05 June 2015, 14:17
Andre MertensI made a good shot last night
Roebuck at 193 m (211 yds), top of heart blown off.
He didn't bat an eye but sagged down on his belly with folded front legs sticking out.
05 June 2015, 20:07
pagosawingnutExcellent shooting and appears to be some very nice tablefare!
06 June 2015, 11:49
Andre MertensMy .30-06 pet load (Sierra 165GK/N160/60.5 at 2900 ft"). The buck didn't take a step, he just folded down where he stood.
09 June 2015, 11:52
Andre MertensMy hunting lease lies about 30 km from Brussels, where I live.
14 June 2015, 13:47
GoldeneyeAndre!
30-06???
I'm surprised!
Thought u would be shooting smthing more exciting!

14 June 2015, 16:42
Andre MertensI shoot and handload for many calibers BUT I've drawn a line between experimenting/target/fun and hunting. The former hurts nobody except paper targets and personal ego, while the last affects living creatures who bleed and suffer. In the 1st option, I'm open to anything that's interesting or fun (even black powder) but I will restrict it to the shooting range, for in hunting, ethics compel me to deal out death (let's not mince words...) in the fastest, cleanest and most painless way, extending respect to venison all the same.
Ergo, for drive hunting, I'm limiting myself to the 9,3x74R (FN o/u CCS25 double rifle) for fair weather or its ballistic twin, the 9,3x62 in foul weather (Blaser R93 w/ synthetic stock).
I started deer stalking in the Scottish Highlands, in an estate where shots rarely present themselves at <150 m and I grew fond of the .300 Win Mag. Quite naturally, I transferred this familiarity to local stalking. Nobody will deny the efficiency of the .300 Winnie provided you accept the damage it can do at shorter ranges (if you ever shoulder-shot a Roedeer under 100 m with a .300, you'll know what I mean...). Then, in 2006, an infamous -and still ruling- gun law was voted in Belgium, BUT it contained one interesting collateral benefit : by submitting all firearms to licensing, it erased existing restrictions to own military calibers.
I didn't need more to rush and acquire a spare .30-06 barrel for my Sauer 202 (originally chambered in 7x64). Today and 29 heads of big game later, I'm quite satisfied to report that, beneath 250 m, the .30-06 kills as decisively and with much less meat damage than the .300 Win Mag. Op top of that, it's as accurate and offers at least 2x longer barrel life than it's magnum big brother.
14 June 2015, 20:36
jens poulsenThanks for sharing Andre´
Fine looking animal.
16 June 2015, 18:27
RobinOLocksleyquote:
Originally posted by Andre Mertens:
I shoot and handload for many calibers BUT I've drawn a line between experimenting/target/fun and hunting. The former hurts nobody except paper targets and personal ego, while the last affects living creatures who bleed and suffer. In the 1st option, I'm open to anything that's interesting or fun (even black powder) but I will restrict it to the shooting range, for in hunting, ethics compel me to deal out death (let's not mince words...) in the fastest, cleanest and most painless way, extending respect to venison all the same.
Words to live by.
Best-
Locksley,R