I'm back, and I didn't get skunked

[MBTcustom]

Just got back from my first hunt of the season (hopefully not my last)
First, let me apologize, I was hunting with jacketed bullets. I just got this rifle a couple weeks ago, and I don't own a 30 caliber mold, so I had to use what was available, and I really wanted to use this rifle (been waiting a long time to get my nose pickers on one of these things!)
The rifle is an M1A scout.
84263
I spent Saturday hunting in the worst rain I have ever hunted in. I was soaked, my gear was soaked, and my guns were soaked. I might as well have jumped in a swimming pool and climbed a tree.
Still, it was soooooo good to get out of the shop for a few days and do what I love doing best!
Here's a picture of me up in the tree where I sat for about 16 hours this weekend. You can't really tell it in the photo, but you're looking at one really wet, really happy feller!:
84262
Well, I stuck it out, and Sunday morning, the rain had cleared off and about 9:20 these two deer came nosing their way into my area. The lead doe was pretty fair size for that part of the country, but she knew something wasn't right. She was walking straight towards me, and kept looking up at me every other step. I knew she was about to decide to cut and run, because she stopped moving and was looking right at me! Fortunately, I was looking right at her too.....over the sights of my rifle. She was turned slightly to the right, and I didn't want to ruin any body meat, and I really am way too lazy to track a deer over wet ground, so I aimed right at her right nostril, and squeezed it off. needless to say, it was lights out immediately.
Here's a cell phone picture on full zoom from my tree stand seconds after the shot was taken. It's fuzzy, but you can clearly see the exit wound in her neck:
84264
84265
I was disappointed that I couldn't post pictures of a cast boolit kill, but maybe I can find a suitable mold by november, and rectify that situation. Still, the shot was quick, humane, and I lost almost no meat (except the one side of the neck).
What was really amazing was when we skinned her out. This deer is far and away the fattest deer I have ever busted. There was a full 1" of fat on her back and flanks! Should be good eatin!

Take care fellers, and I hope you are all blessed with the same good fortune I experienced!

[Ben]

That one had been paying visits to someone's corn fields.

Enjoy.....A nice kill.

Ben

[MBTcustom]

It's meat in the freezer. Angie's happy, so I am too! LOL!

[horsesoldier]

I thought you killed two! LOL congrats.The scout is a nice rifle, wish I had one instead of my standard.

[frankenfab]

Nice, Tim!

I will PM you about breaking in a couple 30 cal molds for me:smile:

[MBTcustom]

There's a tenderloin in it for you if you do. I'm serious as lung cancer.

[TXGunNut]

Meat in the freezer, looks rather tasty as well. Pressure's off, now you can pick a pretty day to take your pretty rifles out. Broke in a NOE 311041 mould today but 30-06 hasn't even made it to my CB project list so if I hunt in the rain this year it'll be with jaxteted projectiles.

[geargnasher]

Congrats, Tim! Now I can't understand how a feller like you could ever be wanting for some .30 caliber boolits. Heck, you're building HOW many .30 caliber rifles for cast shooters right now? SFRB to Ar. from here is three days, tops. Use THE .308 cast M1A load and all you have to worry about is a few shots to check the sights.

Gear

[OnHoPr]

Congrats on the backstraps and way to break in a new rifle.

[eljefeoz]

Good Going,Tim
Cheers

[btroj]

Well done Tim. I am surprised you didn't take the 45-70.

What you need is a rifle chambered in a 30 caliber dedicated cast cartridge.....

[alrighty]

Backstraps is good! Nice humane shot as well .I am trying to decide what variant of a M1A1 to pick up.I know I want a N.M. but still unsure of what model.

[MBTcustom]

Well done Tim. I am surprised you didn't take the 45-70.

What you need is a rifle chambered in a 30 caliber dedicated cast cartridge.....

Actually, I took three guns with me. The M1A, the 45-70, and my 44magnum pistol. My intention was to take a deer with the pistol if at all possible, but that was going to be heavily dependant on the deer having no idea I was there, but this doe was nobody's fool. I would not have collected her, had I not been in position when she came up. I was hoping she would go about her merry way oblivious to me so I could set the rifle down and pull my pistol, but that was not the case! Actually, when I pulled the trigger, I think she was ready to bolt any second.
The results would have been the same had I been carrying the 45-70, but looking at the two rifles in the lodge, then looking outside at the rain, I decided to leave my beautiful marlin safe in it's case, and use the unbustable parkerized M1A for what it was designed for....adverse conditions.

