Prepping for Hunting Season

[stonecreek]

The regular whitetail season starts in most of Texas November 4, so I've been combing through my Sako collection trying to figure which one deserves to go afield this fall. I have the luxury of having my shooting bench just a few hundred yards from my house and have set targets from 100 to 500 yards.

I first check the zero of each rifle by shooting a shot or two at paper a hundred yards out. If everything looks good then I move to an 8" round hard metal "gong" suspended from a sawhorse at 300 yards (which is about as far as I feel I might ever need to shoot a deer). If (by holding according to the proper dot or stadia on the Leupld scope) the shot hits the gong -- which is conservatively the size of the vital zone on a deer's thorax -- then the gun "passes" the test. So far I'm good with a Sako .25-06, a .270, a .280 Rem, a 7x64, three .30-06's, a .300 Win Mag, and a Beretta-Sako 7x64. I'm also tempted to take a Browning-Sako Medallion Grade .308 out to try it on the 300 yard gong, but I'm afraid it might also pass the test and just make my decision all that much harder.

The only candidate I can eliminate is the AV 7x64 since I will be loaning it to a visiting friend. And since I used the .280 (a GO Wholesale 1 of 500 model) successfully last year, it goes to the bottom of the list. I have a new-to-me early L61R Deluxe .30-06 with a bear floorplate that I carried a couple of times last year and took a coyote with, but have yet to aim it at a deer, so it is in the running. The .270 is a long-time favorite deer gun of mine, but the .25-06 is "also nice and would suffice" as poet Robert Frost might have said. Choices, choices! Just one of the downsides of acquiring way too many Sakos!

What would you guys do?

 

[bigcountry4me]

What would you guys do?

A serious dilemma. Will this be your only big game opportunity? Personally, I’d drop the .300 WM down or save it if have you an elk hunt. The .25-06 would be my first preference, followed by the .270. Sometimes I alternate between days, weather and/or still vs stand hunting. Decisions, decisions. What a great problem to have.

 

[stonecreek]

Yeah, the .300 Win Mag really isn't close to the top of consideration. Although it hit the target it is not as consistently accurate as some of the others, so is best reserved for larger game. I forgot to mention that my trusty old L61R in .300 H&H was the first I tried on the 300 yard plate. Didn't even shoot it first at 100 yards and the first shot at 300 nailed the plate squarely. That was before I put some braces on the sawhorse stand that the plate is suspended from and the whole shebang fell to the ground! Looked like a spine-shot camel going down. I love that .300 H&H and have taken both deer and elk, as well as a few wild hogs with it, but will save it for another time, too.

 

[deersako]

Taking some game with the .25-06 would be cool…

 

[Jeffy1]

Last year I started off with a sako 25 06 mannlicher carbine. After success on opening day I went to my L61r 7x57. This year I give my AV hunter 6.5x55 the nod on deer. Already took the Sako 75 7mm stw on antelope. Poor thing.
By the way, I am going to adopt Stone's method.

 

[deersako]

Last year I started off with a sako 25 06 mannlicher carbine…..

Would love to see a pic of that one Jeffy

 

[stonecreek]

By the way, I am going to adopt Stone's method.

If you can hit an 8-inch plate at 300 yards consistently then I figure if you miss a deer that fate just didn't mean for it to be. Lacking a steel plate, tack up a 9" paper plate at 300 yards. Hitting it won't provide the instant gratification that bouncing a swinging steel target around does, but it will tell you what you need to know.

 

[bloorooster]

If you can hit an 8-inch plate at 300 yards consistently then I figure if you miss a deer that fate just didn't mean for it to be. Lacking a steel plate, tack up a 9" paper plate at 300 yards. Hitting it won't provide the instant gratification that bouncing a swinging steel target around does, but it will tell you what you need to know.

Aim small on the paper plate , putting a shot in the center of the plate at any given distance is your goal. Not the outer edge.

 

[stonecreek]

Aim small on the paper plate , putting a shot in the center of the plate at any given distance is your goal. Not the outer edge.

The center is nice, but I'll take anywhere on the plate. High = spine, low = heart, either side = lungs. Any will do.

 

[bigcountry4me]

If you can hit an 8-inch plate at 300 yards consistently then I figure if you miss a deer that fate just didn't mean for it to be.

I agree, and would simply add it’s important to at least consider shooting plates from various angles and shooting positions. Obviously off a bench with a bagged rifle an 8” plate with a well tuned rifle can get rather boring. As you become intimately familiar 300yds is very doable utilizing many scenarios. And to add, 8” on a deer size target in the kill zone with the proper cartridge and projectile = dead deer.

