Review: Heym SR30 Pt2

My Heym has been sitting at the back of the cabinet for a while. Not for lack of love. But I will admit some sentimentality has been creeping into my game.

Any shooting dad would like to gift a precision rifle to the offspring, but in their aluminium chassis' they're no heirloom. They have the accuracy but not the vibe. Picture the scene if you will.

Sometime in the future, hopefully a long time in the future. I've joined the choir invisible. It's the day after the wake, the b'tweeded ghillie (replete with splendid whiskers, smelling slightly of; Islay Malts, RS62, and mothballs) will stand solemnly by the fireplace, fighting back the tears, he cant very well hand a PRS rifle to James Bond my progeny with the words "This was your father's hunting rifle".  For that it's got to be wood and blued steel, so he can gruffly add 'an elegant weapon for a more civilised age'.

Elegant is as elegant does, you can keep your fine scroll work and your exhibition grade woodwork, the real elegance is simplicity, where less yields more. The SR30 is a stunningly simple straight pull action, probably the most elegant design yet, mine sits in a nimble Bavarian stock of modest 'expedition grade' timber.

Back in the mid 80's Peter Fortner was tying on a few cold ones with his friend Peter Angerer who had just taken gold in the Biathlon at the winter olympics.
Angerer lamented that the equipment available wasn't giving him much of an advantage over the Russians. Taking notes on a napkin, Fortner set about tilting the playing field in his friends favour.  Intending to design a faster action, by serendipity he also designed a stronger action.
The strongest possible shape is a sphere and here six of them are the lugs. You get an incredibly strong and precise, self-centring lock-up. So strong that Heym certify that the SR 30 has been tested by the Suhl proof house to 116,030 psi or 8,000 bar.
Wonder what that looks like? So did the guys at Norhunt.no


Using a .30-06 calculated according to Hartmut Brömels QuickLoadat 10,000 bar peak gas pressure the following experimental setup was used to fire a Heym SR30N straight-pull repeating rifle and the effects of this excess force photographed. Although the bolt did not withstand the force unharmed, even with this amount of force the bolt was not ejected to the back into the shooter’s face. 
Full story HERE.

My SR30 came preloved in .243 with a 1/10 twist and never liked 100gr bullets, at 23 inches the barrel is more hill-rifle than woodland-stalker. I washed a lot of copper out of it which helped, I considered chopping a couple of inches off the end but when I took a look though a borescope I abandoned hope. Time for a new barrel and a change of chambering to shoot lead free 6.5's. Since the Creedmoor craze/revolution of the last ten years shows no sign of abating, every gun shop now has new rifles so chambered, I'm confident that factory ammunition will be as ubiquitous as .308 and end up replacing .243.

Barrels and Baffles are like Tyres and Brakes, the more fun you have, the more frequently you have to replace them. 

I needed to engage the services of a gunsmith and buy a barrel. And there hangs a tale, a pretty sorry tale at that. For readers in The US of A. I know this next bit will stretch your credulity, but I promise you this all happened.
The greatest impediment to shooting sports in the UK isn't the government and the vegans, its the gun trade. From the importers, to people I know and consider friends, there's a surly malaise. Its literally as though they don't want your money. Everything is too much trouble.

Our slang term for gunsmith is Gun Plumber, the 'plumber' bit presumably inspired by their reluctance to answer the telephone, or on the rare occasion that they do, to give even the vaguest idea of when they might be able to 'fit you in'.

The obvious choice begrudgingly agreed that yes he could source a barrel for me from Heym, with a timeframe extending into, and possibly beyond, three months. His price?  Almost two thirds of the list price of a brand new SR30. Nothing like supporting the brand.

For 30% less the well-regarded F1 engineer, who specifies a high end stainless steel barrel, would take a look, I was welcome to visit, but no timeframe could be offered.

Top boy in the north was too pushed with his own builds, and suggested top boy in the south who is yet to return calls or emails.

A couple of other gunsmiths would, for only a little less cash, deign to allow me to join the long tail of their waiting list.

Sentimentalist that I am, this time I want my Heym to look like a Heym. If I was going to build an SR30 on a plastic stock I'd go with the stainless F1 guy or Top boy up north. I bought my SR30 because I wanted the Bavarian stock, it should have a german scope, ideally swing off mounts, and a blued barrel hammer forged from Krupps steel. As Heym intended.

Somewhat despondent I called a gun shop (in Scotland) where I've received excellent service before to see if they had a recommendation, and although not listed as a Heym stockist, the proprietor opened my eyes to a little known fact, (little known in the english speaking world anyway), Heym sell pre-fit barrels threaded and chambered for their rifles. Available within a fortnight and could be fitted and sent for proof immediately for ein kleines bisschen less than 50% of the original quote.
As simple as that.

Probably cursed it now, let's see how long it takes?

