A Publication of
CenterFire Central
The Firearms MagEzine is no longer published
Vol. 3 Issue
Circulation 1325
IN THIS ISSUE
A Word of Caution
Editors Notes
Product Review
Feature Article
Resources
Other resources for related
information
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A WORD OF CAUTION
CenterFire Central
and contributing writers are not responsible for mishaps of any kind, which may
occur, from use or misuse of data or information published, electronically or
otherwise by CenterFire Central. Activities involving firearms, ammunition,
components and equipment require strict safety precautions and training which
are not detailed herein.
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Editors Notes
Field Notes
Another deer season
falls in to the history books. It will go down as one of the warmest seasons I
have ever hunted.
Daytime highs in the
60’s did not prove conducive to keeping the deer moving. Like me, they must
have longed for a nap in the sun.
It was our first
season at the farm my brother purchased in north
Then the dust bowl of
1999 set in. The trails died and you could not even chisel a fake track into
the dirt. That was a big help.
We had intentionally
waited to put up tree stands until just a couple of weeks before season so that
we could try and find a pattern to deer travels.
Five stands were
built for 4 hunters and 3 of these stands were built mostly on gut feeling. One
stand was built in the creek bottom, and we expected it to produce very well
but never even saw a deer.
The stand I sat in
opening morning was one of the gut feeling stands. It just looked right. One
slight problem that neither my brother nor I gave much thought to where the sun
would be.
The sun was right in
my face and with a little fog added in to the equation, visibility in the
direction I wanted to watch was non-existent.
The first buck I
should have had, snorted at me while the sun was behind him. I recognized the
sound but saw nothing. Nothing that is until he was about 100 yards away and
moving about 90 mph. That’s when he had moved far enough to the north that the
sun was out of my face.
The second buck I should
have had saw me at the same time I spotted him. He was behind me, which put me
in full sun. With the slightest movement of my rifle, he was history.
I did finally get a
buck later that morning after I had left the stand, a beautiful shot again
thanks to my faithful 243. The deer was moving rapidly through the timber at
about 150 yards. He is not a wall hanger but the biggest bodied buck I have
ever killed. He fell 30 feet from a lane we had cut with the brush hog, no
dragging this time. The entire season was too warm but we ended up with 4 deer
including 1 my brother took in the January extension.
We knew that learning
the patterns on this piece of property would be a challenge. Not knowing how
much hunting pressure there would be in the area only compounded the challenge.
Hunting pressure was not heavy enough to keep the deer moving. If we happened
to spook one off of the property, it was history. No reason to come back
anytime soon.
The highlight of the
season was a phone call I received on the 3rd day of the season.
My dad and brother
stayed through Monday of opening weekend. Dad called on Monday night and
sounded like he had just killed his first deer. He had popped a small doe as
she crossed the bean field at over 200 yards.
Given his track record,
this was an excellent shot and no doubt the longest shot he had ever made. I
think he was most excited because no one pushed the deer out there for him. He
spotted her and made the shot all on his own. The past few years my brother and
I have pushed deer to him or sat with him and helped him watch. Maybe this will
keep him going with us just a few more years. He will be 66 in March.
We will spend the
summer working on the property clearing some locust trees, planting some clover
and food plots. Oh yeah, and changing the position of the stand I sat in.
________________________________________________________________
Decoy Heart
I had read with great
interest, in the news groups about the “Weasel Ball” sold by K-B Toys.
Seems that they sell
a motorized ball about 3 inches in diameter with a tail-like piece of fake fur
hooked to it. The motor inside the ball is weighted so that as the ball rolls
across the floor, it does so in an erratic pattern. The motor operates on a
single AA battery and the ball must be taken apart to turn the motor on and
off.
If memory serves me,
folks were hanging this ball from a low branch on a tree and the “tail” would
wave wildly in full view and draw the attention of the coyote away from the
exact location of the caller.
Somewhere along the
way, I ran across Decoy Heart’s web site
http://www.decoyheart.com Decoy Heart is also a
motorized ball but this one
has an external
switch. They also sell a rabbit decoy in which the ball is to be placed. The
motion of the weighted motor is intended to make the fake rabbit appear to be
moving.
I thought the price
of the decoy to be a little steep and after reading through Decoy Heart’s site,
it seemed that the decoy did not have to be overly realistic. This sounded like something I could
accomplish and decided I could probably fashion something that would work for a
lot less money. I ordered the Decoy Heart and as soon as it arrived, went to
work on a decoy.
My critter turned out
pretty crude, but it does appear to move when the motor is running. I placed
wire leg extensions on the front legs to reduce the amount of contact with the
ground and increase the amount of movement it makes.
