Hand Loading Nosler e-Tips for the 7×57 Mauser – Prep for A Montana Deer Hunt By Ed Hale

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Ed Hale

I have a friend Oliver whose wife Mary is an avid hunter along with him. She shoots the .308 Winchester and she shoots the 7×57 Mauser. Honestly, I have never owned a 7×57 Mauser but it shoots sweet and kicks little. She loves the Cartridge. I understand why. In Africa hunters killed everything with it! Sort of like the 7mm-08 Winchester.

I came by opportunity to shoot the 7×57 because Oliver found it was impossible to find fully loaded rounds with the Nosler e-Tip Gilding Copper bullets.

I was testing the Nosler e-tips for Nosler and had some to load for her and get her feedback on them. They are hunting Montana next week so I was happy to help them with hand loading.

My experience with Nosler e-Tips is significant and had 7 mm 150 grain heads on hand. The ballistic coefficient is .427 and can reach out even at modest velocities. Years ago my friend reloaded but not recently so he gave me the Dies to reload the 7×57. It was a straightforward reload but I had to trim the once fired cases. I deprimed and tumbled them to give them some shine and clean them up. Since they are spending big dollars I took my time hand loading and hand weighing each round to within a 10th of a grain. The powder recommended by Nosler was H4831sc which I had in my powder locker. e-tips are not recommended to shoot at more than moderate velocities, accordingly I chose to shoot a starting load that was the most accurate for the whole of the powders I could choose. I chose seating depth to where the cannelure was on the bullet. Muzzle velocity according to the Nosler manual was a modest 2408 fps.

Adjusting for the first shot which was 7 inches to the right, I placed 2 rounds at .5/8 inch apart then we moved to 150 yards and placed the 3rd shot right next to the other 2. That was enough to prove the rounds accuracy was excellent for hunting. Now Mary should be able to shoot these as well at the range tomorrow and save rounds for the hunt. This cartridge has a Max Point Blank Range of 235 yards and will stay in a plus or minus 3 inch radius to that distance without changing the aim point. If needed the shooter can adjust the aim point beyond that distance and shoot out to 300 yards with an 11 inch bullet drop provide the wind is accounted for at 10 inches lateral with a 10 mph wind. Here a very steady rest is needed. Good Hunting to them!

In the mean time I am almost packed for my southern deer hunt with .243 Winchester and 7mm Remington Magnum both shooting e-Tips.

A New Hampshire Deer Hunt Memory by Ed Hale

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Ed Hale

I am all alone but in reality I am really not alone at all. I am with myself, hunting for deer with my trusty 58 Caliber muzzle loader, on opening day of the New Hampshire Muzzle Loader deer season many years back perhaps in my mid 30’s. I hunted alone (with myself) often because I like hunting solo. Me, the woods, and the deer!

My soul senses a joy, like a kid opening his first Christmas present, as I ease into the pitch black forest. It is 4:30 AM, I can hear my breathing strong and clear through my nose. My mind momentarily conjures up a predator with teeth standing before me as I approach. A vestige of my childhood fear of the dark. I forge ahead through that air space with narry a scratch. Take that! You toothless imagination. Be gone! I chuckle to myself.

The fall oak leaves beneath my feet crunch with each step. I slow down my pace. It is dark. The woods are still… Every step seems to shout as I attempt to become one with the forest rhythm. The air has the pungent smell of oak acorns and leaves, Douglas fir and dew soaked moss covered earth. A sweet but pungent oak flavor with a twist of fir and earth! Thank God for noses to smell, I think. It was so delicious that I could eat it if only it were edible. Daylight arrives by each passing minute as I work my way toward where, just a week ago, I saw good deer sign of tracks, rubs and scrapes. Finally the leaves on the trees are visible with yellow and orange and deep red colors. The yellow comes from beech trees and orange and red from sugar maples.

