Discussion Forums

Ian

Long time reader - first time poster.

Apologies for the length - this is a mix of testimonial for Nathan's book series and a trip report

The research and prep

I have been shooting small game/pests my whole life, but recently decided to have a try at deer hunting. I'm pretty analytical in nature so Nathan's book series was like crack cocaine for someone like me. The main target deer species in the state I live is Sambar 100 to 350 kg (220 to 770 lb), with most shot opportunities within 300m (of which 90% are within 150m). There are also Red and Fallow deer opportunities.

Following the Cartridges book I settled on 30-06 as I wanted an all round utility rifle. I found a new Remington 700 AWR with 24” 5R sporter barrel during an end of financial year sale. The stock forend and palm swell felt a bit puny in my hands, so I sourced a used HS Precision stock from a Remington Sendero. This made a big difference. The rifle now has a perfect (for me) forend and palm swell. I topped it with a Leupold VX 5 HD 3-15 scope with the firedot duplex reticle, bringing total weight (including sling) to 9.25lb/4.2kg.

I shoot competitive Fullbore rifle, so have lots of experience in load development and reloading.

Following the great info in the cartridges book, forum posts and knowledge-base I struggled to decide between 180g Woodleigh pp, 180 Nosler Partition and 200 Hornady ELDx. I worked up loads for each of them to see which would be most accurate in my rifle. The ELDx grouped the best, but they all grouped well enough for the target species.

I then saw Hannah’s “close range sambar 308 load” thread https://www.ballisticstudies.com/Resources/Discussion+Forums/x_forum/24/thread/23102.html and, after re-reading the knowledge base (something about “bread and butter”), settled on a dual-load 200g Nosler partition (2657 fps) and 200g ELDx (2663 fps) both using Superperformance powder. Given my likely distances, on reflection I probably don’t need to dual load, but i'm an optimist by nature :).

I then spent many a weekend at the range practicing various positional shooting with the rifle, shooting at paper dinner plates (using less expensive 180g Hornady interlock projectiles).

The Hunt

I finally got the time to test all of this theory out, and given my inexperience, decided to use a guide so I could learn a few tactics from the outset. At about 4.00pm on the last day we managed to find a young stag between 50 and 80 meters away. It was quartering towards me so I aimed in front of the foreleg for a fast anchoring kill. This tactic was successful, with the Stag collapsing on the spot and follow-up shot not required.

On inspection, the projectile entered at the neck-shoulder junction, hitting the spine and stopped on the off side hide between the fore and aft legs. The whole front led core was dumped into the body, with the rear partition driving through the vitals. Darkness was approaching so we didn’t have time for a full necropsy, but I managed to get a couple of photos.

In summary the system worked and the rifle, cartridge and projectile performed as it should. I understand that not all future shots go as well as this one, but I couldn’t be happier.

A bug thanks to Nathan and Steph for the informative books, the videos and website. Also thanks to the many forum members who either asked great questions or shared their valuable experiences.

Now for a question. My next hunt will be likely for fallow deer with 20% chance of a red deer. It will be thick bush and likely shots from 50m to 200m max. Should I drop down to something like a 165g / 180g partition or 178/200 ELDx? I am more interested in fast killing than meat saving.