Hauling Gravel in my Camero or Real Rifles vs. Mathematical Rifles

I need to buy and place 11 cubic yards of gravel in the south side yard of my house.  The grass died there because the sprinklers went afoul in summer of 2015 when I was surviving radiation and chemo-therapy cancer treatments daily and was not physically able to repair the irrigation system.  Gradually the area has become sort of a parking zone for extra cars.  Gravel would be nice.  I won't have to mow it, I won't have to water it.  Parking will be easy.

The BIG QUESTION is ?
A.)  Should I haul and place the gravel out of my Camero two door coupe that is nimble and easy to maneuver into the side yard.  I would have to make several dozen, if not a hundred trips, to the gravel sales yard to haul the gravel necessary in the Camero.  {What about the wear and tear on the Camero interior?}
 OR
B.)  Should I use my Chevy 4X4 pickup truck to haul and place the gravel? I could haul the gravel in about 7 trips and not beat up my truck.

Easy answer -- USE THE PICKUP TRUCK.

So what does this have to do with hunting and shooting?  The burr under my saddle is the current news and popular sentiment riding on the wind with all the shooting sports writers touting the 6.5 Creedmoor as the "perfect" rifle cartridge for all centerfire aspects of hunting and target shooting.

In a phrase -- I don't think so.

I grant the populace, who are wind-surfing, the 6.5 Creedmoor is a a light recoiling, accurate, and ballistically advantaged cartridge.  It is chambered and sold in a variety of platforms and performs well at the long distance target shooting matches.  I grant all the target shooters and small varmint hunters humble agreement about their rifle the 6.5 Creedmoor.  However, I can't give up my "REAL" rifles for shooting distance and shooting at big game at distance.  The Creedmoor fans always want to look at the numbers -- so let's look:

6.5 Creedmoor 129 gr. Barnes Triple shock bullet b.c. .468 at 5,000 elevation 69º and 15% humidity started at 2,700 fps at the muzzle results in the following ballistics performance:
           100 yards     200 yards     300 yards     400 yards     500 yards     800 yards     1,000 yards
f.p.s    2643            2486             2335             2335            2189             1589             1377
ft. lbs  1969            1743             1537             1351            1183             723               543
M*        48                45                 42                 40                37                29                25

300 Rem Ultra Mag.  180 gr. Barnes Triple shock bullet b.c. .453 at 5,000 elevation 69º and 15% humidity started at 3,330 fps at the muzzle results in the following ballistics performance:   
           100 yards     200 yards     300 yards     400 yards     500 yards     877 yards     1,000 yards
f.p.s    3147            2966             2793             2625            2464             2015            1745
ft. lbs. 3958            3516             3117             2775            2428             1630            1217
M*        81                76                 72                 67                62                 49.5            44.8

*M = a relative term for "momentum" calculated by Kevin Robertson, Doctari, in his life as a P.H. and veterinarian in Africa.  His book "The Perfect Shot" is enlightening to say the least.  He covers what makes an animal die and how the bullet accomplishes this task.  He has personally witnessed 1,000's of animals taken by various firearms and calibers.  He knows his business.  Dr./P.H. Robertson calculated the momentum of a caliber to be a relative penetration and killing coefficient.  He firmly believes a M factor of 125 is required for dangerous game especially elephant and buffalo.  M = (velocity x bullet weight in grains)/7000  {Note:  the .300 RUM has the same M value at 877 yards as the 6.5 Creedmoor does at muzzle.}

I have two dear friends that guide for black and brown bears in Alaska on the coast and on the islands near Juno -- they require clients to use a .375 H and H magnum or bigger caliber for their bear hunts.  They, and their clients, have survived all theses years by sticking to their experience and the minimum caliber requirements.  The old sage Elmer Keith said use enough gun.  A wise man told me years ago "You can't kill 'em too dead."

I just want the world to know I respect a good shooting rifle as much as the next guy.  As was recently stated by Wayne Van Zwoll in a national publication, "There are a lot more .25" accuracy capable rifles out there than there are .25" accuracy capable marksmen."  I like to punch holes in targets.  I like to take varmints out at obscene distances.  {When telling the tale I usually add 10% to the yardage just to be on the safe side.}  I also believe when it is time to be a real sportsman and shoot the elk or moose or other large critter at distance a sincere real rifle should be used.  An 800 lbs. elk with a 129 gr. 6.5mm bullet putting along at 2048 f.p.s. shot through his lungs at 500 yards will eventually die.  The shooter may or may not find his game and complete the harvest in an ethical manner.  The same elk with a 180 gr. .308 " bullet traveling at 2428 f.p.s shot the same place will expire within 200-300 yards.  The hunter will find and ethically take his trophy home.  Quartering shots are a whole lot worse for the little 6.5 Creedmoor.  The .300 RUM will traverse the elk body and take him down.

