Kirby built 338AM takes down 7 cows 515-1187 yards

eddybo

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I got back from my yearly cow hunt in New Mexico...we had a blast. I do not have the time or inclination to give a long story so here is a short synopsis of the animals taken with the monster Kirby built me. I will update when everyone on the trip emails me the photos they took, I forgot the camera.

Elk one and two were drilled at 514 from one position, neither ran more than 20 yards. Elk number three was the last tag of the group I traveled with and was 1187 yard one shot kill. She stayed on her feet a while but never took one step before tipping over. Elk numbers 4 and 5 were taken by some great guys we met in camp, both at 740 yards. Everyone who took a turn behind the big gun was just amazed at how well behaved she was and that she could be so accurate.

There were two misses on the trip, a 1890 yard coyote facing dead on got luck not to take a side step to the left as elevation was perfect. The bullet struck so close that my spotter at first thought it was a pass through strike that he saw.
The other miss was because it had been a while since one of the shooters had shot the gun and forgot how touchy the trigger is, causing him to shoot over the head of a 1465 yard cow. After the cow ran just to confirm the accuracy of the drop chart and wind read he busted a basketball sized rock at 1450 with one shot.

There are a lot of truly great rifle builders out there, IMO Kirby Allen is one of the best. Thanks again for a great gun Kirby.
 
That is awesome man! Kirby is building me a 338AM and I can't wait to shoot it and if its done in time I will be taking to a late season cow elk hunt in december but if not it will definitely be used on my bull hunt next year.
 
Warning, these are the site rules:

Although we all individually have ethics and limitations on what we consider correct WE DO NOT discuss nor will we tolerate discussions of ethics on this site.
 
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Eddybo

Next year, if you are inclined, send me a PM when you get the hunt arranged and I might join you on the hunt. I am usually out in that general part of the country at that time of the year and as I remember the prices are reasonable for that type of hunt.

I never personally practice with my hunting rifles and certainly never let my kids practice with them. I just practice with a 40X in 308 for myself and them and then hunt with overbore magnums. Last year I let them each shoot 2 rounds with the 7 AM before hunting with it. They did just fine. I got no HOF points so perhaps I don't know much about hunting. :D
 
Is that your way of bragging that you have some HOF points...LOL

I dont need any of your crap boss hoss. I pay my dues by shooting thousands of rounds every year, building rifles, mentoring others on how to shoot, competing in f-class and benchrest. I get lessons in rifle building shooting and load devolopment nearly every week from a benchrest hall of famer, not someone who has a few HOF points. I practice as much as nearly anyone here shooting out to a mile, and practice daily on my 800 yard range in my back yard.

Who the hell do you think you are to assume anything about me, what I do or do not know. Or assume anything anyone here for that matter, so long as they are hunting legaly. I will have you know that before my rifle was fired at any animal my zero was confirmed as were my ex bal calculatons out to 1350 yards. I use the best equipment I can afford including my kestral, swaros, and exbal. 1200 yards is basically a chip shot when the wind cooperates. There was no more luck involved in center punching that elk than an ordinary day at the range punching steel. Now my 1400 yard prairie dog may have been a little luck but that is a different story.

If you do not have the skills to make a first round hit at 1200 it does not mean that others do not. Last I checked this is a long range hunting site. Go shoot some more groups at a known distance I am sure it will impress someone. But, maybe some practice at unknown distances will better help your long range hunting skills.

As far as my buddy missing with my rifle because he was not used to the trigger. He has shot the gun numerous times and has made 1400 yard hits on gallon milk jugs with the rifle. He has been working in China for about 9 months. We shot before we headed west to make sure he was still up to the task, but we planned on him using my 7mm/338 lapua. I guess I should have let him shoot my 338AM but I had not planned on tagging out first thing and acting as spotter for the rest of the trip. After the miss he reaquainted himself with the trigger before taking another shot at an animal. I acted as spotter dialing in drops and windage even though he is competent to do it himself. All of the persons shooting were very experianced hunters/shooters, and were up to the challange of holding the crosshairs steady and squeezing the trigger in the winds we were dealing with.

