This Could Be The Last Time. Maybe The Last Time. I don't Know... Part 2 (URL is definitely correct this time!)

10/27/2024 – Just walked back from the mailbox. Every little bit of exercise helps. Those leaves did not spend a whole lot of time in their colorful transition from green to the pile on the ground autumn brown. I intended to toss the camera gear in the truck and drive up north to capture the process. But I didn’t.

For me, I would rather watch it and commit the experience to memory. Rather than a static digital or printed image, my human recording device stores the appearance of leaves, but also how the 47°f weather felt on my face and hands, the breathing weight of the humidity, the scent of wood burning stoves in the air, and the too full sensation from an early dinner.

I think that too many people look at the world and life through a cell phone camera lens. They think all of those digital files will retain what they didn’t commit to memory then, one day, they will sift through terabytes of drives and recall all of it. They won’t, on either count, and they could have just paid attention as events occurred.

To those who would suggest the use of digital files is essential, it seems that in the absence of digital recording, artifacts have yielded 550,000 – 750,000 years of Homo sapiens history, and the Bible has informed us of the events of at least a millennium without the use of personal, Wikipedia or social media imagery.

Mighty Mouse…

Okay, so between winter prep chores, I was able to carry the little Ruger Hawkeye Compact around in assorted and sundry sections of the property. With a sling mounted, it stayed put on my shoulder, and its truncated form kept the barrel out of tree branches and its buttstock out of brush.

It is a powerful little rifle. The 7mm-08 Rem is a factory hot rod, a popular wildcat back in the day. A 308 Winchester powder charge behind a smaller and lighter 7mm… .284″ bullet. It does have a little power affirming kick, and a bit of report.

The Hawkeye Compact’s short length of pull contributed a good deal to my ability to hit targets from a standing position. Usually, I’m either threading my arm through a shooting sling, or flopping on the ground and using my backpack, a low branch or non marring boulder for support. Instead, the right arm formed a tight scalene triangle, arm parallel to the ground. The left, perpendicular to the ground, formed a second triangle, and a use for that junior high school geometry.

Yes, a selfie would have presented a better illustration, but I could not figure out how to take a picture without dropping the rifle, and I don’t take selfies. So right elbow pointing outward, left elbow pointing downward, take a breath and exhale slowly until steady. Then yank that trigger for all you’re worth. Kidding, only kidding.

A ruling from the bench…

I was writing a scathing rebuke of the ammunition industry but, by the time I looked up the definition of “rebuke”, I lost my train of thought. Highlights? Sure…

Glad you asked. My theory is that all of these over priced, over designed bullets of today are no more lethal than bullets made in the 1960s. However, if all current bullets were of the simple bonded lead core type, there would be no features to differentiate one brand from another, other than production quality and price.

Regardless brand, they are made in the same couple of factories and the psychology of color is applied to poly tip color selection.

Solid copper bullets are made to look appealing. Like little toy spaceships we played with in our infancy, but only because they could not figure out how to make dinosaur shaped bullets. I would urge you to ask a deer shot between 40 yards and 200 yards, if they noticed the difference between traditional old and newer bullets. VLD, ELD, ZLD; ha, ha, ha, ha, etc.

Are bullets manufactured today, better? Sure. They are better because of much improved manufacturing tech in raw material production, and in finished goods production. Bullets are made to a much tighter tolerance in dimension and uniformity. So they shoot straighter and more consistently. Which is why I handload and select lower cost, traditionally constructed bullets of quality manufacture.

Basic bullet handloads

L-R: Sierra ProHunter 120 grain, Berger VLD Hunting 140 grain,  Speer Hot-Cor 160 grain, Remington PSP 175 grain. Yes, that is a VLD profile stuck in there. I could not form a negative or positive opinion if I didn’t actually try them and analyze results.

These are the same that are loaded for my 7×57 Mauser. Actually, with the exception of the 120 grain bullet, I load them in my 7mm Rem mag also.

Remember, 16.5″ barrel, woodland hunting…

Warning: Bullet selections are specific, and loads are not valid with substitutions of different bullets of the same weight. Variations in bullet length will alter net case capacity,  pressure and velocity. Primer selection is specific and primer types are not interchangeable. These are maximum loads in my firearms and may be excessive in others. All loads should be reduced by 5% as a starting point for development where cartridges have greater than 40 grains in capacity and 10% for cartridges with less than 40 grain capacity following safe handloading practices as represented in established mainstream reloading manuals. Presentation of these loads does not constitute a solicitation for their use, nor a recommendation.

Getting lazy, Joe? Not at all…

I did try other powder, but I did not get the desired results. Either 100 fps were lost with no gain in accuracy, or I ran out of cartridge space before I hit reasonable pressure. I do have Norma powder and data, but I doubt anyone cares.

Accuracy seemed good for barrel length, and heavy and er bullets shot well with the 1:8.5″ twist rate. No blistering speed and 500 yard point blank range. The minor upside is that the combination is great for deer and hogs. Well, maybe not so great for them, but surely the folks that hunt them.