Category Archives: Uncategorized

Browning X-Bolt Speed – Nosler 168g ABLR w/ IMR 4831 Groups – Updated 2/2/23

Posted on by

As you may know, I have been working up hand-loads for my moose hunt and finding the Nosler 168g ABLR reaching over 3000 fps with IMR 4831. But the question is, with what accuracy or groups?

Well, I shot this group below and it looks like a tight 3/4″ except for the flyer. I shot the third shot in the upper right target and extrapolated its position on the string below. Why I shot that upper right target? Because I wanted a smaller target as a focal aim point.

But it needed to be repeated in the second target below for me to validate it. The trigger is a heavy 4 lbs. but I was able to get used to where it breaks. The thin mountain barrel does heat fast and after 3 shots to warm it, it begins to string. 

I repeated the same shots a week later with all the same components at 100 yards. The first 3 shots group 3/4 ” from a cold barrel and the 4th shot drops an inch. I know that a lighter trigger may also help. But overall, I was very pleased with the cold shots for hunting purposes.

Tests continue Using my Labradar

I loaded some 168g ABLR’s with hot H1000 Powder to compete with the IMR 4831. See below low left and right 100 yd 3 shot cold barrel groups with extreme spread of 78 fps an 2 inch groups. The IMR 4831 wins!

I did shoot 168 ABLR today for a third bench rest group for the IMR 4831 and Statistics. Below this group was 1 1/4 inches. Shown below with associated Labradar Stats with Extreme Spread of 14.34 fps and a Std Deviation of 8.17. Very nice indeed!

Labradar Report for IMR 4831

Device ID LBR-0028541                                      
                                                             
Series No 4                                             
Total number of shots 3                                 
                                                             
Units velocity fps                                         
Units distances yd                                         
Units kinetic energy ft-lbf                                
Units weight grain (gr)                                    
                                                             
Stats – Average 2937.25 fps                                 
Stats – Highest 2946.69 fps                                 
Stats – Lowest 2932.35 fps                                  
Stats – Ext. Spread 14.34 fps                               
Stats – Std. Dev 8.17 fps                                   
Shot ID V0 V25 V25 V50 V75 V101 Ke0 Ke25 Ke25 Ke50 Ke75 Ke101 Proj. Weight Date Time
1 2933 2893 2893 2852 2814 0 3207 3120 3120 3034 2953 168 2/2/2023 13:01:22
2 2932 2882 2882 2841 2801 0 3207 3098 3098 3011 2925 168 2/2/2023 13:02:44
3 2947 2907 2907 2868 2829 2788 3238 3151 3151 3067 2984 168 2/2/2023 13:04:08

 

Interestingly, I did note that a drop in outside temperature affects ignition and velocity. Last week I shot at 37degrees F and MV avg was 3003. Today at 26 degrees F,  MV avg was 2937 a drop of 70 fps. At 600 yards that equates to a drop of 4 inches on a moose. I’ll keep that in mind!

More Soon…

© Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

 

Big Game Hunting Rifles Are Far More Accurate than most Hunters

Posted on by

Most all rifles shoot far more accurate than the hunter, but out in the field, things can happen fast. The hunter must be accurate and ready.

The honest truth is, shooting off a bench at a bullseye is not hunting…it is target shooting. 

In reality, accuracy is, for the most part, in the hands of the hunter, not necessarily in the rifle. It is common to see hunters shoot MOA or even sub-MOA bench rest groups with todays rifles and be happy, ready to hunt. Right? Not really! 

We must practice how we are going to hunt. Hunters that do not prepare physically out in the field, including me, or shoot their rifle enough to know it well, are kidding themselves.

For me, it is a self talk to get my butt to the range regularly, shoot standing off a tripod rest or offhand burning powder and sending bullets downrange. Thus having an intimate relationship with your rifle, its recoil and trigger time.