More soon
your pal
SBW

Review: Tika Tac A1 Part 2

20" Barrel chambered in 6.5mm Creedmoor, scope is a Delta Stryker FFP with the DLR1 reticle.

Been a while since that happy day when I bought the Tiktac, and the even happier day when I could afford a scope worthy of the name, and finally got to shoot it. I've put almost 500 rounds through it.
In skilled hands these rifles have put the hustle on some very expensive custom rifles.

Accurate AF! As the petulant teenager formerly known as 'the littlest bushwacker' would say.

But what, SBW, is it like to live with? I hear you ask.

Well dear reader, it is big and it is clever, and in fairness there are a few things where you get to see the corners that were cut to bring it in for its bargain price.

Finish
The Tiktac is anodised, which is great if you just carry it from the car to the firing point, mine has been yomped up and down a grimy Norwegian hillside and is showing a few marks.
I'll probably Cerakote it at some point. A sleazy purple, seeing as you ask.

Weight 5, 098kg  
Its not a light rifle, there's always some online-hero telling how he uses it as his stalking rifle, wouldn't be my first choice.
By the time you've added; scope 1,042g, moderator .380g, and mounts .100g
You're at  6,630kg or 14.6 lbs + Bipod.
For competitions where there's a bit of walking involved, or very active Stalking, it might well swing me towards a lighter option if it was to be my only centerfire.

Trigger
There are both kits and aftermarket triggers, I thought the one it comes with an absolute joy, and in search of greater accuracy the money would be better spent on bullets, powder, primers, and practice.

Muzzle
I'm not a muzzle brake kind of guy, I find them obnoxious and frankly anti-social. Tika ship all Tiktacs with a .30 brake. The barrel is both threaded and the brake clamps in place, so Tika didn't concern themselves with cutting a shoulder for your suppressor/silencer/moderator to mate to. As I'm using a Stalon moderator which is sized up to .30 cal. this hasn't affected me, but some shooters with more bore specific moderators have had issues. Tika and the UK importer GMK have offered some washers, and the option of voiding the warranty if you get a gunsmith to sort it out.
Yeah, pretty crappy isn't it.

Magazine
While we're on 'pretty crappy' the magazine is a proper let-down, where the rival Ruger Precision takes generic aftermarket magazines, yer Tiktac  can only be fed from Tika's £120 magazine that, from new, wobbles about and fits so poorly the rifle feeds from it sporadically.
You can bend the cut-out for the magazine retention catch with a pair of needle nosed pilers and its all good. But really?

That's not the end of it.
I'm not the only person to have the magazines floor plate bind, and the spring fail to lift rounds 9 to 1, I've seen this fixed by drilling out the rivet that holds the magazine together bending the spring to give it a bit more push and reassembling. For my heard-earned £120 I'd expect better.

A welcome upgrade (not shown, I'll update the picture at some point)
If you've ever shot an Accuracy International (if you want to you can rent one for the McQueens at Bisley) you might well remember the ergonomic joy that is its bolt handle, its not one of those knurled "tactical" numbers, just a sphere on a short length of bent bar that falls to your hand with a pleasing proportion. Sterk in Australia make something similar for Tika rifles, book early to avoid disappointment they do a couple of batches a year and you can put your name on a waiting list. After an interminable wait I got the 'its time to pay' email and mine shipped within ten days.
It's wonderful, everything the original design should have been.
In order to fit it you need to strip the bolt which brings us to....

The Firing Pin.
While I had the bolt stripped down to add the new handle I was horrified to notice there is some  galling -  binding and scratching on the shaft of the firing pin, leading to an unwanted increase in lock time. I'll add some pix when I decide how to deal with this niggle.

Would I buy another one?
If all I wanted from it was shooting from a highseat or firing point near the car. Hell Yes. Unequivocally. Several people have shot gold medal scores with mine.

Coming soon - Clash of the Creedmoors: Tiktac Vs Ruger Precision Rifle

More soon
Your pal
SBW

Review: CZ 527 In Theory And Practice Pt1

The Micro Action Rifle. Every battery should include one. It's not a Truck-Gun, but it would make an excellent truck gun, it might be the same length as a Pig-Gun, but they're are different. It could even be a Baboon gun, or it could be powerful rabbit medicine. Would work well on Canadians, but we'll come to that later.

Ya gotcha long action, ya gotcha short action, and before you get down to yer rimfire action, ya gotcha micro action. Dinky little rounds gets a dinky little action. Or to put it another way, it shoots rounds with cases 45mm and shorter.

The CZ527 isn't the only Micro Action there's Sako, there's Howa, there's Zastava and no doubt others.  For me there were two contenders; the Shultz and Larsen Legacy [to be reviewed as and when funds allow], and the CZ 527 which, while sadly not a take down, is half the price, and can be bought pre-loved [hence its appearance in my battery].

