Getting Ready for Elk Season

[SJB358]

I have been taking Brandon out to get him prepped for elk season. Doing all of our shooting from the ground. Started out at the sitting in order to get his rifle zeroed since he put the Minox ZA5HD 2-10 on the 7mm Mauser.

After we had it close enough, we went to our bellys at 200 yards. We laid my Eberlestock down but mainly shot from a hasty sling. Pretty fun stuff.





Brandon did pretty well at 200 with the sling. He is still sorting himself out a little with the sling, but he seems to be doing well.



I did a little shooting with my 7mm WSM and my 338 using some old loads left over from years ago.



Then, for some offhand practice we "snuck" up on our target. Got to about 75 yards and told him it was a bull elk standing and he needed to kill it..



He took three quick shots, running the bolt pretty well. Overall, it was a good range trip for us. Can't wait to get back after it and continue honing the skills.

 

[DrMike]

I'd say at this rate, Brandon will shortly be giving you a run for your money, Scotty. He has a good teacher; but he may excel even his instruction shortly. Yeah, it looks as if elk in Oregon could be in trouble this year.

 

[SJB358]

He is a good shooter Mike. I have a problem with patience but he is worse, so I have a couple of years on him.. He really handles that 7x57 really well though. Looking forward to him laying into some elk.

 

[truck driver]

Looking good Scotty. Practice makes perfect. I use to do all my practicing on ground hogs. :mrgreen:

 

[JD338]

It looks like you both are there. That's minute of elk at 200 yds.
Well done guys!

Scotty, thank you for your service!

JD338

 

[OU812]

With shooting like that he will do well on elk.

 

[Elkman]

It really looks like those two are ready to go!!! Great morning Scotty and Brandon. I am looking forward to the fall. !!!!

 

[6mm Remington]

Nice job guys and sure great to see you out with your son Scotty!

 

[nvbroncrider]

It is a lot of fun shooting outta position like that. I like to do that when I shoot rabbits keeps the mind and body ready for anything. Shooting standing with a sling is always good practice. A few nights ago I got to take a couple with my 338 it was feeling neglected so I took it out and got a rabbit at 150 yards standing at about 30 mins past legal shooting light off an idling quad, really helps the confidence and is great practice for trigger control.

Scotty,
What's the 150 load you run? RL-17 I assume?

 

[Guy Miner]

You guys KNOW I highly approve of this kind of rifle practice! :mrgreen:

Good to see it. Being able to hit the target, quickly, in field conditions, beats small groups from a bench when it comes time to fill tags. Keep it up Scotty!

Regards, Guy

 

[SJB358]

It is a lot of fun shooting outta position like that. I like to do that when I shoot rabbits keeps the mind and body ready for anything. Shooting standing with a sling is always good practice. A few nights ago I got to take a couple with my 338 it was feeling neglected so I took it out and got a rabbit at 150 yards standing at about 30 mins past legal shooting light off an idling quad, really helps the confidence and is great practice for trigger control.

Scotty,
What's the 150 load you run? RL-17 I assume?

Norma brass, 150 PT, 3.120" COAL, CCIBR2, 51.5 grains of Rl17. I'll chrono them again soon but they were running 2850 the last time out.

Guy, you aren't kidding buddy. Plus it's really fun to challenge each other when you shoot like that. We had a great time. Pretty soon I should have both of my big guns up and running so I'll dedicate full on time to just practice with them.

 

[Guy Miner]

Be careful about prone/sling prone with your .338 & .358 rifles. They can be Noggin Nockers. :mrgreen:

I'll shoot my .375 from prone, but I make sure I control that thing and keep the scope from bonking me on the grape. Enough damage up there over the years! :grin:

Guy

 

[SJB358]

Yep, without a doubt Guy. My 338 isn't too bad but the Newton is a little jumpy. It shouldn't be too bad with a tight sling. We shall see. Just loaded up some more to get out on the range and get back on the ground with.

When you get a chance check your email. Sent you a question.

