifle partly due to its scaled down bolt (top) as shown in comparison with a normal standard length Mauser bolt (bottom).

In most cases, a walnut or laminated stocked rifle will generally be heavier than the same rifle equipped with a composite stock. If so, you might be able to trim a few ounces off of your existing rifle by restocking it with an aftermarket synthetic. Many of these composite or synthetic stocks are marketed as being “drop-in fits,” which makes their changeover a lot easier. Nevertheless, the term “drop-in” is an overused misrepresentation of these stocks. Even though installing one isn’t as big a chore as inletting a wood stock, it is likely there will be some minor work and modifications called for. Sometimes there will be tweaking necessary, the slot for the bolt-handle might have to be cut in, it might be necessary to enlarge the barrel channel, and I would always recommend that the action be glass bedded.

The Kimber Model 84L, chambered in .25-06 comes with a very skinny pencil-thin barrel, making it a great walk-about style of mountain rifle.

The Kimber Model 84L would certainly be a great choice as a mountain rifle—or for any hunter who spends long days in the field.

A slight amount of weight can be reduced through the use of aluminum scope rings, but I never like this approach. The weight reduction achieved pales when compared to the inherent strength advantages of real steel. Compact scopes are another way to decrease weight, as are lower powered variable scopes and fixed powered models. I have found, however, that you have to be careful when purchasing a high-magnification variable powered compact scope. On occasion, I have found that some of these models have critical eye relief requirements—that distance between the shooter’s eye and the lens of the scope. Unless the shooter has his or her eye perfectly positioned, he or she might not be able to obtain an adequate view through the scope. Even though eye relief is critical on all scopes, the smaller compact models seem to be much more so. My best advice here would be to make sure this will not be problematic for you before you fork over any cash.

The hunter’s dilemma amounts to a trade-off between reduced recoil and steadiness as opposed to lighter weight in a rifle. I certainly appreciate a light rifle when the terrain is steep and I’m facing a long day afield. But when I had my big bore .500 Jeffrey Rimless Rifle built, I wanted weight to damper the tremendous recoil produced by shooting a 570-grain bullet at nearly 2,400 feet per second. I kept the stock heavy, quickly ruled out any skinny barrel, and added a couple of pounds of recoil reducers inside the butt of the stock. This brought the total weight up to about 12½ pounds when unloaded. That is a lot to be packing, but I appreciated the weight when culling buffalo in Australia. Over one period lasting around two hours, I sent about two dozen of those big 570 grainers on their way out of the barrel. For those who say you never feel recoil while shooting at game, they have never experienced a situation like that one. Even though the recoil didn’t bother me much at the time, the next morning my shoulder felt as if someone had used it for a punching bag or worked it over with a meat tenderizer.

Weatherby’s Mark V Ultra Lightweight rifle (non-magnum calibers) tips the scale at only a mere 5-3/4 pounds. Photo courtesy of Weatherby Media.

Short-action rifles typically come with less bulk than those possessing a standard- or magnum-length action. And, of course, a shorter barrel can account for a reduction in weight. But adding accessories like cartridge carriers slipped over the buttstock or mounting a bipod can quickly outweigh any benefit from your sacrifices. I have a fondness for bipods, but many models can add substantially to the overall weight of a rifle. Some of the lightest bipods that I have encountered have come from Shooters Ridge, which weigh only slightly over 5 ounces. Or, if you don’t want to add even that, you might opt to carry a set of lightweight shooting sticks. Some of these are constructed from thin-walled aluminum or fiberglass tubing, much like that used for backpackers’ tent poles. It only takes a flip of the hand and they self-erect. When not needed, you can fold them up to be carried on your hip or packed away in your daypack.

6. Is a Plastic Stock in Your Future?

I get much the same feeling when I see a firearm stock that has been finely crafted from a highly figured piece of Bastogne or a select grade of French walnut as I do when my crosshairs settle on a trophy-quality animal. Many of us who move more slowly than we used to and have a little less hair on our noggins have learned to appreciate the exquisite natural beauty found in such things. But although wood gunstocks will likely never go out of favor with some shooters, the trend today is clearly in the direction of plastic. Hearing me use the term “plastic” to describe this style of stock would likely make some folks in the industry as upset as an aging warthog affected with irritable bowel syndrome. In fact, one time it did just that, but that’s a story best told over a glass of scotch. If you read the factory brochures, you will find some manufacturers attempt to distinguish themselves from their competition by embellishing their products not only with the usual terms of composite, synthetic, or fiberglass, but even in some instances going so far as attaching flashier labels, such as Kevlar, Zytel, DuPont Rynite, or Kevlar/ Graphite-Reinforced. But no matter what these stocks are called, they are here to stay, and in many cases, they are assured to provide better overall service than a wood stock is generally capable of.

The idea of nonwood products for gunstocks is not necessarily a new concept. Possibly the first stocks made from this type of material came from the Eastman Corporation back in the 1930s. Eastman had become successful using a product they called tenite in the construction of the company’s automobile parts. This new-age material was strong, durable, and cheap to produce. George Eastman, the company’s founder, was an avid sportsman, and in 1939, he decided to take tenite to a new level, producing possibly the first prototype plastic gunstock. World War II, however, delayed the actual production of these stocks until the mid-1940s when J. Stevens Arms and Savage Arms began to offer a handful of firearms with tenite gun-stocks. As far as I know, these were limited to the companies’ low-end single shot shotguns, but the project ended abruptly when shooters began rejecting them. I suppose the poor appearance had to have a part in this rejection, but more importantly, shooters began to realize that the light weight of these stocks was adding significantly to the guns’ recoil. That reputation quickly snowballed, and before long, these guns took on the label as “the guns that kick like a mule.” This resulted in dwindling sales, and eventually the tenite stocks were pulled from the marketplace. But the concept of nonwood gunstocks didn’t end there.

Watching what was occurring, Remington Arms Company decided to take another stab at the nonwood stock market, and in the late 1950s, they began offering their own line of firearms equipped with synthetic stocks. Remington avoided any potential problems associated with the increase in recoil by limiting the production to only their .22 Rimfire firearms. They called them their Nylon line—yet another name for plastic—and it included the full spectrum of actions: bolt actions, lever actions, and semiautomatics. The first and most successful of this series was the semi-automatic Nylon 66, which was produced beginning in 1959 and, remarkably, ran until 1991. The looks of these rifles didn’t appeal to me, but apparently many shooters didn’t share that view. During the three-plus decade run of the Nylon 66, over one million rifles were produced and sold. It’s quite likely that some of the success of these rifles should be attributed to the fact that Remington limited the application of the plastic stocks to only .22 LR rifles, which avoided the problems encountered by Stevens and Savage. But another thing that worked in favor of the Nylon Model 66 semiautomatic’s popularity was an exhibition shooter, Tom Frye, setting a world record with these guns in 1959. Frye fired 100,010 rounds with three Nylon 66 rifles, hitting 100,004 wooden blocks that were thrown into the air. Over a thirteen-day period, Frye shot 1,000 rounds per hour for eight hours per day in order to achieve that goal. Aside from the remarkable marksmanship Frye demonstrated, just the fact that these rifles could tolerate that much shooting must have had a positive influence on the sales of the Remington Nylon rifles.

The reluctance by some shooters to accept the advantages of synthetic rifle stocks reminds me of the earlier resistance to acknowledge the benefits of fluid-steel shotgun barrels. Even though in most aspects fluid steel was superior to Damascus, sometimes referred to as twist steel, many shooters still preferred the beauty and craftsmanship that was inherent in the Damascus steel. This boorish loyalty resulted in many years of strong opposition to the fluid-steel movement. And, so it is when a piece of beautiful hand-crafted walnut is tossed aside for a product that has its roots in some obscure science laboratory. Nevertheless, like fluid steel gun barrels, plastic gunstocks are here to stay and most would have to agree they are superior to wood in many ways.

Remington produced some of the first composite style stocks, which are often referred to as their Nylon Line. A couple of these are shown here (L-R): Remington Nylon Model 76 lever-action and the Model 66. There were also three models of bolt-actions that are similarly stocked: the Model 10, 11, and 12.

Fed by a new generation of shooters that puts a high priority on lack of maintenance, durability, and performance, these synthetic stocks are quickly becoming the norm rather than the exception. Companies like Bell and Carlson, Choate, Butler Creek, Outers, High Tech Specialties, Hogue, and Ram-Line are just a smattering of the many firms that are now producing nonwood stocks. And not only are they being offered as an aftermarket choice, many production-built firearms manufacturers are now incorporating them into their inventory. The methods used to produce these stocks are varied. Some are injection molded whereas others are produced through various forms of hand lay-up processes, and sometimes it’s a combination of both. Some, like the Ram-Line stocks, are made by a molding process whereby resin and fiberglass strands are injected into the mold at a high temperature and under intense pressure. Bell and Carlson stocks are produced by using a hand lay-up process, which frequently involves the use of urethane resins in combination with fiberglass, carbon fiber, and aramid fiber, sometimes referred to as Kevlar. Hogue uses a unique process involving the application of a rubber skin over the top of a fiberglass shell.

Overall strength is an important consideration with any gunstock, and those made from various forms of synthetics are no exception. For this reason, it is important that a prospective buyer consider carefully the type of construction used in the stock. Some companies reinforce their stocks with metal, and in some cases, this reinforcing is actually molded in as part of the lay-up process. This is commonly considered better than adding the reinforcement after the stock has cured. Even though it is natural to believe that synthetic stocks would be immune to twisting and distorting, that isn’t always true.

Like wood, the effects of ambient conditions can sometimes result in a plastic stock undergoing changes that could affect a rifle’s impact point. This is why reinforcing, good lay-up procedures, and the use of proper materials are so crucially important in these stocks. No matter which stock the shooter chooses, though, it is always a good idea to periodically check that the barrel stays free-floated. This is easily accomplished by simply running a slip of paper under the barrel from time to time. Can’t find a slip of paper? Use a dollar bill. But even a new stock can sometimes be shipped from the factory in less than perfect condition. My gunsmith once showed me a new composite stock, which he was getting ready to put on a barreled action that clearly shouldn’t have been allowed to leave the premises of the factory. A well-known and respected manufacturer had produced the stock, but upon careful examination, we could see that the forearm of the stock had twisted to a point where one side was possibly more than .125 inches lower than the opposing side. Upon seeing this, I knew immediately what had caused this problem to occur.

This fine muley buck fell to the author’s Bell & Carlson-stocked Remington 700 BDL rifle chambered in .243.

Earlier in my life, I had been a fiberglass laminator. I should mention that in those days, we were told to refrain from calling it “fiberglass,” but to instead refer to it when talking to a potential customer as “fiberglass-reinforced plastics.” As you can see, not much has changed over all these years when it comes to fancy labels. What happened in this case was that the stock had been prematurely pulled from its mold. Not having enough time to completely cure within the restrictive environment of the mold, the stock was free to distort in any way it liked while continuing to setup. Maybe a newly hired worker was trying to impress the boss with how many stocks he or she could turn out in one shift and had pulled it from the mold too quickly. Why it occurred isn’t really important; what is important is that anyone thinking of purchasing a synthetic stock should be willing to scrutinize it carefully and look for any signs of nonconformity.

Buying a firearm already equipped with a synthetic stock provides the advantage of actually seeing what the stock looks like when installed, and you are able to evaluate its installation and fit. This being the case, you should look the entire rifle over carefully. Is there a lot of space around the barrel, tang, receiver, and trigger guard areas? Does the gun feel well-balanced with the weight distributed properly? Does it have an adequate amount of weight to absorb some of the recoil? If you purchase an aftermarket stock you might not have the benefit of seeing how the stock looks and feels when assembled on the rifle. This has a tendency to limit your evaluation, but a significant amount of detail can be determined from the stock alone. Be sure to sight down the forearm of the stock looking for any sign of distortion or twisting that might have occurred. And, of course, this would be a good opportunity to see if the manufacturer installed any pillar bedding sleeves or bedding blocks.

Slight variations exist from gun to gun, and because of this, it might not always be possible to obtain a perfect metal-to-stock fit when replacing an existing stock with an aftermarket synthetic. This is particularly true when stocking a rifle that has been built on a military-style action. The manufacturers try their best to provide as close to a perfect drop-in match as possible, but minor deviations are understandable and should be expected. If you have a larger than normal barrel, you might have to increase the size of the barrel channel. In a few instances, particularly those involving custom-built rifles based on military-style actions, the stock manufacturer might not have cut the notch in for the bolt handle. In this case, it would be up to you to do so. This could also be an area of concern if your rifle has had a custom bolt handle installed or if the angle of the bolt handle has been changed. Some minor variations in fit can be overcome through the use of an application of glass bedding material, but significant alternations could become problematic to rectify.

When replacing any stock, whether it is wood or plastic, the length of the stock is of crucial importance. If the stock is too long, it should be shortened. Even though shortening a wood stock can be a major undertaking, shortening some synthetic stocks, particularly those that are hollow, can be an almost impossible task. So, if you feel there might be a need to shorten the stock, my recommendation would be to examine it very carefully to determine how much work will be involved in doing so. Caution will be imperative because any sanding or tool marks on the finish of the stock could be difficult to cover up.

There are certainly distinct advantages associated with nonwood stocks. Synthetic or composite stocks require less care than wood. These stocks will often take abusive handling much better. A hard fall while hunting might result in only a few scuffs on a synthetic stock, but if you take a bad spill with a wood stock it could result in costly damage. In addition, synthetic stocks are virtually impervious to the effects of most oils and solvents, but if these same chemicals are allowed to soak into the grain of a wood stock, it can cause the wood to decay.

It’s a matter of personal preference when selecting plastic or wood. My collection of rifles contains both styles of stocks. Some of my rifles came from the factory stocked in plastic, whereas others I replaced the wood stock with an aftermarket synthetic. Even though I don’t believe anyone could legitimately argue that wood makes a better stock than synthetic, there is something about a fine piece of heavily figured walnut that I don’t believe will ever fall out of favor. Can anyone imagine a fine English classic, like a Holland & Holland Double Rifle, a Churchill, or a Rigby rifle stocked in plastic? Functionality is one thing, but aesthetic appeal is surely another, and this single aspect will keep walnut alive for generations to come. A possible way to bridge the gap between a love for the natural beauty of walnut and the inherent advantages of synthetics might be to have two stocks, one of each type. That way, when you are expecting the conditions to be inhospitable, you could opt to put the plastic stock on. And when the conditions are less harsh, you could adorn the rifle with the beauty of a wood stock. Of course, when stocks are removed and switched around, it would be necessary to recheck the rifle on the range to ensure everything is still impacting where you want it to.

Not all synthetic stocks are hollow, but for those that are, shortening the length of pull could pose a real challenge.

When it comes to deciding whether a synthetic stock or a more traditional walnut stock would be the best choice for your style of hunting, there are a lot of points to be considered. In each case, there are both positive and negative traits.

Sometimes having two stocks, one made of fine quality walnut and a second of more durable synthetic, can be beneficial. Shown here is a custom walnut stock produced from a tree the author cut down himself and a Bell & Carlson synthetic.

7. Matching a Cartridge to Your Hunting Needs

Talk with two hunters, and you will likely find two, possibly even three, starkly different opinions as to the best rifle cartridge and ammunition for hunting. I suppose it is a bit like some men preferring tall slender brunettes, while others might get more of a rush when they see a voluminous, full-figured woman with cascading blonde hair. I know I have my own opinions on such matters, but I’d better try to stay on topic here.

I believe, in many cases, Elmer Keith had it right when he talked about using enough gun. I certainly have a tendency to go a bit heavier than some think is necessary. Of course, a shooter can overdo that advice, but too small of a cartridge can sometimes result in wounded and lost game. An ample amount of velocity, significant energy, and flat trajectories behind a high-quality hunting bullet is what I generally look for in a successful hunting strategy. Having said that, I’ve killed impala and blue wildebeest in Africa with a .223, and while on the culling operation in Australia, I took down an Asian water buffalo weighing close to 1 ton with an 85-grain bullet from my 7mm Winchester Short Magnum.

In this case, the buffalo came to the ground in a cloud of dust as if struck over the head with a sledgehammer. The little bullet penetrated nicely through the side of the big animal’s head and traveled directly into its brain. Recently, I took a fine elk with my newest custom rifle chambered for .270 Weatherby. Even though this was getting closer to a proper choice, in my opinion it still falls short of what I would recommend. I only attempted these shots because I was experimenting with rifles, cartridges, and bullets, and the conditions I faced were what I would consider nearly perfect. Gun writers sometimes do such things, but it shouldn’t be considered a recommended way of hunting. In Montana, it is legal to hunt deer with centerfire .22 caliber cartridges, but I wouldn’t recommend that either, though I have a number of friends who constantly promote such things.

Elk are large and powerful animals possessing a lot of heavy bone mass and tissue. In order to hunt these monarchs of West, the author generally considers a .30-caliber magnum to be minimum.

Few cartridges have enjoyed the long and popular tenure that the .30-06 has experienced. First introduced in 1906, as the last two digits of the name indicate, as a cartridge intended for the US Army, it soon became accepted worldwide by deer hunters and is likely the most favored hunting cartridge ever produced. It is a hard-hitting and effective round, but it does come with some significant limitations, particularly those associated with long-range shooting. As long as the hunter never has an opportunity for a shot beyond about 250 to 300 yards, the ‘06 is a fine choice for most deer-sized game. Beyond those boundaries or when large game is expected, most hunters would be better off selecting a different cartridge. Eastern American hunters seem to be particularly fond of the ‘06 largely because in many areas of the East Coast and the Southern states, shots over 100 yards are as rare as trophy-quality unicorns.

When it comes to the larger varmint and predator cartridges, few calibers can surpass the killing power of the .22-250.

But, when hunting the open country of the American West, there are better cartridge choices. I frequently place cartridges like the ‘06 in a category I call “rainbow calibers” because their trajectories at a long range are heavily arced. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as you understand the cartridge’s limitations and don’t try to push those limits. On the off chance you find yourself facing a 400- or 500-yard shot and you have a ‘06 slung over your shoulder, I would strongly advise trying to get closer. To pull off a shot like this, you must know precisely how much bullet drop you will be experiencing and be able to judge the range perfectly. Misjudge the distance by as little as 25 or 30 yards, or base your trajectory compensation on a different bullet, and you will likely miss the animal or, worse yet, wound it to die a slow and agonizing death later. And, of course, as the velocity begins to wane, so does the energy of the bullet.

When first introduced, some shooters felt the neck of the .300 Win. Mag. (right) was too short to properly hold the bullet. These concerns were eventually proven unworthy of consideration. For comparison purposes, a .308 Norma Mag. cartridge is shown on the left.

Many shooters are not comfortable shooting at a long range, and there is nothing wrong with that. Far too many shooters today are convinced that it’s only a matter of turning the turret dials on their scope to dial in a shot. Even though I have made some amazing long-range shots over the years, I didn’t achieve those results by simply turning a dial or shooting a rainbow cartridge. It came from many years of experience and a precise knowledge of the animal, the rifle, the cartridge, and my own abilities. A better approach for all hunters, experienced or not, is to get closer, particularly when it comes to a rainbow cartridge like the .30-06.

A better choice of cartridge if you are faced with long-range shots would be one of the .30-caliber Magnums. My own favorite cartridge is the .300 Winchester Magnum, but the .300 Winchester Short Magnum is also well-suited to such conditions. I have killed more medium- and large-sized game with my .300s than possibly all my other rifle calibers combined. I feel confident in its ability as an effective killer of the largest deer species, as well elk. A few years back, I dropped an elk behind my house in western Montana at a staggering 542 yards using my .300 Winchester Magnum chambered Ruger 1B Single Shot. From experience with my equipment and load, I was confident I could pull off the shot. It worked out perfectly, but such shots should only be attempted by those individuals who are schooled in long-range shooting and when there is no option to get closer to the animal. In this particular situation, the elk herd was on an open hillside with nothing but sagebrush and grass between us. There was simply no way the animals would allow me to get closer, so I went down into the prone position for the shot, and estimated the range and trajectory drop based on past experience. At the shot, the elk ran a few steps, then tumbled to its death. This was a case of firing a flat-shooting cartridge and properly designed hunting bullet, as well as knowing precisely how much drop to expect. Had I been using a different cartridge or had I not known what trajectory drop to expect, the results would have surely turned out differently.

Zebras are some of the most difficult animals to get close enough to for a shot. For this reason, a flat-shooting cartridge is generally the best choice. In this case, the author’s Ruger 1B single-shot .300 Win. Mag. was the perfect match for the job.

More years ago that I care to think about, I purchased my first .300 Winchester Magnum Rifle. At the time, I was looking for one do-it-all rifle I could use to hunt most North American game. I had just completed a four-year stint in the US Navy, and two days before being discharged, I’d gotten married. As a result, my spendable income had become as scarce as a wolf opposed to killing deer and elk. But somehow we found a way to purchase the rifle. I distinctly remember discussing it with my wife and telling her that this particular rifle would allow me to hunt virtually everything I would ever want, and I didn’t want a whole pile of firearms anyway. Well, the choice of rifle and caliber turned out to be excellent, but somehow the latter portion of my statement didn’t come to fruition. I’ll just have to chalk that up to my not fully understanding who I would become.

I’m not sure how my wife came up with the money, but the following Christmas, she surprised me with a brand new Leupold Vari-X II 3-9x scope. Bless her heart! But even though my plan of being a one-gun hunter didn’t quite work out, that doesn’t mean it loaded ammunition should be no more expensive wasn’t a good plan. I still believe that for the hunter who wants a single rifle to do it all, there is no better choice than a .300 Winchester Magnum. With a rifle chambered in that caliber, a hunter can be perfectly matched for deer, elk, moose, and, in a pinch, an occasional coyote. And if someday you decide to go on safari to the Africa for plains game, the .300 will be perfectly at home.

A Ruger 1B single shot equipped with a Leupold Vari-X II 3-9x scope took this warthog at long range using a Harris bipod to steady the shot. In the author’s opinion, there is no better choice than a rifle chambered in .300 Win. Mag. for African plains game hunting.

To tackle the largest antelope species in the world—the eland—it takes a lot of bone-crushing firepower. The author brought this one down at a 100 yards using handloads with Nosler 260-grain AccuBond bullets from his Winchester Model 70 Super Express .375 H&H rifle.

The 7mm Remington Magnum is also a popular choice worldwide. Even though a hunter would be hard pressed to find a better cartridge for deer, the 7mm falls short when it comes to elk. Elk are particularly tough to take to the ground, and I have witnessed far too many shots with a 7mm that couldn’t be anchored. Even worse, in my opinion, are the hunters who insist on using a .270 Winchester for elk. Jack O’Connor, if you can hear me then cover your ears, because like the 7mm Remington Magnum, the .270 is a good choice for deer, but it lacks the performance needed for large game. The .243 in some instances can be an acceptable choice for deer and antelope species, particularly if you are sensitive to recoil, but it should never be considered for anything larger than a good-sized whitetail. I’ve shot my fair share of deer, hogs, coyotes, and other similarly sized game animals with all these cartridges, but when it comes to elk hunting, they are all severely inept.

New cartridges are coming out all the time, some more beneficial to hunters than others. A new round I have taken a liking to is the 6.5 Creedmore. Dave Emary, Hornady’s Senior Ballistician, developed this cartridge in 2007 as a competitive shooting round. It quickly gained a reputation in the competitive community, but it hasn’t been around long enough to adequately prove its worth as a hunting round. I do, however, look for this cartridge to become popular with deer hunters. It is extremely accurate and as long as the hunter doesn’t push its limitations on the size of game or range, I predict it will fare well.

Its roots began when Emary was attending the 2006 High Power Championships at Camp Perry and began discussing cartridges and their attributes with Dennis DeMille, one of the champion competitors at the match. When asked which characteristics DeMille felt were important in a competitive cartridge he responded with the following: The cost of the factory- than that of the .308 Winchester match loads, recoil should be light, long barrel life, high ballistic coefficient values for the bullets, and ready availability on the market. And, of course, the cartridge had to be capable of a high degree of accuracy. Emary returned to the Hornady plant with those objectives in mind and created what is now known as the 6.5 Creedmore. He began by modifying the case of a .30 T/C, also a Hornady original, and shortened it to 1.92 inches. The .30 T/C originally used the .308 Winchester as its parent case and, even though it is possible to produce the Creedmore directly from .308 brass, it requires a form die to do so. When this is done, the case shoulder must be moved farther back and the case shortened from 2.015 to 1.92 inches. Following that, the case walls are blown out slightly to increase powder capacity.

When it comes to coyotes, there is no better cartridge than a .22-250.

My gunsmith had touted the virtues of the 6.5 Creedmore for some time before I was able to get any hands-on experience with the cartridge. He had built several rifles in this caliber for his customers, and all had come back with glowing reports about their accuracy. I was eventually invited on a Wyoming prairie dog shoot, sponsored by Savage Arms and Hornady, where they were showcasing a couple of Savage rifles chambered in 6.5 Creedmore. Anyone who has shot on the open plains of Wyoming knows well that there are virtually no days that the wind doesn’t blow, or as some of the locals frequently put it, “if it isn’t blowing, it sucks.” Trying to hold a gun steady when the wind is rocking you side to side while simultaneously attempting to accurately compensate for the drift of the bullet is certainly a challenge. Nevertheless, I found myself frequently celebrating long-range kills on dogs out beyond 300 yards with the rifle. But those shots didn’t sound so impressive when Hornady’s Neil Davies registered a kill at a remarkable 785 yards.

Savage Arm’s Bill Dermody takes careful aim at a distant prairie dog in Wyoming using a Savage chambered 6.5mm Creedmore rifle. This cartridge is new to the hunting scene, but will likely become a favorite, in particular for medium sized game.

Outdoor writer and television hunting celebrity, the late J.Guthrie, tries his hand shooting prairie dogs at extreme range with his huge .338 Lapua.

This Cooper Firearms of Montana Model 54 rifle, equipped with a new Weaver scope and chambered for 22-250, did a superb job helping to eliminate a few nuisance prairie dogs.

I haven’t yet had an opportunity to try the Creedmore on deer, but after returning from Wyoming, I did a lot of range work with a Savage Model 12 chambered for the cartridge. This particular model rifle is better suited for benchrest and varmint-style shooting due to its weight, but I found it to be exceptionally accurate. I am anxious to see how this cartridge will perform on deer, but I am quite confident it will be as effective as it was on long-range prairie dogs. Even though the 6.5 Creedmore is a flat-shooting cartridge that has proved itself to be worthy of long-range shooting competition, when it comes to hunting, I would still classify it as about a 350-yard hunting round.

If your travels should take you to the Africa, a good choice of cartridge for plains game would be the same one you favor for deer or elk hunting. A .30-caliber Magnum, or 7mm Magnum, would make an excellent and versatile choice. In some cases, even a 6mm, .243, .25-06, .257, or .270 would also do fine on most of the African plains game, but if you intend to go after eland, the largest antelope species in the world, I would choose a larger cartridge, maybe in the class of a .338 or .375 Holland & Holland.

On a recent trip, I used a Winchester Model 70 chambered for .375 Holland & Holland Magnum equipped with a 2-7x Leupold scope to take a fine eland bull. The 100-yard broadside shot resulted in the 260-grain Nosler AccuBond plowing through both lungs, only to stop on the opposite side just under the skin. The bullet mushroomed perfectly and, when retrieved, we found it had retained 170 grains of its original weight, or a little more than 65 percent. But even after the animal endured a punch like that, which rendered both lungs out of service, the big 1-ton animal ran close to 100 yards before piling up and finally letting loose with its death bellow. After receiving the shot, the eland’s attempt at escaping was a flamboyant one. Plowing its way through the thorn brush, it left a blood-soaked trail, which sent its limbs and debris flying in all directions. Its route included circling a couple of trees, horning several to the point of stripping the bark from their trunks, then expiring after its escapade had reached a conclusion.

One of the most versatile cartridges for African game is the .375 H&H Magnum. This eland, weighing close to a ton, fell to a single shot from the author’s Winchester Model 70 Super Express .375.

Attempting to winch the enormous 1-ton African eland into the back of the professional hunter’s truck wound up breaking the PH’s winching system and denting the truck’s hood.

Even though the cartridge and bullet performed their duties well, this is a classic example of how the tenacity of large game animals can drive them on, particularly those in Africa. But this story didn’t end there. The professional I was hunting with had just built a winch system for his safari truck, and this was the first opportunity he had to use it. It included a powerful electric unit located on the truck’s front bumper with a pulley system, which allowed the cable to pass up and over the truck’s hood and cab to the bed. The professional hunter had left the fine details of the design up to the fabrication shop, but had instructed them that it had to be built stout, telling them he would be winching some extremely heavy animals. When he went back to pick the truck up, the shop attendant assured him that it would easily handle any animal he desired. Nevertheless, once the cable was attached to the 2,000-pound carcass of the eland, and it started its slow progression into the truck bed, the bush silence was shattered by a loud bang. After regaining our composure, we found the bracket on the front of the truck had broken, which drove the device directly into the truck’s hood. Now faced with a ton of animal on the ground and no mechanical aid to load it, the trackers dug holes for the rear tires of the truck to drop into, thereby lowering the height of the bed. A call was then placed for reinforcements, and with fourteen men, we finally got the eland loaded and headed to the skinning shed.

The .375 Holland & Holland Magnum is often considered the do-it-all rifle in Africa, and if you were restricted to a single caliber, there wouldn’t be anything better. But I much prefer the diversity that a battery of two rifles provides, and three would be even better. Unfortunately, with restrictions of luggage weight on airlines, I usually find myself limited to two. Even though the .375 is often considered minimum for dangerous game in some African countries, I would most often choose to go a bit heavier. Outside of hunting leopards, lions, or crocodiles, my preference would be something in a .45- or .50-caliber class rifle. Elephants, buffalo, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus can endure a lot. With animals that have a tendency to stomp, gore, or eat their adversaries, I don’t believe this is an acceptable place to conserve on firepower. My favorite dangerous game rifle comes with a bore .5 inches across, and that is my .500 Jeffrey Rimless.

The author’s custom .500 Jeffrey made quick work on this huge old gnarly buff.

A well-placed shot, even from a very small cartridge, can sometimes achieve wondrous results. This old blue wildebeest was blind in both eyes and needed culling. Even though it certainly isn’t usually recommended, the author used the PH’s Ruger single shot chambered in .223 to bring it down with a shot to the brain.

Big bears also fall into the dangerous game category and are almost the only species in North America to do so. But even though a big grizzly or brown bear can poise a serious threat to a hunter, they generally don’t require as much firepower as some of Africa’s dangerous game. I believe a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum would make a perfect fit for bear hunting, or possibly one of the big .416s. The .375 would, however, have a flatter trajectory, which could prove to be beneficial under circumstances in which a long shot might be necessary.

And the last series of cartridges to discuss would be those favored by hunters seeking to rid the continent of unwanted pests and vermin. Often, varmint hunters restrict their cartridges to smaller sizes, but these individuals generally have a tremendous amount of experience and expertise. At the top of the varmint hunter’s arsenal of weaponry might be a .22-250, which comes with the versatility of being a great choice for the larger species of vermin, such as coyotes or even pigs, yet it does an equally effective job on the little critters, such as ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and marmots. The popularity of the .22-250 was lessened in 2004 when the .204 Ruger was made available. Almost immediately, a devoted fan club lauded its long-range killing potential. Using a proprietary powder, Hornady factory ammunition reportedly produces a muzzle velocity of 4,225 feet per second with a 32-grain bullet. I’ve shot my share of small varmint with a .204, and although I consider it to be a fine cartridge, I believe the .22-250 is more versatile, particularly when it comes to larger game. Even though the choice of bullets in .20-caliber continues to grow, I don’t believe there will ever be as large of a selection to choose from as what is available in .22 caliber. Also, the larger-diameter bullet of the .22-250 adds to its effective range by a couple hundred yards over that of the .204, and it’s better at bucking the wind.

For decades, varmint hunters have shot a variety of .17 caliber cartridges, most in the form of wildcat rounds. But when Remington decided to produce their .17 Fireball, it seemed to give a shot in the arm to this category of varmint cartridges. More recently, the .17 Hornet is capturing a great deal of attention as well. I had an opportunity a short time back to shoot a couple of prototype Savage Model 25 Rifles to be chambered in the new .17 Hornet. This basic cartridge has been wildcatted for decades, but rimmed cases can be problematic when used in bolt actions. They simply don’t feed from clips and magazines very well.

Nevertheless, the Hornady officials had been playing with this cartridge for quite some time before joining forces in 2011 with Savage to sell the cartridge commercially. The agreement was that Savage would start chambering for the cartridge in their Model 25 line of rifles, and Hornady would produce the ammunition. Since then, a couple of other rifle manufacturers have decided to chamber a few firearms in .17 Hornet as well. At the time of this writing, the jury is still out on whether this cartridge will be a success for Savage and Hornady, but based solely on ballistic performance and its effectiveness on varmints, it certainly has a good chance to do so. Aside from the preceding selection of varmint cartridges, there are many others that are acceptable for use on the little pests of the world. By far, however, there are many more falling in the category of noncommercial wildcat cartridges than there are in production calibers. Wildcatters have always seemed to excel in small bullet designs ranging from as tiny as .10, .12, and .14 calibers, up to .22 and beyond, but manufacturers have always been slow to adopt these smaller cartridges.

8. The Pipsqueak Rimfire Cartridges

Somewhere in most shooters’ history is a .22 rifle. Many of us got started shooting and hunting with a .22 Rimfire firmly in our young hands, seeking adventure in any small game we might encounter. Even today, many find the .22 to be an economical way of having a great deal of shooting fun the whole family can enjoy. Whether that comes in the form of punching tiny holes in a paper target, causing a tin can to bounce about on the ground, making a silhouette target swing, or ridding an area of pests, a .22 rifle has the ability to remind us of why we all enjoy shooting so much. Because of this, more .22 cartridges are sold each year than any other type of ammunition, and it is hard to believe it will be changing in the future.

In recent years, the .22 Long Rifle has managed to drain much of the enthusiasm away from both the short and long versions of this cartridge. Nevertheless, with its roots back in 1857, the .22 Short has been able to hold on to the distinction of being the oldest cartridge to be commercially produced today. I know of no rifles currently being manufactured specifically for either of the shorter varieties, but of course, both of the .22 Short and .22 Long cartridges can be fired in most rifles specifically chambered for the .22 Long Rifle. There is, however, little advantage in doing so unless the shooter is seeking a quieter report. In this case, he or she could opt instead to shoot CB ammunition, which typically has a muzzle velocity similar to that produced by a low- to mid-range .22 pellet rifle. The typical 700 feet-per-second muzzle velocity of the CB is frequently produced without the need for any powder in the cartridge case—the energy produced by the primer alone is capable of sending the bullet on its way. The major difference favoring the use of the CB cartridge over a pellet rifle lies in the fact that the heavier bullet of the CB produces a higher level of energy.

Today, there are more choices in .22 L.R. ammunition than ever before.

A .22 Long Rifle does an excellent job dispatching squirrels, rabbits, various vermin, and even some birds. I currently own a battery of .22 Long Rifle firearms of various configurations and use them frequently in a wide variety of shooting and hunting activities. Over the years, I have become so enamored with their use, even just for plinking from my shooting bench, that the ground all around the bench had begun to sparkle like a pirate’s stash of gold doubloons. Thinking that the empty cases might help to keep the springtime mud at bay on my range, I really didn’t give them much thought until one day I was participating in a guided ground squirrel shoot. The shoot was restricted to rimfire cartridges only, with the shooters positioned in elevated platforms mounted on top of pickup trucks. The trucks would simply drive out into what they less-than-affectionately referred to as their sage-rat areas, and the shooting would begin in earnest.

I noticed there were several five-gallon buckets stashed in the corners of the shooting platform that had been filled with the spent cartridge cases. Curious, I asked the guide what they did with the brass and was told that they recycled it. That got me thinking, so upon returning home I made a feeble attempt to pick up the easily accessible brass around my own bench, the majority of which was .22 Long Rifle. I had put drain rock down around the bench area, so for every piece I was able to capture, I’m sure there were four or five pieces that had worked down between the rocks and disappeared from sight. I threw the empties in my own five-gallon bucket, and a few weeks later when I was heading to town, I dropped the brass off at the recycling center. That little effort paid me just less than forty dollars. Need I go on about how much I like shooting those little .22 cartridges?

Today, there is an almost endless variety of .22 L.R. ammunition to select from.

For many years, most .22 Long Rifle ammunition, considered to be high velocity, produced a muzzle velocity of around 1,200 feet per second. In recent years, however, many ammunition manufacturers have broken that barrier and are now offering some great ultra-high velocity choices. This has added greatly to the versatility of the .22 Long Rifle, moving it much closer to the thresholds of the .22 Magnum. For example, CCI’s Stinger ammunition loaded with a 32-grain bullet reportedly punches out the muzzle at a whopping 1,640 feet per second, and Remington’s Viper’s heavier 36-grain bullet is sent on its way at an impressive 1,410 feet per second.

I don’t believe there is such a thing as a poor brand of currently produced .22 cartridges. Nevertheless, like any caliber rifle, some .22s simply prefer one type of cartridge to others. An example of this can be seen in a couple of my own rifles, the results of which are shown in the chart I have entitled “Accuracy and Velocities of Selected .22 L.R. Ammo.” There are several noteworthy observations to be made from this chart. First, of course, are the variations in the accuracy between the different types of ammunition and the two distinctly different styles of rifles, the diversity of bullet styles, the differences in the average muzzle velocities between the bolt-action Winchester Model 69A and the semi-automatic Browning, and the trend in many cases to exceed the traditional 1,200 feet per second. Even though this chart contains a sizable sampling of the available choices in .22 ammunition, it falls short of showing the full spectrum of choices that are available to shooters today.

A chronograph is an excellent tool and allowed the author to check the actual muzzle velocities of the different .22 L.R. ammo.

When a comparison is made between the CCI Stinger .22 L.R. (right) and a standard velocity .22 cartridge (left), we find that the Stinger cartridge case is actually longer.

If your rifle seems to have a particular preference for one type of cartridge, I wouldn’t be too quick to condemn the ammunition that didn’t fare so well. Just because those rounds might have experienced a lackluster performance in your rifle doesn’t necessarily mean they wouldn’t become a stellar performer in your buddy’s rifle. The important thing here is that you need to shoot a variety of cartridges to find the one your particular .22 prefers.

A large percentage of today’s shooters began shooting a .22 L.R. Photo courtesy of CCI.

The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, or .22 Magnum, was introduced by Winchester in 1959, but did not come into use until the 1960s when Winchester began chambering for it in their pump-action Model 61 rifle. Since that time, rifles chambered for this powerful little cartridge have become popular with many shooters seeking a higher performance than they can achieve with the Long Rifle version. I have used a .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire for many years when shooting ground squirrels, prairie dogs, rabbits, and various other critters and have always found it to be an exceptionally well-balanced and proficient cartridge.

Like other rimfire cartridges, it is what I would call a 100-yard caliber, but within that range it has the potential to produce devastating results on small game. In some limited uses, it has even been effective on larger game animals. Some cougar hunters use a.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire because their shots are generally close, and a perfectly placed round to the brain of these big cats is frequently all it takes to topple them from their lofty tree perch. My propensity to always err on the side of more rather than less gun makes me want more cartridge in this type of situation. Nevertheless, there have been many really big toms toppled out of their lair by a well-placed little .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire bullet.

Even though it is dwarfed by the much larger .500 Jeffrey Rimless cartridge, the little .22 Short holds the distinction of being the oldest cartridge still in production today.

Accuracy and Velocity of Selected .22 LR Ammo

I don’t personally believe there is any such thing as bad .22 L.R. cartridges today, but clearly some rifles prefer one type of cartridge to another. In this example, Obviously these two rifles showed preferences of their own for certain brands and styles of ammo.