It's a true Micro Mauser - its action scaled to cartridge, controlled round feed, 5 & 3 round all steel magazines, hammer forged barrels 18.5, 22, 24 or 26 inches long, and has at one time and another been available with both single and double set triggers.

I've known a couple of 527's The Bambi Basher has one in 7.69 Soviet [the ballistic twin of the 30/30] which for UK deer act compliance he hand loads to deer legal speeds. In Africa there's no shortage of AK ammo there  the slow moving - hard hitting 7.69 x 39  527 has been the end of many crop raiding Baboons. Before the factory got into the Grendel game his mate Mr Grendel developed one, which proved itself in Scotland with a lasered 187m shot in a howling gale. Earning, that rarest of things, the approval of The Ghillie.

So far chamberings include: .17 Hornady Hornet, 204 ruger, 22 hornet, .221 Fireball, 222 Remington, 223 Remington, 300 AAC Blackout, 7.69 Soviet, and now 6.5mm Grendel

A range of factory stocks are available from time to time:
Full, Composite, American, Lux, Laminate, Night Sky (black polymer soft-touch with speckles), Ebony and now the 'marmite' Match Target Rifle. 

More Cz527 soon

Your pal
SBW

Choosing A Hunting Scope - My Thoughts.

So you want to buy a scope? You've smashed the piggy bank, cut open the bottom of the couch, and picked up every dropped penny you've seen for the last year.

There is a saying, often attributed to Richard Prior (the Roe stalker not the comedian, different spelling)  "Buy the best scope you can, spend the change on a rifle". Which is still true today, although the gap between the top Austrian glass and the Japanese stuff is closing fast, and the Chinese scopes get better every month.

All shooters have their budgets, all brands have their fans, light conditions vary wildly, and eyesight is fantastically subjective. I'd only buy a used scope if it was made in the last couple of years, the tech has moved on that fast.

Light is different at; times of year, altitude, and in differing weather conditions, to name just three. There is nothing in nature that resembles an optician's eye chart, if you can do your testing looking at things that look like what you'll be shooting at, and better yet, in the light conditions you'll be shooting in, so much the better.

Vortex: made in China - superb warranty, prices starting at affordable, Bargains on Ebay.
Docter: Very popular in Germany, lots cheaper than the more famous Austrian brands - worth a look
Nighforce: made in USA with Japanese glass - famous for their tactical scopes, people are saying great things about their hunting scopes
March: made in Japan - gaining ground very fast, quality like this ain't cheap
Swarovski:  made in Austria - for many years considered 'the best' by stalkers in the UK, marketed as a luxury item with price tags to match. I had an 8x56 that optically was a thing of wonder, I always felt the reticle's bars were just a tad too thick.Would buy again though.
Kahles: made in Austria - Owned by Swarovski, European favourite. Pronounced Kah-les. I'm in love with mine.

Fixed Magnification vs Variable.
With fewer lenses to diffuse the light Fixed has an advantage, most people leave their Variable on one comfortable setting, in some circumstances fixed is the best choice possible,  until that day when you can see the deer through the naked eye but not find it in the effing scope. I sold my 8x56 and bought a Variable.

Hunting scope vs small telescope on top of your rifle
If your hunts are in the desert or near to the equator, you can save a lot of weight and mass, if you hunt in the dark of the woods, or in the dying hours of the what Scottish have instead of sunlight, that big objective lens makes a lot of difference, and the expensive glass really does give you that last half hour.

Red Dot vs Illuminated reticle.
Red dot has one disadvantage it can't overcome, Cant. There's no visual reference to see if you're twisting the rifle. Not everyone is fussed over having an illuminated reticle. I like 'em.

Bob-on at 200 meters and the secondary cross gives you 'ish' 300. Because you're a decent human being; you live close to your ethical code, you shoot a flat shooting calibre, and you know what 'flight time' means. You're not going to need your stalking rifle to shoot any further, in an emergency you've still got the top of the lowest bar as a third aim point.

There is a saying, often attributed to your pal SBW
"Choose a reticle, buy the scope that comes with it".

more soon
Your pal
SBW

Crap Outdoors Pt4

I don't post every bit of ill-advised nonsense for the outdoorsman I see, just the exceptionally stupid examples. But when The Terrierman posted this, as soon as I stopped laughing, my first thought was "straight on the blog". As a HOOJ James Bond fan I've always loved gear that packs up small and assembles with a series of satisfying clicks. But really? A rifle-fishing rod combo? Really? As a rifle maybe, but by adding fishing functionality to it the designer has snatched crapness from the jaws cool-toy-ness.

