xphunter
Handloader
- Sep 15, 2005
- 1,241
- 2,234
On Friday I went out to Mac's Gunworks to zero and get some drops out to 500 yards with my two Pachmayr Dominator's. These both have long eye pistol scopes on them with external turrets. It is very difficult to shoot accurately at distance with just holding over.
With a 1911 frame and trigger, and not being able to use a bi-pod, makes the Dominator system a little more challenging to use. I used a front rest and a Holland's small field bag under the pistol grip.
The Dominator on the left is a 6.5 Creedmoor with a 15" barrel. Scope is the Leupold 2.5-8 EER. The drops on the grip are for my 140 A-Max load, which I did not use yesterday.
The one on the right is a 25 Creedmoor, and it has a 14" barrel and a Harrel brake. The barrel is heavier also. Once new trigger/hammer parts were put in, the trigger pull is great for a 1911.
Initially, the trigger pull was quite heavy, and being the trigger snob that I am, I didn't like it-Now I love it!
It shoots the .257 110 grain Nosler Accubonds at 2726 fps.
I like the classic looks of the 6.5, but the 25 has become my favorite.
This is the first time I have used the new Weaver 2-6 pistol scope.
You can zero these turrets easily, and so far the adjustment have been spot on to meet me needs.
I like the eye relief better on the Weaver than the Leupold on the Dominator at least.
I knew the velocity with the 110's, so I stated with the 25 Creed.
I had to re-zero at 100 yards, since I had put a new scope on it.
I got lucky, and within 3-shots I was off to shooting steel.
I started at 300 yards on a 10" piece of steel, and I didn't hold or dial for wind. I shot right.
Either the wind was doing something weird then or I pushed the shot right with some bad fundamentals. I am not really sure.
With all the further shots, from that time forward, I had to deal with an ever increasing quartering tail wind to full value wind from right to left.
I was just checking to make sure my drops were solid.
300 yards
Then, I jumped out to 500 yards.
If I had my druthers though, I would like to have more than 6x, but I was happy with the shots at 500.
Took some pics, videos, and painted targets.
The wind continued to get faster with some gusting-Notice the swinging steel targets as an indicator!
Time to shoot the 6.5 Creed Dominator.
I tried some Hornady factory ammo that used the 120 grain GMX bullet that I traded for during WY-SHOT.
After a 100 yards zero, I went to the 10 inch plate at 300 yards, and kept subtracting my guesstimate on the velocity until the drops got close.Then, I went to 500 yards where there is a large target, so I could get my wind figured out and it be able to see if my vertical was close. I had to drop my MV more than I thought I would. Notice the swinging plates at 300 and 400 yards.
I shot at 300, 500, and then back to 400 yards
When antelope season came around, the 25 Creed Dominator took care of this doe quickly.
I was able to spend the first Saturday in October, hunting for antelope. I didn’t find any bucks I was looking for, so I took this doe in the afternoon.
Loving my BCG Dominator in 25 Creedmoor! 41.5 grains H-4350, Fed 210M primers, using the 110 AB’s for a muzzle velocity of 2726 fps.
It was a quartering shot at 227 yards, and you can see the impact point in the picture.
This customized 14" Dominator shoots so good. I am so pleased with the speed and accuracy of this Dominator.
This platform is quite a bit harder to shoot accurately compared to a XP-100, but every since Bob Milek wrote about these babies back in the 80's, I have always wanted one.
Because of the excessive time I spent trying to get my cow tag filled, I didn't even hunt for a muley buck. Dan and I went up to a favorite little spot outside of Story, WY to get some whitetail hunting in before the season ended. On the 29th of November I was able to get two tags filled, but Dan came up empty. On the following day, Dan shot a small buck and a doe.
We both brought two handguns a piece. We hunted the morning with nothing. We started hunting again after lunch, and we could tell that the deer were out and moving. We parted ways again and while I was slowly making my way to the place to where I would position myself for the afternoon, I saw movement through the high grass. I was able to take a hurried shot at short range from the double kneeling position. She went down so fast at the shot, that when I saw another deer run into cover, I questioned myself as to whether I had missed, but it didn’t make sense because this other one looked smaller. I walked to the place where I shot and there was the first doe was dead on the spot.
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/8uOKn0Rl.jpg "[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]")
I was using some 6.5 Creedmoor Hornady 120 grain GMX ammunition. After taking some pictures, and getting ready to gut her, I noticed out of my peripheral vision movement, it was another deer in the trees. It ended up being the yearling that had runoff to begin with. One more shot, and then I had the second one down. This doe, and the yearling are pictured where they laid.
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/AYpN6bTl.jpg "[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]")
I had the intention to shoot the first one of the two tags I had with my 6.5 Creedmoor Pachmayr Dominator (the one pictured), and hopefully the second one with my 25 Creedmoor Dominator.
I never had time to even go get the other Dominator, as this yearling came back, and I was kind of hidden by a wood pile and they ultimately died about 40 yards from each other. Great time with a good friend.
Sometimes when things happen, they happen quickly.
These two doe kills were less than 50 yards from where I shot my doe last year, while slowly making my way to sit against a tree for an afternoon hunt.
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/HkFKpr4l.jpg "[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]")
To date I have killed five does and one buck in this opening since I started hunting here...You could say it is a deer honey-hole
