|
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,755
Campfire Regular
|
OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,755 |
So yesterday was the last day of deer season in TN (on private lands). I have been wanting to hunt my 95 year old German combo gun for several years (it's born on date is 1927). The rifle barrel is a 6.5x52r, commonly known as a 25-35 Win in the US. I handload the Hornady 110 grain FTX bullet on top of 26.5 grains of CFE 223 and a CCI 200 primer for ~ 2200 fps. I took this photo in the tree stand before sunset. Right after sunset I had 7 deer come right toward me, picked out a nice doe and downed her at around 40 yards which was just to the right of the fallen tree on the right edge of the photo. Rifle, scope, and bullet performed perfectly! The old Zeiss 4x scope with the #4 reticle worked like a champ in the dark woods after sunset. Top of the heart shot, deer ran maybe 30 yards. I had a Browning X-bolt 30-06 in the stand also, but using this old classic has been a goal for a while, it made the hunt that much more special. Unfortunately I didn't get a good photo of the deer because we spent a fair amount of time recovering 3 other deer my friend dropped out in the fields (west TN area has 3 does a day limit as we are overrun with deer). He said there were over 20 deer in the two fields he was hunting. Last day of the season is a meat mission for him. By the time we got back to my deer it was pitch dark and we were tired and in a hurry. We dropped the deer off with a family a few miles away, they were ecstatic for all the meat they were getting. I wrote about this gun here a few years ago. Bought it locally at an estate auction, it needed some work. Did not have a scope or mounts, stock needed repair and refinishing. I bought the Zeiss Jena scope from a member here and refinished it. Did some mounting measurements and bought a couple sets of claw mounts from eBay Germany. I used a mount from each set and hand fitted them to the rifle for a 100% solid and repeatable fit (at least 8 hours worth of work if I remember). Another member here gave me dozens of reloading articles for the round, many decades old but there was a newer one where the author worked up loads using the new-ish Hornady FTX bullet and CFE-223 powder. I have a fair amount of this powder and really liked the results I was getting with various charges I settled on a moderate charge as I don't want to drive this old gun very hard. No need to. It was a fun project getting this rifle working, now I finally got it bloody a few years later!
Welcome to TN - patron state of shootin’ stuff
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 17,805 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 17,805 Likes: 2 |
Nice! I don;t think they had many deer 60 years ago when I was a kid.
Molon Labe
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,849 Likes: 9
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,849 Likes: 9 |
Damn that is all kinds of cool!
DON’T BE TOO PROUD OF THIS TECHNOLOGICAL TERROR YOU’VE CONSTRUCTED. THE ABILITY TO DESTROY A PLANET IS INSIGNIFICANT NEXT TO THE POWER OF THE FORCE.
- Darth Vader
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 8,645
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 8,645 |
Yessir that’s mighty fine piece. Looks like your handy work paid off. 👍
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 141
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 141 |
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 11,331
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 11,331 |
I may not be smart but I can lift heavy objects
I have a shotgun so I have no need for a 30-06.....
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 546
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2020
Posts: 546 |
Thanks for sharing, very cool rifle .
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,062
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,062 |
Very nicely done. That is a real classic and good looking gun
"If you got it, you got it!" In memory of Pops, gone but never forgotten
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 17,746 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 17,746 Likes: 2 |
Sweet rifle, Congrats on the deer!
Deer Camp! about as good as it gets!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,755
Campfire Regular
|
OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,755 |
Thanks for all the compliments, I appreciate it. Forgot to mention bullet performance. Dead deer really quick, so in my scientific opinion it worked well . Pass through, so no bullet recovery. Seems contrary to modern opinion that a bullet needs to be doing mach 5, but 2200 fps worked just fine. A perfect .257 hole on entrance (really hard to see through the fur actually), guessing around 3/8" on exit. Good blood trail, even though I could see the fallen deer from where it was shot.
