Really seems weird calling my Mountaineer the
back-up gun for this hunting season, but the with the arrival of the Knight Ultra-Lite, the new Mountaineer has become the back-up, along with the fact that I have been selling other rifles that I no longer need. I really even need to start selling scopes that came off the displaced rifles.
Anyway according to the local forecast, the local weather is suppose to start warming to the 90's again and Monday's high was projected to be in the mid 70's, so I loaded the ATV and the shooting gear and headed for the woods. The ATV was loaded so I could do a bit of Turkey-Elk scouting for the up coming seasons. Which I did but man it was dusty dirt dry out there.
So mid morning I headed back to the Rock Pit to do a little breakable target shooting. As it was warming up it was a very quick in-out shooting experience. The goal was to check the POI of the Mountaineer.
I did my normal routine popping 3 primers to clear the breech plug and provide some fouling to the bore - I hate shooting a clean bore, just never happens for me. I grabbed 6 birds and headed to the other end of the rock pit to place the birds, right about 75 yards I encountered a vertical stake being held up with a pile of rocks and thought 'what-the-heck' so I put a bird on the top of the stake and then placed the other 5 birds on the wall.
After partial fouling of the bore I loaded the rifle up with the designated load. Normal even this shot is not something I count on being perfect. But, I decided I would take on the 75 yard bird first. I set the bird right on top of the horizontal cross line and touched the shot off. I was positive I heard the 'click' of the bullet hitting the bird, but when the smoke cleared - the bird was still there right on the stick I had placed it!!!! I could not believe it I knew I heard it hit. After the smoke cleared and UPON further review through the scope - it was a direct center hit - loved it. The center of a Biodegradable clay pigeon is really the most fragile part of the bird and punching the center out with a 300 grain Bloodline happens so fast it really did not even faze the bird.
The other 5 birds the results were totally different... the birds are stacked right against the hard basalt rock formation and when the bullet splatters it really does tear up the bird.
Here is a picture composite of the trip...
The last shot of the day was at a chip on the wall from a bird that had been shot in the past. I did not/could not even see it from the bench - it was tucked far back in the rock wall and in the shade but I could find it in the scope. My first shot at it with the .458-275 grain Bloodline - I did miss it - I am not sure how but I did. I believe I may have hit been low and hit the rock face below the bird. The rifle is sighted in for the 300 so I next loaded one of the these and took the same shot with the same hold - chip gone...
This is one of the rifles that I use during the regular rifle season in Idaho
Wish the weather would become fall even late fall instead of summer....