There's more on The Firearms Blog

More soon
SBW

Mini Mauser CZ527 Carbine

From yesterdays unusual and big ticket air rifle a here's something a little more commonplace an a lot more affordable. The CZ 527 carbine. I know a couple of Stalkers who have these chambered in 7.62 x 39mm (AK47 fodder) but uploaded to make 1700 foot pounds of muzzle energy with a 125 grain sierra game king soft points, making them deer legal in the UK. While yesterday's double barrled air rifle maybe almost one of a kind. This is a sweet little truck gun. Not too expensive to buy and cheap to keep, when you consider the price difference between this and the double air rifle it'd take a while to shoot your way through the price difference even at air rifle pellet prices.

True micro length action - the Kate Moss of rifles for shooting the Kate Moss of deer.
Controlled round feed - nice to have, this is hardly a dangerous game rifle though
Hammer forged barrel - so buy a better one when you've worn this one out, or re barrel it to a round in the 6.5mm class. Sweet!
Single set trigger - two settings; fine and scary very scary.

5.9 Lbs (without a scope) - so it's light enough to tote around.

Drop box - AKA detachable magazine.

Walnut stock - I'm not a massive fan of the stock, but at least it's not made of Beech. 

Sweeeeeeet Mini-Mauser Action, dude.

More Soon
Your pal
SBW

Blogging: Rule 303

Erhm, I wish to report an oversight. it has come to my attention that there is a blog that many of you aren't reading, or if you are reading it you're yet to comment. I'm just as bad, I intended to write this post weeks ago. Rule 303 The Locavore Hunter is on my must-read list of blogs.

'Hunting (literally) for local food, some geeking about rifles, conservation and a dose of civil politics' 

He runs a course for people who would like to get up close an personal with their dinner call "Deer Hunting for Beginners" which he's had some success with and it's been featured in the New York Times
and We Love DC (as ever the comments are worth a read).

There are a number of reasons to consider learning how to hunt for your own food. Many people reading this probably feel a little bit bad about eating meat but not quite bad enough to actually stop. If you feel that you've been somehow dodging the ethics of meat and animal cruelty in your own life, there is no more effective way of facing the matter head-on than by learning to hunt and butcher the food yourself. As a hunter, the experience of the animal that you eat is up to you. A whitetail deer in Virginia can live a good and natural life in the wild and then have one bad morning before becoming food. Which is an ethically better source of obtaining meat? From a wild deer or from a pig raised in a factory farm under Auschwitz-like conditions?

Commercial meat is typically filled with hormones and antibiotics and is fed on grain that required high amounts of petroleum to fertilize and transport. Wild venison is free-range and free of hormones, antibiotics and the cruelty of captivity. If you are concerned about 'food miles' and the impact that your own diet has on the environment, hunting is a very practical way of addressing this. There are wild deer in high numbers in nearly every area of the Eastern US. Many people reading this can either hunt literally in their own backyards or could be helped to find land within 25 miles on which they can hunt for deer. Literally, you could be measuring your food miles by looking at your odometer.

His commentary on firearms legislation is a welcome improvement on most of the blogosphere's cut 'n' paste rantings.  None of the boring indignation, asks more than he answers, pins a tail on the elephant in the room, worth a read. As is his coverage of Ebay's firearms policy

His 'rifle geeking' extends to running a weekend course where you can turn a vintage Mauser 98 into a modern hunting rifle which you get to take it home with you on Sunday afternoon. Have a look here.

This piece might have been written with The Northern monkey in mind, rifle choices from $60!
Bang For Your Buck: Comparing Surplus Rifles For Sporting Conversions

What will be, I imagine, of particular interest to regular readers is his interest in eating aliens, those non-native disrupters of the ecosystem, and how to bring about 'the culinary solution'to their invasion plans.

"Work and hunting for food were interfering with each other so one of them had to go".

See you over there, 

SBW

Pic credit to John Athayde

Blogger Loses Gunfight

Round One: Gun 1 - Blogger 0

Can you guess what happened? It all started innocuously enough, Goofy Girl and Stonecutter (you'll meet them later) had set me up with a 'play date' with GG's friend Ean, and his pal Mike. I was to be inducted into the great american tradition of 'heading to an out of town quarry to fire guns'.

Ean: "Ever fire a muzzle loader? This one I fire prone, we're allowed two shots or two guns so I take the other one along for a follow-up shot." Hmm "I fire prone" Hmm maybe there was clue there?

Ean: "Ever fire a thirty-aught-six? Care to?"

SBW: "Does the pope shit in the woods? Is the bear a catholic?"

Notorious on my side of the pond for having a fair amount of bark, the 30-06 also has a bit of clack to it, but it didn't seem as hard a recoil as I'd been led to believe. Old school steel butt-plate was a bit alarming though!

Ean: This one seemed appropriate. 

Another treat the chaps had laid on for me was a Rifle No5 Mk1 AKA the .303 Jungle Carbine. Highly point-able and a svelte 7 lb. 1 oz. (3.2 kg) I really  liked it. It would definitely make an excellent deer stalking rifle, although some people use the .303 for larger game.