Once your rifle is sighted-in, it is time to get you “the hunter” sighted-in away from the bench. 

It is best to shoot at a target that does not have a bullseye, after all deer and bear do not have a bullseye on them. 

 A paper plate target can help give you some focus to keep bullets on it.   I often purchase near life size paper animal targets to put my crosshairs on. It helps greatly or create a cardboard left or right facing shoulder/chest to aim at. What if the game is facing you, and that is your only shot opportunity. Are you ready? 

Good Hunting!

 

 

 

Browning X-Bolt Speed 175 grain Nosler AccuBond Long Range Tests Begin

Posted on by

If you read my first articles on my Browning X-Bolt Speed, I was eager to shoot some Nosler 175g ABLR’s in my new rifle. I had hoped they would group well for long range moose hunting even with 9.5 twist rate.

 

This week I shot several rounds. Initial groups were just over 1 inch. The X-Bolt Trigger set by the factory at 4 lbs. is a bit too stiff for me, and a pain to try to adjust. I will shoot more this next week. I did shoot a single “cold bore” at 100 yards and then moved the target to 150 yards and shot “cold bore” again with the 100 yard zero. I expected the bullet to drop a bit. It fell only one inch, as expected. Nice! This initial testing with 175g was very encouraging. 

 

 

I hand loaded the bullet with Reloader 22 at 62 grains, (COL 3.24), giving a published estimate of over 2900 fps with a 24 inch barrel. The X-Bolt has a 26 inch barrel. I estimate a 50 fps improvement but will chrono some next week for real data.

Below is the JBM ballistic chart for this bullet if it’s muzzle velocity was 2950 fps. Energy at 600 yards is over 1800 ft-lb and velocity is over 2100 fps. Recoil is 24 ft-lbs. Felt recoil is much less, maybe half, with the great recoil pad on this rifle. 

Very impressive start!

 

 

Trajectory
Input Data
Manufacturer: Nosler Description: Accubond Long Range Spitzer (G7)
Caliber: 0.284 in Weight: 175.0 gr
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.364 G7 (ASM)
Muzzle Velocity: 2950.0 ft/s Distance to Chronograph: 0.0 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: 0.0 mph Target Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Height: 40.0 in
Temperature: 40.0 °F Pressure: 29.92 in Hg
Humidity: 50 % 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: 3.400 MOA Windage: 0.000 MOA
Atmospheric Density: 0.07925 lb/ft³ Speed of Sound: 1095.8 ft/s
Maximum PBR: 370 yd Maximum PBR Zero: 313 yd
Range of Maximum Height: 171 yd Energy at Maximum PBR: 2348.1 ft•lbs
Sectional Density: 0.310 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 *** 2950.0 2.692 3381.0 0.000 0.0 ***
25 -0.7 -2.8 0.0 0.1 2915.4 2.661 3302.2 0.026 0.0 0.0
50 -0.2 -0.4 0.1 0.2 2881.0 2.629 3224.8 0.051 0.0 0.0
75 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.3 2846.8 2.598 3148.6 0.078 0.0 0.0
100 -0.0 -0.0 0.4 0.4 2812.8 2.567 3073.8 0.104 0.0 0.0
125 -0.3 -0.2 0.7 0.5 2779.0 2.536 3000.3 0.131 0.0 0.0
150 -0.9 -0.6 1.0 0.6 2745.3 2.505 2928.1 0.158 0.0 0.0
175 -1.7 -0.9 1.3 0.7 2711.9 2.475 2857.3 0.186 0.0 0.0
200 -2.9 -1.4 1.8 0.8 2678.7 2.444 2787.7 0.213 0.0 0.0
225 -4.4 -1.8 2.3 1.0 2645.7 2.414 2719.4 0.242 0.0 0.0
250 -6.1 -2.3 2.8 1.1 2612.9 2.384 2652.4 0.270 0.0 0.0
275 -8.2 -2.9 3.4 1.2 2580.3 2.355 2586.6 0.299 0.0 0.0
300 -10.6 -3.4 4.1 1.3 2547.9 2.325 2522.1 0.328 0.0 0.0
325 -13.4 -3.9 4.8 1.4 2515.8 2.296 2458.9 0.358 0.0 0.0
350 -16.5 -4.5 5.6 1.5 2483.8 2.267 2396.9 0.388 0.0 0.0
375 -19.9 -5.1 6.5 1.7 2452.1 2.238 2336.1 0.418 0.0 0.0
400 -23.7 -5.7 7.4 1.8 2420.7 2.209 2276.5 0.449 0.0 0.0
425 -27.9 -6.3 8.5 1.9 2389.4 2.180 2218.1 0.480 0.0 0.0
450 -32.5 -6.9 9.5 2.0 2358.4 2.152 2160.9 0.512 0.0 0.0
475 -37.4 -7.5 10.7 2.2 2327.6 2.124 2104.8 0.544 0.0 0.0
500 -42.8 -8.2 11.9 2.3 2297.0 2.096 2049.9 0.576 0.0 0.0
525 -48.5 -8.8 13.2 2.4 2266.7 2.069 1996.2 0.609 0.0 0.0
550 -54.7 -9.5 14.6 2.5 2236.6 2.041 1943.5 0.642 0.0 0.0
575 -61.3 -10.2 16.1 2.7 2206.8 2.014 1892.0 0.676 0.0 0.0
600 -68.4 -10.9 17.7 2.8 2177.2 1.987 1841.6 0.710 0.0 0.0

