Coues Sniper

Thanks for the info Bill. I think I realize now that we were talking about two different things . I didn't mean to infer that I thought the rifle was fouling after only a dozen or so shots. What I was trying to say was after the 200+ shots down the tube and my consistent ineffective cleaning the rifle had become fouled. I wasn't letting the solvent do it's work and the copper kept building up until it got to a point where it affected my accuracy. That and the brake was a bit loose as well which probably threw the harmonics a little haywire, but accuracy was inconsistent even after I fixed the brake. The reason i asked how old your rifle was is because I have been told the barrel makers are getting tighter and tighter on tolerances and fouling is affecting newer barrels more. I'm not 100% sold on that one, but it does make a bit of sense. Also, if you have a very high quality barrel that has been well lapped with a clean throat (I would imagine you do ) it will foul less. (Less reamer marks to create the copper dust and vapor. Even the rifling process has an effect on how much copper fouling is created.) Also, good quality hunting bullets that have pure copper jackets to control expansion will tend to foul more than match type bullets. Barnes bullets for example have a very bad reputation for copper fouling. I was using Noslers and Scirocco's, but plan on playing with Bergers this Spring. Again, thanks for your input and information Bill. I appreciate it. And I wish you further succes with that 7mm of yours. I bet that thing could tell some stories

Bill, I have read many of your posts and greatly respect your opinion, but I disagree with you on this one. When I was cleaning the rifle I was very careful to never leave "goop" in the barrel after my "excessive" ( ) cleaning, and MANY smiths and shooters that I have tried to glean as much info as I possibly can from about shooting have told me that a fouled barrel will do EXACTLY what happened to me. And after all, the gun shot like crap, we cleaned it properly, and it then shot just like it did when I first got it. What else could it possibly have been? I have friends that have stories like the one you described with your 7mm, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Just another small point - I shoot out of the back of my truck when I shoot long range. I lay in the back of the truck with the gun on a bipod on the tailgate. The gun is also braked. There is a LARGE (16"diameter) area stained with residue from the powder escaping from the brake. This is just from the 30 or so rounds put thru her trying to figure out what was happening. (I do clean the truck every once in a while as well ) If you run your finger over it, the tip of your finger turns black and you can feel the residue if you rub your finger tips together. Obviously, this very same residue is building up in the barrel as well if not removed. How could this residue (not to mention copper build up in the rifling) not affect bullet flight??? The conditions would not be consistent, therefore it would seem to reason bullet flight wouldn't be either. Also, how old is your 7mm? Thanks Kevin

Happy birthday Jimmy

Oh, come on Kevin! You know you want to guess!!! ok fine, I'll say 121 1/8"

Congrats on a nice buck

Who cares about score with a buck like that! Awesome, awesome deer. Congrats.

Great work, looks like you guys did really well. Chuckar is one of my favorites too. Especially after they've been on the grill for a bit

Sweet buck man.

Neat buck, he is pretty wide. I hope you can coax a few more out of him, I'd like to see a few more angles of him. Tell him congrats on a great buck!

Sweet buck Welcome to the site.

Nice job on the cat! My old man hunted with Randy a few times waaaaay back when. Says he's a solid dude his kid however...

Great buck. Way to stick it out for the ol' man

Stud of a deer. Congrats. Did you say that was his first???

That's freaking awesome man! Congrats

Agreed, great looking buck. Any story or photos?

I think everyone was just too lathered up to say anything . Congrats again on a great trip in more ways than one. The picture of the doe is freakin cool, would have been awesome to watch that unfold. And score be dam on those bucks, but the bigger two look to tip 110 to me. And I agree with Jim, Jim and you - a thumbhole is the only way to go

I can see them somehow... sweet find!

Awesome, get them cats outta NV!

TAM, I had thought about that, but I had continued to shoot those loads all through November and up until the hunt. I would never just shoot in July and call the load good. It was shooting so well, and consistently well, with those factory loads it was almost too good to be true. I was actually calling my shots before they impacted at 800 yards the weekend before we left. I did start a new box on the hunt, so maybe they changed something, or I got a bad lot. I shot again this weekend and shot a 2" group with the handloads, and about a 5" group with the factory's at 400. Fixing that brake made a huge difference, but whatever the case the gun doesn't like them anymore. I think I'm done with factory loads, again . I plan on playing with the 210 Bergers, and 208 A-max's this spring anyways. Thanks for the imput! Kevin

