DanielLudwig
Well-Known Member
Earlier this year i had a .300 Weatherby built, and last Saturday i had a chance to stretch it out for the first time up in Marshall Co., WV with an old buddy, just thought i would relay this.
I arrived just before noon, helped my friend grind some deer meat, and proceeded to chew the fat for awhile and catch up a bit. At about 2:00pm we decided to gear up and start our way down to our proposed shooting position. Just as we made our way out of his yard and down through the gate i spotted a buck on the opposite hillside, and a hasty setup was attempted in vain as the buck made it into a think shumac patch. So we piled back into my Jeep and headed on down toward our setup, cutting the distance to the afore-mentioned buck's last know location to about 100 yds or so. Upon exiting the Jeep we realized there was actually a large group of deer in the brush above us where the buck had vanished, and as we scrambled all 10 of them made off around the hillside.
My friend then instructed me to set my rifle up and he would go around the hill and try to work the group of deer across the steep hollow below me. I agreed and setup, watching him walk out the road as I did. He hadn't made it out of site when i saw him square up and fire quickly, and then to my suprise come sprinting back toward me! He then explained that he had shot an 8pt, only to have a larger buck bolt out of site from above him. He handed me his carry rifle and we left my rifle set up and started in the direction of his downed buck. We searched high and low and never saw the big buck again, but did manage to retrieve his small 8 pt and share a laugh about the whole incident.
Upon returning to the Jeep, my friend traded his rifle in for a old derilect USMC M49 spotter and we set back up on my long rifle and began to glass the hillside. Five minutes or so had passed when i spotted a group of deer moving across on old skid road on the opposite hillside. I picked up my Leica 900 rangefinder and after some wobbling and grumbling, ranged the group at 557 yds. I grabbed my drop chart, made my dial up and watched the wind as I waited for one of the mature does in the group to present a shot. Afew minutes passed and one doe began to feed back across the road bearing to my right, presenting a good, slightly quartering shot in the open. I settled in, verified my spotter was ready and touched off a 200 gr Sierra Matchking. The recoil bounced me out of the scope for a split second, and as i struggled to regain my focus my worries were calmed by my spotters call "Hit, she mule kicked!". I quickly found the deer in the scope and watched abit puzzled as she ran some 70 yards around the bank, then turned downhill sharply and crashed into a small broomsage opening, "She's done.", my friend said, and after a hearty handshake we headed off to collect my deer. We found her, field dressed her and determined that POA and POI were spot on, and headed home for the night.
The next morning we got up and headed down to the same spot, set up and to my suprise, glassed a mature doe some 40 yards above the gut pile of the doe i had taken the evening before! A quick check with the rangefinder put the deer at 492 yds, I quickly made the required adjustments and settled in on my rifle. My spotter gave me the ok and I touched off a round, again being bumped only slightly out of the field of view, but quickly reassured by the words "She's down, you dropped her.". When I found the doe in the scope again she had slid downhill slightly and came to rest against a small oak, so we packed our gear up and headed over, again confirming POI was right on target, and packing my kill back to his house.
We skinned the deer and spent the rest of the day scouting some other potential long shots, and that evening I packed my Jeep up with venison and made the trip south very satisfied. My combo for those interested;
Trued 700 ADL magnum action
30 cal. 28.5" Krieger 1-10" twist barrel, contour is a #17 i believe, 1.25 for 4" and a straigt taper to .75" at the muzzle
Chambered for .300 Weatherby Magnum, no freebore custom reamer from PTG
Stock is an HS Precision Pro Series M24, brown/black web
Wyatts 3.900" extented box
Stainless BDL bottom metal
Ross Shuler .813" brake, tapered to match muzzle
Topped with Weaver Tactical rail and high rings
Leupold Vari-x III 6.5-20
Rifle was built by Tac Rifles, Elizabeth, WV
Load is a 200 gr SMK ontop 76gr RL22 @ 2940 fps
I arrived just before noon, helped my friend grind some deer meat, and proceeded to chew the fat for awhile and catch up a bit. At about 2:00pm we decided to gear up and start our way down to our proposed shooting position. Just as we made our way out of his yard and down through the gate i spotted a buck on the opposite hillside, and a hasty setup was attempted in vain as the buck made it into a think shumac patch. So we piled back into my Jeep and headed on down toward our setup, cutting the distance to the afore-mentioned buck's last know location to about 100 yds or so. Upon exiting the Jeep we realized there was actually a large group of deer in the brush above us where the buck had vanished, and as we scrambled all 10 of them made off around the hillside.
My friend then instructed me to set my rifle up and he would go around the hill and try to work the group of deer across the steep hollow below me. I agreed and setup, watching him walk out the road as I did. He hadn't made it out of site when i saw him square up and fire quickly, and then to my suprise come sprinting back toward me! He then explained that he had shot an 8pt, only to have a larger buck bolt out of site from above him. He handed me his carry rifle and we left my rifle set up and started in the direction of his downed buck. We searched high and low and never saw the big buck again, but did manage to retrieve his small 8 pt and share a laugh about the whole incident.
Upon returning to the Jeep, my friend traded his rifle in for a old derilect USMC M49 spotter and we set back up on my long rifle and began to glass the hillside. Five minutes or so had passed when i spotted a group of deer moving across on old skid road on the opposite hillside. I picked up my Leica 900 rangefinder and after some wobbling and grumbling, ranged the group at 557 yds. I grabbed my drop chart, made my dial up and watched the wind as I waited for one of the mature does in the group to present a shot. Afew minutes passed and one doe began to feed back across the road bearing to my right, presenting a good, slightly quartering shot in the open. I settled in, verified my spotter was ready and touched off a 200 gr Sierra Matchking. The recoil bounced me out of the scope for a split second, and as i struggled to regain my focus my worries were calmed by my spotters call "Hit, she mule kicked!". I quickly found the deer in the scope and watched abit puzzled as she ran some 70 yards around the bank, then turned downhill sharply and crashed into a small broomsage opening, "She's done.", my friend said, and after a hearty handshake we headed off to collect my deer. We found her, field dressed her and determined that POA and POI were spot on, and headed home for the night.
The next morning we got up and headed down to the same spot, set up and to my suprise, glassed a mature doe some 40 yards above the gut pile of the doe i had taken the evening before! A quick check with the rangefinder put the deer at 492 yds, I quickly made the required adjustments and settled in on my rifle. My spotter gave me the ok and I touched off a round, again being bumped only slightly out of the field of view, but quickly reassured by the words "She's down, you dropped her.". When I found the doe in the scope again she had slid downhill slightly and came to rest against a small oak, so we packed our gear up and headed over, again confirming POI was right on target, and packing my kill back to his house.
We skinned the deer and spent the rest of the day scouting some other potential long shots, and that evening I packed my Jeep up with venison and made the trip south very satisfied. My combo for those interested;
Trued 700 ADL magnum action
30 cal. 28.5" Krieger 1-10" twist barrel, contour is a #17 i believe, 1.25 for 4" and a straigt taper to .75" at the muzzle
Chambered for .300 Weatherby Magnum, no freebore custom reamer from PTG
Stock is an HS Precision Pro Series M24, brown/black web
Wyatts 3.900" extented box
Stainless BDL bottom metal
Ross Shuler .813" brake, tapered to match muzzle
Topped with Weaver Tactical rail and high rings
Leupold Vari-x III 6.5-20
Rifle was built by Tac Rifles, Elizabeth, WV
Load is a 200 gr SMK ontop 76gr RL22 @ 2940 fps
