Idaho Trecker
Well-Known Member
I'm glad I was finally able to test this bullet out for some terminal performance after doing so much bc and bullet performance testing. It was definitely luck that I was able to find a bear since I had one evening to escape and a drive out in the morning. The evening didn't turn up any bears but did find a canyon holding a good amount of mule deer that are going to be big this year! Unfortunately for me its a draw hunt and I can't put in the way idaho limits what you can put in for by species... that's another story.
Almost was able to test on a coyote but had everything strapped to my pack for once and wasn't able to get the gun off in time.
Driving out the next morning I was glancing down the canyons to look for a rock to shoot and much to my amazement I spotted a bear. For me this was strange because I almost never see bears other than evenings but that's probably just my limited bear experience. Luckily the excitement didn't wear off before my common sense because it ended up being 1400' vertical down to where the bear was. It was a perfect morning in every sense. No wind. Not hot. Not cold. I got down to 670 yards and decided to set up in case the bear decided to wrap around the corner I wouldn't have been able to get on it again. Ranged him a few times and felt good so let the 149 McGuire fly! Leaving the muzzle at a dull 3315 fps it got there in a hurry and did what it should have.
I hiked to the spot where the bear was hit and was a good amount of blood spray and know the bullet exited but wasn't able to find it. I was hoping to get lucky and find a disturbed spot in the dirt to search. The entrance was a little higher than I wanted but with the angle and trajectory the exit was mid section where I would have wanted. Luckily, for my back and legs, it was a small bear but was still an adventure I'll remember. The exit was just over an inch in diameter it looked like and being a smaller bear there wasn't a lot of width the bullet passed through or resistance so seeing that kind of exit was great in my opinion.
Got it skinned out and packed back up the 1400' with the extra weight. Somehow from start to finish I made the whole trip down and back in 4 hours. I felt the effects of that for the next 3 days though.
I'll be using this combo more in the fall to test some more on animals if all things work out. All in all I'm very impressed with this bullet.
Entry
Exit
Slightly steep canyons
Almost was able to test on a coyote but had everything strapped to my pack for once and wasn't able to get the gun off in time.
Driving out the next morning I was glancing down the canyons to look for a rock to shoot and much to my amazement I spotted a bear. For me this was strange because I almost never see bears other than evenings but that's probably just my limited bear experience. Luckily the excitement didn't wear off before my common sense because it ended up being 1400' vertical down to where the bear was. It was a perfect morning in every sense. No wind. Not hot. Not cold. I got down to 670 yards and decided to set up in case the bear decided to wrap around the corner I wouldn't have been able to get on it again. Ranged him a few times and felt good so let the 149 McGuire fly! Leaving the muzzle at a dull 3315 fps it got there in a hurry and did what it should have.
I hiked to the spot where the bear was hit and was a good amount of blood spray and know the bullet exited but wasn't able to find it. I was hoping to get lucky and find a disturbed spot in the dirt to search. The entrance was a little higher than I wanted but with the angle and trajectory the exit was mid section where I would have wanted. Luckily, for my back and legs, it was a small bear but was still an adventure I'll remember. The exit was just over an inch in diameter it looked like and being a smaller bear there wasn't a lot of width the bullet passed through or resistance so seeing that kind of exit was great in my opinion.
Got it skinned out and packed back up the 1400' with the extra weight. Somehow from start to finish I made the whole trip down and back in 4 hours. I felt the effects of that for the next 3 days though.
I'll be using this combo more in the fall to test some more on animals if all things work out. All in all I'm very impressed with this bullet.
Entry
Exit
Slightly steep canyons