As shafts of light arrive, the yellow leaves in front of me fall but just one at a time, a leaf falls hear and a leaf falls there. At my side is my knife, a “Buck” knife, with a Bowie style blade that is keenly sharp. The sheath and handle have been camo’d and are invisible against my camo clothes (I wore an orange camo vest and orange camo hat). Around my neck is a buck grunt-call and a small pair of rattling antlers. As I approach the area I saw good deer sign. Shooting light finally arrived. The wind was nearly still. I could not figure which way it was blowing, but I was as clean as I could possibly be with newly washed clothes. And I showered with scent free soap a dash of baking soda under my arms. Seeing a scrape on the ground, I stood in an area that allowed my observation of two directions and began to grunt softly with the call sparingly…

Suddenly, a deer appeared as it hopped in front of me, a doe at 30 yards. My adrenaline kicked in like starting ether to a gasoline starved lawnmower. Heart hammering; I raised my muzzle loader and she was now facing me directly. In one movement she turned, hopped once and walked away occasionally looking at me over her back and I eased the muzzle loader down. A buck with a rack is what I am after. She was a beautiful sight as she melted away. I took out the grunt call and tried to create a “tending grunt” call with several soft calls as if another buck was walking with her. Then tickled the tines of my small antlers. Minutes passed.

Woah! What was that to my right? An eight point buck was walking fast and straight at me at 25 yards. My heart was now fully soaked in adrenaline hammering as if to leave my chest. I swung the muzzle loader up and cocked the hammer. The shot angle was wrong but for this fighting mad buck to get to me, he had to walk around a thick sapling in his path. Never breaking stride he cleared that sapling at 20 yards and gave me a forward angled shoulder to shoot at. Ka Boom! I shot and the deer jumped left. The belch of muzzle loader smoke hid the buck from sight. So I got on my knees and looked below the smoke. I was having no luck seeing the buck. Ok! “Stay put”, I thought, and mark the spot in my mind where the deer was when I shot. Soon the smoke dissipated and I walked to the spot where I thought I shot. The nearest tree behind the buck was 4 feet away and covered in rich red blood at its base.

I reloaded, but knew that the buck could not have gotten far. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins. It was just an amazing feeling to be alive. The blood trail was enormous and 30 yards away lay the buck facing away from me. The exit wound was on the far side of the buck just forward of the rear ham. The bullet having skewered the buck from shoulder to its exit hole, about the size of a silver dollar.

I took the cap off the muzzle loader and reached for my deer tag. I gutted the deer, not having any rubber gloves, I proceeded to get messy up to my elbows. The bullet having pierced the gut left the acrid smell of the open gut wafted over me. I began to get light headed. It was brief, but between the adrenaline and the acrid gut I turned and vomited momentarily. Wiping my face on my sleeve, I turned to the 8 point buck laying before me remembering he wanted a fight and said. Gotcha! Didn’t I !

I found a small branch and attached my drag rope to pull the buck out of the woods. I talked to my buck each time I got exhausted pulling and told him how fine a buck he was! I would always remember this hunt. Today I share it with you! Memories are fantastic aren’t they! We can relive them over and over! Good Hunting! © 2015

Nosler Bonded and Copper Bullets Best for Meat Hunters by Ed Hale

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Ed Hale

It is a known fact that keeps the campfire talk burning, that if you shoot a deer with hyper-velocity 3000 fps plus, small lead core bullets, that there will likely be an explosion of damage on impact especially if a rib bone is struck on entrance, the bullet’s lead core will separate from the jacket and will fragment thus penetration will suffer and game may be harder to find lacking a blood trail. But there is more to this than meets the eye.

Further, that lead fragmentation is more widely distributed causing more loss of delicious venison suspected of metal and lead contamination. As a grandparent I want my grand-kids to eat the best venison I can provide so I shoot the best bullets that hold together.

Nosler provides one of the best bullet solutions among others but I trust Nosler. Simple as that! I have been shooting Nosler’s for decades when hunting.

To date, there have not been any cases of human illnesses linked to lead particles in hunter-harvested venison according to a study conducted by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Connection and Minnesota DOE et al. But better hunting bullets ensure to prevent this.

