Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting .277 Matrix Bullets... wow!

Form, the range I go to most often goes to 434 yds with steel. One of my fav drills is to hit the turf with 3 down, get in behind the rig (7 Mashburn Super with dotz to 700 in a 4-14 Leo) and hit the gong 3x's as fast as I can work the bolt.

My goal...was to have the 2nd round off b4 the sound of the 1st round got to me. Couldn't quite do it, however the 2nd or 3rd round but was close enough that any game would of felt like it was getting rabbit punched....grin

If I recall right the time for the drill was along the lines of 10 seconds. But, I wasn't ranging it as I already knew the range and I had dotz which elimanates one movement.

The barrel on this rig is roasted (this is the 8th tube) but I'll see if it has one more range time in it. Can't guarantee the grouping with it as it's really far gone.

The 7 Mashburn has enough bump to it that it can and does move me off target and it takes a skosh to reaquire. I'll do the test with my flyweight .260 as well.

Back when I was guiding I could always tell the natural born killers by watching them in the presence of game. The NBK's would be looking for a "nest" as soon as they saw the game they wanted to kill. The others, they'd be gawking around, and looking at the animal while it was making plans to go elsewhere. The NBK's would generally have the critter on the ground b4 the others thought about getting into the game.

Fun stuff

Dober

Side note, I've long believed that pretty much all rounds and shooters are equal to 300 yds.

I couldn't agree more.

Pops was telling me the other day about when he was guiding a bunch, he and the other guides would each ask the hunters what they were shooting. Dad said that he would always try and grab the guys with the beat up 270s and 308s, because they almost always knew how to shoot 'em and how to drop down and start putting lead on fur. One gal he guided took a bull at around 500yds with a 308.

Now if we could get manufactures to offer twist appropriate for all the new bullets we would be in business. It still kills me to see brand new guns that need to be rebarreled to use the best bullet weights.

Just measured my Tikka with the cleaning rod method and Im looking right at 10" on the twist, hope the 165 matrix will stabilize.

What's your elevation?

Right now its about 8ft and the surf looks nice but in a month I will be in Billings.

You suck man! That's awesome. I'd say you'll be okay stabilizing up there.

Just got in from a drive to look at some whitey's a ton load of pheasants and some geese.

And, we stopped at the range. Now I cheated as I knew the range to the gong (434) but I had my wife time me 3x's (hope that sounds ok...grin). I used my Zebra gun (700 Mtn .260 with a 2-8 Leo and M1) along with 130 Bergers and 45/H4350.

First go was 10 seconds, a bit rusty after a long winter and I'm sore as heck from laying sod for 3 hours the other night and moving a bit slow. Next two times were 6 seconds and 7 seconds(once again I hope that sounds ok...grin). Certainly along ways from what others can do but fast enough for the critters I'm a hunting. I should qualify it with an I also cheated as I started from my knees as my backs a bit tweakish and am moving real slow (sod work, ugh...). Thinking it'd be about a wash though if I wasn't beat up and moving slowly vs being good to go and hitting the turf from a standing.

Nice thing about the 6.5 Panther vs my Mashburn is the rig bounces less off target and it's quicker to reaquire and drop the hammer.

I'll do some more this summer and will report on it after the spring bruin season is over. Have bigger feesh to fry now.

Dober

Here's the rig, and thx to Ingwe for the paint job and to SU35 and Scenar for talking me into giving the .260 a go. Fun round to roll with.

Dober

Poor wifey, 10 seconds and less!

By my way of thinking, that's super fast to get 3 rounds on target at over 400 yards! Awesome stuff man! 6.5 Panther just your nickname for the 260?

After dumping a few animals with it you will retire that big 7;)

Dober I tried Formidilosis' test and was about 10-11 from standing,out of the pack a single shot from 300(all I could get that day)...although the last shot with the Mashburn was gone in 7-8.Getting out of the pack and into the dirt took about half the time.How fast I was from there depended on getting lined out to the target.

I could never do it in that time if I had to twist a turret; I doubt I'd be fast enough.

There's one place reticles shine. A participant on this thread has a good tale of where a reticle was almost too slow and a turret would have been too slow... but I'm sworn to secrecy. Maybe he will share it.