Got back from Mexico on Saturday with Rio Sonora Outfitters, and had a great hunt. I was really looking forward to this year because of the good rains we got, and after seeing the horn growth on some of the bucks the archery hunters had killed this year in AZ. I was hoping we would have similar results in Ol’ Mexico . We left Vegas at about 8:00 pm and made it across the border and to the ranch at about noon the next day. After checking our zeros (more on that later) we headed out for a quick afternoon hunt. I set up on a knob over some country that generally has low deer numbers but good genetics, and Brad had seen a couple decent bucks on a scouting trip in this area. However, all I had by sundown was a couple does and a small buck. At that point we were all ready for some much needed rest. Next morning we all felt 100% better and were ready and anxious to get out there. I got set up on a different vantage point in the same general area as the previous evening well before light. The sun crept up on the ridges in front of me and revealed a whole lot of nothing. Just one doe, bedded, about 1200 yards out. Frustrated, I spun around to glass some new country behind me. About 45 minutes later I picked up a couple deer coming out of a draw a couple miles out. I could already put horns on one with my 15’s so I figured he had to be a pretty good buck. After putting the scope on him I could tell this was a buck we needed to go after. I radioed the buck’s location to Brad as he was about a ½ mile from me and he agreed we definitely needed a closer look at this buck. His 2’s were heavy and seemed to go on forever, I guessed them at least 8". We watched him for a bit and he bedded on the ridge he was on beneath an ocotillo. Perfect. We hurried over and got on a long ridge that would put us within shooting range. When we got to where we planned to shoot from we found the buck and a couple buddies up feeding about 10 yards from where we last saw him. Now he was really impressive. I tried to get my old man to shoot him but he wasn’t having it. (I easily have the best Pops ever ) I ranged him at about 400 and got ready for the shot. Now, I'm not the best shot in the world, but I pride myself in preparing for these types of situations and taking long shots. I practice out to 1000 yards with my rifle - in hunting situations - often. So I was very comfortable with this shot. I dialed my scope and got laid over my pack with a jacket under the butt of the gun and felt confident with my rest. I told Brad I was going to take him and he gave me the ok. I squeezed the shot off and heard “you missed – high.” The shot felt great so I corrected for the first shot and squeezed off another. “He’s hit, but not hard. That one was low on his front leg.” And so it went. I chased my called shots for longer than I care to mention here, all without putting the buck down. He was hit a few times and wasn’t going anywhere too fast, but losing him became a real concern. He had 3 good legs and was about 100 yards from being out of sight. Luckily, my dad had brought his rifle on the stalk and it was a gun I was familiar with. Brad suggested I try dad's gun since something definitely seemed up with mine. I reluctantly switched guns and drilled him the next shot at 475. “He’s down, great shot!” Talk about a relief! I was extremely frustrated and ecstatic all at the same time. We made it over to the buck and I about fell over. I like them tall, narrow and heavy, and this buck had all three. Both his 2’s are over 9”, he’s under 12” wide, and has just under 30” of mass. He's got a great 4th on his right and a crab claw 4 on his left. His total gross score was 121 and 6/8”, but his character was off the charts. Brad aged him at 10 1/2. I couldn’t have been happier. The last afternoon I found my old man a great buck and he was able to get him killed. Unfortunately he broke himself up something awful kicking on the ground and we weren't able to find all the pieces so we have to have him fixed. I’ll post some pics of him once he’s finished. I’m still not sure what happened with my rifle. I haven't had a chance to make it out to the range or do a once over on her yet. It seemed to be spraying bullets all over. When we checked our zeros that first afternoon, I first shot twice at 500 and actually missed our steel gong (about 8” x 10”). I moved up to 300 and center punched the bull’s eye so I shook it off and figured it was me making bad shots at 500. I should have backed up again or at least shot a group at 300 to see what I was really doing. I was over-confident in my rifle I guess. Lesson learned.

Come on Josh, err I mean Antlerboy, you post up teaser pics of your deer and you're surprised that people wanted to see the rest of your trophies (ie the antlers)? Ease up my friend! I enjoyed the scenery pics as much as anything, but you know you were trying to stir people up about the 'money shots' and you enjoyed all the attention you got . At any rate, congrats on a couple phenomenal bucks. The tine length and character of that first buck is awesome. I really like the gnarled look they have to them. And that 2nd buck speaks for itself man, freaking awesome. You came home with 2 bucks that anyone would kill for. Congrats man, you deserve it. And by the way, the scenery shots were ok Kevin

In the spirit of the word screening issue: Casey, Josh is being a 'feces head' having fun making us wait, and I'm having fun riding him like Seabiscuit until he posts his pics.

Dearest Joshua, in regards to your last post...

Now that's cool. Congrats to your wife on a great trophy, and with the kids no less.

That's friggin weird bro Hows it weird!?!? You hang his "stuff" in a tree?? What about that isn't weird????