Production of .22 rimfire ammunition begins by forming the bullet from a piece of lead cut to the approximate size (shown in the center). To form the cartridge case, a cup is first stamped out from a sheet of brass, followed then by the final forming.

The rising star of the rimfire cartridges today is the .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire. Introduced in 2002, the .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire snowballed into an overnight success story for Hornady and accomplished something I wouldn’t have thought possible—it sapped a little patronage from the .22 Long Rifle. By pushing its jacketed 17-grain bullet out of the barrel at 2,550 feet per second, or sending a 20-grain bullet on its way at an equally impressive 2,350 feet per second, the .17 HMR has the potential to literally wreak havoc on small game. In order to produce the .17 HMR, Hornady necked down a .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire cartridge case to accept the .17-inch diameter bullet.

A rifle chambered in .17 HMR can be quite effective even on larger varmints like this large yellow-bellied marmot. In this case, the Cooper Firearms of Montana’s Jackson Squirrel Model 57 Rifle, equipped with a Swarovski Optik R3-10x42mm L-Plex scope, did an excellent job.

I think it would be safe to say that even the Hornady officials were surprised by the phenomenal success of the Hornady Magnum Rifle, and likely that triumphant victory was what inspired them two years later to introduce the .17 Mach 2. Rather than starting with a .22 Magnum case, the .17 Mach 2 is based around the .22 Long Rifle. This produced a cartridge capable of sending the same little 17-grain bullet on its way at the respectable speed of 2,100 feet per second. In many shooters’ opinions, the .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire is king when it comes to the rimfire .17 calibers, but the .17 Mach 2 certainly isn’t close to being a slough. Regrettably, I believe that the .17 Mach 2 is the most underrated cartridge this century has ever seen. Unfortunately, many shooters simply look at the muzzle velocities of these two cartridges and immediately discredit the .17 Mach 2.

Undisputedly, the .17 HMR is the more powerful cartridge, just like the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire is more powerful than that .22 Long Rifle. But in the case of the .22s, the Magnum version pales in popularity to the Long Rifle. I believe the biggest reason for this particular difference in preference lies in the cost of the ammunition, because the Winchester Magnum Rimfire frequently runs more than double the cost of the Long Rifle shells. Ironically, the same holds true for the .17 rimfires, with the .17 Mach 2 ammunition running at about half the cost of the .17 HMR shells. Nevertheless, for some reason, the reverse seems to hold true when it comes to the popularity. I like the idea of paying half as much for my .17 Mach 2 shells over that of its larger cousin, the .17 HMR, and I certainly don’t think the faster velocities of the latter are worth the additional expense. I really can’t figure out why there is such a radical difference in the ammunition cost of these two cartridges. The materials that go into the ammunition can’t be that much different— maybe a tiny bit less powder and brass is needed to produce the .17 Mach 2—but those differences are so slight that the manufacturer could likely make up for it by cutting back on the number of doughnuts in the company’s lounge.

In the author’s opinion, the .17 Mach 2 is one of the best-balanced, best-performing rimfire cartridges ever produced. It did an excellent job dispatching this weasel, which was shot with a Leupold scoped Kimber Pro Varmint.

After Remington dropped its line of 5mm Rimfire Magnum rifles and ammunition in the mid 1970s, it left the owners of those rifles essentially stranded with no access to ammunition. A few years back, however, Centurion came to their aid by producing its own line of 5mm ammo.

One of the really great things in a hunter’s life is when he can pass his love of shooting off to his daughter or son, and the best way to do that is with a 22 LR. The author’s five-year-old granddaughter, Danielle, struggles with getting familiar with the techniques.

No one should take these comments to mean I don’t like the .17 HMR—I do—but I also believe that no one should discredit the virtues of the .17 Mach 2 solely based on a slightly slower velocity. I have shot a number of rifles chambered for both of these cartridges and, of course, was enticed to allow a few to take up permanent residency with me. Living in Montana, I have put these rifles to good use on ground squirrels, weasels, nuisance birds, prairie dogs, rabbits, and marmots. Both cartridges provide phenomenal results on small game of any type. I do, however, challenge anyone to show me how a .17 HMR kills small game any better or more quickly than the .17 Mach 2. A ground squirrel shot with a little .17 Mach 2 will frequently result in an exit hole out its backside the size of a silver dollar. More often than not, a sizable portion of its life-giving organs will be carried out with the bullet as well. Sure the HMR will do the same thing, but I see no sign that it does it one iota better.

In 1970, Remington introduced their new 5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum. This was a bold move by the company, and I was skeptical from the very beginning as to its success. The ammunition was costly and, of course, being a rimfire, there was no way to save money by reloading the cases. In addition, the 5mm was offered chambered in only two of what I feel were less-than-stellar quality Remington rifles—the clip fed Model 591 and the Model 592, which came with a tubular magazine. Quite predictably, fewer than five years after the introduction of the 5mm came its demise when Remington shut down the production of both the rifles chambered in that cartridge as well as the ammunition.

I believe this was a cartridge that was offered well before its time. Possibly, if it were introduced a few decades later and chambered in better quality rifles, the 5mm might have gained a foothold, as the .17 HMR did three decades later. After Remington ceased production of everything 5mm, the shooters who had devotedly purchased those 5mm rifles must have felt as dejected as chastised children. With no way to obtain the necessary ammunition, the rifles were rendered worthless, sentencing them to the dark recesses of closets and attic spaces. I heard sometime afterward that there was a gunsmith who was offering to convert these rifles over to a wildcat 5mm centerfire. At least that would allow the owners to shoot the rifles again, but it is likely that few took advantage of the service. This might have been a more viable option if the rifles were of better overall quality, which would have made a conversion more palatable. There is good news for those 5mm Remington Magnum owners who didn’t turn the rifles into living room lamps or used them as a stake to secure a newly planted fruit tree—a few years back while attending the annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas, I learned that Centurion Ordinance had begun producing 5mm cartridges, and production continues to this day.

9. A New Era: Short and Fat Cartridges

The concept of short magnum cartridges isn’t a new one; in a limited form, they have been around for many decades. But when Winchester first began ushering in their Winchester Short Magnum series of cartridges at the turn of the century, it spiked the interest of many shooters worldwide. Like a brown trout rising to a Royal Coachman dry fly, some shooters became enamored with the idea of a cartridge that was short enough to fit in a short-action rifle, but promised to produce magnum-level performance. The Winchester officials might even have been surprised at the initial favorable response they received from the Winchester Short Magnums, and before long they followed with a series of even shorter cartridges called the Winchester Super Short Magnum. These consisted of three bullet diameters, which were called the .223 Winchester Super Short Magnum, .243 Winchester Super Short Magnum, and the .25 Winchester Super Short Magnum. All three were based on the philosophy that shorter is better. But in many cases, the Winchester Super Short Magnums didn’t seem to catch on like the Winchester Short Magnums. When a careful ballistic comparison is made between what had been previously available and the Winchester Super Short Magnum cartridges, it becomes obvious there is little benefit received from the new Winchester Super Short Magnums, and quickly the interest began to wane.

Remington has never been a company satisfied to sit idly by when a competitor is gaining favor. So, in attempting to capture a bit of this newfound interest in shorter than normal cartridges, Remington ventured forth with their own offerings, which they called the Remington Short Action Ultra Magnums. The company had experienced a certain amount of success with their Remington Ultra Magnum series of cartridges and, using those to build from, the company quickly began offering an alternative to the Winchester Short Magnums. The Remington Ultra Magnum cartridges, like the Winchester Short Magnums, Winchester Super Short Magnums, and the new Remington Short Action Ultra Magnums, all utilized the very old non-belted .404 Jeffrey as their parent cartridge case. The larger-than-normal base diameter of the Jeffrey, measuring in at a whopping .545 inches in diameter, was a natural fit for these short, fat cartridge designs. Even after a significant degree of shortening in length, they were still able to maintain a sizable powder capacity. In most cases, the Winchester Short Magnum and corresponding Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum cartridges shared a similar outward appearance with ballistic performances that essentially mirrored each other. Even as such, they were not interchangeable and could not be shot in the rifles intended for the other company’s cartridges.

Shown here are a couple of the short magnums cartridges as compared to their full length magnum counterparts (L-R): 7mm WSM, 7mm Remington SAUM, 7mm Rem. Mag., .300 WSM, .300 Remington SAUM and .300 Win. Mag. Even though Remington no longer chambers rifles for their SAUM cartridges, it is interesting to note the differences as well as the similarities between those and their WSM counterparts.

The path of these cartridges became rocky when Shooting Times’ Ballistics Editor, Rick Jamison, reportedly filed a suit against Browning and Olin Winchester ammunition claiming patent infringements, which supposedly resulted in an out-of-court settlement. As is frequently the case in such matters, the facts surrounding the issue are not well-defined. Puzzlingly enough, I could not locate any connection between this suit and the similarly-designed cartridges produced by Remington. Nevertheless, the interest in short magnum cartridges seems to have waned almost as quickly as their popularity rose in the beginning. Whether the Jamison lawsuit had any significant bearing on this is an unanswered question at this time.

Many of the Winchester versions are becoming exceedingly scarce, so if you have your heart set on owning one, you might have to settle for a previously owned rifle. Of all the Winchester Short Magnum cartridges, possibly the most popular is the .300 Winchester Short Magnum. The .270 Winchester Short Magnum and 7mm Winchester Short Magnum seem to be holding on as well, but to a lesser degree. And the Remington Short Action Ultra Magnums have, for all practical purposes, vanished from the shooting scene, at least as far as newly produced rifles go. Recently, a Remington representative told me the company is no longer chambering any of their rifles in the Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum calibers. This pretty much leaves their short-action owners stranded, which echoes their earlier 5mm Remington Magnum debacle. Unlike 5mm folks, though, the owners of the Remington Short Action Ultra Magnums can handload their own cartridges if they can find brass. If not, they might be forced to form their own cases starting with .404 Jeffrey brass. But that promises to be both a laborious and costly endeavor.

The author found that his 7mm WSM loaded with Barnes Triple Shock X and Tipped Triple Shock X bullets did an excellent job when culling unwanted feral donkeys in the Northern Territory of Australia. These are exceptionally tenacious and hard to kill animals even when the bullets are placed directly into their boiler room.

I, like the masses, was caught up in the initial hype associated with these cartridges. Even though I was less enamored with the overall concept, whenever anything new comes to the shooting community, I am naturally drawn to trying it out firsthand. Before long, I had laid my cash down on the counter of my local sporting goods store for a Winchester Model 70 Classic Featherweight chambered in 7mm Winchester Short Magnum. Over the next few years, I used it for taking a half a dozen or so mule deer, all shot between 200 and 400 yards. In each of these cases, the deer fell with a single shot. That same rifle accompanied me to Australia where I used it on a culling project for pigs, donkeys, and even an Asian water buffalo. I can’t, however, claim that they were all one-shot kills Down Under, due to the stubborn cling-to-life nature of the donkeys, but I was never disappointed in the performance of the 7mm Winchester Short Magnum. The rifle also accompanied me to South Africa on one occasion, where I took a bushpig and a jackal with it. I had hoped to use it for baboons but, by no fault of the rifle, they just wouldn’t cooperate for a shot. I found that Barnes Triple Shock X and Tipped Triple Shock X Bullets performed excellently in this rifle.

The concept behind the short magnum craze was often a desire to be able to generate magnum-level performances, but doing so in rifles with short actions. I don’t see a tremendous advantage to this concept. The short-action rifles will generally have a shorter bolt throw, which is looked on by some as an advantage because of its quicker cycling abilities, and in some cases a short-action rifle will weigh less than a rifle with a standard- or magnum-length action. Any other advantages over the longer magnums would be essentially immeasurable. Of course, if you like the accuracy and shooting performance of any cartridge, it makes good sense to use it, and that would apply to short versions as well.

There is usually an additional cost that goes along with anything outside the norm, and that applies here as well. Factory-loaded cartridges will likely be harder to find and, when you do locate them, they will probably be a bit more costly than their longer and more traditional counterparts. After purchasing my 7mm Winchester Short Magnum, I began perusing a mainstream mail-order catalog and found that the cheapest box of 7mm Winchester Short Magnum cartridges was running close to $35 as opposed to a cheap box of 7mm Remington Magnums, which ran at about $20. That didn’t concern me too much because I figured I would be handloading the majority of my cartridges. But when I attempted to do so, there were a few surprises in store for me. Like the factory-loaded cartridge prices, I found the price of the brass to be comparably elevated and harder to locate. And even though I have a larger inventory of reloading supplies and equipment than most shooters, I quickly found I was lacking when it came to this new era of stubby cartridges. I had assumed I would have a shell holder to fit, but no dice—the huge base of the Winchester Short Magnum simply didn’t match anything I had. Even our local sporting goods store hadn’t yet updated their inventory to include any. So back to the mail-order catalog I went, and about a week later, I sat down at my reloading bench with renewed vigor.

Unbeknownst to me, there were a few more bomb-shells on my handloading horizon. After finally getting my first case primed, I picked out one of my cartridge loading blocks, but found that the oversized Jeffrey-sized base continued to create problems. Not a single loading block was capable of accommodating my new cartridges, so for the time being, I simply dropped them into a cardboard box. Once all the cases had been primed, I anxiously placed the powder funnel over the mouth of the first case and dropped the powder charge in. Rather than the entire charge smoothly trickling into the case, a sizable amount of the powder overflowed onto my lap. Huh, I thought, I must not have had the funnel seated all the way down on the shoulder of the case. So I tried again, but it only turned out to be a replay of the previous misdealing. Upon further examination, I found the oversized shoulder diameter of the Winchester Short Magnum wasn’t allowing my aging RCBS funnel to seat properly. The good news is that most reloading equipment manufacturers have now modified their funnel designs to accommodate the dimensions of these new cartridges.

At the time, I didn’t feel up to making the seventy-plus mile round trip back to the sporting goods store, which I suppose is a drawback of living in the back-country. As an alternative, I got creative and found I could temporarily remedy the problem by trimming about .25 inches off the bottom of the funnel. With that problem fixed, at least for the moment, I resumed my efforts with a revitalized sense of optimism and determination. Pulling a box of 7mm bullets from my shelf, I seated the first one and took a moment to admire my accomplishment before going to my supply of ammunition boxes for a place to store the cartridge. You guessed it—none would accommodate the fat body of the Winchester Short Magnum. By this time, I was getting used to the pattern of events and simply placed a rubber band around the loaded cartridges, then added new ammo boxes to my growing list of items to purchase.

Certainly, the expense of buying a new powder funnel, a shell holder, a few large ammo boxes, and a corresponding cartridge loading block pales in comparison to the cost of a new rifle. But, more important than the cost can be the inconvenience of locating all these items and that by adding them you might be duplicating products you already have on hand. However, most handloading product manufacturers have now recognized this trend and, though they were slow to accommodate the changes, they have now done so.

Whether the Winchester Short Magnums will endure is a question that has to go unanswered at this time. Even though the majority of these cartridges show little or no ballistic advantage over their longer magnum counterparts, discontinuing a cartridge solely on that basis would be a mistake in my mind. If that were our universal rationale for whether a cartridge ultimately survives or not I would likely wind up with many of my favorite cartridges on the waste heap. My cartridge philosophy is that if you like it, it suits your purposes well, and it has good accuracy, use it. My primary reservation with all these short magnums is the survival of the ammunition and, to an even greater extent, the survival of the cartridge cases for handloading. At this time, it seems that both Winchester and Remington are offering loaded ammunition in these calibers, but if this continues is anyone’s guess. If the ammunition and cartridge cases should disappear completely from the mainstream market, it could be devastating to those rifle owners.

The author’s 7mm WSM chambered Winchester Model 70 produced a great one-shot kill on this fine trophy quality muley buck in Montana.

10. The Right Bullet for the Game

Not too long ago if you wanted a good-quality hunting bullet, the only way was to handload your own cartridges. But that has all changed now. In recent years, many of the mainstream ammunition manufacturers have begun loading top-rated hunting bullets in their premium lines of loaded ammunition. But whether you prefer to stuff your own cartridges, or simply purchase ammunition that’s already loaded, it is important that you give a lot of consideration to the selection of your bullets. This is an area I believe you should never cut corners on. I have a couple of friends who insist on hunting with one particular brand and style of factory-loaded ammunition that, in my opinion, is totally inferior for hunting. Like a wild teenager who insists on ignoring the obvious consequences of driving too fast, these two individuals totally ignore the impending disaster of their actions, though they are neither ignorant nor adolescent.

Even though the bullets loaded in this ammunition are highly touted by the manufacturer and even labeled as premium hunting bullets, in reality they are anything but that. They are thin-skinned and poorly constructed—upon touching the first hair of the animal they literally explode. Even though that might be fine when hunting varmints and small predators, it certainly isn’t a trait anyone should be pining over in a bullet intended for big- or even medium-sized game. I’m quite sure the reason these fellows hold so dearly to their belief is because they have killed a few deer using these bullets. I would likely wage one of my finest custom-built rifles against a sack of Dunkin’ Donuts that in each of these cases, the deer was standing perfectly broadside at a close range and was totally oblivious to any potential danger when the fatal shot was fired. It’s quite likely that even a well-placed .22 Long Rifle bullet sent to the brain of the animal under the same circumstances would have the same affect. But just because it’s a possibility, doesn’t mean you should hunt deer with a .22, and the same would apply to using an inferior bullet.

I like to be assured that my bullet will perform well no matter what conditions it should encounter. Think about it—if you found your crosshairs settled on a Boone-and-Crockett-quality animal, but it simply refused to provide you with a perfect broadside shot, would you want to take the shot and risk the chance of the animal escaping, knowing full well that the bullet may not be capable of penetrating deep enough to produce a clean kill? In this case, your bullet might have to penetrate through the entire length of the animal’s body to reach its vitals, or you might be faced with having to drive it through an entanglement of small twigs and limbs to reach its target. In either of these cases, a poorly constructed bullet will likely fail to produce the results you would be looking for. On the other hand, if you were shooting a quality bullet that refuses to shed its jacket no matter what it encounters, your chance for success would improve dramatically.

Today a hunter has a wide and varied selection of top-quality hunting bullets to select from. Shown here are a few examples from the author’s private collection. With the exception of the Bitterroot Bullets, shown in the center front, all of these are readily available on the market today. The Bitterroot Bullets are no longer produced, but were considered one of the best of the hunting bullets decades ago.

These are a few examples of hunting bullets, which were retrieved from trophy game animals killed by the author and helps to demonstrate how good quality bullets have the ability to hold together and retain a high percentage of their original weight (L-R): 1) 180-grain Nosler Partition .300 Win. Mag. with 60.6% retained weight, 2) 180-grain Nosler Partition .300 Win. Mag. with 60% retained weight, 3) 180-grain Nosler Partition .300 Win. Mag. with 61.1%, 4) 180- grain Nosler Partition .300 Win. Mag. with 50.8% retained weight, 5) 120-grain Nosler Partition 25-06 with 64% retained weight and 6) 180-grain Norma Oryx 308 Norma Mag. with 94.1% retained weight. The size of the animals varied from about 150 to 600 pounds, and the range varied from an estimated 60 yards up to 350 yards.

The following are the four basic criteria I use to judge the effectiveness of a bullet for use on big- and medium-sized game.

The Four Criteria of a Good Hunting Bullet

1. High ballistic coefficient value: Ballistic coefficient is defined as the ratio of a bullet’s weight in pounds to the product of the square of the bullet’s diameter and its form, or shape, factor. Even though this might sound confusing, the most crucial thing to keep in mind is that the higher the ballistic coefficient value, the better the bullet’s ability to resist the effects of both wind drift and gravitational pull—the trajectory will be flatter, and the bullet will retain a higher level of energy than that carrying a lower ballistic coefficient value. To possess a high ballistic coefficient, the bullet must be streamlined and pointed, and the longer the overall length is, the higher the value will typically be. Avoiding the temptation to use flat- or round-nosed bullets will go a long ways toward more favorable performance. Generally speaking, any bullet that has a ballistic coefficient value of .400 or more would be considered a good choice at this phase of the evaluation.

2. Holds together upon impact and retains a high percentage of its original weight: In order to punch through heavy bone, tissue, and sometimes even an impediment of brush, a bullet must be capable of holding together. In doing so, it is imperative that the bullet core and jacket remain intact. The whole purpose of a copper jacket is to provide a degree of protection for the softer inner core of the bullet. If the jacket is separated from the core, the lead instantaneously disintegrates and all forward movement of the bullet ceases. The lead then immediately transforms into what resembles a coarsely ground powder. Frequently, bullet manufacturers use the term “bonding” to describe the difficult job of joining these two starkly different metals together, which are in most cases copper or a copper alloy and lead. In years past, this process wasn’t perfected as it is today and consequently, when a manufacturer used to advertise their bullets as bonded, it didn’t mean much. Even though I wouldn’t say that all currently manufactured bullets labeled as bonded are good hunting bullets, the process of bonding has substantially improved. Because bullet manufacturing is such a competitive field, most bullet makers today guard their bonding processes and techniques as if they were protecting a priceless stash of gold ingots. Of course, with the popular lead-free bullets, like Barnes’ Triple Shock X Bullets, Nosler’s E-Tip, Hornady’s GMX, and Monoflex, as well as others, there is no core separation problem to encounter. But, because copper is lighter than lead, this frequently translates into these bullets being longer overall. This could be looked at as a good thing when it comes to the typically higher ballistic coefficient values of these bullets. But these generally have to be seated deeper into the cartridge case, and they sometimes lack availability in heavier weights.

Shown here are a few examples of poor performing bullets. All were retrieved from deer (L-R): 1) Handloaded 165-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet shot from a 30-06 with 36.5% retained weight, 2) 120-grain factory loaded Remington Core-Lokt bullet shot from a 25-06 with 41.5% retained weight, 3) 180-grain factory loaded Remington Core-Lokt bullet shot from a 300 Winchester Magnum with 28.3% retained weight, and 4) 150-grain Federal factory-loaded 7mm Remington Magnum with 38.3% retained weight. These bullets were given to the author by his hunting friends and demonstrate how poor quality bullets can come apart even in deer-sized game animals. The range varied from 50 yards out to about 150 yards.

Unless you are shooting a rifle, which possesses a tubular magazine, round or flat nose bullets should be avoided. Shown here are a few of the available choices in 3 calibers (L-R): 30-06 round nose as compared to a 30-06 spitzer, .308 Winchester round nose compared to a .308 full metal jacket (not usually recommended for most hunting), .270 Winchester round nose compared to a .270 Winchester semi-pointed.

3. Good frontal expansion: Expansion of the frontal surface of the bullet is an important consideration. When a bullet expands well, it results in a higher degree of tissue damage and distributes the impact shock over a greater area. Nevertheless, that expansion must be coupled with deep penetration. Too quick of an expansion could result in too little penetration, whereas too little expansion can increase the depth of penetration, but lack the desired amount of tissue damage. This can be a fine line to walk and, depending upon your personal shooting philosophy, the type of bullet you choose could be starkly different from that of another hunter.

4. Penetrates deeply through bone and cartilage: For a bullet to perform its best, it must be capable of plowing its way through a virtual minefield of formidable obstructions. If it can’t penetrate tough bone and cartilage to reach the animal’s vitals, your hunting success can be jeopardized. An argument that frequently arises between experienced hunters is whether it’s better for a big game hunting bullet to penetrate completely, thereby exiting out the opposite side of the animal, or if it is better that the bullet remains inside the carcass. There is sound logic behind both of these positions. For the hunters who believe total penetration is best, they feel assured that no matter what the bullet encounters along the way, it will be able to reach the animal’s vitals, resulting in a clean kill. On the other hand, hunters who prefer that their bullets don’t exit feel this distributes all the bullet’s energy directly inside the animal. I have been a part of many of these arguments and can tell you that there is no right or wrong answer here. Both sides have valid points. I’m not offended when I see that my bullet has exited out the backside of an animal as long as the exit point demonstrates that bullet has expanded well along the way. This helps to assure me that if I needed an increased amount of penetration, it would be available.

These three 570-grain Triple Shock X Bullets were retrieved from two Asian water buffalo killed with the author’s custom .500 Jeffrey Rimless chambered rifle and are fine examples of the absolute perfect mushrooming abilities of these exceptionally fine bullets. Retained weights (L-R): 98.8%, 91.4%, and 100%.

The jackets of the Swift A-Frame bullets are designed with a barrier midway. This design helps to ensure a high degree of retained weight.

Like all top-quality products, good hunting bullets are expensive. For that reason, a shooter will never find a shortage of lesser-quality bullets, both for handloading and in factory-loaded ammunition. There is always the temptation for ammunition manufacturers to cut corners to sell their products at cheaper prices. But when it comes to dual-metal bullets with lead cores, I believe there are no better choices than Nosler’s Partitions and Accubonds, Norma Oryx, Swift A-Frames, and Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullets. I’ve used all of these bullets in many cases over the decades, and I have successfully taken hundreds of animals with them. But no bullet is perfect in all aspects. Each has advantages and disadvantages to be considered.

The Nosler Partitions are some of the most consistent bullets I’ve ever used. They are specifically designed to have good frontal expansion and retain a high degree of weight, but in most cases they will shed the front portion of their lead core. If you cross-sectioned one of these bullets, you would find the jacket material actually forms an “H,” with the horizontal portion of that “H” acting as a barrier between the front and back portions of the lead core. Upon impact, the jacket of these bullets is purposely designed to peel back to form a mushroom shape. Often, the front portion of the lead core is lost, but the jacket remains firmly bonded to the core’s rear portion. I have retrieved a number of these bullets from various-sized game animals and in almost every case, even when shot at magnum-level velocities, they have retained from 60 to 63 percent of their original weight. For those that failed to fall within that range, a few have even gone as high as 70 percent. In most cases, these were handloads I loaded to near maximum velocities for the cartridge. In slower velocity cartridges, it would be logical that you could expect even higher retained weights. This reliability and consistency is what makes the Nosler Partition so desirable as a big game bullet.

The Swift A-Frame is of a similar construction and, of those bullets I have retrieved, has a similar performance. In a few instances, they have actually retained more weight than the Partitions. Even though I can’t say for certain, those results might have been due to the A-Frame’s thicker jacket, or the jacket might be made of a slightly different alloy material. The Nosler AccuBonds are also top performers with similar performance: typically a nice mushrooming affect, and a high degree of retained weight.

I once asked John Nosler why the company didn’t offer a couple of different jacket thicknesses for their Partition bullets. I thought a heavier-jacketed bullet would have a greater tendency to hold together on large game, and a thinner jacket would expand quicker for use on smaller game. The answer I received was that the Partition was designed for maximum penetration on large game, and the AccuBond was designed to lean more toward the smaller, thinner-skinned species. I can accept that rationale, and my own field experience would support those claims.

I am quite fond of the Norma Oryx bullets and have registered a lot of deer kills with them, but, like all other bullets, it has its drawbacks. It is a deep-penetrating bullet that mushrooms well and has a high degree of retained weight. On deer, I haven’t retrieved many of these bullets because they have a tendency to pass through this size of animal. The major drawback to the construction of the Oryx lies in the fact that the nose is flat, though not excessively so. Nevertheless, a considerable amount of potential ballistic coefficient value is lost in this design. The only reason I can think of for this design is that the majority of the game shot in Norma’s home country of Sweden might be at a close range, and so, a bullet possessing a high ballistic coefficient value wouldn’t provide a great deal of advantage. It is a real shame, though. The simple act of bringing these bullets to a point, even if it were done through the use of a plastic tip, would improve the long-range abilities of the Oryx with potentially no downside.

This demonstrates the excellent penetration of a bullet on an African eland shot at 100-yards. The 260-grain Nosler AccuBond .375 bullet penetrated through both lungs of the 1-ton animal, lodging just under the skin on the far side. The rifle was a Winchester Model 70 Super Express chambered in .375 H&H Magnum. When retrieved it was found that the bullet had mushroomed perfectly and retained 170-grains of its original weight (over 65%). Performance like this is what hunters should strive to obtain from all their big game hunting bullets.

The last bullet of these lead core designs to discuss is the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw. This bullet has a long and distinguished reputation as a tough and well-constructed bullet and comes with a smaller lead core and a thicker jacket than many other similarly designed bullets. As such, this bullet is less susceptible to coming apart on impact. Like its counterpart, the Trophy Bonded Tipped Bullet, its lead core is only about half the length of the bullet, which results in a consistently high retention of its original weight.

Partly because of California’s unwarranted ban on lead products and the movement to everything green, there has been a tremendous movement away from lead-core bullets to solid copper and copper alloy bullets. The first of these that I knew of was the Barnes Triple Shock X Bullet, which was designed and developed by the then-owner Randy Brooks. This bullet quickly became the company’s trademark legacy, but it had nothing to do with Randy’s desire to be green. In fact, Randy and Coni Brooks are insistent that this bullet was designed only with the objective of becoming the best hunting bullet ever produced, and its lead-free status had nothing to do with an environmental objective.

Randy Brooks of Barnes Bullets took this huge 9-foot 6-inch brown bear on the Alaskan Peninsula in the spring of 1986 with his .375 H&H Magnum. This was the first animal to be killed with what would later become known as the Barnes Triple Shock X Bullet. This first prototype X Bullet was made on a lathe in the Brooks’ machine shop. Photo courtesy of Barnes Bullets.

Quickly, the Triple Shock X developed a reputation as a deeply penetrating, good-mushrooming bullet with substantial game-killing properties. In recent years, I have used these bullets a great deal, and I even exclusively shot them on my feral animal culling project in the Australian Outback, when I primarily used them for buffalo, donkeys, and pigs. It is a well-constructed bullet that often retains close to 100 percent of its original weight. The tip is inscribed so the bullet peels back quickly and consistently into four even petals. In a few instances, I have had an X Bullet lose one of its four petals, particularly when encountering heavy bone, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Even when this does happen, the bullet still generally retains about 90 percent of its original weight.

Barnes has recently introduced an identically constructed bullet as the Triple Shock X Bullet, except that it has a plastic tip. Appropriately, they call this bullet the Tipped Triple Shock X. I have found this version to have the same high level of killing performance as the older Triple Shock X, and it comes with the added benefit of an increase in the ballistic coefficient value, thereby flattening out its trajectory. It even has some ability to protect the point from damage inside the magazine of heavy recoiling rifles. A few years back, Randy and Coni Brooks sold their company to Freedom Group, but at the time of this writing the Brooks family is still active in the management of the company. The only difference is that they don’t have to worry so much about coming up with the money to pay the bills. Randy, Coni, and their daughter Jessica are terrific people, fine examples of what is good in America, and the type of people often encountered within the hunting and shooting community.

The lead-free bullets, or so called e-bullets, have a lot going for them, but one of their major drawbacks pertains to the fact that copper is lighter in weight than lead. If a comparison is made between these two styles, each of which weighs the same, the e-bullet will typically be longer overall. Even though this characteristic could result in increasing the bullet’s ballistic coefficient, it can be problematic in other areas. For example, a longer bullet must be seated deeper inside the cartridge case, which can result in more compressed powder charges. In some cases, the heavier weight bullet choices might not be available in some calibers.

When hunting deer-sized game, some hunters might think it isn’t necessary to shoot the best and often most expensive hunting bullets. The thought is that deer are small, their bones aren’t heavy or resilient to penetration, and as such, they aren’t normally tough to kill. I have a different take on this issue: I believe it is always a good idea to shoot the best bullets for all game. By doing so, you will never be disappointed with a bullet’s performance. Even though high-quality bullets can be expensive, as premium quality factory-loaded ammunition with those bullets will be, how many bullets do you actually shoot while hunting? If it weren’t for rechecking the point of impact on the firing range prior to heading out on a hunting trip, I could probably get by with only a couple of boxes of ammunition each year. Unfortunately, however, different styles and types of bullets, or different commercially loaded ammunition, will often shoot to a different point. This makes it necessary to sight your rifle in with the ammunition you intend to hunt with. Go ahead and shoot the cheap stuff for practice, but make sure your actual hunting ammunition will be impacting where you want it to before going afield. Of course, doing so will add to the number of high-quality bullets that must travel down your bore, but it won’t amount to that much additional cost, and you will be far ahead in the long run.

Barnes’s new Tipped Triple Shock X Bullets provide the same great mushrooming capabilities as the original X Bullets, but come with the benefit of higher ballistic coefficients and a plastic tip to protect the point from any potential damage. Photo courtesy of Barnes Bullets.

The lead-free Barnes Triple Shock X bullet is a favorite of many serious big game hunters due to it reputation for extremely high weight retention, good controlled expansion, and deep-penetration abilities. Photo courtesy of Barnes Bullets.

The ability of a bullet to hold together, properly mushroom, and penetrate deep is not so important for most varmint hunters’ needs. In fact, the majority of these pursuers of vermin would prefer that their bullets be thin skinned and blow up on impact. About the only exception would be hide hunters, who prefer a fully metal-jacketed bullet that typically produces little to no expansion because the hunter seeks to limit the damage to the animal’s hide. Species like prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and marmots certainly aren’t what anyone would consider hard to kill. For that matter, even foxes and coyotes can be easily dispatched with a high-fragmenting bullet. Varmint hunters like to challenge themselves with long shots, windy conditions, and small targets. As a result, the impact performance of the bullet generally takes a backseat to precise accuracy. Bullets for dangerous game are the last category of hunting bullets to discuss here and generally consist of either solids or soft points. When going after species like buffalo, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and elephant, the bullet must penetrate through extremely heavy bone and cartilage, so sometimes the hunter will choose to shoot solids. In this case, they are willing to sacrifice bullet expansion for the bullet being able to penetrate deep to reach the vitals of the animal. But the use of solids can be problematic in some hunting situations, particularly when hunting herd animals, such as Cape buffalo. A solid can sometimes pass completely through the targeted animal and wind up wounding one standing directly behind it. Extreme caution is called for in this hunting scenario. A combination of solids and soft points is sometimes used, but in this case, it is crucial to make sure both types of ammunition will impact the target at the same point. When it comes to advice on what type of bullet to use when hunting dangerous game, there is no better source than your professional hunter. He or she will be able to advise you as to whether solids, soft points, or a combination of the two would be the best fit for their particular hunting concession.

I was skeptical when Coni Brooks told me that their Banded Solids and Triple Shock X Bullets were designed so they would impact at the same point when loaded in the same manner. I simply couldn’t believe that two bullets so starkly different in both composition and outward appearance could possibly produce an identical impact point. In my past shooting experience, I found such assertions to be approaching lunacy. I was wrong. After handloading both styles of bullets for my .500 Jeffrey Rimless, I headed out to the range to see for myself and found that Coni was absolutely right. At 100 yards, you simply couldn’t distinguish which of the two bullets I was shooting. At the time, I had a trip scheduled to the Australian Outback in the Northern Territories where I expected to take a sizable number of Asian water buffalo with the rifle. Before finalizing my plans, I decided to discuss the trip with Coni, looking for a little advice on what bullets she would recommend. I was surprised when she advised me to take only Triple Shock X 570 grainers rather than a combination of those and Banded Solids. She promised that the X bullets would provide an adequate amount of penetration to get the job done. I shouldn’t have questioned her knowledgeable advice because I found it to be right on—they did just that!

Even though the Barnes Triple Shock X (left) and the Banded Solid (right) are designed dramatically differently when loaded to the same specifications, they have the ability to print to the same point on a target.

Shown L-R: The author and his friends and fellow hunters, Larry Pendleton and John Englert.

11. What to Look for in a Good Hunting Rifle

No one can tell how a rifle will shoot prior to burning some powder, but there are a number of characteristics that can tip the scale in favor of accuracy and dependability. A well-crafted fitted stock is one thing worthy of consideration. If the barreled action hasn’t been properly seated and secured, it can easily result in larger downrange groups. Even though natural wood is beautiful to look at, some hunters prefer the more durable characteristics inherent in a synthetic stock, many of which are designed with integral bedding molded right into the stock to improve accuracy. This design provides a metal-to-metal mounting of the rifle action, which I would consider superior in some cases. Close tolerance and absolutely no movement are strong requirements if you are looking for the ultimate in accuracy.

For decades, the single most common improvement rifle owners made to their rifles was to remove the stock to glass-bed the action. This was done to alleviate any inletting inconsistencies and to provide a better, more stable seat for the receiver. But when it came to production-built firearms, few companies in the past saw a need to do the same. In some cases, I suppose this was simply a matter of out of sight, out of mind, but I’m sure others looked at glass-bedding as just another way of adding to production costs. Even though this attitude certainly hasn’t changed universally, glass-bedded actions are more common in production-built firearms today than they ever were in the past. No matter whether a rifle has a synthetic or wood stock, glass-bedding is an important consideration. Of course, if a rifle is lacking this feature, it is possible to do it yourself, or you could have a gunsmith do it for you. Glass-bedding kits can be found in most gun stores, and they come with all the necessary instructions. As long as you have rudimentary abilities for such things and you follow the instructions precisely, most individuals can achieve good results on their own.

Bell & Carlson’s Medalist composite stocks are a product of hand-layup fiberglass, Kevlar and epoxy construction, and they come with a bonded integral aluminum bedding block. This advanced style of aftermarket rifle stock has the capabilities of producing the best possible potential for accuracy and durability.

Bedding pillar sleeves can enhance accuracy in a similar manner by helping to limit the influences of changes and movements within the stock due to humidity and atmospheric changes. Bedding pillar sleeves are hollow metal tubes inletted into the stock where the action mounting bolts are located. When in place, the bolts pass through these tubes rather than simply through holes drilled through the stock. When properly installed, the pillar sleeves acts as a barrier between the stock material and the bolts, with the bottom of the receiver and the top-most part of the trigger guard assembly making direct contact with the ends of the sleeves.

For the best accuracy, most rifle barrels should be free-floated. In other words, the action should be properly secured to the stock, but the barrel should be completely free of any contact within the barrel channel. I have, however, frequently found this to be lacking in many production-built rifles. Inconsistencies like this can result in affecting the harmonics of the barrel—good harmonics are essential to a rifle’s accuracy. To verify the barrel has been free-floated, all that is needed is to slip a piece of paper or a dollar bill under the barrel for its full length, beginning at the end of the stock and ending where the barrel attaches to the receiver or meets the recoil lug. If the paper doesn’t freely pass, the barrel will need to be floated. You might be able to do the work yourself, but at a minimum, you will need a barrel-bedding tool. This will allow you to shave out the necessary excess wood, or in the case of a synthetic stock the excess plastic, in a smooth and uniform crescent manner. But as with all rifle-customizing projects, if you are not comfortable performing the work, sometimes it is better to leave it to an expert.

Pillar bedding sleeves are sometimes used to encourage a higher degree of accuracy in a hunting rifle.

Even though it isn’t as imperative for a rifle stock to fit the shooter as precisely as a shotgun stock, it is still an important consideration and must be given a proper degree of thought. The length of pull is one of the most crucial points to be examined and is also one of the most frequently encountered problems. Most production rifles are designed to fit the average adult male with a pull somewhere between 13.5 and 13.75 inches. Unfortunately, not all shooters fit this stereotypical image, nor are they all male. Because of this, some shooters might require a stock that is different than that considered to be the norm. There is a relatively easy way to check a stock to see if the length is right for you. After making sure the rifle is unloaded, you should place the stock against the inside of your forearm. With your arm bent at a 90-degree angle, the stock tight against your arm and the butt firmly in the crook of your elbow, your trigger finger should be positioned on the trigger at the bend of the first joint. If you have to stretch to reach the trigger, the stock is too long. If the butt doesn’t meet the bend in your arm precisely, the stock is too short for you. Even though this is a very basic way of checking stock length, it can tell you if the stock is roughly close to properly fitting. If you feel it is not, it might be necessary to have the stock modified by a qualified stockmaker or gunsmith.

A free-floated rifle barrel will generally result in more consistent and uniform barrel harmonics, which can account for a higher degree of shooting accuracy.

