Hunt Nevada: August Meeting and Range Time

Alan, good plan on the food and schedule. Thanks for typing all that up. Below is a little report from me.

Meeting on Wednesday was a success for sure. You can't beat happy hour deals at SAGOs! It was also great to see everyone at one time that is going to part of this hunt. Well, everyone except Jager, Jonathan, and Andrew!

This guys somehow knows what's going on. Hard to believe, I know.

It must be noted that Ryan got a super sweet radio install in his truck. It's the same Yaesu 857-D that I have with 2 batteries, but a little different installation arrangement. I like it. He likes it. This is for some boom boom radio communication within our hunting party as well as communicating back to Vegas while we are out. Cell phones don't work up there. I have someone in Vegas to relay messages we send from the field to all others in town. Pretty cool. We will be active on 2 meters, 80M and 40M. I can't wait to try this all out.

Nice dash control mount job. Perfectly in reach.

Wiring with isolator and charge controller.

Ryan with the amazing tool box. Battery inside and 3, yes I said 3 antenna mounts. He has the auto adjustable Yaesu screwdriver, 2M antenna, and a stand alone 80M stick. Yes, he just outdid me. I wont believe it until I communicate with the guys midweek while I am back in Vegas. Unbelievable.

Second battery. Air compressor. TP. Nice.

How did this get in here? Oh yeah, I got the H3 from the dealer for a brake flush and parked the cavi next to this ride. Is it time to trade in the cavi for something a little quicker? Can you fit an elk in the back?

Now for the range time today.

We all met at Desert Sportsman's range outside of Las Vegas on Charleston. I was surprised to see others there at 6am, but there were. This place is only 15 min from home and I should have pursued it long ago. Ryan is a member and he got us all in to shoot. As you can see, the weather was perfect. No clouds or wind, and about 75 deg.

Green Bus, Black Mamba, and Snow White.

Ryan's .338 WinMag on top with Alan's .338-06 on the bottom. Big boy rounds compared to my .308.

My first group was the AE FMJ 150gr rounds. I sprayed them in a 6" group and cried for a little bit at 100yds. OK.... More coffee. I chilled out and tried again with much better results with the same ammo. But, the second group with the Sierra Matchking was a different story. The 175gr bullet grouped in less than half the area. Now we were talking. I was also getting used to this new Geisselle trigger. I went to 200yds and then out to 300yds.

After a few range "hot" sessions, I went for the gong at 300 yds. Ding!!!! Ok, then I did it again. So it thought, let's got for the one at 400yds. My first shot hit in the dirt lifting a giant dust cloud. Let me try that again, I thought. The second shot.... Ding!!!! 400yds! I have never even shot at 400yds before. I used the distance crosshairs in the scope for about 350yds and kept hitting it. Then Katherine took a try.... Ding!!! Yeah! Then Ryan.... Ding! The SCAR was making everyone happy, but will it bring home the elk in a few weeks? I would like to keep the animal within 300yds, but I will not be shooting off of a concrete table. Ideally, I will be in the laying down "prone" position with the bipod legs in the sand. With the high sagebrush that might not be possible and I will have to use a tripod like the pics below.

The range showed all of us things we need to work on and check. Another session will have to happen next week. Also, I need to run the actual hunting ammo I will be using. Today, I just fired 2 rounds of the 180gr bullets with success. They act very similar to the Sierra Matchking rounds.