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First squirrel with a 308!
I know it's not as glamorous as "first deer with cast," but I thought I'd post this for those of you who want to use one rifle for everything.
In the quest for a "do-all" rifle, I picked up a Model Seven in 308 that started out as a black stainless. After some creative spray paint and a bedding job with JB Weld she was off to the local gunsmith to reduce the barrel length to "19 and thread it 1/2x28 for the Form 1 suppressor I legally built. I could have fluting done cheaply ~$25 and save a couple ounces while I was at it. 308 was not my first choice of caliber for a lightweight stalking, do-all rifle, but the abundance of brass and some help from Cast Boolits members here "urged" me in that direction. (Thanks to George & his friends!)
Wearing a Leupold 2.5-8x36 we weigh in at 6lb 10oz. Add the suppressor and I'm at 7lb 14oz. In the future I'll add a Wildcat Composites stock to reduce the weight slightly and more importantly, stiffen the forend.
With multiple j-word workups at 100 I'm able to group 1/2 to 1 inch consistently. With the suppressor I could shoot full bore, top end 308 loads all day with no flinch or shoulder pain.
Despite what some have said about featherweight barrels, I've found the rifle is accurate as long as I do my part. With this light rifle it takes much more concentration to stay accurate than with my 8.5lb Mauser, but with the suppressor and cast boolits I could easily put in a load of trigger time to perfect my form without bugging my neighbors.
However, cast boolits are where she shines. The Lyman 311041 and RCBS 30-150-FN group within an inch with 22gr of IMR 4227 while 5.5gr of Bullseye throws a 150gr subsonic accurately to 100 yards with or without the suppressor. How accurate?
I thought I'd test my subsonic "small game" loads the other day. I've shot at least 100+ at targets to 125, but I was scared to shoot a squirrel or other small game for fear of wasting an animal. I took 2 small game rounds into the woods and sat at the base of a tree. After some calling a few squirrel popped out at ~50-75 yards. Afraid to spoil meat and waste the life of an animal I aimed for the head. It would be either a clean miss or a kill. The first squirrel was brought low, jittered around on the ground, and then stopped. I watched it all in my scope. The other two squirrel were only mildly phased and the subsonic shot sounded like a spitball in the woods. No human or deer would know the difference between it or a small branch dropping from moderate height. 5-10 minutes later the other two squirrel came back out. Based on the results from the last squirrel I felt comfortable shooting my second round. I aimed again for the head. Perfect shot and the squirrel dropped. The other squirrel hung around without running this time, wondering what just happened. If I had more than two rounds I would have had three squirrel that day.
I walked up to the spot where both were shot. Both perfect headshots. Zero gross overkill. Two nice squirrel for the pot. I will never hesitate again to use this round in the woods on the deer stand, stalks, or otherwise. My 22 Hornet with solid boolits or 22lr with hollowpoints are more destructive than this.
This year this gun has taken 8 deer and two squirrel now. Tomorrow is a Black Bear hunt in a local WMA I plan to visit. I truly have a combination I could confidently use for absolutely any hunt I feel may come up in my lifetime with cast boolits and J-Words, be it small game, deer, black bear, or elk!
Without this forum I would have never gotten into reloading as I did or been able to shoot as much as I have. Thank you all for your help and support!
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