‘Pulled the Trigger’

[Wildlife]

77 degrees & Sunny with 3 mph wind from the north, humidity 35% and pressure 30.15 & falling. Just a beautiful day to get the guns out, so that's exactly what I did this afternoon.

I needed to sight my 'Bushnell Trophy Bone Collector Edition 3x9-40 Duplex riflescope on my 1995 12 gauge Remington 870 Express Magnum pump action deer rifled shotgun that shoots Brenneke USA Black Magic Magnum Ammunition/12 gauge 3" 1-3/8 oz lead rifled slug because I recently completed refinishing the entire rifle.

I went ahead and setup my 100 yard afternoon gun range to shoot my Savage Axis rifle with Federal Premium Gold Medal Ammunition 308 Winchester 168 Grain Sierra MatchKing Hollow Point Boat Tail first. I needed to reset my rifle scope back to zero after my last shoot from a couple months ago and check it.

These are my results without having to do anything to the rifle other than dialing the scope back to zero (for a 100 yards). I'm satisfied with the results, especially knowing that my varmint & predator ammunition is 50 grains lighter than what I used here.

I shot the rifle off of one of my smaller quick disconnect 'Tip-Top' bipod. Not bad for 10 rounds since the last time I shot the rifle, which was June 24, 2018.

Trust me, I'm no sharp shooter by any standards, but this rifle sure does make me look good after what I did to it. It's one heck of rifle now and I'm thrilled to have it ready to go for any varmints & predators that come into the area.

I'm currently dialing in my deer shotgun. Once I get that figured out, I'll follow up with results right here TOO.

 

[Wildlife]

Completed getting the deer shotgun sighted in, at least for now.

1995 12g 3"c Remington 870 Express Magnum w/ 22" rifled barrel, shooting 5 Brenneke USA Black Magic Magnum Ammunition/12 gauge 3" 1-3/8 oz lead rifled slugs @ 102 yards away 8" paper target.

3 rounds 1.6" LL away from center bullseye, 2 other rounds within 4" LH of bullseye.

I'll take it for now cause my shoulder is getting a little beat up. May revisit this rifle once again sometime later & try to get it even better.

 

[jagermeister]

Completed getting the deer shotgun sighted in, at least for now.

1995 12g 3"c Remington 870 Express Magnum w/ 22" rifled barrel, shooting 5 Brenneke USA Black Magic Magnum Ammunition/12 gauge 3" 1-3/8 oz lead rifled slugs @ 102 yards away 8" paper target.

3 rounds 1.6" LL away from center bullseye, 2 other rounds within 4" LH of bullseye.

I'll take it for now cause my shoulder is getting a little beat up. May revisit this rifle once again sometime later & try to get it even better.

Good shooting! Is that a rifled barrel? I see that the slugs are rifled... Have you tried regular sabots through it yet?

 

[Wildlife]

Good shooting! Is that a rifled barrel? I see that the slugs are rifled... Have you tried regular sabots through it yet?

Yes, rifled barrel.

I've tried many different manufacture rifled slugs/sabots way back and it's always been the Brennecke's that come out on top for this particular rifle. Usually drops them right where they stand. I have no complaints whatsoever with this ammo.

 

[jagermeister]

Yes, rifled barrel.

I've tried many different manufacture rifled slugs/sabots way back and it's always been the Brennecke's that come out on top for this particular rifle. Usually drops them right where they stand. I have no complaints whatsoever with this ammo.

Good to know! I can't say I've ever heard a bad review of the Brenneke slugs. Seems like they have a solid reputation.

 

[Wildlife]

Completed getting the deer shotgun sighted in, at least for now.

1995 12g 3"c Remington 870 Express Magnum w/ 22" rifled barrel, shooting 5 Brenneke USA Black Magic Magnum Ammunition/12 gauge 3" 1-3/8 oz lead rifled slugs @ 102 yards away 8" paper target.

View attachment 63586
3 rounds 1.6" LL away from center bullseye, 2 other rounds within 4" LH of bullseye.

I'll take it for now cause my shoulder is getting a little beat up. May revisit this rifle once again sometime later & try to get it even better.

