Lead Ban Chronicles – Lead-Free Ammunition Trends From SHOT 2012

To be honest, I really didn’t have high hopes of learning anything new about lead ammunition at this year’s SHOT Show.  Of course I knew the manufacturers like Barnes, Hornady, and Nosler would be adding new calibers to their menus.  That’s an ongoing effort, and probably much needed as more and more voices are being raised against lead ammo around the country.

Why is it much needed?

Unless the hunters and recreational shooters around this country get up and start fighting this thing, California-style ammo bans are going to start popping up all over the U.S.  That’s not just pessimism on my part, folks, the machinery is already in motion.  Anti-lead propaganda is running rampant in editorials everywhere and the uneducated are eating it up while almost no reasonable voices are challenging the lies and misinformation.  This is how policy happens.

So, with that in mind, maybe it’s a good thing that a “trend” I thought I saw coming last year is really starting to develop.  I guess it started with Remington a little earlier.  Their initial lead-free ammunition featured the Lapua Naturalis bullet.  They phased that out and moved to a proprietary copper bullet, the Remington Copper Solid (they did something similar when they moved away from Hevi-Shot to their own heavier-than-lead shot pellets).  By switching to their own bullet, they reduced the dependency on a third party, and also reduced the cost to produce.

At the 2011 SHOT Show, I learned that Winchester was releasing their own lead-free bullet in the Power-Core 95/5 (and also in the newer RazorBack XT).  They didn’t phase out the successful Nosler ETip, but if the Power-Core takes off, I can see where their dependency on Nosler will decrease… especially with the price difference between the ETips and the Power-Cores.  Right now, I expect they’ll keep both lines, with the ETips in the “Supreme” (black box) line, while the Power-Core will fall into their standard (silver box) line.

This year I learned that Federal-Premium is now rolling out their proprietary lead-free bullet, the Trophy Copper, which will be loaded in their Vital-Shok line.  I haven’t had a chance to use this one yet, but I’ve got a request in for a few boxes to sample.  From what I hear, though, the engineers at Federal have taken the criticism of other lead-free bullets into consideration and made a concerted effort to develop and deliver a bullet that expands well at a wide range of velocities, and also provides a better ballistic coefficient to enhance longer range performance.

Meanwhile, Barnes is expanding their line of factory-loaded cartridges in the Vor-TX line.  I’ll try some more of these out on game soon, but on paper, I found that the Vor-TX does shoot well out of my Savage.  The point of impact is somewhat different from the 180gr ETips I’ve been shooting, but the groups are pretty tight.  Maybe I’ll get the chance to try these out on a Hill Country hog later this year.

Hornady, of course, has been loading their GMX bullet in the Superformance line.  Those of you who’ve been following the Pig Man tv program have probably heard him rave about the performance of this bullet.  I’ve shot some of my own handloads on paper, and the bullet does perform well at the range.  Unfortunately, I’ve yet to get a chance to put these into the field.  I hope to change that later this spring.

Bottom line, I think it’s fair to start hoping for some more affordable, lead-free ammunition over the coming year.  That may turn out to be a very good and timely thing!

 

Detailed Write-up On The Benjamin Marauder

Some of you may be sick to death of my posts about the Benjamin Marauder, and to you I apologize.  I really hadn’t intended to write about it again so soon, but then I read this great article on RealGuns.com.  The write-up covers a level of detail that I simply didn’t (and won’t) get to, and it is really good stuff for the more technically minded.  It’s also some good stuff for anyone thinking about hunting with one of these rifles, as he gets into kinetic energy at various ranges. 

If you don’t want to actually read the article, here’s how he sums it all up.  It’s not too different from my own summation, except he gets here with a much more detailed examination.

The Benjamin Marauder is interesting. It isn’t a firearm and it wouldn’t be fair to compare it to one. Compared to other air rifles I have worked with, the Marauder is well made, nicely finished and a good performer. As marketed by Crosman, the gun is lethal on lawn and garden pests, small game and some smaller predators. As is the case with other quality PCP guns, owning and shooting one is an investment, into the rifle and in the support systems required to make it a daily shooter. For situation where neighbors are relatively close in, noise is a problem, as are bullets that carry a long distances, the .25 Caliber Marauder may be one of the best solutions.

