Category Archives: Big Game Hunting

Articles about Big Game Hunting.

Browning X-Bolt Speed 7mm Rem Mag with Hand Loaded IMR 4831 Powder and 168g Nosler ABLR for Moose

Posted on by

X-Bolt Speed

My Browning 26 inch 9.5 twist rifle barrel likes hand loaded 7mm 168 grain Nosler ABLR with a hot load of IMR 4831 per Nosler web load data. I chrono’d an average of 3005 fps. Wow! These are cookin’ !! COAL was 3.255 inches. No pressure signs except the primer was a bit flatter… as expected. Three rounds measured 3/4 inch but more testing will firm that up. I will change the trigger to a Timney at some point as it is impractical to easily adjust with a 2mm Allen wrench on a sealant filled screw. If you like 4 pounds for a factory trigger it works, for some hunters, not me. All my rifles are set near 3 pounds. 

Research with Bryan Litz Applied Ballistics Book finds that  the Nosler 175g ABLR Form Factor of 0.94 is considered low drag but the 168g ABLR is considered VLD Very Low Drag with Form Factor of 0.896 thus holding its energy better at long range than the 175g ABLR.

Assuming I use the 168 Nosler ABLR for long range Newfoundland moose hunting, I can reach out in a large open terrain tundra-like bog with my BOG tripod Death Grip to steady the shot out to 600 yards.

Distances I will practice this summer, in prep for the hunt, is out to 600 yards. With a 300 yd zero, at 100 yards the bullet is 3 inches high and 150 yards is 4 inches high, dead-on at 300 yards and Max Point Blank Range is 376 yards. At 600 yards terminal energy is 1822 ft-lbs and still traveling over 2200 fps. At 400 yds it holds a truck-load of energy at 2200 ft-lbs. Just have your laser rangefinder at hand and be ready for a follow-up shot. The 60 degree bolt throw is a big plus for very fast second shots.

Below is the JBM ballistic report for the Nosler 168g ABLR at 3005fps and zeroed for 300 yards.

 

Trajectory
Input Data
Manufacturer: Nosler Description: Accubond Long Range Spitzer (G7)
Caliber: 0.284 in Weight: 168.0 gr
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.353 G7 (ASM)
Muzzle Velocity: 3005.0 ft/s Distance to Chronograph: 10.0 ft
Sight Height: 1.50 in Sight Offset: 0.00 in
Zero Height: 0.00 in Zero Offset: 0.00 in
Windage: 0.000 MOA Elevation: 0.000 MOA
Line Of Sight Angle: 0.0 deg Cant Angle: 0.0 deg
Wind Speed: 10.0 mph Wind Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Speed: 10.0 mph Target Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Height: 48.0 in
Temperature: 45.0 °F Pressure: 29.92 in Hg
Humidity: 0 % Altitude: 0.0 ft
Vital Zone Radius: 5.0 in
Std. Atmosphere at Altitude: No Pressure is Corrected: Yes
Zero at Max. Point Blank Range: No Target Relative Drops: Yes
Mark Sound Barrier Crossing: No Include Extra Rows: No
Column 1 Units: 1.00 in Column 2 Units: 1.00 MOA
Round Output to Whole Numbers: No
Output Data
Elevation: 6.548 MOA Windage: 0.000 MOA
Atmospheric Density: 0.07859 lb/ft³ Speed of Sound: 1101.3 ft/s
Maximum PBR: 376 yd Maximum PBR Zero: 318 yd
Range of Maximum Height: 174 yd Energy at Maximum PBR: 2318.7 ft•lbs
Sectional Density: 0.298 lb/in²
Calculated Table
Range Drop Drop Windage Windage Velocity Mach Energy Time Lead Lead
(yd) (in) (MOA) (in) (MOA) (ft/s) (none) (ft•lbs) (s) (in) (MOA)
0 -1.5 *** 0.0 *** 3009.8 2.733 3378.7 0.000 0.0 ***
50 1.4 2.8 0.1 0.2 2938.4 2.668 3220.4 0.050 8.9 17.0
100 3.4 3.2 0.4 0.4 2867.8 2.604 3067.5 0.102 18.0 17.2
150 4.3 2.7 1.0 0.6 2798.0 2.541 2920.0 0.155 27.3 17.4
200 4.0 1.9 1.8 0.8 2729.1 2.478 2777.8 0.209 36.8 17.6
250 2.6 1.0 2.8 1.1 2661.0 2.416 2640.9 0.265 46.6 17.8
300 -0.0 -0.0 4.1 1.3 2593.7 2.355 2509.2 0.322 56.7 18.0
350 -3.9 -1.1 5.6 1.5 2527.4 2.295 2382.5 0.381 67.0 18.3
400 -9.2 -2.2 7.4 1.8 2462.1 2.236 2260.9 0.441 77.6 18.5
450 -15.9 -3.4 9.5 2.0 2397.7 2.177 2144.1 0.503 88.5 18.8
500 -24.1 -4.6 11.9 2.3 2334.2 2.120 2032.2 0.566 99.6 19.0
550 -33.9 -5.9 14.6 2.5 2271.7 2.063 1924.8 0.631 111.1 19.3
600 -45.4 -7.2 17.6 2.8 2210.3 2.007 1822.1 0.698 122.9 19.6
650 -58.7 -8.6 20.9 3.1 2149.8 1.952 1723.7 0.767 135.0 19.8
700 -73.9 -10.1 24.6 3.4 2090.3 1.898 1629.7 0.838 147.4 20.1

