cohntr6

I saw the units list for Project Red Zone. Will unit 31 be in a future Project Red Zone?

Impressive!

Very nice! It looks like we may share some similar stomping grounds

Well, that video did its job of jacking me up for December! Well done! Are any off those bucks still roaming the hills? Jeff

I think people are pointing fingers at the wrong source. I like the "luck" of the draw. LOL Increasing sheep and antelope numbers should be more of a focus for Game and Fish that would eventually increase tag numbers (I know it wont ever keep with demand for tags). Of the few areas of the state where sheep have been introduced (or re-introduced) management hasn't been what it should be. Every biologist knows in order for a new population to be successful the habitat has to be as prime as possible to make for vigorous sheep (or antelope). There also needs to be an over harvest of all predators in these areas before the animals are released and even more of a aggressive whacking and stacking of predators before fawns and lambs are dropped. Recruitment has to be high every year for success. Looking at years of the Game and Fish numbers don't really reflect a steady increase in sheep and antelope numbers, it seems to be stagnant (Rockies in Morenci may be a exception). Hopefully bureaucracy wont stand in the way of this. LOL Jeff

Woohoo...getting closer!!!

Guess I should get in the sheep forum more often...great story...5bramirez deserves the Nobel prize for that hunt! Jeff

I had trouble with the link but here are the details: On November 22nd, Jim Spinella hit a 36” plate at 4210 yards with a HCR 375 CheyTac. That is 2.4 miles! Over the past few years, Hill Country Rifles has been doing some very long range shooting with friend and customer, Jim Spinella. Spinella hit a 36” plate at 3600 yards, 3800 yards, and on November 22nd, he hit a 36” plate at 4210 yards. That is 2.4 miles! Each shot involved a new rifle build by HCR, all in 375 Cheytac. New lessons were learned and the rifles evolved into lighter, more useful designs. One of the most interesting aspects to these shots is the engineering of custom mounts to avoid running out of scope adjustment. A 230 minute of angle (MOA) rail was machined for a 20 MOA Nightforce Unimount for a total of 250 MOA. The Nightforce Beast scope also allows 34.9 MILS of additional come-up. That internal adjustment range is extremely important for this kind of shooting. Because of the amount of cant in the mounts, the point of impact at 100 yards is 16 feet, 8 inches high. Crazy, right? After hitting the plate at 3600 and 3800, the HCR team felt confident the 4210 would happen. Time to learn a new lesson. “We checked the weather forecast daily a week ahead of the trip to FTW Ranch. Things looked pretty good,” said HCR’s GM, Matt Bettersworth. The ever-reliable weather app predicted sunny skies and high temps in the low 60’s. The weather pattern looked stable several days before and after the November 21st shoot date. Perfect shooting conditions. Four days before the trip, a major cold front entered the forecast. Each day the predicted high temperature fell lower and the predicted winds got higher. “The bottom line is that this was more about having a great time with friends and making some cool memories than it was about the distance,” said Spinella. “We pushed the team, the equipment, and the round way, way beyond any reasonable shooting range.” At 4210 yards a ½ mph change in wind speed can move the bullet more than 4 feet. The wind was blowing 15 to 35 mph most of the day Saturday, so the shot was moved to Sunday. Conditions finally looked reasonable late Sunday afternoon. Reasonable ended up consisting of 3-6 mph of wind, usually left to right, but occasionally right to left, with a temperature of 58 degrees. During the 3800 yard shot, the first shot was close to the target and easy to see. In fact, almost every impact was visible through the spotting scope. “17 shots later we hit our target,” said HCR President Dave Fuqua. “It is amazing to see what happens to the bullet in the next 400 yards.“ The last 400 yards adds 1.5 seconds to time of flight and the bullet drops an additional 265 feet. That is a lot of time for the wind to push the bullet. Another major obstacle to this shot was that the equipment would only calculate ballistics to 4000 yards. So just finding a starting point in terms of dope was a challenge. Doug Prichard has been making wind calls in the FTW hills and valleys for over a decade, not to mention his extensive military training. He predicted the air would go flat just before Jim ran out of shooting light. He was right. At about 5:15 the air went totally still. Cigarette smoke would have gone straight up if anyone still smoked. Everything changed on a dime. The next shot hit the white rock with the red paint on it about 12 feet left of our target. The next shot was just to the right. The last two magazines produced very consistent results at that amazing distance and the hit was made by making calculated adjustments to the known impact calls. “This would never have been possible without a customer and friend like Jim and the amazing people and facilities at FTW ranch,” said Bettersworth. We are blessed to have the unique combination of a shop to build the rifle in, a customer to build it for, and a place to shoot these extreme distances.” SHOT DETAILS Date: November 22, 2015 Location: FTW Ranch, Barksdale TX Rifle: HCR Carry Weight 375 CheyTac Action: Stiller CheyTac 1.450” Barrel: Benchmark 8 groove, 1:11.5” twist, 27”, .750”@muzzle Muzzle Brake: Benchmark Miller Prone Trigger: Jewell with front safety set 2.0 pounds Stock: McMillan A3/5 customized to fit action, bottom metal, with custom adjustable comb Trigger Guard: Bear Custom DBM Metal Finish: Two-tone Black, Tungsten Gray Cerakote Scope: Nightforce Beast H59 reticle Mounts: Custom 230 MOA rail, 20 MOA Nightforce Direct Mount Unscoped weight: 12.5 pounds Weight with scope and mounts: 15.5 pounds Ballistic Data and Environmentals: Total Elevation: 96.5 MILS (4.5 MILS in the reticle) Windage: 2.3 MILS Right Temp: 58 Degrees Humidity: 50% Elevation: 2000 ft Station Pressure: 28.00 Hg.