I want more time behind the M1A. I think I'll save the 45-70 for another year, but I'm very fickle about these things! Hell I may just bust out Siete Leguas for modern gun. It's ready to rock with the deer slayers I used in my sig line (don't worry, I promise I'll head shoot the rest of them to reduce meat loss, LOL!)

[MBTcustom]

Alrighty, I would go with the traditional M1A with the walnut stock and 22" barrel. I see some on gunbroker for about $1400.
I know that the regular M1A is very forgiving with load pressures due to the long impulse time that comes from the long barrel. I landed the scout because it was such a smokin hot deal, I couldn't pass it up, and I figured if the gas system gives me trouble, I can just screw on a new, full length barrel, and carry on. However, I purely love the shortness of it, and I'm going to give it every opportunity to give me a cast boolit solution.

Before I get too carried away with accuracy testing, I'm going to do a little judicious "plumbing" on this rifle. I'm going to rework the trigger (4.75Lb can be improved), bed the stock, and shoot a few bore lapping bullets through the barrel. That should make it a little more friendly. Right now, I've got a 3" group at 100 yards with 175 SMK's. That's typical for a rifle like this with no mods. A little elbow grease goes a long way on these babies.

[w5pv]

Good job,I have killed but one deer with a lot of fat.It was an old spike buck good eating meat and I figured that he had been eating out of some one's feed trough.

[waksupi]

Poor Bambi. Poor, poor Bambi. Never even suspected it would end up as steaks and burgers. Looks delicious!

[MBTcustom]

Just carved up some tenderloin this morning for breakfast. My fingers got greasy just handling the meat!
It was delish!

[BruceB]

Backstraps is good! Nice humane shot as well .I am trying to decide what variant of a M1A1 to pick up.I know I want a N.M. but still unsure of what model.

My loooong sticky thread about cast loads in the M1A used a "loaded" standard-length rifle. Accuracy is just fine, jacketed or cast. That thread is on the "CB Loads, Military Rifles" forum.

I don't believe the "National Match" comes in anything except the standard-length rifle (22" barrel). The NM represents about a thousand dollars extra that you really don't need to spend. Also, the bedding of the NM rifles is subject to wear if the rifle is stripped too often. Of course, if the money is no problem, it's your decision.

Incidentally, it's called the "M1A" rifle, NOT the "M1A1". Springfield made an "M1A1" model many years ago; it was a shortened sort of "bush rifle", but has not been made for some time.

[milkman]

Congrats Tim. Nice deer and we have one of the best nut crops this year that I have seen. Deer should be in terrific shape this year. I have a RD 165 and a lee 200g 2r mould if you would like to borrow them.

[frankenfab]

Congrats, Tim! Now I can't understand how a feller like you could ever be wanting for some .30 caliber boolits. Heck, you're building HOW many .30 caliber rifles for cast shooters right now? SFRB to Ar. from here is three days, tops. Use THE .308 cast M1A load and all you have to worry about is a few shots to check the sights.
Gear

What boolit and load. I have the 311331 and 311299. I figure Tim might want to cast his own boolits. I know I would. Hoping my mold options aren't too long of Boolits for .308

[MBTcustom]

My loooong sticky thread about cast loads in the M1A used a "loaded" standard-length rifle. Accuracy is just fine, jacketed or cast. That thread is on the "CB Loads, Military Rifles" forum.

I don't believe the "National Match" comes in anything except the standard-length rifle (22" barrel). The NM represents about a thousand dollars extra that you really don't need to spend. Also, the bedding of the NM rifles is subject to wear if the rifle is stripped too often. Of course, if the money is no problem, it's your decision.

Incidentally, it's called the "M1A" rifle, NOT the "M1A1". Springfield made an "M1A1" model many years ago; it was a shortened sort of "bush rifle", but has not been made for some time.

Bruce, I'm slugging my way through that awesome thread right now. I got to the part where you gave up on the 311466 mold, and I'm crying big crocodile tears because that is the only 30 caliber mold I own! LOL!