Guided Hog Hunts In CA With The Williams Family

One of the most common questions I think I get on this blog is, “can you recommend a good place to go hog hunting in California?”

I can.

Actually, I can recommend a bunch of good places.  Unfortunately for some folks, these good places aren’t open to the public.  You either have to know someone really well, or you have to pay.  That’s just the way it is these days.  There are some public lands you can hunt on, and some even have relatively good opportunities… the key word is “relative.”  But if you want good odds of success in this state, you’re going to have to go on private ground, and this usually means going with a guide.

My friend Colby Williams and his dad, Mark, have been guiding in the Central Coast area for several years. In fact, Mark is pretty well known in the area and has been guiding for hogs since they first became a viable game animal.  I’ve recommended them to hunters for quite some time, but every time, I had to dig around on the web to find a phone number.

Well, that’s no longer an issue.  I just got a note from Colby, letting me know that Hog Wild now has a website:  http://www.williamshuntingservice.com/.  Take a look, and if you’re after a good guided hunt opportunity, you’ll find all the information you need.

 

Favorite Hog Rifles From The 2012 SHOT Show

Every year at the SHOT Show I try to come up with a list of my favorite things.  This year is no different, so I thought I’d give some thought to which of the new rifles I’d like to carry on a hog hunt.

The options are fairly wide, but since I didn’t really spend any time with the ARs or military stuff, that’s sort of out.  I do have to admit to a certain satisfaction at the .416 Barrett.  Any rifle that allows me to shoot stationary clay pigeons from almost 1000 yards away… well, that’s just fun.  But it’s kind of loud, and anyway, I’m not really interested in shooting game from that sort of range.

And then, there was the RAC AR-12, shotgun.  This is a semi-automatic shotgun modeled on the AR-15 (hence the name).  I played with one a bit at the skeet range, and while I couldn’t get the hang of it enough to hit a clay, it was sort of fun just to shoot.  I wonder how it would handle slugs?  I didn’t ask, but maybe I should have.

Regardless, I doubt I’d have a lot of interest in hunting with this gun, but it would definitely be a conversation-starter!  I can only imagine the looks you’d get unpacking this thing at the duck club!

Really, I’m more of a traditional rifle sort of guy, and I do like my lever actions.  My old Winchester 94 was a trusty tool in the whitetail woods, and my Browning lever action in .243 has also been a real deer slayer.  However, Mossberg has really pushed the envelope a little too hard with this year’s entry… the 464SPX.

So what did I like?

Well, I’ve already written about the rifle that really caught my attention…  the Savage Hog Hunter.

While I’d prefer a different caliber selection, this setup really worked for me.  I’ve always been a fan of Savage rifles, both for reliability and accuracy.  The accu-trigger isn’t a new thing anymore, but I still think it makes a really good rifle great (although it took some getting used to).  Topped with the Leupold HOG scope, the rifle is quick on target and should be the ticket for rapid follow-up or on hogs breaking cover at close range.

As with most of the other offerings from Savage, the Hog Hunter is priced right too, at around $500 without the scope.  The scope retails for a shade less than the rifle… not cheap, but I still believe you pay for quality in optics.

Another rifle I thought would be great for hog hunting is Winchester’s reborn Model 71, chambered in .348win.  I stumbled onto this rifle during the range day, and couldn’t stop myself from putting a few rounds downrange.  It’s a sweet feeling rifle, and the .348 doesn’t kick as bad as you might expect.

I don’t know a ton about the .348, but from my reading it’s a very capable round to 200 yards.  With the iron sights on this rifle, I think you could have a blast on hogs, and kill them cleanly too.  The only downside I can see is that the MSRP on this thing is a bit over $1400.  That’s a lot of money for a levergun, but if you’re into the classics, it may be worth it.

I had to reach a bit to come up with my last selection.  It was close, between the new Thompson-Center Dimension and Ruger’s new American rifle.

