The 700LR is NOT a Walking Varminter

Started by recoil junky, August 05, 2017, 09:00:05 AM

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recoil junky

I went shooting prairie dogs by myself yesterday,  so here's the story.

I was up early in hopes of getting away before 08:00 were thwarted by 't missus".

"Dear?" (that's me she's referring too) "Can you put the new sticker on my car?" licence plate tags are "stickers" "And check the oil too?"  Well, she does look nice in her going to work clothes so I obliged, adhering the sticker properly and having to add a quart of oil to the engine. "What about checking the tires?" Her car has cast aluminum wheels and one of them has a casting fault which allows air to leak out at a rate so slow . . . . . . . . anyway . . . . . . . 'T missus' car is all set for another week.

I started using an old cooler to "pack ammo" in. It also works quite well for putting food and drinks on the smaller side.



After I drove some 60 miles I ended up on  some BLM appropriately named "Baking Powder Ridge". A dry expanse that is a "Protected Area" because of it's fragile nature. There is a "two track" down it's center and a couple more "trails" that lead to a stock pond. From the looks of the two track it gets a lot of traffic but there were still a few prairie dogs.



Seeing several within 300 yards of the truck I got set up with the 25-06LR.



The wind, did I mention the wind? Well, the wind was blowing from my 3 o'clock at at least 15 mph and gusting to maybe 25 making it very hard to shoot beyond 200 yards as the buffeting would move the cross hairs off target 4 to 6 inches even with the bipod, so, I tried the "Hawkins Hold" (You Brits should know this one, which I will "dwell" on later.) This position of shooting prone puts the shooter and rifle closer to the ground which lessened the winds affects somewhat.

I'm afraid I've ruined the backstraps on this one. :o

 

Elkhamr wanted me to keep him apprised of my progress and the carnage :greentongue:

I took a short "trek" to get closer and get a picture of the carnage (see above) I slung the 25-06LR (all 13 pounds of it) over my right shoulder, grabbed it's MTM box of ammo and headed west from the truck (sans range finder) to a knob some 300 yards distant. What I didn't see was a deep ravine cut into the terrain half way to my destination. I reached the "blow out" with it's almost vertical sides and spotted a goat trail down, across and up so I carefully started my traverse. I made the bottom in a cloud of dust and had a short walk up the bottom of the maybe 15 foot deep chasm to where the goat trail headed up. The bottom had some mud still in it from recent rains and there was no way to avoid it in the barely foot wide bed. Before ascending I scraped the mud off my shoes and started up. All went well until I found the only rock in miles and using it for a "step" I gingerly placed my left boot on it only to have my foot shoot out sideways leaving behind a smear of mud that didn't get wiped off. My only thought was "RIFLE!! MUST SAVE RIFLE!!!" By twisting like an arthritic ballerina and dropping the ammo box I managed to get the rifle clenched to  my chest. With the left knee feeling like a knife had been thrust behind the knee cap and the searing feeling of freshly torn medial meniscus I got back up and checked the rifle to make sure it was ok. PHEW!!! Just some dust on the inside of the butt stock!!!

Hoping there was no one with in miles to have seen my wreck and thinking  "I didn't need to go to that knob anyway" I headed back to the truck. As I was on my way back I looked down  spotted this prairie dog skull in a pile of antelope dung.



On the way out I stopped to glass and shoot a few more prairie dogs and out of the sage a doe antelope starts walking towards me. 200 yards, 150 yards, 75 yards, 50 yards, 25 yards, just walking until she was down wind then OFF SHE WENT in a cloud of dust. This not a minute after I had shot a prairie dog and I was still laying on my shooting blanket behind the truck!! For a brief time I thought I was under attack by a suicide bomber speed goat :MOGRIN:

It was a great day, I got to see some new country, shoot a few prairie dogs and almost be set upon by a rouge antelope.

A few more pictures from earlier this year and last year.

My favorite set up:



A not too smart youngster:



And a Holeus Diggus Gigantus:



RJ

Oh the knee? It's slightly swollen and a bit stiff this morning. Nothing that can't be fixed with a replacement.
When you go afield, take the kids and please......................................wear your seatbelts.
Northwest Colorado.............Where the wapiti roam and deer and antelope run amuck. :undecided:  
Proud father of a soldier medic in The 82nd Airborne 325th AIR White Falcons :army:

gitano

Be nicer than necessary.

recoil junky

Last year.