Added the range video that seemed to take forever to upload for whatever reason & again the final range result for the deer shotgun & ammo used.

 

[Wildlife]

Good to know! I can't say I've ever heard a bad review of the Brenneke slugs. Seems like they have a solid reputation.

Like I said, the Brenneke USA Black Magic Magnum Ammunition/12 gauge 3" 1-3/8 oz lead rifled slug will drop them where they stand about 99% of the time with a good shot placement.

Below was a targeted wise old doe that I took out of the herd @50 yards. Dropped her where she stood with the same rifle and that same single round of ammunition.

 

[Wildlife]

Youth Gun Season started this weekend, so right after my morning bow hunt, I decided to brake out my guns to fine tune them for the new season.

Deer Gun Season is right around the corner, a little better than a week away, and as soon as I tag out for deer and/or after Deer Gun Season is over with, I'll also be getting into some coyote hunts once again.

I captured this coyote on one of my trail cameras this morning. I hear them daily in the area.

The temperature this afternoon was 37 degrees Fahrenheit with a mild 4 mph South wind. Nearly a 40 degree difference than the last time I shot the guns.

The bottom two photographs is the result of my Savage .308 rifle firing 10 rounds, one magazine of the Federal .308/168 grain 'Sierra MatchKings' at an 8" target that was setup 100 yards away. .

I made a very minor adjustment to the rifle-scope to make it perfect (-1"MOAs @100yards )

Then I finished up zeroing in my 12 gauge Remington 870 Express Magnum Pump Shotgun.

The upper right photograph is the final result firing one box of the Brenneke 'Black Magic Magnum' 12 GA 3" - 1 3/8 oz Slug Cartridges out of my shotgun.

For me, this is an acceptable group of five rounds within 3.7" @100 yards onto a 8" target.

Now my shotgun is ready for 'Deer Gun Season' and my Savage .308 is ready for coyote hunting.

 

[giles]

Those slugs seem pretty mild compared to the Hornady rounds. No flame or missing shoulder.

 

[Wildlife]

Last night I thoroughly cleaned my Savage Axis WIN .308 rifle by taking the action/barrel off the Boyds chassis completely.

Then put it back together and tongued it down according to manufacturer's specifications.

So today, it being the last day of Whitetail Deer Season and after a week of bitter freezing winter conditions and the current outdoor temperature is nearly 60*, I wanted to shoot something.

The snow is melting faster than all get out and I wanted to tryout this new ammunition for my coyote weapon, which is called, "Animal Instinct" manufactured by Liberty.

It's a WIN .308 - 100 grain copper hollow point cartridge & projectile with a muzzle velocity of 3,500 FPS & FPE @2,700.

Let me tell ya, the box of 20 is NOT CHEAP & considered premium ammunition, but I got it on a real good sale and I definitely wanted to try it out.

So, I took one round and walked out to my picnic table that sits 100 yards from my target, which is a 12" paper target.

Last time I shot my rifle, I zeroed my scope in for 100 yards.

Even after my disassemble thorough cleaning job, it stayed true to the course cause I nailed my first shot onto the bulls-eye form 100 yards as you can see below. I didn't make any adjustments to my scope at all.

After that quick test, I grabbed the rifle and all the rest of the stuff, then walked out to 200 yards.

I documented my next 10 shots.

You can see it for yourself, but I assure you that I'm very pleased with the overall performance of both the ammunition and my rifle.

Now I'm ready for some coyote hunting after today.

 

[Wildlife]

Upgraded the rifle scope today.

I got a heck of a deal on it. 57% off the original retail price and yes, it's brand new and not refurbished.

Vortex Optics Viper PST Gen II Rifle Scope 30mm Tube 5-25x 50mm RZR Zero Stop Side Focus Illuminated EBR-4 MOA Reticle Matte
with a 3" Vortex Sunshade, free Vortex scope rings and the lifetime VIP warranty.