I do not even know how I got sucked into this exchange....just forget it. I will continue to do what I mostly do anyway read the stuff that I find informative and only post occassionally. In fact I may just quit posting.



Sorry --- not to rain on your parade well yes I am but it is reprehensible that people who are not familiar or practice extensively with that weapon are taking pot shots at long range that could send a magnificent animal to a slow death. I know others feel the same way but may not post because of fear of being flamed I however, have no such fear. You got lucky-----big deal….


IMHO Idiots ---- the lot of you.


Everyone who reads this should understand that shooting big game animals is not something to be taken lightly. I shoot long range but have an excellent understanding of the pitfalls such as reading the wind and have the skins on the wall and IBS HOF points to prove it in case you are wondering if I am just another internet wanna be.

This is a subject that I do not take lightly in case you have not noticed... Just my .02
 
If all goes as planned I would be honored to share a campfire with you BB. I will PM you with the details when they become available so you can see if your interested. 1K all inclusive for a cow hunt is not bad IMO. All you will need is bedding and beverage....oh and that 7mmAM.

Eddybo

Next year, if you are inclined, send me a PM when you get the hunt arranged and I might join you on the hunt. I am usually out in that general part of the country at that time of the year and as I remember the prices are reasonable for that type of hunt.

I never personally practice with my hunting rifles and certainly never let my kids practice with them. I just practice with a 40X in 308 for myself and them and then hunt with overbore magnums. Last year I let them each shoot 2 rounds with the 7 AM before hunting with it. They did just fine. I got no HOF points so perhaps I don't know much about hunting. :D
 
Warning, these are the site rules:

Although we all individually have ethics and limitations on what we consider correct WE DO NOT discuss nor will we tolerate discussions of ethics on this site.


Len-----sorry but caving in is the easy way out however, I will not use the "E" word in the future nor will posts be made that infer the "E" word. I am leaving in the morning to go to the ranch---season opens on Saturday and will be going to eliminate some pests tomorrow night. We will discuss this more at a later time. Everyone have a good weekend--I will be.
 
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Well first off, congrats and great shooting on everyones part.

Second, many need to realize that shooting the 338 AM or any of the top end 338 magnum based on the 408 CT parent case is not like anything most have ever shot.

I do not think many on here would complain if someone took say a 338 Lapua and had an experienced hunter take a 600 yard shot on an elk. Even someone not experienced with taking 600 yard shots but has the skills to take a quality shot.

I may take some heat for this but its a fact. Making a 1000 yard hit on an 18" circle with a 338 AM is no harder then hitting the same size target with a 338 Lapua at 600 yards. Does an extra 500-600 fps really make that much difference as far as making hits at long range, **** RIGHT it does.

Again, I have no dog in this fight but I have defended this exact type of attack many times over and most of them come from those that have no practical basis for their comment or opinions that they force down everyone elses throat, even if in a passive aggressive manor.

I took my father out hunting this year for pronghorns and he took a shot at nearly 600 yards on a bedded pronghorn. He had shot the rifle previously but not alot. Still, we took the time, I set the rifle up, we discussed the hold so there was no confusion at all where he should hold for bullet drop compensation, we discussed the wind and how much his bullet would drift over that 600 yards. He got on the rifle, we discussed everything again, I made perfectly clear what he should do and made sure he completely understood. When I was confident he would take the shot as I would if I were on the rifle I gave him the go ahead and he hit that bedded buck EXACTLY where I wanted him to and where I would have hit that buck if taking the same shot. Sounds like ego? Hardly, I knew exactly what the rifle WOULD do if the hold was correct.

A week later I took my wife out. She shot the same rifle twice two days before we set up on a big pronghorn at just under 700 yards. Did the same set up with her as I did with Dad. Again, she made a solid vital zone hit on the first shot even though the shot was easily 300 yards farther then anything she had even attempted previous to that on big game. Was it unethical to let these two hunters take these shots, in my opinion, HELL NO, I know the rifle intimately and I also knew that both of these hunters had the basic skills to take what I told them, follow instructions that I gave them and shoot the rifle as good or better then I would have been able to do and frankly I would have been amazed if the turn out had been any different.