 
25-Jan-23 07:58, JBM/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moose Hunting Anatomy – Where to Aim

Posted on by

I hear hunters often ask where exactly should I aim my rifle on a broadside moose? On a facing moose? On a quartering away or toward you? 

Anatomical Knowledge Helps

All questions we need answers to in the field. I went on a web search and found a great article below written by a veterinarian for hunters. It included Caribou anatomy too. 

https://ucalgary.ca/caribou/HuntingMoose.html

As you can see below moose lungs, in orange, are huge and your best target.

LOOK AT THOSE HUGE LUNGS

A shot centered on it, and the moose is yours provided good bullet construction and penetration.

Check out the website for shooting angle aiming for lungs.

The heart is low and not the best target, a miss is more possible. Aim for lungs!

 

https://ucalgary.ca/caribou/HuntingMoose.html

Good Hunting!

 

Reloading the 7mm Remington Magnum for my Browning X-Bolt w/ New Norma Brass

Posted on by

I purchased Norma Brass this January for reloading my new Browning Rifle for moose hunting. There were no other Brass manufacturers available on the Internet, that I could find at the time… but glad I bought them.

I purchased a lot of 50, packed in plastic bags and boxed. How did they weigh-out? 

Accordingly, I weighed 10 case random sample and did a Standard Deviation, Average and Extreme Spread. 

Std Dev.  0.74 grains

AVG Wt. 214.83 grains

Extreme Spread of 2 grains in the ten cases. That is excellent!

 

 

 

I took a photo of the flash hole from inside this unsized case. Notice that there is no apparent burr. Some manufacturers like Norma drill the flash hole instead of punching. Drilling is better!

I found this informative review below of Norma Brass on line. 

Norma 7mm Rem Mag Brass Review

 

Adding the primers with my press was much more difficult as they were new and difficult to seat. The good news is that these primer pockets will firmly hold the primer and make reloading the case less susceptible to loose primers. Norma says the brass can be reloaded  up to 10 times according to the above article. 

I used my RCBS Rock Chucker Press, RL-22 powder and loaded Nosler 7mm 175 grain AccuBond Long Range. The bullets are boat tail thus I thought it would make it a bit easier to press the bullet.  They still pressed hard but did not hurt the case.

I shall chamfer the inside of case necks on the next batch to make the bullets press easier. 