Features

• Extra-low dispersion (XD) glass increases resolution and color fidelity
• Fully multi-coated optics
• Second focal plane, glass-etched reticle
• Aircraft-grade aluminum, single-piece constructed tube
• Argon purged and o-ring sealed creates and water and fog proof scope
• Shockproof
• Tactical exposed turrets
• RZR Zero stop prevents the turret from dialing below sight-in range
• Fiber optic turret rotation indicator provides a highly visible point of reference for turret rotations
• Fast focus eyepiece

As soon as the rain quit, I went ahead and set things up to sight it in @100yrds.

I shot three groups of 'Federal Gold Metal Seirra Matchking 168 grain' ammunition starting with the middle target first, zeroing in the scope. Another 10 shots at the bottom target, further making fine tune adjustments and then I reset the turret for the new 100 yard zero stop. Then finally the third target at the top (Headshot). I tested the zero stop on the third target and it worked perfectly.

Below are the final results after shooting a total of 30 rounds with a momentary brake between the different targets to allow the barrel to cool down.

Below is my 'BULLSEYE Camera System' made by 'SME'. It captured all my shots on all targets. The one below shows the third and final target. I pulled shots 7,8 & 9, so it's not the ammo or the rifle's fault. I own it!

Conclusion

It's not as powerful as the 10-40x56 'SightMark' rifle scope that I had on it prior, however the glass is definitely much better. The clarity is excellent at maximum magnification, much better than the 'SightMark' and there's no loss of light either. It's also a tiny bit shorter and a little bit lighter in weight too, which is real nice.

So far, I really seem to like it a lot that's why I thought I'd share just in case anyone else might be interested in an American made optic.
_____________________________________________

At this point, I don't think I can do anything more to this rifle to make it any better.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll set the rifle scope for a new zero (@200yrds) using the newly purchased 2019 '308 WIN Federal Varmint & Predator' ammunition that's loaded with 110 grain 'Hornady V-MAX' bullets.

I'll see if they're comparable to the 'Liberty Animal Instinct' ammo.

 

[Wildlife]

A quick followup with field results of the final rifle build & configuration.

On January 29, 2020 at 6:05 p.m., I shot a male Red Fox that I called into the area and stopped at approximately 120 yards away, using Liberty's 'Animal Instinct' 100 grain; 3,500 FPS; WIN .308'; copper hollow point ammunition.

On February 7, 2020 at 6:10 p.m., I shot a male Coyote that I called into the area, approximately 175 yards away, using the same 'Liberty Animal Instinct' ammunition.

I attached additional photographs of each animal that shows the exit wound, which are very graphic. Each attached photograph clearly depicts just how devastating the 'Liberty Animal Instinct' rifle round is on small to medium size varmints. In each case, the well placed shot killed the animal instantly.

Just to be absolutely clear, I don't hunt these types of predators to sell pelts or to keep as trophies. I hunt them to help protect farm animals, upland birds, turkeys, small game and even big game animals in the local area, including my pets.

At this point, I'm completely satisfied with the total transformation from the original rifle configuration. For me, it was well worth the time and money to take a low budget rifle and make it into a quality sharp shooter that performs at the level that I wanted.

Today, with these field results, I have all the confidence in the world knowing that my Savage Axis rifle will do the job as once originally intended.

Good luck to all those that decide to take the same or similar route in upgrading a bolt action synthetic rifle stock, and thank you for taking the time to read the information that I truly cared to share and pass along.

Sincerely,
WIldlife

 

[brock ratcliff]

Wow, that’s a mess!

I mean that as a compliment.

 

[Mike]

That's impressive. Well done!

 

[5Cent]

Daaaaannngggggt, nice Denny!

 

[Jackalope]

Wow! That's one heck of a hole. The powerbelt of rifle ammunition.

 

[Jamie]

holey fuckamoley! that is some serious damage.

 

[Wildlife]

Add another!

Just momments ago I made a 100 yard shot with 'Liberty - Animal Instinct ammo on the small coyote.

 

[Redhunter1012]

Oh hell yea! Were you calling or just happen to see him Denny?

 

[Wildlife]

Oh hell yea! Were you calling or just happen to see him Denny?

I'm hand calling with what you see in those photographs.