I had this lead bullet conversation with a friend the other day whose brother owns a 25-06, a fine long range rifle for deer and antelope at far distances. What happened was that the deer was struck in the lung area but no exit wound occurred. The deer ran off, the shooter later followed looking for a blood trail and found not a drop. The only thing the hunter had was the visual direction of the animal after the shot. He knew he hit the animal well but it took him a few days of searching to find that deer not far, in fact, from the hit. It had no exit wound to leave a blood trail. This hunter, like me, reloads his own ammo and decided never to use that jacketed lead bullet for anything but punching paper. I can’t say that I blame him because we hunters want a clean kill and the meat for the table too. Lesson Learned!

Best high power 20 and 30 caliber hunting bullets on game are bonded with lead to the copper like the Nosler AccuBond and maintain a high percentage of weight and negligible fragmentation.

Full copper bullets too like the Nosler E-Tip are designed to create a petal like a flower instead of a mushroom and keep an even higher percentage of weight and no-lead at all.

Large calibers like .375 and 40 calibers with lead cores that are un-bonded will fully penetrate because of the bullets large size and its weight/momentum and will fragment little.

A blood trail is necessary in bow hunting and in gun hunting big game for a fast recovery. In order to have a blood trail to follow you need an exit wound. Now there are some out there who do not believe an exit wound is needed. Nuts! It is your best chance for a fast recovery and flavorful meat with less stress hormones in the meat which can make the meat taste less inviting. Keep the hunting bullets that are not bonded for paper punching unless they are sizable 150 grains or larger. On the further down side is the fact that lead bullets that can fragment often require more of the surrounding meat to be tossed out suspecting fragments in the meat.

In the many articles I have written, bullets like the Nosler E-Tip and AccuBond are designed not for the target shooter but for hunters who want to maintain bullet weight while mushrooming thus creating a large wound channel for blood to flow and full penetration with an exit wound and to prevent fragmentation.

Accordingly, the Nosler E-Tip is one of the finest hunting bullets available providing full Penetration and little or no fragmentation, a no-lead solution.

Further that the E-Tip is gilding alloy copper and leaves no appreciable copper in the barrel, and no one likes scrubbing copper out of barrels. Go buy some Nosler AccuBonds or E-Tips Today! You will be glad you did. © 2015

.243 Winchester Shot Placement on Deer

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Ed Hale

According to the many short articles I have read on the .243 Winchester suggest that because the .243 is easier on felt recoil that the shooter will have more confidence, enhanced accuracy etc. I agree with that! Light Caliber Shot Placement on deer with the .243 Winchester should always be “ideally” the double lung shot and broadside or slightly quartering away as with all calibers. A large magnum caliber needs lots more of perfect practice to make long range kill shots in the field conditions as the recoil must be dealt with. That said, if competent with a larger caliber, use it! More delivered energy and a larger caliber allows more latitude on shot placement as in a head on frontal shot taken with a large caliber capable of deep penetration but can result in more meat damage too.

A doctor bowhunter once shared the medical term for double lung hit is a bilateral pneumo-thorax. The lungs cannot inflate and carry oxygen because air enters the bullet holes as the air is attempted to inflate the lungs. Accordingly, the animal loses consciousness and dies a fast painless death. Recovery of this animal is often less than 50 yards from where the deer was shot. Of course you can shoot them surgically in the heart with a much smaller invisible target the size of a fist and shoot low and miss and a few more inches hit the shoulder bone. Or you can shoot for the larger oval of the lungs. When I hunted Africa, all my kills were one shot with rifle and bow and arrow and I shot them all in the same place. The Lungs! If the bullet or broadhead does its job of either mushrooming or slicing wound channels then death is moments away. My most spectacular double lung hit on a Pennsylvania 6 point buck was with my bow, and the deer ran 60 yards and expired after being hit with a 4 blade Muzzy broadhead at 20 yards. The arrow was painted bright red from tip to knock. Of course the deer ran those 60 yards in less than one minute. Watching your bullet hit deer after the shot is critical if it takes off. Just like in bowhunting, if you are in a tree stand, take out your compass and take a bearing on where you shot and where you last saw your game. A fast broadside kill makes for better venison and less damaged meat. © 2015