The boys had some new toys they were keen to test out

I could hear the delighted laughter even through the ear plugs and over the sound of gunfire, 

this is one Chinese import that appears very popular, offer excellent value and does what it says on the tin.

So that's what it's like to be a hollywood action hero

Rumours that I'm a fat Jason Statham will be hotly denied, as usual.

Mike thought I should expand my firearms experience 

As American as Apple Pie - the S & W 1911

.50 cal Muzzle loader off the 'pod: I'd struggled to get my eye lined up with the scope, I 'thought' I had the pad against my shoulder, the sight picture cleared and I was ready to let one go, when.....

It bit me! (OK a sheepish, fat, Jas.....) 

Claret everywhere! Smarted a bit too. Fortunately most of the bruising was to my ego. The cut was nicely placed to be beyond the sewing talents of the junior doctors that work emergency rooms. My policy is that I don't mind going to hospital if A: someone is carrying me and/or B: I'm unconscious at the time. Ean, who has the confidence inspiring air of the ships surgeon about him, produced a seriously well appointed first aid kit and patched me up. One of the good guys.

The last word goes to Mrs Ean:
"That's how we do it at our house. It's not fun unless someone-almost-gets their eye poked out."


Your Pal
SBW

I Want One - A Not So Occasional Series Pt16

Can you tell what it is yet?

I know I said I fancied a Blaser R93, but from the same factory there's another rifle. The Mauser M03. Also with interchangeable barrels, but this time it has a conventional bolt throw and a proper drop out magazine. Being the kind of numb-nuts who managed to drop a round into the undergrowth from a high seat I appreciate a drop box. [Yes of course it clanged off a rung on the way down]. 


Not cheap: but little on the I Want One list of kit lust is.  You can wash yourself with an old car washing sponge, a bucket and a length of hose, but dropping a few grand on a nice bathroom changes the ablution experience. After one too many wasted evenings re-installing Windows 98 I flashed up for a Mac book and never looked back. While you're paying a premium for design, you're getting some those well thought out touches that pass the Doh! test and make life a little better. 

With the Blaser you get a sence of the-rifle-re-thought, with the M03 its more a best of: De-cocking safety - not just blocking the release of the firing pin but taking the tension off the spring - making the rifle inert even with one up the spout, a 'Set trigger' meaning it has two sensitivity settings; one where it breaks at  just under 1 lb and on the other setting at just over 4 lbs - less squeeze for still hunting from a high seat with something to rest the rifle on, or more squeeze for greater safety for stalking. Not a light rifle in anybody's book, at almost nine pounds with a scope. But that's no bad thing for still hunting from a high seat, or from a bipod, and gives a nice, fluid, smooth movement when swinging the rifle at a moving boar. Never going to be called a mountain rifle though. Although, already on the website as vaporware: at some yet to be disclosed time in the near-to-distant future there'll be a Dural aluminium alloy action model that's 400 grams lighter  - nice! For the steel actions Mauser offer all the finishes you'd expect: coated, coloured, or engraved to the depth of your pockets. 

Barrels are available in all the usual caliber's from .222 to 458 Lott. There are two families of barrels 16 mm and 19 mm. Some stocks are only available inlet for the larger pipes. As you'd expect from someone with a name like Mauser to honor  the stocks are something to behold, with interchangeable variations offered in the finest grades of old school walnut (priced from 'cold sweat' to 'emergency resuscitation required') and a series of synthetics with a steel chassis.

The Stutzen (with a twist - it's a two piece): Two trad european looks for a weekend with Count Jägermeister  and Countess Von Jägerin?

Perhaps something more Utilitarian?

Or on a Professional Hunter tip:  

Ideal for a trip to see the Hippo or after the big hawgs with the Chief Chronicler 

Or short and to the point - the Trail with an 18 inch barrel for the Battue or as a handy  hillside gun for Italy?

Come on Santa Baby - hook a Bushwacker up. I've been awful good. Pleeeeeaazzee.
SBW


The Pix are from Pete Moore's review on Gun Mart (also see his videos there) and the Mauser site


The barrel options are listed here as a PDF.