Years ago, the shape of rifle and shotgun stocks seemed to have been patterned after the crooked hind leg of a dog. These stocks, which had a sizable drop at the heel, have largely disappeared today. Although more prevalent in foreign-made firearms, even some modern US manufacturers lean a little too far in this direction to suit me. I suppose the misconception of this design was originally based on the idea that a stock possessing a lot of drop in its buttstock would somehow direct the recoil away from the shooter. In reality, however, the opposite holds true—this design actually drives the recoil directly into the shooter’s face. A straight stock, on the other hand, allows the rifle to recoil back into the shooter’s shoulder and away from the head. Your shoulder is much more capable of sustaining the punch of the recoil than any other part of your body, especially your face. Simply put, the straighter the stock, the less you will be affected by the recoil.

In recent years, muzzle brakes have grown tremendously in popularity. And for good reason. These devices have the potential to trim the felt recoil of a rifle by as much as 25 or 30 percent. The downside, however, is that a muzzle brake can dramatically increase the muzzle blast, which is why some hunting guides deplore the sight of these devices on their clients’ rifles. I don’t like the increased noise that brakes commonly result in, and because of this, I frequently find myself wearing earplugs, even while hunting. Unfortunately, when wearing standard hearing protection, your ability to hear approaching game is also hindered. You can get around this by wearing some of the new hearing protectors that actually increase your hearing potential, while cutting out loud noises. I have found them to be effective. After decades of abusing my ears from shooting, I figure I’d better protect what little I have left, or I won’t be able to hear the dinner bell ring, or worse yet, hear the door bell when the lawyer comes to tell me that I’ve inherited a pile of cash from a relative I never knew existed.

Appearing more like something you might see on the end of an Sherman army tank, the Recoil Eliminators produced by JP Enterprises, Inc., works excellent when it comes to reducing the felt recoil of a hunting rifle.

There are many styles of muzzle brakes available to hunters. This particular one was made by Pacific Tool in White City, Oregon, and installed on the author’s .300 Win. Mag. hunting rifle.

A few production-built firearms now come with muzzle brakes already installed, but far more are being added as an aftermarket consideration. Most of these systems require the barrel be threaded, allowing the brake to be screwed in place. Then, it is possible to remove the muzzle brake, but it’s highly recommended that a replacement cap be used to protect the threads. The Brownells’ mail-order house sells caps specifically for this purpose, or a gunsmith can make one to match your barrel. A word of warning is called for here, though. If you decide to remove the muzzle brake, doing so can result in changing the barrel’s harmonics, which will likely affect your point of impact. So, if you choose to cap off the barrel and not use the muzzle break, you should check your bullets on the range before heading out for that Boone-and-Crockett buck hunt.

I can’t stress enough how crucially important it is that all hunting rifles are equipped with good triggers. Recently, I tested a production-built rifle for a magazine article I was writing, which had such a terrible trigger that I likened it to dragging steel over a cobblestone street. A well-known and respected firearms manufacturer built this rifle, and as such I would have expected a trigger of better quality. I didn’t bother to measure the pull weight, but I’m guessing it was somewhere around 6 or even 7 pounds. Thankfully, not all production triggers are that bad, but frequently, factory triggers have a much heavier pull than I prefer. If my only intent was to build muscle tone in my trigger finger, it would have been fine, but I’ve never been what anyone would consider a fig-leaf type of guy.

The displaced ground dust when shooting this .300 Win. Mag. rifle helps to demonstrate how the JP Enterprises’ recoil eliminator redirects the muzzle blast and helps to reduce the felt recoil to the shooter.

The main reason gun manufacturers are so insistent on heavy trigger pulls is because they are afraid of lawsuits. We have become such a litigation-happy nation that the firearms industry is fearful some idiot will accidentally shoot off his or her big toe and sue the company because the trigger pull was only set at a responsible 4 pounds rather than being so heavy that it would take superhuman strength to get the gun to fire. Most triggers can be adjusted to a lighter setting, which is sometimes an easy procedure, but sometimes it isn’t, in which case you might require the assistance of a gunsmith. At a minimum, I would recommend testing the trigger of any gun before purchasing it. Too much slack or travel and you might have to head to the gun-smith for a thorough trigger job or face the purchase of a replacement aftermarket trigger.

To evade the potential of lawsuits resulting from accidental discharges, a few manufacturers have found a unique new approach. Savage Arms was the first to do so when they introduced their revolutionary new AccuTrigger. The design works like the old Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless revolver, sometimes called lemon squeezers. Before the pistol could be fired, a spring-loaded bar located at the back of the handgrip had to be pressed. Like the AccuTrigger, this was meant as a safety feature to prevent the gun from accidentally discharging when dropped, bumped, or if the trigger should unintentionally come into contact with something it shouldn’t. The Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless safety bar was typically compressed when the shooter’s hand tightened around the grip. In Savage’s AccuTrigger, the rifle can’t be fired without first compressing a tiny lever-type protrusion Savage calls the AccuRelease, which is located directly in front of the trigger. This is an integral part of the overall AccuTrigger design, and it functions well. To activate the AccuRelease takes almost no effort. While the trigger is being pulled as usual, the AccuRelease is compressed, which unblocks the sear and allows the rifle to fire. Because of the built-in safety factor provided by the AccuRelease, the actual trigger pull can be set much lighter, sometimes to less than 2 pounds, and still be safe to use in the field on a hunting rifle.

Recently, Ruger has come out with an outwardly similar system as the Savage AccuTrigger, but I would think it must be somewhat internally different, or there would be patent infringements. Ruger calls their trigger the Marksman Adjustable Trigger. Like the AccuTrigger, the Ruger Marksman Adjustable has a tiny lever protrusion just in front of the trigger, which must be compressed before the rifle can discharge. Like Savage’s model, the Ruger model can easily be adjusted. Recently, I had a chance to test a Ruger rifle equipped with a Ruger Marksman Adjustable Trigger. It came from the factory with a conservative trigger pull of 4 pounds, 5 ounces and, after adjusting it to what seemed to be this particular trigger’s minimum, I got it down to a light 3 pounds, 8 ounces. Even though this wasn’t as light as most of the Savage AccuTriggers are capable of, I felt it was an acceptable setting for a hunting rifle trigger of this design.

I was more than a little leery about these trigger designs in the beginning. I simply deplore travel in any trigger I am using, whether it’s a shotgun, pistol, or rifle, and I feared these triggers would produce a similar feeling. However, I was wrong in my rash assumption. The resistance needed to compress the frontal lever on both these triggers is so slight that I didn’t even realize I was doing so. I wound up liking both the Savage AccuTrigger and the Ruger Marksman Adjustable Trigger because they both function well and, best of all, they allow a margin of safety for the hunters who prefer light trigger pulls.

All of the above criteria and comments applying to new firearms are also applicable to the purchase of used rifles, but there are additional considerations to be taken into account with the latter. One of the most important is determining how much use and abuse a rifle might have undergone from its prior owner. It would certainly be advantageous to know this individual, but that isn’t always possible. Nevertheless, the more you know about the conditions the rifle has been subjected to, the better you will be able to judge whether it is a good buy. Sometimes, one of the best clues as to how much firing a rifle has undergone can be determined by a careful examination of the muzzle, particularly with blued firearms. When a rifle is fired, an intense burning inferno follows the bullet out of the barrel. Over time, this will eat away at the bluing, eventually leaving the muzzle with a shiny bare metal appearance. It takes several hundred rounds before these signs become apparent. Consequently, when I’m inspecting a used rifle, the muzzle is often one of the first things I look over.

It is important, however, that you don’t confuse this type of bluing loss with wear around the outside of the muzzle, which can be the direct result of carrying the rifle in a boot or case, or maybe storing it muzzle down in a vehicle, which is not necessarily correlated to the amount of shooting the gun has seen. A certain amount of bluing wear is understandable and shouldn’t be considered an indicator of the firearm’s overall condition. In my own collection, I have several firearms that have little to no bluing left on them, yet in every other aspect, they are in superb condition. Small bluing wear spots can be easily touched up with a bottle of liquid, or instant, blue. This product is no substitute for hot or rust bluing, but if a little wear really bothers you, you might give it a try. It’s easy to apply and looks pretty good when you’ve completed the job.

While inspecting the muzzle for bluing loss, you should also be vigilant in looking for any nicks or dings. Even a slight irregularity where the bullet actually exits the muzzle can have dire consequences on the rifle’s accuracy. A competent gunsmith can recrown a barrel if necessary, but I would also look at this as a possible indicator of other abuse that might have taken place. A barrel with any pitting inside the bore should be walked away from. You could have the barrel replaced, but barrels are expensive and the labor to replace them can also be expensive.

Before we go any further with what to look for in used guns, let’s talk a little about collector value and appropriate repairs for collectable pieces. Even though most of us want our firearms to look new, unmarred, and essentially pretty, sometimes it is best that a rifle not be altered, even if the work might improve the outward appearance of the rifle. The value of old collectable firearms can be severely reduced if, for example, the stock has been refinished, replaced, or altered. The same applies if the gun has been reblued or has undergone any other irreversible alterations. Collectors want their firearms to be as close to their fresh-from-the-factory condition as possible, and they surely do not want irrevocable change. What might appear to be a minor cosmetic modification can easily result in reducing the overall value by 50 percent or more. Replacement of parts is usually acceptable in collectable firearms, but any repair part must be identical to the original. On the other hand, if your interest lies solely in the ownership of a serviceable rifle for hunting, modifications to enhance its performance and appearance can actually add value to the firearm. As long as the work is professional, those modifications are usually deemed appropriate and acceptable.

A lot of used rifles have had their recoil pad replaced or their buttplate switched out for a recoil pad, and all too often, these are sloppily done. It is also important that you check to make sure the stock length hasn’t been altered. If the stock has been shortened slightly, you might be able to add a spacer or two between the recoil pad and the stock, or purchase a thicker pad. If, however, a great deal of length has been cut from the stock, you might be facing a total replacement and, like barrels, replacement stocks can be expensive.

The condition of the rifle bore is critically important to the value of the gun. Unfortunately, excessive bore wear doesn’t always manifest as huge pits and deterioration. Some of the ultra-high velocity calibers that are popular today can be extremely hard on barrels, even if the owner takes extraordinary care of the rifle. Cartridges such as the .264 Winchester Magnum, .22-250, .220 Swift, the whole family of Weatherby cartridges, and other high-velocity cartridges can often result in extensive and irreparable damage to the bores. This type of wear usually isn’t detectable simply by gazing down the bore. That is not to say these calibers should be avoided, but every effort should be made to determine how much use the barrel has been subjected to. The average hunter would most likely never shoot a barrel out in his or her lifetime, but an active varmint hunter shooting his favorite .220 Swift or an avid target shooter might destroy several barrels over a period of only a few short years.

When inspecting a firearm, it is important that you work the action slowly several times, looking for any signs of excessive wear or lack of smoothness. You should look for cracks in the stock, particularly when inspecting heavy recoiling firearms. One of the most common areas for cracks is directly behind the action in the area of the tang, or where the wood meets the metal near the top of the grip. A stockmaker can sometimes stop a small crack from progressing, but there are never any guarantees. And, as I have mentioned previously, stocks, even aftermarket synthetic ones, are expensive.

There are many military rifles on the market today, some of which are being marketed for sporting use. Generally speaking, a military rifle, modified or not, is not the best choice for hunting. A proper transformation of a military rifle would include replacing virtually everything, except possibly the action and the bolt, and
some modifications might be necessary to those parts as well. By the time all that work has been accomplished, the owner has probably spent more money on the project than would have been required to purchase a brand new production-built rifle. Then, to add salt to the owner’s wounds, the gun is sometimes worth less than before the alternations took place.

Whenever possible, it is a good idea to test-fire a used rifle prior to purchasing it. After shooting, take a look at the spent brass. Are there any signs of excessive headspace, such as blown or excessively cratered primers? Are there rub marks on the brass that might indicate the gun has feeding problems? Of course precision is important, but sometimes a thorough scrubbing of a used rifle bore is all that is needed to improve its accuracy.

I’m like a lot of shooters—I like to look for bargains in used rifles, but the old cliché “buyer beware” is certainly applicable when purchasing a used rifle. On the other hand, some of best rifles I’ve ever owned once took up residency in someone else’s domicile.

12. A Few Favorite and Not-So-Favorite Rifle Cartridges

Most hunters have a preference regarding the cartridges they use for hunting. Jack O’Connor made no secret of his love affair with the .270 Winchester. His famous Biesen-stocked .270 Winchester Model 70, which accompanied him across the world, is currently on display at the Jack O’Connor Hunting Heritage and Education Center at Hell’s Gate State Park in Lewiston, Idaho. There it resides with his wife Eleanor’s 7x57 Mauser, his well-used typewriter, and many of his trophy mounts. The late Bob Hagel, one of my favorite gun writers, also had his own preference of cartridge, the 7mm Mashburn Super Magnum wildcat round. In my younger years, I actually contacted Mr. Hagel to obtain the specifications for the cartridge, but after giving it some serious consideration, I decided to go in a different direction. I’m no different from those two writers; I have my own preferences when it comes to what I like to carry in the field.

No cartridge can be the perfect match for every hunting situation, but some are more versatile than others. That flexibility of use is one of the most important considerations in cartridge selection, particularly for hunters who aren’t inclined to have a gun safe full of rifles from which to choose. On that basis, I believe there is no better choice than the .300 Winchester Magnum. In my opinion, this cartridge makes the perfect match for the majority of North American game. Possibly the only exception is the largest bear species. For elk hunting, a well-placed 180-grain bullet can devastate the largest of bulls. Even though some argue that the .300 is too much gun for deer-sized game and too little for moose, I have to disagree. I wouldn’t quarrel over the fact that sending a .300 bullet directly into the hindquarters of a deer would result in a lot of damage to the meat, but most bullets would do the same. A properly placed bullet entering just behind the front shoulder will render the lungs totally out of commission and damage little meat in the process. And as for long shots at those deer, the .300’s flat trajectory will outshine most other cartridges. The same characteristics apply to animals the size of a moose. The key here, like all hunting ventures, is to always shoot a good-quality hunting bullet. If you do, that moose won’t likely walk away from an impact from the .300.

The .300 Winchester Magnum is a popular hunting cartridge, but it has many .30-caliber magnum challengers to contend with. Its older cousin, the .300 Holland & Holland Magnum is no slough, and neither are the .300 Weatherby Magnum, .30-378 Weatherby Magnum, .300 Ultra Magnum, .308 Norma Magnum, .300 Winchester Short Magnum, or many of the .30-caliber wildcat cartridges. Even though any of these big .30s would make a hunter proud, I believe, all things considered, the .300 Winchester Magnum has more going for it.

The .300 Holland & Holland seemed to garnish a less-than-warm reception with American shooters when it entered the scene in 1920. Even though it showed considerable improvements over the .30-06 Springfield, its long, gently sloping case walls and shoulder never seemed to capitalize on the full potential of a .30-caliber Magnum. In 1961, however, when the Swedes introduced their .308 Norma Magnum, hunters worldwide quickly woke up to the possibilities of a .30-caliber magnum. This was, and still is, an exceptional cartridge. With the Norma’s 28.5-percent increase in powder capacity over that of the .30-06, it was able to boost the muzzle velocity potential by about 300 feet per second. Like the .300 Winchester Magnum, much of the Norma’s popularity stemmed from the fact that it is short enough to be chambered in a standard-length bolt-action rifle, and most .30-06 rifles could be converted without a great deal of effort. In most cases, it only took cutting in the new chamber dimensions and opening up the bolt face to accept the belted case design.

I’ve only owned one rifle chambered in .308 Norma Magnum, but I found it to be an excellent and versatile cartridge. I used this rifle on one of my African safaris where I took several plains-game species with it, and for several years, I used it almost exclusively for my mule deer hunting, stacking up several fine trophies with the rifle. Back in the mid-1960s, I clearly remember the high degree of interest bestowed upon the .308 Norma. Hunters in particular were excited by the prospects of the increased energy and velocities this new cartridge could provide, and many long-range competitors found it to their liking as well. And even though American rifle manufacturers seemed slow to adopt the cartridge for use in their production rifles, .30-06 conversion projects to the .308 Norma were common in that era. At that time, Norma seemed to have a better foothold in the US shooting market than they do today, and ammunition and cartridges cases, although costly to purchase, were readily available. At the same time, there was an influx of cheap military surplus rifles, both Mausers and Springfields, hitting the civilian market. This presented further opportunities for shooters because they could purchase one of these rifles for far less than anything available in a production rifle, then convert it to take advantage of the increased performance of the .308 Norma Magnum.

This fine African kudu bull was taken with the author’s favorite all-around cartridge, the .300 Winchester Magnum with handloads loaded with 180-grain Nosler partition bullets.

Unfortunately, Norma is the only manufacturer I know of that currently produces either loaded ammunition or cartridge cases in .308 Norma. Imported from Sweden, these products generally bear a higher price tag than some other calibers. I eventually found that I could reform 7mm Remington Magnum cartridge cases to .308 Norma by running the cases through a full-length .308 Norma resize die, then fire-forming them in my rifle. But because of the forward positioning of the shoulder on the .300 Winchester Magnum cases, reforming its brass in the same manner generally resulted in creases in the shoulder of the case. I would imagine, however, that .300 Winchester Magnum cases could be converted to the Norma specifications, but it would likely require the use of forming dies.

Even though the .308 Norma Magnum is a great hunting cartridge, its popularity has declined over the past few decades. Certainly, some of this was due to the lack of availability and cost of the Norma products, but there were also other sinister events that killed the cartridge. While the folks at Norma were high-fiving one another over their recent success and enjoying the accolades associated with their new Magnum cartridge, one of their US competitors was watching closely. And a mere two years after Norma introduced the .308 Norma, Winchester introduced their own .30-caliber Magnum cartridge, the .300 Winchester Magnum. Both of these cartridges could be used in a standard-length bolt-action rifle, but the Winchester design had a 3.7-percent larger powder capacity over that of the Norma, as well as a whopping increase of33.3 percent over the .30-06. These improvements were made primarily by moving the shoulder further forward and shortening the case neck. The result was that the .300 Winchester Magnum could launch a 180-grain bullet at about 100 feet per second faster than the Norma and 400 feet per second faster than the .30-06. Winchester played their hand perfectly. The cartridge case of the .300 Winchester Magnum was designed to be slightly larger overall than the Norma, which allowed .308 Norma shooters to easily rechamber their rifles to the Winchester specifications. In addition, Winchester didn’t offer their new cartridge in just any old rifle; they introduced it to the public in possibly the most popular bolt-action rifle of the time—their Winchester Model 70.

In the real world, there aren’t many differences in performance between the .308 Norma Magnum and the .300 Winchester Magnum, particularly for shooters who handload their own ammunition, but the Winchester strategy worked to the demise of Norma. Despite all this, the .308 Norma is a superb cartridge, and I would not hesitate to use it for most of the world’s species all the way up to and including elk.

Even as great of a cartridge as the .300 Winchester Magnum is, it didn’t come into existence without controversy. Early on, some opponents, including many gun writers, became obsessed with the length of the cartridge’s case neck. Their concerns centered around the fact that the neck is only 0.264 inches long, which was shorter than its .30-caliber bullet diameter. The way these folks saw it, there were three basic issues working against the new .300 Winchester Magnum.

First, they claimed the short neck wouldn’t hold securely enough, resulting in the bullets working free or being driven deeper inside the case under the recoil of the rifle. Second, the unusually short neck would adversely affect the accuracy of the cartridge. And third, that the bullets would protrude too deeply into the cartridge case, particularly with heavily weighted bullets, thereby either lessening the powder capacity or making it necessary to shoot compressed powder charges. In hindsight, none of these claims had one speck of validity to them. I can personally vouch for the fact that my bullets have never worked loose even though I don’t normally crimp the necks of my cartridges. In addition, the cartridge is so accurate that it is frequently successful in long-range shooting competitions and, concerning the worries of compressed loads, many magnum cartridges have compressed powder charges with virtually no adverse consequences. If any of those pessimistic alarmists had even shot the cartridge a few times before making unsubstantiated and reckless claims, this wouldn’t have been an issue.

The relatively new .300 Winchester Short Magnum might have stolen a slight amount of the popularity away from other .30-caliber magnum cartridges, but the .300 Winchester Magnum is still one of the most popular hunting cartridges ever developed. When considering any of the Short Magnums, be cautious about their ultimate survival. Many have already disappeared, but if any of these shorties manage to survive over the long haul, it would likely be the .300 Winchester Short Magnum.

As for to the larger .30-caliber magnum cartridges, such as the various Weatherbys and the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, they might shoot a 180-grain bullet at about 100 feet per second faster than the Winchester, but the additional speed comes at a cost. When compared with the .300 Winchester, the factory-loaded ammunition and cartridge cases for reloading are frequently more expensive and harder to find, the increase in powder charge weights are harder on rifle barrels, and none of these cartridges can be used in a standard-length action due to their length. If all that isn’t enough to convince someone of the virtues of the .300 Winchester Magnum, its popularity should be. In all likelihood, any respectable sporting goods dealer would rather run out of toilet paper in their restroom before they would dare run out of ammunition inventory for this cartridge.

Over the years, I have shot a tremendous amount of game with a variety of .300 Winchester Magnum chambered rifles. These have included whitetail deer, mule deer, blacktail deer, elk, black bear, wild boar, mountain goat, and many varieties of African plains game. In some cases, my shots have been at a close range, and at other times, they have exceeded 500 yards. The majority of those animals were taken with my own handloaded 180-grain Nosler Partition bullets, which leave the barrel at over 3,100 feet per second. Even though some hunters switch to a 200-grain bullet when hunting larger game species, I feel there is no better bullet than the 180-grain for this particular cartridge. The 180’s trajectory is much better than the 200-grain bullets, and at long range, it maintains its energy level better than the heavier bullets.

Any one of those .30-caliber magnums would make an excellent choice for the one-gun hunter. (L-R): .300 Weatherby Mag., .300 Win. Mag., and .300 H&H Mag.

I’ve always thought there hasn’t been enough emphasis placed on the .264 or 6.5mm for hunting purposes. The .264 Winchester Magnum was a flop that was predictable from the start, but I was always disappointed that the 6.5mm Remington Magnum didn’t catch on. That might all be changing now that Hornady has come out with the 6.5 Creedmore. I’ve already discussed this cartridge in detail in chapter 7, “Matching a Cartridge to Your Hunting Needs,” but I feel compelled to stress it once again—this might become a real barn burner in the deer hunting community. Only time will tell, but I would recommend that shooters watch this cartridge carefully in the coming years and not be quick to dismiss it as just another new and trendy addition to an already large selection of hunting calibers.

Over the years, we have seen a surge in what I would call Super Magnums. These have ranged in bullet sizes from about 7mm all the way up to .375. Some of the most popular of those would be the Remington Ultra Magnums, the Weatherby Magnums, and the .338 Lapua Magnum. To a certain degree, these cartridges maintain a limited amount of interest with shooters today. Even though most of these cartridges were specifically developed for sporting use, the .338 Lapua was developed as a long-range military sniper cartridge, which proved its worth during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Based on the parent case of the .416 Rigby, this cartridge is a high-performing and accurate round, but probably has considerably less utility for hunting use than most other Super Magnums. In my opinion, most of these cartridges are too much of a good thing. They can be hard on barrels as well as your shoulder, they are capable of doing more damage to the edible meat of an animal than traditional cartridges, the cost of ammunition can be staggeringly high, and although in some instances they might have flatter trajectories than some other cartridges, in most hunting situations this only provides a marginal benefit.

In chapter 4 “Nasty Big Bores for Nasty Critters,” I have provided a significant coverage of big bore cartridges, so I won’t reiterate much here. I do, however, want to point out which cartridges I feel are the best choices in this category, which, of course, includes the .500 Jeffrey. Capable of launching a huge 570-grain bullet out of its muzzle at velocities close to 2,400 feet per second to produce nearly 3½ tons of energy, it is a worthwhile consideration for bad and nasty critters. Simply put, I don’t believe any hunter seeking to bring an elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus down to the ground would be better equipped than with a .500 Jeffrey chambered rifle. Nevertheless, I would consider this cartridge to be a fairly short-range caliber, best suited to fewer than 150 yards.

If you are looking to stretch that range and stay within the really-big-cartridge category, I would suggest taking a close look at another old monarch and another one of my favorites—the .416 Rigby. John Rigby introduced his .416 back in 1911 for use in his Mauser bolt-action rifles, but it has also been chambered in some double rifles. Like the .500 Jeffrey, the .416 Rigby quickly gained a reputation as an effective elephant killer, and after more than a century of use, that reputation lives on today. Like so many of the older English big bore calibers, the .416 cartridge case is extremely long, measuring in at a whopping 2.9 inches. So when it comes to bolt guns, only magnum-length actions are capable of accepting it. But being able to launch a big 400-grain bullet on its way at the desirable speed of around 2,400 feet per second to deliver up to 2½ tons of impact energy makes the .416 Rigby a better choice than many of the .45-caliber big bores.

In 1988, Remington attempted to tap into the popularity that the .416 Rigby had enjoyed for decades when they introduced their .416 Remington Magnum. The basic idea behind this cartridge has become a common one today—to reduce the overall size of a popular cartridge, but still maintain a close level of performance as the larger round. Remington’s most popular rifle, the Model 700, was designed with a very small bolt face, which didn’t lend itself for use with the often-oversized older British cartridges. To accommodate this small-diameter bolt, Remington used the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum as its parent cartridge case, then dramatically modified it. The walls of the case were blown out and the shoulder angle sharpened dramatically. The result was a cartridge case that was 1.27mm, or 0.05 inches, shorter and had a rim diameter of 1.49mm, or 0.058 inches, smaller than the .416 Rigby. However, in some instances, these two cartridges produced a similar level of muzzle velocities.

But there are few free rides when it comes to cartridges, and even though Remington achieved their ultimate goal of producing a big bore .416 cartridge capable of being used in their rifles, it came at a cost in the form of considerably higher chamber pressures. In many instances, the pressures produced by the .416 Remington Magnum exceeded those of the Rigby by nearly 30 percent, or 10,000 CUP. This has reportedly created problems for some hunters, particularly those on safari in Africa where elevated temperatures are frequent. For this reason, it would probably be advisable to load to lower pressure levels when high temperatures are expected and reserve the maximum loads for cooler weather. Even though there are some advantages to the .416 Remington, I turned my back on it when I decided to add a .416 to my collection, and it hasn’t bothered me one bit that the .416 Rigby cartridge is a little longer and larger in diameter.

Even though I don’t place the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum in the category of big bore rifles, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer a pat on the back to this fine cartridge. A year after John Rigby came out with his .416, the British firm of Holland & Holland offered up their .375 Holland & Holland Magnum. Based solely on its looks, this cartridge certainly wouldn’t win any awards, but that is about the only negative thing I have to say about it. With its sharply tapered case walls and slowly sloping shoulder, it appears more like something you might find in some old dusty military war museum. Though modest in appearance, the .375, might just make a fine match for you. From Africa elephants to duikers and elk to big bears in North America, the .375 Holland & Holland is what I would call a worthy and versatile cartridge. As long as you don’t challenge its capabilities with shots of more than about 250 to 300 yards, this old monarch will do a fine job for you in your big-game hunting pursuits.

Ruger and Sako both jumped on the smaller-is-better bandwagon when they presented their .375 Ruger and .370 Sako. Targeting the popular .375 Holland & Holland, both of these cartridges possess similar muzzle velocities as the .375, but are short enough to be used in standard-length bolt-action rifles. Neither of these cartridges, in my opinion, has been out long enough to establish a solid reputation within the great hunting fields of the world. But time is a great sorter-outer in these situations, and before long, we will know whether they will survive or simply wind up as what gun writers talk about but seldom encounter.

Like the big bore rifle calibers, the last category of centerfire rifle cartridges is also close to my heart. These are little shells specifically intended for use on varmints, predators, and the pests that plague the world. Many decades ago, I was hunting antelope with my buddy Chuck in Wyoming. At that time, there was little money available in my family budget for the purchase of guns that weren’t specifically for feeding the family. Consequently, I had nothing in my meager arsenal that would be even remotely considered a centerfire varmint caliber. My buddy, on the other hand, was single, had no kids, had a good job, and was living with his parents—he had no shortage of cash lining his pockets. Along with his .243 for antelope, he had a fine Remington Model 700 BDL chambered in .22-250. After several days of vigorously pursuing pronghorns, we decided to take a break one afternoon for a little prairie dog shooting with our .22 Rimfires.

Before long, Chuck couldn’t resist the urge to bring out his .22-250 and was soon taking careful aim at an unsuspecting prairie dog standing upright on its mound only 50 yards away. I watched in awe while the little 55-grain bullet literally folded the head of the dog right into its body cavity and launched what remained 6 feet into the air. That was the first time I’d witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of a high-velocity varmint cartridge, but I vowed it wouldn’t be the last time. Before long, I wondered how I could come up with enough money to buy my own .22-250. It took me a few years before I was able to fulfill that desire, but eventually it came to be.

In the following years, a couple more like-chambered rifles followed, which I frequently use today for long-range prairie dogs, ground squirrels, marmots, coyotes, foxes, and a variety of other vermin. Fully capable of sending a 50-grain bullet through the barrel at the impressive speed of 3,800 feet per second, this is a flat-shooting cartridge, which can effortlessly reach beyond 400 yards. This makes it a great choice for a wide variety of vermin shooting, but especially for coyotes that are stubborn about coming close. The .22-250 has considerable advantage for long-range shooting over the typical .17s and .20s because it will often retain a higher level of energy, shoot flatter, and resist the effects of wind better.

Even though the .22-250 sometimes outshines its smaller competitors, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for the .17 and .20-calibers. Just as a .50-caliber rifle would be a better choice than a .308 for most dangerous game hunting, that doesn’t necessarily besiege the reputation of the .308; it’s only a matter of for what the cartridges are best suited. That also applies to the varmint wildcats like the .20 VarTarg and .17 Mach IV, or its commercialized counterpart the .17 Fireball. Any of these would be a perfect choice as a varmint cartridge; you just can’t expect them to be as efficient at an extreme range. The .204 Ruger has gained a quick and remarkable reputation with many varmint hunters since it was introduced in 2004. Even though I believe it is a fine cartridge, my preference for .20-caliber center-fires would be the .20 VarTarg. Proponents of the .204 Ruger will quickly point out that their round typically produces 200 to 300 feet per second higher muzzle velocities over the VarTarg, or similar .17s and .20s. On the surface, being able to push a bullet out at 4,000 feet per second rather than 3,800 might seem impressive. But although velocity is an important consideration in a varmint cartridge, equally important is the size and weight of the bullet, as well as the effects of gravity and the wind. Even though the .204 starts its bullets out faster than some of its competition, I would categorize all .20 and .17 calibers as 250- to 300-yard cartridges.

Of course, I have heard many claims from lovers of the .204 bragging about 500- and 600-yard shots on prairie dogs, but what those individuals rarely tell you is how many shots it took them to successfully hit their intended target. Nor do they talk about how far over the top of the target they aimed, or how much they had to adjust for the wind. Sure, I love to try shooting from an extreme range at vermin, and I’ve been lucky on more than a few occasions in pulling off some impressive shots. In fact, I’ve even mentioned some of those in this book. But, I also try to look at cartridges in realistic terms, and in my opinion, no .17- or .20-caliber should be considered any more than a 300-yard cartridge.

I have been impressed with the wildcat .20 VarTarg over the last few years. Like the .17 Mach IV, and its commercial counterpart the .17 Fireball, its parent case is that of the .22 Fireball. But unlike the .17 Mach IV, the cases can be formed for the .20 VarTarg simply by running the .22 Fireball brass through the VarTarg full-length resizing die. To form the cases for the .17 Mach IV, the brass must be processed in a series of steps using a couple of forming dies before finally sending them through the Mach IV full-length resizing die. When we compare the .20 VarTarg with the .204 Ruger, we find the latter to have a larger powder capacity, which dictates the need to use a slower burning powder. Because of this, it wouldn’t be fair to draw a simple performance-based comparison solely on the weight of the powder charge. Nevertheless, when handloading these two cartridges, we find it generally takes 25 to 50 percent less powder to load the .20 VarTarg, which equates the .204 Ruger with more cost, lower efficiency, and possibly a shorter barrel life.

When it comes to .17 centerfire cartridges, the .17 Fireball and the wildcat .17 Mach IV are better choices than the oversized .17 Remington. The .17 Remington is an example of too much of a good thing and, like the .204 Ruger, its performance is limited more by its bullet size and weight than its starting velocity. I am particularly fond of both the .17 Mach IV and .17 Fireball, and I frequently use them for prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and even such critters as badgers and coyotes. One good thing about the smaller .17s and .20s is that the recoil is so light, you can actually watch your bullet impact its target right through the lens of the scope. That certainly can’t be said for either the .22-250, or even the .204 Ruger. At a long range, this makes it easier to walk your bullets into the target. Being able to see the impact of the bullet permits the shooter to compensate for both trajectory and wind drift without the aid of a spotter.

When considering any cartridge for use as a hunting round, one of the most important criteria is its potential range. However, the facts have a tendency to become blurred by the boastful ravings of some shooters, which is why it’s important to not become a victim to unrealistic expectations and to take a conservative and metered approach to cartridge selection. I like to categorize cartridges into what I feel would realistically be their effective range potential. Doing so helps me to better understand for what types of hunting scenarios they would be best suited. The chart “Realistic Effective Range of Selected Cartridges” provides an overview of how I would categorize some of today’s popular cartridges. Without a doubt, there will be times when these cartridges will exceed the indicated maximums, but these are the distances the cartridges are best suited for and where you can expect the highest degree of performance.

SECTION 2: AFTER YOUR RIFLE PURCHASE

Sometimes just a walk through the sagebrush looking for a shot at a jackrabbit is enough. However, before you take your rifle for a walk, it’s important to break in the barrel and prepare your gun for the hunt.

13. Barrel Break-In and Other Barrel-Conditioning Procedures

When lands and grooves are cut into the bore of a rifle barrel, this process frequently leaves behind minor machine marks and imperfections. These blemishes normally run in the opposite direction of the bullet travel, creating “speed bumps” that deter the bullet’s progress. First and possibly foremost, these imperfections can result in decreased velocities and hindered shooting accuracy of the barrel. But aside from that, irregularities within the bore can create a trap that collects bits of the copper jacket material from the bullet and other types of fouling, which makes bore cleaning much more difficult. As fouling begins to build inside the barrel, it actually acts as a magnet that draws more contamination.

As a final step in the barrel-making process, some manufacturers use a process called lapping the bore. This is simply a method of working the imperfections out through the use of varying grades of polishing compounds, beginning with the coarsest and gradually working to the finer polishing media. Whether or not the manufacturer has lapped the barrel is an important consideration when purchasing either a replacement of an existing piece or having a custom rifle built. Lapping a barrel should be left to experts who are familiar with the process, but in the event that your barrel hasn’t been lapped, there is an alternative that could suffice. David Tubb’s Final Finish System involves shooting a series of cartridges, which have been loaded with polish-impregnated bullets. Through a step-by-step progression involving bore cleanings and firings, it is assumed that a similar result as lapping can be achieved. I’ve only used this method once.

Even though it is difficult to evaluate how effective it was, the rifle and barrel turned out to be accurate. Whether it would have been as accurate if I hadn’t used the Final Finish System, I cannot say for sure. But one thing that seems to favor this method of conditioning pertains to the chambering of the barrel. Most barrels are purchased from the manufacturer unchambered. In this case, the actual chambering is left up to the gunsmith, who would cut the chamber to the client’s specifications. But, similar to cutting the lands and grooves into the barrel, cutting the chamber in can also leave burrs and blemishes behind. Those located within the throat area can be particularly difficult to polish out. In some instances, the Final Finish System does its best work in this particular area.

David Tubb’s Final Finish System can provide an alternative to lapping a barrel. In this case, the bullets have been impregnated with polishing compound, which acts to polish the bore as they are fired.

Whether the bore of your barrel has been lapped or not, taking the time to properly break the barrel in is a crucial step to achieving the highest possible degree of shooting accuracy from a rifle. Doing so comes with the advantage of conditioning the barrel, further polishing the bore, and it even has the ability to remove some of the minor imperfections that might have been left behind during the manufacturing process. But although everyone seems to agree that barrel break-in is important, no one seems to agree on the best method. As long as you keep the following in mind, I don’t see how you can go too wrong: Most importantly, proceed slowly, don’t over heat the barrel, and do plenty of bore cleaning using a good grade of gun solvent between shots.

The method I like to follow begins by using a bore guide to scrub out the new barrel before the rifle is fired for the first time. This will remove any loose particles of metal and lubricants that might have been left behind during its manufacturing. It never ceases to amaze me just how dirty those first patches come out of a new rifle barrel. Once clean, you should begin by firing a single round through the bore. This is a good time to get your bullets impacting reasonably close to a target bull, but don’t worry too much about getting your sights adjusted precisely at this early stage; there will be plenty of time for that later. After the initial shot, the bore guide should be replaced, and with the muzzle pointing slightly downward, a solvent-soaked patch should be run through the barrel. It is important that the patches are tight fitting, by either using a properly sized jag or, as an alternative, you can use a brush with the patch wrapped around it. Each patch should only make one pass through the bore before being discarded, but you must repeat this process until the patches come out unsoiled. Generally, this will take three or four scrubbings.

Breaking in a rifle barrel can be a slow and deliberate process, but in the end, it will frequently result in improved accuracy. In this case, the author is using a Caldwell lead-sled weighed down with bags of shot in an effort to soften the felt recoil.

Once you are satisfied that the bore is as clean as you can get it, you should follow with a brush of the proper size that has also been soaked in solvent. Ten to twenty passes should be made, replenishing the solvent as needed to keep the brush and bore well-saturated. Follow this with clean patches until no soiling is noticeable. Always keeping the muzzle in a slightly downward position will help avoid the possibility of solvent getting into the rifle’s action or stock. Even though this will be a time-consuming process, you must repeat this procedure—solvent soaked clean patches, brush scrubbing, and clean patches again between each shot until you’ve fired ten rounds of ammunition. After that, the cleaning intervals can be decreased to every three shots, and after five sets of the three-round volleys, I generally consider the bore properly broken in. Nevertheless, I still try to scrub out the bores of my rifles after every fifteen or twenty rounds have been fired. And when I have completed my shooting session for the day, I thoroughly clean the bore with a quality solvent, followed by running a couple oil-soaked patches through it. As a last step, I clean out any excess chemicals that might have been left behind with a dry, clean patch.

Another conditioning procedure followed by some shooters involves having their rifle barrels cryogenically processed. In the machining processes, particularly that involving the cutting of lands and grooves into the bore, the metal of the barrel becomes stressed and it is believed that through cryogenics, stress is relieved and the harmonic affects of the barrel are smoothed. Clearly, this procedure is more than tossing your barrel in your home freezer and leaving it for a while to chill. It involves subjecting the barrel to well-beyond deep-freeze temperatures to cryogenic levels, plunging the barrel to as low as 300 degrees below zero. It is said that this can increase the life expectancy of a barrel by as much as 200 to 400 percent, increase its abrasive wear resistance, eliminate thermal shock, transform all soft retained austenite into hard martensite steel, decrease residual stresses, and increase tensile strength, toughness, and stability. One such company that does this work is Cryoplus, Inc. out of Wooster, Ohio.

14. Nasty Bores and Other Attacks on Your Firearms

I have often wondered how many rifle barrels are needlessly replaced each year because the shooter thinks the barrel is shot-out when in fact the bore simply needed a properly conducted and thorough cleaning. Much like the necessity to change the oil in your car, you have to do routine maintenance on your guns, or problems are sure to materialize. When a firearm is cleaned properly and on a regular basis, it will last longer, shoot more accurately, function better, and be safer overall. All barrels have imperfections within their bore, which will collect contamination and debris. If a barrel is neglected and does not undergo periodic proper cleanings, this material can become impacted, which makes it extremely difficult to remove.

