Went out yesterday to the same spot. Was a bit frustrating. The dogs were there, but wouldn't hold still for us. There was one mound about 80 yards away but way to the right with dogs at it, but they would drop down every time I set up on them. The grass is pretty tall in the pasture so they pretty much have to be standing, or be in an area where the grass is short which is few and far between. It was afternoon and a thunderhead came in and blocked the sun. They seemed much less active after that. We each shot ~ 10 times each in an hour and a half or so. 2 confirmed kills is all, both by me. Thought I'd missed them both (both 100 yards or less) until we walked the pasture and found them dead. I didn't take pics, camera was left in the truck and I just wasn't excited about them. I think because I thought I'd missed them after the shot, and even though I found out later that I hit them the initial dissapointment at missing an easy shot was still there. Is it wrong to just want to see them explode, and not be excited if they don't?
It was super aggravating to see the dogs popping up to our right. 80 yards is a friggin' gimme, but it was far enough to our right that I couldn't get on them from where I was, and the grass in front of us was too tall for my buddy to shoot from where he was. I had two rifles, so I set up 3 times in a position where I would be able to see them. Waited ~15 minutes each time and they stayed down. So I'd move back over to the main pasture and look over and there they'd be, sitting up pretty. Sneak over to my other rifle and wait... nada. Jerks.
I tested groups with the 58gr V-max earlier that day and it was encouraging. Recoil seems light and I think I'll be able to see hits thru the scope better. Also the velocity/bullet construction should really make them "pop." The most frustrating part about load development was that 48.0gr H414 was a 1" group, 48.6 was about 0.75". 48.9gr started to open up. BUT, 48.3 gr my first two shots were a quarter inch apart. I pulled my third shot which is unacceptable on a lead sled. I called it low and right, and sure enough that's where it hit. But I don't know for sure. Do I shoot again or just go with 48.6gr? Decisions, decisions.
After the "hunt" I met up with some guys from a local forum and it was my first exposure to class 3 fully auto firearms. Shot a M16 and HK something or rather. Holy crap, that is every bit as fun as I thought it would be. But that's neither here nor there, at least to the topic of this thread
