nw07heavy

Just got back with a nice cow elk. I had a short 150 yard head on shot. The 400 grain partition at about 2,700 fps entered in the center chest and exited the back, after penetrating about 60 inches. Internals affected with no meat loss. The elk went down so fast my partner thought I missed. It must have been dead when it hit the ground, so no tracking was needed in the dark. Sorry, no chance for photos because it was nearly dark when it was shot, and we had to hustle the dressing. We found it to be a very different dynamic for the elk due to the extreme drought this spring, followed by needing to truck water to the accessible tanks. This November elk hunt was mostly uneventful, with lots of long hikes, an absence of elk we normally would see. Just dumb luck on this one.

Great. Now that I'm an old retired guy we can fit that in. I'll bring my HD Past shoulder pad. .375 H&H's are never boring, for they have a long and wonderful history, and functionality.

I never use factory ammo, unless I need to just buy them for the brass, because I always reload. My 400 grain partition loads work out to about just under $38.00 for 20 quantity. The 340 grain Cutting Edge 340 grain MTH (.780 G1 bc) bullets work out to about the same price, as I wait for CE sales. The 400 grain partition, for my typical hunting area meteorological (23.7 Hg, 65F, 50% humid, 10 mph wind at 90 deg). Rifle sighted in 2.6" high at 100 yds is: muzzle 2,671 fps (best accuracy load) 6,336 ftlbs; 200 yds vel 2,390 ftsec, energy 5,071 ftlbs, 1.8" high, 2.3" windage; 300 yds 2,255 ftsec, 4,518 fttbs, 5.1" low, 5.3" windage; 400 yds 2,126 ftsec, 4,012 ftlbs, 18.9" low, 9.6" windage. If I need much greater penetration I also have some Swift 400 gr A-Frames loaded up, for much bigger animals. The 340 grain Cutting Edge MTH (BC G1 .780/G7 .391) same meteorological conditions: muzzle 2,945 fps (best accuracy load) 6,547 ftlbs; 200 yds vel 2,795 fps, 5,899 ftlbs, 2.5" high, 1.0" windage; 300 yds 2,722 ftsec, 5,594 ftlbs, 1.8" low, 2.2" windage, 400 yds 2,650 ftsec, 5,301 ftlbs, 10.8" low, 3.9" windage; 500 yds 2,579 fps, 5,020 ftlbs, 24.7" low, 6.2" windage; and for just grins in case someone wanted to configure for a bit longer range with capable rifle and mil/mil scope; 1,000 yds 2,238 fps vel, 3,782 ftlbs energy, 5.0 mils low, 0.7 mils windage; 1,500 yds 1,923fps vel, 2,792 ftlb energy, 9.4 mils drop, 1.2 mils windage; 2,000 yds 1,634 ftsec velocity, 2,015 ftlbs energy, 14.9 mils drop, 1.7 mils windage. (Mach is 1,122 fps or so rough avg at 65F so this bullet is still supersonic and doesn't need to transition to subsonic until a distance after this, not that we would ever shoot this far, but the MTH bullet performance is evident, and no jump, spindrift or coriolis effect, etc. are included. (This is just a very rough calc.) An aside the MTH will begin expansion to some degree down to 1,600 fps. The MTH has allowed much greater versatility in the larger .416's, as you can see compared to a typical .416 hunting bullet. After I got off active duty and into the Army Reserves in 1973, I picked up a new, very light and compact Ruger .44 Mag semi-auto carbine. I loved that rifle for deer hunting in the deep western Washington brush and did quite well with it. Your far superior .444 is light years ahead of that little carbine. You've got a very nice rifle and caliber. Speaking of lead and hard cast .44 bullets, I've been using the SSK 320 grain hardcast (sized .430") in my 8 inch Anaconda, at 1,419 fps. This type of bullet is really a great addition to the jacketed. Thanks for the congrats, that elk is really providing some great meals.

Thanks. The 1895 Marlin looks like a great lever action classic.

You've now got me interested. What are you shooting and what are your loads. I've never had a lever gun. Sorry to digress.

Great ibex, and congratulations. We've been in the alps several times and have seen ibex and chamois, but to have a chance to hunt one is fantastic. Boy, many of the Swiss massifs are abruptly steep. Nice photos, and now I miss the place.

It's great that your dad, at 81, can still do the things he loves. I sure hope he bags a nice bull! Good luck to you all.