It is quite natural to place heavy emphasis on the types of solvents and chemicals to be used, but that is only one of several factors involved in a proper bore cleaning. Equally or possibly even more important are the cleaning tools you will be using to transfer the chemicals so they can do their intended jobs. One of the most crucial considerations is the type of cleaning rod you will be using. Most older shooters can remember when gun cleaning meant getting that old red metal box with the hinged lid out of the closet that contained a three-piece aluminum breakdown rod, along with a small box of too small or too large patches, a bottle of Hoppe’s No. 9 solvent, and some gun oil. There might have even been a little gray tube of graphite grease included.

I dare say that was about the only type of cleaning rod available in those days. Identical three-piece aluminum cleaning rods are still being sold today, but the red metal box must have become too expensive to produce because it has long since been replaced with various types of plastic or cardboard packaging. Even though sectional aluminum cleaning rods have the ability to get the bore clean, there are some inherent problems associated with their use. A breakdown rod can collect debris where the sections are screwed together, and that grit can then work aggressively against the rifle bore. In addition, aluminum is easily bent, which can result in the rod making contact with the bore. A sectional rod can be useful in the field, but an even better choice would be a field kit like those made by Otis Technology.

These systems consist of a flexible metal cable covered with a thick plastic coating and are accompanied by virtually everything needed to clean about any rifle, pistol, and even shotgun. Included are cleaning patches, various cleaning tips, a tube of bore cleaner, and brushes to fit a wide variety of bore sizes. Possibly best of all, the ingenious folks at Otis have found a way to bundle all this diversity into a package no larger than a red Red Delicious apple. As such, the entire kit can be easily slipped inside the pocket of your hunting jacket or inside your rifle case—this convenience is what makes them so great.

I sometimes use one of these kits at home as well, but more often than not, I prefer a rigid one-piece cleaning rod for home use. The most commonly available one-piece rods are made of steel and come with some sort of coating to protect the bore from damage. Even though I have several of these rods, I’m not that fond of them. The surface coatings always seem to wear off prematurely, and those worn spots can trap abrasive residue. In addition, the steel making contact with the bore could, in time, damage the rifle. The use of a bore guide will go a long way to alleviate some of these issues, but even when using a guide, it is important that you select a cleaning rod with a minimum amount of flex. Not all rods are created equally in this area. Brass rods can easily develop permanent bends, as can aluminum rods. Unlike fishing poles made of graphite, Hoppe’s 100 percent graphite cleaning rod is fairly resistant to bending and always seems to spring back to its original arrow straightness. The surface of this type of rod is easily cleaned and seems to be mostly impervious to wear and abrasions. Spring steel rods, or rods like the Tetra Prosmith, which are made of heat-treated hardened stainless steel, are also amazingly rigid and can come with a surface coating of Corvel.

The convenience provided by the Otis Technology bore cleaning kits makes these an excellent choice for a hunter. Each kit contains everything needed to clean the bore of virtually any firearm, all packed inside a pouch no larger than a Red Delicious apple.

Once you have settled on a good-quality cleaning rod, the next factor to consider is the type of bore-cleaning brush to use. There are essentially three common types from which to select, each designed for a specific purpose and task. If a bore has become severely leaded, badly fouled, or rusted, it sometimes requires more aggressive cleaning techniques than usual. It is only under these severe circumstances that a stainless steel-bristled brush should be used and even then, this type of brush should be used sparingly and with a great deal of cautious restraint. If a stainless brush is used on a regular basis or with assertiveness, it can accelerate bore wear and shorten the life of the barrel. The bronze brush is possibly the most common type in use today. As long as a bronze brush is properly matched to the bore, it will produce excellent cleaning results, and the life expectancy is quite good. The only problem I’m aware of with bronze brushes is their lack of resistance to some chemical solvents. If you are using bore cleaner specifically intended to remove copper jacket fouling, those same chemicals can be hard on the bronze material of the brush. In this case, it would be advisable to use a brush made of nylon. Nylon brushes are highly resistant to the effects of chemical compounds while still doing a fairly good cleaning job. But no matter what style of cleaning rod and brush you feel is most beneficial in your cleaning situation, it is important whenever possible to insert the rod at the breech, progressing in the direction of the muzzle. Doing so will help to limit any potential damage to the crown of the barrel.

Many shooters, admittedly I included, attempt to extend the life expectancy of their bore cleaning brushes too long. When we do, the effectiveness of the brush and its ability to remove fouling can be severely hampered. Another common problem is using a brush that is too large for the bore. The shooter might believe that the oversized brush will fit tighter and therefore do a better cleaning job. In reality, however, when the brush is too large, the bristles bend backwards, which hinders its ability to get inside the recesses and tight spots where fouling is often the worst.

Careful examination under good light reveals copper fouling in this bore, indicating it needs a thorough cleaning using solvents specifically intended to cut through the copper deposits.

Whether you prefer the use of a jag or slotted tip for the cleaning rod is essentially a matter of personal preference. In all likelihood, a properly sized, tight-fitting jag might do a little better cleaning job, but sometimes, I find it difficult to make the patch stay in place long enough to get it started down the bore. The designs with a sharp, pointed tip seem to be better in this area, but even those sometimes lose the patch. This is particularly a problem when I’m cleaning very small bores like a .17 caliber. In this case, I frequently opt to either use a slotted tip, or I wrap a patch around a bore brush. Rather than tossing my bronze brushes in the garbage when I feel they have been spent, I put them aside specifically for this purpose. Usually by that time, they don’t fit tightly enough inside the bore to be effective by themselves, but when I wrap a patch around the bristles, the combination of the two works just fine.

High velocities and copper-jacketed bullets are most responsible for copper fouling in a bore. As the bullet travels down the barrel, the rifling cuts deep into the copper jacket of the bullet, which is needed to establish the proper spin. But the process often results in deposits of copper firmly becoming embedded within the land and grooves of the barrel. While most solvents do an okay job of removing the normal products of combustion, many are incapable of scrubbing out the impacted copper deposits. You might not need to use a copper-attacking solvent each time you shoot your rifle, but it might be necessary periodically to keep the copper buildup at bay.

I’m as guilty as the next person of sometimes returning my guns to the rack without immediately cleaning them. But doing so makes cleaning more difficult. When the barrel is still warm from shooting, the fouling is easier to remove. It is also always a good idea to rub the exterior of the rifle down frequently with a lightly oiled cloth.

A few years ago, I purchased a used Winchester Model 70 Super Express chambered in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum. The rifle was overall in very good condition, but the previous owner had obviously neglected its cleaning over the years. By looking into the muzzle, it was evident that it had accumulated a very heavy buildup of copper fouling. After purchasing the rifle, I was anxious to fire a few rounds, so I simply made a few passes through the bore with solvent-soaked patches and called it good, promising to do a more thorough job of cleaning it later. Nevertheless, after shooting a few rounds through the rifle, I came away wondering if I’d made a mistake buying it. At 100 yards, the best I could do was a 3-inch three-shot group. So, back in I went to do a more thorough cleaning using Gunslick Foaming Bore Cleaner. Due to the long-term neglect the bore had been subjected to, I found the fouling to be extremely stubborn, but after over an hour and multiple applications of the cleaner, I finally was satisfied that the majority had been extricated. When I returned to the range, I was pleasantly rewarded with several perfectly formed cloverleaf 1-inch groups. I often wondered if the previous owner had decided to sell the rifle because of its apparent inaccuracy. That same rifle is still with me today, and I can always count on it to produce groups of about 1 inch at 100 yards.

Outers takes a starkly different approach to bore cleaning with their Foul Out III Electrochemical System. This method employs a combination of electronics and chemicals specifically intended to remove heavy lead and copper deposits. In particular, the Foul Out III could be a good choice for those firearms that have been heavily abused and neglected over the years. It is said that the Foul Out III system leaves even rough or pitted bores sparkling clean. Copper and lead deposits are stripped from the bore under electronically controlled conditions, then deposited on a stainless steel rod that is inserted into the barrel. Outers cautions the user to read the instructions, warnings, and precautionary measures very carefully prior to using the unit, and that misuse can result in damaging the barrel.

The Outers® Foul Out® III Electrochemical Bore Cleaning System can be used to remove stubborn copper or lead deposit, within a bore.

Many shooters believe that stainless rifle barrels are somehow more resistant to bore damage than chrome-moly barrels. In reality, however, the opposite is the case. Remember that just because a rifle is labeled as stainless, it doesn’t really mean that it is made from real, hardened stainless steel. These so-called stainless barrels are even more easily damaged when improper bore cleaning techniques take place. So a little extra level of care should be taken to ensure that your cleaning rod doesn’t mar the internal surfaces of your barrel.

I don’t think anyone actually likes the job of cleaning firearms. I know I certainly don’t. Like me, most shooters would prefer to be shooting rather than scrubbing out dirty barrels. But while it might not be a pleasant task, it is certainly a necessary one if you want your firearms to last, shoot accurately, and function properly. One thing I have noticed is that by cleaning your rifle bores on a frequent and regular basis, the cleaning sessions aren’t nearly so long and burdensome. It is when the bores have been neglected that they become the most difficult to clean.

15. Sighting-In Your Rifle the Right Way

I was once watching at a public shooting range when a couple fellows pulled into the parking area and meandered toward the benches. It was the weekend before the deer season opener, and from the way these guys were dressed, it was obvious that they considered themselves hunters. This particular range wasn’t well-maintained and over time had become the dumping ground for various forms of trash, including a couple 55-gallon drums. When a shooting station opened up, one of the fellows, who had brought a rifle with him, removed the gun from his shoulder, where it had resided since he left his vehicle. He sat down at the bench, shoved a single cartridge into the chamber, and closed the bolt. His actions had caught my attention because neither of the two had bothered to put up any type of target, but soon I found out why. Almost as soon as the bolt closed, the rifle erupted, followed closely by a loud clang as his bullet hit somewhere on the side of the closest metal drum, about 60 or 70 yards downrange. Ejecting the empty cartridge case, the shooter looked up at his buddy and said, “That’s close enough.” He casually repositioned the rifle on his shoulder, and left the range.

Obviously, he was satisfied that he could possibly hit a deer somewhere in the body as long as he could get close enough to do so. This was an extreme case of lack of concern for shooting proficiency and even less concern over the well-being of the game they were apparently intending to hunt. Nevertheless, this type of situation plays itself out more often than it should. Sighting-in your rifle is one of the most important things a hunter can do prior to heading out into the field. But, even though this is such a vital part of hunting, many hunters approach this job in too cavalier a manner. Aside from the obvious benefit of getting the rifle zeroed in, the shooter also achieves some benefit from the process itself by becoming more familiar with the guns functionality.

Boresighting is a great first step to the sighting-in process, but if you don’t have access to a boresight, you can get by fairly easily without it. Unfortunately, too many shooters look at boresighting as a substitute for actual live-fire sighting-in, and that should never be the case. Boresighting does little more than allow you to get your first shots close enough on a target to allow you to make the necessary final adjustments. Over the years, I have used just about every type of boresight available, and after all those hundreds of rifles I have used them on, there wasn’t a single time I was satisfied with where the bullets were impacting. In fact, I sometimes had to resort to moving the target to 25 yards from the bench just to get the shot to show up on the target. From there, I made my rough adjustments before moving the target out to 100 yards to complete my sighting process.

Preparation for the hunting season should always begin on the rifle range.

Aside from being a handy tool for the first step of the sighting-in process, a boresight can be used in another manner that you as a hunter can benefit greatly from. Once you have your rifle sights adjusted precisely where you want them, you should reinstall the boresight and take a secondary reading, then record that information for future reference. This allows a hunter to check his or her rifle and scope in the field to ensure the adjustments haven’t changed. Unbeknownst to you, your rifle or scope might have been bumped or jarred, affecting the scope settings. Using a boresight to verify that no change has taken place is a great asset to a hunter.

By sighting in your rifle to shoot a bit high at 100 yards can sometimes make a hunter more proficient at longer range.

Boresights vary in design, ranging from laser units, magnetic muzzle-mounted systems, conventional screen units equipped with arbors that are placed inside the muzzle of the barrel, and various combinations of each of these. Every style comes with its own positive and negative traits. For example, I have found that most laser units do not generate a bright enough dot to show up in bright sunlight. In order to increase visibility, some manufactures include a light-reflective target. Even though these targets help to intensify the image, in my experience, lasers are best suited for use in subdued or low-light conditions. Another issue I have found with lasers is that the dot increases in size as you move farther away, which can make precise adjustments difficult. Some lasers, as well as some conventional screen models, are inserted into the muzzle of the rifle. I am always a little apprehensive when it comes to placing anything with a hard surface inside the muzzle of my rifles for fear of doing damage to the rifling or the crown of the barrel. I imagine these fears are mostly unjustified, but I would still recommend that extreme care be taken to protect these crucially important areas of your rifle.

There are basically two styles of laser boresights— models that are muzzle mounted and those that are chamber fed. In each case, the laser light is projected directly from the bore of the barrel to the target. A comparison is then made between where the projected laser dot is and the reticle of your scope. The chamber-inserted lasers are caliber specific, but in some cases, one unit might fit several different similarly-sized chambers. The muzzle units require different size arbors or other means of perfectly aligning the axis of the bore to the laser. Many styles of boresights use batteries to power the units. For these systems, it is essential that you carry an extra set of batteries if you intend to use the boresight in the field to recheck your scope setting. A few units rely only on ambient light for their screens, but the battery-powered units are often brighter and easier to read.

Of all the different styles, I prefer Leupold’s Zero Point Magnetic Illuminated Boresighter. This is the easiest and most practical unit I have found. It is compact enough to fit in your pocket and can be used on virtually any rifle or even shotgun. The Zero Point has a bright and easily read amber display screen and comes with a set of tiny range cards to record your settings for future reference. This system might not be as accurate as some of the other boresight designs because it relies on the angle of the muzzle crown for positioning, but the convenience and versatility this unit provides make it my favorite design.

All scope manufacturers provide you with some form of guidance as to what a single click of the reticle turret adjustment dial means in the form of bullet impact. Typically, this is based on 100 yards, with the majority of the noncompetitive model scopes being fairly standard at one click equal to 1 MOA, which is the equivalent of 0.25 inch of movement at 100 yards. Nevertheless, you should take these claims with a grain of salt, or maybe even a block of salt. In more instances that I have the capacity to remember, I have found that bullet impact points do not always move at the precise rate that the manufacturers claim they should. Sometimes, a reticle will be sluggish in its movement, and other times I have found it moved considerably more that it was supposed to. And these imprecise movements are not only present in the cheaper Eastern-Rim produced scopes—I have frequently found the same situation to occur with extremely expensive riflescopes. Because of this, I have never had a great deal of confidence in the idea of dialing-in a scope for long-range shots, as is so popular today with some shooters. The only way to tell how much of an influence your adjustments will have is to fire a shot and look to see where the bullet impacts the target.

In the past, I have often fired copious amounts of ammunition in an attempt to fine-tune my sight adjustments. There is, however, a method commonly referred to as the One-Shot Method of Sighting-In that can reduce the number of shots needed to get your gun zeroed in.

The One-Shot Method of Sighting-In

Step 1: Take a solid rest and squeeze off a shot, typically at 100 yards. You should use a good, clearly visible paper target, and make sure you don’t jerk or flinch at the shot.

Step 2: With the rifle unloaded, aim again at the exact same spot on the target as before. It is crucial that you hold the rifle absolutely motionless, without any movement during this procedure. To do so, it is best to place the rifle in a shooting cradle, or use sandbags placed in both front and back to firmly steady the rifle.

Step 3: While securely holding your rifle with the reticle aligned to the point of hold from steps one and two (in most cases, the target center) have a friend slowly adjust the crosshairs of the scope vertically and horizontally as needed to line up with the bullet hole. By keeping your eye on the crosshairs and target, you can direct your partner which way he or she needs to turn the reticle dials for the adjustments.

Step 4: After the crosshairs are adjusted to the bullet hole, your scope should be properly adjusted. I would recommend, however, that you fire a few rounds just to assure yourself that the procedure went as expected. As I mentioned earlier, reticle movements are not always as precise as some shooters seem to think, and if you moved the rifle at all during the adjustment process, it might not be perfect. While this might turn your One-Shot Method into a Two- or Three-Shot Method, it is still better than wasting a box or two of cartridges to achieve the same result.

Some novice hunters seem to believe that it is best to always have their bullets impacting precisely at the center of the target bull, but this might not provide you the best potential for your particular style and type of hunting. To properly understand where I am coming from, you need to think in terms of the flight path that your bullet takes as it leaves the barrel. As soon as the bullet exits the muzzle, it starts on an arcing path, which begins below the shooter’s line of slight then rises until at some point it peaks and begins its descent. The perfect scenario would be to have the reticle of your scope adjusted to precisely match the range at which your game will be shot, but no hunter can predict exactly how far the shots will be.

The best any hunter can expect is to have a rough approximation of the typical range of his or her shots and use that as a basis to adjust the scope. For example, if you are frequently faced with shots at 300 yards and further, depending upon the caliber and ammunition you are shooting, it might be best to adjust the reticle of your scope for your bullets to impact on paper 2 inches, or even in a few instances, a full 3 inches high at 100 yards. In this case, when called upon for a very close shot, your bullet might actually impact low. At 200 or 300 yards, the bullet might have risen above the line of sight then settled back to being dead-on. At 100 yards, it is likely that the bullet will impact well-within the heart and lung kill zone of a deer, even if it is an inch or two high. Field shooting for game is not an exact science, and by adjusting your scope settings in this manner, you will essentially place your reticle where you want your bullet to impact from 50 yards or closer to 400 yards or more and be assured that your bullet will fall somewhere within the kill zone of the animal.

When bracket shooting in this manner, your bullet might not impact precisely where your crosshairs are resting, but the heart and lungs area is often a fairly large target. On a deer, it is typically larger than a dinner plate, so even if you aren’t dead center, the deer will never know the difference. Determining how high of a setting to have will be dependent upon the caliber of rifle you are shooting, its trajectory, and the hunting conditions you will be faced with. Frequently a hunter’s adrenaline is pumping when game is spotted and, by adjusting your sights in this manner, the guesswork is taken out of the equation, which allows you to focus on holding the rifle steady and not jerking the trigger. If you can avoid always thinking in terms of precise bullet placement when hunting and condition your mind to think in terms of kill zones, you will become a more proficient hunter.

16. Sights, Scopes, and Other Things to Look Through

I was once on a pronghorn antelope hunting trip with a couple of buddies when we decided to head into town for a relaxing evening away from camp. We weren’t that far from the historic Wild West town of Medicine Bow, Wyoming, and after several days of eating our own cooking, the idea of someone else fixing our supper struck our fancy. Whenever I’m hunting, I always like to sample a bit of the local culture, and where better than at Medicine Bow’s renowned Virginian Hotel? Pronghorn antelope hunting is very popular in this part of the country, and when we walked into the bar and grill, we were immediately greeted by a couple of other hunters, who we later found out were from St. Louis, Missouri. They had obviously devoted quite a bit of time bellying up to the bar that day, because even though it was only early evening, they already seemed a bit well-lubricated.

Good optics in the form of a riflescope and binoculars can be essential to the success of a hunter.

Shortly after we sat down at the table and began perusing the menu, the other hunters came over to our table to inquire about our success. After a short time, the topic turned to riflescopes and the problem one of them had been experiencing. As the story unfolded, the fellow created an imaginary scope by making circles with his index fingers and thumbs. He began moving them back and forth while squinting his eye to see through the holes. Once he concluded, he announced in a voice loud enough for the entire establishment to hear, “Ever since I put that looking thing on my gun, I can’t hit anything.” Even though this is clearly a case of a hunter’s lack of experience and knowledge, it emphasizes the point that you can’t just buy a riflescope, screw it in place, and figure that’s good. We never saw those guys after that first encounter, but I’ve often wondered if they ever figured out the error of their ways or, for that matter, even found their way back to their camp.

When variable-powered scopes first appeared on the scene, they were often plagued by a less-than-stellar reputation. It was often said that when the magnification was changed on these scopes, it sometimes moved the reticle, thereby affecting the impact point of the bullets. I have never experienced this problem and therefore can’t say for sure whether those assertions had any validity or not. My late father-in-law, however, never would trust a variable scope for that very reason, insisting on only using fixed-powered models.

No matter whether those allegations had any basis in reality, that problem has long since been resolved. Even the cheapest of imported scopes aren’t plagued in this manner today. Even though I do own a few fixed-power scopes, I have many more variable-powered units. There are simply too many advantages in variable-powered scopes to ignore. Nowadays, I would have to place the fixed-powered units in a category of specialized use. I frequently use low-magnification fixed-powered scopes on some of my big bore rifles due to the short range at which these rifles are typically used. A couple of my Rimfire rifles are equipped with fixed 4x scopes simply because the smaller size of these rifles seems to match the smaller dimension of these scopes. Other than these examples, all my other scoped rifles are equipped with a number of types and styles of variable-powered units.

The advantages inherent in variable-powered scopes are clearly based in the versatility that they provide. For the individual who hunts in a diverse environment, there is no better choice. When shots are anticipated to be close, a hunter can easily and quickly dial in a lower-magnification setting, maybe something in the area of 2x or 4x, then when moving into more open terrain, the scope can be dialed up to 9x or greater for those long shots. When shots are close, a lower setting allows a larger field of view, and when the game is on the verge of fleeing, this helps to provide a quicker target acquisition. When set on a higher magnification, it makes accurately placing your shots easier at a longer range.

In recent years, rangefinders have become very popular with hunters, especially in areas where long shots are commonly encountered.

Today, the philosophy some scope manufacturers appear to be operating under is the idea that bigger is better. This has resulted in some rifle scopes appearing more like spotting scopes than anything that should be attached to a rifle. This trend has introduced enormous objective lenses and an increase in main-tube diameters. Even though some scopes are hanging onto the traditional 1-inch main-tube design, a significant number now have ballooned out to 30mm, or even in a few cases, to 34mm and 35mm. The larger diameters of these scopes do allow more light to be drawn in, which improves the scope capabilities in low-light situations. The downside, however, comes from the considerably increased weight and additional bulk, which makes these scopes vulnerable to being struck and damaged in the field. Leupold & Stevens recognized the vulnerability of large optics a few years back and developed a series of scopes called the VX-3L. These scopes appear to have a scooped crescent shape removed from the bottom of the front bell, which allows the scope to be mounted much lower on the rifle. With the scope hugging the rifle action and barrel, it provides a certain degree of protection against being accidentally hit and knocked out of alignment.

The term “exit pupil” might not be a familiar term to some shooters, but in the business of optics, including firearm scopes as well as binoculars and spotting scopes, it holds a considerable amount of importance. Essentially, a scope with the proper exit pupil will be capable of drawing more light into the lens, which is an important consideration when ambient light is scarce. I don’t see a need to dive into the depths of optical science to a great degree here, but understanding the basics of exit pupil can be beneficial to a hunter.

The main thing to understand is the size relationship between the exit pupil of the scope and the pupil of the shooter’s own eye. Ideally, they should be as close to the same size as possible. If there is a considerable variation between these two measurements, it can adversely handicap the shooter. To better understand what I am talking about, if you hold a scope or pair of binoculars out at a consider distance from your eye, you will notice the visual image becomes smaller than the outer rim of the objective lens. The diameter of that circle is the exit pupil for that particular lens. When we consider the size of the exit pupil of a human’s eye, there will be some variation. For example, the eye of a teenager or young adult might dilate to around 7mm, but will gradually become smaller as the person gets older, eventually reaching the lower limit of about 5mm.

In most situations, 5mm is considered the basis to judge optic performance against. Determining the size of the exit pupil of your optics is not difficult; you simply take the objective diameter in millimeters and divide it by the magnification. Or as an equation, it would look like this:

This US-made Leupold VX-7 2.5-10x45mm is a fine example of the quality optics now available to hunters.

(Objective Diameter in millimeters) / (Magnification) = Exit Pupil.

There are other characteristics and influences that can adversely affect the light-gathering capabilities of a scope, but being able to evaluate a scope based on its exit pupil value can be a valuable tool for a hunter. Not only will this ability be able to guide you in making a proper selection of a riflescope, binoculars, or a spotting scope, it will tell you what the best setting would be on a variable-powered scope when twilight descends. Just keep in mind that the closer you can get to the magic number of 5mm, the better the light-gathering capability will be. For example, if we use the formula above to determine the best magnification setting to use in a low-light situation for Leupold’s full-sized 3.5x14 variable scopes, it works out like this when the scope is set on the highest possible magnification of 14x:

52mm / 14 = 3.7mm exit pupil.

In this particular case, it would be logical that a lower setting of 10x or 11x would be better when natural light is at a premium. These settings would produce exit pupil values of 5.2mm and 4.7mm, respectively, which are much closer to 5mm. And if you have been operating under the impression, like a lot of misguided shooters, that a fixed-power scope would be better in low-light situations, try this on for size. The very common and popular Leupold 4x riflescope, which comes with a 38mm objective diameter, would actually produce an exit pupil value of a whopping 9.5mm. In another case, if we look at binoculars, we find the typical 10x50mm or 7x35mm models both produce the perfect exit pupil value of 5mm. However, those tiny binoculars that fold up so nicely to fit in your shirt pocket might not be the best choice for poor light situations. My own 8x21mm binoculars only produce an exit pupil value of 2.6mm.

In my earlier years of hunting, there were several times when I couldn’t obtain enough light through
my scope to pull off a shot. In those instances, if I would have understood the basics of the exit pupil and adjusted the magnification of my scope accordingly, I might have gotten my chance.

If you are like me and frequently hunt with different rifles and scopes, it might be beneficial to make a note about the best magnification setting for poor-light situations. In this case, maybe a small label on the buttstock of your rifle would suffice. While you’re at it, include the trajectory drop of the bullet in 100-yard increments and wind drift details, too.

I have found that some shooters have a tendency to shy away from higher-powered scopes, believing that the increase in the magnification works against them by magnifying their own movements. Contrary to this belief, the magnification of the scope has absolutely nothing to do with the rifle’s amount of movement. Even though too much magnification can certainly be problematic when initially locating a target within the view of the scope, I’ve always believed that once you have the target in view, a higher setting can only help you place the shot more precisely.

Of course, it should go without saying that too much magnification on a close target could make proper bullet placement more difficult. Obviously, if this is the case, the scope should be turned down to a lower setting. For the majority of my shots, however, I keep my optics turned up to the highest power setting, even when the range is well under 100 yards. If you have difficulty locating a target animal in the view of the scope, you should develop a habit of always keeping your eyes focused on the target while you bring the rifle up to your shoulder and scope the lens to your eye. This also applies when using binoculars: Keep your eyes focused on the subject while the binoculars are brought to your eyes. You will find that doing so will usually keep the animal clearly centered in the view of the lens without a need to search for it.

For the majority of my own big-game hunting, I usually look for a scope somewhere in the range of 3-9x to 4-14x. Generally, this power range provides me with the best of all worlds—enough magnification when set on one of most powerful settings for long-range shooting and the ability to turn it down when cover is dense and shots are close. A setting of 3x or 4x will still provide enough field of view for quick and close shots, even on deer-sized animals at the close range of 15 or 20 yards. Of course, when it comes to var-mint shooting at a long range, I usually prefer a much higher level of magnification to draw those tiny targets in close. And for close-quarters hunting with big bore rifles, much less magnification is called for.

Parallax in a riflescope is something frequently talked about in optic circles, but few hunters and shooters thoroughly understand what this term really means. Essentially, parallax is nothing more than the difference between the actual position of an object and where the eye perceives the object to be located. To better understand how it works, you might think about two people sitting side by side inside an automobile. When the driver looks at the speedometer from his or her position located directly in front of the instrument, the needle may appear to be precisely on 60 mph, but when the person sitting in the passenger seat looks, the needle will appear to be somewhere around 57 or 58 mph. The difference of how these two individuals see the positioning of the needle is similar to how parallax can work to the detriment of a shooter. Most lower- and mid-range magnification riflescopes are generally set by the manufacturer to be parallax free at the distance they feel the scope will commonly be used at. For example, Leupold & Stevens generally adjust their centerfire scopes to be parallax free at 150 yards and their rimfire scopes at 60 yards. Many of the higher-magnification variable scopes, commonly used for competitive shooting and long-range varmint hunting, come with a manual parallax adjustment. In these cases, the adjustment dial is frequently located either at the front bell of the scope, or in the area of the reticle turret adjustment dials. I much prefer the latter style because it permits me to keep my eye on the target while I fine-tune the parallax setting. When the adjustment dial is located on the front of the scope, the shooter usually has to remove the rifle from his or her shoulder to make the adjustment based on the range setting marks inscribed on the dial.

Long eye relief riflescopes make shooting with both eyes open much easier.

Riflescopes will vary with how close a target can be to the shooter while maintaining a clear focus through its lens. This applies to both the scopes that have been preset at the factory to be parallax free and the manually adjustable models. In most big-game hunting situations, this isn’t usually an issue to worry much about—seldom are shooters presented with a shot at a big game species so close that clarity becomes a concern. But, I have sometimes found this to be problematic when varmint hunting, particularly when it comes to prairie dogs and ground squirrels. These critters seem to have a propensity for frequently popping out of their holes unexpectedly at a very close range. When this happens, I have on many occasions found the critter to be fuzzy and out of focus through my scope. Generally, as the magnification increases in a scope, the distance at which a clear view can be obtained also increases. I have often been amazed at how much variation there is between scopes in this area, but I was pleasantly surprised recently when reviewing some of the new Weaver riflescopes to find that they are capable of focusing much closer than many other scopes.

Quite likely, the first time I saw a long eye-relief scope it was probably mounted on a Winchester Model 94 lever-action rifle. Because the Winchester lever-actions eject their cases out of the top of the action, a scope can only be mounted in one of two ways on these rifles. Either it must be mounted alongside the receiver, or a long eye-relief scope can be mounted in front of the action. More recently, Ruger’s Model 77 Gunsite Scout Rifle focused more attention on the advantages of long eye relief scopes, but for the most part, I believe this style of scope has been unjustly overlooked. Granted, its applications are on the limited side, but where appropriate, a long eye relief scope can be a valuable asset to a hunter. In chapter 4, I discussed how, when used in conjunction with quick-release mounts and iron sights, this combination can be beneficial in dangerous-game hunting. But other uses would include any situation where there is a need for quick-pointing and close-range shooting.

Illuminated reticles have become popular in some shooting circles today. The majority of these obtain their power from a single lithium 3V battery, like the batteries sometimes used for calculators. The exception is the Trijicon fiber-optic scopes, which rely on a daylight fiber-optic light collector for their power source. In the case of the alternately powered units, a shooter might naturally fear that the battery will die at the worst possible time, leaving him or her practically in the dark. But fear not—even when the batteries unexpectedly go out on you, you are still able to rely on the non-illuminated black-colored reticle. I sometimes find it easy to forget about things such as turning the power off for the illumination, especially when my focus is on hunting. Because of this lack of attention, I sometimes find my batteries have expired. But a few manufacturers, such as Leupold, have started to look out for forgetful folks like me. In order to save battery life in their FireDot line of riflescopes, the illumination automatically powers down after being inactive for a time. After a few minutes of not sensing any movement of the scope, the illuminated reticle automatically goes into sleep mode. Move the rifle and scope, and it instantly powers back up at the same intensity level as before. This is a great feature, and I also like that only the dot in the center of the reticle is illuminated. In my opinion, that provides the best of all worlds.

Cooper Firearms of Montana builds some of the finest semi-custom rifles found anywhere in the world. This Model 21 rifle chambered in .22-250 worked great for long-range prairie dogs.

Spurred on considerably by the mounting interest in ARs, holographic sights are quickly becoming a viable option for many different shooting applications. These come with either a red dot or, in some cases, multiple-colored dots. Shotgun hunters, primarily big-game and turkey hunters, are now taking advantage of the inherent benefits of these sights. Some rifle hunters are also leaning in that direction, where quick pointing and shooting is necessary. I have even seen a few holographic red dots mounted on double-barreled big bore rifles for use on dangerous game. Even though I believe this is crossing traditional barriers that should be respected due to the time-honored traditions of the double rifle, I can understand why a shooter might be tempted to do so. Even though most holographic reddot sights come with no built-in magnification, a low power magnifier can sometimes be added. Like the long eye relief scopes, holographic red-dot sights make shooting with both eyes open much easier. They also have the advantage over iron sights because the shooter doesn’t have to first focus his or her eyes on the sights to line them up prior to refocusing on the target. Doing so takes time, and doctors say that as we get older, the speed at which our eyes are able to refocus slows down.

Aimpoint red-dot sights have become very popular in some shooting circles today and provide an alternative to the traditional iron sights and the normal riflescopes.

The interest in AR style rifles has escalated tremendously in recent years. Equipped with this red-dot style EOTech holographic sight makes this rifle well, suited for a wide variety of application, including, in some cases, hunting.

The first time I shot a firearm with a red-dot sight, I was mystified at how the red dot appeared to float around like a balloon drifting through the air. I simply couldn’t get my head around the fact that the bullet would go wherever the dot was placed, but it did—I really liked this concept. As long as the range you’ll be shooting at is fairly short and the lack of magnification isn’t problematic for you, this style of sight comes with considerable benefit for many different hunting ventures.

Red-dot sights are growing in popularity, like this moderate priced BSA Huntsman model.

17. Airline Travel with Firearms

If you travel on airplanes with firearms, you might encounter problems with the airline personnel or the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents. To make your flight as enjoyable and the least problematic as possible, there is one rule you must learn to live by—become thoroughly schooled in what is allowed and what is strictly prohibited. I typically reeducate myself every time I fly with my guns, just to be sure that I know precisely what the requirements are and that none of the rules have changed since my last flight. At a minimum, you must know at least as much as the airline officials and TSA agents know about their own rules. Also, you should never assume any of those individuals have even a rudimentary understanding of those rules or any knowledge of firearms. However, if you do your homework, have in your possession any documentation that might be useful, and refrain from pointing out the ridiculousness of some of those rules and procedures, chances are good that you won’t suffer unduly from the experience. Having said that, I have a few stories to relate that might give you a better understanding of what types of individuals you can find yourself dealing with, the problems you might encounter, and how you should handle these situations if they should occur.

Every airline has its own set of guidelines for firearms and ammunition, and those procedures can change on a frequent basis. That is why I recommend always checking the airline website just before each trip, printing out the rules and regulations to take with you, and knowing them forward and backward. In many instances, the airline employees will not take your word for what is required, but at least by having a copy of the rules, you will be in a better position to argue your case. The file I take with me is frequently about .25 inch thick and includes every possible bit of information I can think of that I might need to justify why I am doing what I am doing.

Proof of firearms ownership is an important consideration, and if you don’t have adequate proof that you are the legal owner of your guns, a relatively easy way to accomplish this it to take your firearms to the closest US Customs office and complete the Customs Form 4457. When doing so, the custom agents will have to put their hands on the guns to verify the information you are providing them. Beforehand, I like to make a list of the serial numbers of the rifles and any scopes I am taking with me, which can sometimes speed up the process. The 4457 is a basic form, consisting of a spot for your name, address, and an open area where you are to list the description and serial numbers of the firearms. This same form can be used to establish a record of ownership for any of your valuable tools or equipment you might be taking with you. The purpose of this form is to be able to prove you haven’t purchased the firearms somewhere on the trip and are bringing them home without paying the appropriate duty taxes.

Having this proof of ownership is especially important when traveling out of the country. The only times I was ever asked to see these documents was on a trip to British Columbia on a moose hunt, and when I traveled to Australia. In the latter case, the Australian version of a TSA agent was indignant with me and demanded to see my 4473s. These are the US forms you complete at the dealership when you purchase a firearm, which is retained by that dealer. This was obviously an antigun individual who would have gotten a great deal of enjoyment out of making my trip as unpleasant as possible. I forced a smile, gritted my teeth, and carefully crafted as polite of a response as I could muster. I pointed out that I didn’t have the 4473s because the gun dealers who sell the firearms keep those, but I did have my 4457s and handed them over to him. He only quickly glanced at them, frowned, and didn’t even bother to check the information against the firearms. Fearing I would say something that would only delay my getting on the plane, I simply took the forms back, replaced them in my file of documents, and quietly walked away.

As I mentioned, the rules and regulations seem to be constantly changing, but most airlines’ requirements are fairly similar. Nevertheless, it is important that you don’t assume all airlines dance to the same fiddler—you must always check specifically with the carrier with which you will be flying. One particular airline requires that you get written documentation from them verifying that you will be traveling with firearms. Most airlines do not have that requirement, but you must always declare both firearms and ammunition at the ticket counter when checking in. Neither of these items are allowed in your carry-on luggage. The airline and TSA folks will likely have to be assured that the firearms are unloaded and that you are meeting all the appropriate regulations. After this, you will be asked to sign a card to that effect. That card is then placed inside your locked gun case. In one airport, the attendant demanded that I present that card, and I had to inform her that the card is required inside the gun case, which I had already checked in. Even though it isn’t always a requirement, I remove the bolts from the rifles whenever possible and place a trigger lock on each gun. My philosophy is that you can’t get yourself in trouble for doing more than is required, but you can certainly get into a real quagmire if you overlook one of their requirements.

To ensure that your firearms arrive in good condition when traveling on the airlines you must plan ahead. The author prefers to have his rifles equipped with quick-release scope mounts, permitting the scopes to be removed and packed separately in his carry-on luggage. The rifles must be stored in a hard lockable case, and it is always a good idea to remove the bolts and equip the rifles with trigger locks.

The rules pertaining to the storage and transport of the ammunition are frequently on the vague side. On many occasions, the airlines say it is permissible that the ammunition be stored in the case with the rifles, but that doesn’t make a great deal of sense to me. Here again, I will go further than is necessary to ensure that I don’t encounter an unforeseen problem. Because of this, I always store my ammunition in my alternate check-in bag, which contains my other equipment and clothing. One area that always troubles me is the way airlines word requirements pertaining to the boxes ammunition must be stored in. Some of the rules indicate that the ammo must be stored in the original factory boxes. Because I handload most of my hunting ammunition, I generally store my shells in plastic aftermarket boxes, which are superior in virtually every way to the cheaply made cardboard boxes in which factory ammo is sold. But just in case I run afoul of an agent who can’t understand that simple concept, I always keep a few factory cardboard boxes around and transfer my ammunition into those when flying. I’ve found it really doesn’t matter whether the caliber markings match, but placing the ammo in these boxes adds a bit of assurance that you won’t encounter a problem. And, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if you placed those boxes inside a hard box within your luggage.

The firearms will have to go through a very rudimentary inspection by the TSA agents before they are allowed to be loaded into the airplanes. They will typically ask you for the key to your case, and in most instances, you will be required to have a hands-off approach during the inspection. They might wipe the edges of the case down to check for any sign of explosives. Once completed, they will lock the case and give you back the key. I’ve always found the TSA agents to be careful when rearranging my rifles after their inspection, but I would much prefer to do it myself. I’m always very deliberate when packing my firearms to ensure they do not come into contact with one another or the sides of the case. Nevertheless, once you hand your rifle case over to the agents, any contact by you is prohibited.

I was once traveling through Zurich, Switzerland on my way back from an African safari when we encountered a problem. We had a fairly long lay-over in Zurich, but we’d checked our bags in at the Johannesburg, South Africa airport all the way through to the end of our destination. Unfortunately, the ticket agent overheard us talking about our trip and made the assumption that we must be traveling with firearms. She freaked out over the mere thought that a firearm could be somewhere within the baggage area of the plane. It almost seemed like she thought the rifles could stage an insurrection, take over the plane, and maybe even hold her hostage. When I saw the state of mind she had worked herself into, I tried to console her by telling her that we’d complied with all the appropriate regulations.

