hangunnr

Got back out to start the freezer filling. Cracked this girl only to find she'd been shot before and the front half was mostly rotten. You'd have never known with the way she moved.

Can’t see in the pic but his front right foot is swollen to about 4-5” in diameter. It was pretty rotten.

Once again work obligations kept me from the woods for our early archery season. Opening day of our firearm season was a miserable wet, windy mess. Second day broke clear but still promising to be windy. I watched this guy for 20 minutes trying to tend a doe and fend off a couple dinks but he wasn't moving very well. He'd take a few steps then lay down. Even at 180yds I could see he had a bad wheel. Felt the only right thing to do would be to put him down.

My other buddy that hunts the farm tagged out this morning with this nice buck. A darn shame both G2s are missing....

These 2 were killed about 23 miles due east of JP. I live 8 miles due west of JP. Haven't hunted the property in a couple years as they've done a fine job of shooting the place out. Waaaaaay too many does killed off. Trails that had been active for 20yrs have dried up. The herd management on that property has been a dismal failure.

My hunting partner cracked this one about 7 this morning. I'm guessing it'll field dress around 220#, friggin huge, thick body. 105 Amax out of a supressed Rem 243.

Missed all of our archery season due to work obligations. Was able to get time off for the opener of our firearm season. My buck hunt lasted all of an hour and a few minutes. This guy came thru alone and fell to a 150gr AccuBond from my 300WM. As I found him.... hangunnr

Found out the bullet grenaded when it hit a rib on the way in, never made it to the other side of the ribcage. Have spoken with several friends who've used this bullet with better results and the consensus is that I ran it too fast. I will have a little sturdier bullet next year, likely a mono-metal. CR

Beautiful morning today. Dead calm and 18 degrees with somewhat fresh snow on everything. About an hour after sunrise I saw 2 coyotes bust out of the wood line about 400yds out in front of me. Never figured they would show up in my field. 10-15 minutes later one came running across the field to my right but I couldn't get the gun on him in time. When the second appeared I was ready. Stopped him at about 100yds and let the Amax fly. Jeebus did it make a mess of him. Front quartering shot slightly downhill entering on point of near shoulder and exiting through the guts. The exit was about 4-5". Damn near emptied him out. I know some of you don't care about shooting does but seeing as we're throttled here with only one buck a year and we have a ton of does some are going to be utilized as freezer filler. Had a group of 9 does emerge from the tree line to my right and pass by within 80yds. I lined up on the last one and put the Amax into the middle of the ribcage at a slightly quartering away angle. There was no exit and about a 20yd dash till the spirit left her. Curious to see what's left of the bullet. I believe this pistol will be a keeper. CR

Got out this morning with some loads in formed brass. Ran several loads with 4831SC and RL22 under moly'd 105 Amax and moly'd 90gr Scenar. All loads tried went under 1 MOA but as velocity increased the group size shrunk with the RL22 and the Amax. The fastest load topped out at 2945 average for 5 and a 2 hole .441 group. There were no pressure signs so I may yet see the 3000+ I'm after. I'd venture a guess this pistol is capable of one very small hole if the shooter is capable. 48gr RL22, moly'd 105 Amax .002 into the lands, WLR primer in formed Lapua brass. CR

Good for you! Should be a nice rig... CR

.......Mark Penrod of Penrod Precision. Had a semi beater XP100 reciever kicking around here so I turned it over to Mark with the instructions of what I wanted for barrel contour, length and chambering. He called back telling me he wasn't pleased with the original bolt so a new one was ordered from PT&G. Told him there was no hurry, just make it right... He didn't disappoint. 243 Ackley Improved in a 18" 7.5 twist Krieger that ended up 1.015 at the muzzle... PT&G shifter I did the rework on the trigger shoe by taking out most of the curve of the factory shoe. Sear engagement surfaces were polished and trued. I finished the McMillan stock with a texture coat and a flat black coat of Alumahyde II. A Ken Farrel 10MOA base will hold the optic. The optic for now is a Burris but that's only until Leupold gets my custom shop order processed.... As she sits the scale says 9#15oz.... CR

Tried as I may I just couldn't find any love for the Swarovski 2.5-10 I had on this rifle. The scope just wasn't right..... Came across this Nightforce 2.5-10x32 with 1/4 MOA adjustments and their MOAR reticle and instantly knew this is what this rifle needed. 7#9oz as she sits.... Now, I need to get back to wearing the barrel out. CR

Dug my very first build out of purgatory for a chance at a new life. When this was built I"ll admit I didn't really know what I was wanting. Couple that with a 'smith that lied to me and you end up with the cluster**** seen here in the first picture. Remington Model Seven 243 Win. with a Sendero profile Walther 1-10 twist barrel in a HS Precision stock. It shot pretty well but was a cumbersome pig in the hand. Dumped the scope, scope rail, HS stock and had the barrel shortened 2" then turned down to Rem mag sporter profile. The barrel work alone knocked 20 oz off the weight. Switching to the Bell and Carlson AWR stock took an additional 4oz off. Went with a Leupold DD Xp100 base and Burris Signature rings to grasp the Leupold 1.75-6 short tube. This left me with a all up weight of just under 8#. While still not a light weight it's worlds ahead of where it was. The 10 twist is surely a buzz kill but it'll still handle bullets up to about 90gr. It does however sing with the Nosler 55gr Ballistic tip. scooting them down range at a bit over 3700fps with sub MOA groups. It'll surely see more sunlight that it did in it's first form.... CR

Ugly lies in the eye of the beer holder, purpose built machine and the purpose wasn't to be pretty. Anyone that would entertain the thought of humping a 13# 308 up a mountain likely needs his head examined. CR