It ain’t cheap but a great investment at $99 bucks. The blade that has the rounded end is for gutting as in a gut hook and for caping. The blade and saw is a Japanese AUS-8 steel and the blade is 3.6 inch shaving sharp for gutting and caping. Comes with orange handles too for easy visibility. I saw it at Bass Pro too. Love the quality leather sheath. The video below sells the caping/gut hook tool easily and is field tested.
The G1 ballistic coefficient for this bullet is .719. The fact that it exceeds 0.7 is world class long range capable of delivering game killing energy at over 600 yards for the 6.5 Creedmoor.
Tech Talk – It has been said that the bullet has a secant o-give and needs more room away from the lands when chambered than your normal bullet but having said that, it does not take from accuracy on bullet jump.
A few days ago, I loaded up some Nosler AccuBond LR’s in 142 grain with IMR 4350 and W760 Powder specified by Nosler in my almost new Ruger American. I used 41.5 grains IMR 4350 and 40.5 grains of W760 powder, max loads. I selected the powder because they were among the fastest at the muzzle and geared for delivering lots of energy at longer ranges.
The cases were Nosler Custom and the primers were CCI BR2’s. Cartridge overall length followed the Nosler Manual of 2.805 and they fit the Ruger magazine perfectly and fed perfectly.
First IMR 4350 cold shot with the Ruger American was 1 inch higher than subsequent 4 shots. Accordingly, I eliminated the cold barrel shot from the group. If I included it the spread was 1 1/8 inch and if I eliminated it the spread was 7/8 inch.
Estimated velocity out of the 22 inch barrel was around 2670 fps after subtracting 60 fps and the 2 more inches in the Nosler manual using a 24 inch barrel compared to the 22 inches of the Ruger.
The W760 Powder shot 1 3/16 five shot group with an estimated velocity of 2610 fps accounting for the shorter 22 inch barrel.
Examination of the primers looked normal and extraction was easy. These loads were terrific.
The results indicate that this grouping for IMR 4350 is terrific for shots in a 6 inch circle at 600 yards. Further that the energy for deer suggests 650 yards where 1000 ft-lbs was calculated and the velocity was 1802 fps. Windage at 90º moved the bullet 28 inches at 10 mph crosswind. That is a lot! Quartering crosswind of 14 inches. The shooter would have to adjust for the crosswind or get closer to the game, a much better scenario. At half that distance 325 yds the shooter would only be off by 6 inches in a 90º wind and have elk killing energy of 1500 ft-lbs.
Below is the Ruger American Predator. A great affordable rifle for anyone!
Why do deer go into fields and sand pits at night? It’s a deer nightclub in October! A place to be seen and smelled. Putting face to inter-digital gland cent and track size is a tell-all about prep for mating come the end of October. The inter-digital gland is located between the hooves of deer.
Sandpit or gravel like open areas are places I can go in early October to see who is in the neighborhood for bucks and does. Which doe still has yearlings still tagging along can be discerned. And just how big and wide is that track, how rounded or not can tell me that a big buck is hanging around. I am no great whitetail hunter who gets a deer in NH every year but when can, I try to put 2 and 2 together.
My twin brother at left and I did just that a while back! He was shooting a 300 Win Mag and I was shooting a .338 Win Mag, my African Safari Rifle back then. Needless to say both deer fell right there! My nephew swears that the .338 hit the deer so hard that some of its hair stuck in the tree…on end. Maybe so! I shoot big guns very well, besides, no one wants to borrow the .338 so I don’t have to worry about abuse. When I go north I like the hand-loaded .375 Ruger slowed down. Big 230 grain bullets in heavy brush! In open areas the 6.5 Creedmoor, or .270 works fabulous.
Last year my buck was arriving at 2 AM so that didn’t work well. And there were too many hunters pushing the deer to new areas, like behind homes.
I believe whitetail deer use these open sandy areas to leave track size/shape and an inter-digital scent to say who they are to the does and to the potential bucks competing for mating rights.
Don’t Own one yet! Maybe today for that steady shot! This from youtube.
I examined the mono-pod, bi-pod and tripod styles at Bass Pro in Hooksett, NH. See my video below.
The Red head was light in weight but cumbersome to open each length but once set it looked solid without further tests and under $40. My primary concern was weight and not cumbersome to set up. It failed the cumbersome part.
The Bog-Pod was strong and looked durable, had a bag to put it in with large white letters saying BOG-POD so big that the shoulder bag looked as much white as black. The bag? Not good in the deer woods by my account..too much white like a deer tail.