 

[stonecreek]

I agree, and would simply add it’s important to at least consider shooting plates from various angles and shooting positions. Obviously off a bench with a bagged rifle an 8” plate with a well tuned rifle can get rather boring

Right! Shooting from the bench just confirms that the rifle will do its part. The shooter has to do the hard part.

I rarely take a shot at game offhand -- and then only at relatively short ranges. Shooting from a blind provides a quite decent rest, but if afield I always try to find a tree, a fence post, or something similar to brace against. Failing that, sitting down and bracing against your knees is much better than standing. I've even flopped on my belly when the terrain allowed for a steadier shot.

 

[Spaher]

Humor:

 

[stonecreek]

Well, add one more to the list of possibles. It's a lighter caliber, so would probably restrict it to hunting around my home in the Texas Hill Country where the whitetails are smaller than those in either South or West Texas.

Sitting in the back of the safe I ran across one of my more "collectible" shooters, an L57 in .244 Remington. In a trade years ago I got about a half-dozen boxes of factory 100 grain 6mm Rem ammunition. Despite the dire warnings that the .244's slower twist won't shoot 100's, this one does just fine with them (the best I can measure the Sako .244 twist it is about 1-11.25", so maybe just a little tighter than the original Remington at 1-12".)

After cleaning the neglected barrel and shooting a couple of foulers at 200 yards, I went to the 300 yard metal plate. Had a little right-to-left crosswind, so held the 300 yard dot level and even with the right hand side of the plate. The result was gratifying:


And take note of the outstanding wood on this "Medicare Qualified" L57 Sako!

 

[Red Wool Plaid]

Yeah, the .300 Win Mag really isn't close to the top of consideration. Although it hit the target it is not as consistently accurate as some of the others, so is best reserved for larger game. I forgot to mention that my trusty old L61R in .300 H&H was the first I tried on the 300 yard plate. Didn't even shoot it first at 100 yards and the first shot at 300 nailed the plate squarely. That was before I put some braces on the sawhorse stand that the plate is suspended from and the whole shebang fell to the ground! Looked like a spine-shot camel going down. I love that .300 H&H and have taken both deer and elk, as well as a few wild hogs with it, but will save it for another time, too.

The 300 H&H is my favorite 30 cal magnum cartridge. The 308 Norma Magnum comes in second. The 300 Weatherby Magnum is in my top 20 somewhere.

 

[Red Wool Plaid]

Well, add one more to the list of possibles. It's a lighter caliber, so would probably restrict it to hunting around my home in the Texas Hill Country where the whitetails are smaller than those in either South or West Texas.

Sitting in the back of the safe I ran across one of my more "collectible" shooters, an L57 in .244 Remington. In a trade years ago I got about a half-dozen boxes of factory 100 grain 6mm Rem ammunition. Despite the dire warnings that the .244's slower twist won't shoot 100's, this one does just fine with them (the best I can measure the Sako .244 twist it is about 1-11.25", so maybe just a little tighter than the original Remington at 1-12".)

After cleaning the neglected barrel and shooting a couple of foulers at 200 yards, I went to the 300 yard metal plate. Had a little right-to-left crosswind, so held the 300 yard dot level and even with the right hand side of the plate. The result was gratifying:

View attachment 31735View attachment 31737
And take note of the outstanding wood on this "Medicare Qualified" L57 Sako!

Absolutely stunning rifle and stunning results.

 

[Red Wool Plaid]

I’m getting some hand loads worked up for my L61R in 270.
I’ll be using it in Kansas when hunting open country. I’ll be using the M85 Bavarian Carbine in 8mm Mauser for still hunting woods and draws.

 

[Red Wool Plaid]

Humor:View attachment 31732

Yessssss!!!!!

 

[stonecreek]

Whoa! Beautiful custom stock on that L61R! And the group it shoots isn't shabby, either.

 

[Red Wool Plaid]

Whoa! Beautiful custom stock on that L61R! And the group it shoots isn't shabby, either.

I purchased the rifle at an estate sale as you see it here. At the time I purchased it, it had never been shot.
Do you think that the stock could be a Sako “custom shop” job or was it an aftermarket upgrade?
I don’t know anything about the rifle other than I think it was made in the mid 70’s based on its serial number.
I guess I need to go to the Sako Collectors store and buy the information I’m asking for.

 

[Red Wool Plaid]

Whoa! Beautiful custom stock on that L61R! And the group it shoots isn't shabby, either.

Btw, the top right hole was the cold bore shot. I’m quite pleased with the hand loads. They are 150 grain Speer SSP going 2,900 fps+ @ 55,000 psi. I’m using RL-26.
The rifle was printing factory 130 grain ammunition around an 1-1/2”. Which isn’t bad, but hey, if I can feed it something it likes, so much the better.