Vintage Firearms - The Rigby .275

As I started telling you in the last post I met up with another blogger last weekend: Bambi Basher is a massive military history and firearms buff who I'll be taking my deer management cert. with. He's recently become the latest delighted owner of a rifle made by Rigby of (first Dublin and then) London. I think of myself as the kind of bushwacker who likes his tools to be tools, but made in the 20s or 30s this one is pre Carbon and Fiberglas, so it's stocked in Walnut, and I was surprised how taken with it I was. Svelte in the hand, and older than both of us put together it's obviously been cared for, but bears the marks, scratches, and dings of many adventures. It's chambered in .275 Rigby (7x57mm Mauser) which many of the internets gun nuts seem to regard as a wonder hunting round having a slight edge over the more common .270. Here's a video from last weekend - much more to tell you about my weekend with the him but that'll have to wait.
Cheers
SBW

Guest Post - Mikes Moose

Mike's back with the full scoop on his moose hunt. Enjoy

SBW

Moose 2009

Prelude and planning:

Inspired by Jack London and every tale of mountain men read in the past 30 years, I went to Alaska to hunt moose ten years ago. I saw cows and young moose every day, but my tag only allowed me to take a mature bull. I came home grateful for the chance to have seen the magnificent wilderness of interior Alaska, but without a moose. I began to apply for moose permits in the lower 48. Two years ago, my friend Gene invited me as the second hunter on his Vermont moose permit. He took a cow while I was with him. I was thrilled for him and surely enjoyed the moose meat that he generously shared, but it only fueled my desire for a moose of my own. This year I filed my applications and the day after the results were announced I received an email from my buddy Will that just said “Congratulations!” We had been discussing moose hunts and I knew what he meant as soon as I read it. I had drawn not only a moose tag, but the most coveted tag which allowed me to take any moose from the heart of moose country.

I immediately got online and began searching for anything related to Vermont moose hunting. There wasn’t much available but I uncovered a link to the Champion Lands Leaseholders and Traditional Interest Association (who I rented an excellent camp from). I began to ask for advice on several hunting forums and received some good tips from a couple of fellows who had hunted in area E2 (thanks George, Brian and Pat!) and from wildlife photographer Roger Irwin (check out his moose photos at www.rogerirwinphotos.com).

My brother in law John had been my hunting partner in Africa in 2002 and we had such a good time that when he expressed an interest in coming along I was delighted to enlist him as the second hunter on my permit. Having a second shooter who you can trust is invaluable. Having helped Gene drag his cow out of the woods, I wondered if John knew what he was volunteering for but I was delighted to have him along.

My wonderful wife exceeded all reasonable expectations by encouraging me to go on the hunt even though her birthday fell squarely in the middle of the six day season and the hunting area was an eight hour round trip from home.

A month before the season my 12 year old son came along with me to scout. There were old moose tracks everywhere we looked including within 200 yards of the camp. We drove many miles of unpaved roads in our Subaru to get a general feeling of the area. The second morning we were rewarded with the sight of a young bull trotting down the road ahead of us. It was my son’s first sighting of a moose and we considered that well worth the trip. It became obvious to me on that trip that a four wheel drive truck would be essential to reach the more remote hunting areas and (God willing) to haul out a moose. There is just no way to get a moose in a Subaru! It also became obvious that much of the terrain was so thickly over grown that I would need a short and light handling rifle.

I came home and worked up a load for my 45-70 guide gun. This little carbine had been a consolation gift from my friend Alan who hosted my unsuccessful Alaskan hunt. It was destined for moose. The load I settled on was 46.5 grains of IMR 3031 pushing a 405 grain cast lead bullet at about 1600 f.p.s.

Two days before the season I swapped vehicles with my friend Gene. The day before the season my hunting partner drove the 5 hours from his home to mine. We shared the first slices of the traditional opening day apple pie breakfast, loaded the truck with duffels, rifles, coolers, game cart, blind, and the rest of the pie then drove the 4 hours to moose camp wondering where a moose would fit since the truck bed was already full. We arrived at camp, unloaded the gear, and immediately got back in the truck to do 4 more hours of scouting before dark. Once again, there were plenty of old tracks in the hunting area, but no moose.

Day 1:

We awoke an hour before dawn, grabbed a quick bowl of oatmeal and went out the door (who had time to cook when the hunt waited?) It was COLD. Temps the day before had been in the 50’s. Dawn was about 10 degrees F. We drove the paper company roads peering into thickets, bogs, and forest, up slope, down valleys, and over streams hoping for a lucky break of moose within sight of the road opening day. You can not imagine how much the dark base of an uprooted tree covered in soil resembles a bedded moose, or how many of them there are in the sodden wooded soil of moose country. I dare say that we examined THOUSANDS of fallen logs, root balls, and large rocks looking for ears and antlers. When we happened upon some spot that appeared more promising than the others we would walk about looking for moose. I found LOTS of moose sign, but very few fresh tracks and none so fresh as to still have moose in them. I quit counting hunters after the first dozen trucks we encountered with occupants doing exactly what we were doing. Near the end of the day 1 hit a fresh track in the mud off a logging trail. It led to a pair of large meadows with a swampy tree line between. In that swamp there was a sapling that had been destroyed by some bull rubbing his antlers within the past few days. About 50 yards from there, two immense moose beds flattened the high grass. We spent the rest of the evening sitting in a cluster of Christmas tree scented spruce watching those meadows and occasionally hearing another hunter imitating the call of a moose cow in need from his truck parked at the roadside a half mile away.

