For me the most important thing is that if it's working then keep using it but also explore different avenues at the same time so I can find other ways to do the job at hand as well as I can. Things change all of the time new products come out because someone didn't like what they had at the time, or they thought that they could make it work better for them in their situation. It doesn't matter if it's hunting coyote or mowing our lawn if it's working keep doing it that way but keep thinking about how we can make it work better for us as things change in our situations, the temperatures change they get warmer or they get colder, the weather gets wetter or dryer, coyotes have pups, the pups need fed, the pups grow, they leave the den, they start learning to hunt with mom and dad, mom or dad gets killed so the other one needs to change how they do things to provide for the kids, the kids set out on their own and may take the easy food route, they get hungry and respond to our calls readily, they have a few close encounters with people some live but are terrified by it a loud noise or a bad sting a wound now they are more cautious of people all of these things play into how we as hunters need to change to fit the life changes happening in the life of the coyote all the while the equipment that we have available to is also changing so we , unlike me, need to change with it lol we can't let ourselves stagnate either. We live, grow and expand our horizons every day as do the coyotes we pursue.
Ramblings and Such From Hunting Coyote
- Thread starter DSheetz
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Straight Shooter
Well-Known Member
This is exactly what I do.
windypants
Well-Known Member
My action is a Terminus Zeus with an integral 20 MOA rail— nothing that can come loose. And I'm using the Hawkins six screw rings with the offset level. I really like this set-up, but my opinion isn't worth much since I don't have much experience with others.
Your opinion is worth a ton. An action with an integral 20MOA rail that has no way of coming loose is great, the Hawkens six screw rings are a good investment. An action that is made for the job beats an action that is modified to make work. I did most of my own work so did it as I had time and funds which was part of the enjoyment of it all for me, the learning about how it all connected to work was also part of the enjoyment. To have 1/10th of Alex's knowledge about it would be amazing. What scope are you running, is it 30 or 34 MM. what is the magnification and the objective bell size. How is your reticle set up?
windypants
Well-Known Member
The tools of the trade, and another pair taken out of production this morning. Maven RS-4 scope, 5 X 30-56mm, 34mm tube, first focal plane, MOAR2 reticle. Maven 10X40 binoculars. Revic BR-4 rangefinder. Kestrel 2700 wind meter, Luckyduck rebel caller. LRO wedge bag and Atlas bipod. Once again, the coyote fight got me both shots. I had tripped on them and spooked them out of a draw, then called them back.
All very good equipment for the job at hand, and you sir are putting it to good use. I really like that style of muzzle break, it shouldn't cover you with snow, dirt and other ground litter. The next thing that I have a curiosity attack about would be your loads, the bullets, brass, powder, primers, seating depth for any jump to the lands, shoulders set back or just neck sized, neck turned or reamed for bullet tension, you aren't traveling heavily loaded down with extras, and have what you need at hand. I am impressed with your choice of equipment and the way you are putting it to use makes sense to me as a living target keeps me more interested than a stationary target. I learned a little from some bench rest guys and had one guy tell me that I was just wasting my time by doing things to my brass and the loading procedures that I chose to do. The lucky duck calls are made with Rick's own coyotes so I don't think you can go wrong with it either.
windypants
Well-Known Member
I've thoroughly enjoyed learning the process for reloading and tuning for long range accuracy from very knowledgeable people on several forums. I've got a great load figured out for this rifle, but there's always more I want to experiment with and learn. Here's my load:
ADG 28 Nosler brass expanded to .30 cal. The necks are very uniform so I don't turn them (+/-.0005). I haven't been annealing this batch and that seems to be working so far (3X fired). Right now I'm full-length sizing with a .332 neck bushing and .002 shoulder bump ( Micron die), followed with .3025 expanding mandrel. Imperial dry lube and burnish the inside of the necks with tight nylon brush on a drill (Alex's trick). Alex gave this chamber .280 free bore so that the bullet will be seated above the doughnut area of the neck to eliminate potential problems there. I plan to do more testing with bushings and mandrels to find out what prints the best groups. Alex doesn't anneal or use mandrels.
Berger 230 OTM's seated .018 OTL. I don't chase the lands, just check occasionally to see if I need to seat .003 longer. I haven't tried many other bullets. All I know is that bergers have never disappointed.
I upgraded to LE Wilson in-line seating die with an arbor press and am very happy with that set-up— very consistent.
Federal 215 primers and 87.9 gr. N570 rounds out this load at 3125 fps.
All of my load development was done by shooting three shot groups at 1077 yards. I knew I was there when this load shot a 2.75" group with 0" vertical.
