Ingwe"s Swiss deer reminded me of my first antelope. I was crawling up an easy rise hoping to get a shot down the other side where a small group of antelope were grazing. Unknownst to me they were walking up the other side, almost straight towards me. Well before I reached the top, a nice, younger, but very shootable buck sky-lined himself right in front of me at about 100 yards. He turned almost broadside and stared at me, and posed like a statue. I was quickly in a classic kneeling position to clear the intervening grass and low sage and the first shot went. Not a flinch or the bat of an eyelash of reaction from the buck as the bolt action seemed to operate itself, the cross-hairs settled and the second shot was off.
Again, no reaction whatsoever. My mind reeled as the bolt operated itself again. "I can't believe I am missing." "Is my scope knocked out of wack?" "Am I shooting at a phantom? Did I actually see the buck move before I started shooting?" "Could I be shooting at a decoy?" And then the third shot was on its way.
Again, no reaction. Three shots in about three seconds. "Am I shooting blanks?" "I give up! Lord, what is happening here?" The buck is still staring at me.
As I stand up erect, the buck slowly crumpled straight down in its spot. Very dead.
On the Campfire several folks are fond of saying we never get to shoot 3-shot groups on game. Well, sometimes we do.
Nicely placed on the chest were three 7mm holes in less than two inches. On the offside, three holes only slightly bigger, in less than two inches.
This occured very early in my big-game hunting career. I wasn't familiar with antelope, and I hadn't seen "statue-mode" before. Also, I expected my 7x57 to just "Knock 'em right off their feet like the Hammer of Thor" shooting the high-pressure Norma factory load with their 150 gr semi-pointed "Torpedo" bullet. After all, Mr Bell shot elephants with his 7x57.
That bullet would probably be good on elk. And before someone squawks about a sky-line shot, I was well aware of what was in that direction (wide-open prairie for miles). For you Easterners, if you haven't hunted Wyoming-type terrain it is hard to imagine. Like hunting on the moon, with grass and lots of low thorny stuff. And the only other human (or vehicle) within miles was my hunting partner well to my rear. Had he been up close to me he might have seen the first bullet impacting the hair on the chest in a good spot and been able to tell me to just take a couple of deep breathes and wait for the crumple.
Every hunt gives us another chance to learn something about our bullets and about the animals we hunt, and how they can react many different ways to the shot.
Nifty-250
"If you don't know where you're going, you may wind up somewhere else". Yogi Berra
Read it the other day. Good article, even if'n it was actually a thinly-disguised 250 Savage/257 Bob scribble. ;O)
Dube,
You saw that grin on his face with the speed goat, holding a Kimber Classic in .257 Bob. Like the cat that just ate the canary, feathers on it's mouth and all...
It WAS hard to tell that he was actually writing about the "other sixes" holding that Kimber...
Oh well...
Still a nice piece, that unfortunate detail, notwithstanding...
Fixed it. Ran a sheet of heavy stock paper through the printer and pasted it over P. 72. Now sez, "A Veiled Homage To Nearly Forgotten Quarter Bores".
Makes more sense and won't confuse anyone that winds up with this particular copy, years down the road. Yep. Looks just about right now. ;O)
Have had a 24" CM .257 bull barrel in the corner for some time. Could never decide if it needed to be a 250 Savage or 257 Roberts barrel? If it were a sporter barrel, one or the other would've already "happened".
If three or more people think you're a dimwit, chances are at least one of them is right.
243 for me. Wish Remington would make a factory 6-06 or the 240Bee.
Yea, the 6.5/06 and 6/06 are reasonable case/bore volume ratios; the 6mms have been popular for a long time now and the 6.5s are coming on strong. Either or both seem a natural. Too close to the 25/06 and the 270? Can't be-- there are plenty of sick people out here!
Glad I didn't see your article John; I've been thinking 6, 6.5 for awhile now-- whatever it takes.
Actually, I just bought a really nice little Husqvarna .243 from the Campfire. It weighs 7 pounds with scope, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it shoots. (I already know the .243 can kill stuff....)
I haven't looked it up yet. Whatever it is, it's been rebarreled with a very slim 22-incher. The inside looks good through the bore-scope, but I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
thanks dirt farmer,do i have to be suscribed to access the article online ? The only two articles i could see on there were an article about how bullets perform on game and rifle barrel cleaning. Craig
Love that 6mm Remington. Here's a shot of my boy with his first elk. Nice cow at 350 yards. The left shoulder hole is the exit wound from the 90 gr. E-Tip. One shot and she went about 25 yards!!
Mark it was a late night. Midnight to be exact when she was hung and skinned! Did it again the next night with a young friend of my son's who had never hunted before. He too got a nice cow!
John, Nice work on the 6 article and the scopes, too. I bet you pricked some hackles with that remark on L/R bases. Snrk. I especially cackled at the comment that the sixes zapped the 257s, even if it makes a certain amount of shameful sense. Still, the next two barrels on my "list" are a 6-250 and a 257 AI.
Up hills slow, Down hills fast Tonnage first and Safety last.