The muzzle brake I have on the Savage 11/111 has not been tested yet, with the muzzle brake on, because – with a hunting jacket and the state of the art recoil pad on it – tames the rifle recoil enough for me. Rest assured… I will test it. But the noise (Decibel) level from the rearward gas that comes out of the brake requires the use of hearing protection else damage to your hearing is inevitable. Muzzle Brakes cost $300 or more to install. Hearing aids for hearing loss can cost up to $4000.

I have never owned a rifle with a muzzle brake due to the noise factor alone. Maybe the Savage Brake will change my mind. The value of the brake on the Savage is that with a twist it is turned on or off. On a cold deer stand day the use of ear muffs can be warm ears. A nice thing. If you plan to use the brake while hunting with others near you. I don’t recommend it. You may lose your friends in a hurry.

On the other more positive hand, if on a deer stand alone, it can be a large recoil reducing aid, if you are wearing ear protection and help you make that shot of a lifetime. It is up to you. Be safe out there…

Preparing to Test the Savage 11/111 Long Range Rifle:

This Savage 11/111 rifle with the long 7mm Remington Magnum cartridge requires either a scope with a long body or a modified Weaver extended base. The VX-6 requires an extended base. I found this out with lots of research the Weaver Rep. Weaver 402m part #48429. I have not put it on the rifle as it has been ordered but not installed. More to come…

Some say a picatinny rail can work but will hamper reloading.

Below is the VX-6 3-18 44mm CDS Illuminated. Leupold has sent this scope for me to test. Lets see how it works.

This scope is not for any hunter, it is a scope for a Long Range and Short Range and everywhere in between hunter that wants the best in just one scope that does it all, short or long, and knows your bullet’s Ballistic Coefficient too.

As my friend on the Radio says;

Don’t touch that Dial!

When I have a need for speed, I choose Nosler Bullets like on my African Safari, my Moose Hunt and my Bison Buffalo hunt and whitetail hunts. Nosler bullets are proven by millions of hunters to bring home the game. Of course you have to do your part and put the bullet in the vitals.

I have both 140 grain and 150 grain Nosler E-TIPS to test with the Savage 11/111 Long Range Rifle in 7mm Remington Magnum.  In fact I shot a few today with loads I am working up for hunting. I  used IMR 4831 pushing these pills at around 3020 fps.

The E-TIP or Expansion Tip Bullet is one of the finest Hunting Bullets in the World. It is solid gilding Copper and not a drop of lead to be found. It is soft enough to expand in game and hard enough not to leave copper in your barrel. I have been shooting E-Tips for years and I just love them for accuracy. I will take them hunting this fall for whitetails.

Data from JBM Ballistics Software provides the following results based on a Muzzle Velocity of a 150 grain bullet at 3020 fps and a BC of .498 (G1).

Max Point Blank Range is 300 yards for a 6 inch target.

Range of maximum height 145 yards 3 inches high.

Max PBR Zero is 256 yards.

Energy at 300 yards is 2044 ft-lbs

Velocity at 300 yards is 2477 fps.

This is a recipe for putting your deer down but pronto from zero to 300 yards with a shot to the vitals.  WOW!!!

© 2015

Ok not Invisible but very well camouflaged I said: but to game animals a shiny barrel or stock is like putting a reflective mirror on it! I bet that Game from far away as 600 -1000 yards and more yards can notice it. Duh! Do you like camouflage on your turkey shotgun? Why not your rifle too if it has a synthetic stock. I have been putting camo on my rifles for years with high quality camo tape. My wood stocked rifles got removable camo tape on the barrel and help me get closer to wary game while on my African Safari.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Now you can camo your whole rifle, shotgun, scope, truck and more. I like Mossy Oak Graphics at their website below are video instructions how to camo your rifle.

http://www.mossyoakgraphics.com/rifle-wrap-mossy-oak-camo-skin

Another camo method I have used below on my wooden stocked rifles  is  McNett Camo Form™ Protective Camouflage Gun Wraps and they are easily put on and easily removed. It is very thick and protective too.

