Not sure how it happened, bought my first chronograph at age 19. It was an Oehler Model 10 with silver ink embossed paper screens, it was a thing of mystery and beauty and there is where it began. My addiction to velocity...........I just knew I could get more out of any given cartridge than some old fuddy-duddy who wrote loading manuals for a living. That's how addictions start, you know, one little deviation from the norm, 50 extra fps and bang, your hooked!!!!! Prior to this acquisition I just happily went on my way loading from the books and quoting the velocity listed there for that powder, bullet and cartridge.........and I went out nearly every day and shot stuff. Not chronograph screens but stuff, like prairie jackrabbits and gophers and badgers and coyotes, you know, stuff that made one a better shot.....stuff that moved. I loaded for the sake of having ammo to go shoot stuff, but not anymore, I was now loading ammo to see how fast I could make it go through the chronograph screens. All of a sudden shooting stuff was secondary to how fast can I get that bullet tripping through them screens, and how small a group can I get them to land in.
The paper screens I got with the Mod 10 (from Guntech) didn't last very long, and my inquiry with Oehler for more was met with "we may make another run of screens but do not know when at this point". AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGG......get me addicted then cut me off like this............I survived another couple of years shooting groups and STUFF. I then moved to Whitehorse, away from the "stuff" rich environment of the prairies east of Calgary. A more forested landscape with far less medium to long range "stuff" shooting opportunities. In order to keep up my shooting regime I would be spending more time at the range and accordingly joined the Whitehorse Rifle and Pistol Club, immediately.
With less stuff to shoot at and an on going addiction to shooting accompanied by my new addition to velocity, I spent nearly every evening at the range, trying this powder in that cartridge or that powder in this cartridge looking for the "Holy Grail" for each and every cartridge I owned. Somewhere in this blurr of working almost 7 days a week and shooting almost every evening I didn't work, and all day if I got a day off, my wife moved back to Calgary without me. They say addictions are hardest on the family, I guess it must be true.
THEN.......the Chrony arrived on the scene in an affordable and compact package, I ordered one immediately and my second addiction was back in full swing. Loading, chasing another 20 fps, change powder, change primers looking for that last highest velocity/accuracy node before the brass gave up the ghost and shed it's primer. This has been my life for the last 35 years. Throw in some gunsmith mentoring from a couple great guys and a bunch of wildcatting and cartridge design, building my own semi custom rifles on a lot of my wildcats and some shooting stuff.
Africa is a great place to go and shoot "stuff" as they have "stuff" from gopher size to elephant size and gobs of it.........Africa became my new "stuff" shooting ground. But still I spent days and nights chasing 1/2" groups and that extra 20, 30, 50 fps I knew was hiding in those cartridges. I was never happy, a new powder would hit the shooting scene and I was all over it, loading it in any appropriate cartridge I owned. I spent thousands and thousands of dollars developing loads, buying barrels, trying new wildcats, buying guns, until I had well over a hundred rifles and pistols.......only ever had a couple or three shotguns. Oh ya, I almost forgot, the reading, everything ever written on hunting Africa and about guns, cartridges, loading, you name it, I have likely read it at least once. Somewhere along the way number two wife got fed up and left too. They say addictions are hardest on the family, I guess it must be true.
I did so much with guns, powder, bullets, brass and barrels over the years that it is far too much to put it all in here, but suffice it to say that it has been at least one lifetime full and possibly working hard on a second. It has been a long and arduous journey with some successes and many, many disappointments and a few abject failures. I think I have enjoyed some of it, but then when you are addicted it is not about enjoyment, it becomes a curse. It all came into focus the last couple of weeks, I had a problem with ravens so I went down to my gun vault ...there is another downside to owning 180+ guns, is that you must have an entire room in your house to house them securely, and the room to set up your 3 or 4 presses and 120 or so sets of dies, but I digress......ravens, gun vault..oh ya, so I go down to grab a rifle to dispatch a couple and hopefully encourage the remainder to reside in a different county. I do NOT have a single rifle of appropriate caliber sighted in or a tried and true ultimate velocity load ready.........I shake my head at the sorry state of my addiction as I listen to the ravens mock me.
