http://www.rifleshootermagazine.co.uk 35Credit where
it’s due!
Top marks to Dyfed-Powys Police firearms team! I
applied for a variation on my FAC on Friday
morning and received it through the post on
Saturday. That’s a 24-hour turnaround!
Alan Brown, Lampeter, Wales.
READERS’ LETTERS
SOMETHING TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST? SHOOT US A LINE BYPOST OREM LSEND YOUR LETTERS TO: Rifle Shooter, 2-6
Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40
2EG or email [email protected]
T y y Härkila binocular strap, simply send your letter to
us at the address above. This tough, durable strap in waterproof PU
material with a magnetic closure and waist strap provides a safe and
stable support for your binoculars. With an adjustable length, it caters
for various sizes and weights of equipment. http://www.harkila.comRRP
£57.99WIN! A HÄRKILA
BINOCULAR STRAPLETTER OF
THE MONTHAm I missing the (lead) point?
I’ve been a keen reader of Rifle Shooter for
many years, but have recently noticed a
change in vogue and get the feeling we are all
being taken on a little trip by ammunition
manufacturers. Faster muzzle velocities,
guaranteed sub-1" MOA, greater knockdown
power, shoot further, one-shot wonder,
guaranteed expansion at extended range. We
have SST, BXR, V-Max, A-Max, ELD... OMG!
Whatever happened to the soft points?
How many hundreds of recreational stalkers
like myself and professionals still lower
themselves to use ‘bog-standard’ cup and
cone soft-point Gameheads that get the job
done humanely and meet cull figures?
These modern claims aforementioned
could lead to a confidence in the product that
you can dial in on the scope while on your
front and rear bag to slot the round into two
inches at 300 yards in a 10mph left-to-right
side wind read off your ballistics table.
Now try and do that on a reported RTA
injured buck that’s hobbling up and down the
opposite side of a stock fence on the edge of
heavy woodland with six followers, all in an
agitated alert state (14 sets of eyes and ears
and seven noses). The wind is 20-30mph
gusting and swirling around the head and at
the end of the wood and to top it off you’re
caught out in the open with no cover withdriven rain in your face. Yes, it happened, and
it was the knowledge I had of my set-up and
its limitations that allowed me to show the
buck the respect that he deserved in not
taking a risky shot that may have made the
situation a whole lot worse.
Practise different shooting positions, even
dry shooting in the house to build up muscle
memory. Go ‘dry’ stalking in the woods and
fields with your binos, but take your .17 HMR,
.22 LR or springer air rifle to keep you in touch
with stalking with a shouldered weapon.
As for the soft points, my standard rounds
are: the .243 Win (Sako 90gr soft point
Gamehead) and the 6.5x 55 (Winchester
140gr Powerpoint and PPU 139gr soft point).
All are soft point lead and, yes, they do
what it says on the tin. I’ve never had one fail
to expand and can’t remember having one fail
to pass through on boiler room shots, which
are the norm in heavy woodland and
woodland edges 10-175 yards.
Most of my stalking is woodland and I can
only remember ever shooting from a bipod
twice, both times from an elevated position. In
terms of range, most of my shots are under
70 yards and I can’t remember taking a shot
at a live deer target over 200 yards. I know my
set-up is more than capable of doing so and I
have practiced on targets at range, but would
feel extremely uncomfortable at engaging a
beast over this range unless the situation
dictated there was no alternative (injured or in
poor condition).
So, what has happened to the soft point?
Will it become extinct? Will there be a stock
pile of these rounds that nobody wants to use
as there are ‘more capable’ rounds? Let’s
hope so as I and many others who know their
worth will go and stock up on what’s left at
discount prices!PICTURE: Mark W, via emailMATTHEW CAMERONAll in the
presentation?
I am quite new to stalking and I do it because
of the thrill a hunt provides and to put meat
on the table. I would like to think that I have a
healthy respect for my quarry and that it’s
not being killed for my gratification but to
provide a meal, which I would otherwise
have to shop for, the cost of which is one
more animal being farmed.
On the subject of respect, I admit to
finding the presentation of animals for a
photo a little strange. I am used to seeing
fishermen showing off how large and clean
their fish is, but with deer it sometimes
seems that the hunter tries to create a
life-like situation with grass in the animal’s
mouth and a nod towards the camera.
I get the desire to keep a photo to show
size, condition and even the head towards
the camera to show as much of the animal
as possible, but grass in the mouth, or the
folding of legs? I don’t really get that. Would
someone explain why it’s done?
Pheasants, by comparison, are
unceremoniously strung up by the neck, not
laid out with wings spread as if still alive and
in flight.James, Suffolk.Dom Holtam replies: There is a tradition in
European hunting of giving the animal a ‘last
bite’ as a sign of respect, and some of these
traditions are being picked up in the UK.
There is also a movement towards more arty,
less graphic presentations of shot game,
especially when images may be used online
or on social media. Helping to manage the
public image of our sport should be an
important consideration for any hunter.PICTURE:OWEN BEARDSMORE