BillyGoat Machine 338 Norma Improved

[LynnJr]

Hey Skkeeter
I got a piece of brass stuck in my 6mm-06 so I ran home and grabbed the 338 Norma Ackley Improved you put together for me.
The gun has never been shot until Saturday evening.
I bore sighted it and fired a single shot at a small rock at 509 yards. The shot landed 3 inches to the right in heavy winds.
Sunday morning I spotted a buck at 844 yards and the second shot down the barrel was a neck shot that dropped him stone cold.
My load is 88 grains of H1000 and a 300 Berger seated at 3.602 inches.
In all fairness I was aiming at his front shoulder so the shot hit a little to the left but I think this thing is a tack driver.
I will have Whitemamba shoot it at the range and see how it does at normal ranges.
I owe you a package of deer sausage!

[BillyGoatMachine]

Next time you come up then! And in all honesty I've build so many rifles for you I'm a bit hazy on which one your talking about lol! But that's some impressive shooting and glad your happy with it. 844 yard shot is not for the faint of heart on an animal. I await the deer sausage.


This is the only Buck better than a fork that I've come across the last 3 times out! We should get some rain this weekend so I'm feeling pretty confident about filling the freezer.


I came accross this guy the other evening. Crazy thing is he is a satellite bull. I was calling to the the herd bull who is a 8x11 who had his harem all tucked away.

[sigstroker]

Wow, I saw on the Gunwerks tv show they were blasting away at an elk at 1150 yards! They hit him three times. To their credit they didn't miss, at least not that they showed on tv.

It takes some serious sack to take shots like that when they know some people are going to berate them regardless of the result, and they risk a lot of bad pub if they badly wound an animal.

[LynnJr]

SigStroker
The buck I shot was small but I didn't ruin any meat. I would call the shot a miss because I was on his front shoulder. The picture shows the exit.
The area I hunt is so steep a hit deer only goes one direction and that is downhill.

[BillyGoatMachine]

Got this guy yesterday morning at 1055 Yards! Success











JK, it was more like 85 Yards

[sigstroker]

Would either of you guys take an 1100+ yard shot? Not judging, just curious.

[BillyGoatMachine]

Would either of you guys take an 1100+ yard shot? Not judging, just curious.

I imagine if I lugged around my 20lb 338 long range target rifles I would. But I don't hunt from roads so the rifle in my pic weighs in just over 7lbs. I guess the answer to your question is no. The longest shot I've taken was a cow elk at 550y in Colorado. I feel pretty comfortable out to 800 or so ONLY if the winds are very mild in unfamiliar terrain. Winds do some wild stuff through valleys and canyons that just make it too unpredictable to make an ethical shot at those distances while in the mountains. I imagine hunting in the open plains for something like antelope, where the terrain is flat and the wind is consistent its much easier to make a wind call. Lynn hunts with the same rifles he shoots in competitions, so he has experience/confidence with them while hunting.

[LynnJr]

SigStroker
My 82 year old father killed a buck at 1053 yards with a 6 BR/Dasher so to answer your question hell yes.
I didn't take any pictures of my setup that day but the rifle I shot the buck with is not the same rifle I carried with me to recover the deer.
That gun weighs a touch over 15 pounds as fired.

[NorCalFocus]

Got this guy yesterday morning at 1055 Yards! Success

JK, it was more like 85 Yards

I was going to say, thats a short barreled rifle to be shooting a deer at 1055, lol.

[sigstroker]

I imagine if I lugged around my 20lb 338 long range target rifles I would. But I don't hunt from roads so the rifle in my pic weighs in just over 7lbs. I guess the answer to your question is no. The longest shot I've taken was a cow elk at 550y in Colorado. I feel pretty comfortable out to 800 or so ONLY if the winds are very mild in unfamiliar terrain. Winds do some wild stuff through valleys and canyons that just make it too unpredictable to make an ethical shot at those distances while in the mountains. I imagine hunting in the open plains for something like antelope, where the terrain is flat and the wind is consistent its much easier to make a wind call. Lynn hunts with the same rifles he shoots in competitions, so he has experience/confidence with them while hunting.

Ironically I just watched a Gunwerks Long Range Pursuit episode where an elk was 800+ yards away, with rock formations that caused just what you talk about. They were able to take the shot with more confidence in that the wind was at the elk's backside, so they held rearward just a little bit. If they underestimated the wind it would blow the bullet into a good spot or miss him completely.

A deer would probably give me less pause than an elk at long range because it takes less energy to kill. But losing a lot of energy at 1000+ yards and still needing to hammer a 600-800 pound critter is a different story.

[sigstroker]

I was going to say, thats a short barreled rifle to be shooting a deer at 1055, lol.

I just figured he was using those rocket assist bullets.

[BillyGoatMachine]

I just figured he was using those rocket assist bullets.

I get huge discount on those being an 07 FFL and all!