Allen Company offers Cloth Camo tape. One of the most cost effective hunting purchases you will ever make. Ok your gonna hunt Brown Bear with a Mirror barrel and stocked Rifle? And get one right? Ok you might, but with a un-mirrored camo barrel you maybe could have shot a real record brown bear instead of an OK bear. Hunting trophy game is measured in covering the minutia of what could spook the game. Smell, sight, sound etc. Or seeing a keeper buck instead of a fork horn.

Don’t forget to camo your scope too. I will be doing that this fall as I have not in the past. Why? Cause I was not thinking clearly! More on Camo for game…© 2105

The long awaited Savage model 11/111 Long Range Rifle in 7mm Remington Magnum has arrived and in excellent shape thanks to the heavy double boxing methods they use.

The scope mount bases on the rifle are a Weaver style with slotted bases. I will be testing this rifle with the VX-6 3-18 44mm CDS Illuminated Boone and Crockett as the add says ZERO TO 600 IN ONE SECOND. This is not just a scope it is a  visionary light amplifying, magnifying, crystal clear to count antler points and scope your game from zero to 600 yards before squeezing the trigger kinda scope. Yea but it is not for everyone, it is for the hunter that wants it all, the very best in spades, anywhere on the Planet. More on it too!

Installation of the scope, which has a 30mm tube requires rings that will fit the Weaver base and high enough for the 44mm Objective lens to clear. My friends at Leupold are fast shipping a pair of correctly fitting rings so I can begin testing. Patience is a virtue and a good hunter must have patience. I hope to be at the range next week with it. I am hand loading rounds for it according to SAAMI specifications.

More Soon! I do have plans for this rifle and Scope combo that are equal to the tasks they can accomplish.

Thanks to my friends at State Line Guns Ammo and Archery, an FFL dealer, for receiving my rifle and the FFL paperwork.  http://www.statelineguns.com/ I highly recommend them, fast, friendly and knowledgeable!

Ed Hale – Editor/ Owner

What a great day in the sunshine of my own back yard to get my grand kids interested in archery and bow hunting. Here is Christian (9) and Joshua (8) trying for a kill shot on a whitetail target.

Today there are inexpensive ways to get youth involved in Archery. Fiberglass starter bows for 30 dollars or less. Arrows for $2.50 each. A hip quiver for 2.50 each and there you have it. Pull weights are 10 to 25 pounds and in many cases an arm guard or finger tab is optional.

The object lesson here is safety; safe bow and arrow handling, how to shoot beside each other, and how not to run to get your arrows. They have sharp points so with some attention to shooting form, pointing arrows always down range, we can then have lots of fun. The quiver gives a sense of pride as they collect their arrows for the next shot. And when they hit the target give a hoot for their success!  I am grooming these kids as future hunters so I have found youtube video’s of youth hunters taking their first deer.

And I had a blast teaching them! © 2015

Yup, Obama is at it again! See NRA/ILA website below for details.

Stop Obama’s Planned Gag Order on Firearm-Related Speech

https://www.nraila.org/articles/20150605/stop-obamas-planned-gag-order-on-firearm-related-speech

From NRA website: “Time is of the essence! Public comment will be accepted on the proposed gag order until August 3, 2015. Comments may be submitted online at regulations.gov or via e-mail at DDTCPublicComments@state.gov with the subject line, ‘‘ITAR Amendment—Revisions to Definitions; Data Transmission and Storage.”

Finally, please contact your U.S. Senators and Member of Congress. Urge them to oppose the State Department’s attempt to censor online speech concerning the technical aspects of firearms and ammunition. Use the “Write Your Lawmakers” feature on our website or call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 225-3121.

Here is a copy of my email letter below. You may use any part of it.