We slipped back to the truck only after the green spruce tops against the brilliant blue sky had turned to purple towers in the night. The entire opening day had passed without a single glimpse of moose. I would be very glad to take any moose God sent me in the five short days that remained in the season.

Day 2:

The cabin and its woodstove were very welcome. When I closed my eyes I saw forested bogs and dark humps of soil bound tree roots. We slept comfortably and dawn found us back at the same meadow. The frosted blackberry leaves thawed as the sun rose. But in just two hours the cold sent us back to the truck. Since the heater had frozen up it was only marginally warmer, but we decided to return to a couple of areas that had looked promising the day before.

The first one seemed just about ideal to me. The road passed between two ridges that had been logged off a year before with a stream running just below the road. It proved to be “a very moosy” area indeed. There were not only signs of moose feeding, old tracks and droppings, but also day old tracks. The only trouble was that they were intermingled with numerous boot prints from the day before. The area had been hunted hard opening day. The moose may have already been pushed out of the area. We decided to check a couple of other likely spots and hope that they had not seen quite as much hunting pressure. We drove to several other spots, walked a long lane, and spent several hours watching over a beaver pond surrounded by moose tracks, but by noon I had decided that this previously hunted spot was our best bet. It showed more fresh moose sign than anywhere else we had scouted and I suspected that most of the hunters who had been there had stayed close to the road. By going a bit further, we might just find moose. We retreated to the cabin for a heavy lunch with a plan that the meal would carry us until dark. We resisted the temptation to stay warm after lunch and went back to the morning’s promising ridges.

Just as we arrived, an older hunter came out of the brush and climbed into his partner’s truck. We decided to try the area anyway again reasoning that he probably had not ventured very far from the road. Climbing up the bank from the road revealed a small fold of promising moose country with a higher ridge behind it. The top of this second ridge was the typical knife edge path where you could see what seemed like straight down 100 yards on both sides. The side farthest from the road fell away through pines into a broad valley of low brush with dark heavy pines covering the far slope. Beyond that the hills continued to rise into several higher mountains. The top of this second ridge was covered with moose tracks going both directions. We first followed it south toward Granby Bog. It ended in a wet area with thick growth and a gurgling stream. I imitated the call of a cow in longing and we waited half an hour without any sign of reply before retracing our steps up the ridge. Perhaps we should have waited longer but the visibility was limited in that small bowl and the noise of running water drowned out any distant sounds of travelling moose. I thought we might have better luck following the ridge in the opposite direction.

We worked our way back up the ridge and followed it peering into the thickets below and the pines beyond them. Could that dark spot be the head of a bedded moose? Could that light patch be antler? No. There were a thousand false alarms as we snuck along the ridge for the next hour.

At the far end we sat on a fallen log to rest and watch until we decided that we should start working our way back. I called a few times, waited fifteen minutes and we started sneaking and peaking our way toward the truck. As I reached any vantage point which let me see a little further, I would pause and search for some sign of elusive moose before moving on. We had covered perhaps ½ the distance back to the truck when I peaked over the crest of the next fold looking for a dark ear tip or light antler point in the brush ahead.

I can not convey my absolute amazement when I saw not empty woodland, but MOOSE. It was not some bit of the hidden animal, but the full body of an ADULT BULL MOOSE standing in the open 50 yards away. At seven feet tall near 1,000 pounds he was absolutely immense and he was staring at me. I don’t know if he was actually staring at me, but he was definitely looking in my direction for the split second it took me to crouch down below the hill crest out of sight. Later, John said that he thought that the bull was coming down the trail in search of my cow call. He may have just been walking down the trail for his evening stroll, but in either case after ten years of longing, God had sent me a moose. I crouched below the hill crest and pointed frantically in moose direction whispering to John “Moose! Moose! Right There!” John crouched down and began to duck walk forward as I turned back to the moose and worked the lever on my Marlin.

I could scarcely believe that the moose was still there when I looked again. Knowing that the point of impact was six inches low at 50 yards for my hundred yard zero, I put my sights on his throat and pulled the trigger. At impact the bull spun and began to lope away over the uneven ground. With a bullet in the moose I sure didn’t want to lose him in the bog (or worse down slope away from the road)! I held for the center retreating moose butt and pulled the trigger. John said he had an open shot if I got out of the way, so I said “take him” and got down. I heard his 375 Ruger bark and stood just in time to see the moose go down over the top of the knob. I covered the 100 yards between us and saw that he was down on top of the ridge 50 yards from where the first shot had hit him.

After action report:

The first shot had broken his right shoulder just below the joint. I later recovered the bullet outside of the ribs a foot behind the shoulder.

