Hunt & Shoot Project Rifle part 7 – Hunting
With the rifle now shooting very well, it was time to head up on the Goats and try it out.
After the long drive to the hunting area, we set up camp and headed out for a look, to see if there were many goats about. It didn’t take us long before we found a small mob of goats and my son, Ryan took a couple of nice animals. Then it was back to camp to rest up for the next few days hunting.
The next day it rained all day and we sat in camp and looked out as the countryside turned to red mud. When it rains in this area it is impossible to drive anywhere so the next few days would involve hunting from camp.
Young Ryan was going to do most of the shooting on this trip and he was very keen to give the Hunt & Shoot project rifle a real work out.
We had two loads to try in the 7mm Rem Mag rifle. One was loaded with 175 grain Sierra Gameking projectiles and the other was loaded with 180 grain Berger projectiles. Both loads worked excellent on the goats. Most side on shots resulted in full penetration, however some raking shots on larger billies did not exit.
The goats in the area had been culled hard over the last few months so we had to walk quite a few kilometers each day to catch up with them. But we still managed to find one or two mobs each day.
Ryan put the rifle to good use and made some excellent close in stalks as well as a couple of pin point long shots. The Bushnell 6500 scope in 2.5 – 16 power is a very versatile scope and gives the shooter plenty of flexibility.
The Boyd’s stock proved to be light weight, easy to shoot, well balanced and hard wearing. A much better stock than the original.
Most of these mobs were living in the higher rocky areas that are local to this area. This was a change from the last time we hunted here. On that hunt most of the goats were living on the flats and were much more numerous. Obviously the constant pressure from conservation hunters was having an effect on overall numbers.
This could be seen in the environment as well. In the past most vegetation had been browsed on heavily but with the reduction in goat numbers and the excellent rain of recent times the country side had made an excellent recovery.
After five days hunting and a lot of kilometers walked it was time to head home. We had some fine goat meat for the freezer and Ryan had collected a few horns from a Billy or two.
The rifle had been given a good work out and young Ryan had gained some valuable hunting experience. The rifle proved to be an excellent and versatile hunting rig and the 7mm Rem Mag more than a match for any goat.
While I did not do much shooting myself, I still very much enjoyed my time spent hunting with my son. Times like these will stay with us for ever.
Related posts:
- 2010 HUNT & SHOOT Project Rifle – 7mm Rem Mag. Part 1
- H & S Project Rifle Part 5 – In search of accuracy.
- H & S Project Rifle part 4 – First shots.
Category: Norman Nelson's Column