Welcome to TN - patron state of shootin’ stuff
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 243
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 243 |
Awesome job on both the rifle and the deer Cotis!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,881
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,881 |
Im.still at it until Mar 15th. Lol
HMM-161, HMM-364 Semper Fi Brothers
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,631 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,631 Likes: 1 |
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 4,897 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 4,897 Likes: 2 |
Love it when a plan comes together! Great story and beautiful rifle. Wish I had the skills to do that.
Some mornings, it just does not feel worth it to chew through the straps!~
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 50
Campfire Greenhorn
|
Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 50 |
Good job ! My first deer was a spike, shot with a 25-35 Winchester model 94, it was borrowed gun from my father's friend. Open sights, in PA late 50's, my first deer.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 415
Campfire Member
|
Campfire Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 415 |
late because I missed the original post, but cotis that is very cool!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 17,853 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 17,853 Likes: 2 |
Uber neat rifle and story, I bought an Oberndorf Mauser several years ago that had claw mount bases on it. I made the claw mount to fit, this involved many hours of trial and error fitting but the end result was well worth the effort.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,696 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,696 Likes: 1 |
____________________________________________________________ Dying gets closer every day
Lloyd McCarter and the Honky Tonk Revival
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,148
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 3,148 |
So yesterday was the last day of deer season in TN (on private lands). I have been wanting to hunt my 95 year old German combo gun for several years (it's born on date is 1927). The rifle barrel is a 6.5x52r, commonly known as a 25-35 Win in the US. I handload the Hornady 110 grain FTX bullet on top of 26.5 grains of CFE 223 and a CCI 200 primer for ~ 2200 fps. I took this photo in the tree stand before sunset. Right after sunset I had 7 deer come right toward me, picked out a nice doe and downed her at around 40 yards which was just to the right of the fallen tree on the right edge of the photo. Rifle, scope, and bullet performed perfectly! The old Zeiss 4x scope with the #4 reticle worked like a champ in the dark woods after sunset. Top of the heart shot, deer ran maybe 30 yards. I had a Browning X-bolt 30-06 in the stand also, but using this old classic has been a goal for a while, it made the hunt that much more special. Unfortunately I didn't get a good photo of the deer because we spent a fair amount of time recovering 3 other deer my friend dropped out in the fields (west TN area has 3 does a day limit as we are overrun with deer). He said there were over 20 deer in the two fields he was hunting. Last day of the season is a meat mission for him. By the time we got back to my deer it was pitch dark and we were tired and in a hurry. We dropped the deer off with a family a few miles away, they were ecstatic for all the meat they were getting. I wrote about this gun here a few years ago. Bought it locally at an estate auction, it needed some work. Did not have a scope or mounts, stock needed repair and refinishing. I bought the Zeiss Jena scope from a member here and refinished it. Did some mounting measurements and bought a couple sets of claw mounts from eBay Germany. I used a mount from each set and hand fitted them to the rifle for a 100% solid and repeatable fit (at least 8 hours worth of work if I remember). Another member here gave me dozens of reloading articles for the round, many decades old but there was a newer one where the author worked up loads using the new-ish Hornady FTX bullet and CFE-223 powder. I have a fair amount of this powder and really liked the results I was getting with various charges I settled on a moderate charge as I don't want to drive this old gun very hard. No need to. It was a fun project getting this rifle working, now I finally got it bloody a few years later! great gun, found a 25-35 over 20ga, only thing that stopped me...$8995.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,755
Campfire Regular
|
OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 2,755 |
The gun in the photos is a 20 gauge over 6.5x52r. The Germans know how to do it, I patterned the shotgun barrel with the rifle sights one day and the darn thing shot EXACTLY to the point of aim at 35 yards on a patterning board. And it was TIGHT, like all pellets within 24" at that distance. I can smash the heck out of clays on the trap range with it. Would hate to shoot skeet with it though I paid much less for mine, remove one of the 9's from your price
Welcome to TN - patron state of shootin’ stuff
|
|
|
|
641 members (160user, 12344mag, 10gaugemag, 06hunter59, 16gage, 12savage, 67 invisible),
2,867
guests, and
1,312
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,193,644
Posts18,512,394
Members74,010
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|