The Dimension is a pretty cool piece of work.  I think the guys at TC (and Smith and Wesson) covered the bases well when they designed this gun… right down to the preset torque driver for assembling the barrels and actions.  With an MSRP of around $600, and additional barrels for about $200, it’s not an unaffordable addition to the gun safe.  Accuracy is supposed to be pretty impressive too, although I haven’t shot one for accuracy.  But I just couldn’t fall in love with this thing.

Ruger, on the other hand, has released a new line of affordable rifles in their American line.  These are lightweight, but sturdy rifles, priced in the mid-$400 range.  They are intially available in four common calibers, .243, .270, .308, and 30-06.

I didn’t get the chance to shoot the American on the range, but I handled the heck out of a couple on the show floor later in the week.  These are not beautiful rifles by any stretch of the imagination, and they don’t have a lot of “wow” factor, but they appear to be designed for functionality.

I’ve shot the M77 in a lot of variations, and it’s a solid rifle that can take a beating.  If the American is of any comparison, it’s going to be a hot ticket item… especially for budget-conscious hunters.

There are a lot of other great rifles out there, but I had to select a small handful to make this manageable.  What did stand out about this particular group was the price (excepting, of course, the M71).  Gun makers haven’t forgotten about the budget-conscious hunters out there, and with the general quality of modern rifles these days, you simply don’t have to spend a fortune for a really high-quality gun.  I think that’s a very good thing.

Lead Ban Chronicles – Is The Lead Ban Saving The Condors?

In a report a few years ago, the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) wrote a fairly extensive report on the state of the California condor.  In it, as many other reports have stated, the writers concluded that unless lead ammunition is completely removed from the environment, the condor program will never be a success.  But what they also said is that even if lead is abolished, the success of the condor reintroduction is a tenuous proposition.  There are simply too many factors aligned against this big bird. (You can read the whole thing here.)

A new report (that sounds an awful lot like the old reports) was recently released by the San Diego Zoo, and suggests that humans are still the biggest threat to the survival of the condor.

Scientific paper shows California condor still threatened by human activities  

A recently released scientific paper authored by San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research scientists shows the leading causes of death of the endangered California condor in the wild are human influenced, with lead poisoning being the primary factor in juvenile and adult birds.

The study documents the deaths of wild California condors at all release sites—California, Arizona and Baja, California, Mexico—from the inception of the reintroduction program in October 1992 through December 2009. The study found that 70 percent (53 out of 76) of condor moralities can be attributed to human influences.   For nestlings (birds younger than 6 months of age), 73 percent of known mortalities can be attributed to the consumption of microtrash, such as bottle caps and small pieces of broken glass, plastic and metal. Lead toxicosis, from the ingestion of spent ammunition, was the most important factor in juvenile condor mortality (birds between the age of 6 months and 5 years) and was the only significant cause of death in adults (birds 6 years old and older). Eight of 23 birds that died of lead poisoning still had metal or lead fragments in their gastrointestinal tract. Condor 422 was in the wild for six months and was exposed to lead four times prior to its death.

“The most important mortality factor for the combined free-ranging populations was lead toxicosis,” states the report. “The evidence that the principal source of exposure is lead ammunition is overwhelming and includes the recovery of lead shotgun pellets and bullet fragments from the upper GI tract where lead is readily absorbed and tissue lead isotope signatures that match lead ammunition and not other sources of lead.”   In addition, the paper cites exposures to lead that coincide with deer hunting season, the condor’s foraging activity in popular hunting areas, high numbers of lead-bullet fragments in hunter-killed carcasses and lack of other lead sources in condor habitat.   “Although lead toxicosis from spent ammunition still threatens the survival of the California condor, one of our most iconic species, the good news is that solutions are available in the form of nontoxic ammunition,” said Bruce Rideout, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVP, San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research director of wildlife disease laboratories. “We can make this a win-win situation if we choose to.”   Additional human-influenced deaths included 11 power-line collisions or electrocution. However, no fatal collisions or electrocutions have occurred since 2007, when power-pole aversion training was introduced for condors being prepared for release into the wild. During the study period, four birds died by gunshot and one by arrow. Two birds ingested zinc-core pennies, which led to zinc poisoning.