An 85 grain BT Varmint turned his innards into jello. Kinda gross actually. No exit, just  (errp) a bag of mush (errrrp) Not because he was a bag of mush but how he stunk :stars:

RJ
When you go afield, take the kids and please......................................wear your seatbelts.
Northwest Colorado.............Where the wapiti roam and deer and antelope run amuck. :undecided:  
Proud father of a soldier medic in The 82nd Airborne 325th AIR White Falcons :army:

Hunterbug

Ask not what your government can do for you. Ask how your government can go away and get out of your life.
 
 
The unarmed man is is not only defenseless, he is also contemptible.
Niccolo Machiavelli

farmboy

I thought when I broke out the 6mm Remington to varmint with I was grabbing a big gun for the job! Lol my hats off to you using a 25_06. I have never owned one of them. Should not be any questions about humane hunting with one on varmints.

recoil junky

The 25-06 is "fair dinkum" on prairie dogs. My furthest, if memory serves, is 410 (?) yards. Still close enough to hear the THWOCK :greentongue: Not sure what it weighs with the bipod, but more than the 300RUM without it. :antlers:

RJ
When you go afield, take the kids and please......................................wear your seatbelts.
Northwest Colorado.............Where the wapiti roam and deer and antelope run amuck. :undecided:  
Proud father of a soldier medic in The 82nd Airborne 325th AIR White Falcons :army:

gemihur

Great experience shared.
The weight for portability would be my consideration
I find light and maneuverable to be an asset.

I can't say my 6x45 setup can compete with a 25-06 for yardage, tho.
Kudos!
Jimmy

gitano

For many years I carried an 11lb rifle (7mm Rem Mag with rosewood thumbhole stock) around the mountains of Alaska chasing dall sheep. I'm not entertaining whines about walking 300 yards over flat ground with a 13lb rifle. :greentongue:

Good to see you gemihur!

By the way, wanna educate us on the etymology of "gemihur"? I tried it backwards. No help.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

gitano

As it turns out, I have a Contender frame that I would like to either replace the 'guts' in, or part with/trade/sell. I'm familiar with Bellm. Do you have any other suggestions?

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

gemihur

First, gemihur is my elected pseudonym for Jimmy Hoer,  the phonetic pronunciation for those less familiar with German spellings.
Next, the TC break-actions are my passion.  They're not hard to worj on with the YouTube videos to assist.
The variety of barrels require minor 'fitting' of bolts to receiver to satisfy hammer block safety mechanism.
Patience is required for return of inventory whenever Bellm ir E. A. Brown service required.  Probably due to backlog from short staffing. The contender is an excellent platform for an education in wildcatting but eventually the Encore will be called on when REAL energy is required. I'd hang onto inventory as they're not making them anymore until SSK gets running with it's  SSK 50 or S&W finds a buyer.
The market IS prime fo resale if you wish to stay conventional.

gitano

I have had a couple of Contenders (chambered in .22 Hornet and a .223 Rem) for a while. Anything switchbarrel has my interest.

This frame was a complete action j0e_bl0ggs was going to build on. Part of trying to figure out how to get a receiver to him through the mail was to gut it, send the guts to him, then figure out how to 'diguise' the frame. Never could get that last part figured out. Now that he's passed, I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with it. Getting the guts back from the UK will be nigh on to impossible, so I either replace the parts here, or sell the frame.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

gemihur

I still dig the 25-06 story by Recoil junky
I had to get a barrel in that for my Encore
Still couldn't be satisfied and pursued a 35 Whelen in same.
I have reached my threshold of tolerance for backthrust of a buttstock.

gitano

:MOGRIN:

I have a soft spot in my heart, (some would say in my head), for quarter bores, and a .25-06 is right up there on The List. If I rejuvenate this receiver, that's probably what barrel it would get. Alain has fabricated a couple of Contender lumps, and welded them to bbls. He did excellent work. I don't think I could replicate it. Which means purchasing a barrel. Unlikely at this point in my life as I'm in the reduction mode, not the acquisition mode.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

gemihur

You'll not be going 25-06 with a contender
An Encore will be required.  There were only two quartebores for the contender from the factory,  the .256 win mag, and the 257 TCU. I have obtained a 250 savage barrel that was a stubbed assembly by a gunsmith in California.  Its 16" and requires handloading to 39K. Breechthrust is the limiting factor.
Third party manufacturers have a lot of options.
Gary Reeder is one of the more creative!
Last year I snagged 30 Raptor of his, uses 204 Ruger brass and really a sweet shooter!

gitano

I'm sure you're right about the. 25-06 and the Contender. More reason to part with it. Neither do I want or need another rimfire OR Hornet.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

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