Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
Articles
Latest reviews
Author list
Classifieds
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles and first posts only
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Hunting
The Basics, Starting Out
What do you guys think?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="jhendri2" data-source="post: 51701" data-attributes="member: 217"><p>This is an article I wrote for Varmint Hunter, it hasn't been published yet, but here is a preview....hope you enjoy it.</p><p></p><p>Magnum Varmint Rifles?!?!</p><p></p><p>By Jim Hendrickson</p><p></p><p>There has been a lot of talk about magnums these days, good and bad. Most of the proponents claim better killing power at longer ranges and quote enough foot-pounds of energy to penetrate a tank. The opponents of the magnums claim overkill and all of the power they generate is not necessary. Well, I guess it's time for me to put in my two cents worth.</p><p></p><p>First, let me say I like magnum and standard calibers alike. I like them all because all of them are fun to shoot. I enjoy the magnums more because I think the power they generate makes it more fun. I forgot who said this but it is so true, "You can go to the range and shoot a brick of 22's or shoot 10 magnum rounds have an equal amount of fun." I don't go around quoting foot-pounds of energy or other nonsense (though I do study it and know what all of my rifle are capable of, not just the magnums). The point is there is no such thing as overkill. I have to as of yet "overkill" anything (at least none of the animals I shot told me so). I always say "dead is dead, there aren't varying degrees of it." Some of the magnum opponent's claim the magnums tear up more meat. Well this may be true but who cares when your varmint hunting. While on the subject of tearing up too much meat on deer size game and larger, let me ask all of those opponents "Do you eat the rib meat? Do you make steak out of the shoulders, or do you grind it for sausage and hamburger?" If you answer these questions the way most hunters do, then who cares how much meat is destroyed, most of us make hamburger or sausage anyway, so what if you waste a few more ounces. Time to get off my soapbox and back to the subject.</p><p></p><p>My brother Joseph Knotts and I normally partake on a yearly hunting trip. Whether it's Jackrabbits, Ducks, Hogs, Groundhogs, or whatever happens to be of interest to us that year. Well we decided on a jackrabbit/hog hunt at the Rio Bonito Ranch a while back. I decided to bring my 7 STW and my 330 Dakota, while Joseph brought his 308 Winchester and 338 Lapua (more on the rifles later). The 33's were brought in hopes of getting a shot at a hog or two but as luck and the hunting gods would have it we were skunked on them. But did we ever make up for it on the jackrabbits and raccoons. The hunting in Texas is done "safari style". Basically this means you ride around in a custom truck with a back seat set higher than the cab. The guide holds a spotlight shining the fields. It is a pretty easy and fun way to attack varmints.</p><p></p><p>On the first night of the rabbit hunt, it was quite cool and breezy, so Joseph and I bundled up grabbed the rifles. I brought the STW and he brought his 308. Joseph got the first shot with his 308 and dispatched the unlucky rabbit with authority. Well, the next shot was mine. I had loaded the STW with Sierra 120-grain Varminter bullets going around 3700 fps. With the rifles initial crack, I found out why the bullets were called Varminters. The rabbit looked as if a grenade had detonated in his chest. It was an amazing kill. We went on the alternate shot schedule all night and preceded to wipe out 20 of those grass munchers. Never had we had so much fun as when that STW let out it's loud bark.</p><p></p><p>The next day my brother and I were sitting around the lodge discussing the plan for that nights jack hunt. He had made up his mind to bring the 338 Lapua instead of the 308 to see what it would do to a jack. Well, the guide rolled up in our truck, but there were noticeably more people in the truck when he arrived. I asked the guide what the heck was going on, he replied that he told the story of the STW to the other guides and they had to come along to actually see the devastation in real life. What a night this would be. A weather front was rolling in; so all the critters were out feeding, getting ready to bed down when the storms came. As luck would have it, it was my turn to shoot first that night. We rolled up on an old abandoned barn when the guide spotted a big jack at approximately 40 yards. He stopped the truck and verified it was ok to shoot toward the barn. I rested the rifle on the roll bar and slowly squeezed the trigger. At the crack of the gun I knew the results had been what everyone had expected, because all I heard after that was giant laughter coming from the cab of the truck. The rabbit had been obliterated and left a huge blood splatter on that poor barn.