lancetkenyon Report post Posted April 12, 2014 Starting a thread on my daughter's upcoming November elk hunt to chronicle her first elk hunt.We found out last week that she has drawn her first AZ rifle elk tag for unit 7W. She drew this tag with only two bonus points. This will be her third big game hunt, but first real "big game" hunt. She took a javelina in February of this year, and she has a turkey tag for the end of April through end of May.First off is some upgrades to the rifle she will be using on this hunt. It has been a proven game getter, but some upgrades are long overdue to bring the rifle up to standards. It has been my "loaner rifle" for friends and family for 15 years, for those learning to hunt or old timers who' vision has gone downhill and need a scope (my Dad). It has been used by three generations in my family: My father who taught me to hunt had actually never taken any big game until 10 years ago when he used this rifle on a mule deer hunt and took his first buck ever. I have used it on hunts, but have actually never taken any large game with it. My cousin has used it to take a deer and an elk, a good friend has done the same. My older daughter took her first elk at age 11 (she is now 22), a great cow at 200 yds. that went a total of two steps.The rifle:Interarms Mark X (Mauser 98) LA in .270 Win24" 1-10" twist stock barrel with KDF muzzle brakeBell & Carlson Carbelite stockLeupold 1 pc. baseLeupold ringsCabela's Alaskan Guide 4.5-14x50 scopeThe original loads:Barnes 150gr. XFB @ 2950fps (has taken a few elk)Sierra 130gr. Game King @ 3120fps (has taken a few deer)Berger 140gr. VLD @ 3090fps (latest load worked up as an all around and shot about .800 MOA)The new load I will be working up:Nosler 150gr. Accubond LR (.625 BC)COAL of 2.8855 Jammed .005 leaves me a lot of case spaceGoing to try RL22 and H4831SCWinchester brassCCI BR-2 primersHoping for 2950fps±Rifle upgrades:New Bell & Carlson Medalist stock w. full aluminum bedding block in tan web (ordered from Red Hawk Rifles on Wednesday)Used SWFA SS HD 5-20x50 scope in TPS rings (picked up from Mike @ Southwest Ammunition yesterday, thanks Mike!) If you don't know SWFA scopes, you should! Amazing glass.New Brownell's steel Picatinny rail base (ordered today)Back-up/long range rifle will be my Rem700 in .300RUM w. brake. She has shot this a couple times and can handle it for a few shots at a time.My daughter has been shooting a lot in the last year. She can go 10 for 10 on a 12" steel at 600 yds. with my AR15. She has first round hits on the 12" steel with my .25-06 Ackley at 865 yds. We will be doing a LOT of shooting in the upcoming months to get her ready, along with a lot of hiking to get in better shape. Scouting will start in a couple months once the bulls start growing horns again.I have a good buddy with a cabin about 2 miles outside of our hunting area, and he has graciously offered its use to me, along with trailer parking and hookups for my 31' 5th wheel. So weekend scouting trips will be a lot easier and more comfortable.On to some photos for the first of many posts. Hope you all enjoy the 8 month journey as much as we are going to. Hopes are high, and any mature 6x6 bull is the hope, but any decent bull will be on the hit list. A good time with family and friends, and meat in the freezer, will be the top goal. But if a giant is spotted throughout the year and makes it through the archery season...who knows. She might hold out for a few days.The .270 that has served many people wellMuzzle brake makes the .270 kick like a .243The action has been moving a bit over the years in the cheap stockCheap scope and base removed (going to my brother for a "throw in the truck gun")Mounted the SWFA on my AR to temporarily try out tomorrow150gr. Accubond LR vs. 140gr. Berger VLD 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shedhunteraz Report post Posted April 12, 2014 Congrats wish you all the luck and hope she puts a big one down Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loco4coues Report post Posted April 13, 2014 Congrats to your daughter! We love the 150 gr. accubond LR out of our .270s (4 of us) we killed a few things last year with it and it performed as advertised. We found it shot a lot better when we backed off on the powder a bit (shooting about 150 fps slower than the 150 gr. bergers). I look forward to updates! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1uglydude Report post Posted April 14, 2014 Sounds like an adventure, good luck! If you aren't married to your new bullet choice, I'll throw some props out for the new Barnes 129gr LRX. We used it last year for devastating results on elk. Barnes formulates to expand at as low as 1600-1700 fps. With the lighter weight, you can get a lot of velocity and more energy for the medium range shots too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildwoody Report post Posted April 14, 2014 love barns, good luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted April 14, 2014 Great post! Thanks for sharing all the details on your preparations for the hunt. And it's great you and your daughter are doing so much shooting before the hunt so she can make the shot when it counts! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seldom Drawn Report post Posted April 15, 2014 The most important thing will be all the scouting you do for her,Elk are a little easier to kill then Turkey and javelina in my opionon. there isn't anything like hunting with the kids I love it.I helped 3 retired guys on this same hunt last year it was a lot of fun it was a pretty easy hunt even though they couldn't walk very far, good luck to your daughter, you should easily find her a good bull 320 plus on this hunt, if you put in the time scouting. why do you consider this her first real hunt?It doesn't really matter what hunt when your helping with the kids they are all a blast I don't think they care about a pig,a deer, or an elk, they are just starting out.. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted April 22, 2014 First "big game hunt" as in an elk is big. Javelina was her first big game hunt but they are a relatively small species compared to deer, pronghorn, elk, etc. I will update this with some more photos later today if I get a chance. Got the gun ready to shoot, and some rounds loaded for a ladder test. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted April 22, 2014 Brown Santa arrived yesterday with the new stock. Being a "drop-in stock", but knowing all the variables a Mauser 98 can have, I had about 3 hours of inletting to get everything to fit and work properly. Not a big deal, and just makes it a little more rewarding. Biggest thing was the safety assembly on my Mauser is nothing like an original. Took some Dremel work. Also has to clearance a few areas, push-button release for the floor plate, bridge in front of the trigger area for the safety bar to clear, a little bit in front of the lug area for the round receiver, etc. Clearance for the thumb safety and safety bar (in the bridge) Clearance for the push button floor plate release Paint touchup at the clearance areas Reassembled with proper clearances Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted April 23, 2014 Reassembled I know you all like my wallpaper... I also started some loads for a ladder test. Going to be shooting Nosler Accubond LR Winchester Brass CCI BR-2 primers H4831SC Nosler book has max load at 55.0gr. Hodgdon book shows max load at 55.7gr. Other sources of reloading data show up to 58.0gr. I started middle of the road and will work up watching for signs of pressure. My 140gr. Berger loads are 58.3gr. of H4831, and these NAB LR are loaded longer than the 140s with more case space for now. I can't wait to get the scope mounted (base is on order and should arrive this week) and start load development. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted April 23, 2014 Was stoked when Brown Santa came back on Friday..... Until....Houston, we have a problem. The rear mounting holes don't line up at all. So I quit working on the gun for the weekend. Called up Phoenix Custom Rifles on Monday and dropped it off to have them drill and tap the action to fit the Picatinny rail. They told me they would have it done by the next day for a very fair price, so I left with the expectations of having a new Picatinny rail mounted by middle of the week. Then it happened. About 30 minutes after I left Phoenix Custom Rifles, I got a call...."Hey Lance, this is Keith....ummm....I have your rifle complete." Seriously, Keith jumped right on my small job and completed it in 30 minutes at the price quoted, and even mounted the rail for me! To PCR...thank you so much! I will be back for other work I want done in the future. Great guy, nice clean, well organized shop too. Got some photos of the rifle with the scope mounted up. I tried a few variations of scope mounting (forward/back) until my daughter was comfortable with the set up. I also moved the scope level around a bit. I had it where I thought was best and most visible (behind the rear scope ring), but when I worked the bolt I hit my knuckle. Can't have that happen when it is cold, so I moved it just in front of the rear ring after the scope was in the correct position for my daughter. Scope with level mounted on rifle My lucky little sucker checking positioning... If this doesn't make it all worth while...nothing does! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loco4coues Report post Posted April 23, 2014 Awesome! The rifle looks great! We had to back off on the velocity to get the LRAB to shoot out of our rifle. We shoot the 150 gr Berger VLD right at 3000 fps and found the most accurate load for the 150 LRAB right around 2860 fps. Good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted April 23, 2014 I will definitely keep velocity in mind. If it was not going to be windy on Saturday, I would be going out to shoot my ladder testing over the chrono. I have a wide range of powder loads, so I am sure I will have a couple starting nodes to refine. The most accurate load will be used for this rifle. I am just hoping for 2900-2950. Anything over that will be a bonus. Slightly under will be acceptable too. Then it is "load a bunch and shoot all summer/fall long" time! She will be putting in hours behind other guns this year too. Practice practice practice. .25-06, .250 Ackley, .223, .270Win, .22-250, .22LR.....my goal for her is 800-1000 rounds before season opener. Ranges out to 1000 yds. too. 600 is easy for her, and she had a 1st round hit at 865 with my .25-06. So stretching it out to 1000 or beyond will make closer shots a piece of cake if one presents itself. And a longer shot not nearly as stressful if needed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lancetkenyon Report post Posted April 23, 2014 5X 12X 20X 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
