Anybody know where I can get info on that 8.6x72 that was on here awhile ago?. I am thinking of getting a new Long Range rifle & am interested in that one.Also what other LR calibers are worth the money?. I want to be able to hit deer & moose at 800-1000 yds. Also, where is a good smith close to Edmonton?Thanks
Swamp Donkey Magnum
- Thread starter buckboy
- Start date
- Location
- calgary alberta
I dumped my swamp donkey in its tracks last fall at 1140 yards using a 300 win mag, moose and deer are pretty easy to kill especially at under 1000 yards, bullet construction and placement are the real thing to be concerned about
I have no idea what is available in 8.6mm bullets that are hi BC yet reliable for hunting at long range
I think I would try to stay more mainstream in caliber where there are a wide variety of bullet choices , bullets that work well at 500 and less are not always good beyond.
I have no idea what is available in 8.6mm bullets that are hi BC yet reliable for hunting at long range
I think I would try to stay more mainstream in caliber where there are a wide variety of bullet choices , bullets that work well at 500 and less are not always good beyond.
- Location
- maple ridge b.c
mmm, yeah the one with all those cool long range bullet strike pics
It was great gun ####, but since it would be a handload only propasition maybe there is some (or alot of )wisdom in using some of the more common rounds...ah well.
It was great gun ####, but since it would be a handload only propasition maybe there is some (or alot of )wisdom in using some of the more common rounds...ah well.
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Kodiak99317
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan, Canada
buckboy said:
The SDM are produced by Jim Dugan.
Maybe HPBT (the guy with the big bore #### post from before) will also answer. I know HPBT dropped almost a dozen CWD deer last year with it from ranges of 130yds to almost 900 yds (real life ballistic tests HPBT called it.. LOL). The cartridge is more than capable of taking deer out past 1000 yds if the shooter is, for that matter, out around a 1300 yds, it still has 888 ft/Lbs of energy!
I know Jim is making yet another 8.6x72 SDM for a guy that makes the worlds fastest bows out of Bigger SK.
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Kodiak99317
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan, Canada
gth said:I would suggest buying an ATV so you can drive 600-800yds closer.......
Why? A new SDM is cheaper than a new ATV, you can't hunt in some areas and at some times with a ATV, and the walk to retreive your game does you some good
Check this out...
http://thebestofthewest.net/7minPromo.wmv
Good morning gentlemen,
Buckboy, we talked about this rifle once when I first got it. If you'd like more info, send me a PM.
Hunting stats on the Donkey for it's first year was this, Donkey 11, deer none. Everything I aimed at went down on the first round, except for the longest shot I made with it, that took two as I miss read the wind and missed the Buck with the first shot.
As Kodiak said, this year was just a live ballistic test for it to see just exactly what it would and could do.
Inside 500 yrds, you need to be very precise with the shot, 250grs from an 8.6mm does alot of damage if you don't put it in the right spot.
The first deer was taken at 125yrds (excited as hell to shoot something with it) shot in the neck and it darn near took her head right off of her. I took the second in the front shoulder with a 250gr Hornady at 300yrds and it did blow the opposite leg right off her. The third went down with a single shot at 500, the bullet picked the Doe up and threw her about 10ft, that was the first flying deer I ever saw. HE!HE!
Kodiak watched as I head shot gophers with it at 200 and 300 yrds, a little expensive for gophers, but it was a slow day and the Game Warden wouldn't let me shoot his Elk.
The longest shot was made at 822 yrds, ranged with a Lecia Range finder, it was a 4 point Mullie buck. He was standing on a hill having a little snack, the first shot made him lift his head up out of the grass, and by the time he decided he should run, the second shot took him in the neck at the base of the shoulder. He dropped like he was hit by a large truck, ya he took flying lessons as well.
The Donkey is not a stricktly hand load firearm. You can shoot the factory Weatherby 340 rounds in it, I'm in the midlde of fireforming some 340 brass now. The factory ammo is ok if your in a pinch, but Jim says the factory ammo is accurate enough for hunting out to 200-300 yards. I haven't tried it yet, but that's coming once the weather gets alittle nicer out here and I get some time to visit the range.
Buckboy, we talked about you getting one made from a Weatherby 340 last fall.
I haven't tried it on any real BIG GAME yet, but I have met a hunter who has been hunting everything on this continent with his, and he says he has yet to shoot anything with it more than once. Last year his Moose went down with a single shot from 600 yrds.
As for the accuracy, well I'm now on 1400 rounds and it will still stay inside a 2" group at 600 yrds. And I have just lost my first 7 pieces of brass due to primer pockets being loose, not bad considering they've been reloaded 11 times.
Buckboy, we talked about this rifle once when I first got it. If you'd like more info, send me a PM.