I reminded her that we couldn’t get our hands on the firearms even if we wanted to because they were in the luggage compartment and thereby checked through to our final destination. This was on the airline that requires written notification of traveling with firearms, and I had a copy of the emails that had transpired between us on that very issue. But no matter how calmly I explained the situation to her, nothing seemed to soothe her wildly unstable state of mind. As a result, she picked up the phone and called security. A few moments later, two security guards armed with automatic weapons appeared in the lobby and took up their post on both sides of my wife, daughter, son-in-law, and me until we boarded the plane. But it didn’t stop there. An armored car was dispatched and parked along side of the plane where it stayed at the ready until we’d taxied down the runway. As soon as the plane made its way down the strip, their militant tactics came to an end, with the armored car returning to its Quonset hut, where I suppose it remained until the next epic emergency came to light.

Another equally strange occurrence happened to me on the Big Island of Hawaii. I’d been on a hunt on the island of Lanai and was returning to our condo on the Big Island. Upon arriving at the airport, I immediately went to the baggage carousel to pick up my luggage. As is always the case, everyone started scurrying to get their bags loaded on the carts so they could get on with their vacation plans. But before long, there were no more bags left to claim, and my gun case hadn’t yet appeared. This wasn’t all that uncommon; many airlines handle gun cases as oversized baggage and transfer it to another area. I began looking around for the oversized luggage area, or anyone to question about the whereabouts of my case when an airline pilot walked up and asked me if I was waiting for a gun case. I replied that I was, and he immediately followed up by asking, “Do you have the key?”

I must have had a puzzled look on my face when I said, “Why yes, I have the key to the gun case.”

He replied, “No, the key to the padlock on the chain.” He went on to tell me that someone had locked my gun case with a heavy length of chain to the base of his pilot’s seat on the plane, and he couldn’t take off until it was removed. I told him I didn’t have anything to do with that, and the only key I had was to the case itself. He then left in a huff and apparently found a bolt cutter to free my gun case, because before long, my case came out on the carousel.

Another less-than-pleasant incident took place again on a return trip from a Canadian deer hunt. Upon arriving in our hunting camp, I’d mentioned that I would like to check my rifle by firing a couple of shots through the bore. My guide drove me a few miles to an abandoned gravel pit, where I took a few shots and found that the baggage handlers weren’t successful in their attempts to destroy my rifle and my hunt. While I was there, I spotted a pile of empty .375 Holland & Holland Magnum cartridge cases lying on the ground. I suppose it’s a consequence of growing up poor, but I wasn’t going to pass up such a windfall of good luck and quickly located an empty sack to store the cases away for my return trip back home.

After my hunt had come to a close, I made my way back to the airport and went through the customary routine with the ticket attendants and the other airport officials. I figured it would be best to let them know that in my carry-on I had a bag of empty cartridge cases. Immediately, signs of panic began setting in on the face of the agent, who promptly demanded that I present them to him. I complied and tried to explain that they were nothing more than a few pieces of scrap brass and there were no loaded cartridges—they contained no powder, no primers, or anything else that could hurt anyone. Unfortunately, he was beyond reason and quickly got on the radio to call his supervisor. When the supervisor arrived, I went over the same process as before. Even though neither of these individuals had one iota of an understanding of firearms, ammunition, or anything remotely connected to shooting, they eventually relented and gave me the go ahead to board the plane.

There used to be an advertisement on television of which I think of frequently when flying with firearms. It showed a gorilla throwing and stomping on a passenger’s luggage. Of course, the gorilla was simulating baggage handlers and demonstrated what conditions your baggage could be subjected to. I think there was more truth to that advertisement than satire. Many airline baggage handlers simply don’t care whether your shooting gear is damaged or destroyed. In fact, I’m convinced that some antigun people working for the airlines take a great deal of pleasure in subjecting firearms to unnecessary abusive treatment. In their perverted minds, they might feel that damaging your firearms somehow promotes their misguided and twisted antigun beliefs. If anyone doesn’t believe how serious some people’s hatred is for firearms and gun owners, they need to heed my next story.

I was attending a local sportsman show when I came across the booth of a gun case manufacturer. At the time, I owned one of that company’s cases and felt compelled to compliment them on their products. The containers they produce are constructed of heavy gauge aluminum with welded seams and thick padding, which sandwiches firearms firmly in place, making them seemingly impervious to abusive handling. The tremendous pressure needed to force the lid closed always provided me with confidence that the rifle could never move or be damaged in transit. Approaching the booth, I started my conversation with the company’s owner by saying, “One thing is for sure—I can always count on your gun cases to be airline-proof.”

To my surprise, rather than agreeing with my assessment, the owner replied, “You would think that, wouldn’t you?” He then went on to tell the following real-life tale.

A short time back, a hunter had brought one of their cases back to the factory for repairs. Apparently, he had just returned from an African safari or some other elaborate and expensive hunting destination. He had followed all the rules and declared his firearm at the baggage check-in counter, then climbed aboard the plane fully confident that his luggage would arrive safely and in good condition. However, when he reached his destination and went to retrieve his bags, he could hardly believe the sight he was faced with. The airline baggage handlers had struck, thrown, or dropped his rifle case with so much furious force it had actually driven the rifle barrel cleanly through the end of the heavy case. Eight inches of rifle barrel was now protruding through the aluminum end. It is totally unimaginable how such an incident could have happened.

With utter amazement, I hung on every word while the manufacturer recounted the poor hunter’s predicament. After quietly listening to the entire story, he ended his account by simply saying, “We guarantee our cases for life, so we gave him a new case.” Stories like this one have a tendency to both scare and infuriate me as a gun owner, but it helps to stress the fact that you should never cut corners when it comes to the quality of your gun cases. Airlines require hard-sided cases that are lockable, but there is a tremendous variation in quality and durability of such products.

The manufacturer didn’t mention if the hunter had a scope, but certainly if one were mounted on the rifle, it would have been destroyed along with the case or at a minimum severely knocked out of alignment. I always equip my traveling firearms with quick-release scope mounts so I can remove the scopes and pack them in my carry-on luggage. However, most airline regulations indicate that you cannot have gun parts in your carry-on luggage, and I can’t say for certain that some agent won’t someday view a riflescope as a “gun part.” I can only share my own experience on this matter and tell you that I have been on many dozens of flights, originating both here in the US and abroad, and my carry-on luggage containing my riflescopes have gone through the X-ray equipment and inspections without any problem. I did notice one time the attendant apparently spotted the scopes on his X-ray screen and called his supervisor over who simply shook his head, indicating that wasn’t a problem. Maybe some day I will encounter that one agent who decides he doesn’t like my bearded face and will object to my scopes being in my carry-on luggage, but I suppose I will just have to deal with that situation when it arises. I am a bit fearful if that ever happens, I will not be able to resist pointing out in clear and simple terms why I find it necessary to remove my scopes and hand-carry them on board with me.

I only recount stories like these so you can get an appreciation of how the average person has no understanding whatsoever of shooting or firearms, and that airline and TSA agents frequently do not even know their own rules and regulations. That is why I have reiterated the fact that you must become an expert on the requirements when traveling on the airlines. Knowing precisely what is asked of you and having the needed proof that you are in compliance on all levels will make your trip much less stressful and considerably more enjoyable. If you do so, you might still encounter some opposition. I certainly have. But, you will be assured that as long as you remain pleasant and respectful, you will get to your destination unscathed.

18. Quick, Detachable Scope Mounts

I believe it was the dangerous-game hunters who were first to recognize the need for a detachable scope-mounting system. When going after critters who are frequently inclined to terminate their pursuers in the most violent of ways and who often seek sanctuary in the thickest brush when wounded, a scoped rifle can become a major impediment to the hunter’s safety. Many decades ago, a system sometimes referred to as a claw mount was developed. These were heavy-duty detachable scope-mounting devices that were costly to produce and purchase, but when quick-pointing killing power was called for, it would allow the dangerous-game hunter to easily and quickly remove the scope to use the iron sights. The original claw mounts are seldom encountered today and have been replaced by a new generation of great systems.

These new mounts are reliable, lightweight, and economically priced. Possibly the most common of these quick-release systems are produced by Leupold & Stevens, but Warne, Talley, and Weaver also produce similar mounts. These often utilize the basic mounting concept fostered by Weaver many years ago whereby the rings attach to the bases by way of a clamping claw design. But even if you never envision a need to root out mean and nasty carnivores who like to devastate their pursuers, these systems can be beneficial for hunters who stalk docile animals that live on a diet of grasses and twigs. Like the dangerous-game hunter, sometimes removing the scope to rely on the rifle’s iron sights makes good sense. Maybe your hunting exploits sometimes include deer or hog hunting in thick brush, or off-hand, reactionary shooting, which makes iron sights a better choice than your scope.

Quick detachable mounts, like these Leupold QRWs, allow the shooter to quickly and easily remove the scope from the rifle.

Or, maybe you have a rifle you like to use for shooting prairie dogs and ground squirrels at long range, but that 24x or 36x scope with a fine reticle is a bit much when rooting out whitetails in a creek bottom. In this case, detachable mounts would allow you to have two different scopes, which could be easily switched without the need to return to the range to check the point of bullet impact. With each scope zeroed to your preferred impact point, it is only a matter of a few seconds to swap them. Another scenario that sometimes arises pertains to hunters who like to shoot a couple of different types of ammunition, but the bullets print to a different spot. Maybe one cartridge is loaded with a heavier bullet best used for elk, and the other is a lighter bullet more attuned to deer and smaller game. By having two scopes, each of which have been zeroed to a particular load and equipped with detachable mounts, the hunter needs only to lift the levers and switch the scopes around. And, of course, there is the situation of traveling that I mentioned in the preceding chapter. By removing the scopes from rifles while traveling, you can provide an extra degree of protection.

The problem of internal scope fogging has sharply declined in recent years, but it still rears its ugly head on occasion. When it does, there is seldom any advance warning. Should you find yourself in this position, it could mean disaster for your hunt. But if you have a backup scope with detachable mounts, it’s only a matter of switching them before you’re back in business. I even find that removing my scope prior to cleaning my rifles has benefits associated with it. Doing so removes any chance of the scope being knocked out of alignment and eliminates any possibility of the oils and cleaning agents penetrating the seals of a scope, allowing the nitrogen or argon to leak out.

Obviously, the big question is if these removable mounting systems maintain their point of impact after the scope has been removed and remounted. After all, if they don’t come back to precisely the same point each and every time, there would be little advantage to using them. When these mounts first appeared on the scene, I was skeptical about their reliability. I wondered if they would be worth owning, or if they would turn out to be like some of the products advertised on the television infomercials—geared to suckers and the dimwitted.

In order to evaluate them for myself, I decided to embark on a series of tests of my own making. I began with a set of Leupold QRW mounts and a set of Warne Manufacturing Company’s Maxima mounts. These rings shared a lot of similarities to each other, as well as the earlier Weaver-style mounting systems. They did, however, come with cross-bolts which matched slots milled into the mount bases. These help to ensure precise realignment and discourage any slippage of the rings. The typical large slotted lock-down head, common on the older Weaver rings, had been replaced with small, easy-to-turn levers, providing the means to release the rings from the bases.

Simply turning the two small levers of the Leupold QRW rings effortlessly releases the scope from the bases.

The Warne Maxima mounts were designed in the Warne signature fashion, with the rings slit vertically rather than in the typical horizontal styling. The rings I tested were made of high-quality solid steel, but Warne also produces aluminum ones. Even though lightweight aluminum mounts might be acceptable for small, light-recoiling cartridges, I prefer the durability, strength, and reliability that comes from the steel models for all my shooting purposes. The Warne scope bases were two pieces and designed specifically for use with the Maxima detachable rings. All the screws used for both the rings and bases were Torx style, which, in my opinion, are superior to the Allen-headed screws or the slotted designs. For the sake of convenience, a Torx wrench was supplied with the rings and bases. For testing purposes, these mounts were installed on a custom .270 Winchester, chambered Remington 700 ADL rifle, which was equipped with a Pentax Lightseeker 3½-10x50mm scope.

Like the Warne rings and bases, the Leupold QRW mounts were also made of solid steel and came with Torx-style mounting screws. These were low-height mounts installed on a Winchester Model 70 Super Express chambered in 375 Holland & Holland Magnum, equipped with a Leupold Vari-X II 2-7x33mm scope. I felt that the moderately heavy recoil of the .375 would provide a worthy challenge to the integrity of these mounts. If they could retain the same point of bullet impact after that level of recoil, it would attest to the quality of the system and the mounts.

To establish a baseline of data to judge any changes against, I shot several three-shot groups at 100 yards off the bench with both rifles. After that, a boresight was placed on each rifle, and data were recorded to check for any future changes. The scopes were then removed and remounted followed by another check of the boresight. Seeing no apparent change, a three-shot group was fired from both rifles. For both, the bullets impacted precisely at the same point as the baseline groups. That same procedure was repeated several times producing the same results. Eventually, I started to wonder if I was working in too sterile of an environment. Under actual field conditions, there could be a slight chance of incidental contamination on the mounting surfaces in the form of dirt, grime, and dust.

The Leupold QR quick release mount levers are located on the scope bases as opposed to the Leupold QRW style mounts, which are located on the scope rings.

Of course, it is always in the shooter’s best interest to keep the mounting surfaces clean and free from contamination, which could adversely affect the accuracy of the shots. But, I wondered how large of a problem this could be. I thought for some time on how I could simulate dusty field conditions, yet do so in a uniform manner. Finally, I settled on using baby powder as a substitute for field-related dust and sprinkled an ample amount directly on the contact points of the bases and rings. The scopes were remounted and shot to determine whether any change would result in the bullet-impact points. The results continued to surprise me, with no discernible changes noted.

Since I ran these tests, I have had the opportunity to use some of Leupold & Stevens’ QR mounts. These differ from the QRW style system by having the locking levers located in the scope bases rather than on the rings themselves. According to the company officials, these are supposed to be even more reliable in returning to the same point every time. Even though I have not subjected the QRs to same degree of scrutiny and testing as I did the other mounts, I am confident that they too will return time and time again to the same precise impact point. I am so convinced about the reliability of all of these quick-release mounting systems that I now have them installed on the majority of my hunting rifles, and I have never once found them to be problematic in any way after many years of use.

19. Is Handloading Right for You?

Most hunters and shooters are first attracted to handloading because they have been convinced it is a way of saving money. Reloading your own ammunition certainly has that potential, but it might surprise some shooters if I told them that many of my own handloads actually cost me more than factory-loaded shells to produce. Reloading involves a lot of time and effort, and to get started it generally takes a substantial outlay of cash to purchase the necessary equipment and supplies. So if cost saving isn’t the number one reason behind reloading, why do it? For me, the answer to that question is an easy one—the handloads I produce are superior to ammunition that I can purchase over the counter as factory loads.

On virtually every occasion, the cartridges I handload have been specifically tailored to fit the job I will be using them for, and they are perfectly matched to the rifle I intend to use to shoot them. The bullets I load are frequently some of the best-made and highest-performing ones available and, as a result, if I do what I’m supposed to do, I can rest assured that the ammunition will perform perfectly. But whereas many of my handloads fall in this category of being more expensive but better, there are times when I load my shells in a more conservative, cost-saving manner, which is where a handloader can sometimes find financial benefit. For example, when I’m loading for high-volume varmint shooting, practice, or plinking on my shooting range, I frequently attempt to load as cheaply as possible.

Handloading your own cartridges must be done with a careful and dedicated focus on the details.

But when it comes to the loads I take to the field, particularly for big-game hunting, that is an entirely different matter. In this case, I load the best bullet I can, no matter what it costs. And sometimes, rather than reloading cartridge cases that might have been shot several times previously, I may opt to purchase new brass. It matters little to me whether I am hunting deer in Montana to fill my freezers or seeking a rare trophy I’ve never hunted before on an exotic hunting trip. In these instances, I never cut corners in the quality of my ammunition. I want to be assured that when I chamber that cartridge and squeeze the trigger, I am sending the ultimate best on its way to the target.

There are plenty of books on the market that describe the actual procedures involved in handloading your own cartridges, so I don’t intend to get into the step-by-step mechanics of reloading. Rather, I would like to concentrate more on whether reloading would be something that you, as a hunter, could benefit from. Clearly, handloading is not an activity meant for everyone. It can be time-consuming and a sometimes frustrating hobby. It can take up a considerable amount of space in your house or workshop, and if you are a person who feels you must have every new tool or piece of equipment—then you should forget about seeing any monetary saving from handloading. Also, if you intend to load multiple calibers, each will require different tools and different equipment. And, anyone taking up handloading as a hobby must be willing to devote their concentration to the tasks at hand. While the preceding may sound like a lot of negatives pertaining to handloading your own cartridges, there are plenty of positive ones to consider, as well.

The rewards of handloading your own cartridges come in many different forms. Just the satisfaction of a full loading block of ammunition is sometimes reward enough.

After trimming the brass to length, the mouths of the cartridges cases must be deburred inside and out. This helps to ensure easy bullet seating and trouble-free chambering of the cartridges.

The process of forming a cartridge case is a multi-step procedure. Shown here are the steps to make a .223 Remington case, which begins by stamping out a cup (left) from a sheet of brass. From there, the case moves through various forming steps until the case is fully formed as shown on the right.

I have frequently said to fellow shooters that I believe I could go to any handloading manual, arbitrarily select one of the loads listed, and find that it shoots tighter groups than any factory-loaded cartridges. Of course, handloading calls for the utmost safety, and you would never approach handloading in this manner. Rather, begin with what is considered a minimum charge, then gradually work up from there. Nevertheless, I have been amazed over the years at how poorly a significant portion of the factory-loaded cartridges shoot and have wondered why that was the case. Even what is considered to be top-of-the-line premium-quality cartridges frequently fall short when compared with my own handloads. Often, the hand-loads I use for hunting will typically produce groups of 1 inch or less at 100 yards, but the factory stuff is frequently incapable of anything better than double or even sometimes triple that size group.

For many years, I couldn’t figure out why this was the case. When I load my cartridges, I use the same brass the factory uses, even though mine might have been reloaded a few times previously, whereas the factory mostly uses virgin cases. I also load the same primers the factory uses, and I sometimes even load the same bullets they use. Some factories use a special priority powder, but I believe the quality of powder I load is comparable to what they are loading. So, how could it be that my handloads consistently shoot tighter groups? That question plagued me until one snowy Montana day with little else to do, I decided to unravel this mysterious puzzle once and for all.

Thinking the only major variable between my hand-loads and the factory rounds was the powder charge, I dug into my supply of factory-loaded ammunition and began pulling bullets to check the powder charge weights. My research involved three mainstream ammunition manufacturers and four popular hunting calibers, which were loaded with varying types and weights of bullets. Normally, knowing the weight of a factory-loaded powder charge would mean little to nothing because there is no way to accurately determine the type of powder the factory is using. Many powders outwardly appear similar and, as I mentioned before, the ammunition factories frequently use a priority type of powder that is unavailable on the open market. But my purpose here wasn’t to evaluate the type of powder used or what the targeted charge weight was. My intention was to determine how much variation there was in the powder charge weights.

In the firing and resizing processes, the brass becomes stretched, making it necessary to periodically trim the length back to within the specs.

Handloader and reloading equipment manufacturers frequently use +/- 0.1 grain of powder as their standard. Most handloaders attempt to keep their loads well within that very small range, and handloading equipment manufacturers frequently use that level as a performance standard guarantee for their scales. So, keeping that preconceived standard in mind, I began by extracting the bullets from five cartridges from each type of ammunition. I weighed each of those powder charges and recorded the weights to get an idea of how much variation there would be in those charges.

What I found shocked and amazed me. I’d finally stumbled onto the answer to why my own handloads shot so much more accurately than the factory cartridges. There wasn’t a single case in which the variation in powder charge weight between the five like cartridges came anywhere close to that normal hand-loader standard of +/- 0.1 grain. On the contrary, the least amount of variation was five times that amount, at a whopping 0.5 grain. What was even more shocking was the fact that in one case, there was an enormous five-cartridge spread of 1.7 grains. That certainly isn’t acceptable based on what I perceive to be a reasonable amount of disparity. Wondering how such a thing could happen, I decided to contact some of the ammunition manufacturers to inquire about how their rifle powder charges were metered and measured.

All of the manufacturers’ responses seemed quite similar, indicating that they were metering their powder out by volume rather than measuring them by weight. One manufacturer indicated that they conduct velocity and pressure testing of their ammunition periodically, which I am sure all manufacturers do. Another company indicated that they “meter by volume, but measure by weight.” That statement is vague and confusing, possibly intentionally so, but I have to assume that they periodically pull cartridges off of the production line in order to verify that they are meeting some in-house undisclosed standard. Factories frequently do this as a means of quality control. The only assumption I could draw from this was that the standards they use are internally much more lax than what I use for my hand-loads. Handloaders commonly use a powder measure, which meters out a charge in a volumetric manner, but most serious reloaders will followup by actually weighing those charges on a scale in order to fine-tune the weights. A perusal of my chart entitled “Centerfire Factory Ammunition Powder Weights” will provide a more detailed look at what I found when I began pulling bullets and weighing the charges.

Finally, figuring out why my handloads almost always shot better groups than the factory loads didn’t give me a great deal of satisfaction. It only explained why it was happening. It did, however, convince me that if anyone wants to shoot as accurately as possible, they must handload their own ammunition. Even though I knew that all along, I didn’t know precisely why until that snowy Montana day when I took the time to explore deeper into this matter.

Now, having established that you shouldn’t expect the same level of consistency with factory-loaded cartridges as you can achieve with handloads, I feel compelled to offer justification for the approach the ammunition manufacturers use. As with all manufacturing processes, time equates to profits, and if the factories had to weigh out and fine-tune every powder charge that went into their cartridges, it would be likely that you couldn’t afford to purchase the ammunition. When I’m sitting at my handloading bench, my labor is cheap, but when it comes to making payroll at a business, labor can be a major expense. In this situation, absolute and consistent powder charge weights must take a backseat to the cost of producing the ammunition. Clearly, I would like to see a higher level of consistency, particularly in the case in which the spread in weight was nearly 31/2; percent. I could be willing to accept that some variation in the charge weight is necessary in order to maintain an acceptable level of production speed and cost efficiency, but this degree of variation is totally unacceptable and only emphasizes why I am a handloader.

Centerfire Factory Ammunition Powder Weights

Manufacturer A and Cartridge Type 1

Caliber and Bullet Weight: .25-06 Remington loaded with 100-grain bullets.

Powder Characteristics: Fine grain powder.

Powder Weights (grains): 50.5, 50.2, 50.3, 50.0, 50.3 Mean Spread (grains): 50.0 to 50.5-grains for a mean value of 0.5-grains

Manufacturer A and Cartridge Type 2

Caliber and Bullet Weight: .25-06 Remington loaded with 115-grain bullets.

Powder Characteristics: Cylindrical powder appearing similar to 4831

Powder Weights (grains): 48.6, 50.0, 50.2, 50.0, 50.3

Mean Spread (grains): 48.6 to 50.3-grains for a mean value of 1.7-grains

Manufacturer B and Cartridge Type 1

Caliber and Bullet Weight: .300 Winchester Magnum loaded with 180-grain bullets

Powder Characteristics: Cylindrical powder appearing similar to 4831 Powder Weights (grains): 70.0, 70.3, 70.1, 70.2, 70.7

Mean Spread (grains): 70.0 to 70.7-grains for a mean value of 0.7-grains

Manufacturer B and Cartridge Type 2

Caliber and Bullet Weight: .270 Winchester loaded with 130-grain bullets

Powder Characteristics: Similar in appearance to 4831

Powder Weights (grains): 54.0, 53.4, 54.0, 53.8, 53.3

Mean Spread (grains): 53.3 to 54.0-grains for a mean value of 0.7-grains

Manufacturer C and Cartridge Type 1

Caliber and Bullet Weight: .300 Winchester Magnum loaded with 180-grain bullets

Powder Characteristics: Fine-grain “ball” type powder

Powder Weights (grains): 68.5, 67.3, 68.1, 67.3, 68.1.

Mean Spread (grains): 67.3 to 68.5-grains for a mean value of 1.2-grains

Manufacturer C and Cartridge Type 2

Caliber and Bullet Weight: 7mm Remington Magnum loaded with 160-grain bullets

Powder Characteristics: Fine-grain “ball” type powder

Powder Weights (grains):68.8, 69.7, 69.8, 69.6, 69.1

Mean Spread (grains): 68.8 to 69.8-grains for a mean value of 1.0-grains

The author was shocked when he found out how much variation there was in the weight of the factory-loaded ammunition powder charges. Whereas a handloader frequently tries to adhere to a standard of +/-0.1 of a grain, clearly none of the tested factory charges came close to that standard.

Another problem with factory shells is the fact that the manufacturer must factor in a margin of safety with all their loads. All of the ammunition they produce must be able to fire and function safely in the majority of firearms, even if they are not in perfect condition. That means that, in some cases, the factory loads might stop shy of their full performance potential. The factory must also seat their bullets deep enough so the cartridges will fit in every style and type of magazine, even though it is common knowledge that bullets seated further out sometimes shoot more accurately. And lastly, never underestimate the desire by manufacturers to keep their costs down to an absolute minimum. It is always a balancing act for any factory to produce an acceptable product as cheaply as possible. With that objective in mind, it can sometimes mean that quality takes a backseat to monetary gain.

Sometimes, purchasing used reloading equipment has cost-saving benefits over buying the same equipment new. That reloading press or scale might look like a great deal at the neighbor’s garage sale, and it very well might be, but when it comes to the actual reloading supplies, my best advice is to walk away from these items. Powder and primers can be severely and adversely affected by how they have been stored and handled. In addition, you might never know whether the label on the can actually matches the powder inside. The same would apply to bullets. There could be a chance that a bullet of another weight, style, or, even worse, another caliber could have found its way into the box. The possibility of saving a couple of bucks in this manner doesn’t offset the potential for problems. Go ahead and save yourself some money by purchasing that reloading press or powder measurer as long as you are sure it is in good condition, but I would walk past the table with bullets, powder, and primers on it. Also, be careful with cartridge cases. Sometimes it can be difficult to verify that those once-fired cases have actually only been fired once.

In order to load for rifles, there are a few basic pieces of equipment that are absolutely imperative. Of course, there are many other items that have the ability to make the reloading process easier, but at minimum, you will need a reloading press, reloading dies for each of your cartridges, a powder scale, a powder funnel, a case trimmer, and the appropriate pilots and collets to keep the length of your brass within limits, a deburring or chamfering tool, and a micrometer or shell-length gauge. With the exception of having some reliable reloading data and the appropriate reloading supplies, that is about all that is necessary for you to get started. However, there are literally dozens of other items that will go a long way to make the process of stuffing your own cartridges easier and more enjoyable. Just a few of these would include such things as a tumbler to keep your brass shiny and new-looking, loading blocks to hold your cartridges securely during the various steps to load them, plastic ammunition boxes, a powder measure to throw an approximate powder charge prior to weighing and fine-tuning the charge on a scale, various cleaning devices and tools for primer pocket and case neck cleaning, and maybe even a chamber-length gauge. Electronics have invaded the world of reloading in recent years, introducing electronic digital scales, which are quick to use; sonic cleaners that can clean the outside of your cartridge cases as well as the inside; and electric-powered units are beginning to replace many manual operations such as case trimming, deburring, and chamfering the case necks. But although all of these devises are nice to own, they are not absolutely necessary to produce your own high-quality handloads.

Even though many of the top-quality hunting bullets are now available in factory-loaded premium-grade ammunition, it would be unrealistic to expect as much diversity of choice as the handloader has available. For example, if you shoot a .257 Roberts, you might be able to buy a box of Federal Premium ammunition loaded with good-quality 120-grain Nosler Partition bullets. But what if you think a 100- or 115-grain Partition would be better suited for your particular hunting situation? Or, maybe you’d like the option of shooting a Barnes’ Triple Shock X bullet or a Swift A-Frame, but those bullets aren’t available in the brand and caliber of ammunition you shoot. No question about it, when the ammunition manufacturers began offering top-quality hunting bullets in their loaded ammunition, it resulted in a significant benefit to those hunters that don’t reload their own shells. Nevertheless, no one should expect the available choices in factory ammo to reach a level on par with the choices a handloader has at his or her disposal.

When it comes to bullets for varmint shooting, I have a fondness for the performance that I receive from bullets such as Hornady’s V-Max, Nosler’s Ballistic Tip, Sierra’s Blitz King, and any bullet coming out of the Berger plant. But, like big hunting ammunition, these too are limited when it comes to factory shells. Varmint hunters sometimes shoot more rounds in a single day than many big-game hunters shoot in their entire lifetime. This is especially true when shooting prairie dogs and ground squirrels, when a single shooter might burn up several hundred rounds of ammunition in a single day afield. The benefits a varmint shooter receives from handloading his or her own ammunition are similar to those received by the hunter of big game. But, because of the volume of shells shot, the varmint hunters’ savings can be much greater.

Handloading clearly isn’t a good fit for every hunter. If your idea of sighting your rifle involves placing a milk jug on the ground 40 or 50 feet in front of you, reloading is not for you. If you purchase a box of cartridges at the beginning of the hunting season and figure that will do until the next season rolls around, reloading probably isn’t something you should consider. If you are an impatient person who sometimes makes errors due to rushing through things, then for safety, reasons you should purchase your cartridges over the counter. And maybe, if you prefer to use a framing hammer to drive small tacks with, likely handloading is something best left to others. But of all the criteria needed to be a successful handloader, there is nothing more important that attention to detail.

Even though reloading your own cartridges is not rocket science, errors and sloppiness while handloading can produce grave problems. Unlike forgetting to salt a steak you are cooking on the barbeque, if you overlook charging a cartridge with powder it could result in sticking a bullet inside your rifle barrel; if you are distracted and overcharge a shell, it could produce an excessive amount of pressure that could damage to your rifle or do injury to you. I’m not trying to discourage anyone from reloading, but handloading is serious business that requires close attention. And if you can’t assure yourself that you are up to the task, it might be better to leave the loading up to ammunition factories.

Where you do your reloading is crucially important. It needs to be in a place that is isolated and free from distractions. My own family knows that when I go into my gun room, that is a sign that I prefer to be left alone. If the kids are running to and fro making a lot of racket, this is the type of distraction that can encourage a mistake, which can be costly in many ways. Ideally, you should be comfortable when handloading and not have a lot of clutter around you. More than a single box of bullets or a couple different types of powder located close to where you are working could be an accident waiting to happen. Even a call to supper, which might cause you to stop in the middle of the operation, could set the scene for an error to occur.

Over many years of handloading my own cartridges, I have developed my own set of standards and procedures that help to ensure mistakes don’t occur, such as double-checking all the cartridge cases after being charged with powder. Using a flashlight, I look down each charged piece of brass to make sure none were missed, and this also gives me a chance to look for any obvious inconsistencies in the volume of the charges. As I mentioned earlier, I never have more than a single box of bullets, powder, and primers near me in an effort to eliminate the possibility of getting an item mixed up. I never allow myself to be distracted or called away by such things as a telephone call. Let the phone ring. If it is important, they will call back. And, if I must take a break before I have completed my entire loading project, I make sure I stop only at the end of a procedure and not in the middle of one. That way, it makes it easier to pick up where I left off and reduce the possibility of an error occurring.

Where you store your powder is something that every handloader needs to carefully consider. Even though there should be no worries about smokeless powder exploding when not confined, powder does burn intensely when exposed to a combustion source. It is always a good idea to keep your powder volume to a minimum and, of course, it should be stored well away from any potential sources of ignition. My friend, Chris Hodgdon, of Hodgdon Powder Company, recommends that smokeless powder be stored in a dry, dark, and cool area with minimal temperature swings. Smokeless powder particularly dislikes hot temperatures, with ball-type powders being more sensitive when exposed to excessive heat. Stored in a proper manner, smokeless powder has been known to last many decades.

SECTION 3:
IN THE FIELD

The hunting of whitetail deer is an extremely popular sport throughout the United States. Photo courtesy Howard Communication.

20. Making the First Shot Count

Money was a scarce commodity on my family’s tiny dairy farm. After our once-a-month trip to the general store to buy our necessities, there was seldom any money left over for such frivolous things as ammunition. But on those rare occasions when a few coins remained in my father’s pocket, he would sometimes ask the storeowner if he would be willing to “break a box of cartridges.” If the owner agreed, we would sometimes purchase five shells out of the box. Then, walking to the car, my father would never fail to remind me that I had to make every shot count for something, and when those cartridges were gone, there would be no money to buy any more. I didn’t need to be reminded of that fact; I knew if I wasted those precious shells, it would be a long time before I saw any more. I can still remember the first time I was able to declare I owned a whole box of shells. I must have been about twelve or thirteen years old. We’d moved from the farm a few years earlier and by selling nightcrawlers at a penny apiece to the local gas station for fish bait, I’d managed to save up enough change to purchase a whole box of cartridges. Upon returning home, I placed the box in plain sight on the bookshelf where I could admire it. I actually didn’t want to fire the first shell because it would then become just another broken box, but eventually I did.

I dare say few people today are in that same category of devout poverty as we were back in those days, but no matter how many shells you happen to have in your pocket or how plush your bank account is, it is still important that you make every shot count for something. In my own case, I think that lack of available ammunition made me a better shot. It bestowed on me real desire to become a one-shot hunter. In most hunting situations, when you squeeze off that first shot, the animal is the most vulnerable and often the easiest to kill. It’s usually relaxed and unaware of the hunter’s presence. Clean kills are more easily obtainable under these circumstances than when the animal has been wounded by a misplaced shot, scared, or put under stress. Admittedly, on occasion I have failed to achieve that self-imposed one-shot goal, but when that has occurred it has sometimes added greatly to the difficulty of the harvest. Even though the vital organs might have been completely destroyed by the follow-up shots, sometimes the animal’s adrenaline drives it onward. When this happens, the likelihood of losing the animal goes up exponentially, and the stress to the animal can cause its meat to become tainted.

Confining your shots to the heart and lung area will help to ensure clean and effective kills.

In order to increase your chances of making one-shot kills, sometimes you need to have patience. Even though there is some logic in a hunter taking the first shot that presents itself, frequently it is better to wait for the best possible shot. That usually means to wait for the animal to turn broadside in order to send your bullet cleanly through the heart and lung area. In most cases, a shot to this area will produce the best possible odds of success. Some hunters insist on firing at the neck, head, and spine of the animal, but these are small targets that are easily missed. The idea that shots to these areas will always result in what is often referred to as a clean kill or a clean miss is nothing short of absurd. Just because the bullet misses the vital areas of the brain, jugular, or spine does not always equate into a clean miss. The bullet might still impact the animal, but miss the areas necessary to produce a quick and humane end to its life. A miss of only a few centimeters means the animal might die a slow, agonizing death days later.

I was hunting whitetail deer a few years ago in New Brunswick, Canada. It was a miserably cold hunt with all the characteristics normally associated with the mid-November northern deer hunt. After several days of fighting the wind-swept snow and temperatures plummeting into the single digits, I was elated when I saw a fine 4x4 whitetail silently and cautiously making its way out of the thick underbrush. At that very moment, the thought of finishing off my hunt with this great trophy then being able to warm my chilled bones by the fire in the lodge was like winning the lottery. It was not a difficult shot at only about 80 yards, and when I squeezed the trigger the buck lunged forward then collapsed on the spot. After getting the animal back to camp, we began the process of caping-out the head for a shoulder mount. It seemed to be a fairly old buck, so when I noticed its well-pronounced Roman nose, I figured it was just a characteristic of its age.

Nevertheless, as our caping job progressed past the eyes, continuing in the direction of the mouth, we found the misshapen nose had nothing to do with how old the animal was—it was the result of a bullet having punched a hole clean through the bridge of its nose. The hide and hair had eventually grown over the wound, and the scar tissue that followed was responsible for its Roman-nosed appearance. Once the cape had been completely removed, it almost appeared as if I could take one of my .30-caliber bullets and slip it cleanly through the perfectly shaped hole in the cartilage. Obviously, this was one of those clean kill or clean miss shots that had gone awry. Fortunately for the deer, the bullet had missed its jaw and teeth. Even though the deer must have suffered greatly, it was still able to eat and therefore survive. Had the bullet impacted an inch lower, it would have surely broken the deer’s jawbone. I’m confident the deer would have still escaped, but it surely would have suffered a slow and agonizing death from starvation.

Without question, the heart and lung area is the largest of the vital kill zones. On animals like deer, hogs, sheep, and goats, this area is the size of a dinner platter, and on elk- and moose-sized game, it’s the size of an antique galvanized washtub. As long as your bullet holds together, expands well, and reaches this area, your prospects of a quick and humane kill is nearly absolute. The best advice is to be patient, take a solid rest, and try to wait for the perfect broadside shot. Unfortunately, we must accept the fact that the perfect positioning is not always possible. In many instances the animal might be standing at a slight angle, or is positioned far below or high above you. That is why it is so important for a hunter to always think in terms of the path the bullet must take to reach the vital kill zone.

For example, in the case of an animal angling away from the shooter, it might be necessary for the bullet to enter the body well behind the shoulder for it to pass through the heart and lung area. If the animal is angling toward the shooter, the bullet might have to enter forward in the chest area, high in the shoulder blades for a downward shot, or low for an animal that is located high overhead. Poor lighting conditions can also make shots more difficult and, when coupled with an animal’s natural coloration, it can easily account for misreading the positioning of the animal. When faced with these less-than-perfect conditions, it is important that the hunter take an ample amount of time to study the precise positioning, then place the shot properly so the bullet winds up passing through the vitals no matter where it has to enter the body to do so.

Only as a last resort, does the author shoot off-hand in the standing position. For most people, this is the most difficult shooting position to hold a steady rifle.

Range practice is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with your firearms. Above and beyond teaching you to hit what you are shooting at, live-fire practice will benefit you in many other ways. It will help familiarize you with how your gun functions, ingrain in you the position of the safety, and help you get used to the gun’s recoil and the noise of firing it. All these factors are essential parts of becoming an effective and proficient hunter. But, although benchrest shooting provides a great way to practice, getting used to shooting in various field positions is equally important. Shooting while sitting on the ground, in the prone position, off-hand, and learning to take advantage of opportunistic rests in the field will all help your performance in the field.

Much to my chagrin, excessively long-range shooting has become a fad today. When I say that, I don’t mean shooting at 300 or 350 yards; I’m talking about such extreme distances as 700, 800, or even 1,000 yards and more. Many shooters have been conditioned to believe that all they have to do is dial-in their scope to whatever range the animal is at, and the bullet will somehow travel over those great distances to magically find its mark. I blame this misdirection on various television shows, books, and DVDs that encourage this type of hunting. The tragic result of this trend is more wounded game, more missed shots, and generally poorer overall hunting success. Frequently overlooked are other factors associated with long-range shooting, which are extremely difficult to anticipate and impossible to control. Even though shots at 300, 350 or even 400 yards are sometimes quite doable with practice and a thorough understanding of the capabilities of your ammunition, rifle, and the conditions, I would never encourage anyone to attempt extreme long-range shooting beyond those distances on big game.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the shooters who have a fear of shooting anything at more than about 100 yards. If you think about it, as long as you keep your shots within a 2-inch group at 100 yards, shooting at 300 yards or maybe a bit farther might not be as big a problem as you think. Based on those conditions, extrapolating that same 2-inch group out to 300 yards would simply open the group up to about 6 inches, which would easily allow you to drop your bullet cleanly into the heart and lungs of a deer at that range. There are obviously other factors that must be considered when contemplating shooting at such distances. For example, you need to know what the trajectory drop of your bullet will be at that range and what effect the wind will have on the bullet’s flight.