ADG 28 Nosler brass expanded to .30 cal. The necks are very uniform so I don't turn them (+/-.0005). I haven't been annealing this batch and that seems to be working so far (3X fired). Right now I'm full-length sizing with a .332 neck bushing and .002 shoulder bump ( Micron die), followed with .3025 expanding mandrel. Imperial dry lube and burnish the inside of the necks with tight nylon brush on a drill (Alex's trick). Alex gave this chamber .280 free bore so that the bullet will be seated above the doughnut area of the neck to eliminate potential problems there. I plan to do more testing with bushings and mandrels to find out what prints the best groups. Alex doesn't anneal or use mandrels.
Berger 230 OTM's seated .018 OTL. I don't chase the lands, just check occasionally to see if I need to seat .003 longer. I haven't tried many other bullets. All I know is that bergers have never disappointed.
I upgraded to LE Wilson in-line seating die with an arbor press and am very happy with that set-up— very consistent.
Federal 215 primers and 87.9 gr. N570 rounds out this load at 3125 fps.
All of my load development was done by shooting three shot groups at 1077 yards. I knew I was there when this load shot a 2.75" group with 0" vertical.
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Well done that's all-good information. pretty close to the way I have learned to do it also, a few little differences but not much of any consequence. I run pretty much Nosler brass because I can buy loaded rounds of what I want then load them the way I want and the need to do a lot of brass prep is cut down. I still check the primer pockets and the flash holes but with the Nosler brass haven't found but one or two that weren't right on the money there. I like to set the shoulders back .002 after a couple of firings, and have used the nylon brush for a while now to clean the necks inside and 0000 steel wool on the outside of the necks I check my case lengths with a LEE precision case trimer, yeah I know they are famous for being cheap stuff but the case cutters they make are great as far as I am concerned. I just slip the base in the holder, and they have made a mandrel to fit the case with a cutter screwed on that cuts every case to the same length. I can use that same holder to turn my brass for the neck cleaning too. I don't turn my necks or reem them as I don't have any tight chambers, but I do check for run out and consistent neck thickness. My brass is sorted by weight and culled if it doesn't fall in the allowed weight range over or under, so I have more consistent pressures and burn rates. The powders are decided on from past experience as an example I found that the majority of the 30-06 rifles that I have like 4350 IMR powder but my 6.5x284 likes H4831SC my 223's like H335 or 4320 IMR best My rifles all seem to like .062 jump for whatever reason, so I just tend to use that as a starting point and fine tune from there. I'm still running my older Leupold 30mm tubed 8.5x25 target scope for my long-range rifle with the mil hash marks reticle as it works well as of this time. My older Leupold RX1000 is still doing ok so it's still my range finder and I'm still running my Stinner 10x40 binoculars I don't know how to even take a guess as to how many miles they all have traveled with me, but I would guess they have done me well for at least 15 years. I too enjoy visiting with others as to what they use and how they do things as well as how they came to do what they do and why it tends to work for them so I might see where I can make improvements for myself. It's all a part of the enjoyment of the hunt for coyotes and the quest for a quick clean kill of what I shoot at if there is a miss, or a bad shot made it's on me not my equipment.
Heck of a setup there!! ALL of it!! And it's obviously working for you and that's what matters most.
Today was a rare day for this year, we got to 50 degrees F and had just a slight breeze of 6 mph coming from the south. I got out and sighted my scope in at 100 yards cleaning after each round and never got any copper just some powder residue brought my rifle home and cleaned it again really well. I'm ready now to take it out hunting and think I will be happy with the results it delivers if not I will go back to my old standby and the grandson will get another on for his collection.
windypants
Well-Known Member
What's your new rifle? I must have missed it. I'm sighting in a new scope today and shooting groups to figure out why I missed another easy shot yesterday.
I was wondering around a Sportsmans Warehouse and they had a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor for 120.00 less than suggested retail so thought I might try it to see how it did. I picked it up for 519.00. Curiosity attack took over and common sense walked out the door. I have always liked the three locking lugs on bolts as to me it just makes sense that it would put more even pressures on the bolt and line it up better than two lugs would. I like the 6.5 bullets performance in my 6.5x284 but haven't used the Creedmoor cartridge. So far, it's been not bad for what it is and it's a fun rifle easy recoiling, seems pretty accurate, and I'm not thinking I will mess up its looks easily it didn't start out as a piece of art to begin with. For me the biggest reason that I miss an easy shot is because I get complacent with them, awh, it's an easy shot so I just don't act like I should with them. I might rush the shot, push or pull the trigger side to side, and yes even flinch. With the longer harder shots, I tend to concentrate on my actions more so then it's me not my equipment when I miss. I can find myself loosing self-control and focus on the easy shots. It's like some people with an AR get excited and pray and spray because they have another round chambered before the recoil has subsided.
absolutely true statement. at least for me oh i can hit that with my eyes closed oops not. for me even with a shot gun the easy one i wonder if any body else seen that?