Now, I just want to take a minute and thank all you awesome fellers who have offered to let me borrow your molds. Since I posted this yesterday, I have been offered molds from no less than 5 individuals, only two of whom I have ever met in person! I am truly blessed with friends!
I'm blown away by this, and I just want to say thank you. I didn't expect that at all, and I suddenly find myself overwhelmed with options! All I can say is "Wow".
For right now, I'm just going to try my beat up lovern, because if I get it to work, then I won't be shaking the mothballs out of my wallet trying to find spare change for a new mold!
I just have to bore out the pin holes and bush them. For the record, this is what happens if you're young and dumb as rock salt and think it's cool to slap your molds shut after you drop the pills.

[btroj]

Tim, my biggest challenge each year before deer season is deciding what gun to take. Rarely do I hunt one gun two years in a row. The only constant is that the Marlin 1894CB in 45 Colt always goes as a backup. Always

[MBTcustom]

Well, I can honestly say that as long as there's a scout in the safe, it's not going to be much of a decision for me LOL!
This rifle is the answer to the whole reason I became a gunsmith in the first place. I have been on a quest for the ultimate rifle. It needs to weigh less than 9lb, it needs to be short, it needs to be powerful (no .223 groundhog cartridges thank you very much), it needs to be beautiful, it needs to be tough as nails, it needs to be accurate (I think with a little TLC, I can improve on this), it needs to be versatile with loads, and it needs to be in a common caliber.
I settled on a choice between three rifles. The 1895 Marlin, the AR-10, or the M1A. I never thought I would get my hands on an M1A for anything I could afford, but the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. It's just a tool.....but I wanted it.
I considered many times selling every firearm I owned just to get enough money together for an M1A, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that.

However! The quest continues to maximise the accuracy of cast lead boolit rifles specifically. I'll let the other factors drag in order to promote that single objective. When I feel I have successfully managed to achieve that objective, I'll find another carrot on the end of the stick to chase around.

[MBTcustom]

No mike, I didn't want to take that one hunting. This is the stock that came on it. I thought about swapping, but I didn't want to get yours all dinged up. I'm glad I didn't swap them too, because the finish on this one got trashed in the rain. I'm going to bed the one you gave me for target work, and use this one as the rough and tumble option.

[Idaho Mule]

Good way to break in a "new" rifle. Congrats on the deer score, and I appreciate the full story and pics. JW

[cbrick]

No 30 cal molds? Shocking. :shock: Why didn't you mention that while you were here? I have 20+ 30 cal molds, let me know what your interested in trying and I'll send some off to ya. I also have a coffee can full of SAECO #315 that someone gave me years ago, I think they are lino but not sure. I never did anything with them simply because I hate lubing such a tapered boolit. Don't know if they would work in the M1A but you can try some if ya want. So, what 30 cal boolit do you want to try?

Rick

[Grandpas50AE]

Tim, great deer there buddy. I bet them tenderloins made great breakfast steaks. I'll be up in Mt. Ida come Friday for the opening Saturday of the ML season.

[horsesoldier]

Keep in mind schuster makes an adjustable gas plug.Its what I have on my rifle. I can shoot any 308 loads in it now.

[Browningshooter]

Congrats Bro! I'm lookin to bag a doe this weekend. I love a fat and tender doe in every way you could possibly think to consume venison..

[Pb2au]

nicely done sir!
I am ramping up for yet another year here in Ohio. Early Muzzleloader is coming up and I have a new to me flinty trade musket to try out!

[jaysouth]

Goodsteel,

Looks like you could have dropped a cinderblock and killed that one. Last year I was hunting a ladder stand an hour or so away from you. Around 10 O'clock, nary a single deer had crossed my field of view. About 20 minutes later, I was so intent on watching a hundred yards out that I did not see a small spike licking the bottom rung of my stand's ladder. He looked up when I snicked the safety off. It was the last thing he ever saw, but he was small. The lady at the processing plant asked me if he was suckling his mamma when I shot him. That stung but is the kind of humor you get from country folks. I made the whole carcass into gumbo which was all consumed before thanksgiving, two weeks later.

[carolina556]

Nice shot, and great to see people out shooting military rifles. I have a 1903 I want to take out and do the same thing with! Next purchase will probably be a M1 Garand as well but I wanted that classic bolt action. Hopefully the rest of your season is filled with a few more of these same size deer...nice job!