Bob I bet I could learn a ton from you about getting a shot off fast at mid-ranges. I really need to put some work into that. Maybe it's time for a walk with the .223 again.

I got run off my 450-500 yard spot for a while- they are going to be doing dome work in those cuts, the guy said- which sucks, but it'll kick me out of my comfort zone and get me working on those shorter shots FAST and also I can get back to my longer-range plates. I've been working on trying to get my group size at 450 where I want it (really battling a flinch post-concussion, dammit) but the reality is, as you've said many times, there's huge hunting utility in a 250-350 yard shot that's FAST and "good enough".

You're right Bob having to twist would challenge being sub 10 on a consistent basis for me as well. This is one place where dotz absolutely would rule if trying to shave 2 or 3 seconds.

But, I'm spending some time twisting and it's been kind of fun.

Maybe a better way to play this game would be to range, hit the turf and then shoot one round. In no particular order...

Tanner, nope the Panther isn't my nickname you young pup...grin. Think writer for OL since about 1979 or so. Course you weren't even around then.

BigGameRS- not sure I'd go that far but it's gonna be a fun year with it anyway. If we work at it I spect 20 or so will hit the dust via the Zebra this year. I spect if we do our job it'll do it's just fine.

By the way, where did Formid go?

Woke up thinking about a similar test to play with using my 77/22 and maybe 50 yds? What are your boyz thoughts?

Dober

Jeff/Dober: We're hijacking Tanner's thread but don't think he will mind...

I sent Formid the pictures of my targets, described how I di it,and he told me anything under 15 seconds is "very good",and his best shooters do 8-10 dialing at 350-400 yards.Being completely unfamiliar with turret twisting I could never pull it off in that time frame.

Formid may see this and come on to comment but IIRC he said everyone seems to think they are faster than they are;but when they get timed he has seen some run up to 2 minutes to range,dial and shoot.

The timing thing was new to me but not the method because that is how I always shoot at 300-400....no rear support and rifle cradled over something in my left hand.Going fast to the count was the new thing...the clock exerted constructive tension.

I found the exercise useful and fun,a good break from the leisurely approach and very telling.And more in line with what I have bumped into in a lot of mule deer country,especially chasing the fully grown ones,which seem never to be far from cover,and seem to have a bigger "danger detection zone" than immature deer.

Dober back here(like in Minnesotta)whether it is grouse or deer,there is a bit of a premium in fast off hand shooting(if one hunts from the ground)because game is encountered unexpectedly with little warning,and swallowed up quickly in cover....so yeah we practice it some, more so in years past...

I set little animal sillouettes on paper targets at 50 yards and practice shooting them off hand with a 22 Rimfire.Only chest cavity hits "count",and this is not as easy as it sounds. 100-200 rounds of this kind of thing will leave you surprisingly worn out from concentrating.It is a bit sobering when you start,because for me it shows how much I suck

But as you keep going you can see the improvement in speed and accuracy.Weekly sessions like this and a deer at 100-even 150 yards, off hand,can become a sure thing.

Jeff IMHO ALL trigger time is good,but shooting the intermediate distances from less than rock solid positions in reasonable time,and becoming reasonably good at it requires round count too.....challenge yourself a bit and rather than run to your comfort zone positions,set up a plain 10" bull at 200 yards,and shoot it off hand....then from the sit unaided except for knee support.After a seesion or two doing things like that,you will conclude quickly that shooting with a fully supported rifle is only part of a practice regimen.A 223 is your friend for this stuff....and for the longer stuff, too.

People avoid doing this stuff because the results are not nice,"pretty" groups.

This thread is good now, I'm just reading and learning Sunday A.M. I am going to go do some practice like this!

Jealous, Tanner. I'm on my honeymoon, and would just as soon be going shooting with you.

Congrats pal! Hope you're having a blast somewhere warm and sandy! Shooting is going to have to wait til tomorrow for sure, working the damn 10:00-6:00 today.

KDK: Congrats!

Thanks, guys. Warm? Yes. Sandy? Not so much. Lake Tahoe is awful nice, though.