My Choice was the Primos bi-pod Gen 3! Not heavy, easy to set up instantly. Just pull the trigger on the bipod and your pod legs extend by gravity. Let the trigger go and the height is set. Cant mount a camera on the bi-pod at $130.00 but you can on the tripod at $160.00 and carry more weight.
This is a Birchwood Casey Deer target and will show your hits as yellow as seen above. You can order on-line $12 for 2 targets with extra kill zones. Locate it with your favorite search engine.
This one comes in a 2 pack with extra vitals and should last more than one season.
Deer Vitals are outlined. A medium deer will have a 17 to 18 inch deep chest. A large deer will have an 18 to 20 inch chest. By shooting just below the midpoint and tight behind the front leg you are in the heart/lung vitals. Read the article at Chuck Hawkes below. What is missing here perhaps is that if you can see a shape or tuft of hair in the kill zone to aim at then even better, focus on it as your target. Remember, aim small miss small.
For years I keep reading about the need for 2500 ft-lbs bullet energy to kill a Moose cleanly. I shot my moose with a .375 Ruger but it was not broadside it was face on, taking out just one lung. The bullet traveled the whole length and lodged in the hide at his rear end. It took another round from my partners .308 and then a finishing shot from me to the spine.
Yet there is story after story of rifle calibers in the 6mm, .270 and 7mm, .308 Winchester lower recoil class that kill cleanly every year (broadside double lung shots) with less energy than the 2500 ft-lbs that so many have fallen in line with. The key to killing a full grown moose is for the most part, accurate bullet placement and adequate penetration ,Jack O’connor and I would argue, to reach the vitals of the heart/lung area. Jack killed Moose at 200 yards with his 130 grain .270 Winchester. Others have taken moose out to 400 yards with the .270 Winchester. I would avoid that one if possible.
Moose are slow to react even from a killing shot so an immediate follow-up shot is often recommended.
Based on penetration, the Sectional Density of a bullet is a tell all for penetration as long as the bullet design is geared to “stay together and mushroom”. Do you need a big powerful bullet to kill moose? Some think so but I don’t, especially with today’s bonded, copper etc. bullets and the partition style. They penetrate well and stay together. I do ascribe to the 1500 ft-lbs delivered energy for Elk but the 2500 ft-lbs is perhaps now disproven for moose. In my opinion, deliverd energy should at least be 1500 ft-lbs or greater, ideally in the 2000 ft-lb range. After the shot, immediately reload and prepare to shoot again.
The key to remember is to try for broadside shots whenever possible and avoid quartering shots that need to travel far to vitals unless you have a 30-06 or larger caliber to break bone and push through part of the gut cavity to reach them.
A double lung hit is a sure bet on all big game.
Go shoot a big moose with your deer rifle! It’s been done for decades! Just shoot-em’ in the heart lungs area such as a double lung hit and that moose is yours. Of course if you have a bigger gun, no problem.
Above the Weatherby® Vanguard® Weatherguard™ is coming to New Hampshire Rifleman Magazine On-Line in 6.5 Creedmoor, one of my favorite cartridges. I chose this rifle to test for several reasons but it all boils down to value! High quality and accuracy (guaranteed MOA accurate with Weatherby cartridges or top names) at a very acceptable cost. At an MSRP of $750 (much less at retail) this rifle appears to have it all. We shall see! Accordingly, we will put this rifle through its paces for accuracy and dependability for the all weather hunter.
My rifle article has the shooting world by the tail and read by tens of thousands around the world from New England to Alaska, and in South Africa. They just can’t get enough of it!!.
For those that want a hard hunting rifle, a Weatherby®, in the Vanguard® Series is supposed to be hard to beat for quality and cost effectiveness. It is guaranteed Sub-MOA out of the box. We have inquired to test one in 6.5 Creedmoor. The MSRP for these exceptional rifles begin around $600 but have see them for under $600 and go up from there. Below is the Vanguard Synthetic. I will keep you informed…
Looks very positive at this time! The process is under way!
This is a 44 Magnum Double Action Handgun that is meant for close encounters. When I saw it, I thought Bear Hunting back-up right away. Combat with a bear at 10 yards or less? Lets see how this gun handles.
For years I keep reading about the need for 2500 ft-lbs bullet energy to kill a Moose cleanly. I shot my moose with a .375 Ruger but it was not broadside it was face on, taking out just one lung. The bullet traveled the whole length and lodged in the hide at his rear end. It took another round from my partners .308 and then a finishing shot from me to the spine. 