Ballistic tables are a great place to start, but you shouldn’t stop there. There is no substitute for actual long-range practice. Find a location that will permit you to shoot at varying distances, and get those results ingrained into your thinking. It is a good idea to make a chart and tape it to the buttstock of your rifle showing the trajectory drop in 100 yard incremental distances, as well wind drift at a right angle in 10-mph increments. Doing so will provide you with a quick reference when your adrenaline is pumping and your trophy is standing on the adjacent hillside looking directly at you. In chapter 15, “Sighting in Your Rifle the Right Way,” I have discussed how adjusting your scope to impact slightly high at 100 yards can sometimes be beneficial when anticipating longer shots. In my opinion, a well-trained and prepared hunter should not fear shots at 300 yards. As long as you are shooting a cartridge that is capable of a flat trajectory and approach these circumstances in a reasonable and responsible manner, you might be amazed at how they are quite doable to pull off. On the other hand, I see no justification whatsoever for extreme long-range shooting. If the animal is located upwards of a fourth of a mile away, you can get closer, which will greatly improve the chance of success and be fairer to the animal.

The use of bipods, or even natural rests encountered in the field, will help steady your rifle when shooting at longer distances. I consider the prone position to be the most stable, so I shoot from it whenever I can. Unfortunately, prone positioning is not always possible due to obstructions in the line of fire. In these situations, you might decide to shoot from a sitting position, kneeling, or use a tree trunk, fence post, or whatever else is available to slow down your wavering barrel. Surprisingly, even a tiny 1-inch diameter sapling can provide an amazing amount of stability by simply expanding your grip to include it along with the forearm of the rifle stock. Keeping in mind these rules will likely help you become a more proficient hunter in the field:

Seven Simple Rules to be More Proficient

1. Practice shooting as much as you can both from the bench as well as from a wide variety of field positions.

2. Be patient and look for the best opportunity to place the shot.

3. Whenever possible, choose the heart and lungs as your targeted area.

4. If you occasionally get opportunities for long shots, sight your rifle to impact a bit high at 100 yards, and know the trajectory and wind drift influences you will be facing.

5. Steady your shot by taking a rest or shooting from the prone or sitting position.

6. Shoot only good-quality hunting bullets and ammunition for all your hunting activities.

7. Remember that it is easier to make the first shot count than to try and make the second, third, or fourth shot count.

21. Steep-Angle Shooting

Hunting in rough terrain can be problematic even for those in the best physical condition. But the concerns for this type of environment certainly aren’t limited to only the hunter. Mountainous and uneven terrains can add significantly to the challenge of accurate bullet placement. In some cases, the target animal might be located well below you in a canyon bottom or high overhead on a rock outcropping. As such, it is important to realize the trajectory drop of your bullet will not be based on its actual flight distance, but rather on how the earth’s gravitational pull affects it. In order to determine what the actual trajectory drop will be when shooting at an animal located above you, you must imagine a vertical line that extends from the animal straight down toward the earth’s core. Then imagine a second line that begins at your position and runs horizontally on a flat plane to intersect with the vertical line, forming a right angle at the junction point. The amount of trajectory bullet drop would be based on the distance of the horizontal line rather than the actual distance the bullet travels.

When shooting at a target located deep below you, the exercise to determine the amount of bullet drop would be inverted. Say you have been traversing along the top edge of a ridge and you spot a mule deer buck located deep in a canyon below you. You would have to imagine a line beginning at the earth’s core, which passes through the animal, and then continues skyward. The second imaginary line would begin at your position on a horizontal plane to intersect the first line, again forming a right angle at the junction. The trajectory drop of the bullet would again be based on the distance of the horizon line. This might seem confusing and difficult to keep in mind when actually hunting. It is even complicated for me to put it down in writing in an easy to understand manner. The good news is that some of the newer rangefinders now have steep angle compensation capabilities built into them. That is certainly convenient, but you might not always have one of these rangefinders handy when you need it. Having a basic understanding of how the gravitational pull affects the flight of your bullet can therefore be an advantage.

The second factor of major concern when shooting at steep angles is a lessening of the visual target size and the path your bullet must take upon entering the body of the animal. When a target animal is viewed from an elevated or lowered position, it is impossible to obtain a true perspective of its body. Likely the lower portion of the body will be obscured from view when shooting from high above and when shooting from below, the upper-most portion of the back will be invisible to the eye. This results in a lessening of the available target depth by sometimes as much as 50 percent. This makes these types of shots considerably more difficult, but adding to that difficulty is the irregular path a bullet has to embark upon in order to reach the animal’s vitals.

Possibly the best way for a hunter to get his or her head around how difficult this shooting situation can be is to perform a simple exercise at home. This might seem silly at first, but it is the best way I know of to easily explain the difficulty of sharp-angle shots. All you need to do is take a large book off of your bookshelf and place it on its edge on the floor. A dictionary will work great because it will be thick enough to roughly replicate the dimensional size relationship of an animal’s body. Now, walk around the book and think of it as an animal you might be shooting at from a lofty observation point. Imagine the book is a deer, elk, or some other game animal, and try to envision where the heart and lung vital area would be located and where a bullet would have to enter the body to reach it. And be sure to notice how the depth of the target area is sharply reduced by the angle from which you are viewing it. Now, add in the earlier discussed factor of how the trajectory drop of the bullet is affected in sharp-angle shooting, and it becomes clear how these shots could be some of the most difficult a shooter will ever be faced with.

When shooting at steep angles, you must understand that the trajectory drop of the bullet is not based on the actual flight distance the bullet takes. And, in addition, it is equally important that the shooter recognizes the path that the bullet must take to reach the vitals of the animal.

In this example, shooting at a target well above the shooter, the trajectory drop of the bullet will not be based on the actual bullet flight distance of 400 yards, but rather on 100 yards.

I am frequently amazed at the ability animals have to blend into their surroundings. Their natural camouflage is a phenomenal characteristic that routinely helps them avoid detection by a predator looking for an easy meal and being seen by a hunter. That same camouflage can also work against a hunter when locating his or her downed game. I am a bit ashamed to admit how much time I have spent searching for a downed deer, antelope, or even a coyote before I finally got my act together. On one occasion, I was hunting pronghorn antelope with a friend in Wyoming. We’d spotted a nice, unusually wide-horned buck earlier in the day. Later on, we decided to return to the area in hopes of stalking the animal. Upon arrival, we decided to split up with me going one way around the edge of a small hill and my buddy going in the other direction. I hadn’t gone very far when I heard a single shot and, with no other hunters in the immediate area, I assumed that my buddy had downed our buck.

I headed in the direction of the shot in case he needed some help, but when I got to him I saw no bloody hands, only a puzzled look on his face as he wandered aimlessly about the sagebrush. He had shot the antelope, all right, and thought it had dropped in its tracks, but even though the ground was as flat as my bank account, he simply couldn’t locate the carcass. I joined forces in the search, but after more than an hour with no success, my buddy started questioning whether his shot was as good as he thought it had been. More than a bit flustered, we reluctantly decided to give up the search and began walking back to our rig when I almost tripped over the carcass of his dead antelope. It had apparently collapsed immediately, and when it did, it fell up against a clump of sagebrush. By no means was it hidden from view, and once our eyes finally focused on the animal, we couldn’t believe it had eluded us all that time. Similar stories plagued me for several years until I finally decided to take a few precautions to make my retrievals easier.

It is always a terrific temptation to rush ahead after successfully shooting an animal. When a shot has been a good one, all hunters are anxious to lay their hands on the trophy they have worked so hard to obtain. But too much haste can create real problems for a hunter. No matter how easy it might appear to be to walk directly to a downed animal, it is always a good idea to take a moment to get your bearings. Try to locate an object that is perfectly in line with your shooting position and the downed animal. It should be large enough so you can keep it in sight no matter where you might find yourself along the way. It is even better if you can locate another point of bearing behind your shooting position, which lines up with the other point. Doing so will provide you a perfect reference point enabling you to walk right to your animal. Even if the contour of the terrain forces you off course or causes you to lose sight of the animal itself, you can always get back on track by aligning yourself with those target reference points. As additional insurance, I always mark where I have shot from in the event that I should have to return to that spot again to reestablish my bearings. I almost always carry a GPS these days when I’m hunting, which I use to store the position of my shot and to take a directional compass reading to the animal. If you don’t have a GPS, a normal compass can be used in the same manner and should permit you to walk directly to your game. I know doing these things takes a little time when you would much prefer to get moving, but sometimes a little time spent on the front end can save you a great deal of time and frustration on the back end of your hunt.

22. Bullet Placement

I think I’ve made it clear in my previous chapters that I believe hunters should, whenever possible, shoot for the heart and lung area on most game animals. Possibly the only exception would be in the case of dangerous-game hunting. In this case, sometimes it is advisable to shoot through the front shoulders in order to break the animal down, thereby limiting its ability for a retaliation attack. And in a few instances when the range is extremely close, a well-placed shot to an elephant’s brain might be acceptable, or frequently when hunting crocodiles, a shot to the brain helps to ensure the animal is unable to get back into the water. But outside of these examples, my recommendation is to look to the heart and lung area to provide the highest degree of success.

A shot to an animal’s heart and lung area might not always result in the animal immediately collapsing at the report of the shot, but seldom will the animal travel over 100 feet before piling up stone dead. I actually prefer lung shots to heart shots but both will produce great results. Sometimes, a shot directly to the heart of an animal will send it speeding off in frenzied attempt to escape, not knowing that it is already dead. A shot to the lungs will generally result in a more labored and slow attempt to exit the scene. I’ve seen deer, pigs, and various other critters immediately collapse with a bullet to the lungs, or sometimes they will take a couple of steps before tumbling, while others run a short distance before piling up. On the other hand, if you specifically target the heart to shoot at, it is far too easy for your bullet to miss and slip underneath the vitals.

Confining your shots to the heart and lung area (shown in red) will help to ensure quick and humane kills. Even though the areas shown in yellow are also considered kill zones, they are much smaller targets.

Ever wonder why hunting show cinematographers are so frequently able to capture such devastating drop-to-the-shot shooting scenes? In these situations, many times the hunters are told to shoot for the spine. A successful shot to this area will almost always drop the animal in its tracks but, again, this is a small target area that is only about 4 or 5 inches in depth on a deer. If the shot should go low and slip under the spine, it likely won’t result in a clean kill, and of course if your bullet goes high, it might pass over the back of the animal entirely. No question about it—when these shots are successfully executed, they look impressive on film, but I’ve often wondered how many failed shots windup on the cutting room floor that are never seen by the viewing public. I much prefer the higher odds of success with shots to the heart and lung area even though they might not appear so inspiring at the time. I suppose the television celebrities have a tendency to shy away from heart and lung shots for a couple of reasons. First, they must like the response of their audiences when they are able to film impressive results, and second, showing an animal running a short distance before collapsing might be looked upon as fodder for antihunting groups. Fortunately, I never take any of these antis with me on my hunts, preferring to leave them in the big cities sipping on their frothy mocha latté drinks.

The perfect heart and lung shot would be to place the bullet about one-third up from the bottom of the body and just behind the front shoulder. I know some hunters prefer shots through the front shoulders, which will often also impact the lungs and render the animal out of commission. A shot to this area comes with the added benefit of breaking the animal down, which certainly helps to ensure a kill. As mentioned, this is certainly a consideration when it comes to dangerous carnivores, but when hunting grass and twig munch-ers, I’d rather save the meat and avoid the shoulders whenever possible. My wife and I like game meat, so keeping the front shoulders intact adds a couple more packs of venison to our winter stash of meat.

When it comes to hunting on the Dark Continent, you should disregard a significant portion of my previous statements about missing the shoulder. Somewhere along the way, something must have happened in the genetics of African game because in most cases, these animals’ heart and lung vitals are located much farther forward than they are in American game. The best shot for African plains game should be placed at about the same height as on the North American game, about one-third of the way up from the bottom of the body, but rather than trying to slip your bullet just behind the crease in the shoulder, the bullet should enter over the center of the front leg. A shot in this location will perfectly impact the lungs. Place it behind the shoulder and it could result in being too far back to make contact with the lungs. After decades of hunting North American game, it has become ingrained in my brain to always hold just behind the shoulder of my animals, so that was a difficult habit to break when I began hunting in Africa. Eventually I was able to overcome my propensity to place my shots behind the shoulder, but it is funny how such things can become so deep-seated in one’s psyche after so many years of hunting.

Black bears can be particularly tough, but a shot to the lungs and heart kill zone will usually result in a clean and effective kill. The author’s granddaughter is looking forward to the time when she will be able to go after her own bear.

When it comes to the tenacity of game animals, there are none tougher to kill than those who make their home on the Africa. I am always amazed at the stamina and endurance that the African species seem to have. On my first safari to South Africa, I brought along a little 6mm Remington Ruger 1B Single Shot for use on the smaller plains game. I was particularly anxious to make up a collection of the smaller antelope, and when a nice steenbok, not much bigger than a jackrabbit, appeared on a distant hillside, I was quick to take advantage of the opportunity. The little guy had us spotted and without a doubt wasn’t going to stay put long or give me anything close to a perfect broadside shot. The bushveldt grass was too long to allow a shot from either the prone or sitting positions so I was forced to shoot while standing. I quickly placed the crosshairs on the center of its tiny chest and squeezed off the shot. Immediately upon the impact of the little 95-grain Nosler Partition bullet, the steenbok collapsed.

But before any congratulations could follow, the little guy was back on its feet and vanished over the crest of the hill. When our hunting party reached the spot where the animal had once stood, it became blatantly obvious that we wouldn’t need the services of Mybone, our Zulu tracker, to follow the trail. Leading away from the handful of half-digested stomach debris was a blood trail a foot wide. Additional assurance of the little guy’s demise came 75 feet later when we encountered a handful of internal organs and the continuation of the blood-soaked trail, which vanished over the crest of the next hill. We all were amazed that the little guy could somehow keep going after losing what appeared to be the equivalent of a couple of quarts of blood as well as most of its life-giving organs.

Nevertheless, as we crested the hill, up it jumped again, this time heading at a phenomenal rate of speed crossways to us. With a flashback to my trapshooting days, I instinctively threw the rifle to my shoulder, swung through the little speedy target and touched off my shot. Down it went to a shot behind the shoulder, but after taking a couple of steps toward it once again it was up and running, and in the blink of an eye disappeared yet again over another hillside. It was as if we had been transported into the movie Groundhog Day with the same scenario happening over and over again. We continued on, hoping to eventually catch up to it. Nevertheless, as we crested that hill, off it sprinted again, but this time Mybone was able to run it down and complete the kill using his crudely-crafted Zulu knife. When we finally reached my little hell-bent-on-escaping steenbok, we found that it was literally void of any internal organs, and surely, there was no blood left in its body after painting much of the grassy plain bright red. The pugnacious little steenbok had traveled close to a full kilometer after being fatally struck by that first bullet. Tenacity and determination to cling to life by African game routinely amazes me and helps to emphasize the need for the use of the best possible bullets and ammunition as well as the highest degree of accuracy attainable.

As the Aussies put it, “sometimes these buffalo Down Under just get a little cranky at times.” And when they do, a ton on the buff can become a formidable enemy to stop.

23. Don’t Blame Poor Shooting on Bullet Deflection

For as long as hunters have been pursuing game, they have been blaming missed shots on their bullet being deflected by a small limb or twig while in flight to its target. Even the famous gun writer Jack O’Connor sometimes saw bullet-deflection as a convenient way of dismissing a missed shot while hunting. And I’m quite sure that even before the pilgrims had a chance to disembark from the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock, the American Indians probably used this same excuse when their arrows went astray and didn’t hit the turkey or deer they were shooting at. Even though there is some validity behind an arrow being deflected in this manner, I wondered just how much influence a small twig or limb would actually have on the flight of a rifle bullet.

For years, bullet and ammunition manufacturers, as well as some gun writers, have promoted flat- or round-nosed bullets and slow-velocity cartridges as being the best choices when hunting in brushy environments. But I was never able to find any actual facts or research that would back up those claims. So, I decided to do my own research in an attempt to either prove or disprove those allegations. But I felt I needed to approach this issue in a qualifiable manner. Just shooting through a pile of brush wouldn’t provide the type of data that would be useful to a hunter. Even though it might show if deflection was taking place, it would be difficult to determine what the bullet had struck in flight and how the size of that obstruction was related to the effect. Consequently, I chose to approach the problem in a slightly different and more scientific manner.

My project began by constructing a type of wooden freestanding structure equipped with extended arms made from 2x4s. Once completed, I drilled a series of holes in each of the arms that would allow me to insert short lengths of hardwood dowels. The dowels were positioned closely enough together that a bullet would be unable to pass through the obstruction without first impacting at least one of the dowels on its way to a paper target positioned behind the obstruction barrier. As the dowels became damaged, they could easily be replaced with new ones. The dowels used were purchased from my local hardware store and were likely made of either birch or some other type of dried hardwood, which would be an even more burdensome obstruction for a bullet to push through than anything normally encountered in the field. In the wild, the limbs and twigs would often be some green material and frequently of a softer variety than the dowels.

I had little interest in seeing what effect large obstructions would have on a bullet. Understandably, if a hunter’s bullet should come into contact with a large tree trunk or oversized limb, the consequences would be grave. What I was more interested in was assessing what would happen if a bullet encountered a small impediment on its way to the target. When a hunter’s heart is pumping and his or her eyes are transfixed on a trophy animal, it would be these small limbs and twigs that could go unnoticed through the view of the scope.

I felt it was best to cover a range of different calibers, starting with one that is commonly looked upon as a brush gun, the .30-30 Winchester. The other two rifles tested were on opposite ends of the spectrum—a varmint rifle chambered in .22-250 and a big game rifle in .300 Winchester Magnum. Three bullets were chosen for testing in the .300 Winchester, the 150-grain spitzer, 180-grain spitzer, and what some people believe to be a traditional brush bullet, a 200-grain round nose. The 200-grain and 150-grain bullets were handloaded to produce moderate velocities, and the ammunition loaded with the 180-grain bullet consisted of one of my favorite big game loads, which most would view as being loaded to its maximum potential. This particular load produces an average muzzle velocity approaching 3,100 feet per second. The ammunition for the .30-30 consisted of federal factory-loads with 150-grain flat-nose bullets. And, for the one caliber that few would think of shooting through brush with, the .22-250, I chose a lightweight 45-grain spitzer bullet handloaded to a muzzle velocity of around 3,600 feet per second.

To a certain degree, I suppose all the hype about bullet deflection had swayed my views as well, and for that reason, I began my testing in a somewhat conservative manner. Using small 3/16-inch dowels, I began by placing the paper target downrange from the obstruction at the close distance of 8 feet. Quickly, however, I realized that the amount of deflection wasn’t going to be nearly as severe as I’d been led to believe and soon I began switching the -inch dowels out with larger ¼-inch dowelling and moving the paper target farther away from the obstruction. Eventually, I stopped when I’d reached the extreme distance of 30 feet between the dowelling and the target.

As part of the author’s bullet deflection tests, the bullets were forced to impact at least one wooden dowel before hitting the paper target located on the other side.

All shots were from the bench at 50 yards with the rifles sandbagged front and back. I chose 50 yards for a testing basis because brushy situations usually call for short-range shooting, and a close range tends to keep shooter error to a minimum. And, of course, the velocities are at their highest at short range. Each leg of the testing began by firing an unobstructed series of reference groups. The targets were set in place and a number of three-shot groups were shot with no dowelling contact. This was done in an effort to provide a baseline of data to judge the amount of deflection. In the accompanying chart “Bullet Deflection Test,” the differences between these unobstructed and obstructed groups are shown under the category of “Group Spread.” In order to produce that data, I began by placing all of the non-obstructed targets for each category of cartridge one on top of the other to find the universal center of those combined groups. I then did the same for the obstructed targets and compared the two to determine how much difference the point of impact was.

Even though the basic intent of these tests was to determine how much deflection was taking place, I also thought it important to get a handle on how these conditions could be affecting the bullet group sizes and included those data as well on the same chart entitled “Deflected Group Size.” Even though some of these groups are fairly large-particularly when the obstruction was positioned at the extreme distance of 30 feet from the target—it is important to keep in mind the size of the typical heart and lung vital area. In most cases when shooting at deer-sized game or larger, a group spread of 3 or 4 inches will generally be non-consequential to a hunter’s shooting success.

One of the most troubling things I noticed in the testing was that a few times when the bullets had impacted a dowel, it would start the bullet tumbling. This is commonly referred to as key-holing in a paper target. This was more evident in the higher velocity rounds and in particular the .22-250. But even when the bullets stopped their perfect spiral flight and began tumbling through the air, they continued to maintain a remarkable level of accuracy. It would be logical to assume that the bullet’s expansion would likely be affected when entering an animal sideways. When I noticed this occurring, I began to wonder how tumbling could affect the bullet’s depth of penetration and retained weight. So, I took my testing one step further.

It would be nice to have access to a supply of ballistic gelatin, which is used by testing laboratories and bullet manufacturers to evaluate impact performance. But aside from being expensive, ballistic gelatin is both difficult to store and work with. So I decided to head back to the shop to come up with an alternative testing medium that would be easier to use. Although certainly not the best media if your purpose is evaluating bullet mushrooming capabilities, I thought old magazines stacked on edge would suffice for the purpose of drawing a comparison of the bullet-penetration depths.

The structure I ended up making was freestanding and allowed me to easily and tightly stack old magazines on edge. Once the bullet hit, it became an easy matter to separate the pages of the magazines in order to retrieve them and measure how much penetration had taken place. Similar to the deflection tests, I began by first firing a reference round for each of the test cartridges and measured their depth of penetration. Next, I fired two like rounds for each type of cartridge, but this time forcing the bullets to impact the dowelling on their way to the bank of magazines. After making a comparison of all of the rounds, I was once again pleasantly surprised at the results. Even when the bullets began tumbling in flight, there was essentially little effect on their depth of penetration. And while often the reference rounds retained slightly more weight, in all cases those differences were very slight.

Possibly one of the most troubling aspects I encountered was the fact that in every case, whether the bullets had encountered the dowelling or not, the bullet jackets of the .30-30 ammunition were completely ripped loose and shed. This single fact would seem to totally discredit the idea that a flat-nosed bullet moving at a slow velocity is in any way better at penetrating brush than another style of bullet. It really didn’t matter in this case whether the bullet encountered a dowel in flight or not. The result was the same—total bullet devastation. Obviously, these were poorly constructed bullets to begin with and that would have more of a basis on the outcome than the shape of their noses. When bullet jackets are shed, the lead core of the bullet is instantaneously transformed into what appears like a coarsely ground powder. When this occurs, all forward movement of the bullet comes to an immediate halt, ending the killing potential at that same point.

You must come to your own conclusions on how serious the problem of bullet deflection really is. For me, however, I no longer worry too much about the matter. As long as the brush isn’t overly large, the obstruction is located close to the animal, and you are shooting well-constructed bullets, I say plow your way through.

Prior to conducting these tests, I had become conditioned to believe that a tiny twig, limb, or even an impediment of grass would likely result in sending my bullet flying to parts unknown upon its first kiss with the obstruction, which resulted in me passing up shots at game that I now know would have been perfectly acceptable. After doing this research, however, it paid off for me in a big way a few years ago while elk hunting. I found myself facing a nice bull elk, but there was some light brush separating us. In the microsecond prior to switching off the safety on my rifle I thought about my testing, but quickly dismissed any concerns that I might have had in the past.

The .300 Winchester Magnum went to my shoulder, the crosshairs were placed on the bull’s chest, and the bullet sent to its mark. Immediately, the bull collapsed, tumbling down the bank to eventually wind up on the edge of a frozen creek bed, dead as a doornail, as they say. Certainly, no one can expect their bullets to pass through a 12-inch diameter limb without drastic consequences. Nor should anyone believe that a bullet impacting an obstruction fresh out of the muzzle that has to travel several hundred yards to its target won’t suffer dramatically from the encounter. But when faced with a small twig or two close to the animal, my best advice is don’t give it a second thought—take the shot.

A shot at these bull elk would be reasonable as long as the hunter is using high-quality hunting bullets. The light brush that the bullet might encounter on its way to the animal would likely be inconsequential to the performance.

The author took this old, gnarly eastern whitetail buck in the muskeg swamp of New Brunswick, Canada, from a tree stand using his Ruger 1B single shot rifle chambered in .300 Win. Mag.

24. Is Weather Affecting Your Shooting?

Fluctuations in temperature and weather conditions can easily result in adverse effects on a shooter’s performance. Cold, inclement weather has the ability to challenge a hunter’s endurance and drain his or her stamina. Most outdoorsman recognize this fact and try to dress appropriately for the conditions they anticipate, but often those same individuals give little thought to how those hostile conditions might be affecting the ammunition and shooting gear they are using.

In Montana, where I live and frequently hunt, temperatures and weather variations can only be described as extreme, variable, and at times catastrophic. During a normal hunting season, a hunter can frequently face bone-chilling cold with the mercury plunging well below zero, yet a few days later, he or she could be in short sleeves and sweating in 90-degree temperatures. But, it doesn’t really matter where you live. If you’re a hunter, it is likely that you will sooner or later encounter some extremely cold conditions, and I would bet that you will also find yourself sometimes facing very hot temperatures. I eventually became concerned enough with these extreme fluctuations that I decided to do my own testing to see what effect they were having on my shooting performance.

There are essentially two primary areas of concern when it comes to hunting in adverse weather. First is how those conditions could be affecting the gear we are using. And second is how those same conditions could be influencing the velocity of the ammunition, which will have an affect on the bullet’s trajectory, retained energy, and the ability to resist wind. In order to obtain a qualitative idea of how those outside conditions could be influencing my own performance in the field, I decided to expose three commonly-used hunting rifles and ammunitions to a wide variety of temperatures, then check the muzzle velocities using a chronograph.

Hunting under cold conditions can have severe consequences not just on the hunter, but also on the ammunition and firearms.

To be able to accurately cover the broadest possible spectrum of actual ambient temperatures, my testing would have to span nearly a full year. What I eventually wound up with was temperatures ranging from a low of negative 8 degree Fahrenheit all the way up to 128 degrees Fahrenheit. Hearing such a high number, I’m sure some readers are already saying, “No one hunts in that kind of temperature,” but you need to bear with me here. In this case, I found when the mercury was reading 90 degrees in the shade, this produced a whopping 128 degrees in the direct sun. My logic in exposing the ammunition and rifles to that level of heat is based on the fact that hunters don’t necessarily restrict their hunting activities to only shady environments—they frequently hunt in the direct sun. In addition, that temperature is above the point at which some powder manufacturers believe the powder could undergo a change in its chemical properties. We’ll get more into that topic a little later on.

The three rifles I selected for the testing consisted of a Remington Model 700 BDL .243 Remington, a Remington Model 700 ADL .270 Winchester, and a Ruger 1B Single Shot .300 Winchester Magnum. The cartridges were made up of a combination of my own favorite handloads and factory-loaded ammunition. For the .243, I shot one of my favorite hunting handloads with 95-grain Nosler Partition bullets backed with a powder charge of IMR 4831 powder. For the .270, I used factory-loaded ammunition that possessed 130-grain Remington Bronze Point bullets, and factory-loaded Remington Extended Range ammunition loaded with 180-grain bullets were shot in the 300 Winchester Magnum.

When the weather turns nasty as like during this moose hunting trip in the high country of British Columbia, you need to take precautions to protect your gear from the wet and freezing conditions

Prior to any shooting, I began by exposing both the ammunition and rifles to the ambient conditions for a minimum of thirty minutes in order to acclimate them. Each rifle was fired five times at each temperature level to produce the average muzzle velocities as seen in the accompanying chart “Temperature (Degrees Fahrenheit) versus Velocity.” Between shots, the rifles were allowed to sit idle for a period of time in order for the barrels to cool to ambient levels significant fluctuations in velocity were recorded for all three rifles and cartridges. There were exceptions, but generally speaking, when the temperature rose, it resulted in an increase in the muzzle velocity. And when it declined, the velocity dropped. When viewed overall, the .243 had the least amount of velocity spread at 113 feet per second, and the .270 produced the largest spread at 138 feet per second. But, it would be an impossibility to draw a simple conclusion solely based on the caliber of the cartridge because different types of powders are influenced differently when exposed to temperature fluctuations.

Recently, many of our military conflicts have been taking place under arid conditions, which might be the reason powder manufacturers are now developing new smokeless powders, which are said to be more resilient to temperature fluctuations. In chapter 27, there will be further discussion of this issue and the spooky things that can occur when cartridges have been exposed to elevated temperatures.

As the muzzle velocities of ammunition change, so does the bullet’s retained energy level, trajectory at extended range, and ability to resist the effects of wind drift. The most important lesson to be learned from these tests is that you cannot assume that the ballistic performance of your ammunition will be the same when the sweat is pouring from your brow as it will be when ice is starting to form on the stubble of your beard. In some instances, the differences in your ammunition performance could amount to several inches in trajectory at a long range and a change in the penetration and killing potential of the bullet due to a loss of retained energy.

My tests did not take into account any affect on changes to the chamber pressures, but it would be logical to assume that a higher temperature and a corresponding rise in a cartridge velocity would equate to an escalating level of pressure. Because of this, caution should be undertaken when handloading to maximum levels. For example, a load considered maximum when shot at sub-freezing temperatures might not be safe to shoot when the mercury is pushing 90 degrees or higher. Elevation is also a factor in performance. Generally, as the elevation increases, so does velocity. Frequently referred to as thin air, a higher elevation brings with it less friction and resistance, which has a tendency to drive bullets faster.

I have also conducted similar testing on shotgun ammunition, but a book dedicated to rifles isn’t really a place to talk about scattergun performance. I will, however, say that if you are a shotgunner, you should expect similar fluctuations in velocities as the temperature changes.

Another weather-related factor that can negatively affect a hunter’s performance is that of condensation. Many hunters have experienced the problem of moisture condensation on glass surfaces such as windows, eyeglasses, binocular lenses, and scope lenses. This problem is the result of drastic temperature changes coupled with high humidity. In the case of rifle-scopes, this problem is most often encountered when a shooter brings his or her firearms inside to a warm environment after being exposed to the cold, moist outdoors. As flies are drawn to rotting carrion, almost immediately the beads of moisture attach themselves to virtually all hard surfaces, including the glass lenses of your riflescope.

There have been various attempts to solve this problem through the use of lens treatments and special chemical-impregnated cleaning cloths, but the easiest and most effective way to avoid such a condition is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. Keeping your gear acclimated to the conditions you intend to hunt in will go further to solve this debacle than anything else. While in a hunting camp, it might be best to leave your rifle, scope, binoculars, and even your eyeglasses protected, but outdoors rather than bringing them inside with you. It’s the rapid changes in temperature coupled with humidity that causes the condensation to form. Limiting these quick condition changes whenever possible will reduce the chances of your finding yourself with a scope you can’t see through. And, of course, wherever there is moisture, there is a possibility of rust and corrosion developing. Because of this, it is always a good idea to frequently wipe your rifle down and keep the surfaces oiled whenever condensation is present, then do a thorough cleaning as soon as it is practical to do so.

An early snowstorm can sometimes result in catching a hunter off-guard.

Hunting in heavy snowfall can also create problems. Falling snow or snow build-up on the trees and bushes can easily be transferred onto the lenses of your scope. When this occurs, it will obviously hinder your performance. Sometimes the best learned lessons are those that come hard and have severe consequences. That was certainly the case for me on one deer hunting trip. I missed an opportunity of a lifetime by not having my scope covers in place. At the time, I was hunting whitetail deer in the backcountry of northwestern Montana. It was the late season—the bucks were in full rut and quickly moving through the area in search of a doe in estrus. I was literally sitting in a snow bank along the edge of a canyon when a monstrous, record-book whitetail trotted out into the opening. The snow had ceased falling, and I’d removed my scope covers in anticipation of making a quick shot. But as I brought my rifle up, the scope accidentally brushed against a snow-covered bush, packing the lens with snow and totally obliterating any chance of seeing through it.

Trying to stay out of sight, I frantically pawed at the lens trying to free it from the snow that seemed to have become hard packed over its entirety. I suppose it took me no more than a few seconds to free it, but when I rose up to take my shot, the buck had vanished, swallowed up by the dense vegetation of the surrounding area. I tried picking up its trail, but eventually lost it. And even though we hunted the area for a week afterward, I never saw that buck again. It was a difficult lesson for me to learn, but learn it I did, and now I keep my scope covers on until it is time to take the shot.

Some people might believe that oils and lubricants won’t freeze in cold weather, but that would be a wrong assumption to make. The viscosity of oils and greases will change as the temperature changes and yes, in severe cold, most lubricants will freeze. At best, that could result in slow, sluggish movements of the action of your rifle. And in the worst case, the action could freeze solid, completely prohibiting the gun from functioning. The solution to this problem is a simple one: If you intend to hunt in extreme cold weather, it would be advisable to strip your rifle down, completely removing all greases and oils. In the short term, this lack of lubrication usually won’t result in excessive wear of the gun parts, but if you find yourself unnecessarily concerned over the lack of lubes, you might opt to try a light application of dry graphite powder.

Shooting ground squirrels from an elevated platform can provide a shooter more action in a single day that some shooters get in their entire lifetime.

25. Take a Rest for Steadier Shooting

Some shooters can hold steady when shooting off-hand, but I’m certainly not one of them. Whenever I try to shoot in that manner, I must look like a lovesick teenager drawing hearts in the clouds with the end of my rifle barrel. Even though I frequently practice shooting off-hand, over the years I have come to recognize my shortcomings in this area. Because of this, as soon as a target presents itself, I automatically start looking around for something to use to steady my wavering rifle barrel. That might take the form of a fence post, a rock outcropping, a boulder, a tree trunk, or maybe even just a tiny sapling.

On one particular occasion, I picked the wrong thing for a rest and paid dearly for that mistake. Years ago while on safari in Africa, I had the perfect opportunity for a shot on an exceptional ivory-tusked warthog. Apparently, our unexpected arrival on the boar’s home turf must have caught the surly old hog off guard. Frozen like some sort of ancient Roman statue, he posed for what promised to be one of the easiest shots I’d ever encountered in Africa. At a mere 75 yards away with virtually no visible sign of wanting to vacate the premises, in my mind its head was already hanging on the wall of my trophy room. But always wanting to make my shots the steadiest possible, I began looking around for something to use as a rest. Quickly, my eyes focused on the metal railing of the back of the safari truck, and without hesitation, I slipped around the backside of the truck, placed my rifle directly across one of the rails, and slid my safety off. Our Zulu companions anxiously looked on, quite likely with visions of how great those fresh pork chops would taste roasted over their open fire that night. But, there would be no pork chops and no trophy for my wall.

Utilizing whatever aid is available in the field, like this fence post, to steady a shot makes a great deal of sense.

To my surprise, by the time I’d recovered from the recoil of my .300 Winchester Magnum, there was nothing in sight but a faint wisp of dust where my trophy had once stood. Apparently, my bullet had slipped cleanly right over the boar’s back. That shot turned out to be a major lesson for me in a couple of different ways. First, I realized that laughter in all languages, even that coming from Zulus who don’t speak a word of English, sounds remarkably similar. Certainly, there was no need for an interpreter to decipher the meaning of the loud ruckus and toothless grins that followed that shot. For months afterwards, I played that situation over and over in my head before finally accepting the reality of why I’d missed such an easy opportunity. By placing my rifle on the hard metal railing, without anything to pad the forearm against, it changed the harmonics of the barrel enough to drive my bullet high and over the pig’s back.

Looking back on it now, what I should have done was to place my fanny pack between the rifle and the railing, or a coat, or even a wadded up hat would have sufficed to cushion the rifle against the unforgivingly hard surface of the metal. Since that time, a full three decades ago, I have never repeated that mistake. There was nothing actually wrong with the rest. It would have worked perfectly fine if I had only the common sense to have padded it. Today, I frequently have a bipod mounted on my hunting rifles, or on occasion, I might use shooting sticks. But, if these aids aren’t available, I make do with whatever I can find for a rest. But if those come in the form of a hard surface, I only use them if I can provide padding between them and the rifle forearm. But as bad as resting your rifle forearm on an unpadded hard surface is what is even worse is to rest your barrel against something, unpadded or even padded. I can think of no better way to miss a shot than doing that.

When hunting in the Northern Territory of Australia for Asian water buffalo, a tree came in very handy to steady a shot.

Over the years, my collection of rests and shooting aids has grown substantially to include an array of different styles to select from. This includes various bipods, shooting sticks, monopods, and walking stick and shooting stick combos. Which one of these devices I opt to use frequently depends upon the type of game and environment in which the hunt will be taking place. But possibly the greatest hunting and shooting innovation of the last century is the firearm bipod. I have no doubt that these terrific little devices have saved many bwanas from the embarrassing laughter from their trackers and skinners. Bipods come in a variety of configurations and, when selecting one, it is important to think in terms of versatility. Whenever possible, I prefer to shoot from the prone position: to me this is the steadiest of all shooting positions. Unfortunately, due to excessive ground cover, the curvature of the terrain, or timing restraints, shooting while on my belly is not always an option. In those cases, it is sometimes necessary for me shoot while sitting. So I typically prefer the bipods that allow me that degree of flexibility. On the other end of the spectrum are the extremely long-legged models, which will permit shooting from a full standing position and possibly collapse short enough to shoot while sitting. But none that I’m aware of are capable of collapsing short enough to allow for prone shooting. The perfect models in my estimation are those that collapse to about 11 inches, but extend to about 25 inches, which I believe provides the most diversity for field use. You won’t be able to use these while standing, but all other positions are covered.

The Stoney Point Polecat shooting sticks come with a lot of convenient versatility for a hunter.

The steadiest of all shooting positions is the prone. Here, the Harris Engineering bipod has been adjusted to the shortest length to accommodate that position.

One of the first companies to get into the shooting bipod business was Harris Engineering. For many years, Gerald Harris has built some of the finest bipods on the market, and he continues to do so today. The Harris version attaches easily to the front sling swivel-mount of the firearm and then folds up out of the way when not in use. The company’s newest S series models make shooting on uneven ground and at extreme angles much easier because the design allows the rifle to pivot and rotate from side to side. Since Harris broke ground in this area, many other companies have risen to the surface with both similar and varying designs. There are a lot of choices available, but the features I have found most useful are the ability to shoot from either the sitting or prone position; being able to pivot or rotate; the ability for it to be quickly and easily removed from the rifle when not needed; lightweight; steady; ease at which the legs collapse and extend; having a sling in addition to the bipod; not requiring tools to mount or remove the unit; and once removed, having no loose parts to contend with or lose.

Tripods are now appearing on the scene, which are typically steadier than bipods particularly when shooting from either the sitting or standing position. There is even at least one four-legged model that would provide an even higher degree of stability but it is also bigger and more complex, which usually equals more weight and bulk. Even though some of these might fit certain limited types of shooting and hunting applications, most shooters seem to like the convenience of the bipods.

In our past, buffalo-hide hunters recognized the advantages of cross-sticks and commonly used them to steady their shots. Cross-sticks also have strong ties to Africa, where they have been used for centuries by safari and ivory hunters. Until just recently, these were homemade, consisting of three fairly beefy poles fastened together just short of their tops. In most cases, the professional hunter or one of the trackers would pack these until needed, then set them up to the proper height when a shot was called for. Today, there are a wide variety of commercially made shooting sticks available, many of which are lightweight and collapsible for ease of transport. Some are made of space-age thin-walled aluminum tubing, similar to that sometimes used for tent poles, whereas others are much stouter and, as such, steadier to shoot from. These are also available in either two- or three-leg models.

The Harris Engineering bipod attaches directly to the front sling swivel stud of the rifle, but a sling can still be used by attaching it to the bottom of the bipod. When not in use, the bipod folds forward out of the way.

Harris Engineering’s bipods come in various lengths and styles. Personally, I feel the best style is one that has the capability of extending long enough to be used in the sitting position, as shown here, yet collapses short enough to be used in the prone position.