Oh, the VX6 has a lot of eye relief. Hoping it's worth the money. Very nice scope.

 

[nvbroncrider]

Be careful about prone/sling prone with your .338 & .358 rifles. They can be Noggin Nockers. :mrgreen:

I'll shoot my .375 from prone, but I make sure I control that thing and keep the scope from bonking me on the grape. Enough damage up there over the years! :grin:

Guy

LOL What's that little scope gonna do to me?!?!?!?! I've taken a few fart knockin's far more severe than a little old gun can dish out in any circumstance.

One time I got run over by a pickman at a rodeo after the whistle. They couldn't catch up to me so I started pointing at the ground and rolled off hit and before I could get up got ran over. It wasn't the first guy it was the second that was 10 yards wide and 30 yards behind the first. I heard a horse shoe clink off the back of my head stood up and had a little hell getting outta the arena. It was quite a fart knockin I took that day.

 

[Guy Miner]

Saw a gal's eyebrow peeled right off by a scope, blood all over her face, and on the rifle.

Her hubby talked her into trying his 7mm mag from the bench, without coaching her on giving the scope some room... She went to the hospital, hysterical, bleedling bad. Kinda confused too.

Guy

 

[SJB358]

Yeah, that never turns out well. Just stupid really. That guy should've got a smack on the jaw for doing that to the lady. Turned something that could have been cool into something she will likely never wanna do again.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Only ever had this problem with a T/C Encore...I only had the muzzle loader barrel (.50 caliber)...that thing had a nasty habit of hitting me in the head, it was the ergonomics of the stock...just never got used to it, sold it.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I had a 2-8x32 Nikon Monarch on my .45-70 that used to whack my eyebrow at least once every range session. Specs said 4 inch eye relief but it was about 2 inch eye relief at 8X. I got rid of it, fast.

Aside from shooting at the bench, I have always shot any caliber at .338 WM or above from a sitting position while hunting as I tend to crawl the stock. However, 7mm Mauser should be a great caliber for Brandon!

 

[SJB358]

I had a 2-8x32 Nikon Monarch on my .45-70 that used to whack my eyebrow at least once every range session. Specs said 4 inch eye relief but it was about 2 inch eye relief at 8X. I got rid of it, fast.

Aside from shooting at the bench, I have always shot any caliber at .338 WM or above from a sitting position while hunting as I tend to crawl the stock. However, 7mm Mauser should be a great caliber for Brandon!

Charlie, that 7mm Mauser is just awesome. I tell you what, I am very impressed with the rifle/scope and cartridge. It has been very accurate with so many different loads. It's a great rifle to carry and it performs pretty closely to a 270 with less recoil. I don't mean to say it is the twin to a 270, but that for normal hunting ranges, you'd never see the difference. The Norma brass is worth every penny I spent on it. Nice quality and again, it just keeps putting rounds on target.

It works well enough that I'd like one of the same, as a lightweight rifle. That or a 280 Remington have alot of appeal in that regard.

 

[truck driver]

I had a 2-8x32 Nikon Monarch on my .45-70 that used to whack my eyebrow at least once every range session. Specs said 4 inch eye relief but it was about 2 inch eye relief at 8X. I got rid of it, fast.

Aside from shooting at the bench, I have always shot any caliber at .338 WM or above from a sitting position while hunting as I tend to crawl the stock. However, 7mm Mauser should be a great caliber for Brandon!

Charlie, that 7mm Mauser is just awesome. I tell you what, I am very impressed with the rifle/scope and cartridge. It has been very accurate with so many different loads. It's a great rifle to carry and it performs pretty closely to a 270 with less recoil. I don't mean to say it is the twin to a 270, but that for normal hunting ranges, you'd never see the difference. The Norma brass is worth every penny I spent on it. Nice quality and again, it just keeps putting rounds on target.

It works well enough that I'd like one of the same, as a lightweight rifle. That or a 280 Remington have a lot of appeal in that regard.

I just showed you the perfect donor for a 280 build and it was a M70. So what's the hold up :?: :roll: :lol: