An older gentlemen that I work with is avid and hardcore into hunting shooting elk and many other critters on a yearly basis.

Though hunting is his passion reloading and rifle loonyism never has been.

As he's learned my passion for rifles reloading and such he approached me months before hunting season asking me if I'd work him up a special load for his favorite rifle a 300 win mag. Now you have to understand this fella has been shooting $60 a box premium high velocity deadly rounds so the task was going to be veddy difficult. After load development a series of trips to the range ensued.

Now you have to understand this fella though hes killed more elk than I could ever count doesn't know the difference between a varmint bullet or hunting bullet and the words bonded technology doesn't mean a thing to him. When it comes to bullets powder or brass words could mean anything in his mind.

Range results......in three different trips we first tested 100 yds 200 yds and then 300. Along with testing the rifle a few tips on shooting more accurately were included. On the concluding day at 300 yds with the barrel being layered to premium accuracy with just the right amount of copper jacketing he pulls off a group that he claims is equal to some of his best 100 yd groups ever.

Hunting results.....I get a call....THIS IS THE DEADLIEST AMMUNITION I HAVE EVER USED!!!! THANK YOU. I FLAT DROPPED AN ELK DEAD AT 320 YDS 1 SHOT.


I still remember at the range when he asked what kind of bullet it was. I looked at him and said in a professional sounding voice. This bullet is called a PRO............HUNTER 180 gr. Sounds......WICKED....he says, probably designed for professionals RIGHT!

I never told him the load is poking along at 2725 fps.

Shod

That's a funny story.

In the elk hunting club I have been a member of for decades I have done almost all the reloading for decades and I learned long ago that you concentrate on accuracy and don,t mention velocity.
for many years we have had a remington slide action in either 30/06 shooting a 200 grain speer or a 35 whelen shooting a 250 grain speer bullet as the camp back-up gun, both rifles have a long track record of bringing in dead elk with a single shot in the hands of many of the guys who grab those rifles to "change their luck" if they don,t see elk during the first 3-4 days we hunt, BOTH RIFLES HAVE A NEAR MYTHICAL STANDING,theres been arguments over who gets to use the back-up rifle some years! especially the 35 whelen, AND AS A RESULT THERES NOW SEVERAL MEMBERS WHO WENT OUT AND PURCHASED SIMILAR 7600 RIFLES IN 35 WHELEN
Ive always sighted that 35 whelen in at 3.5" high at 100 yards and just told the guys in camp its sighted in dead on at 200 yards, I try to never mention velocity (which is loaded to about 2450 fps)both those rifles have seen a good deal of use, no one questions their ability to bring down game , but id bet the vast majority of the guys have no clue as to the bullet velocity.

Interesting topic. In the past I have noticed that the many successful hunters seem to be less concerned about reloading, rifles and ballistics than many but put them in the woods with something that works and hits close to point of aim and they always seem to drag some kind of meat home. The "mythical standing" some guns get is very well earned. I have a whole rack of rifles but only a handful are my lucky guns. The older I get the more superstitious I get..........and during deer season I just can't take a chance!

The most successful guys i've known or met have all been handloaders at one point in their life..Lots of them have gone back to factory rounds in recent years,mainly because you can get nearly any bullet under the sun in factory offerings these days..

But, most if not all knew how to roll their own and make them shoot, with one exception.The exception is probly the best mule deer hunter i'll ever know and has been dropping monster bucks in multiple states since the mid 80's,he had his ammo loaded by a friend until recently.

Just more proof of the superiority of the 30-06 that you replicated !

Nice work; very nice!

My experience is different. Most successful hunters I've encountered owe their success to their hunting abities and are only moderately knowledgeable about ballistics, bullets, etc.

That is a very funny story. One of my favorite rifles is laughed at by all my friends because it is slow and not flashy. It is a Remington 7600 carbine in 35 Rem that I shoot factory Remington 200g loads out of with unbelievable accuracy. A few of my friends, and dad included, harp on me that I should reload to see its full potential. While I have recently come into some reloading gear, I won't reload for it. Those Remington factory loads have worked fine and I don't see a reason to reinvent the wheel. Slow and accurate works for me.

D

Geez Shod. Are you sleeping with his wife behind his back too

Just wait till he hits one a bit off, and its your fault your super load didn't knock it off its feet....

Good job though.

actually, the SPH in 180 gr was the most accurate of all the boolits I tried in my 300 winnie. Mine however shot right close to 3100 fps with the right amount of RL22 which I think is one of the best powders for the 300 wm. Killed lots of critters with that rifle, up until I started shooting them with 110 gr boolits out of my 6.8 at 2750 and found out it kills them just as fast and is alot easier on the ears and shoulder. That winnie was one loud mother at that velocity. I tend to lean towards the Accubond now. I would like to see what they look like but can't stop one in anything I shoot. The newer premium boolits can make about any caliber act bigger that it is.

I am throwing all other bullets away !

So basically he shot it with a 30-06! Cool

I like to think of it more in terms of...... he shot it with a load that would accurately shoot to point of impact at velocities that would enhance shooter capability yet expound the intended performance from the projectile. All inherent traits that come with the 06 and probably a large reason for its unmatched success

Shod

I heard a hell of a bunch of shots on opening day a few years ago and headed in that direction. I walked up on a grizzled old dude dressing out an elk on my side of a mountain. He had killed it in a rock slide from the opposite side of a narrow valley, but the shot was still one hell of a long way off. He had a box stock battered old Remington M-700 in 7mm Mag. He said he had been killing elk in that slide for 40 years. I ask him what his rifle was loaded with and he looked at me kinda odd and said...."bullets". Good enough for me.

Perry

Haha. Reminds me of a story my dad tells about coming to Dallas one summer with his parents and 5 siblings in the family sedan. Gets downtown and my grandfather rolls down the window and asks a guy at the corner, "Where was Kennedy shot?" The guys looks at my grandfather like he's the king of morons and says, "Uh...in the head."

Sometimes the easiest answer is the best one.