MTM Case-Gard manufactures a diverse selection of shooting-related products, including plastic ammunition boxes, various handloading products, rests for benchrest shooting, and many other extruded plastic products. Deviating from the normal bipod and shooting stick style rests, MTM makes a unique product they call the MTM Shooters Walking Stick. This is a neat little shooting accompaniment that appears more like a walking cane than a shooting rest, but it comes with an easy to adjust shooting cradle that works for shooting either from the prone or sitting position. With a weight of only 1 pound, this product is both convenient to carry and, possibly best of all, it can double as a cane—certainly a great advantage when hunting in rough terrain. It is made of glass-reinforced nylon and will surely last a lifetime.

Which style of rest you choose will depend on many factors. What might work perfectly when on an African safari might turn out to be a miserable failure when deer hunting in the American West or hunting coyotes in the East. I suppose that is why my collection of shooting aids continues to grow even today. Innovative new products are coming out all the time, many of which are taking full advantage of the new space-age lightweight materials available today. For this reason, I would urge every shooter to carefully consider the advantages provided by these great shooting aides to avoid drawing love-sick hearts in the clouds with the gun barrel.

MTM Case-Gard’s Shooters Walking Stick can double as both a convenient walking cane and a shooting rest that can be used from either the sitting or prone position. A weight of only 1 pound makes this a great and versatile product to have with you on a hunt.

Shooting off-hand is usually the least, steady shooting position. Because of this, the author tries to avoid using it except when shots must be quick and at close range.

26. Influences That Can Hinder Accuracy

Obviously, to get a bullet traveling down a rifle barrel, the powder charge must be detonated. This is accomplished by the primer, which ignites the powder charge and eventually results in the explosion that launches the bullet on its journey. As this chain of events unfolds, it sets up a series of reactions that will have a strong influence on the shooting accuracy of the rifle. Possibly the most serious of these are the unseen but aggressive barrel vibrations that take place as this happens. There is no way to stop or control these, but they do have a direct relationship to how accurate your shots will be. As the rifle is fired, the barrel is subjected to two distinctively different types of vibrations. The first of these is called the fundamental vibration, which involves the muzzle moving in a circular, gyrating 360-degree manner. For the highest degree of accuracy, it is important that the bullet exit the muzzle each time at precisely the same point during this vibration. If the bullet were to exit the barrel in a chaotic or random manner at different points within that rotation, the accuracy would be jeopardized.

The other type of barrel vibration is called the secondary vibration, but that term is misleading, because both the fundamental vibration and the so-called secondary vibrations occur precisely at the same time. Possibly the best way to wrap your head around what happens in the case of the secondary vibration is to think in terms of a fishing pole. Holding the pole by the handle and twitching it up and down will result in a series of wavy up and down movements over the entire length of the pole, beginning at the handle and progressing outward to the pole tip. A barrel reacts in a similar manner when the rifle is fired. The breach end of the barrel is held rigid by the action and stock, but the barrel is free to vibrate and oscillate in this up and down manner. How violent the secondary vibrations are depends on a number of factors. For example, heavy or stiff barrels will experience less secondary vibrations than lighter, more slender barrels. This is why most target rifles possess larger, bulkier, and heavier barrels. Other factors that can come into play include the condition of the firearm, disparities in the temperature of the barrel, powder charge variations, how the rifle is being supported, and the relationship between the barrel and the stock.

If you must use a hard surface to shoot from, like this big boulder, it is important that some form of padding be placed under your rifle.

It might be natural to think that a lighter charge of powder, which normally produces a lower velocity and less felt recoil, would also produce less violent vibrations than those generated by a heavier charge. But, in the world of shooting, things are not always as they seem. Even though the lighter velocity loads might feel better on your shoulder, when velocities are reduced, it provides more time for the vibrations to develop before the bullet exits the muzzle, which can sometimes translate into longer and heavier vibrations. Variations from load to load can also wreak havoc on your shooting accuracy. Consistency in velocity will go a long way to produce uniformity in both fundamental and secondary vibrations and, in turn, consistent vibrations go hand in hand with shot-to-shot accuracy.

It is important that the twist rate of the barrel match the type of bullets you intend to shoot from the rifle. Rifle manufacturers typically install barrels possessing twist rates that they feel are best suited to stabilize the most common weight bullet for that particular caliber. For example, a .270 Winchester will frequently come from the factory with a barrel twist rate of one in ten. That would mean the lands and grooves within the bore would make one complete 360-degree rotation in 10 inches of the barrel length. That rate of twist is considered perfectly suited to stabilize the typical .270 130-grain bullet and possibly do equally well with a bullet weighing up to about 150 grains. On the other hand, if you are intending to use that .270 primarily for varmints with 90-grain bullets, you might have to go with a different twist rate barrel to produce the accuracy you are looking for. An oversimplified rule of thumb that I try to live by is for the best performance, shoot bullets that are commonly associated with the cartridge and fall in the middle of available choices. Otherwise, you might be faced with having to replace the barrel for a different twist rate.

Football players always attempt to throw the perfect spiral-doing so provides the least resistance in flight and the highest degree of accuracy. The same applies to a rifle bullet. Perfection in flight for a bullet would be for it to have an absolutely perfect spiral around the center of its longitudinal axis without any sign of wobble. Unfortunately, it would be unrealistic to think that any bullet could achieve that level of perfection. Every bullet flies in a slightly erratic pattern. When a bullet exits the barrel, it begins wobbling either at the tip or the base. This is called yaw. For the best performance, the bullet should settle down after traveling only a short distance out of the muzzle, then fly in a more perfectly spiraling manner. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. In fact, extreme yawing can result in increasing the barrel vibrations, disrupting the uniformity of those vibrations, and it might even result in the bullet tumbling end over end.

Many different conditions can contribute to the degree of yaw in a bullet’s flight. A bullet that is not suited to the twist rate of the barrel, that is not perfectly balanced or with other imperfections and defects, a worn rifle barrel, or a bullet shot excessively fast could all be responsible for increasing yaw. The ability of a bullet to fly in a uniform manner can depend on its balance and the rapidity of its spin. Bullets are never absolutely perfect. There might be slight variations in weight or deviations in its metal makeup, especially from one manufacturer to another. The bullets might be damaged, or they might have come from the factory with imperfections. If you reload your own ammunition, some of these things are controllable to a degree. A handloader has the ability to watch for any visible signs of imperfection and can also check for weight discrepancies. In these cases, if problems are suspected, the bullets can be rejected before being loaded.

Naturally, a rifle in poor condition will frequently produce poor accuracy. The condition of the rifle’s bore, chamber, and muzzle can all be influential in its ability to shoot well. The front of the chamber, or the throat, can become eroded over time. This is a fairly common problem, particularly in the case of ultrahigh velocity magnum calibers and for some of the high-speed varmint cartridges. Large-powder charges and excessive speed are generally blamed for barrels going south in this manner and, unfortunately, when this occurs, there are few outward signs other than a decrease in the rifle accuracy.

No one should ever get the idea that just because a rifle is new, it is perfect. I have frequently taken a new rifle directly to my gunsmith for modifications before I have even fired a shot through the barrel. This has included such work as having a trigger job done to smooth out its movements, removing any travel or creep, and lightening its trigger pull. In other cases, I have completely replaced a factory trigger with an aftermarket unit that I felt was better designed. I have glass-bedded the actions and free-floated the barrels and even had them re-inletted for a better metal to wood fit. Glass-bedding is an important consideration on any stock, whether it is made of wood or a synthetic material. Doing so will produce a precise match between the contact points of the stock and action, which frequently results in improving the rifle’s overall shooting accuracy. Several companies sell kits specifically for this purpose, and it is not unreasonable to think if you have only a rudimentary understanding of such things, you can achieve good results doing it yourself. A quick description of the process would include applying mold release to the metal parts you do not want the glass bedding to adhere to. Next, you need to mix up the resin with a catalyst and apply it to the appropriate areas, and then reassemble the rifle. After the bedding material has had an opportunity to cure, the stock can be taken off to remove any residual mold release and do anything cosmetic you feel is appropriate. Target shooters sometimes omit using mold release, preferring to permanently bond the barreled action to the stock, but for hunting rifles most shooters consider it imperative to be able to disassemble their rifles. Doing so allows a more thorough cleaning of the rifle, adjustment of the trigger pull if needed, and any necessary repairs.

A few years back, I purchased a rifle produced by a well-known and respected firearm manufacturer. After mounting a scope on it, it appeared that the scope wasn’t perfectly aligned with the action and the barrel.

I actually couldn’t believe my eyes and remounted the scope a couple of times before I finally figured out the problem had nothing to do with my scope-mounting skills or the mounts themselves. The factory had drilled and tapped the action at an angle. Needless to say, that rifle was immediately shipped back to the manufacturer and the company wound up replacing the entire barreled action with a new one. In another case, from a different but also reputable rifle manufacturer, the metal-to-wood fit was so bad that the action floor plate was unevenly hanging down below the stock. Rather than ship the rifle back to the factory for repairs, I took it to my gunsmith for the work. I wanted him to do a complete trigger job on the rifle anyway, and while it was in his shop, he wound up cutting down the magazine housing in order to bring the floor plate up to match the stock wood. That wound up cutting the shell capacity down by one cartridge. So, just because a rifle is new doesn’t mean it is perfect and can’t be improved. There are always upgrades that can be made to production-built rifles, and frequently those changes will improve the rifle’s functionality and performance.

Dirty bores are likely the number one cause for a rifle to shoot poorly, and when this is encountered, it might take some patience, a little elbow grease, and some solvent to correct the situation. If you believe your accuracy has waned a bit, it might be a good idea to give the bore a thorough cleaning before looking elsewhere for the cause. After that, if the accuracy doesn’t improve, you might be faced with a trip to your local gunsmith. And don’t forget to take your checkbook. In the old days, lead buildup inside the bore of a rifle was a substantial concern for shooters, but this is rarely the case today. Rather, that problem has been replaced by the even more stubborn problem of copper fouling. In order to remove copper deposits inside a bore, it generally requires the use of a solvent specifically intended to attack copper, like Barnes’ CR-10, or Gunslick’s Super Solvent. Frequent and thorough cleaning of the rifle bore, even when using a good-quality solvent that isn’t necessarily designed to remove the copper, will sometimes discourage the buildup to begin with. So, the rule here is to clean the bore frequently using your normal solvent and, at the first sign of a copper buildup, attack it with a good copper cleaner.

Many whitetail hunters hunt a lifetime and never have the opportunity to take a trophy like this one. Photo courtesy Howard Communications.

SECTION 4: TIPS AND A LITTLE ADVICE

Using a custom Mauser rifle chambered in .308 Norma Magnum, the author took this fine trophy Red Hartebeest bull, finally finishing him with a true trapshooting-style running shot.

27. Taking Care of Your Ammo

It was about the 1880s when smokeless powder began to replace black powder as the propellant of choice for small-arms use. This change brought with it tremendous advantages for shooters worldwide. The new smokeless varieties burned considerably cleaner and more efficiently, which resulted in less smoke, less fouling, and overall better performance. But possibly most important was the fact that smokeless powders were safer to handle and use. Unlike black powder that immediately explodes when it comes into contact with an ignition source, touch a match to a small mound of smokeless powder and it will only burn. I can assure you, the burn will be a violent and intense one, but it will not explode unless the burning is confined in some manner, as inside a cartridge case. When this occurs, the combustion gases have no way to escape the confinement of the cartridge, which results in the pressure building until microseconds later, the explosion occurs that sends the bullet traveling down the barrel to its target. Black powder, on the other hand, does not need any type of confinement for it to explode, and this makes its handling and use much more dangerous.

Not all smokeless powders are created equally in either performance or intended use. There are three basic types of smokeless powder commonly used today for modern small-arms ammunition. These consist of extruded or tubular, spherical or ball, and flake. There are, however, many variations within each of these categories, with some being better suited for loading rifle cartridges, and others more appropriate for shotgun shells or pistol ammunition. In selecting the powder to be used for a particular job, considerable attention is given to the speed at which the powder burns, or the burn rate of the powder. Even though there is a lot of overlap when it comes to powder selection, generally speaking, the powders with the fastest burn rates are associated with pistol and shotgun ammunition, and the slower burning varieties are more attuned for use in centerfire rifle ammunition. Many times, the appropriate powder for use in smaller rifle cartridges, like the .223 and the various centerfire .17 and .20-calibers, falls somewhere in the middle of the burn rate scale, whereas the larger magnums work the best with the slowest burning varieties.

Although the new smokeless powders are much more stable, reliable, and overall superior in virtually every aspect when compared with the black powders, they are not perfect. As such, a certain amount of care must be taken to ensure the best performance. And that care is not limited to only those shooters who handload their own ammunition. It applies equally to those who choose to buy and shoot factory-loaded ammo. To a degree, the burn rate of a powder is tied to the size and shape of the powder kernels, with the larger hunting calibers frequently containing the biggest of those kernels. Over time, excessive shaking and jarring of any ammunition can result in a breakdown of the shape and size of those kernels, which can change the rate at which the powder burns. Just as riding on a roller coaster at the local fair, there are consequences to too much jarring. In this case, it might show up with some really ugly stuff erupting from your child’s mouth. And if you are one of those hunters who likes to toss a spare box of cartridges behind the seat of your hunting rig or on the dashboard and then drive around looking for a place to hunt, over time this also could become a problem.

Modern smokeless powders are essentially made up of a delicate blend of two component parts: nitroglycerin and some form of cellulose, such as cotton or wood fiber. Recently, a major US powder manufacturer conducted a series of tests that explored how modern smokeless powder could be adversely affected by exposure to high temperatures. Many of the world’s conflicts are now taking place in arid regions where temperatures soar on a routine basis. The researchers were essentially attempting to better understand how those conditions were affecting the powder and ammunition our troops were using. Through a series of extensive tests, the researchers found that when the ammunition was exposed to temperatures in excess of 125 degrees Fahrenheit, sometimes very spooky things began to occur to some types of smokeless powders.

When heated, the deterrents can break down on the surface of the powder, thus shortening the life of the propellant. In addition, apparently the research showed that, at very high temperatures, the powder kernels could begin to sweat. When this occurs the nitroglycerin component in the powder will sometimes attempt to out-gas. Or in other words, the increase in temperature causes the nitro component in the powder to turn into a gas, and then try to exit the cellulose material. It seemed that the higher the temperature, the more out-gassing that occurred. Chemical changes like these can affect the level of chamber pressures generated when the ammunition is fired. But that isn’t where the story ends, nor is it necessarily the scariest part of the equation.

Cartridges stored on the dashboard of your hunting vehicle can be subjected to extreme temperatures that could have severe consequences for both the ammunition and the shooter.

After the ammunition had been exposed to the high temperatures before being allowed to return to a more normal environment, the powder didn’t always revert back to its original state. As the temperature began to fall, the gases would try to reenter the kernels of powder, but didn’t always do so in an even, consistent, and measured manner. As a result, when the ammunition was fired, some of the cartridges generated elevated chamber pressures whereas others seemed to not be as adversely affected. It’s not exactly clear why these variations sometimes occurred, but possibly some of the cartridges might have been sheltered more than others from the effects of the heat, or maybe it is the result of some other unknown or unrecognized anomaly. But why doesn’t really matter? What does matter, and is possibly the most unfortunate part of the whole situation, is the unpredictability and the lack of consistency that can occur when the ammunition is fired. At a minimum, due to the changes in pressure, it would be logical that the impact point of your bullets would likely be changed. But, what could be worse is the possibility that elevated chamber pressures could result in damaging your rifle, or wind up causing injury to the shooter or someone close by. The ball powders are said to have the longest storage life, but these powders are also more sensitive to temperature fluctuations.

At first, you might think that your ammunition would never be exposed to temperatures in excess of 125 degrees, but temperatures like this are more common than you may think. In my own series of tests that I discuss in chapter 24, “Is Weather Affecting Your Shooting?,” I found that when the temperature in the shade measured 90 degrees Fahrenheit, it produced a whopping temperature of 128 degrees in direct sunlight. Also, vehicle interiors often heat up to well above 125 degrees when in the sun with the windows rolled up. Think about it—if you are one of those people who likes to keep a box of ammunition on your dashboard for quick access when hunting and leave it there for extended periods of time, there is a chance the powder inside those cartridges might have experienced some degree of out-gassing and maybe even deterioration of the powder kernels from all the jarring.

Some of the powder manufacturers have recently taken notice of these temperature issues and have begun to produce a new generation of powders specifically designed to resist extreme changes in temperature. One such series comes from Hodgdon Powder Company and is appropriately called Extreme. These powders are single-based extruded rifle powder produced in Australia and have been tested over a wide range of temperature variations and are therefore more resistant to those swings of the mercury than some other varieties.

Far too many shooters and hunters have a cavalier approach toward their ammunition. Some expose their cartridges to excessively high temperatures as discussed above, others may toss their shells around not giving any thought to what might be occurring inside, and others might be subjecting their ammunition needlessly to cold temperatures that could result in reducing the muzzle velocities. It really doesn’t take a considerable amount of effort to protect your ammunition from such extremes, and by doing so, you will be assured of better and more consistent performance from it.

Both loaded ammunition and handloading powders have a long shelf-life, but they should be stored under reasonable and stable conditions. This means a cool, dry environment, out of direct sunlight and with relatively consistent temperatures. When stored under these conditions, you can expect both to probably outlast your lifetime. My brother once gave me some rifle powder that he had purchased in bulk from a military surplus store. It was of the 4831 powder variety, which was a great powder for loading a variety of standard and magnum cartridges. The store had a large keg of it and was selling it by the pound for handloading. I don’t know how much powder he actually purchased at the time, maybe 5 or 10 pounds, but the clerk weighed out the amount he asked for on a scale, dumped it in a brown paper sack and charged him 49 cents a pound for it.

That had to have been back in the 1960s, and the powder was surplus from WWII, or maybe even further back in the annals of our military history. I put the powder he gave me in a metal coffee can and used it successfully for many years until one day, I noticed some fine reddish-brown rust had started to form on the inside walls of the can. This is a classic sign that the chemical properties of the powder may be starting to breakdown and deteriorate. By that time, I only had about ½ pound remaining, so I got a significant amount of use from that powder before I had to dispose of the last remaining remnants of it. Another common sign of powder starting to deteriorate is when it begins to take on an irritating acidic odor, not to be confused with the normal ether solvent odor that is present in all smokeless powders.

As someone once put it: “If impalas were rare, they would carry the highest trophy fee of all the animals because of their beauty.”

28. Common Gun Storage and Handling Problems

Unlike most things we purchase and use on a routine basis, firearms seldom depreciate in value. In fact, as long as a rifle is properly maintained, it may turn out to be one of the best investments you will ever make. The good news is that it really isn’t difficult to care for a firearm as long as you understand two things: a gun’s potential enemies and what actions are necessary to protect the firearms from them. Most shooters understand the need to occasionally run a cleaning patch down the bore of a rifle, but equally important are the other gun surfaces. Many gun owners are under the mistaken impression that gun bluing provides a level of protection against the formation of rust, but the real truth of the matter is, bluing in itself is actually a very controlled process of rusting. When properly done, it transforms the surface of the metal into a brilliant and beautiful blue color, and once the metal has been treated in this manner, any further rusting that takes place is simply the result of poor maintenance, which and can in time severely damage the metal.

The trend today seems to be away from the traditional style of the high-quality gloss bluing and more in the direction of matte bluing, baked-on Gunkote-type finishes, and firearms made of stainless steel. In some cases, these new-generation finishes are less prone to rusting, but you should never be misled into believing that they are impervious to damage or immune to the need for cleaning and maintenance. Just like any gunmetal, these surfaces need to be wiped down occasionally to protect them from the many outside influences and elements that can damage them. A lightly oil-soaked rag, or a silicon-impregnated gun-cloth, will generally suffice for this purpose.

A silicon gun cloth provides an easy and effective way of cleaning away smudges and fingerprints from your firearms in the field.

Many shooters believe that firearms marketed as stainless are invulnerable to rusting, but that belief could not be further from the truth. A few years back, I hunted with a professional guide who was mistakenly under that same impression. His hunting often took him into the high country on horseback, where conditions were frequently damp and cold. On horseback, he carried his own rifle in a scabbard strapped to the side of his horse. Days and sometimes weeks would ensue without a need to pull his rifle from the scabbard and, because his job was such a busy one, he wanted a rifle that would require a minimal amount of maintenance. A few weeks prior to my arrival in the hunting camp, he had purchased a nice new Remington Model 700 stainless rifle in hopes that it would be more resistant to the effects of his environment. After only a few days, he pulled his rifle out to find it covered with a fine layer of red-colored rust.

He was so irate that he told everyone he was going to package it up and ship it back to the factory. I’m pretty sure, however, if he followed through with that threat, he was likely told to only take better care of his firearms. That story is certainly not met to impugn Remington or their rifles; any firearm, stainless or otherwise would have fallen victim to the same neglect. The reason it occurred is a simple one: The firearms currently being sold as “stainless” are not made of real stainless steel at all, and so they are just as susceptible to rusting as a blued firearm. It might take a little longer for a so-called stainless rifle to rust, but rest assured, the result will be the same. Keeping the metal surface clean and occasionally applying a fine coat of gun oil is the easiest method of keeping rust at bay on any firearm, stainless or blued.

Having blood on your hands as a hunter is usually considered a good thing, but this is also a vulnerable time for the finish of your rifle. Blood is extremely caustic and corrosive to blued and non-blued gunmetal. A splatter of blood or a bloody fingerprint has the potential to turn a nice firearm into a rusty, pitted mess in a very short order. For this reason, you should take every possible precaution to ensure that blood never comes into contact with any metal surface on your firearms. I like to carry a bottle of water with me whenever I’m hunting, not just for drinking, but also for rinsing off my bloody hands after field dressing an animal. Even then, I try to avoid touching the gunmetal until I’ve had a chance to return to camp and do a more thorough cleaning of my hands with soap and water. Keeping a fine coating of oil on the metal surfaces will help to prevent blood damage, but it is best to avoid the possibility of blood transfer whenever possible.

Oranges and other citrus fruits are a great snack, but you should always opt for other foods when you’re hunting or handling firearms. I’ve never been able to eat an orange without getting the juice on my hands and, like blood, citrus acid can have devastating consequences for a firearm finish. When it comes into contact with a blued surface, the acid can literally lift the bluing right off of the surface of the metal. So, enjoy your oranges while at home, with your firearms stowed away in another room, but leave them home when you’re heading out to hunt.

Even though not quite as corrosive as either blood or citrus acid, the oils from your own skin can also wreak havoc on the finish of your rifles over time. So, an occasional light rubdown with an oil-soaked rag or silicone cloth is always appropriate. For home use, I like to keep an oil-soaked cloth sealed in a small, airtight container, which I stow under my gunroom workbench. I have done this for many years and found it to be a great way to keep the outer surface of my firearms sparkling clean and protected. For field use, though, I prefer a silicon cleaning cloth because of its convenience. It only takes a few seconds, and all the smudges and fingerprints are wiped clean with the fear of damage put to rest.

A bloody fingerprint that goes unnoticed can result in severely damaging the bluing on a rifle.

But although oil is a great inhibitor of rust and corrosion on metal surfaces, the protection it provides doesn’t last forever. Kind of like me, the ability to resist the elements eventually comes to an end, and so it is with oil. Because of this lack of long-term protection, I believe some gun owners have a tendency to apply more oil than is necessary, which can create a whole new set of problems. In cold weather, oil can turn to a thick, sludgy mess, hindering the rifle’s movements or even freezing in extreme cases. And whereas linseed oil is generally considered good for wood, oils intended for use on metal should never come into contact with an unprotected wood surface. When an excess of gun oil is applied to a firearm, it can sometimes seep around the edges of the metal to wind up absorbing into the wood of the stock. This will eventually result in the wood’s deterioration.

Over the years, I have disassembled far too many older shotguns and rifles to find the wood totally devastated by the effects of gun oil. Adding further to this problem, many gun manufacturers frequently fail to apply an adequate amount of finish to the out-of-sight areas of their stocks, which makes these surfaces even more vulnerable to oil. Aerosol spray cans of oil, although convenient, should never be used to spray oil directly onto a firearm. That simply puts too much oil on the rifle. It is much better to spray the oil onto a cloth, and follow by using it to wipe the rifle down. Frequent applications of small amounts of gun oil on the outer metal surfaces of your firearms are a great way to protect them from rusting. But, just as with too much pie and ice cream in your diet, sometimes there can be consequences associated with too much of a good thing.

The hydroscopic nature of the dirt and grime can actually result in drawing moisture to it, which only further adds to the contamination problem. But even a gun owner who is diligent about rubbing down the outside surfaces of his or her firearm, can fall prey to problems because some of the most vulnerable areas of the gunmetal lie out of sight and, unfortunately, sometimes out of mind. It is always advisable whenever your rifle has been exposed to moisture to remove the stock to do a thorough cleaning. In the real world, however, that doesn’t always happen. Although not a substitute for a total disassembly and cleaning, a good way to protect these unseen areas is to apply a thin coat of paste floor wax to them. You should steer clear of any moving or working parts, but a little paste wax applied to the bottom of the barrel and possibly to the bottom of the action has the potential to provide a degree of added protection against the formation of rust. And, if you should find the hidden wood surfaces are lacking in finish, while you are at it, apply a few coats of some sort of hard waterproof finish to them.

Hunters frequently find themselves in areas plagued by nuisance insects, especially during early-season hunting. When this happens, it is common practice for hunters to apply some sort of insect repellent. Unfortunately, some of these products can be extremely damaging to the finish of your gunstock. I’m not sure what chemical properties cause this damage; I only know that they are real and should be avoided at any cost. Insect bites might itch for a short while, but having to refinish your rifle stock isn’t a pleasant thing either. The chemical reaction that takes place seems similar to that of paint remover, causing the surface to become soft and tacky-feeling. The most common means of transfer is from your hands to the stock, so keeping the repellent off of your hands will go a long way in protecting your stock finish.

Storing firearms in a moist environment is like hanging a sign saying, “Rust is Welcome Here,” but even in arid regions, the ambient air is seldom totally dry. Because of this, it is important to always allow the air to circulate around your firearms. Doing so allows them to breathe, which prevents moisture from attaching itself to the metal. To ensure proper circulation, you should avoid placing any firearm in a plastic bag or any other airtight container where airflow is restricted. If you store your firearms in a gun safe, you should allow them to acclimate to the room conditions before placing them inside the safe. And, of course, avoid putting any gun inside that might have been contaminated with moisture. For added protection, it is always a good idea to equip your gun safe with a dehumidifier, but a few bags of silica gel will also accomplish the same goal. Just remember that silica gel can become saturated with moisture over time, and when this happens, it is rendered useless. You can sometimes regenerate the silica gel by placing the bags inside your kitchen oven turned to the lowest temperature setting as long as you are assured of no fire danger. It might take several hours to completely dry out, but you will be amazed at how quickly the surface of the bags will turn wet to the touch.

Some shooters are mistakenly under the impression that if they plug the end of the rifle barrel, maybe with a wad of grease, it will somehow protect the bore from rusting. But, not only is this very dangerous if someone forgets to remove the obstruction before firing the gun, it will also likely result in increasing the chance of rust forming inside the barrel because it restricts the airflow to the bore.

The traditional method of storing rifles and shotguns is to place them butt down in the gun safe or gun case with the barrels pointing up. Even though this might be a more attractive way to display them, a much-preferred method of storage is actually the reverse. When rifles and shotguns are stored with the muzzles pointing downward, it allows any remaining oils and solvents to drain out of the muzzles rather than accumulating in the actions or soaking into the wood of the stocks.

I must confess that on occasion, I haven’t wiped my guns down as frequently as I should have, and I have paid the cost for this inaction. In one case, I was hunting on the humid, salt-infested Lanai Island in the Hawaiian chain. When I returned to my motel room, I was worn out and rather than taking a moment to wipe my highly prized rifle down, I simply left it in its case and went to bed. A couple of days later, I discovered the error of my ways by finding the entire rifle covered in a fine layer of red rust. I was fortunate that I discovered it so quickly because by using a piece of fine 000 steel wool, I was able to remove the rust, which I followed by applying a protective coating of oil. No pitting had occurred, but a toll had been taken on the bluing. I was able to mask the damage somewhat by an application of instant cold blue, but the restoration wasn’t perfect. It did, however, teach me a valuable lesson to not shirk my maintenance duties.

Instant blue is a great product, which has allowed me over the years to cover up many imperfections to gun finishes. I always keep a bottle handy for quick touch-ups, where maybe my rifle came into contact with the abrasive surface of a rock, or a drop of blood got on a blued surface and went undetected. Typically a bottle will last me more than a decade. In order to apply the instant blue, the surface must be totally void of any contamination in the form of oil or other foreign deposits. To clean the surface, I usually use a cotton swab I’ve dipped in rubbing alcohol. It generally takes several scrubbings before the surface is completely clean. After that, I take out a new swab and dip it in the instant blue and apply several coats to the surface. Immediately following that, you must oil the area, or rust will start forming in a matter of minutes. If the bluing doesn’t immediately turn the metal blue, you might not have done a thorough job cleaning the surface, or possibly the metal you are trying to blue is aluminum or another alloy that can’t be blued by traditional methods.

29. A Few Tips for Better Hunting Success

Shooting With Both Eyes Open

I would venture to say that well over 95 percent of all rifle shooters shoot with their opposing eye squeezed tightly shut. Even though this is common practice by shooters, it doesn’t necessarily make the best sense. When only one eye is open, it severely restricts the shooter’s depth perception, dramatically reduces peripheral vision, and thereby handicaps the shooter’s ability to perform. By keeping both eyes open at all times, the shooter will be able to locate the target more quickly and it will provide overall better vision. It might be difficult at first to break the habit of closing the non-aiming eye while shooting, but the change will be well worth it in the long run.

Always Check for Bore Obstructions

A blockage inside the bore of a firearm is a very serious matter. It is all too easy for a hunter to accidentally run the rifle barrel into a snow bank or into the ground, then not notice the problem until it is too late. If the bore is blocked and the shooter pulls the trigger, there will assuredly be serious consequences. The best case scenario is that the shooter will have some costly repairs to make to his or her rifle, but in the worst case, could mean someone will be calling for an ambulance.

Getting in the habit of shooting with both eyes open has the potential to improve your hunting performance by increasing your depth perception and peripheral vision.

Even a small amount of dirt like this can easily end in disastrous consequences if it should go undetected.

White camo is sometimes the best choice when hunting in snowy conditions.

I recently stopped by my local gunsmith’s shop to discuss some work I needed done. After a couple of minutes, my eyes happened to fall on what was apparently once a .270 rifle barrel, but now appeared more like a peeled-back banana skin. Obviously, such a sight captured my attention and caused me to inquire about what had happened. Apparently, a hunter had slipped, causing the muzzle of his rifle to go into the dirt or mud. The hunter had noticed the obstruction and thought he had completely removed it. He was mistaken, however, and when the rifle was fired, that fact became blatantly obvious. In a somewhat light hearted manner, my gunsmith simply said, “It certainly makes it easy to inspect the rifling, doesn’t it?” But joking aside, this could have easily resulted in much graver consequences than just having to replace the rifle barrel. The hunter was lucky he didn’t receive any physical injuries from the episode. He must have had a guardian angel sitting on his shoulder looking out for him.

A few months later, I was back in the same shop and again was shown a job awaiting repairs. In this case, it was a .22-250 rifle, which had a bulge near its muzzle. This time, the barrel had held together, but there was a noticeable split about 3 or 4 inches from the end of the barrel. Apparently, the owner of the rifle had forgotten to remove his boresight from themuzzle before firing the rifle. With the boresight still protruding from the end of the barrel, the rifle was touched off and, as they say, the rest is history. Fortunately, neither of these incidents resulted in bodily injury to anyone. Both turned out to be very costly mistakes dollar-wise, but that certainly is better than winding up in the hospital or, even worse, at the morgue.

This barrel demonstrates how critically important it is to make sure there are no obstructions in the bore. In this case, the shooter thought he had removed the mud or dirt that had accidentally become lodged in the end of the barrel. He realized how wrong he had been after he pulled the trigger.

I have become a bit fanatical about the potential of barrel obstructions and seldom load any of my firearms without first opening the action and carefully making sure the hole still goes clear through. And, if I’m hunting and happen to slip, I always take the time to unload the rifle, open the action, and peer down the barrel. Doing so not only makes good sense, it also helps me clear my mind.

An Item No Gun Owner Should Ever be Without

Screws and bolts have a tendency to work loose, often at the worst possible time. This can be the result of recoil, or in some cases, simply from handling and using the rifle. In fact, very recently I was taking part in an industrial shoot where various gun writers were testing new rifles and handguns on Wyoming prairie dogs. I’d used the same rifle for quite some time when I noticed that the scope base screws had worked loose. The rifle was chambered in .22-250 and was certainly not a heavy recoiling gun, but obviously the factory representative who assembled the rifles and scopes hadn’t taken the necessary precautions against this occurring. A very easy fix to this gun problem comes in the form of a tube of Loctite or Guntite.

By simply squeezing a drop or two on the threads of your gun screws, it will provide just enough resistance to prevent them from backing out. This is particularly important for the screws used to hold scope bases and rings in place. In a pinch, I’ve on occasion swiped a bottle of my wife’s fingernail polish and used it as a substitute, but the real stuff is better for this purpose. In the case of Loctite, there is a variety of different products to choose from, which come color-coded. This particular manufacturer produces thread bonding materials that are used for a wide variety of different applications, some of which aren’t well-suited for firearm uses. In this case, for the best performance, I would recommend staying with the blue Loctite, which is easily applied, and the bond can be broken simply by using a normal wrench to back the screw or bolt out. The red and green Loctite products adhere much more fiercely, and they frequently require the application of some form of heat to break the bond.

Applying a small amount of Guntite or Loctite to the treads of your scope base and ring screws will help ensure that they don’t become loose and back out.

The Much Overlooked Finger Position

With a close examination of the inside of your trigger finger, you will find the areas between the joints to be much softer and significantly more pliable as compared with the areas at the bends of the joints. This difference is important to shooting accuracy. When firing your rifle, the trigger should always be positioned directly adjacent to the first joint of the finger. Placing the trigger exactly at the bend of that joint, rather than the fleshier parts of the finger, will help to provide a smoother trigger pull. On the contrary, if the trigger is placed in the softer portions of the finger, this will produce a similar affect as having a trigger with a lot of creep in its movements.

anchoring the butt for Fewer injuries

There is nothing worse than having the rim of your riflescope come back and slap you in the eye. Frequently called Weatherby Eye, this usually happens when the butt of your rifle slips off the shoulder, allowing the scope to come into contact with your face. Like some of my other lessons I have come by over the years, this one was learned in an erroneous manner. I was hunting blacktail deer in Washington state with my young daughter in tow and was packing a .300 Winchester Magnum. My daughter wasn’t quite old enough to hunt at that time, but she always liked the excitement of following me around in the field. We’d gotten a few inches of fresh snow overnight which only added to the sheer pleasure of the day. After hiking about a mile into a road closure area, we spotted a herd of deer high up on an adjacent hillside. I got down into my favorite prone shooting position for the 200-yard shot, then placed the crosshairs just behind the shoulder of the deer and squeezed it off.

The positioning of your finger on the trigger can have an influence on the accuracy of your shooting. The trigger should always be placed in the bend of the first joint of the finger.

Immediately, I knew I’d made a mistake when the sharp rim of the Leupold came back into my face, and I felt the warm blood trickling down the side of my cheek. After making certain that my shot was good, I assessed my own injuries. Taking out my handkerchief, I attempted to slow the bleeding, but before long, my hand had become covered with blood along with the snow all around me. It is truly amazing how much blood can come from a seemingly minor open head wound. I really wasn’t all that concerned at the time and figured my injury amounted to more of an inconvenience than anything else. Nevertheless, the bleeding continued on for a couple of hours. What concerned me much more than my own gaping wound was the obvious fear my daughter was starting to experience. That one incident was apparently so traumatic to her that even after the passing of many decades, I think it still comes to mind every time she begins to squeeze a trigger.

The author fell victim to Weatherby-Eye, with the sharp rim of the scope digging deeply into the nose.

Frequently when scope bite, or Weatherby Eye, occurs, it is a consequence of shooting from the prone position at a target high overhead. In this case, the shooter may be struggling to get the butt of the rifle low enough on his or her shoulder for the shot, and if the butt isn’t anchored solidly, it could slip free, causing the rifle to pass under the arm of the shooter. Without anything to inhibit the rifle movement, the scope then is allowed to come back into the shooter’s face.

Incidentally a few days after returning from my blacktail hunt, I had a trap shoot to go to and upon entering the club, one of my fellow shooters laughed
and said, “I’ll bet you were shooting in the prone at a target overhead.” I had to admit, he nailed it. I’m betting he had at one time or another been victim of that same mistake. Once he stopped laughing, he asked, “Well, did you get him?”

I said, “Yep,” then picked up my shotgun and headed out to my post. The only way to avoid becoming a victim of Weatherby Eye is to always be assured your rifle butt stays well-anchored in the pocket of your shoulder.

Poor Shooting Stances

We have all seen them—a young shooter or possibly someone who is new to shooting who finds him- or herself feeling exceedingly uncomfortable with a rifle in hand. Sometimes it manifests itself in the shooter’s leaning severely rearward, apparently in an attempt to better support the weight of the rifle. Other times, the shooting stance might take the opposite form, with the shooter leaning dramatically forward so far that his or her eyes must be rolled high within the eye sockets just to look down the barrel.

Many novice shooters will lean back in an effort to support the weigh of the rifle, but this is a shooting stance that should be avoided.

Both of these positions hinder and restrict the shooter’s movements and abilities. I have, on occasion, coached trap shooters in the proper shooting stance and often found the same trends. Whether your game is shotgunning fast-moving clay targets or hunting whitetail deer with a rifle, both of these situations call for a similar shooting stance. For the best results, when shooting off-hand, the feet should be firmly planted on the ground, ideally separated by about 1½ feet and with the shooter positioned at about 45 degrees to the target. A position like this will provide the shooter the best horizontal and vertical movements, permitting him or her to swing smoothly and find the target quickly for the shot. Clearly, this isn’t always possible in a real-life hunting situation, but at a minimum, the shooter should be standing as erect as possible, or leaning ever so slightly forward and into the rifle.

Breathing Control

When adrenaline is pumping and your trophy awaits the shot, it is crucial to have control of your breathing. After climbing a steep hill to get in position, I’ve certainly been out of breath more often than I’d like to admit to, especially now that I have reached what some erroneously call the golden years. But, while it is natural in this case to want to burst forward for the shot, it is much better to take a moment to regain some semblance of composure and to slow your breathing down. The little bit of time needed to do so will usually benefit you much more than it will hinder your success. What works best for me is to begin by taking several very deep breaths before exhaling while concentrating on relaxing as much as possible. Once my breathing seems to have slowed a bit, I continue my deep breathing while I position myself for the shot. Once I’m in position and my crosshairs are settled where they should be, I take one more deep breath, let it half way out, and slowly squeeze off the shot.

Boresighting Without a Boresight

A boresight is a convenient and useful tool, but not every hunter has access to one. If you fall into this category of wanting but not having, you might be able to achieve the same results without the need for any tools. If your rifle design allows you to open the action and look directly down the bore, you should be able to match the reticle of your scope to the axis of the bore manually. To do so, you must be able to hold your rifle perfectly steady. Sandbags positioned both front and back will generally work for this. After opening the rifle action and, in the case of a bolt action, removing the bolt, you should peer down the bore and place the target directly in the center. Any type of object would suffice for a target, but it is important that the target you are using is perfectly centered inside your view with an equal amount of barrel showing around its perimeter. Once you have accomplished this, the reticle of the scope can be adjusted to align with the target. Just like using a real boresight as the first step to getting your scope zeroed in, you must follow this with live fire to fine-tune the settings.