I shot enough to zero at 100 yards (groups 1 1/4″) then chronographed them at 2615 fps. I expected a much faster bullet. I was hoping for 2900 fps says Nosler data with 1:9 twist and 24 inch barrel. My barrel is 1:9.5 twist with a 26 inch barrel. Accordingly, I will experiment with powders to see what I can safely wring out of these bullets. Inspecting the fired case and primers look normal. 

The trigger still pulls heavy for me (4 lbs) and soon I will have a Timney to swap out the factory trigger. 

I also loaded some Nosler 168 grain ABLR’s with IMR 4831 and they chrono’d at around 3005 fps and grouped at 3/4 inches at 100 yards. I liked that load!

This round may turn out to be better for long range moose than the 175 ABLR.

More Soon!

 

 

 

Sent email to Timney Triggers to Test Trigger for Browning X-Bolt- They Responded

Posted on by

Hope to hear back from Timney folks. They Responded.

In just a week or two Timney will send a Trigger for the X-Bolt to test and share with readers, including my removal of the original trigger, replacement and hunting/shooting tests. You don’t need a gunsmith! The shooter has choices of pull weights set at the factory. Mine will be 3 pounds pull weight.

https://timneytriggers.com/browning-x-bolt/

I have had great luck with these triggers.

. Browning X-Bolt

Bullet Stability/Barrel Twist – Browning X-Bolt 7mm Remington Magnum – UPDATED

Posted on by

I purchased a Browning X-Bolt for Christmas. Hurray! But bullets are a bit harder to find. I did find a 175grain Nosler ABLR bullet that I liked and purchased it but later calculated the bullets stability to be 1.37, just below the 1.5 military stability criteria in my 1 in 9.5 twist rate barrel. Bullet length included the polymer tip in overall length. Without the polymer tip as part of the bullet length, the formula now says the bullet is very stable. 

Experts argue about including polymer tips or not.  I will load some in a week or so.  

Lets take a look at this imperfect science…

It is known that barrel twist rate and a given bullets size, length, BC and velocity effects bullet stability. As a general rule bullets that are exiting the barrel have some yaw or as some say “yaw spiral” or gyroscopic effect.

It is the bullets “yaw” that can affect the grouping of a bullet, but yaw diminishes as it travels down range making groups tighter..

Calculators

You will need the length of the bullet below to enter this in the stability formula. Some folks subtract the polymer tip from bullet length. The JBM formula below takes the polymer tip into account. Measure the bullets overall length and measure the polymer tip length. 

https://www.jbmballistics.com/ballistics/lengths/lengths.shtml

https://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi

At typical 100 yard ranges your bullet may exhibit some yaw thus grouping may be somewhat larger than expected. I ran into this with the .243 Winchester and my former 338 Win Mag where yaw was pronounced with heavy, longer bullets. 

The good news is, this minor yaw will disappear at longer distances and stability and grouping improves, 

The only way to know how stable your bullet is, is to shoot some at temperatures and distances your going to hunt in.

Accordingly, I would fire them at 100 and 150 yards and then shoot out to my max hunting distance of say 500 to 600 yards for group. 

UPDATE

I had some Nosler 140g E-Tips and 7mm brass in my cupboard and eagerly loaded and shot them at 100 yards with 62g IMR 4831 powder clocking an estimated 2900 ± fps at the muzzle. Yes, that is a bit slow, but Nosler recommends working up loads with gilding copper E-Tips.

Below is the very first 100 yard 3 shot bench rest group. It measured 3/4 inch. Sub-MOA! Luckily there was no measurable wind and I used a COL of 3.24 inches where my bullets had at least 0.05 inches off the lands.

 

Can’t wait for my heavier bullets to arrive. 

Good Shooting!