Either my second shot or John’s shot had taken the bull six inches left of his stubby little tail, broken the left hip at the socket and passed beyond. The bullet was left behind in the gut pile so I don’t know whose shot it was, but in any case with a broken shoulder and a broken hip the moose was down. He was still raising his head when I walked up so I gave him a finisher at the base of the skull and thanked God for not only giving me a moose, but my longed for bull with decent palms besides.

Then the work began! Somehow all three of my large knives had been left behind at the cabin. But John had an excellent set of “Knives of Alaska” and a bone saw. We brought the bull out in three pieces by separating the hind quarters behind the ribs and the head from the front quarters. The two wheeled game cart was worth every penny over the next two hours. A gorgeous sunset lit the sky red as we struggled to wheel the moose down the ridge and toward the road. We managed to load the hind quarters in the truck before returning for the larger second piece. Just as John and I were standing in the darkness contemplating how to lift the several hundred pounds of front shoulder and ribs up to the tail gate, a truck with four hunters came out of the darkness and offered to help. They had been hunting farther down the dead end road and arrived just at the right moment. With the six of us it was an easy lift. God had provided just the help that was needed at just the moment of need, again.

We were so exhausted by field dressing the moose and getting him on the truck that we waited until the next morning to pack up camp and check the bull in. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife official told us that my bull was a 3 or 4 year old moose with an antler spread of 33 ½ inches. Based on seeing a moose of similar size weighed we estimated that our moose was 700 lbs field dressed (900 pounds on the hoof?). I was absolutely delighted to be home in time for my wife’s birthday. My freezer is now very full, dinner last night was moose back strap and I am blessed to have fulfilled my ten year moose quest.

calibre 2.0

When I'd had that first had the opportunity to hunt a whitetail  I knew it was something I'd want to do again. So on my return to Blighty I started the slow process of learning about Deer Stalking (as deer hunting is called here). Not coming from a shooting family all my limited shooting experience had been with pellet guns in back yards, so it's not been the quickest of process's.

When started thinking about buying a rifle I assumed I'd be buying a .30-06 because that's what everyone on the interweb said they used to shoot whitetails, (the english hadn't really started blogging about deer stalking then). 

I started reading David Petzal and his advice was along the lines of  'decide what you want and buy one calibre smaller' and at the time he was talking up the .270.  For readers not familiar with his writings Mr Petzal would be putting himself out of a job if he just championed one calibre. F&S has to sell next months issue after all so his advice would be someting along the lines of  'buy the biggest cupboard you can and fill it'. For example

 "If you have a .270 you don't need a .280. However, independent market research shows that .280 owners are better looking, make more money, get better trophies, and live longer than .270 owners. You read that here first."

Then I met James Marchington who pointed me in the direction of the .308 and its cheaper lower pressured NATO twin, before caveating the choice with 'not legal in France though', but that was in the days before the Great British Rupee, when we could still lord it over our neighbors with our super currency.  I've spent a bit of time in France and at the time rural france was pretty affordable, I've got a connection to get involved in the Battue so I thought it may happen sooner than later. I doubt I'll be going there again in a while. Sadly gordon has blown all our chips making ill advised bets on on people without jobs being able to pay morgages on rabbit hutches. Still at least I'll be able to tell my grand kids something totally unbelievable yet true. I can hear them now

 'Grandpa Bushwacker's confused again mum - he says it was Euros to the Pound!'

It's been a bit of a steep learning curve, but as with most steep learning curves it's also been a lot of fun. Then I threw the question out to you dear readers, the results are in and if I understand you all (please comment if i've got the wrong end of the stick as it won't be the first or last time).

James .308 - accuracy and range

Andy .30-06 - hits 'em harder

Albert .300 win -  hits 'em even harder

Karl 7mm Rem - flatter

Holly .270 - flatter 

Rick 30-30 or whatever's to hand - dead is dead

Chad 6.5x55

Tom .308 for availability - but it should really be a .375!

Bill .270

Mo .30-06

Dennis 6.5x55 or for longer ranges .270

Mdmnm .308 for availability or 7mm-08 Rem for trajectory

Envirocapitalist 30-06 when in north america

Hodgeman .30-06/270/.308 and 6.5x55 - which ever is easist to buy

Clearer now? No me neither.

The Choice seems to come down to:

Do I prefer Flatter and Faster Flying or Bigger and Harder Hitting? 

Yes I realise there isn't a a direct correlation between those criteria - hence a whole internet full of gun nuts arguing the highly subjective personal preference it comes down to.

Then the question becomes, what's Available, Legal, Appropriate and Affordable?

The the hardest question of all - What's your definition of a compromise between the above?

Now to brand and model:I'm looking for ideas at two price points 'money no object' and 'for the price of solving a significant domestic drainage or heating problem'. Remember I'm a Mac user so I will pay for utility and design - but I'm also an honorary Yorkshireman so I'm looking for a bargain. 

Suggestions on the comments page please.

Your pal 

SBW

picture credit goes to it's finder Jonathan