Parent feeding of microtrash to nestlings was the most important cause of death in this age class. Biologists have been clearing nest caves of trash prior to hatching and periodically throughout the nestling stage to reduce this problem. It has helped, but the cause of this behavior by adult birds remains open to speculation. One belief is the parents are feeding what they believe to be bone or mollusk-shell fragments—but is actually trash—as a calcium source for the chicks. Others suggest it is a substitute for small stones and sticks that aid digestion. Polished bone fragments are now being provided as a calcium source for adults to feed to nestlings.

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Thoughts?

From The WTF Files – Tejon Suspending Hunting Activities?

Color me shocked, dismayed, and a little bit disappointed. I just saw the news this morning that the Tejon Ranch will be suspending all hunting activitivies for the immediate future. They’ve even gone so far as to cancel memberships and return member fees.

According to the article I just read from KGET.com, the ranch is doing this in order to review their hunting practices and wildlife management approach.

Tejon Ranch Company will work closely with the DFG in examining every aspect of the Ranch’s hunting program. The Ranch’s goal will be to institute best hunting management standards and practices, including a full examination of whether allowing unsupervised access to the Company’s 422 square miles of Ranch property may have contributed to this unfortunate series of events.

“While it’s in the long term best interests of conservation for hunting to continue on the Ranch,” said Stine, “we believe a short-term suspension of our normal operations are necessary to determine the best way to operate the hunting program to ensure that these actions never again occur on Tejon Ranch, even if that means severely restricting hunting access to the Ranch.”

Of course, this is little more than a euphemistic way of saying that they’ve caught so much heat over last May’s allegations of illegal mountain lion hunting that they’re scrambling to appease a handful of detractors.  It’s become fairly typical of Tejon Ranch to overreact this way, whether it’s banning lead ammunition or giving away control over a huge part of the property for “conservation”.

It’s no secret that, at the heart of all of this are the Ranch’s efforts to develop a large sector of the property for housing, golf courses, and a resort.  They’ve bent over backwards with efforts to get the environmental organizations to stop fighting their development plans.  And the problem with this is that they don’t seem to realize that, the more they give, the more these organizations will take.  This is not compromise.  Tejon is never going to make it “OK” to develop pristine wild lands.  All they’re succeeding at doing is drawing the noose tighter around their own necks, and in so doing, they’re stringing up their customers as well.

A key goal of the “investigation” is to determine if unsupervised access to the ranch by hunters and members presents an unacceptable risk of poaching and other illegal activity.  I’m not sure what this means in the long run, but for now I’m hearing a lot of disgust and anger from members and hunters, and I can’t blame them.  Even though the alleged mountain lion poaching was supposedly carried out by employees and friends of the Ranch staff, the finger appears to be pointing at the hunters and members who pay to hunt there… folks like myself, and the hundreds of people like me who’ve enjoyed hunting on that beautiful place.

Seriously, anytime the ranch gets heat for anything, whether it’s lead ammo, illicit mountain lion hunts, or some idiot killing a condor, the rest of us bear the burden of increased regulation and restrictions.   I believe a company should stand up for its customers, rather than allowing them to bear the blame for this sort of foolishness.

I love hunting the Tejon Ranch, and even though I’m leaving California, I’d looked forward to coming back to hunt there with my friends on a regular basis (I still have a lifetime license in this state).  But in light of this action and the apparent reflection on all of us who’ve hunted there over the years, I’m beginning to think I’m done with the place.  Just maybe, when the ranch decides to implement whatever new program it has in mind, folks should tell them, “no, thank you.”

What’s The SHOT Show All About? A Video Revue…

Here are a few perspectives of the SHOT Show from YouTube.  I’ve got some of my own stuff coming, but thought you might enjoy seeing what some other folks are looking at.

First, from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, a promo from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

Then there’s this piece from Media Day at the Range. And yes, the tactical guns were the stars of the show again this year. Check out the Gatling gun, by the way… 5000 rounds went through this thing on Monday!

And now for something completely different… but oddly cool…

 

A Brief Moment of Protest And Politics

We interrupt this SHOT Show coverage for a brief message about censorship and the bills pending here in the US that will weaken the freedoms that we, as bloggers, forum members, and social networkers have really taken for granted.