You know, oddly, this is one of my most accurate rifles, 1/2" or 5/8" three shot groups at 100 yds, more accurate than I am. Recoil is 69 ftlbs energy, 20.4 ftsec recoil velocity. No brake really needed if you cuddle up firmly with it. I fired 30 rounds at Usery sighting in with different loads after the stock work, and no issues

I got bored and wanted to try something different, my .416 RUM. It'll launch a 400 grain partition at 2,700 fps or better yet a 340 grain Cutting Edge MTH at nearly 3,000 fps. I just got done modifying my basic Montana left hand AVR by revising the lines on the factory OEM stock. A dangerous game rifle has no place for a monte carlo stock, because it just knocks off your Peltor electronic headsets and sends them flying back 10 feet. In addition the iron sights back up was impossible to use, so I modified the stock, rasping down the monte carlo, adding a blued steel grip cap, a solid ebony forend tip, and refinished the entire stock to enhance the grain. to that in the photos shown. It turned out to be a great rifle in the end.

Congratulations on a nice bull!

Good work, and congratulations on that buck!

Congratulations on that great buck!

Very nice buck. Nice job, and congratulations to him.

While looking for an over/under I shouldered Benelli, Ruger, Browning, Franchi, and s few more, but I found the Win 101 was a fast, natural pointer for me, so I bought one. No regrets, and it performs very well. I also found the mid-range weight enough to be able to carry easily, but it is not too light for moderate loads. Nice o/u, and reasonably priced.

7RM will easily fit in standard R700 LA mag box. Rifle is a mag fed repeater. I think barrel is 26" Bartlein 1:8" twist? No clue on reamer, you would need to call AxisWorks and ask Eric. 28 Noslers both cut with same non-SAAMI reamer with special long throat/leade for the 195 Bergers. Both rifles are magazine fed repeaters. Lone Peak TI LA and Stiller BDL style bottom metal. I would have to look at my notes to check max mag box length. Might be a Wyatt's extended box length, but I don't remember what the measurement is on either. Twist on both is 1:8" @ 26" finished. Thanks for the info you were able to provide.

Lance, Great shooting and weapons. Questions: 1) Magazine length max COAL's for &7RM and 28 Noslers, and lead or throating on both, SAAMI or non-standard? Also are any/all loads mag fed or single shot fed? How about twist? Thanks and congrats.

I was looking for uniformity and durability information, as well as max capacity, if it is more than very slight. Norma would be as good as Lapua brass. I have RE-26 for 140's and 150's, and am getting RE-16 for 130's. I understand these new Alliant powders are super in the .270 Win. Thanks H4831 has been very good for me with 140's. Thanks, I may well try it, if the RE 26 doesn't work out well.

I was just thinking that all of you are right, and that all of these cartridges are tops. Great choices, every one for AZ.

I was looking for uniformity and durability information, as well as max capacity, if it is more than very slight. Norma would be as good as Lapua brass. I have RE-26 for 140's and 150's, and am getting RE-16 for 130's. I understand these new Alliant powders are super in the .270 Win. Thanks

Thanks for all your observations. Looks like Winchester brass really needs to be scrutinized. Yesterday I tried a box of Winchester 130 grain Power Point factory ammo and chrono'd four rounds in a 24" barrel. Interestingly, velocities came in, and adjusted for meteorological conditions, I recorded 3,037 fps, 3,166 fps, 3,151 fps, and 3,114 fps, which is quite a variation, since the box indicated 3,060, but no barrel length.

Lance, Thanks for your observed idiosyncrasies on the various makes of brass. This is valuable and comes only over many years of experience. I'll note your comments. I usually prefer Lapua brass but the.270 Win is not available.

My neighbor and I were both drawn for 3A/3C cow, and we're looking forward to the hunt.

A friend and I will be in 36 with scoped Encore 7-08 and XP-100 in .221 Rem. Good luck to all of you.

Encore pistol 7-08 120 gr Nosler BT @ 2,937, or XP 100 .221 Rem 50gr Sierra Blitzking @ 2,733

Lazy-H98, I don't know the specifics of your Model 70, such as barrel length, taper, weight, bedding, etc., but I've been loading for a friend's Savage 111 XP equipped with a 22 inch factory sporter contour barrel. We found that none of the 130 grain bullets could group better than a terrible 3 to 5 inches at 100 yards. The 140 grain bullets would typically group 3/4 to 1-1/2 inches at 100 yards. We found that the 150 grain Berger VLD over 55.5 grains of RE-19, at 2,900 corrected fps, would often group 1/3 to 1/2 inch at 100 yards. Obviously a lot of harmonics going on with this specific light barreled rifle. Results will be based upon the rifle's configuration. You must always start all your loads at safe minimums in the reloading manuals and work up.