Hunting stats on the Donkey for it's first year was this, Donkey 11, deer none. Everything I aimed at went down on the first round, except for the longest shot I made with it, that took two as I miss read the wind and missed the Buck with the first shot.
As Kodiak said, this year was just a live ballistic test for it to see just exactly what it would and could do.
Inside 500 yrds, you need to be very precise with the shot, 250grs from an 8.6mm does alot of damage if you don't put it in the right spot.
The first deer was taken at 125yrds (excited as hell to shoot something with it) shot in the neck and it darn near took her head right off of her. I took the second in the front shoulder with a 250gr Hornady at 300yrds and it did blow the opposite leg right off her. The third went down with a single shot at 500, the bullet picked the Doe up and threw her about 10ft, that was the first flying deer I ever saw. HE!HE!
Kodiak watched as I head shot gophers with it at 200 and 300 yrds, a little expensive for gophers, but it was a slow day and the Game Warden wouldn't let me shoot his Elk.
The longest shot was made at 822 yrds, ranged with a Lecia Range finder, it was a 4 point Mullie buck. He was standing on a hill having a little snack, the first shot made him lift his head up out of the grass, and by the time he decided he should run, the second shot took him in the neck at the base of the shoulder. He dropped like he was hit by a large truck, ya he took flying lessons as well.
The Donkey is not a stricktly hand load firearm. You can shoot the factory Weatherby 340 rounds in it, I'm in the midlde of fireforming some 340 brass now. The factory ammo is ok if your in a pinch, but Jim says the factory ammo is accurate enough for hunting out to 200-300 yards. I haven't tried it yet, but that's coming once the weather gets alittle nicer out here and I get some time to visit the range.
Buckboy, we talked about you getting one made from a Weatherby 340 last fall.
I haven't tried it on any real BIG GAME yet, but I have met a hunter who has been hunting everything on this continent with his, and he says he has yet to shoot anything with it more than once. Last year his Moose went down with a single shot from 600 yrds.
As for the accuracy, well I'm now on 1400 rounds and it will still stay inside a 2" group at 600 yrds. And I have just lost my first 7 pieces of brass due to primer pockets being loose, not bad considering they've been reloaded 11 times.
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For those of you who missed them the first time, and those who enjoyed them the first time, here's more gun #### for you. It's ok to let your mouth water, you can't hurt them here.
This was at 300 yrds. It's 1/2" hardened steel
Here she's rigged for a 1 MOA shoot out in Alberta
The day before the 1 MOA shoot
Brass before and after fire forming
To set the record straight, this cartridge is not Jim's invention, it's been a round for alot of years. Jim just did a little tweeking to it.
This was at 300 yrds. It's 1/2" hardened steel
Here she's rigged for a 1 MOA shoot out in Alberta
The day before the 1 MOA shoot
Brass before and after fire forming
To set the record straight, this cartridge is not Jim's invention, it's been a round for alot of years. Jim just did a little tweeking to it.
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5 rounds at 500 yards
[IMG]http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i45/HPBT/895875c4.jpg
5 rounds at 600 yards
The small white dot on the other side of the valley is what a 18" x 24" target looks like with the naked eye, when seen from 1 mile. It's just to the left of the trees in the middle of the pic. Just above the small rig you see in the clearing
yet another Donkey, this one with a Do-Guns muzzle brake
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BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
HPBT said:
The small white dot on the other side of the valley is what a 18" x 24" target looks like with the naked eye, when seen from 1 mile. It's just to the left of the trees in the middle of the pic. Just above the small rig you see in the clearing
Am I blind? I need a big red arrow pointing at it.
Kodiak99317
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan, Canada
BigUglyMan said:
How about a black arrow... original pic is what your eye see's at that distance. This pic is zoomed in 12 times!! I was the camera man...
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Needing an ATV
You are soo Funny! My last 2 deer I shot was at 550yds & 510yds. I had them lasered with my Leica rangefinder. I have no problem hitting them at longer distances,so if you need an atv to get closer be my guest.gth said:I would suggest buying an ATV so you can drive 600-800yds closer.......
Kodiak99317
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan, Canada
Andy said:
I know it is not a 340 Weatherby IMP... the 340 Weatherby will work in a pinch, but you will end up with really really short necks.
HPBT can fill you in more... Beat he even knows what a 8mm case formed holds vs the 416 case formed holds
Long Range Canuck
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Athabasca Alberta aka God's Country
Why so close That's only half way to the back stop. Nice shooting nice spot, makes you fuzzy all over.
That's only half way to the back stop. Nice shooting nice spot, makes you fuzzy all over.