There are, as I understand it (and I’m, sadly, not as up on this as I probably should be), two key bills up for consideration in Congress.  These are SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act).  On the surface, both seem not only benign, but valuable tools to fight online piracy of music and video.  But on a deeper look (which I have taken), the bills present significant risks to the many small voices on the Web.

In essence, both of these bills would be aimed at stopping the major search engines and social networking sites from providing links to sites that have been accused of piracy.  There’s a key word there…. “accused”.  The wording of the bills, particularly PIPA, is vague, and leaves a lot of room for abuse.  This potential for abuse is significant, because the drivers behind the bill are big media companies, such as the music and movie industry, as well as big movers in the world of gaming.  If allowed to carry that level of sway, all they have to do is accuse a website or network of violations and that website will be shutdown.  No proof of guilt is required.  The burden of proof is on the accused, rather than the accuser… a direct conflict with our traditional model of justice.

As you might imagine, this legislation opens the doors to the shut down and harassment of small sites and networks.  It’s a stifling force on the freedom of speech and expression that drive the Internet.

Anyway, I invite any of you to read up on the issue.  This morning, President Obama effectively shelved the SOPA legislation, but the PIPA bill is still under consideration.  Educate yourselves, and then speak out!  Send emails and phone calls to congress to tell them you oppose this censorship.  And then, hope for the best.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled SHOT Show posts.

 

Day 1 At The SHOT Show – Blogger Interrupted

I didn’t hit the floor for the opening of the 2012 SHOT Show until after 10:00 this morning.  This nagging thing they call a “day job” really kind of got all mixed up in the whole thing, and I spent the better part of the day doing anything but checking out new gear.  Apologies to those who may have had higher hopes, but so it goes… I have responsibilities (sorry for the foul language).

OK, enough of that…

I did get a chance to hit the floor a bit, and had a handful of specific things I wanted to see.  Among these were the components of that Savage pig rifle I was just shooting yesterday.  My first stop, then, was the Leupold booth.  I didn’t spend much time on anything else, but made my way directly over to the scopes to find the Leupold “Hog”.

The Hog is a VX-R (illuminated reticle), 1.25-4×20 scope.  With almost four inches of eye relief, this is a great scope for fast shooting in the thick stuff, but the Leupold glass at 4x provides all you need for longer shots as well.  Like I wrote yesterday, I was easily whacking the silhouette targets at 200 yards with this thing.

Once I’d found the scope, my next stop (in a round-about way) was the Savage booth to check out the rifle in a little more detail than I’d managed yesterday.  The “Hog Hunter ” is one of Savage’s Specialty Rifles, and is built on the Model 111 platform (short-action, bolt gun).  It comes in a synthetic stock, with a 20″, threaded barrel.  The threading is primarily for the installation of an after-market brake, but would also accomodate a suppressor in places where this is legal.  (For a gun that may be used for eradication, a suppressor makes good sense to me… but that discussion opens a can of worms I’m not interested in pursuing here.) The rifle also incorporates the Accu-Trigger, Savage’s awesome, adjustable trigger system.

The Hog Hunter will initially be available in .223, .308, and .338.  Honestly, I’m just not sure why the .223 and .308 are so widely regarded as hog hunting calibers (Winchester’s RazorBack XT ammunition is also initially available in these two calibers), but I’m assuming that this is based on the AR craze, and the wide availability of ammo for those calibers.  Or maybe it’s because in states other than CA, a lot of hog hunting is done at closer range with tree stands and feeders or bait.  I’d love to see this rifle in the extremely popular .300WSM… or my favorite, the .325WSM.  Still, I can see where the .338 would be a pretty awesome hog caliber too.

But what else?

A regular reader and friend-o-mine, John, asked about the Thompson-Center Dimension (by the way, the Icon appears to be alive and well, John).  The Dimension is a pretty neat idea.  It’s essentially a platform for multiple calibers on a single action.  This isn’t new, of course.  Several European companies have been doing this for years, but the big difference here is the price point.  Where you’ll pay between $10K and $15K for some of the European stuff, MSRP for the Dimension will be in the neighborhood of $650 (actual price at the store will generally be lower).  New barrels will list around $200.

