My youngest son flew in a few days ago from Alabama, him & his brothers have been pounding on the ground squirrels, rock chucks & badgers. The first day he showed up he smoked a very, very large badger, this old gummer has been around longer than Callshot.
Then yesterday my oldest son nailed one just outside of town, I've been looking for about 10 days straight, no badgers, I think its the company I"ve been keeping. Probably driving 60-70 miles a day, no badgers!
This is Brett's whopper badger, notice the beautiful, wide stripe down his nose, very nice markings. He shot it right under the chin as it ran towards him, the gun is an old Winchester model 74 (22LR)






A little while later he knocked off a big old graybeard rock chuck using his 22-250.




He will have this one mounted life size, its a real beast.
The one Shane shot went down a hole, we went to town & got a shovel & tried to dig him out (brand new shovel) & the handle broke after 5 minutes. We didn't get him!

Today I mounted an Ultra Dot red dot on my Ferminator 44 maggie with the 10 1/2" tube, I was afraid the rifling might be shot out of this thing when I first got it from all the hot loads he likes to run....but it seems to be doing OK. After dialing the scope 2-3 times it really started shooting. I was feeding it a diet of 240 gr Mihec HP's over 10 grs of Unique, I think these are coasting along at around 1250 fps, not sure.
I do know if you miss with this gun & the red dot it ain't the guns fault. I've been carrying it around for a couple of weeks now in the Barranti NorthWest Hunter, carries nice & for a long barrel its very easy to pack.


Here's a little closer shot of the mounted red dot using the Edge Custom, no drill mounts, they work great, just like on my 357 Maxie.




That little 3 shot group at 25 yds was one of 3 different ones that were almost exactly the same, only difference was the other 2 weren't quite centered. The group measured .345", I'm liking this gun!


Couple of scenry shots for everyone.




These 2 beavers were enjoying the cool evening, they were very playful.


There were a couple of miles of beaver ponds along this road.


My bench setup.


My buddy Brent was dialing in his Kimber 270 maggie, lucky guy drew a Nevada elk tag!


On this range we can shoot steel out to 1200 yds.


Here's a better photo of the 3 shot group off the bench.


This load at about 1250 fps is cast from a soft alloy, 70% WW & 30% lead, yet there's no leading & as you can see the accuracy is there. If you're going to shoot a HP you need the right alloy to make it work.
Most times I just shoot regular SWC type slugs but I'll bust a couple of deer with this load.

Dick

Dick, you are going to piss off the FA owners showing those super nice groups from your RUGER. BTW, nice shooting and very nice scenery. My kind of place. That Badger is a beauty.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodrow S:
Dick, you are going to piss off the FA owners showing those super nice groups from your RUGER. BTW, nice shooting and very nice scenery. My kind of place. That Badger is a beauty.

Not this one, it's just the stupid blanket statements that raise my ire. My Rugers all shoot vey well.

Woodrow, this was a very pleasant surprise. I'm not sure how much better a revolver can shoot, & this one did it 3 straight times, although the other 2 groups were a very small fraction bigger.
I think with a scope with some magnafication you could shave it a bit but for any revolver to do it is grounds for rejoicing, at least with me pulling the trigger.
I have a 10 1/2" 357 Maximum that will do almost as well & do it consistantly, it has the same type of mount (Edge Custom) but a 4X Leupold.

Dick

Dick, great story and fine photos.....tell me how the Ultra Dot holds up on the .44....I am thinking about replacing the scope I have on mine with one...I have used them for years on my bullseye guns with no problem.

Which one did you use, the 25 or the 30, and any trouble mounting it?

It presently has a Leupold 2x on Leopold base and rings.

Bill, I'm sure Dick will chime in shortly, but I've had a 1" (25) Ultra Dot on one of my .44 Mag. 629's since 1990, and never had any problem with it whatsoever. I've had another on a Redhawk almost as long with no problems either.
Ken

quote:

Woodrow, this was a very pleasant surprise. I'm not sure how much better a revolver can shoot, & this one did it 3 straight times, although the other 2 groups were a very small fraction bigger.
I think with a scope with some magnafication you could shave it a bit but for any revolver to do it is grounds for rejoicing, at least with me pulling the trigger.
I have a 10 1/2" 357 Maximum that will do almost as well & do it consistantly, it has the same type of mount (Edge Custom) but a 4X Leupold.

No surprise Dick! My 10-1/2" Ruger has way over 61,000 heavy loads through it and there is no measurable wear, as tight as the day I bought it. The bore is still .430". I can't count the lighter plinking loads through it.
I love your pictures and you fellas have too much fun. I miss the Ohio varmint hunting. We have few chucks here where I live now, just tons of deer. Almost nothing to hunt off season except empty beer cans!

Bill, this is a 1" Ultra Dot & I'm very inpressed. Everyone I've talked with has told me they will hold up to about anything you can dish out & they have a lifetime warranty. If Ken O'Neill endorses them you can bet they're good.
I did try one for a short time with the multiple reticles & didn't like it, couldn't get the dots clear on any setting, maybe just me. This fixed dot model is very clear.
The Edge Custom mount makes it simple to mount one & they are extremely durable, plus everything is very compact.
Ken, wish you were here, the rockchucks are thick!!
BFR, 61,000 rounds is a lot of beer cans! You buying all those liquid targets!

Dick

Nope, shot IHMSA and won Ohio state with 79 out of 80. I fell apart with the last shot. Hitting 20 straight turkeys at 150 meters and 19 rams at 200 will wear on a guy! That old Ruger will still hold 3/4" at 50 and 1-1/4" at 100.
I had to sell many guns but never this one. It is an old friend.

OOOOH!! Holster Envy!!
I may have to get me one.

Is there enough room in there for the extra high front sight on a BFR?

BFR, my dad was a Buckeye, never seen one that couldn't shoot! 79X80 is very, very good. That old gun must be a blued one.

Glen, Mike can make it fit any front site configuration, give him a call or look at his website. He is a world class craftsman!

Dick

61,000 rounds.....dear Lord, my wrist hurts just thinking about it.... say again

Dick....do you think it would work if I just used my Leupold rings and base?

If yours is the 1 inch that must be their 25 MM?

Bill, its the 25mm. Not sure how you will use the Leupold mount without drilling & tapping if you are planning on using a Ruger. Thats the beauty of this Edge Custom mount, very easy to install, after all, I can do it!

Dick

Dick, mine is the stainless. I bought it in 1980 when it first came out. Bradshaw called it the "Silver Hornpipe."
Bill, measure the distance between the rings on the Leopold base, they are close together so you might need a front extension ring. I would have Dick measure the length of the turret on his 25mm to see if it will fit.
The SRH, RH and Hunter revolvers all have rings too close for a lot of red dots, you need to know the measurements of the turrets. I always get a Weigand base for these.

BFR....Thanks....will do....leaving town for a few weeks and will work on it when I get back...
My wrist still hurts from your post.

quote:

Originally posted by billinthewild:
Dick, great story and fine photos.....tell me how the Ultra Dot holds up on the .44....I am thinking about replacing the scope I have on mine with one...I have used them for years on my bullseye guns with no problem.

Which one did you use, the 25 or the 30, and any trouble mounting it?

It presently has a Leupold 2x on Leopold base and rings.

Bill, I have had an Ultradot 30 on a .475 Linebaugh for years and after thousands of full house loads, it hasn't missed a beat. It has even stood up to some pretty intensive load development on a .500 JRH BFR. Can't go wrong with Ultradot products IMHO.

The group still looks good to me.