Success with 243 Superlite

[gomerdog]

I am trying to post a pic of a doe antelope I shot in October. I don't seem to be having much luck. Anyway I hope this works.

Jeff

[quickdtoo]

It does now!!!  Congrats!!

Tim

[cwlongshot]

GOOD JOB!!!

Tell us more, we LIKE hunting stories!!!  I have another week in a half to wait....

  CW

[Slufoot]

Hey gomerdog, that looks like a good sized antelope. Please tell us the story.
Is that a portable shooting bench in the bed of the truck behind the antelope?

GOOD SHOOTING!
Slufoot

[cbourbeau32]

+1 who would like the story. Congrat's!! What was the yardage, etc? Charlie

[Spanky]

You can't expect us to be happy with just a pic. do you??


We want the full story.

Congrats!!



Spanky

[gomerdog]

Thanks, Tim, for whatever wizardry you did to get the pic to show in an appropriate format.

This year I decided not to hunt elk and deer as I am working on a masters degree and my weekends are taken up with that and just trying to get caught up from a week of teaching. So I bought two doe/fawn licenses as I don't have to be real serious about that...not like elk. I finally had a few hours in the middle of October to hunt, so I went early one Saturday morning about 20 miles from town. Saw this bunch from the highway on a state owned winter game range. Waited until they fed a half a mile from the road and put a sneak on, belly crawling for a 75 yards or so while they fed away from me. Finally a doe busted my movement, but they couldn't tell what I was. I waited for 10-15 minutes as they snorted and pranced around a little bit. Eventually they settled down and began browsing again. Belly crawled for a few more yards and then came to an opening in the tall grass through which I was moving. Used my backpack as a rest and popped this doe at about 200 yards. The 95 gr. SST from Hornady busted a rib going in and the opposite shoulder going out. A litte meat damage there. She ran about 20 yards and nose dived.

What you see in the back of my truck is a pack frame. I can't drive off road in this area, so the past few years I take the pack frame with me. I don't like to drag animals. They tend to get dirty, and it seems to be easier on my body if I pack them out. A mature doe doesn't weigh that much. I lash it on like I would an elk quarter or half of a deer and take my time back to the truck.

A couple of weeks later I shot another doe using the same rifle and load, this time in a little different area, one I could drive to. This one was a little farther away, maybe 275. Sorry, no pics of that one. It looked just like this one, only different.

To be honest, I felt a little embarressed posting a pic of a scrawny ol' doe antelope when I see the beautiful elk these young ladies are slaying and the impressive buck deer, like the one yesteday from Slufoot.

Anyway, next year I won't have this thousand pound gorrilla on my back (my masters program) and I can be more serious about elk.

Jeff

[quickdtoo]

Don't be embarrassed, I'd be proud to post anything I had worked to take under those circumstances, good job!! I've only hunted antelope once and it wasn't easy trying to get a shot within sporting range with all those eyes on ya in that open country!! 

Glad to help on the pic, when you copy the URL at PB, use the bottom one, IMG code.

Tim

[cbourbeau32]

Thanks for adding the details of the hunt. I would be proud of anything I took given the way you had to get within range. Charlie

[Uncle Ji]

I hear so many horror stories about owners of Handi-Rifles in .243 having great difficulties getting these to shoot decent groups so congratulations on getting yours to shoot with confidence, and to your hunting success.  What kinds of groups were you getiing with your pet load?  Thanks for sharing.  

[Datil]

  Congrats Gomerdog, What state are you in? just wondering.
 Glad some one is bring home meat with super lite 243.
  Best of luck Marv.

[gomerdog]

Tim: Thanks for the picture posting advice.

Uncle Ji: This little rifle has taught me more about reloading bottle-necked cartridges than any rifle I've owned. I bought the rifle in about 1998 for my daughter. She used it one year and then became busy with high school sports and academics and never really took the time to hunt again. It originally came with a synthetic stock and forearm. I switched them out for basic palletwood. The stock is actually a shotgun stock. I developed a couple of good loads over the years, but never really documented them, so I had no information on loads or OAL, etc. It was frustrating as h*ll. Last year for Christmas, my brother-in-law gave me a gift certificate to Amazon.com, which sat around for months before I used it. I read about the RCBS Precision Mic and finally ordered one using the gift certificate. Using the instructions, I developed this load using a moderate charge of Ramshot Hunter and the Hornady bullet with cases I'd shot in the same rifle. They shot well, about 1 and a quarter inches for three rounds. Not outstanding, but good enough. I looked no further for a better one. I am much better about writing down everything now and keeping my targets organized and handy.

Datil: I live in the town of Lander, Wyoming. The area is 65, known in the Wyoming regulations as the South Pass area.

For this receiver, I also have a 30/30 barrel, with which I shot a mule deer doe last fall using W748 and Hornady 170 gr. FN bullets.

Jeff