Best Handloaded 30 Cal Picks for Deer and Bear

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Ed Hale

What is best in 30 cal for deer and bear depends on your likes and dislikes. Likes would be a round that has ample penetration and energy at ranges out to say 300 yards. That would be the 30-06 and .308 Winchester. At less distances the 30-30 Winchester is a low recoil rifle that often is in a lever action model such as the Marlin 30-30. From a reloading perspective, brass from any of these 30 calibers is readily available. Bullets range in weights from 110 grains to 220 grains for the .308 and 30-06 and best of all you get to choose the bullet like the Nosler AccuBond or the Hornady InterBond that are so well constructed. Other manufacturers are aplenty so there are more choices. For years I shot game with Nosler Partitions a great choice! The AccuBond and IB from Nosler and Hornady respectively have a high ballistic coefficient (BC) for long range use. If shots are under 100 yards then a round nose will act more like a hammer as it enters the vitals. I shot a buck with a round nose at 25 yards and it collapsed and the deer fell stone dead, not taking a step so pointed bullets are not always the norm here in the northeast.

On the Magnum side is the 300 Winchester Magnum, .300 H& H Magnum, the 300 Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum, .308 Norma Magnum and the .300 Winchester Short Magnum to name a few. They can be hand loaded up or down to mimic the .308 or .30-06 energies and velocities and when needed to shoot further at say 600 yards. Most popular of these is perhaps the .300 Winchester Magnum. Most all 30 Cal rifles have the blessing of a wide range of bullets, weights and powders.

If you are not a hand loader then I would stick with cost effective off the shelf ammo and rifles in .308, 30-06 and 30-30. You can go into any store that sells ammo and find these cartridges cost effectively anywhere.

Tips for new shooters and veterans alike is to make sure that the recoil pad is one of the newer high tech recoil pads that absorb up to 50% of felt recoil. Simms SVL and Pachmayr Decelerator sell slip on pad and mounted pads that will be sure to make you smile instead of wince at the shot.

In closing, I have opted to shoot magnum calibers that I can hand load down to .308 or .30-06 or even the 30-30 level as long as accuracy does not suffer. If you wish to compete at long range then the .308 Winchester is widely available and a best choice for brass availability.

30-06 Springfield – A Reloader’s Hunting Cartridge

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Ed Hale

The 30-06 Springfield was introduced to the US Army in 1906. That was nearly 110 years ago. In that 110 years the 30-06 became one of the most popular hunting cartridges of all time in North America and on the African Continent for American hunters. It still is today due to the wide availability of brass, and later, many bullet weights and styles, shot largely in bolt action hunting rifles. In Africa President Teddy Roosevelt kill much game including an Elephant with the 30-06. I would choose a larger caliber like the 458 Lott for dangerous game (yet another story) , thanks!

In hunting circles the 30-06 brass is still perhaps the most widely available brass along the .308 Winchester a smaller cartridge with its own story as a military round. Every corner store that has ammo stocks the 30-06 Springfield. Reloading dies are everywhere!

What is fascinating is that the 30-06 of military fame gave birth by experimentation by Wildcatters (experimenters) to a plethora of excellent hunting calibers both smaller in diameter and larger in diameter. The 30-06 based cartridge that has dominated the smaller caliber is the .270 Winchester (diameter actual is .277 inches) a necked down 30-06 case. It was Jack O’connor of Outdoor Life that wrote so prolifically and eloquently on the .270 Winchester for all North American Game and African Plains Game but with moderate recoil in a standard action. If memory serves, he loaded 130 grain heads with IMR 4350 and exited the muzzle above 3000 fps. I read lots of his work in Outdoor Life Magazine growing up. He was a master story teller but ever to inform that it is marksmanship that makes the kill possible. The .270 with 130 grain bullets were easier on recoil making it easy on the shoulder on long shots out to 200, 300 or more yards. I took my son Jason on Safari with the .270 Winchester and he did very well but I hand loaded 150 grain Nosler Partitions.(see photo below)

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Also the 25-06 Remington (diameter .257) held its own on deer size game at long distances and is touted as an excellent Antelope round shooting a 100 grain bullet at 3200 fps. The .243 Winnchester and 6mm Cartridges stole a lot of the 25-06 thunder.

