Deer hunting with 81 and other rifles - testing ammo

Hunting pictures of your Remington Autoloader
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J. Riekers
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 7:36 pm

Deer hunting with 81 and other rifles - testing ammo

Post by J. Riekers »

I loaded some 170 grain Nosler Partitions in my 300 Savage Model 81. I also had Grizzly Cartridge Company load me some 360 DW ammo for my sons rifle, a Win 94 carbine in that caliber. The question was whether the bullets would perform properly at that muzzle velocity, and then to what range. Also, the actual trajectory was to be determined instead of relying on paper ballistics. The accuracy and trajectories proved better than expected, so next, I needed to find a couple of deer. I headed down to my ranch where the deer season is still open and the limit is 2 bucks and 2 does. Enroute, I had an appointment at JOSHUA CREEK RANCH in Boerne, TX to do an editorial on their bird hunting operation. The bird hunting was great and I will report on it seperately, but they also offer axis deer and whitetail deer hunts. There are free range axis and other exotics throughout much of Hill Country and Joshua Creek Ranch has an abundance of them. When I told the owners of my quest to try the rifle/cartridge combo they offered to let me assist with the axis deer management. If you are interested in a huge axis buck hunt and outstanding food and accomodations I recommend Joshua Creek Ranch. They only shoot mature bucks that are at least 32" in main beam length. May-July is the best time for a hard-horned buck and several upper 30" axis are taken on this ranch each year including a 38" last year. Anyway, I saw no less than 50 axis deer and 30 whitetail deer in the first half hour of hunting. A quiet stalk down a dirt trail lead my guide Dave and I to a thicket. Standing in the bruch was a doe axis. The shot was around 100 yds. At the shot several other axis in the background ran away but the target deer bucked up and spun around, and then fell. Once we approached we saw the deer was quite dead. The bullet had hit on the center of the shoulder and exited the opposite side. So far so good. that bullet continued north towards Oklahoma for all I know. I shot an axis doe with the 360 DW and it did not even budge. That bullet exited after about 14" of penetration. Just one hour after leaving Joshua Creek Ranch I arrived at my friends house. Nobody was home but there was about 40 minutes of light left so I quickly walked back to the deer blind. A big buck came out 210 yards from me but the little 360 DW rifle is not up to that range due to the trajectory and power. Three little does came in to less than 100 yards but I could see they were small, late birth does from this year. Another buck came in behind me just as the sun was creating an orange band between the earth and sky. This buck had antlers but was young and needs a few more years. As I began to pack up I noticed a little movement. Very quickly a deer moved into view and stood broadside right at 100 yards. I looked through the scout scope on 6X but could not see through it as the sunset glare made a half-halo in the scope. I reached up and turned the power ring down to 2X and suddenly the deer appeared in the lens. I could tell it was a buck, but it was not big and did not have antlers. I guessed it to be a button buck or maybe have little spikes I couldnt see clearly - but either way he'd feed someone and give my bullet something to do. At the shot the buck jumped and lurched forward. He ran four long strides with his head down and fell in the field causing a puff of dust from the dry ground. This bullet had struck right where I aimed, in the center of the shoulder. The exit hole is a little bigger than a dime and a little smaller than a penny. Later that afternoon I once again looked for a deer. This time a big old doe strolled in and stood around 125 yards facing me. The head on shot rocked her back on her rear hoofs, she then dropped her head and rolled completely over twice to her left and became still. What appeared to be a head-on shot must have been slightly quartering because the bullet entered the chest and took the top of the heart, travelled through the spleen and some small intestine and then exited just behind the last rib on the opposite side, with around 20" of penetration. Conclusion - the 300 Savage rifle/load and the 360 DW rifle/cartridge combos are keepers for short range deer sized game!

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81police
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Location: TEXAS

Re: Deer hunting with 81 and other rifles - testing ammo

Post by 81police »

J,

Thank you so much for posting your tests and these great pictures. That 360 DW is a beast!

How often do y'all hunt with 8/81's?
Cam Woodall
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J. Riekers
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Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 7:36 pm

Re: Deer hunting with 81 and other rifles - testing ammo

Post by J. Riekers »

Our business host 4 "Traditional" style hunts per year where the situations are set up to make it successful for open sighted rifles, muzzleloaders and handguns and in some case longbow and recurve bows. One is always a boar hunt and the other a whitetail deer hunt. I either use my M8 (35 Rem) or M81 (300Sav) on these hunts or I loan them to my clients that are interested in using them. Besides these 4 hunts I use my 8/81's several times a year when I know the situation is right for them. We probably shoot hogs once a week on my property in the Spring and Summer. Any time they are consistently coming out in good daylight I will use the Rem's. At least once a year I carry them on my own deer hunt. Once in a while I do not know the variables of a hunt so I will take a primary rifle and the Rem's. If the circumstances are favorable for the "Old Timers" I will then carry them for the remainder of the hunt. For example, on my Maine bear hunt I went along with the clients. I had a scoped Rem 7600 in 35 Whelen as a primary rifle and my M8 as the second. One stand showed the bears coming in early every day with plenty of daylight. I never uncased the 35 Whelen and instead took one with the 35 Rem. In spite of my M8 having a 1909 birthday I do not baby it. I shoot handloaded ammo that is just a wee bit less than standard factory loads. It gets shot around 100 rounds per year in practice, sight check and hunting. My 81 has a 1947 birthday and I do not baby it either but I actually shoot it less. The reason is that I had poor to mediocre performance from 300 Savage ammo on various animals. I have been experimenting with different bullets and load and I think I finally found one that'll work for my purposes. Previously, I'd load a box of whatever, move the sights where I wanted them and hunt with the rest of the box. If the bullets did not act as I insist, I'd change the load, move the sights and try them on hogs, deer or exotics. Now, these 170 gr NP's are working great at the 2600 fps I have them at. The rifle is sighted in like I want, so I will start to carry it more often. I have put 40 or 50 rounds a year through it since I got it but now I have like 90 through it this season. I expect I will use it more and the M8 less for the remainder of this year and most of next season.
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ctgodog
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Re: Deer hunting with 81 and other rifles - testing ammo

Post by ctgodog »

Joe,
Thanks for the pictures, and the links to your websites. Lots of great information there...a well organized and easy to use website...ordered a book and a subscription to the Upland Almanac. Looking forward to enjoying them.

Clint
[b][color=#0040FF]Time is the Essence of Life, Wine, and Great Guns[/color][/b]
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