Sav10ML seals deal on last-minute hunt

[BringBackThe80s]

I had obligations all weekend, but decided late afternoon I was going to the woods even if it was too late for a perfect hunt. As a 100% public land hunter who barely got in the field last season, it has been almost two years since I put venison in the freezer. So any deer I saw today was going to come home with me.

I left the house at 4 pm for public land I hunt every year with intermittent success. I hiked the mile into a thick spot that always holds an aggressive buck or two during the rut. (Last year one followed me out of that spot after dark, twice approaching within 5 yards--once while I peed, and again while I took off my stand/pack to stow my jacket.)

Tonight I got settled into the Viper with just over one hour of legal light left. Wind was switching all around, but 5 minutes after sunset a deer came in downwind using the same trail I had walked. It stepped out of the brush at 25 yards with my crosshairs already on its shoulder. I saw some amount of horn as I pulled the trigger and the 300 grain SST at 2600fps dropped him in his tracks.

Upon climbing down, I was pretty happy with this public land, mountain-and-cove 8-point.

 

[Snake]

I had obligations all weekend, but decided late afternoon I was going to the woods even if it was too late for a perfect hunt. As a 100% public land hunter who barely got in the field last season, it has been almost two years since I put venison in the freezer. So any deer I saw today was going to come home with me.

I left the house at 4 pm for a public land spot a couple miles from me. I hiked the mile into a thick spot that always holds an aggressive buck or two during the rut. (Last year one followed me out of that spot after dark, twice approaching within 5 yards--once while I peed, and again while I took off my stand/pack to stow my jacket.)

Tonight I got settled into the Viper with just over one hour of legal light left. Wind was switching all around, but 5 minutes after sunset a deer came in downwind using the same trail I had walked. It stepped out of the brush at 25 yards with my crosshairs already on its shoulder. I saw some amount of horn as I pulled the trigger and the 300 grain SST at 2600fps dropped him in his tracks.

Upon climbing down, I was pretty happy with this last-minute hunt, public land 8-point.

View attachment 202928

Congrats on a nice buck .

 

[Crappieaddict]

Very nice! Congrats!

 

[backyardtndeer]

Nice buck. Congratulations.

 

[Lone Hunter]

Nice buck. Congratulations. Looks like his neck is or was starting to swell.

 

[Cotis]

Congrats! 2600fps with a 300 grain bullet, that is hauling some mail. What powder do you use? I am just guessing at the numbers but that sounds like more energy than a 300 win mag.

 

[Dennis]

Congrats! 2600fps with a 300 grain bullet, that is hauling some mail. What powder do you use? I am just guessing at the numbers but that sounds like more energy than a 300 win mag.

Yeah 2600fps is faster than any load I've seen in that Savage ml-Ii. I've seen 2400 fps with rl7, n130, 4198. You must be using a lot of powder, what pressure are you generating?

 

[BringBackThe80s]

Congrats! 2600fps with a 300 grain bullet, that is hauling some mail. What powder do you use? I am just guessing at the numbers but that sounds like more energy than a 300 win mag.

Yes, that load lets you know when you pull the trigger. It's way more energy than needed for deer, but that speed allows me to use a 240-yard point blank range using a 6" vital zone.

It's a duplex load within the ranges tested by RBinAR and TGinPA.

 

[BringBackThe80s]

Yeah 2600fps is faster than any load I've seen in that Savage ml-Ii. I've seen 2400 fps with rl7, n130, 4198. You must be using a lot of powder, what pressure are you generating?

It's a duplex load within the ranges tested by RBinAR and TGinPA for N110 and 4198. I have shot hundreds (maybe thousands) of loads of N110, H322, and 4198 through this gun in the last 18years althougg this is my first foray into duplex and I did not have a chrono when I worked up loads in the past.

I am 1 grain below the load listed for 300gr .458 XTPS on the Doug forum's 50cal duplex list. Comparing that duplex with TGinPA's pressure traces #59b, #64f, #65f, and #68f, I would expect my load to produce ~38k to ~40k.

However, based on those sources, I expected speeds closer to 2500fps, not 2600. My Magnetospeed has acted a little hinky the last couple range trips. But if it read correctly during my last outing, that's ~100 fps more than I expected based on the research on Doug's Smokeless forum.

But I worked up to that load slowly, stopped before indicated max load, primers show no pressure signs, and sabots look better than they do with 44 grains of N110. It's producing ragged one-hole 5-shot groups at 100 yds.

So I feel safe shooting it in this gun only until ML is over, then I will do more testing. I also plan to start back at the minimum and work up again using the 290TMZ. (The 300SST literally blows up and does not exit when hitting at that speed.)

Maybe one day I will swap out the barrel for a .45 or even .40!

 

[BringBackThe80s]

Nice buck. Congratulations. Looks like his neck is or was starting to swell.

Yes, just a bit.

 

[GOHUNT]

Very Nice! What county are you in?

 

[Wrangler95]

Nice going,congrats!!

 

[Acorn]

Nice buck, Congratulations!

 

[BringBackThe80s]

Very Nice! What county are you in?

Hamilton.

 

[Turkeychaser]

Congratulations!

 

[Gravey]

Congrats!!!

 

[tnfisher46]

Nice buck, Congratulatins.

 

[archer19]

Congrats, nice !!!!

 

[Dennis]

It's a duplex load within the ranges tested by RBinAR and TGinPA for N110 and 4198. I have shot hundreds (maybe thousands) of loads of N110, H322, and 4198 through this gun in the last 18years althougg this is my first foray into duplex and I did not have a chrono when I worked up loads in the past.

I am 1 grain below the load listed for 300gr .458 XTPS on the Doug forum's 50cal duplex list. Comparing that duplex with TGinPA's pressure traces #59b, #64f, #65f, and #68f, I would expect my load to produce ~38k to ~40k.

However, based on those sources, I expected speeds closer to 2500fps, not 2600. My Magnetospeed has acted a little hinky the last couple range trips. But if it read correctly during my last outing, that's ~100 fps more than I expected based on the research on Doug's Smokeless forum.

But I worked up to that load slowly, stopped before indicated max load, primers show no pressure signs, and sabots look better than they do with 44 grains of N110. It's producing ragged one-hole 5-shot groups at 100 yds.

So I feel safe shooting it in this gun only until ML is over, then I will do more testing. I also plan to start back at the minimum and work up again using the 290TMZ. (The 300SST literally blows up and does not exit when hitting at that speed.)

Maybe one day I will swap out the barrel for a .45 or even .40!

I was gonna ask how well the bullet held up. I'm not surprised it blows up at that speed. I bet you'll have better performance from the all copper. A 300 grain Barnes original would hold together I bet.

 

[rem270]

Congrats