I only have 2
complaints about the set up: it is a pain to carry along with you and the motor
is noisy.
Maybe the decoy that
Decoy Heart sells is better insulated and reduces the noise of the motor, I
don’t know.
I had introduced my Labrador
Retriever to the ball simply by turning it on and setting it down on the floor.
She loves it. She’ll chase it around the basement until I can’t stand the
ruckus any longer.
At the Mall one
weekend, K-B Toy happened to have a stack of Weasel Balls by their front door,
on clearance for $4.99. I bought 2 of them, 1 for my dog and 1 for the pet of
my wife’s co-worker.
My dog, Molly, loves
the ball, but the part that bothers me is that she can be ten feet away and
sleeping and hear the ball when I turn it on. My feeling is that if she can
hear it so can a coyote.
I have taken my
rabbit afield and it drives me nuts because, placed 10 or 20 feet away, I can
hear the motor running and my hearing isn’t what it used to be, certainly less
perfected than that of a coyote.
As far as a product
review, the product does add motion to a decoy. Does it work? I could not tell
you. I have not had it out there running when I killed a coyote.
I am not, sorry that
I bought it and will continue to try different methods of getting a coyotes
attention with it. It seems like a really good idea.
Here is a page with
pictures of my decoy and both the Weasel Ball and the Decoy Heart. Decoy
BE SURE TO STOP BY
www.usashootingsupplies.com
Bullet selection is
probably one of the tougher decisions that we have to make in reloading. There
are so many choices and so little time.
I have said it before
elsewhere but simply following the manufacturer's guidelines is the best place
to start.
Jacket thickness and
bullet design are of course factors in bullet performance and manufacturers
usually state intended velocities or will be happy to tell you if you call
them. There are other factors like ballistic coefficient, flat base or boat
tail and others. This article is written with field applications in mind and
everyday situations that hunting presents.
I purchased a box of
Remington bullets from Midway USA back in the late 80’s. They were cheap and my
gun liked them. Can’t beat a deal like that especially if they perform on the
intended target.
They were 50-grain SP
bullets, and probably a little heavy for the Hornet that I used them in, but
they worked and they worked well. A couple of hundred bullets from that box got
their grooves traveling down the barrel of a 223 Contender I owned at the time,
which also liked them.
Last summer, the
factory seconds that I bought from Sierra knocked heck out of prairie dogs and
punched small groups at the range. Cheap? Yes. Effective? Yes. Just 2 of the
criteria that I use for bullet selection.
Other things I
consider when working with a bullet are the overall length of the bullet and
base to shoulder. I like to set my bullet out pretty close to the lands.
Bullet shank length
comes into play pretty quick in this scenario and in my terms this is simply
the point at which the bullet becomes fat enough to touch the lands.
Simply comparing 2
different bullets in the same caliber and weight will show you the differences.
Here is a picture.
The black line indicates the point where the bullet would come in contact with
the lands.
Most obvious
differences are in tip design and ogive location. If the bullet gets fat quick
and is therefore a shorter bullet, it may not have enough overall length to
stabilize in your particular rifle. Read your reloading manual(s) on “Twist”.
A very useful tool
that will aid in comparison is the Sinclair Bullet Comparator.
While the Sierra
bullet actually measures .020 thousandths longer than the Winchester bullet, we
can see that there is about .057 thousandths less bullet exposed on the Sierra,
behind the shoulder which translates to a greater jump to the lands right from
the start.
Rule of thumb is to
seat the bullet one caliber deep, in this instance .224.
I had to draw this
out to explain it to myself. The drawing is crude but here it is.
http://www.CenterFireCentral.com/images/seat.gif
I don’t always follow
the rule of thumb. Seating the bullet close to the lands may not put the bullet
into the case .224. In such an instance, I might leave it a little shallower;
however, this can lead to other complications and should be dealt with in a
serious manner.
As with any reloading operation, use caution and do your
homework.
Magazine length may
force you to seat deeper and some rifles prefer a greater jump on the bullet.
Just something you have to experiment with, but as always, when changing any
component or dimension, reduce the charge and work back up.
Searching for a
bullet that you suits you and your rifle is a task, but when deciding on a
bullet keep in mind availability. Nothing is much worse than running out of
your favorite bullet and not being able to get your hands on another box in a
hurry.
More and more we are
seeing bulk packaging on bullets at better prices, especially varmint bullets.
This is a great way to go. You can get some great pricing and will have plenty
on hand.
Bill
OTHER RESOURCES
Sites You Can Check Out
Huntseek
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CenterFire Central
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