 
10-Jan-23 07:21, JBM/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

 

More to come…

Why choose 7mm Rem. Mag. for Moose?

Posted on by

I can shoot my heavy recoiling 375 Ruger very well, so why choose a 7mm Remington Magnum instead? First and foremost the 7mm RM, in my new Browning X-Bolt, is lighter, even with a 26 inch barrel, and has almost 50% less recoil than the 375 (40 ft-lb for 375 Ruger). And the 7mm RM has less recoil than the 300 Win Mag or 300 PRC. 

X-Bolt Speed

The 7mm RM can maintain superior moose killing energy at long ranges out to 500 and even 600 yards. Shooting Nosler’s 168g AccuBond Long Range, it has almost 1900 ft-lbs and over 2200 fps at 600 yards. Bullet speed allows mushrooming, and the energy translates to penetration. Below is Nosler image of an AccuBond mushroom at 1350 fps. Most bullets require 1800 to 2000 fps to open like this.

1350 fps

Lesser potent cartridges have killed many moose but have energy limitations at long range. And most local sporting retailers carry 7mm Rem Mag ammo. 

Cost of a moose hunt in Newfoundland isn’t cheap so I got a rifle caliber that can reach further for maximum opportunity. 

My 375 Ruger’s energy quickly poops out around 400 yards or so. Shot distances in Newfoundland tundra and bogs can easily exceed 400 yards. 

Rifle and shooter accuracy is of vital importance, perhaps more-so than delivered energy.  That said, less felt recoil translates to improved accuracy. I use a very sturdy Bog Death Grip tripod for those long range shots. 

Practice out to 600 yards becomes essential, and I have a local range that can do that. I just loaded up some 175g Nosler ABLR’s and soon will load some Nosler 168g ABLR. I will shoot some in my next article.

More soon!

© Copyright 2023

 

 

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

 

 

Game Meat from Freezer to Hot Canning to Tenderize and for Longevity. Updated

Posted on by

My wife Susan and I have been vacuum freezing game meat for years. In October 2019 we put 300 pounds of Moose and 150 pounds of wild boar in the freezer. In 2021 we learned the hot-canning method used by many hunting families for stews and such in glass Ball Jars. 

If you enjoy eating the game you hunt and like to preserve and tenderize your meat, read on.