 

Browning X-Bolt Speed Rifle under the Christmas Tree

Posted on by
X-Bolt Speed

Browning X-Bolt Speed in 7mm Rem Mag

My readers are aware that I am hunting moose in Newfoundland again. My last moose fell to a single shot from my .375 Ruger, but because of recoil, I took precious seconds to chamber a second round. By the time I had a round in the chamber, the moose fell.

I did not practice this chambering of a second round. I suppose if I were hunting Cape Buffalo, my practice would have been quite different …as if my life depended on it. 

As many have said, “Moose often do not fall quickly to a single shot.” And they can move quickly into cover making a second shot more difficult.

The shooter must be prepared to quickly, eject the spent case, rechambering a new round and  follow-up with a second or even third shot. There is plenty of video evidence of this follow-up on the internet. 

With larger traditional heavy recoiling rifle calibers like.  a 300 Win Mag or heavier, the shooter takes more time due to recoil. He lifts the Mauser like bolt high at 90 degrees, pulls back hard to empty the chamber and closes the bolt with a second round. 

The Browning X-Bolt “Speed” in 7mm Remington Magnum above has one of the fastest bolt throws on the market today. The “speed” refers to the short bolt throw 60 degrees to eject and smoothly chamber a second round.

Bolt throw Speed was key to my purchase and I tested many bolts first hand as I shopped. 

I purchased this rifle with a 26 inch fluted barrel in 7mm Remington Magnum with a removable muzzle brake. I installed my Leupold VX-6 3-18 just like in the image above. Love that scope!!

Since I reload, I found some new reloading dies for it.

Trigger pull is adjustable down to 3 pound but came set to 4 pounds.  The caliber choice 7mm Remington Magnum works for both short or long range shots out to 500 yards with Nosler’s 175g ABLR.  On  paper, ballistic data says the ABLR leaves the muzzle at around 3000 fps with max load RL 22 powder. We will see what I get for accuracy as some rifle barrel twist rates have stability issues for the bullet.

 My ballistics chart says, at 500 yds at sea level and 40ºF the 175g ABLR will clock 2332 fps and have  2113 ft-lbs of delivered energy.

More soon!!

© Copyright 2022

 

 

Die-Hard Moose – Practice for an Immediate Follow-up Shot

Posted on by

My last moose taken in 2019 was killed with a single shot from my .375 Ruger, but I held off as he stood bewildered and collapsed after a few seconds.

My rifle recoil was significant as I sent a 300 grain Nosler AccuBond at him.  At the greater recoil, it took me longer to eject the spent shell and put a new one in the chamber.

I was too slow to cycle the bolt because I did not practice it in advance.

I am moose hunting again in Newfoundland this coming year, and If I can’t cycle the .375 to my liking, I’m debating to shoot a rifle that allows a faster bolt cycle but still has plenty of down range energy. I’m thinking 7mm Rem Mag or 30 cal like the 30-06 Springfield. 

In researching moose kills, most require MORE than one shot to anchor them. Their nervous system appears slow to react to a kill shot.

Accordingly, practice should include cycling the bolt in earnest and get a second shot into your moose to anchor it. Yes, your first shot is still critical but cycle the bolt and be ready for a second shot.

Further, listening to other big game hunters, to try to use less scope magnification for a wider field of view and follow your bullet contrail hit.

 

Newfoundland offers enough open landscape for shots out to 500 yards or more. Shooting a rifle that has poor energy e.g., 1000 ft lbs at these distances limits the hunters ability to reach out. Spitzers with sectional densities above .250 to .300 for good penetration and G1 ballistic coefficients (BC) of at least .4 or more to hold its downrange energy is ideal.

My personal moose killing energy minimum is 1800 ft-lbs and around 2000 fps for a good bullet mushroom. Accuracy should be sufficient to hit a pie plate size kill zone from your rest. Make it a goal to learn to use a ballistic calculator. I use

https://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

Your bullet must arrive with enough killing energy and ability for your bullet to mushroom at those distances. It is sometimes the case that you have penetrating energy but the bullet does not adequately mushroom. Check that your bullet speed at the game should be near 2000 fps at the hit for mushrooming (lead core) and energy in the 1800 to 2000 ft-lbs. or greater.