</p><p></p><p>The next shot of the night was kind of different, but has a great story. My brother had readied his Lapua (we only loaded one round and only when it was our turn to shoot). The guide(s) had noticed a pair of eyes glowing in an old woodpile; only the animal didn't look quite like a jack. Reason being, it was a large male raccoon. My brother took careful aim with that big Lapua and let the round fly. His loading was a 180 grain Nosler ballistic tip traveling at 3450 fps. We saw the raccoon flip about 4 feet in the air, but Joseph didn't due to the recoil. He went off to retrieve his raccoon as the guide left the light on so he could see where it was. Well the raccoon's eyes were still glowing in the light, which led Joseph to believe the animal may still be alive, so he picked up a stick and started poking the dead raccoon with stick "just to make sure." Well, he has never lived that one down. Shoot a raccoon with a 338 and have to poke just to make sure it died, this was too much for a sibling who also has a twisted sense of humor. After he brought it back to the truck, we noticed it had been completely eviscerated. Which led to Joseph getting an even harder time, now we have an eviscerated raccoon shot by a 338 Lapua, which he had to poke with a stick to make sure it was dead. Sorry Joseph just had to tell the story again. This was an amazing night of jack hunting until the storm rolled in.</p><p></p><p>The last night of the hunt went well but was pretty uneventful except for the porcupine. At about 200 yards our guide had spotted a rather large porcupine in a wooded thicket. The reason our rancher hated porcupines was the damage these rascals do to their trees, by stripping the bark from them. So it was imperative for us to take out this little sucker or suffer the wrath of the ranch owner (just kidding, she is one of the nicest people you will ever meet). I was up for the shot and missed this slow moving target. I felt kind of bad until the porcupine reversed direction and my brother had the same shot only in the opposite direction and missed. The porcupine reversed direction again (sort of like a live shooting gallery) I shot and flattened it. As we examined the porcupine we found no massive destruction. The biggest thing we found was this little critter stunk worse than a Diane Feinstein law.</p><p></p><p>It's time now for a little examination of the rifles. The first is the 7 STW, the rifle is a rebarrelled Winchester Model 70 Laredo with a Blackstar #12 HV barrel, wearing a Burris 8-32X scope. The total weight on this rig is about 17 pounds. Meant for long range target shooting but works well on varmints too. The 330 Dakota is a factory Dakota model 76. My brother's rifles were a Sako TRG-S 338 Lapua with a KDF style muzzle break wearing a Burris 6-24X scope (we bought a pair of these rifles and got consecutively serial numbers, hmm…nothing says brotherly love like consecutively serial numbered 338 Lapua's). The last rifle used on the hunt was Joseph's 308 which is a Remington Varmint Synthetic. This rifle is quite nice since he had the barrel cut down to 20 inches and fluted. This combo makes for a very nice handling rifle. Too bad it's left-handed or we would have to try some family procurement on that one.</p><p></p><p>So can you use a magnum to varmint hunt with? Of course! Though it is more expensive and takes a toll on your shoulder after a while (though if set-up for varminting or long range shooting the recoil can be cut considerably). If you have a magnum deer rifle, take it out sometime and shoot some 'chucks or jacks for some practice. I think you'll become addicted.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jhendri2, post: 51701, member: 217"] This is an article I wrote for Varmint Hunter, it hasn't been published yet, but here is a preview....hope you enjoy it. Magnum Varmint Rifles?!?! By Jim Hendrickson There has been a lot of talk about magnums these days, good and bad. Most of the proponents claim better killing power at longer ranges and quote enough foot-pounds of energy to penetrate a tank. The opponents of the magnums claim overkill and all of the power they generate is not necessary. Well, I guess it’s time for me to put in my two cents worth. First, let me say I like magnum and standard calibers alike. I like them all because all of them are fun to shoot. I enjoy the magnums more because I think the power they generate makes it more fun. I forgot who said this but it is so true, “You can go to the range and shoot a brick of 22’s or shoot 10 magnum rounds have an equal amount of fun.” I don’t go around quoting foot-pounds of energy or other nonsense (though I do study it and know what all of my rifle are capable of, not just the magnums). The point is there is no such thing as overkill. I have to as of yet “overkill” anything (at least none of the animals I shot told me so). I always say “dead is dead, there aren’t varying degrees of it.” Some of the magnum opponent’s claim the magnums tear up more meat. Well this may be true but who cares when your varmint hunting. While on the subject of tearing up too much meat on deer size game and larger, let me ask all of those opponents “Do you eat the rib meat? Do you make steak out of the shoulders, or do you grind it for sausage and hamburger?” If you answer these questions the way most hunters do, then who cares how much meat is destroyed, most of us make hamburger or sausage anyway, so what if you waste a few more ounces. Time to get off my soapbox and back to the subject. My brother Joseph Knotts and I normally partake on a yearly hunting trip. Whether it’s Jackrabbits, Ducks, Hogs, Groundhogs, or whatever happens to be of interest to us that year. Well we decided on a jackrabbit/hog hunt at the Rio Bonito Ranch a while back. I decided to bring my 7 STW and my 330 Dakota, while Joseph brought his 308 Winchester and 338 Lapua (more on the rifles later). The 33’s were brought in hopes of getting a shot at a hog or two but as luck and the hunting gods would have it we were skunked on them. But did we ever make up for it on the jackrabbits and raccoons. The hunting in Texas is done “safari style”. Basically this means you ride around in a custom truck with a back seat set higher than the cab. The guide holds a spotlight