Then I see a coyote in my pasture mousing, he's gonna be toast for sure, I grab my very favorite of all 243 and wander over to my machine shed, out of sight of the pasture, and get a good rest on a corner as I survey the open ground looking for said 'yote. AHA there you are you scruffy little chicken killer, and I planted the cross hairs on his chest as he sat looking at me 150 mtrs away. I squeeze the trigger, the rifle bucks and he runs away, SH!T........oh ya I had the scope off this one to try loads in a different 243 and never resighted it..........again I shake my head at the sorry state of my addiction.
I own 4 chronographs, 180+ firearms, well over a hundred sets of dies a not so small fortune in scopes and other related gear, and I can't hit a coyote at 150 mtrs. Something has gone seriously awry here, maybe it's time I faced the addiction, get it under control and remember what one has rifles and pistols for, to dispatch unwanted vermin and successfully hunt big game...........HHHHMMMMMM, seem to have lost sight of that. I think back to the time before I owned my first chronograph and all the fun I had shooting stuff. I would take a mid book load, load it up, go sight in my rifle.....they always seemed to shoot pretty good, and go shooting stuff. Come back, load up the same load and go out the next evening and shoot more stuff. This, I remembered, is how I got to be the shot I am today, evening after evening, thousands upon thousands of rounds shooting stuff. Not sitting at a bench punching tiny holes in paper at the highest extreme velocity the cartridges were capable of.
Which brings me to the point of this lengthy dissertation. I came to the sad realization, upon missing the coyote, that my rifles were all in a state of flux. None are truly sighted in, none really have any amount of ammo loaded for them, and again I have almost 1000 test loads for nearly 50 different rifles and/or cartridges. I realize that I need to get at least a small core of rifles sighted in and a reasonable amount of ammo loaded for each (minimum 200). With this in mind I loaded up 6 rifles in my Ranger and went up to my range in my pasture yesterday. I did NOT take a chronograph !!!!!! I had 2 racks of test loads for my 204 (ultimate raven killer) and my old BSA 6.5X55, loads for my 243, 350 RM, 17 HMR and my 700 MS 7-08. I had good loads for the 243, 7-08 and 350 RM but just changed the scope on the 350 and hadn't ever really sighted in the others. I had a great afternoon with some great results, got both the 204 and 6.5 shooting well under an inch @ 100 mtrs and I don't know, nor do I care what the velocity is.........raven ain't gonna care if it's doing 3800 or 4100 when it impacts him center body!! Likewise for the 6.5, and it is shooting bulk Norma bullets I bought more than 20 years ago and of which I have several thousand. My 17 isn't shooting as well as I would like but at least it is sighted in now and I can hit gopher sized dirt clods out to 150 mtrs. The 350 is a joy as always and the new 1.5-5 VariX III is crystal clear and I can get enough adjustment to work with my tired old eyes. It also shot around an inch and is sighted absolutely perfect 2" high at 100 mtrs. The 7-08 shot very well and I got it hitting perfectly center 2 1/2" high and shooting just under an inch. I had a good load already worked up and 200 loaded rounds for it, just never bothered to finish sighting it in, consequences of my addiction !!!! Today I shall load more 204 and retest to be sure the load is in fact working and then I'll load the remainder of the bullets I have for it and start looking for more. I have more than 400 cases for it. I will do the same for the 6.5 and retest to be sure and then I shall load the several hundred cases I have for it. I will continue to do this with more rifles I own until I have at least 1/2 of them sighted in with loads made up and waiting.
I will not forsake the chronographs entirely but I have decided to cease looking for the absolute last fps and look for an accurate node anywhere near the upper end but not 4 grains over book anymore. I know many of you will be disappointed in me as you have come to expect this with my loads, and I will still be wildcatting and seeking good loads for them. But for my hunting rifles and general working firearms I have decided to adopt a more conservative load development regime. Don't get me wrong, I won't be loading 300 RUM to 06 velocities but I also won't be trying to get 3400 out of 200 grnrs any more either. As many of the experienced on here have noted in the past a critter don't care if the same bullet hits him in the same place at 2800, 3000 or 3200 fps he's still f**ked!