I read all the advice on how to and how not to hunt these border units and think to myself, what the heck?!! This is the United States and we cant hunt our backyard without all these issues and worries that have been mentioned. Such a shame. Jeff

Replied to your PM.

I am still interested, shipping or not, on the whole lot. PM me please. Jeff

I am interested in the 50. Will you ship to Safford? Jeff

Man that is a smoking deal! You dont get around Safford to often do you? Jeff

Brent, I have been playing around with the same bullet in my 6.5-284 and am still trying to find a good grouping load. I have a bunch on the bench that need to head to the range! Shame on me. I did give some 143 eld-x's to my bother in law to load for a 6.5 creedmor and we were shooting steel at 730 and 1235 yards from a ruger precision rifle. I was very impressed. I hope I get a deer tag to really try them out Jeff

Current status?

Very nice Brent! Hope you all draw so you can really try it out. Jeff

My father in law got one last year in 6.5 Creedmor and put the Vortex Viper pst-ffp 6-24 on it. It shoots Eld-x and Bergers very nicely out to 1200 yards. I have been able to shoot it out to 1200 and I'm just getting into the long range thing. My brothers in law have put about 500 rounds through it, LOL. I think my father in law got it for around $1000. Recoil is pretty much nothing and with all the adjustments for the LOP and cheek weld anybody can shoot it. We all want one Jeff

Check out the title Bowelk341

When do you report to the MTC?

Nice rifle! I am interested in your factory rounds, brass, handloaded ammo. Willing to part with that stuff? Jeff

I'll take both H4831 but wont be in Mesa till the 15th. Jeff

I'm hearing local stories so you better set them straight!

I am not too worried with only 40 rifle tags and a huge unit. I would love to try out the experiment, sign me up! Jeff

Very nice! I did my first backpack hunt in 31 this year and I live in the unit! LOL Congrats and thanks for sharing. Jeff

Clinton, I have some .264- 143 grain ELDX on its way as of today from of all places Sportsmans warehouse while at the same time being on "backorder" from Midway (LOL-thats another story!). I guess I'll let you have a few. LOL How did those .257 75 grain V-max shoot for you? Jeff