30. Shooting myths, misconceptions, and outright Distortions

It always seemed to me that wherever shooters tend to congregate, there will be a lot of bogus misinformation floundering about. Even though diversity of opinions can frequently challenge a hunter’s mindset and lead to improving his or her shooting performance, it can also result in misleading information with no factual basis that works in the opposite direction by hindering a shooter’s abilities. Over the years, I have certainly fallen prey to some of these ambiguous accretions that later only proved to be false. In some cases, however, it took me years to expose them for what they were. If you will bear with me in this last chapter, I will attempt to set the record straight on a few of these erroneous shooting myths and misconceptions.

Damaged Bullet Points Can Severely Affect Performance

It is a common belief that when the point of a bullet becomes flattened or deformed, the performance of that ammunition will be drastically affected. This type of damage sometimes occurs as a result of the cartridges being stored inside a box magazine of a heavy recoiling rifle. In this case the recoil has a tendency to drive the rifle rearward, which can result in the magazine-stored cartridges impacting the front of the magazine housing, thereby flattening the points. Like many shooters, down through the years I had heard the claims that flattened bullet tips could severely hinder accuracy. But I eventually began to question how severe this problem was and decided to look a little deeper into the matter. At the onset, I thought it wouldn’t be difficult to establish one way or another if this was something I needed to be concerned about as a hunter. Unfortunately, however, sometimes things aren’t quite as simple as we first think they are—this instance took a considerable investment of time before I settled on an answer.

My tests took place on the rifle range and involved shooting ammunition I’d purposely damaged the bullet points of, and for comparison purposes, ammunition having no damage to their bullets. Four popular hunting calibers were chosen for the tests: .243 Winchester, .270 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, and .300 Winchester Magnum. For each of those rifles, I shot three boxes of ammunition, or sixty cartridges, with thirty damaged-point cartridges and thirty undamaged. This produced ten three-shot 100-yard groups for each of these categories and for each of the four rifles. To flatten the bullet points, I used a piece of heavy steel, tapping it against the points until they were severely misshapen, quite likely much more than would occur inside a magazine. The groups were shot alternating between the damaged-point rounds and the undamaged ones, allowing the barrels to cool down as needed between shots and with occasional cleaning of the bores as I felt was necessary.

Bullet points can become damaged as a result of the cartridges being stored in a box magazine of a heavy recoiling rifle. Even though this does affect the shooting performance of the cartridge, the consequences aren’t nearly as severe as we’ve sometimes been led to believe.

The accompanying chart entitled “Bullet Point Damage versus Accuracy” provides a complete overview of the shooting results. The chart shows the largest and smallest group in each category, as well as the overall average of the ten three-shot group sizes. Clearly, the undamaged bullets shot overall tighter groups than the damaged bullets were capable of, but those differences certainly didn’t justify the concern and hype this topic frequently attracts. To produce the data in the chart labeled “Overall Group,” I simply overlaid all ten three-shot groups in each category and for each rifle and took a measure of the entire thirty-round group size. By doing so, I thought this would provide yet one more point for consideration.

In some cases, there was a noticeable difference between the damaged and undamaged group sizes, as noted under the “Largest Group,” but that deviation isn’t quite so pronounced when we look at the corresponding “Average Group” or the “Smallest Group” sizes. One effect that I discovered by accident was the fact that the damaged tip bullets and the undamaged bullets seemed to have a slightly different impact point at 100 yards. Those differences are recorded in the last column labeled “Point of Impact Difference.” In order to produce those figures, I used the “Overall Group,” or thirty-shot overlaid target data, to determine the combined center point then drew a comparison between the damaged and undamaged cartridges.

The amount of deviation between the bullets possessing damaged points versus the undamaged points is not substantial enough to warrant most hunters worrying about it. There is, however, another factor that must be taken into account. A streamlined, smoothly tapered bullet will always be able to resist the effects of gravity and the wind drift better than one that is not. It doesn’t really matter whether the differences are due to a nicely pointed spitzer bullet versus a round- or flat-nose designed bullet, or that of a point-damaged bullet compared with to an undamaged bullet. When it comes to long-range performance and the ability to resist the natural influences, a streamlined bullet does a far better job. For shots in the typical 100- to 150-yard range, I wouldn’t give the condition of your bullet points that much consideration. Beyond that range, it could make enough of a difference in performance to encourage you to simply toss those cartridges aside and use them for practice shooting.

Bullet Point Damage Versus Accuracy

And lastly, there is one more factor a hunter should be at least cognizant of when it comes to heavy recoiling rifles and box-style magazines. Under these conditions, there is a possibility that a bullet could be driven deeper into the cartridge case from the recoil of the rifle. If this should happen, it could change the burning rate of the powder charge and the ensuing pressure levels. Even though I’m not usually a big fan of crimping the necks of my handloads, it could provide a degree of protection against bullet slippage in this case. The majority of factory-loaded shells have their bullets crimped in place, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to be aware of the potential problems associated with this issue.

Boresighting is a Good Substitute for Live Fire

No one should ever consider a firearm sighted-in simply by boresighting it. Using a boresight is an easy way to approximately align a new scope, but this should only be considered an intermediary step in the sighting-in process. Live-fire practice must always follow. Every barrel and every type of ammunition is different. Because of this, a shooter cannot assume that just because the crosshairs of his or her scope are perfectly aligned with the axis of the firearm bore the bullets will travel and impact perfectly along that same plane. As a gun writer, I shoot a huge variety of different firearms and switch scopes around so frequently that I think I could do it in my sleep.

To make zeroing firearms easier and quicker, I usually begin by boresighting the rifle. Doing so usually allows me to at least get my first shots on paper. But from there, it is always necessary to fine-tune the adjustments through live fire to get the shots impacting precisely where I want them to. After literally hundreds, maybe even thousands, of scope mountings, I can truthfully report that not one single time have I had the bullets impacting the bullseye precisely after only boresighting. In a few cases, I have even had to resort to moving the target up to 25 or 30 yards just to get the bullets showing on a paper target, so I could determine which direction I needed to move the reticle.

Using a boresight is a great way to get your bullets impacting on paper, but it should never be considered an alternative to actual live-fire on the range.

I Usually Have Someone Else Sight My Rifle in for Me

I have a friend who is so sensitive to the effects of recoil that he always has someone else sight his hunting rifle for him. Most people would never believe that this individual would have a problem with recoil. He is a large-framed fellow who stands about 6’4” tall, and he hunts and shoots trap on a regular basis. But when it comes to sighting-in his own hunting rifle, he literally cringes at the thought of the impending recoil of his 7mm Magnum. A few days before the hunting season, you can usually find him hanging around the range looking for someone to talk into shooting his rifle in for him. Even though this likely gets his rifle shooting close to the desired impact point, it falls considerably short when it comes to precise accuracy. You might think everyone sees things the same way when peering through a scope or through a set of open sights, but they don’t. I’m not sure why that is, but I have often shot other people’s rifles that seemed to shoot perfectly for them, only to find that when I squeeze the trigger, my bullets wind up striking the target in an entirely different spot. The groups may appear similar in size, but in some cases they are located at starkly different spots on the target.

If you are like my friend and you find yourself shuddering over the thought of squeezing the trigger of your rifle, maybe it is time to trade that gun in for one that doesn’t have quite as much recoil. If you are that fearful of a punch to the shoulder, it is quite likely that you will eventually develop a severe case of flinching, which isn’t a good thing and is difficult to cure once it has been established.

Even though you might be pressured by someone to sight their rifle in for them, it would be a mistake. Every shooter sees things a bit differently and for that reason, no one can properly sight a rifle in for someone else.

A Clean and Well-Lubed Rifle Is Always Best

Even though it is extremely important that every shooter keep his or her firearms in top-notch shape by frequently cleaning them, there is one time when total cleanliness is not necessarily next to godliness. A clean bore will often shoot to a different point than one that has been lightly fouled. In some instances, this difference can be enough to result in a hunter either missing his or her intended target or, worse yet, wounding an animal. I always try to keep my firearms cleaned and well-oiled, particularly when they are being stored over long periods of time. I usually scrub the bore thoroughly after each shooting session with a good-quality solvent. I follow that with a couple of oil-soaked patches, and then a dry one prior to stowing the rifle away. But before heading out to hunt, I like to fire a single shot down the bore to condition it. Doing so provides assurance that the first shot will always go precisely where I want it to. And, in most hunting situations, that first shot is the most important one you will fire.

There is no Difference between Factory ammo

Some shooters will arbitrarily switch from one brand of ammunition to another and from one bullet weight to another believing that all factory cartridges will shoot to the same spot. Some will even resort to simply buying whatever ammunition is on sale at the time. The truth of the matter is that every firearm and brand of ammo is unique unto itself. It is true that some firearms might shoot a couple of different types of ammunition equally well, and they might even put the bullets close to the same spot on paper, but that is an exception rather than the rule. Ammunition manufacturing companies use different component parts in their cartridges. That might include powders that possess different burning rates, different primers with variations in their flash, ignition points, and intensities, different bullet designs and cartridge case might be made from a different thickness of brass, which could affect the powder capacity of the cartridge. These variations can account for differences in performance and where the bullets impact on the target. In addition to these manufacturer product variations, a shooter also needs to consider the consequences of switching bullet weights. Even when selecting cartridges produced by the same manufacturer, bullets of a different weight will generally impact a target at a different spot. This makes it absolutely imperative to avoid arbitrarily switching back and forth from one type of ammunition to another without first heading to the range to see where the bullets will fall.

My Rifle Shoots Better at a Long Range

Occasionally, you will hear someone make the statement that he or she has a rifle that always shoots better at a long range than it does at a close range. Sometimes I have even found that these statements come from shooters who certainly should know better. I suppose that in some cases, those opinions were developed after once or twice successfully killing an animal at a long range, but to draw such a conclusion simply on that basis defies any semblance of logic. For example, if your rifle consistently shoots groups measuring, say, 2 inches at 100 yards, there is no way it will consistently shoot 1 inch at a longer range. Groups do not get tighter as the shooting distance increases. To a certain degree, you can extrapolate how a firearm will shoot at longer distances by simply multiplying the incremental distances by the group size.

For example, if your rifle typically shoots 2-inch groups consistently at 100 yards, you can figure roughly that it would equate to about 8 inches at 400 yards. It is important to understand, however, that there are other factors and influences that will have a bearing on the size of your groups, (e.g., wind drift) but certainly a group will never consistently get tighter as the range increases. Some of this misunderstanding may stem from a belief that the jawing, or wobbling effect, that the bullet undergoes will lessen in time, thereby allowing the bullet to fly truer. In reality, the jawing of the bullet might settle down a bit after leaving the muzzle, but when this occurs, it happens quickly and within a very short distance from the muzzle, and it does not result in the bullet shooting tighter groups at a longer range than it does at a shorter range.

ARs Have No Place in Hunting

For many decades, sportsmen and hunters have been under siege from the liberal establishment who have attempted to erode our freedom of private firearms ownership. Over the years, these severely mislead individuals have targeted a wide variety of firearms for removal, but most recently they have honed in on the AR-style rifles. For little reason other than the AR’s appearance, which they view as being sinister and evil, their attacks have been unrelenting and constant. But while this style of rifle was originally designed and intended for military and police work, many hunters have in recent years grown to recognize the benefits in ARs for hunting purposes. Personally, it took me a little longer than some to warm up to that concept, but my reluctance had nothing in common with that of the anti-gun community. For me, it was more related to the fact that I viewed myself as a traditional type of shooter and, as such, I had trouble breaking away from the time-honored, traditional beauty of walnut and finely blued steel. Another issue was that the AR was originally designed to essentially be a short- to moderate-range weapon, and was most often limited to being chambered in .223 Remington or the military version 5.56 cartridge. But today, all of those issues have been resolved, much to my satisfaction.

When private citizens began to see the benefits of using ARs for hunting and competitive shooting purposes, pressure was put on the manufacturers to build more accuracy into their rifles. With many ARs now offering chambering in such high performing cartridges as the .308 Winchester and others, it opened the door for more diversity of use within the hunting communities. And even to my delight, the ascetics have improved with some models offered in full camouflage patterns.

Even though there is little chance that the AR will ever replace the traditional bolt-action rifle as the most common choice for hunting, I can promise you that we will be seeing more of these modern-style rifles in the coming years. With improvements made in accuracy, additional cartridge choices, and the inherent versatility built into this style of rifle, the AR will be sure to grow in popularity throughout the hunting world.

My Rifle Was Shooting Perfectly Last Fall—So, We’re Good to Go

No one should make the assumption that the impact point of your bullets is a static issue. Just because a rifle was shooting precisely where you wanted it to a few months ago, doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be doing the same a few months later. Bullet impact points do change, particularly if your rifle is equipped with a wood stock. I can only assume that this is a direct result of fluctuations in the ambient humidity and temperature that affects the metal-to-wood relationship. Even if your rifle has a completely free-floated barrel, as the vast majority of my rifles have, changes can still occur over time, resulting in your bullets winding up on unintended areas of the target. As a result, I never head to the field with a rifle that hasn’t been shot recently. Doing so provides me a degree of assurance of success and gives me the ability of soiling the barrel at the same time.

CONTACTS

Alliant Powder
P.O. Box 6
Radford, VA 24143-0006
Telephone: (800)-276-9337
www.alliantpowder.com

***

Bell and Carlson
101 Allen Road
Dodge City Industrial Park
Dodge City, KS 67801
Telephone: (620) 225-6688
www.bellandcarlson.com

***

Brownells (Mail-Order Gun Parts)
200 South Front St.
Montexuma, IA 50171
Telephone: (800) 741-0015
www.brownells.com

***

Cali’co Hardwoods (Gunstock Blanks)
3580 Westwind Blvd.
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Telephone: (707) 546-4045
www.calicohardwoods.com

***

Cooper Firearms of Montana
P.O. Box 114
Stevensville, MT 59870
Telephone: (406) 777-0373
www.cooperfirearms.com

***

Coffin Gunsmithing, LLC (Gunsmithing)
375 Sweathouse Creek Rd.
Victor, MT 59875
E-Mail: coffingunsmithing@msn.com

***

Cryoplus, Inc. (Rifle Barrel Cryogenics)
2429 North Millborne Rd.
Wooster, OH 44691
Telephone: (330) 683-3375
http://www.cryoplus.com

***

David Tubb FinalFinish System (Bore Conditioning System)
800 N. Second St.
Canadian, TX 79014
Telephone: (806) 323-9488
www.davidtubb.com/final-finish-tms

***

Federal Cartridge Company
900 Ehlen Drive
Anoka, MN 55303-7503
Telephone: (800) 322-2342
www.federalpremium.com

***

Harris Engineering
Telephone: (203) 266-6906
www.harrisbipods.com

***

Hodgdon Powder Company
6430 Vista Drive
Shawnee, KS 66218
Telephone: (913) 362-9455
www.hodgdon.com

***

Hornady Manufacturing Company (Custom Reloading Dies)
3625 Old Potash Highway
P.O. Box 1848
Grand Island, NE 68803
Telephone: (308) 382-1390
www.hornady.com

***

Kimber Mfr., Inc.
2590 Montana Highway 35
Suite B
Kalispell, MT 59901
Telephone: (888) 243-4522
www.kimberamerica.com

***

Leupold, Inc.
14400 NW Greenbrier Parkway
Beaverton, OR 97006
Telephone: (800) 538-7653
www.leupold.com

***

MTM Case-Gard
3370 Obco Court
Dayton, OH 45414
Telephone: (937) 890-7461
www.mtmcase-gard.com

***

Nosler, Inc.
107 SW Columbia St.
Bend, OR 97702
Telephone: (800) 285-3701
www.nosler.com

***

Pacific Tool & Gauge (Chamber Reamers)
598 Avenue C
Medford, OR 97503
Telephone: (541) 826-5304
www.pacifictoolandgauge.com/index.asp

***

Pam Wheeler (Checkering)
P.O. Box 827
Stevensville, MT 59870
Telephone: (406) 381-1484

***

Redfield Optics
P.O. box 688
Beaverton, OR 97075-0688
Telephone: (877) 798-9686
www.redfield.com

***

Redding Reloading Equipment
1089 Starr Road
Cortland, NY 13045
Phone (607) 753-3331
www.redding-reloading.com

***

Remington Arms Company, LLC
870 Remington Drive
P.O. Box 700
Madison, NC 27025-0700
Telephone: (800) 243-9700
www.remington.com

***

Savage Arms
100 Springdale Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Telephone: (413) 568-7001
www.savagearms.com

***

Speer Bullets
2299 Snake River Avenue
Lewiston, ID 83501
Telephone: (800) 256-8685
www.speer-bullets.com

***

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.
411 Sunapee Street
Newport, NH 03773
Telephone: (603) 865-2442
www.ruger.com

***

Swarovski Optik
2 Slater Rd.
Cranston, RI 02920
Telephone: (800) 426-3089
www.swarovskioptik.us

***

Warne Scope Mounts
9500 SW Tualatin Road
Tualatin, OR 97062
Telephone: (800) 683-5590
www.warnescopemounts.com

***

Weaver Optics
1 ATK Way
Anoka, MN 55303
Telephone: (800) 635-7656
www.weaveroptics.com

***

Winchester Ammunition
600 Powder Mill Road
East Alton, IL 62024-1273
www.winchester.com

***

Winchester Repeating Arms
275 Winchester Ave.
Morgan, UT 84050
Telephone: (800) 945-5237
www.winchesterguns.com

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Anyone that has had the honor of working within the firearm and shooting business will be quick to tell you that the professionals within that community are likely the best people in the world. I’m not sure why that is the case, but I simply can’t say enough good things about the quality of those individuals. As an outdoor/ gun writer, I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to rub elbows with these fine folks.

It would be very difficult thing for any writer to compile the information and details needed for a work like this book without the assistance and support of many others in the shooting community. Those individuals take the form of friends and colleagues throughout the world, some of which are fellow hunters and others work directly within the firearms and shooting industry. Unfortunately, those individuals do not always receive the credit and appreciation that I feel they deserve. In a minor effort to correct that oversight, I would like to take this opportunity to pick out a few individuals to personally thank.

Pat Mundy, working for Leupold & Stevens in Beaverton, Oregon, is one of those rare individuals you encounter in life with which you immediately form a bond. Sharing a common interest in hunting, firearms, shooting and the fine optics that Leupold produces brought us together and helped cement our friendship. Over the years, Pat has helped me better understand the optics business and has been instrumental in assisting me with my projects. He is shining example of a hard working and dedicated professional in the business of shooting optics and I value his friendship.

It took me many years of searching before I located what I believe to be a top quality gunsmith. I found that individual in Dan Coffin of the Victor, Montana-based Coffin Gunsmithing. Dan I connected many years ago for the first time when I finally decided to build my first complete custom big bore rifle. While working together, Dan helped me to achieve that lifetime goal and we have been friends ever since. I frequently tell others that I have never given Dan a problem that he wasn’t able to fix and, believe me, I have presented him with some real challenges. In every case, he found a way to help me achieve my goals and objectives— and even bailed me out a few times when I’ve gotten myself in trouble with my firearms. After building that first big bore, a few months later, another followed, and before I knew it, I had about a half dozen Coffin-built rifles of various styles and calibers in my collection. And, of course, as any active shooter knows, there are always smaller projects that require the abilities of a competent gunsmith, and for that reason I find myself frequently hanging around Dan’s shop, pestering him for assistance. He hasn’t run me out yet, so I guess by now he calls me one of his friends.

To top off a fine rifle, you simply can’t do without a nice checkering job and that is where Pam Wheeler, of Stevensville, Montana, came into my life. Checkering was one of few jobs that my gunsmith, Dan Coffin, chooses to farm out, and Pam—being the expert artisan that she is—became the perfect match for both of us. She is absolutely first rate when it comes to the work she does and brings to the table a long list of impressive credentials and work history. Working through the years for many of the top gunmakers, even doing the checkering work for the late Tommy Seitz on his custom-built trap guns, Pam has added elegance to some of the best firearms in the country. Having dabbled in checkering myself, I can truly appreciate the job that Pam does and I am thankful that I never have to pick up another checkering tool as long as she is around. Most would only laugh at my checkering attempt, anyway.

I became acquainted with Tim Brandt of ATK a few years back. ATK is a giant industrial umbrella that includes many of the top sporting goods manufacturing businesses, a few of which include: Federal Ammunition, Speer Bullets, CCI, Weaver Optics, Alliant Powder, Blackhawk, Champion Traps & Targets, RCBS, and even more recently, Savage Arms. A large part of Tim’s role with ATK is to work with the media officials and, as such, he has helped me tremendously over the years. Not only is he a top rated business professional that does an absolute excellent job for ATK, but he is also a really great guy and friend. Whenever I need help on a project, Tim is one of the first individuals I call on. He is always willing to do whatever is necessary to help me fulfill my writing and editorial objectives and is someone that I can always count on.

Randy and Coni Brooks purchased Barnes Bullets in 1974 and still maintain a significant management force within that company. Their daughter, Jessica, works with outdoor writers on a regular basis and has provided me with assistance for many years. Aside from being part of one of the best hunting bullet companies there is, Jessie is a wonderful source of information and has always been helpful in my projects.

If you are a handloader, you know the name Hodgdon because of the fine powders the company is known for. And, if you are a gun writer, it is likely that you know the name Chris Hodgdon because of his knowledge and expertise in the business. Throughout the years, Chris has been instrumental in providing me valuable assistance pertaining to propellants. Unlike so many other handloading components, powder is complex in its makeup and, not having a chemical background, I like to have Chris at my side whenever questions arise. On various occasions he has been instrumental in helping me work through those issues.

To all of the fine individuals specifically named above and to all the many other friends and colleagues that must go unnamed in these short pages, I sincerely say thank you.

—Tom Tabor

INDEX

.03-06 cartridge, 52–53

.03-378 Weatherby Magnum, 91

.17 Fireball, 62, 96–98

.17 HMR, f69

.17 HMR model, 4

.17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, 69–70, 72

.17 Hornet, 26, 62

.17 Mach 2, 70–72, f70

.17 Mach IV rifle, 6, 20–22, f21, f22, 96–98

.17 Remington Fireball, 22, 98

.20 VarTarg, 96–98

.204 Ruger, 22, 22–23, 23, 61, 62, 96, 97

.22 K-Hornet, 23

.22 Long Rifle, 4, 63–64, f63, f65

.22 Short, 63, f65

.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, 45, 63, 64–69, f69

.220 Swift, 89

.22-250 cartridge, f52, 60–62, 89, 96, 145

.223 Remington, 3, 42

.223 Winchester Super Short Magnum, 73–74, f73

.243 Winchester Improved, 23, 55, 58

.246 Winchest Magnum, 89

.25 Winchester Super Short Magnum, 73–74, f73

.264 Winchester Magnum, 94

.270 Weatherby, 51

.270 Winchester, 55, 91

.300 Holland & Holland, 91, f94

.300 Remington Ultra Magnum, 92

.300 Ultra Magnum, 91

.300 Weatherby Magnum, 91, f94

.300 Winchester Magnum, f73, f92, f94
anchoring the butt, 180
as author’s favorite cartridge, 91, 91–93
and big game hunting, f53, f54
and bullet deflection, 145
compared to .308 Norma Magnum, 92–93
with custom forearm cap, 17
and damaged bullet points, 183
and deer kill, f150
and deflection, 145, 148
importance of rest, 158
for larger game, 7
and long range shots, 53–55
matching to hunting needs, 52–55
and Wilson barrel, 12

.300 Winchester Short Magnum, 53, 74, 91

.30-30 Winchester, 145

.308 Norma Magnum, f52, 91–93, 96, f168

.308 Winchester, 2, 4, 55–56, 188

.338 Holland & Holland, 58

.338 Lapua rifle, f57

.338 Lupua Magnum, 94

.375 Holland & Holland Magnum, 7, 17, 27, f27, 35, f55, 58, f58, 59–60, 60, 95

4 Criteria for Good Hunting Bullets, 78–80

.416 Remington Magnum, 95

.416 Rigby, 34, f34, 94–95

.458 A-Square Short, 34

.458 Express, 36

.458 Lott, f33, f35

.458 Winchester Magnum, 34–35

.460 Weatherby Magnum, 36

.500 AHR, 39

.500 Jeffrey Rimless Big Bore Rifle, f27, f59, f65, f79
and big game hunting, 29, 36, 60, 83–84
custom building, 25
favorite for dangerous game, 94–95
history of, 29–31
water buffalo kill, f31
and weight considerations, 43

.500 Nitro Express, 37

.500 Schuler, 29–31

.505 Gibbs, 37

.577 Nitro Express, 37–39

.585 AHR, 39

.585 Nyati, 39

5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum, 72

.600 AHR, 39

.600 Nitro Express, 31–32, 36–37, f36

.600 Nitro Express Double, 39

.600 Nitro Express Double Rifle, 39

.600 Overkill, 32, f36

6.5 Creedmore, 55–58, 94

6.5 Remington Magnum, 94

.700 AHR, 39

.700 Nitro Express, 39

7mm Mashburn Super Magnum wildcat, 91

7mm Remington Magnum, 92

7mm Winchester Short Magnum, 75

A

Accuracy and Velocities of Selected .22 L.R. Ammo, 64–68
accuracy considerations, 163–165

AccuRelease, 88

AccuTrigger, 88

Ackley, P. O., 19–20

Ackley Improved, .30-06, 20
action, rifle, 11–12, f12, 32
air travel, with firearms, 119–122, f120

American Hunting Rifles Inc., 32, 34, 39
ammunition, f170. see also specific caliber cartridges

Accuracy and Velocities of Selected .22 L.R. Ammo, 64–68
advantages of blunt tip vs. pointed, 1–2
for assault rifles, 3–4
caring for, 169–171

Wildcat cartridges, 19–26

Arino, Tony Sanches, 30

ARs. See assault rifles (ARs)

A-Square, 28
assault rifles (ARs), 3–4, f3, f4
and hunting, 188

B
ballistic coefficient, 78
barrel, conditioning, 101–102
barrel split, f179
barrel threads, cutting of, f10
barrels
contour, 12–13
cutting threads, f10
lapping, 13
twist rate, 12–13

Bell, Jim, 39

Bell & Carlson’s Medalist stocks, f85

Bell Basic Brass, 39

Bertram & Co., 31
big bore rifle cartridges
definition of, 27
big bore rifles, f27
accuracy of, 34–36, f35
custom rifles, building, 28–34
shooting off bench, f28
big game hunting, 58–60, 94–95, 114–115, 123, 142–143
blue, instant, 175–176
bluing, gun, 13, f13, 173–174, f174
bolt handle, f17
bolt-action rifles, 5–7
bonding, bullets, 79
bore, maintenance of, 103–106, f104
bore obstructions, 177–179, f177
bores, dirty, 103–106, 165
boresighting, 182
boresighting vs. live fire, 184–185, f185
boresights, 107–109, f185
break-open rifles, 39
breathing control, shooting, 182

Brooks, Coni, 81–82, 83

Brooks, Jessica, 82

Brooks, Randy, 81–82, f81

Brownells, 33

Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), 2

Bullet Deflection Test, 147

Bullet Point Damage vs. Accuracy, 184
bullets

100-grain Remington Core-Lokt, f78

120-grain Remington Core-Lokt, f78

150-grain Federal, f78

165-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, f78

165-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip 30-06, f78

180-grain Norma Oryx 308 Norma Mag, f78

180-grain Nosler Partition, 94

180-grain Nosler Partition .300 Win. Mag, f78

180-grain Remington Core-Lokt, f78

260-grain Nosler AccuBond, 58–59, f81

.270 Winchester round nose, f79

.270 Winchester semi-pointed, f79

.30-06, 39

30-06 round nose, f79

30-06 spitzer, f79

.308 full metal jacket, f79

.308 Winchester round nose, f79

4 Criteria for Good Hunting Bullets, 78–80

570-grain Triple Shock X, 34, f79
and accuracy considerations, 163–165

Banded Solid, 83–84, f83

Barnes Tipped Triple Shock X, f74, 75

Barnes Triple Shock X, f74, 75, 83–84, f83
best placement, 141–143

Bullet Deflection Test, 147

Bullet Point Damage vs. Accuracy, 184
damaged points and accuracy, 183–185
deflection of, 144–149, f146, f149
e-bullets vs. lead bullets, 82

Nosler 260-grain AccuBond, f55
performance issues, 77–78
price vs. performance, 80
quality vs. cost, 82–83

Retained Bullet Weight and Penetration Test, 148
trajectory, steep angle, 139–140
variety for hunting, f77
weather and trajectory, 151–155
bullets, dual-metal

Norma Oryx, 80–81

Nosler’s Accubonds, 80

Nosler’s Partitions, 80

Swift A-Frames, 80

Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, 80–81
bullets, lead free

Barnes Tipped Triple Shock X, 82, f82

Barnes Triple Shock X, 79, 81–82

Hornady’s GMX, 79

Hornady’s Monoflex, 79

Nosler’s E-Tip, 79
butt, anchoring, 180–181, f180–181

C
camo, for winter hunting, f178

Cape Buffalo, 35, f35
cartridge case, creating, f128
cartridge case, firing and resizing, f129
cartridge rim designs, f26
cartridges, 91. see also ammunition
big game, 34–39
centerfire, 95–98
choosing a favorite, 91–92
cost comparison, 70–72
factory ammunition powder weight, 130–131
handloading, 127–132
matching to hunting needs, 51–62

Realistic Effective Range of Selected Cartridges, 97
recycling, 63–64

Remington 7mm Magnum, 55
short and fat, 73–76
small caliber, 63–72

Standard Caliber Recommended Hunting

Cartridges, 61

Cartridges of the World, 28

CCI’s Stinger ammunition, 64, f65

Centerfire Factory Ammunition Powder Weights, 130

Centurion Ordinance, 72
checkering pattern, f14
chronograph, f64
cleaning rods, 103–104
cleanliness, importance of, 187

Coffin, Dan, 29, 31–32

Coffin Gunsmithing, 29
coil rib, f17
conditioning a new barrel. See barrel, conditioning
contour, barrel, 13

Cooper Firearms, 12, 22–23, 24

Model 21, f116

Model 54, f57
copper fouling, of bore, 104–105, 165

CORBON, 31
coyote, f55

CR-10, 165

Creedmore rifle, 6.5mm, f56

Cryoplus, Inc., 102
custom rifles, building, 9–18
advantages and disadvantages of, 9–10
barrel considerations, 12–13
choosing the action, 11–12
engraving, f24
finding a gunsmith, 11
finishing touches, 15–18
stock choice, 14–15
trigger choice, 13–14

CZ 550 action, 32

D

Dakota Arms, 8, 28
damaged points and accuracy, 183–184
dangerous game cartridges, f29, f30
dangerous game hunting. See big game hunting

Davies, Neil, 56
deflection, bullet, 144–149

DeMille, Dennis, 55–56

Dermody, Bill, f56
donkey kill, f74
double rifles, 5, 36–37, 39

E

Eastman, George, 45

Eastman Corporation, 45
e-bullets. See bullets, lead free
eland kill, f55, f58
elepant hunting, f38, 95
elephant hunting, f37
elevated shooting platform, f152
elk, 51

Emary, Dave, 55

Englert, John, f84

Englert, Ryan, 40
engraving, f24

″exit pupil″, 113–114

Extreme powder, 170

F
factory ammos, differences in, 187

Federal Premium factory-loaded ammunition, 4

Feldstein, William, 39

Final Finishing System, 101, f101
finger position and trigger, 180

Flex Tip expanding (FTX), 1–2, f2
fluid steel vs. Damascus steel, 45–46
flying with firearms. See air travel, with firearms

Freedom Group, 82
free-float rifle barrel, 85–86, f86

Frye, Tom, 45

FTX. See Flex Tip expanding (FTX)

G

Garin, Paul, III, 24–25, f25

Garin SureStrike System wildcat cartridges, f23, 25, f25

GCARBS, 24
glass-bedding, importance of, 165

GPS and hunting, 140
gun safe and storage, 175

Gunslick Foaming Bore Cleaner, 105

Gunslick’s Super Solvent, 165
gunsmiths, 11–12, f11

Guntite, 179

Guthrie, J., f57

H

Hagel, Bob, 91

Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders, 19
handloading cartridges, 127–132, f127

Harris, Gerald, 160

Harris Engineering bipod, 160, f160, f161

Hodgdon, Chris, 132

Hodgdon Powder Company, 132, 170
holographic sights, 117–118, f117, f118

Hornady, 1–2, f2, 22, 55, 56
humane kills, 141–143, f141

I
illuminated reticles, 116–117
impala, f172
injuries and butt anchoring, 180–181

J

J. Stevens Arms, 45

Jack O’Connor Hunting Heritage and Education Center, 91

Jamison, Rick, 74

Jamison International, 31

Jamison vs. Browning and Olin Winchester suit, 74

Jeffrey, W. J., 29–30, 36

K

Keith, Elmer, 19, 51

Kimber Model 84 Caprivi, 35, f35

Kimber Model 84L, 41–42, f41, f42

Kimber Pro Varmint, f70

Kindler, Todd, 23

L

Labuschange, Carl, 33, 39
lapping, of barrel, 13, 101

Leupold QR quick release mount, f125

Leupold QRW, 124–126, f124

Leupold scope, 2-7x, 58

Leupold Vari-X 3-9x scope, 54–55, f54, f70

Leupold VX-7 2.5-10x45mm, f113

LEVERevolution ammunition, 1–2

Loctite, 179, f179
long eye relief riflescopes, f115, 116

Lott, Jack, 35

M

Marksman Adjustable Trigger (Ruger), 88

Mauser rifles
bolt-action, 5

Model 98, 6

Maxima mount, 124–126
military rifles, 90
moisture condensation, 154–155

MSR. See assault rifles (ARs)

MTM Case-Gard’s Shooters Walking Stick, 161, f162
muzzle brakes, 86–87, f87

N

Norma Manufacturing, 31

Nosler, John, 80

Nylon 66, 45

O

O’Brien Rifle Company, 20–22

O’Connor, Eleanore, 91

O’Connor, Jack, 55

O’Connor, Jack, 91
off-hand shooting, 157, f162
one-shot kills, 135–138
optics, importance of, 111–112, f111

Otis Technology, 103–104, f103

Outers Foul Out Electrochemical Bore Cleaning System, 105, f105

P

Pacific Tool and Guage, 25
parallax, riflescopes, 115

Pendleton, Larry, f84

Pentax Lightseeker scope, 125
pests and varmint hunting, 60–62, 63–72, 95–98
pillar bedding sleeves, f85
predator hunting. See varmints and pests hunting
proof of ownership, 119
pump-action centerfire rifles, 4

Purdy double rifle, f8

R

“rainbow calibers”, 52
rangefinders, 112

Realistic Effective Range of Selected Cartridges, 97
reamer, f12

Recoil Eliminators, f86, f87
recoil reducers, Mercury, f16
recycling cartridges, 63–64
reloading dies, 20
reloading short magnums, 75–76

Remington Arms Company, 45

Remington rifles

700 BDL, 47

Model 591, 72

Model 592, 72

Model 66, f46

Model 700, 5, f5, 6–7, 95

Model 700 BDL, 96

Model Seven, 42

Nylon Model 76 lever action, f46

Remington Short Action Ultra Magnums, 73–74, 74–75

Remington Ultra Magnum, 73–74

Remington Viper, 64
rests, shooting, f157, f158

Retained Bullet Weight and Penetration Test, 148
rifle parts, f9
rifles. see also specific makes and models

.600 Nitro Express Double Rifle, 39
assault rifles (ARs), 3–4, f3

Big Bore rifles, 27–40
bolt-action rifles, 5–7
break-open rifles, 39
characteristics of a good hunting rifle, 85–90
condition and accuracy, 164–165
custom rifles, building, 9–18
double, 5, 39
importance of choosing correct model, 1
lever action, 1, 2
and long range shots, 187
myths concerning, 183–188
pump-action centerfire rifles, 4

Purdy double rifle, 8

Savage Model 99, 2
semi-automatics, 2
single shot break-open design, 7–8
weight considerations, 41–44

Wildcat, 19–26
rifles, collector value, 89
rifles, used, 88–89, 90
riflescope, long eye relief, 116
riflescopes and parallax, 115

Rigby, John, 95

Ruger rifles

1 V, 8

1B Single shot, 53, f53, f54

6mm, 7

Hawkeye, 42

No. 1B, 7–8
single shot, f60

Ruger’s Model 77 Gunsite Scout Rifle, 116

S

Savage Arms, 45, 56, 88

Model 11/111 Lightweight Hunter, 42

Model 25, 62

Model 99, 2
scope, adjusting without boresight, 182
scope mounts, detachable, 123–126, f123
scopes, 33–34, 43, 112–118
semi-automatic rifles, 2
shooting, both eyes open, 177, f177
shooting benches, f4
shooting proficiently, 7 rules for, 138
shooting rests, 157–162
shooting stances, 181–182

Shooting Times’, 74
sight, red dot (holographic), 117–118, f117, f118
sight choice, 15–16, 107–110, f108
sighting, for yourself, 185–186, f186
sighting-in, one shot method, 109–110
silicon gun cloth, f173
single shot break-open design, 7–8

Small Caliber News, 23
small game hunting. See varmints and pests hunting
smokeless powder, 36, 39, 132, 153, 169, 169–170
stainless barrels vs. chrome-moly, 106

Standard Caliber Recommended Hunting

Cartridges, 61
steep angles, shooting at, 139–140, f139, f140
stock choice, 14–15
stocks, synthetic, 42–43, 45–50, f46, f47, f49
stocks, synthetic vs. wood, 49

Stoney Point Polecat shooting stick, f159
storage and handling of gun, 173–176

Super Magnums, 94–95

Swarovski Optik R3-10x42mm L-Plex scope, f69

T

Tabor, Thomas C.

and barrel break-in, f100, f102
black bear kill, f142
and deer kill, f150
friends and kills, f84
injury from poorly anchored butt, f180
kudu bull kill, f92
marmot kill, 69
red hartebeest kill, f168
shooting from standing, off-hand position, f137
testing sight, f107
white tail deer kill, f135
wildebeast kill, f60
winter hunting, f151, f152, f154, f178
zebra kill, f53

Taub, David, 101

Taylor, John, 30, 36–37

Temperature vs. Velocity, 153
trajectory, and weather, 151–155
trajectory, bullets, steep angle, 139–140
trajectory drop, understanding, 52–54

Transportation Security Administration (TSA), 119
trigger and finger position, 180, f180
trigger choice, 13–14
triggers, importance of, 87–88
truck and winch, dented after hunt, 59, f59

TSA. See Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

twist rate, 12–13, 164

U

US Repeating Arms Company, 6

V
varmints and pests hunting, 60–62, 63–72, 95–98

VarTarg, .20, 22–23, 96–97
vermin hunting. See varmints and pests hunting
vibrations, bullets and accuracy, 163–164

W

Waffenfabrik, August Schuler, 29

Warne Manufacturing Company, 124–126
water buffalo, f144
water buffalo kill, f36
weather and bullet trajectory, 151–155

Weatherby Eye, 180–181, f180

Weatherby rifles

.270 Magnum, f12, f15

Mark V Ultra Lightweight, 42, f44

Weaver scope, f57
weight considerations, rifles, 41–44
white tail deer kill, f134, f166

Wildcat cartridges

American Hunting Rifles Inc., 39
and big game hunting, 36
comparison of, 23–24
early examples, 19

GCARBS, 24
improved designs, 20–23
reloading dies, f20
selection of, 26

Wilson Arms, 12

Winchester rifles

7mm Short Magnum, 51, f74

Model 1894, 1, f1

Model 61 pump-action, 65

Model 70, 5–6, f6, f7, 58, 76, 91

Model 70 Classic Featherweight, 75

Model 70 Featherweight, 42

Model 70 Super Express .375, f55, f58
problems with, 6

Winchester Short Magnums, 73, f73, 76

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