If your heart is set on a 6.5 Creedmoor -- get one.  If you can punch tight groups on paper at 500 - 1,000 yards with it that is sooooo cool.  Please don't try and take a big nice respect worthy game animal at the target distances you shoot with your low impact rifle round.  Move in closer and take the big beast at 100 to 150 yards when you can make sure of power and shot placement.  The game deserves the respect of an ethical kill not a blood letting wounding and slow death with lost game and wasted meat.

My favorite calibers?  Sure:  {let me know yours -- I am interested}
A.  small game and targets  .22LR  .36gr HP
B.  medium varmints and long range varmints  .22-250 w/ 55 gr. Nosler ballistic tips
C.  smaller big game (coyotes)  .308 Win. 130 gr. Hornady spire point bullets
D.  deer/ pronghorn/ springbok, warthog 300 yards and less  .30-06 165 gr. mono-metal bullets
E.  elk, zebra, hartebeest, kudu, oryx, bison etc. 300 yards and less .338 Win Mag. 225 gr.mono-metal bullets
F.  elk and above list E. at distance 400 yards and more .300 RUM with 180 gr. mono-metal bullets
G. bears and mean things 150 yards or less .458 Win Mag (over 150 yards get closer or run away)












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MID-JULY AND STILL HUNTING VERMIN

WOW!  Can you believe it? It is mid-July and I am still able to hunt the little profit stealing vermin in Iron County, Utah .  This is unheard of for me and many of the locals.  It is a dry year and the weather is warm already, like 95º F in the late morning.

Bounty Hunter 6 and I went to the Beryl area of Iron County, Utah this morning.  We drove up there arriving at the decided upon shooting spot around 9:10 a.m.  We set up the squirrel-o-matics in the back of the White Wagon of Death pickup truck owned by Bounty Hunter 6 and readied for hopefully a good shoot.  By 9:30 a.m. the little profit thieves were through with their "chizzler coffee" and out looking for friendship and easy food in the farmer's alfalfa fields.

We did our duty with zeal.  Bounty Hunter 6 was using his Savage heavy barrel .17 Mach II rifle and I my trusty Savage heavy barrel .22 lr.  We shot for over two hours and only slowed down to load magazines.  BH 6 went through 3 boxes of ammo and I used 4.  We harvested about 150 chizzlers.  I was not shooting so well as the rascals were hanging out at about 100 to 125 yards most of the time.  I did get eight or nine close shots (35 yards) and I missed on half of the tries.  BH 6 was getting a real laugh out of my performance.  I could hit the old chizzlers at 100 - 125 yards yet up close I was missing.  He shot extra well today.  He nailed them close and far  That little .17 Mach II cartridge is a real fine shooter and is so dang accurate when handled by Bounty Hunter 6.

About 11:45 a.m. some critter blew the 'nap time' whistle and the chizzlers just went down and stayed down.  We walked out into the combat zone and took a few pictures while lazering back towards the White Wagon of Death to see just how far we were shooting.  It seems that once you get the range and hold over dialed in on your scope you kind of forget the distance and just go to work on helping the farmers.

I was a super fun day and really an extra treat to hunt chizzlers so late in the year.  

                                             {My pals in San Diego -- eat your hearts out.}

Anesthetic Hallucinations

Hello/Buenos Dias Friends/Amigos,

I was recently in the hospital for a heart procedure {8 days ago}.  It went well and the Dr. told me to take it easy for 10 weeks.  What is easier than shooting chizzlers?  Bounty Hunter 6 took me to "rehab" today in Iron County, Utah.  He set up the squirrel-o-matics in the back of his truck.  He handled my rifle and backpack for ammo and peanuts.  All I had to do was load magazines and take aim, gently press the trigger while holding a steady X on the vermin stealing the farmer's profits and wait for the reaping to begin.  It was a great day at "rehab"!  We took maybe 250 - 300 profit bandits out of the field permanently.  We started reaping at 9:30 a.m. and shot until noon.  We had a great time and the wind didn't really play a factor in our shooting.  Bounty Hunter 6 was using his good ol' .17 HMR explod-o-matic Savage HB and I used my HB Savage .22 lr.  Great fun with a great guy and I actually feel better this evening.  I hope we can go to rehab again tomorrow.

In regard to the Title of this Post --   I don't drink or do drugs so the anesthetic hits me pretty hard and quick.  The anesthesiologist Dr. said he was going to give me a shot in my I.V. to calm me down and it may feel a little cold.  That is the last thing I remember for five hours until the hallucination came floating over me.  Kind of a different reaction to the medicine but kind of entertaining.  I kind of was dreaming of hunting zebras when I was coming down from my anesthetic.  Let me show you the picture.

