WampusCat

I had an especially orange one turned into a bear style rug. I'll look for a pic but I don't think I have one with me. It turned out pretty awesome.

awesome man! The hunter becomes hunted.

No, not much is left kicking by the time they reach the side of the road. Same family critter but different species and on a different continent. Think the one you speak of is a Palm Civet.

Yet again work has kept me from Coues country this season, but I learned a long time ago that YOU have to make the best of situations and take advantage of every opportunity. A year ago I did not know these birds existed. When I first encountered them, it was by chance that I kicked up a few, deep in the jungle on a small opening cleared for planting peanuts or "ground nuts" as the locals call them. There is a special state of heightened alert that I default to while I am away in foreign lands and theses birds were the last thing I was looking for when two of them exploded at my feet in the usual upland fashion. My body locked up at first, but as they cleared ten paces, there was no mistaking the familiar sound of fast wings beating against feathered breast on their way out of dodge. I couldn't help but smile and begin to plot. After that encounter I knew I had to figure out a way to pursue these birds while I am in this neck of the woods. I lucked into a friend here that connected me to another friend and although we don't speak the same language we share the same international love of the hunt. Bigger than a large quail and smaller than a pheasant, both male and female plumage is similar to a hen pheasant from home. There are multiple varieties and can be specifically targeted depending on the terrain you bust (and I do mean bust) through. One of these varieties even sports two sets of spurs on each leg. Another who lives under the canopy has bright orange legs and feet similar to a Mallard. The trail to these birds usually leads into some of the thickest veg and toughest country I have come across. You are guaranteed to end up wet from the waist down by way of dew soaked foliage that never dries out under the thick canopy. Following a local guy through the brush and over the hills, the miles seem longer when the jungle is grabbing at you, intent on slowing you to a snails pace. All of the exertion fades from the mind as you near the edge of a clearing and prepare yourself for the next mighty flush. The birds faithfully hold tight and flush from in some cases seemingly non-existent cover at your feet. Their flush does not disappoint. Every bit as startling and loud as pheasant and quick like a quail. As you shoulder the weapon in preparation for the shot the optical illusion of the large bird so close gives way to reality as he puts meters between you and dips behind every possible shot blocking tree and bush. The moment is fleeting at best and occasionally you get lucky and knock one from the sky. The admiration for the bird is similar to the hard won trophy of a Coues or Mearns where serious effort put forth negotiating the terrain they inhabit demands respect after the harvest. Aldo Leopold said "The value of any trophy from the field depends not on its size, but on the magnitude of effort expended in its pursuit". While he surely wasn't referencing these birds, his words echo in my head after these hunts. Meet the Francolin... I will let the pics tell the rest of the story. Twin Spur variety Breast plumage A days worth of trophies bound for the skillet My son thinks they are pretty swell! It is literally a jungle out there Sometimes you find small Cocoa plantations under the tall canopy where someone is trying scratch out a living. Sometimes it's a Manioc or Cassava plantation protected by bad medicine from a witch doctor (red bag tied to plant). If you steal from this plot you will be cursed until you find the with doctor who made the medicine. There is no shortage of huge Papaya growing everywhere A very typical local residence. Detail of construction technique Feisty Jungle Cock. Gave this sucker a wide berth. Butterflies gathered on some dead glass in a well worn trail. Freshly taken bush meat is always available roadside. Anything from porcupines to large snakes and monitor lizards to this Civet.

Thanks fellas, thought this forum needed some action. Happy to contribute when I can. I'm ready buddy!

Normally its and over zealous ejector spring pressing the case too hard against the inside of the receiver during the extraction process. Easily fixed by snipping a coil or two off the spring. Sometime when cases hit the ground they will dent the neck too. No worries if you have an expander ball in your die when reloading.

I would recommend full length sizing with a bushing die that will let you control neck tension. A whole new set of variables in your search for consistency. Edit: I should have added that an accurate minimum "bump" is especially important on a belted magnum like your 7 Rem or a 300 Win allowing the case to headspace off the shoulder instead of the old school belt. When done correctly your case life will increase and you'll likely see improved accuracy.