[smoked turkey]

Tim I know I'm late to this particular party but I wanted to join the others in saying congratulations for a nice doe with good eatin written all over her. That is exactly what I am looking for opening morning here. Good story. Man I was right there with you. I got almost as wet as you did it was so real.

[MBTcustom]

I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Now, dig if you will the picture:
85397
I had about the same thing for breakfast this morning. This deer is so dad gum tender! The rear hams are as tender as the backstraps, and very juicy. Never had a deer this scrumptious before.

If you care to reproduce the homemade awesomeness up yonder, what you do is slice your deermeat across the grain about 1/4"-3/8" thick and throw it in the skillet. If you dont have a cast iron skillet, then disregard this recipe. You do not have my permission to use it. LOL!
Grab your jar of bacon drippings and throw in about a tablespoon. Chop up an onion and throw it in there too.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Once the onions are soft and the deer meat is done, use tongs to take out the big pieces, but leave as much juice in there as you can.
Pour in some water on top of the juices and mix it up real good.
Dust in a little bit of flour (a little bit goes a long way here, so dont overdo it!)
Keep the concoction moving till it simmers down to a pretty thick goo, then add water back to it. Do this three times.
After you add water the third time, watch the gravy for thickness. When it looks the way you like it, take it off the heat and spoon it on top of your deer meat and biscuits.
You're welcome.

[winelover]

Tim: Belated congrats on the deer. Don't know how I over looked this post. Too much hunting, I guess! I took this buck with that ROA, you admired, when you were here. Like yours, it dropped within 20 yards.

85419

Load was : 30 grains of Pyrodex "P", wonder wad, under a Lee 220 grain conical and topped with a wonder seal.

Remington #10 cap



Winelover

[MBTcustom]

Ha! good on ya John! Meat in the freezer is never a bad thing! Done with a cap and ball pistol no less.

I really hope to shoot a deer with a pistol someday, but I'm going to have to lay out some cash for a good one. Still trying to decide between a Ruger blackhawk or a BFR. Oh well, I have plenty of time to decide that while I'm working on not being broke! LOL!

[1Shirt]

Nothing is ever wrong with a one shot bang flop kill with no loss of meat! Well done!
1Shirt!

[nanuk]

Where's the snow?

[MBTcustom]

Dude! This is Arkansas. We dont get snow till january/february. That day there was a wet, balmy, 60 degrees.
Yep, sure was cold, but i stuck it out anyway!
LOL!

[cbrick]

That's what I like about these guys from the Ozarks . . . They're tough!

So ya finally decided to handgun hunt huh? I'll loan ya one loaded with real boolits.

Rick

[MBTcustom]

That's what I like about these guys from the Ozarks . . . They're tough!

So ya finally decided to handgun hunt huh? I'll loan ya one loaded with real boolits.

Rick

Well, I tried to. I think it's going to end up being one of those things that I either do, or just try to do.
I had my 44 loaded up with 17 grains of 2400 and Lyman 429421s, but when the moment of truth came, I had a rifle in my hands instead.
Sorry, my dad was the pistolero, but I've always been a rifleman at heart. It's going to take a real concerted effort to leave the rifle in the truck and walk into the woods with a handgun.

[cbrick]

Well if it really has to be a long gun then you can use my 308, it has a 15" barrel. :holysheep that's a long barrel.

Rick

[Crawdaddy]

Got into this one late, but a hearty congrats!

[winelover]

It's going to take a real concerted effort to leave the rifle in the truck and walk into the woods with a handgun.

Should be rather easy choice, since you already have one in the freezer this year with a rifle.

Winelover

[Swede44mag]

Ha! good on ya John! Meat in the freezer is never a bad thing! Done with a cap and ball pistol no less.

I really hope to shoot a deer with a pistol someday, but I'm going to have to lay out some cash for a good one. Still trying to decide between a Ruger blackhawk or a BFR. Oh well, I have plenty of time to decide that while I'm working on not being broke! LOL!

Congrats on the deer
I picked up a Ruger Bisley Black Hawlk Hunter in .44mag was looking for one in .45colt.
I put a lighter trigger spring in and it shoots great I took it deer hunting 2 times this year but didnt get close enough.
I have wanted one of the rifles you took your deer with for years but dont know enough about them to consider a used one.
I have been looking at the new springfield match versions but a lot of money.

[Junior1942]

". . . unbustable. . . ." I like it!