We processed and vacuum sealed all the meat at home. 

In 2019, we expected large summer 2020 BBQ gatherings, so we made burger patties and put large numbers of patties in vac bags.

And as we all know, COVID changes our lives forever. We still had lots of frozen moose burger and stew meat. What to do?

 

Part of my reason to continue to hot can was that my stew meat came out-of-the-jar so tender that I could cut it with a fork. And it cuts down mealtime prep. to minutes.   Wow!

For stews, I then cooked/steamed or quickly pressure cooked fresh carrots, potato, onion, celery etc., then added the hot canned stew meat. I used the juices to make a flour gravy adding herbs, salt and pepper. Sooo Delicious! Yes you can “can” your veggies too. 

This month, October 2022, I booked another Newfoundland Moose hunt as part of my bucket list. What to do with another 300 pounds of moose meat?  I still had 20 or so pounds of that frozen moose burger I wrote about at the beginning of this article?

I decided to hot-can the frozen game burger too, like all those patties we froze plus all the burger intended for pasta sauces. The frozen burger would have be ok for longer freezer storage but the meat became so buried in the freezer making it very hard to find.

Accordingly, I gathered all the frozen moose burger, about 20 pounds and hot canned it for use in my delicious pasta sauces, “shepherds pie”, chili recipes, biscuits and gravy, meat pies, meat tacos, mince meat pie, and so much more. Hungry yet? I sure am! 

I used a T-fal Pressure Canner below with Pressure Control,  22 Quart volume. But you can use any large canner.  You will need Ball jars and lids. 

There are other brands and styles, but I like this one because it is so easy to use.

T-fal Pressure Canner

 

I  thawed the moose in large pots meat of cold water. Here is a basic recipe video.

I highly recommend purchasing a canning book like this one below, to become educated for safety and have delicious recipes.

The Complete Guide to Pressure Canning: Everything You Need to Know to Can Meats, Vegetables, Meals in a Jar, and More

In the past year 2021, I successfully hot canned venison, wild boar, chicken breast, moose and now moose burger. 

 

After canning, you can label like this above with Avery labels.

Enjoy!

 

Take your Flintlock Out for a Walk

Posted on by

Just like my Labrador retriever, my rifles and especially my 1776 50 cal. Pennsylvania flintlock, needs exercise.

So I took it out for a fun walk at the range recently to ensure all was clean and in working order.

The lock mechanism also needs to be regularly lubed and inspected for rust.

And the barrel needs to be periodically cleaned even if not used. The sulfur residue from black powder is hard to totally remove, and can cause weak sulfuric acid to form, resulting in rust in sufficient quantity to lose accuracy. Unfortunately, many of us learn that cleaning lesson the hard way, including me. I cleaned and swabbed my swamp barrel several times over a year leaving a coating of oil in the barrel. Thus far, I have put a pound of black powder through it, so the barrel, like a frying pan is cured.

Off to the range I went, .and bench rested two shots at 50 yards at 3/4 inch, below.

 

My Pennsylvania Flintlock amazes me every time. Several years ago, I created this rifle from a very high end Chambers Kit in honor of Jacob Dickert who was the the most prolific Lancaster, PA master rifle maker of the American Revolution.

Below a boar I took with this rifle a few years back.

 

Good Shooting!

 

 

 

Sporting Dollars Going to China?

Posted on by

In January of this year, New Hampshire Rifleman Magazine sent letters to Bass Pro headquarters and Dick’s Sporting Goods Headquarters urging them to seek alternatives to selling billions of dollars of China made goods.

It is now August and we have never heard back! See my article below.

China Sporting Goods Dollars Sold in USA – Is China an Adversary? Yes! Updated

As a concerned American sportsman I know  purchases are helping our adversary, China. It is time to stop feeding money to this Marxist regime.

What can you do? Call your legislators and write to businesses to seek alternatives.

Seek out American made products wherever possible.