In the necked up version of the 30-06 is the 8mm-06 (.323 diameter) or the 338-06 (.338 diameter) but they are still in use today because of the availability of 30-06 brass and a wide assortment of bullets that came as a result of other .338 cartridges. I heard recently of someone singing the praises of the 35 Whelen (developed by Colonel Townsend Whelen developed in 1922) whose parent is the 30-06 case. The Whelen can shoot 180 grain bullets at 2700 fps, the 200 grain bullet at 2600 fps, and the 250 grain bullets at speeds of 2400 fps delivering great down punch on all North American Game. Even better is the .338 caliber bullet which when loaded in the .338-06 can push a 200 grain bullet at 2800 fps, a 225 grain bullet at 2600 fps and has a better long range ballistic coefficient (BC) and bullet selection than the 35 Whelen. Today’s excellent recoil pads are engineered to reduce recoil by up to 50% so go ahead and shoot what ever suits your fancy. If you hand load like I do then the world is your oyster with just a few rifles.

Why the Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor?

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Ed Hale

This was a cartridge that could have been a kin to the .308 Winchester parent cartridge but wasn’t. Hornady produced this original cartridge in 2007 and has grown steadily ever since in both the target world and the hunting world. Just between the .243 and .270 there was room to create a cartridge who’s mild recoil is similar to the .243 Winchester but shoots bullets 100 grains to 140 grains from Prairie Dogs to Elk. The .243 is not an Elk cartridge and the .270 has not been a favorite of Bench Rest Target shooters for pure accuracy. In order to make this 6.5 special required making its own Cartridge which is a bit smaller and shorter than the .308 Winchester but unwittingly a great big game cartridge.

The Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator does justice to this Cartridge in many ways. The laminate stock is as strong and precision cut as if made from a pure synthetic material. The stainless steel barrel that is hammer forged is the finest barrel for the price. And the Ruger controlled feed action ensures a very high degree of reliable feed. The trigger is a fully adjustable 2 stage target trigger and comes in the 2 pound class making it a fine long range target or predator rifle. It is recommended that adjustments are made by a qualified gunsmith.

The 6.5 Creedmoor round is said to be great on barrel life so for those who shoot large quantities of ammo are in for a treat. Go to my first article far below to begin reading this in the correct sequence.

Reloading 6.5 Creedmoor Cartridge – Initial Observations

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Ed Hale

The first thing I discovered is that new Brass for the Creedmoor does not appear to be abundant. In fact I found Hornady brass to be the one of the only available new brass in stock. Nosler Brass was out of stock. If you have read my previous articles on the 6.5 Creedmoor you will see that the Hornady brass is soft, thus making it difficult to reload. Lots of case prep to bevel the inside of the case neck without creating a sharp flair edge is difficult indeed. Pressing on with the only new brass in town, I have succeeded in reloading it more than twice. The brass is stiffer as it becomes harder with use and better for pressing the bullet into the neck.

Of great interest should be Cartridge Overall Length (COL) ; The Max SAAMI Over All Cartridge Length is specified as 2.825.

I am shooting 120 grain Sierra Pro-Hunter heads as I am a hunter first and a target shooter second. I originally set the COL for this head with case at 2.53 inches and later discovered that I could push the head out as far as a COL of 2.70 and still have enough of the bullet seated. Groups of the 2.53 COL show excellent results as groups are 1 inch or less. Yesterday I shot several rounds set at a COL of 2.70 and the result deteriorated with fliers in the 2 inch group area. One would think that groups would improve as the bullet is closer to the rifling. Not so in this case, perhaps because the case had very little of the bullet in it. I perceive that the 120 grain is still a small bullet for the 6.5 and that heavier and larger bullets will make better use of the max COL.

