Equipment used on my hunt

[janfred]

So, my recent hunt I learnt some lessons with regards to usability.

The bullets
Hornady Interlock 180gr. Loaded to 2540ft/s using 43.gr N140 from a Lapua Palma case ignited by a CCI 400 primer. The cartridges were loaded to magazine length. I tried to make the SBC 180gr bullets work, but unfortunately they did not group well enough. It might be that the jump from magazine length was too much, but I suspect that I could not drive them fast enough from an 11" twist .308.

The rifle
Tikka T3x Supervarmint. The varmint barrel is probably the reason it was so easy to to develop a load with the Hornady Interlock bullets. The downside is it made the rifle heavy, but with the broad sling, it didn't carry too badly.

The silencer
ASE Utra Jet-Z. It worked much better than I thought it would. With the 8 bulkets I fired with no ear protection, I did not have any indication of even a zinging noise in my ear afterwards. Only down side again is weight. It weighs half a kg at the end of a varmint barrel. This made the rifle barrel heavy and caused it to keep trying to slip barrel down when carried by the sling over my shoulder.

The scope
Element Optics Helix 4-16x44 FFP with the APR-2D reticle. The lenses are clear and the reticle is not too fine at 4x magnification. Also, not too busy for me at 16x magnification. During the hunt I cannot say that I found it difficult to aim or centre the target. The little dot worked like a charm. I would use this for target shooting any day of the week and have used it a 1000 yards before. The downside is the windage turret is not capped or locked. This cost me dearly.

Shooting sticks
Noviske 1st generation trigger stick. It adjusts for height very easily. Shooting off it was not that easy for me. I did eventually get the hang of it, but my groups will never be great. What irked me more was how noisy they were to carry. A good mod would be a thick rubber ring around each leg halfway. That should stop the legs from making noise by clicking against each other.

Binoculars
Steiner 8x30. They work fine until there is very little light like 1 hour after sunset. Apart from that I have no complaints. Cody tried them and asked me where the zoom is. What I did find was the neck strap is too long. When walking it tended to swing alot and then hit the shooting sticks I was carrying, making more noise.

Knife
Kershaw Dechutes. It worked as designed. Did not go blunt and no need to sharpen. It turned out to be sharp enough to gut the boar, cut off 3 heads and gut an impala.

Backpack was a R300 cheapy of wich the one strap detached on the Saturday morning. Would definitely be looking at a knapsack for next time. Half the weight of the backpack and 7kg of rifle on the one shoulder was getting uncomfortable by around 11AM.

My boots were Wolverine. They were comfortable for the whole day's walking. Unfortunately the soles are quite hard and the way that I walk caused a low frequency boom that Dave said warns animals long before we get there. I had to learn to put the outside of my foot down first to reduce the noise. That used different muscles and gave me sore legs for days after.

From my previous literary attempts, some of you know I had no clothes that fit Dave's criteria so had to do some shopping. Somehow ended up at Agrimark. There I found Jonson work wear. And I have to admit, the trousers reminded me of denims you could get 20+ years ago. Nice, thick-weave canvas cargo pants in tan and dark tan. Much better than the denims you can find these days. The were not cheap, but I don't mind paying extra for quality that will last years.

Of everything I used,the only thing that let me down was the scope. Even that could have been prevented if I paid enough attention.

[oafpatroll]

Real life, first hand experience feedback like this is invaluable.

[Treeman]

Your scope was an enviable item to have, but it is a shooting scope, not a hunting scope - for many reasons.
Your bag was just bad luck and seemed to work, I prefer fixing such items to better than they were bought.
The bull barrel rifle was again shooting versus hunting. A good bull barrel really shoots well once you have hunted the animal, but ey boet you first need to "hunt" to get to "hunted" and that means carrying that anchor. (I have two such rifles for special purpose)
I suggest you let your wife buy, choose your future hunting items - that knife is awesome !
The sticks, mmmnnn, ya, they are mostly like that, you actually need to develop a way of carrying them that works for you.
The binno's, sorry mate, here I am opinionated much - they kak !