Bullet manufacturers often publish the range of speeds that produce adequate mushrooming for your bullet choice.

Practicing for the first shot and follow-up shot to quickly cycle the bolt will give confidence to the hunter. I use a Bog Death Grip tripod for distant field shots.

Good Hunting!

© Copyright 2022. 

Age of Hornady’s Precision Rifle Cartridges 6.5, 7mm, 300 PRC Target and Hunting?

Posted on by

The truth is that the 6.5 PRC is faster than the 6.5 Creedmoor, the 7mm PRC is faster than the 7mm Remington Magnum and the 300 PRC is faster than the 300 Win Mag.

Having said that: Should hunters run out and sell the Creedmoor, 7mm Rem Magnum or the 300 Win. Mag?

I think not, if you own them already. I love my 6.5 CM but am open to the 7mm PRC.

Well, The Creedmoor, 7mm Rem and 300 Win have great accuracy and punch for hunting already.

These PRC cartridges were designed for long range target accuracy and are somewhat faster, kick a bit more, than the aforesaid cartridges but not enough to replace them as a hunting cartridge. Others think similarly. 

As for target shooters, ceteris paribus, (all else being equal) it takes a faster bullet to win a match against the wind at long range, where fractions of an inch make the difference in point score. The PRC’s were designed “first” for target, having no belt, extremely concentric and in some cases can shoot a heavier bullet with a rifle with a faster twist.  

But, for example,  if you don’t own a PRC rifle or load for the cartridge, getting a new rifle in a PRC may be a good choice as a hunter hand-loader.

Note, the PRC cartridges and rifles are not in every gun store at this time.  

I love my 6.5 CM for deer and thin skin game hunting but do not as of this writing have a 7mm rifle, so I am keeping that in mind.

There are only a few rifles in manufacture at this time for the 7mm PRC but more are coming. Still cant go wrong with a custom 7mm Rem Mag or Weatherby Mag or even a 280 Rem.

In the final analysis, the rifle quality may make the difference in my choice, not just the cartridge. 

More on this coming.

Good Hunting!

® Copyright 2022

 

Calling all Coyotes –

Posted on by

Below is a reprint of an article I wrote 5 years ago in pursuit of Coyotes.  I would carry a sidearm today for calling in coyotes. You may instead also be calling in bobcats (we are not allowed to hunt or trap bobcats in New Hampshire at this time, I am hopeful that the rule changes soon and we resume hunting and trapping them.)

This last fall my deer hunting friend, during muzzleloader season, blew on his grunt tube after he set up. In less than a minute a coyote came running at him looking for the deer. He fired hastily at it and missed it at 5 feet but parted some hair. 

New Hampshire Coyotes Soon Begin Looking For A Mate – Take Advantage

 

Calls for Coyotes

https://www.nhrifleman.com/calls-for-coyote-hunters

 

North Eastern coyotes are larger than western coyotes due to the great lakes grey wolf mating with coyotes in winter. See my article below. 

 

Wolf in Coyote Clothing?

Coyotes are attacking children today, beware!

Good Hunting

© Copyright 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

 

Outdoor Life Reports on New Jersey Anti-Hunting Bill?

Posted on by

New Jersey Bill Would Require Landowners to Notify Neighbors Before Hunting Their Own Land

New Jersey Bill Would Hinder Private Land Hunting | Outdoor Life

Quote from Outdoor Life “Legislators in New Jersey introduced a bill last month that would change the state’s regulations for hunting on private land. Assembly Bill 3732 calls for an expanded safety buffer that would prohibit hunters from nocking an arrow or carrying a loaded weapon within 450 feet of any occupied building in the state. A3732 would also require private landowners in the state to notify neighboring landowners before they could be allowed to hunt on their own land.”