For you young guys who have taken the time to read this lengthy diatribe, take note..........This addiction is very real and can be as debilitating and as destructive to family as a heroine or cocaine addiction. DO NOT fall into this as I have, always keep in mind that the point of shooting is to hunt or target shoot or whatever you choose, but unless you can make a living at it, it is a hobby. It should be fun and not an obsession, you don't need to try every single new powder that comes along, if you have a rifle that's shooting well and is familiar to you with that load. The extra 50 fps you may get won't make a rat's ass difference in the field and chasing it will cost you hundreds of dollars and many hours, both of which could be better spent hunting or shooting a sport or discipline.........or with your family!!!!
The paper screens I got with the Mod 10 (from Guntech) didn't last very long, and my inquiry with Oehler for more was met with "we may make another run of screens but do not know when at this point". AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGG......get me addicted then cut me off like this............I survived another couple of years shooting groups and STUFF. I then moved to Whitehorse, away from the "stuff" rich environment of the prairies east of Calgary. A more forested landscape with far less medium to long range "stuff" shooting opportunities. In order to keep up my shooting regime I would be spending more time at the range and accordingly joined the Whitehorse Rifle and Pistol Club, immediately.
With less stuff to shoot at and an on going addiction to shooting accompanied by my new addition to velocity, I spent nearly every evening at the range, trying this powder in that cartridge or that powder in this cartridge looking for the "Holy Grail" for each and every cartridge I owned. Somewhere in this blurr of working almost 7 days a week and shooting almost every evening I didn't work, and all day if I got a day off, my wife moved back to Calgary without me. They say addictions are hardest on the family, I guess it must be true.
THEN.......the Chrony arrived on the scene in an affordable and compact package, I ordered one immediately and my second addiction was back in full swing. Loading, chasing another 20 fps, change powder, change primers looking for that last highest velocity/accuracy node before the brass gave up the ghost and shed it's primer. This has been my life for the last 35 years. Throw in some gunsmith mentoring from a couple great guys and a bunch of wildcatting and cartridge design, building my own semi custom rifles on a lot of my wildcats and some shooting stuff.
Africa is a great place to go and shoot "stuff" as they have "stuff" from gopher size to elephant size and gobs of it.........Africa became my new "stuff" shooting ground. But still I spent days and nights chasing 1/2" groups and that extra 20, 30, 50 fps I knew was hiding in those cartridges. I was never happy, a new powder would hit the shooting scene and I was all over it, loading it in any appropriate cartridge I owned. I spent thousands and thousands of dollars developing loads, buying barrels, trying new wildcats, buying guns, until I had well over a hundred rifles and pistols.......only ever had a couple or three shotguns. Oh ya, I almost forgot, the reading, everything ever written on hunting Africa and about guns, cartridges, loading, you name it, I have likely read it at least once. Somewhere along the way number two wife got fed up and left too. They say addictions are hardest on the family, I guess it must be true.
I did so much with guns, powder, bullets, brass and barrels over the years that it is far too much to put it all in here, but suffice it to say that it has been at least one lifetime full and possibly working hard on a second. It has been a long and arduous journey with some successes and many, many disappointments and a few abject failures. I think I have enjoyed some of it, but then when you are addicted it is not about enjoyment, it becomes a curse. It all came into focus the last couple of weeks, I had a problem with ravens so I went down to my gun vault ...there is another downside to owning 180+ guns, is that you must have an entire room in your house to house them securely, and the room to set up your 3 or 4 presses and 120 or so sets of dies, but I digress......ravens, gun vault..oh ya, so I go down to grab a rifle to dispatch a couple and hopefully encourage the remainder to reside in a different county. I do NOT have a single rifle of appropriate caliber sighted in or a tried and true ultimate velocity load ready.........I shake my head at the sorry state of my addiction as I listen to the ravens mock me.
Then I see a coyote in my pasture mousing, he's gonna be toast for sure, I grab my very favorite of all 243 and wander over to my machine shed, out of sight of the pasture, and get a good rest on a corner as I survey the open ground looking for said 'yote. AHA there you are you scruffy little chicken killer, and I planted the cross hairs on his chest as he sat looking at me 150 mtrs away. I squeeze the trigger, the rifle bucks and he runs away, SH!T........oh ya I had the scope off this one to try loads in a different 243 and never resighted it..........again I shake my head at the sorry state of my addiction.