What Thompson-Center (and Smith and Wesson) have done with the Dimension, though, is to make a conscious effort to make this rifle as user-friendly as possible. I don’t want to get too gun-nut technical here, but in general most modern calibers fall into “families”.  For example, the .308 family includes cartridges like the .243, 7mm-08, and 22-250, while the 30-06 family includes the .270.  The actions for the Dimension are designed for the entire family, so all you need to do is switch barrels to turn your .308 into a 22-250.  The families are designated by letters (A, B, C, etc.), and the complementary components are all engraved with the letter.  It’s hard to accidentally mix up the system.

The company goes a step further, and provides specific tools for working on the rifle.  The tools are intended to use for removing the barrel and action, but the cool thing is that the wrench/driver tool is set to torque the screws for the proper tension.  The engineers know that many amateurs tend to over-tighten and strip screws and bolts, so this multi-tool will help avoid that problem.  I’m not a gunsmith or a technical expert, but this seems pretty danged nifty to me.  If you just follow the basic directions, you can’t mess up the assembly of a Dimension.  It is smart and innovative.

I’ve got a few more things to write about, but I’ll save some of these for tomorrow.  I hope to have a little more time on the floor tomorrow.

Media Day Recap

I went to the SHOT Show Media Day at the Range, and what did I see?

A whole crowd of people in line before me.

No, I’m not going to do this whole thing in doggerel… tempting as it may be.  But it’s a start!  And this year’s Media Day at the Range had to have set new records for attendance.  According to the messages from the NSSF, there were 1200 media members (and some guests) at the shoot, and from what I saw during check-in, and at the most popular booths, there weren’t many no-shows!

Despite the crowds, the range setup seemed to function better this year, and it was easier to get in and talk to specific manufacturers and reps about the guns and ammo we were shooting.  I also noticed a dearth of the big-bore sniper rifles this year, which meant that there were significantly fewer of us walking around for hours after the shoot with perpetual flinches (if you’ve ever been around when one of those things goes off, you’d know what I’m talking about).

But what else did I see?  As I expected, there were a lot of tactical and tactical-styled guns.  This just isn’t my forte, and while I did stop to watch some of the shooting and inspect a few of the guns up close, I didn’t spend much time with them.  There is definitely something magical about full-auto firepower that makes a guy stop and stare.

How far does this AR craze stretch?  I stopped by the Crosman booth to check in with the rep there and see what was new.  I love my Marauder, and I’ve been really intrigued by the Rogue since I shot the prototype last year.  Something about a .357 air rifle that just does it for me.  I hope to get a chance to field test one later this year, once I’m settled in Texas.

While I was there, I was introduced to Scott Pilkington Jr.  Mr. Pilkington has come up with an AR upper in .177.  It’s a PCP (Pre-Charged Pneumatic), and the version I shot was complete with a match barrel.  Another of the Crosman reps is a competition shooter, and I watched him whack a 1 1/2″ spinner at 50 yards… OFF HAND.  I couldn’t shoot that well, but I was able to put a few shots on target and was amazed at the accuracy.  But even moreso, I was amazed at the very idea of making an air rifle upper for the AR platform.

As usual at the show, I ran into several of my friends from the hunting and shooting world.  This is a great place to network, and to catch up.

My friend, Eric Mayer from Varminter.com was there, and we spent some time walking around.  While I love to shoot big stuff with big guns, Eric is funny.  He likes shooting little stuff with little guns, like the Browning X bolt, in .204 Ruger.  By the way, Varminter has a really great web forum with a ton of discussions.  While predator and varmint hunting are the primary focus, there’s also a real good forum on hog hunting, as well as a pile of other excellent info for hunters and shooters.  Check it out!

Eric took a few photos of me shooting some of the other stuff, but I don’t have those yet, so that piece of the story will have to wait.  A couple of other great finds didn’t make the photo log either, but that’s usually because there were too many people waiting around to shoot, or because I didn’t have a safe place to take the picture.  I’ll get a lot more photos on the show floor later this week.