shining the fields. It is a pretty easy and fun way to attack varmints. On the first night of the rabbit hunt, it was quite cool and breezy, so Joseph and I bundled up grabbed the rifles. I brought the STW and he brought his 308. Joseph got the first shot with his 308 and dispatched the unlucky rabbit with authority. Well, the next shot was mine. I had loaded the STW with Sierra 120-grain Varminter bullets going around 3700 fps. With the rifles initial crack, I found out why the bullets were called Varminters. The rabbit looked as if a grenade had detonated in his chest. It was an amazing kill. We went on the alternate shot schedule all night and preceded to wipe out 20 of those grass munchers. Never had we had so much fun as when that STW let out it’s loud bark. The next day my brother and I were sitting around the lodge discussing the plan for that nights jack hunt. He had made up his mind to bring the 338 Lapua instead of the 308 to see what it would do to a jack. Well, the guide rolled up in our truck, but there were noticeably more people in the truck when he arrived. I asked the guide what the heck was going on, he replied that he told the story of the STW to the other guides and they had to come along to actually see the devastation in real life. What a night this would be. A weather front was rolling in; so all the critters were out feeding, getting ready to bed down when the storms came. As luck would have it, it was my turn to shoot first that night. We rolled up on an old abandoned barn when the guide spotted a big jack at approximately 40 yards. He stopped the truck and verified it was ok to shoot toward the barn. I rested the rifle on the roll bar and slowly squeezed the trigger. At the crack of the gun I knew the results had been what everyone had expected, because all I heard after that was giant laughter coming from the cab of the truck. The rabbit had been obliterated and left a huge blood splatter on that poor barn. The next shot of the night was kind of different, but has a great story. My brother had readied his Lapua (we only loaded one round and only when it was our turn to shoot). The guide(s) had noticed a pair of eyes glowing in an old woodpile; only the animal didn’t look quite like a jack. Reason being, it was a large male raccoon. My brother took careful aim with that big Lapua and let the round fly. His loading was a 180 grain Nosler ballistic tip traveling at 3450 fps. We saw the raccoon flip about 4 feet in the air, but Joseph didn’t due to the recoil. He went off to retrieve his raccoon as the guide left the light on so he could see where it was. Well the raccoon’s eyes were still glowing in the light, which led Joseph to believe the animal may still be alive, so he picked up a stick and started poking the dead raccoon with stick “just to make sure.” Well, he has never lived that one down. Shoot a raccoon with a 338 and have to poke just to make sure it died, this was too much for a sibling who also has a twisted sense of humor. After he brought it back to the truck, we noticed it had been completely eviscerated. Which led to Joseph getting an even harder time, now we have an eviscerated raccoon shot by a 338 Lapua, which he had to poke with a stick to make sure it was dead. Sorry Joseph just had to tell the story again. This was an amazing night of jack hunting until the storm rolled in. The last night of the hunt went well but was pretty uneventful except for the porcupine. At about 200 yards our guide had spotted a rather large porcupine in a wooded thicket. The reason our rancher hated porcupines was the damage these rascals do to their trees, by stripping the bark from them. So it was imperative for us to take out this little sucker or suffer the wrath of the ranch owner (just kidding, she is one of the nicest people you will ever meet). I was up for the shot and missed this slow moving target. I felt kind of bad until the porcupine reversed direction and my brother had the same shot only in the opposite direction and missed. The porcupine reversed direction again (sort of like a live shooting gallery) I shot and flattened it. As we examined the porcupine we found no massive destruction. The biggest thing we found was this little critter stunk worse than a Diane Feinstein law. It’s time now for a little examination of the rifles. The first is the 7 STW, the rifle is a rebarrelled Winchester Model 70 Laredo with a Blackstar #12 HV barrel, wearing a Burris 8-32X scope. The total weight on this rig is about 17 pounds. Meant for long range target shooting but works well on varmints too. The 330 Dakota is a factory Dakota model 76. My brother’s rifles were a Sako TRG-S 338 Lapua with a KDF style muzzle break wearing a Burris 6-24X scope (we bought a pair of these rifles and got consecutively serial numbers, hmm…nothing says brotherly love like consecutively serial numbered 338 Lapua’s). The last rifle used on the hunt was Joseph’s 308 which is a Remington Varmint Synthetic. This rifle is quite nice since he had the barrel cut down to 20 inches and fluted. This combo makes for a very nice handling rifle. Too bad it’s left-handed or we would have to try some family procurement on that one. So can you use a magnum to varmint hunt with? Of course! Though it is more expensive and takes a toll on your shoulder after a while (though if set-up for varminting or long range shooting the recoil can be cut considerably). If you have a magnum deer rifle, take it out sometime and shoot some ‘chucks or jacks for some practice. I think you’ll become addicted. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Hunting
The Basics, Starting Out
What do you guys think?
Top