I own 4 chronographs, 180+ firearms, well over a hundred sets of dies a not so small fortune in scopes and other related gear, and I can't hit a coyote at 150 mtrs. Something has gone seriously awry here, maybe it's time I faced the addiction, get it under control and remember what one has rifles and pistols for, to dispatch unwanted vermin and successfully hunt big game...........HHHHMMMMMM, seem to have lost sight of that. I think back to the time before I owned my first chronograph and all the fun I had shooting stuff. I would take a mid book load, load it up, go sight in my rifle.....they always seemed to shoot pretty good, and go shooting stuff. Come back, load up the same load and go out the next evening and shoot more stuff. This, I remembered, is how I got to be the shot I am today, evening after evening, thousands upon thousands of rounds shooting stuff. Not sitting at a bench punching tiny holes in paper at the highest extreme velocity the cartridges were capable of.
Which brings me to the point of this lengthy dissertation. I came to the sad realization, upon missing the coyote, that my rifles were all in a state of flux. None are truly sighted in, none really have any amount of ammo loaded for them, and again I have almost 1000 test loads for nearly 50 different rifles and/or cartridges. I realize that I need to get at least a small core of rifles sighted in and a reasonable amount of ammo loaded for each (minimum 200). With this in mind I loaded up 6 rifles in my Ranger and went up to my range in my pasture yesterday. I did NOT take a chronograph !!!!!! I had 2 racks of test loads for my 204 (ultimate raven killer) and my old BSA 6.5X55, loads for my 243, 350 RM, 17 HMR and my 700 MS 7-08. I had good loads for the 243, 7-08 and 350 RM but just changed the scope on the 350 and hadn't ever really sighted in the others. I had a great afternoon with some great results, got both the 204 and 6.5 shooting well under an inch @ 100 mtrs and I don't know, nor do I care what the velocity is.........raven ain't gonna care if it's doing 3800 or 4100 when it impacts him center body!! Likewise for the 6.5, and it is shooting bulk Norma bullets I bought more than 20 years ago and of which I have several thousand. My 17 isn't shooting as well as I would like but at least it is sighted in now and I can hit gopher sized dirt clods out to 150 mtrs. The 350 is a joy as always and the new 1.5-5 VariX III is crystal clear and I can get enough adjustment to work with my tired old eyes. It also shot around an inch and is sighted absolutely perfect 2" high at 100 mtrs. The 7-08 shot very well and I got it hitting perfectly center 2 1/2" high and shooting just under an inch. I had a good load already worked up and 200 loaded rounds for it, just never bothered to finish sighting it in, consequences of my addiction !!!! Today I shall load more 204 and retest to be sure the load is in fact working and then I'll load the remainder of the bullets I have for it and start looking for more. I have more than 400 cases for it. I will do the same for the 6.5 and retest to be sure and then I shall load the several hundred cases I have for it. I will continue to do this with more rifles I own until I have at least 1/2 of them sighted in with loads made up and waiting.
I will not forsake the chronographs entirely but I have decided to cease looking for the absolute last fps and look for an accurate node anywhere near the upper end but not 4 grains over book anymore. I know many of you will be disappointed in me as you have come to expect this with my loads, and I will still be wildcatting and seeking good loads for them. But for my hunting rifles and general working firearms I have decided to adopt a more conservative load development regime. Don't get me wrong, I won't be loading 300 RUM to 06 velocities but I also won't be trying to get 3400 out of 200 grnrs any more either. As many of the experienced on here have noted in the past a critter don't care if the same bullet hits him in the same place at 2800, 3000 or 3200 fps he's still f**ked!
For you young guys who have taken the time to read this lengthy diatribe, take note..........This addiction is very real and can be as debilitating and as destructive to family as a heroine or cocaine addiction. DO NOT fall into this as I have, always keep in mind that the point of shooting is to hunt or target shoot or whatever you choose, but unless you can make a living at it, it is a hobby. It should be fun and not an obsession, you don't need to try every single new powder that comes along, if you have a rifle that's shooting well and is familiar to you with that load. The extra 50 fps you may get won't make a rat's ass difference in the field and chasing it will cost you hundreds of dollars and many hours, both of which could be better spent hunting or shooting a sport or discipline.........or with your family!!!!