Was it 1100 yards, NOPE, but it was not a 338 AM either.

Back to the topic at hand, I am positive that the instruction given to these hunters was as quality as the instruction I gave to my Dad and Wife. I know that to be a fact without question because I know the man that owns the rifle. He was not trying to perform a stunt. He simply owns an extreme Precision POWERHOUSE that clearly has the ability to place first shot within 1/2 moa of point of aim at ranges even out to 1500 yards as long as the proper hold of dial up is made and the shooter has the ability to follow instructions and can let off a quality trigger pull.

As it has been said by my good friend Shawn Carlock, making a precision hit at 1000 yards with the 338 AM about has hard and kicking your best dog...... All I can say to that is amen!!! Those that have not shot this type of rifle can not comment on the ease of making hits at long range. Now there are more hunters out there that fully realize the capability of modern firepower. Not only in the power but also in the precision and ease of shooting and user friendliness.

Should these hunters be allowed to take such a shot with such a weapon..... That could be debated all day long, in the end, the results will speak for themselves good or bad. To judge someone on "What COULD have happened" while overlooking what "Actually happened". In my opinion, that is the ultimate in short sightedness. You can not argue with results. Even if you did not agree with the original act and would not have done it yourself, you simply can not argue with positive results and if you do, well, it simply looks bad. Seven one shot kills...... And then to attack the results. Sometimes I just do not understand some people. No way that can be labeled as luck, no way 7 one shot kills are a stunt.

Simply put, its nothing more then a great rifle, great coaching and great students making great shots. Nuff said. I am sure I will get a flaming from someone over this, so be it, all I have to do is refer the attackers back to the results.
 
I read all of the original comments, and to me, the long range shot itself is not the hardest part, the guns on a bipod usually and usually a rear bag, in other words solid and you are squeezing the trigger. The hard part is in the prep of the shot. Wind, drop, and all of the testing before hand to figure out what it is doing exactly. with that said, if someone who knows the rifle very well as Fiftydriver said sets the rifle up and someone else who can shoot squeezes the trigger from the setup of a solid rest as i am thinking, the setup is what made the shot. Mark Wahlberg shot guns for I beleive the first time filming the movie shooter, and with a good spotter i think he was hitting human targets at 1100 or 1000 yards within the first few shots. atleast that was what was said.

i think what i said makes sense, some people here in pa hunt long range from guns on tripods and are turning wheels at times to move the gun to put them on something, they are literally just squeezing the trigger after all of their dialing for the shot.
 
Eddybo,

Keep those post coming. It amazes me how some people seem determined to throw up a BS flag just because "they" might not be capable of achieving the same level of performance. As members of LRH we should support each other in what ever accomplishments we as members achieve in the arena of long range shooting. If you feel you absolutely have to make a negative comment, do it in a PM. That way visitors to this site won't get turned-off over some worthless---unfounded comments of a nay-sayer...

As far as Eddybo goes, a nicer guy you won't hardly find. I have known him for a couple of years now and have competed against him in f-class competitions. I can assure you that he is intimately familiar with his rifles at various ranges and has the tools and knowledge to make long shots at will, in the right conditions. I have seen him bring people out to f-class shoots, supply them with a top notch custom rifle, ammo and whatever else they needed. I would like to know how many people he has gotten involved in the shooting sports. He often lets these people shoot at his range and coaches them in long range shooting, just because he enjoys it. This is the kind of person we need----shooting ambassadors not nay-sayers...

I know Eddybo doesn't need anyone backing him up and maybe I didn't need to post my$.02 on this matter. Post those photos when you get them eddybo.
 
Great hunt and great shooting. As an owner of a 338 AM, it's just too easy at times, they are great guns. I only have 200+ rounds or so out of it, but ready to shoot long range too. Practiced on rocks out to 1800 yds, what fun.
Again great hunt!
 
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