TO: DDTCPublicComments@state.gov

Subject: ITAR Amendment—Revisions to Definitions; Data Transmission and Storage.”

Body of Letter:

“Re: ITAR Amendment Restriction on Firearms Communication and Free Speech

It is my understanding that the public may comment on this International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) amendment until August 3, 2015. With the new proposal published on June 3, the State Department claims to be “clarifying” the rules concerning “technical data” posted online or otherwise “released” into the “public domain.” To the contrary, however, the proposal would institute a massive new prior restraint on free speech. This is because all such releases would require the “authorization” of the government before they occurred. The cumbersome and time-consuming process of obtaining such authorizations, moreover, would make online communication about certain technical aspects of firearms and ammunition essentially impossible.

The new International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) Amendment regulation introduced June 3, 2015 is “in fact” a breech of the First and Second Amendment of the Constitution of United States. I strongly disagree with the amendment and urge you to follow the Constitution.

The Amendment will damage freedom and the ability to communicate among “We the People” set forth in the Constitution under free speech and access to technical aspects on websites for firearms purchases and websites and blogs, web forums and video’s. Further, that I have contacted my Senators and Congressman and state legislators in this regard.

Sincerely,

Big Texas loves big Guns! Back some time ago I wrote prolifically about the .375 Ruger and a reader from Texas named Alan L. He read the article I wrote entitled; “Hand Loading the .375 Ruger for Deer, Bear, Moose and Cape Buffalo” and proceeded to purchase the Ruger M77 Hawkeye in .375 Ruger and he has never looked back.

He has changed the stock to a synthetic McMillan Stock, a personal preference, see the photo below and had it professionally bedded and accurized by Hill Country Rifles in New Braunfels, TX.

My Ruger M77 Hawkeye in .375 Ruger is exactly as I received it from a dealer. It shot sub MOA out of the box and I never looked back either. I love my .375 Ruger! Shooting it is really fun!

He reloads the .375 Ruger the same as I have with hand loads that are customized to the game he hunts. From small game, varmints to deer at 38-55 Winchester velocities, to 2600 fps for wild hogs, and on the higher level with 300 grain Dangerous game bullets including solids, what ever game on the Planet he wishes to hunt. In Texas, wild hogs can gore the hunter with tusks making a close encounter one of dangerous game.

The .375 Ruger on large ornery wild hogs is good medicine when confronted with a charge. For those who believe that recoil is severe, you are wrong when the recoil pad is a Pachmayr decelerator or a Sim’s SVL recoil pad. These pads reduce felt recoil around 50 % making them feel more like a 30-06 instead. If you can’t shoot an ’06 then the best advice is to stay out of the Hog woods.

I would use a round soft nose bullet for Hogs. The soft round nose will expand largely and drive the expanded bullet like a freight train wrecking bone and tissue in its path in such a devastating way as to put the lights out on a hog like it was struck by lightning. Big hole in, a barn door hole coming out. A bullet like the 270 grain Round Nose traveling at 2600 fps delivers over 4000 ft-lb at the muzzle. Amazingly the .375 Ruger that I own and that Alan owns are both sub Minute of Angle accurate; that is to say grouping three bullets in less than 1 inch at 100 yards for heavy bone crushing loads. That is the Ruger hammer forged barrel. I have hunted and killed Moose and deer with the .375 Ruger and after 50 years of hunting and reloading it is truly impressive when the shooter can reload his or her own custom loads with impeccable accuracy over a wide range of bullets and powders.

The key to shooting any rifle is that you must place the bullet in a vital area to do its job. Shooting a big Hog in the foot ain’t gonna do that, so practice. Alan says he chose a scope a Meopta Meostar 1.5-6 x 42. This allows the shooter the ability to shoot at 5 feet using 1.5x and still see the animal in focus to shoot, a great scope choice.

If you are interested in one rifle for the Planet then see your Ruger dealer and check out the Ruger at http://ruger.com/products/HawkeyeAfrican/models.html

© 2015