Neck sizing only does not guarantee better accuracy. You will need a comparator style gauge from sinclair or hornady to use with your dial caliper to measure the fired case from the base to the shoulder datum. This will give you a base line and allow you to adjust a full length or body die to achieve only a .002" resize or "bump". I neck sized only for a while but went back to full length bushing style dies several years ago and continue to have better results. What case are you sizing?

This is awesome. Looking forward to a Javi hunt post and photos!

Laser Disc. Replaced by the Compact Disc (CD) "Elk don't know how many feet a horse has"

IA, thanks to your dad and your family and you for handling the reality of what is dismissed quickly or not even thought of by most the best way you knew how. Tip my hat brother! Thanks for sharing and keeping those memories close!

Some people shoot all year, perfecting the art and fine tuning their equipment to be able to shoot serious distance when/if the need arises, almost becoming obsessive about intricate details. The other camp is the guys who blow the dust off grandads "thurdy naught six" once a year in Oct, chug some Mtn Ops and hit the hills with their selfie sticks projecting their mad skills on social media. Then there is everybody in between. There is room for all creeds out there. The real issue here is knowing your capability in the field and working within it.

Figured a skilled pistolero would increase the percentage of center mass hits

Good find! Terrible time to be away! I got hopeful and checked their website. No dice Hopefully this is a sign of more production on the way and not a stash that was rat holed somewhere.

Now I'm gonna have to go get a bear. This sounds great!

Wonder how that statistic changes with skilled users and center mass hits?

so far in this thread theres been about 250 years of hunting experience and youve seen more lions than everyone combined thats posted so far, in just 12 years? you must be in the lion capital of the world, take meTake you? Ha I'd rather drink turpentine and piss on a brush fire Why not we can watch young guns 2 and quote lines it will be fun so far in this thread theres been about 250 years of hunting experience and youve seen more lions than everyone combined thats posted so far, in just 12 years? you must be in the lion capital of the world, take meTake you? Ha I'd rather drink turpentine and piss on a brush fire Why not we can watch young guns 2 and quote lines it will be fun Probably the best $1.80 you'll ever spend

What a year! That is a lot of behind the scenes work for a dad that shows through in those smiling faces. Thanks for sharing!

Here you go gents. The collet was a hard thing for me to get my head around until I saw one. http://www.larrywillis.com/ Could buy one and size your brass then toss it up for sale to the next guy. May be able to get most/some of your money back.

Agreed! Those are good size kits.

I know exactly what you are talking about. An old shooting partner bought a set of the dies a few years back because he couldn't chamber his old brass in a new 300. The dies he purchased were from Innovative Tech. They fixed the problem with one run through. I know that doesn't help you locate any. Good luck in your search. Innovative Tech talks about belted mag brass becoming sticky or hard to chamber after full length resize in normal dies due to the belt preventing proper resize. I use good lube with a Redding FL bushing die bumping the normal .002" and never had this issue. If your brass is already oversize I don't know of any other option besides the collet die.

Right on Casey! Love it when it comes together on the first day like that.

I'll chime in and remind that the more accurate info you can put into the calculator (atmosherics/environmentals) the more accurate he data it spits out will be.

Hands down the Nightforce over the Steiner. I put them on my rifles for a reason. Buddy owns the Steiner and it just doesn't compare optically. You will find Nightforce reliability/durability at the top of any chart. I have found the clarity impressive as well. Multiple times I have been able to observe deer on a distant ridge well after the naked eye can make out anything. In your price range you could have the 5-25 ATACR with the MOAR-T reticle in second focal with room to spare (highly recommended). FFP is not needed on a long range hunting rig in my opinion but that is for another thread

24" I felt that the compromise for hunting vs velocity. 130 Hybrids doing 3150+ easily without worry of pressure. I got a pile of the newest batch of Hornady brass and some RL26 waiting for me