SECRET CHIZZLER AREA. . . (51)

I tip-toed into Tonapah and found a secret entrance to area 51 for truly exotic chizzler hunting. I could only see a few creatures far off in the hazy distance.

I put on the 'stock' of all stocks and got to within 300 yards of this old herd bull chizzler exotic.  I settled in on my bi-pod and ever so gently pressed the trigger. My scope picture was maxed out. The exotic was at the very bottom of my verticle crosshair. I could just see his eyelashes at the very bottom of the sight picture.  When the rifle went off I didn't know if my shot was true. I continued my stock closer and closer assuming the animals had not bolted away.

When I got close enough for bare eyeball view I could see this old rascal laying down for the glow-in-the-dark dirt nap. What a stock, what a shot, what a beast!  My only trophy is this photo.  Just how could I explain to the armed guards about carrying out my mountable chizzler herd bull while hunting in restricted area 51?

I will never forget. The photo is my proof.

RETIREMENT HAS ITS PERCS

The Supreme Commander retired from teaching little monsters and/or second grade students for 24 years last May.  She had some health issues to address and now is feeling pretty darn good.  I asked her if she wanted to go shoot chizzlers on March 29th.  She said YES!

We went up to Iron County and found a few old pals, Bounty Hunter 6, Mr. Bob, et.al, in a good field laying waste to vermin de jour.  We greeted them and then went to the north about a mile to not be in their way.  We set up the squirrel-o-matic on a circular pivot irrigated field and started to do our duty to protect agricultural profits.  NOTE:  The Supreme Commander grew up on a cattle ranch in Idaho and is well accustomed to the problems of finding profit in agriculture.  She doesn't have an issue at all with reaping chizzlers to increase alfalfa yields.

For the first 15 or 20 minutes the S. C. was having a tough time seeing the little rascals. They are indeed well camouflaged.  Unless they are moving, at times they seem to disappear.  Finally, we {she} got the vermin in the 3-9X scope.  We started laying waste to them.  There was not really much conversation due to the quantity of targets presenting themselves.  We shot .22LR rifles with scopes and were shooting pretty much as fast as we could load magazines.  We shot for about 2 1/2 hours going through about 500 rounds of ammo. and I said "maybe it is time to roll up and leave".  She quickly and specifically said "I am not ready to leave yet".  She was having a great time.  We shot for about another hour.  Finally we were at the point were the chizzlers were thinning out.  We decided to take a couple of photos and head home.

It was fun to be with my #1 girl and hunt for awhile.  I highly recommend it.  We will go again soon.

Supreme Commander and some vermin 70 yards out

128 yards from the truck. I'm kind of proud of these shots.

LONG DISTANCE CONNECTION

Bounty Hunter 6 and I went to Iron County, Utah to reduce the chizzler population on 3-19-2018. We arrived in a field of endevour at 11 a.m.ish. It had been cold and wet for several days and we were forced to stay on established roads or farming paths to not chew-up the fields with 4X4 tire tracks.

The chizzlers, although huge in size, were not out scurrying around. They were under ground sleeping and resting and reading The Chizzler Gazette over tiny expressos.

Bounty Hunter 6 and I did harvest maybe 75 big boys each in 3 hours of shooting. It was a fun trip. It is quite satisfying to nail an old herd bull at over 100 yards with a .22LR round. Not much wind but really cold today. Glad I had on multiple layers of clothing.

112 yards out 1 shot .22 LR

DID OUR DUTY

Saturday, 3-9-2018, J.L. and I went to Iron County to help the farmers by shooting a few hundred profit eating -- hay field infesting vermin.  We arrived on a dormant half circular irrigated alfalfa field at 10:20 a.m.  We set up the squirrel-o-matic and a card table in the back of my pickup about 125 yards into the yet to sprout out green alfalfa field.

The carnage began almost immediately. We acquired targets with the scope sighted 22LR Savage rifles, pressed ever so gently on the trigger until a round discharged. The intended target, usually a big old male chizzler, would then pop up in the air, or roll over several times, or do the break-dance of death.  YES, sometimes we would miss and the chizzler would look around through his near sighted eyes and wonder what that noise and dust kick up was?  Over all I think we connected with our intended targets around 65% of the time or maybe more.

We shot a combined 730 rounds of ammunition.  Small idle talk among shooters was at a minimum. We did utter the maniacal laugh often heard from chizzler reapers as the result of an excellent shot from time to time during our spree of dealing out death.  We were anxiously engaged in a good cause.  My phone alarm went off at 1 p.m. and we rolled up equipment headed back to civilization. I had obligations in the afternoon to take care of.

Great conversations with J.L. and a fun day hunting chizzlers.