The hunter was unfit yet willing and more determined than most.
The hunter rifle worked well and shot well, even if that shot was off, after time I learnt to see when a shooter is any good, even if he screws the shot up.( I let you shoot head shots - never allowed that before, simply because of how you came up and on your sticks)

Jonson clothing is really worth buying if fashion is second to useability.

[oafpatroll]

Re the Jonsson stuff, i second the recommendation. I have a dozen plus t shirts, half a dozen pairs of shorts, 3 pairs of long pants, a scouple of sweaters and 5 or 6 collared long sleeve shirts. The newest of those things is 5 years old at least and they are all perfectly serviceable and I'm hard on clothes. Unfortunately they have got a bit gucci in the last while and on having a look at their catalogue pricing now reflects that.   

[Newton]

So, my recent hunt I learnt some lessons with regards to usability.
The scope
Element Optics Helix 4-16x44 FFP with the APR-2D reticle. The lenses are clear and the reticle is not too fine at 4x magnification. Also, not too busy for me at 16x magnification. During the hunt I cannot say that I found it difficult to aim or centre the target. The little dot worked like a charm. I would use this for target shooting any day of the week and have used it a 1000 yards before. The downside is the windage turret is not capped or locked. This cost me dearly.

Of everything I used,the only thing that let me down was the scope. Even that could have been prevented if I paid enough attention.

Do you have a problem with the brand ..ELEMENT Optics ?
Would you use one of their other dedicated - hunting scopes ?

[Newton]

I was at first going to say that they do not actually manufacture - "hunting scopes"
BUT ..

Appears they do - although perhaps NOT to Treemans rigorous standards  
 

[DaavG]

Nice feedback Jan, thank you. Some input on my setup as FYI. I've included a waist pack to use rather than a back pack, which carries the essentials. Granted I'm not out for a full day so it works and its cooler and lighter than the pack.

I purchased a bino chest case to control my binos when walking and crawling - no more dangling! Binos are 10x42 - double up as game reserve / birding binos - good in the low light I find.

I use quad sticks (DIY ones) which are really great to shoot off. Take a little practise setting up etc but really stable. Normally the farm hand / guide carries them though.

[janfred]

Do you have a photo of the quad sticks?

[oafpatroll]

There's a guy on the S&O app who advertises some nice looking wooden shooting sticks. I have no experience beyond a bit of buggering around at the range with sticks but would definitely prefer hardwood sticks over aluminium or steel for sound, vibration and reduced risk of dinging the rifle. 

[Newton]

Does no-one use the old methods any longer ? ( Before "sticks" )
Prone / Kneel / Sit / Use a tree branch - Rock

[Treeman]

Does no-one use the old methods any longer ? ( Before "sticks" )
Prone / Kneel / Sit / Use a tree branch - Rock

*****************************
Only when you do not have sticks I guess, They good for some areas, but long grass open felt ?, thin bendy trees, sometimes trees work, sometimes anthills work, but you need sticks if you want to be properly prepared.

[oafpatroll]

People have been shooting off sticks since the days of the arquebus.

[DaavG]

Do you have a photo of the quad sticks?

Mine are very similiar to the image below - 18mm dowel I think and a couple L brackets + bolts.

[DaavG]

Negative of mine are that they cannot be collapsed for seated shots.

[DaavG]

Does no-one use the old methods any longer ? ( Before "sticks" )
Prone / Kneel / Sit / Use a tree branch - Rock

I find these way more stable and able to take a longer shot if needs be then the kneel, seated knees or tree method. I haven't spent range time shooting from those positions but have spent a fair amount of time of the sticks.

Your cross hair only moves vertically, not elliptically so easier to control I find.

If you have a guide, he can setup them up quickly but it does mean a bit of movement as you get your rifle into position.