TackDriver284
Handloader
- Feb 13, 2016
- 2,522
- 2,017
The morning was brisk and it was 45 degrees and a clear day, nothing beats a cup of hot coffee in the morning before a hunt. Loaded all the hunting gear in the truck and my 300 Win Mag loaded with 180 Accubonds. A short drive to the place with my wife and we met with the hunting guide. It was a spectacular sight seeing all kinds of animals mostly exotics roaming around free grazing. We could not find any red stag bulls, so I settled for a red stag cow , and we saw 4 stags about 200 yards inside a sendero across from an open field. They were grazing about, so i motioned the guide that I will take one, so I got off and settled the 300 Mag on the hood on a small bull bag, ranged the distance and it was 427 yards, and I checked my chart and calibrated the ATACR and settled the crosshairs on a fat stag, and one thing caught my eye,,,a overhanging branch with twigs about 200 yards away at the entrance of the sendero and I was concerned about a ricochet and ruin the hunt, so I decided to pass, and we moved up to get closer. At 300 yards, it seemed a better spot to take her down until a curious fallow buck blocked the line of sight and it walked towards them and got spooked, oh well, we waited 10 minutes and they did not return, so we got back in the truck and found a spot where we saw one earlier that morning. We waited a while, and a young red stag walked about lazily and I passed on it, since it was young. Five minutes later, a cow red stag came out about 50 yards behind him, and it was a mature cow. I signaled the guide and my wife to put the earplugs on since I have a muzzle brake on the rifle. I ranged the distance and it was 272 yards, and I set the scope for 275 yards, settle the bead on it, waiting for it to turn broadside but it was curious eyeballing us, and it was kind of spooked and it was 11 am, and getting warmer and i had a feeling that it will take off if I waited too long and not being able to find another because of the heat / sun, and she was still facing me and I lost patience waiting, the younger stag was also interfering with the line of sight as well,,,as soon as the young stag was about 6 inches to the left of the line of sight giving me the green light, I settled the crosshairs on the junction of the neck / shoulder and a thunderous boom echoed and the cow dropped like a brick. We had a round of high fives, we headed over there and the bullet indeed hit where I wanted. An assistant came with a front loader and we loaded the stag in it and headed to camp. After skinning, and we opened the stag, the scapula was shattered and the lungs were completely gone, and there was the stomach full of grass, one hole on each side, but no mess at all, and I assumed the bullet was lost somewhere in the pile of intestines and i was about to dig in there and my wife thought I was crazy because she thought it was nuts to go through that pile of krap to recover a bullet so I decided to leave it alone, lol. I felt bad not being able to recover that AccuBond. 
After washing it, quartered and it all went into 2 marine ice chests, 1/3 bottom full of ice, and meat in the center and top third covered with ice. We headed home and let the ice wash the meat for 24 hours with drain plugs open and drain was clear, so we started on it yesterday and this morning. We did the remaining two rear legs this morning, and while I was sorting group of muscles on the rear leg, I noticed a shiny object sitting between two groups of muscles next to the pelvic bone, low and behold, its the AccuBond. Gosh sakes , that bullet hit like a train, it hit from front , traveled the length of the red stag and almost exited but stopped 2 inches before it would have touched the hide. I never even noticed the hole on the inside pelvis / in the fatty tissue below the colon area where the bullet entered. That is amazing performance and it held up well after shattering the scapula. Retained weight is 116 grains. Until next time,,,,,
After washing it, quartered and it all went into 2 marine ice chests, 1/3 bottom full of ice, and meat in the center and top third covered with ice. We headed home and let the ice wash the meat for 24 hours with drain plugs open and drain was clear, so we started on it yesterday and this morning. We did the remaining two rear legs this morning, and while I was sorting group of muscles on the rear leg, I noticed a shiny object sitting between two groups of muscles next to the pelvic bone, low and behold, its the AccuBond. Gosh sakes , that bullet hit like a train, it hit from front , traveled the length of the red stag and almost exited but stopped 2 inches before it would have touched the hide. I never even noticed the hole on the inside pelvis / in the fatty tissue below the colon area where the bullet entered. That is amazing performance and it held up well after shattering the scapula. Retained weight is 116 grains. Until next time,,,,,
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