2007 Deer Season, so far!

oneshot976

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2004
Messages
102
Location
North Carolina
Well guys I have been meaning to give a range report on my new Patriot Arm 338 Lapua Surgeon XL and hunting season has gotten in the way so I hope this will do for now. My dad and I went out to KY to hunt with my buddy, his dad and his cousin. We had a good hunt but we wanted to get in some long range shots so we packed up and headed out to VA to hunt on my ground. This is kind of a long story but that is because we all had some pretty good opportunities.

First is my buddies Dad, he has been wanting to shoot a deer and an extending range for a while and I had promised him that I would get him a shot this year. So at around 3:00pm we headed out to "Thunder Ridge" (named for its great long range opportunites in every direction). We were just short of our normal set up point when I noticed a doe bedded to our right in the edge of the field. We new she was not going any were so we started getting all the gear set up for the evening. I pulled the Kestrel and entered all the detail into the Ipac while they glassed the area for a few miniutes to insure that we weren't going to miss out on a buck. So we decided to let Bob take the doe. I ranged her with the Swarovski at 500 yards, I entered the range in the Ipac and dialed in 7.75 MOA with .5 MOA of wind into the Schmidt and told him to send it when he was ready. At the report of the rifle the doe's legs went stiff and she just rolled over on her side dead in her bed.

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Bob checking out his doe with "Thunder"! The name given to the PAI Lapua by the crew. Sorry GG, I hope you don't mind the use of your name, I had nothing to do with it.


After Bob took his doe we all got back on the glass and started scanning for the next opportunity. Next up was my buddy Alex he wanted to give his new Edge a try (his new Edge was once my Edge). After about an hour Alex's cousin Tom said buck so we all took a look and I told Alex to take him. It was not a "long" shot but still a good opportunity. Alex got set up,ranged the deer at 356 yard, dialed the scope and sent the shot. Down in his tracks not even a slight challenge for the Edge.

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Alex with his buck.


Now on a couple of days later, 3:30pm back on "Thunder Ridge". After about an hour of glassing we spotted a doe in the fence row. Tom is just getting into long range hunting and was looking for his first kill from thunder ridge and after taking a great 8 point the day before he was not to picky. He ranged her at 275 yards dialed the scope and sent the 168 grain SMK from his 308 700P and she went down in her tracks. He is now hooked, I warned him that this is were it starts to get real expensive.


This time it is my turn and just like before, after Tom's shot we were all back on the spotter and bino's looking for the next opportunity. After about 20 minutes of glassing we located a nice buck in edge of the field. I ranged him at 636 yards, entered the range in the Ipac and dialed 11.50 MOA with no wind. I got locked up on "Thunder" and sent the 300 grn SMK on it's way. I saw him go down in his tracks through the scope, Jared's muzzle brake is very effective! Alex said "He's been Thunder Struck!" so as you might have guessed, AC/DC's Thunder Struck was in everyone head from that point on.


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Alex glassing my buck after the shot.

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My buck.


Now a couple of days later the KY gang are on their way home. My Son, my Dad and I are heading back out to "Thunder Ridge" when we round the corner at the barn we see a buck in the edge of the woods. All my gear gets left behind and we get the little man set up for the shot. We sneak in behind the calf feeder and I range the deer at 296 yards. I new he could make the shot, I had been working with him all summer, punching paper and shooting ground hogs and he was ready. We got his Steyr SBS tactical set up and I dialed in 4.50 MOA there was no wind. I told him to take his time and make sure that he was on the bucks shoulder and squeeze the trigger. I watched though the binos and when the rifle reported I could see it was a good hit, the buck went just into the edge of the woods and piled up. I am not sure who was more excited in the group. So once we were done with the high fives and the hugs we went over to check out his buck and boy was he proud of his kill (almost as proud as I was). Needless to say this was the highlight of my week.

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The little man with his buck!!

Now for the last one, this is the longest kill so far this season. Jared at Patriot Arms told me I need to do better. Hopefully the long one is coming Jared, but this will have to do for now. I was hunting with one of my buddies from work and he had taken a doe for his freezer about an hour earlier from about 150 yards. We were back out on "Thunder Ridge" it was cold with a slight breeze. It seemed like there were deer everywhere you looked but no big boys. There was a group of does feeding at a 1000 yards out, so I decided to strech the legs on the Lapua a bit. I ranged one of the does at 1006 yards with a 3 mph wind from 4 o'clock. I entered the details in Exbal got the dope and dialed 23.50 MOA in elevation and 1.25 MOA in wind the cosign was zero. I locked up on the rifle and squeezed the trigger, I saw the does front end drop and disappeared behind the tree line. I heard my buddy say holy**** man, she done! We packed up headed back to the truck and drove over to the shot location to find her dead in the field about 30 yards from where she was standing when I shot her.

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A look at the shot location.


To say that I am very happy with my Patriot Arms 338 Lapua would be an understatement!! Jared and Dave build one hell of a gun and it loves Pete's 300 grain Corbon load!!

My son and I are heading back out in the morning for the last 2 days of rifle I will keep you posted.


Thanks,
Oneshot
 
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Where do I get one?

Congradulations, Nice photos and story. Where would I find a rifle like that? Gotta get me one. Love the look as well. What kind of finish is on the barrel and action?
 
I am constantly amazed at the quality of photographs posted here on this website. I have belonged to 4 hunting websites besides here for the last 6 years and no other sites fotos are as great quality. Dang nice rifles y'alls got too :)
 
Congradulations, Nice photos and story. Where would I find a rifle like that? Gotta get me one. Love the look as well. What kind of finish is on the barrel and action?

Thanks 7stw, that is a Patroit Arms Rifle, give Jered or Dave a call and they will get you fixed up. They do some awesome work at Patriot Arms, I love my new stick. The color on the barrel and action is "dark earth tan".

I am constantly amazed at the quality of photographs posted here on this website. I have belonged to 4 hunting websites besides here for the last 6 years and no other sites fotos are as great quality. Dang nice rifles y'alls got too :)

Thanks silvertip I have to agree this is great site and fun place to read some great stories and see some great photos. Thanks for the complements on the rifles. That's another great thing about this site is you have access to some great smiths like Shawn and Kirby. For example the Edge you see behind my Lapua that I gave to my buddy. Shawn built that one for me a couple of years ago and it is a great rifle! The only reason I gave it to my buddy is because he is blind in one eye and I have heard stories of recoil causing detached retinas (rare but possible). I don't want my best friend to take chance with his vision. Shawn's brake works great and with the weight of that rifle the recoil is minor. My buddy loves to long range hunt like all of us here so it just seemed like the thing to do. He had another one of Shawn's Edge's but it has alot more recoil so that is my "new" Edge now. I guess it was more of a trade but believe me, I would not have given/traded that rifle to just anyone after the experience that I had with that rifle in Wyoming last year, but I am sure that Shawn can do it again.

Thanks,
Oneshot
 
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