Bullets are readily available from most all manufacturers, key bullets like the Nosler AccuBond are available as are several Berger Hunting Bullets, et al. The reloader must experiment with COL to see what works best and provides best groups.

On powders, my only experience is with Hodgdon Hornady Superformance at this time and I like it very much because it is a smaller kernel and meters well with less variation than larger kernels. Nosler folks suggest powders such as Varget, W760, IMR 4007 SSC, Big Game, H4350, RL17 and Hunter.among others.

Since the Creedmoor Cartridge is new, older reloading manuals do not have it. Nosler does provide load data at http://www.nosler.com/nosler-load-data/65-creedmoor/ and SAAMI specifications. Hornady has the 6.5 listed at http://www.hornady.com/store/6.5-Creedmoor but no data for reloading. Check out the scrapbook of game animals taken. It includes a record Gemsbok. © 2015

A Box of Gold – The Leupold VX-6

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Ed Hale

This is a rifleman’s “Box of Gold.” Inside this box is a device known to rifle hunters World Wide. It contains a Leupold Gold Ring Scope arguably one of the finest rifle scopes on planet earth with its Quantum Optical System. NH Rifleman will test it!

Leupold VX-6 3-18x50

This scope is in 3 -18x44mm CDS riflescope with an Illuminated Boone and Crockett Reticle. (Photo from Leupold.) CDS stands for Custom Dial System and a dial can be created free that will be for your best bullet and with a twist dial your yardage. More later.

Above is the Boone and Crockett reticle (image from Leupold) and power selector values for cartridges (more on that later). Also visible is the 10 mph shift posts we will use in testing

The Box of Gold also contains an instruction guide, Scope caps and a neoprene cover are the other gems included. When I was a kid, most hunters that had a scope shot 3 power or 4 power fixed. Then the industry produced a 3-9 power that was affordable, and filled the tube with nitrogen, an inert gas to prevent internal fogging. Today, Leupold uses second generation waterproofing exclusively using a blend of Argon/Krypton gas. Now with supreme engineering and optical know-how Leupold offers hunter the power of close hunting at say 30 yards with the 3x all the way to 600 yards up to 18x. A new way to sing “You Got The Power”, a scope that is best of both short and long-range hunting and target shooting. In the coming months we will talk again and again of our experience with this world-class scope on the Ruger and Savage rifles. In my testing will include the internal twin bias erector system that can handle most any caliber in the field or in the African bush. Look for more on this scope soon!

Scouting for Tom Turkey

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Ed Hale

Today after a morning rain the sun came out and brought a delicious taste of spring with it. My new used hunting truck (a 2001 F150 Lariat) had some more work done to fix the rust-out of my radiator frame, now all new (yea it cost me but it was worth it) so I took it on a Turkey scouting trip and went a little off-road with it. Nice and solid when off road. Nice!

Just like in deer hunting you look for food sources, mating areas, and in the case of Turkeys you look for roosting areas. I carried my .243 Win in case a coyote was spotted.

I struck pay dirt and found great turkey sign. I was able to leave my jacket in the truck. The peepers in every swamp puddle was going bananas making that wonderful springtime noise. The NHFG department believes there are approximately 40,000 turkeys now in New Hampshire. Opening day is May 3 thru 31st for Gobbler season. Be sure to pattern your shotgun and load. Ok this paper turkey is dead as the head and spine are engulfed in shot at 30 yards.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/hunting_dates_and_seasons.htm

I located a few trees to sit against and where the turkeys appeared to be moving.

Get ready and be sure to spray your clothes with Permethrin to ward off ticks and let them fully dry before wearing them. I have a friend that has been so bitten that he is afraid to go out, but he did not use Permethrin. I swear by it! It works! You still need to do a tick check!

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Category Archives: Big Game Hunting