Kodiak99317
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan, Canada
Long Range Canuck said:Why so close
I agree! HPBT ring setup was a good 11 MOA over it and could not click down to it! If it were out another 600 yds or more, we would have have no problems
It was one of the biggest let downs I've had in awhile. It was a rushed trip and we had the rifle set to shoot at a mile here in Saskatchewan, I was so darn excited about trying it out at a mile, that the last thing I was thinking of, was that I'd be shooting at an altitude of about 2500ft ASL 
not my usual 743. I figure that I was about 8MOA above the target, and the reticle is so fine in my scope, that once you came off the target, you couldn't select a proper point of aim because you lost the reticle in the field. The spotter (who is down range at an angle) told us that I hit the frame twice and was so close with all the other shots(16 in total) that we definately gave it a very close shave everytime. And the target was on a slight rise, so if you just went over it, you couldn't see the bullet strick, that added to the "What the H3ll happened there" factor.
You get 10 minutes to fire as many rounds as you want/can. The average seemed to be in the area of about 17 rounds.
This was not a competition, just a fun shoot to see if you could hit an 18" high by 24" wide target at a mile. It's called the 1 MOA@mile shoot. (Yes, I know that 24" is more than 1MOA at a mile, but as windage is the biggest problem at long range, (25k this day) they made it 1.5MOA for windage, for the ones who haven't shot at these kinds of ranges before.)
So over the winter, we tunned the Donkey up and this spring plan to ring the h3ll out of that gong out there, we have the altitude locked into the gray matter this time
It was a rushed trip and we had the rifle set to shoot at a mile here in Saskatchewan, I was so darn excited about trying it out at a mile, that the last thing I was thinking of, was that I'd be shooting at an altitude of about 2500ft ASL not my usual 743. I figure that I was about 8MOA above the target, and the reticle is so fine in my scope, that once you came off the target, you couldn't select a proper point of aim because you lost the reticle in the field. The spotter (who is down range at an angle) told us that I hit the frame twice and was so close with all the other shots(16 in total) that we definately gave it a very close shave everytime. And the target was on a slight rise, so if you just went over it, you couldn't see the bullet strick, that added to the "What the H3ll happened there" factor. You get 10 minutes to fire as many rounds as you want/can. The average seemed to be in the area of about 17 rounds.
This was not a competition, just a fun shoot to see if you could hit an 18" high by 24" wide target at a mile. It's called the 1 MOA@mile shoot. (Yes, I know that 24" is more than 1MOA at a mile, but as windage is the biggest problem at long range, (25k this day) they made it 1.5MOA for windage, for the ones who haven't shot at these kinds of ranges before.)
So over the winter, we tunned the Donkey up and this spring plan to ring the h3ll out of that gong out there, we have the altitude locked into the gray matter this time
Andy said:
I do believe it was originaly based on the 340 Weatherby, Jim changed to the Remington .416 Mag as once the case was formed, it had more capasity than the cases formed from the 340 Weatherby, they get a very short neck and you couldn't load the 250 or 300gr Match without the Boat-Tail being well below the shoulder, he also changed the shoulder from whatever it was(I can't recall it right now) to 33 degrees, 8 minutes.
When I first posted it, I had people tell me that case life would suck as it is a belted Mag, well if you get 11 reloads and only loose 7 out of 200 to the primer pockets, I won't complain. The Remington .416 and 8mm brass costs a h3ll of alot less than the Lapua .338. And yes I've been through the " Lapua is better brass and will shoot more consistant and tighter groups". Well all I have to say about that is this, this ones for hunting live animals, not paper. If the ammunition shoots like you see in the pictures, your humainly killing your animals if you can shoot consistantly. Number 1 problem is not usually the rifle, but the shooter.
It uses about 5gr. less powder than the Lapua .338 and anywhere from 10- 25gr less than the .338R.U.M. and achives greater muzzle velocities. ( Averaged from stats taken from the Sierra, Hornady, Nosler and Lyman reloading manuals for the Lapua 338 and 338 R.U.M.)
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8.6x72 Swamp Donkey Magnum
HPBT , Have you seen that ad from 2M Rifle Ranch? He says that he gets 2930 fps from a 338 McDonald with a 250g Partition from a 24" barrel. From what i can figure from the picture, it looks like a 338 win mag with a improved shoulder. Looks like it is something that would run pretty well close to what your SDM does with a standard length cartridge. Increase the barrel length to 26" and it would be over 3000 fps. Something to look at ?
HPBT , Have you seen that ad from 2M Rifle Ranch? He says that he gets 2930 fps from a 338 McDonald with a 250g Partition from a 24" barrel. From what i can figure from the picture, it looks like a 338 win mag with a improved shoulder. Looks like it is something that would run pretty well close to what your SDM does with a standard length cartridge. Increase the barrel length to 26" and it would be over 3000 fps. Something to look at ?