One of the rifles that caught my eye was a new offering from Ruger, the 77/357.  This is a Model 77 rifle, chambered in .357 Magnum.  That’s right, a bolt-action rifle shooting a pistol cartridge.  It’s not their first, of course.  They chambered the M77 in .44 Mag a couple of years ago (and I swear I remember them chambering the Mini-14 in .44mag also… was that a dream?).  I asked the Ruger rep what this was all about, and how much demand they were seeing for something like this.  He said the most current driver is the recent legislation in Indiana.  Previously, big game hunters were restricted to slug guns, muzzleloaders, and handguns for hunting.  That changed in 2007, when the state legalized rifles that shoot handgun cartridges.

The other market for this gun is for youngsters or other hunters who are a little shy of heavy recoil.  At moderate range, the .357 Mag certainly produces enough energy to kill deer with well-placed shots, and with the low recoil, it is easy to shoot this thing well.  I sent several rounds downrange, and it is actually a pretty handy-feeling rifle.  Recoil is very light, and with the iron sights, accuracy wasn’t too bad (considering the shooter).  I’m still not a huge fan of rifles chambered for pistol cartridges, but I can see where this would be a fun gun to own.

What about lead-free ammo?  I think I spotted a trend a little while back, and it was definitely in evidence today… at least from Winchester and Federal.  I’ve written before about the Winchester RazorBack XT ammo, and a little about the Power-Core 95/5.  Both of these offerings incorporate bullets made by Winchester, as opposed to the ETips which are made by Nosler.  But today I saw that Federal, after years of loading Barnes bullets in their lead-free ammunition is now beginning to offer some of their own, proprietary bullets and shotgun slugs.  I’ve got to get more information about this ammunition, and if I can, I’ll get a direct answer about the root of this trend (if it is a trend at all).  But what it may mean to you hunters, is lower retail prices for lead-free ammunition.

I also had the opportunity to talk to a new bullet-maker in the field.  The company, Cutting Edge Bullets, makes a line of brass bullets.  Brass isn’t necessarily new in this field, and the monolithic solids are well known for use on dangerous game in Africa.  However, their new design offers controlled expansion with “petals” that, instead of staying on the bullet as it passes through, explode outward from the wound channel like shrapnel.  I know, sounds “iffy”, but the rep I spoke to assured me that meat damage isn’t what you might expect, and that these bullets kill game stone dead… quickly.

While the current bullets do not quite meet the CA standard for lead-free (they still contain something like 8% lead), but the company intends to release a CA-legal bullet later in the spring.  If all goes well, I’ll also get the opportunity to try some of these bullets myself.  As always, when I do, you’ll get the honest review.

And now the best for last!

I was taking pictures of Eric shooting a Savage in .17 Hornet (pretty cool in itself, by the way), when one of the Savage reps noticed my Hog Blog t-shirt.  “You’re looking at the wrong gun,” he told me.

I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, or even if he was talking to me, so I turned to see.  He was holding a nice-looking, synthetic stocked rifle with a sweet little Leupold scope on it.  “You shoot pigs, don’t you,” he asked?  “This is a pig rifle.”

I started to explain that I was taking pictures of Eric, and that Eric doesn’t really have the same interest in pig rifles that I do… but then I kind of forgot about Eric.  I didn’t look too closely at the rifle at first, but just plopped down at the bench and started looking for ammo.  The rep passed me a box with an evil grin, and I loaded it up, took a rest, and put my eye to the scope.  There, right beside the crosshairs, were the words, “Pig-Plex”.  They had me! 

I fired a few shots, both from the bench and off-hand.  This rifle and scope combo is made for offhand shooting, and it balanced very nicely.  This particular gun was chambered in .308, so recoil was really minimal, and accuracy at 200 yards was pretty good (at least as far as hitting silhouette targets).  I didn’t try one with just iron sights (yes, this comes from the factory with iron sights), but I bet it would be a treat to shoot on hogs busting out of the chemise.

I’ll get more detail on this thing later, but for now, suffice it to say that this rifle made my day!

There was a lot of other cool stuff that I haven’t mentioned… not because it doesn’t deserve mention, but because there’s just so much as to be overwhelming.   I’ll gather more information on the Show floor this week.  And, as always, if you want me to check on anything specific, just let me know!

 

 

 

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