Welcome Oscar and Ohotnik

Oscar (right) and Ohotnik are brothers from the same liter.

Introducing the two newest members of The Hunting Brotherhood, Oscar and Ohotnik. These two rascals are German Wirehaired Pointers from the Vom Woltjen Kennel near Athens, Ohio.

If you're interested in more information about this breed, here's a link to a good article about them from Gun Dog magazine.

Ohonik and Oscar were born December 3rd, 2015.  They were recently brought together for a play date at Scott L's house where they had a good romp together.

While the dogs were playing, the two Scotts built training tables for the new prospects.

We are looking forward to a great hunting future together!

Lead Free Shotgun Slugs

Several of The Hunting Brotherhood are heading out for pig hunts in February and March.  The February hunt is in Louisiana and the March hunt is in Texas.

The first hunt will use rifles, but the second hunt is limited to slug shotguns since it's on a federal preserve.  The Texas hunt also requires use of lead-free slugs, so I did a little research to find what slugs are made without lead.  Here's a list of slugs that may be used.




 Rifled Slugs for smooth bores:
1-DDupleks Monolit Steel & Polymer Slug – may also be used in rifled barrels
2-DDupleks Dupo, Hexolit and Rossa Expanding Steel & Polymer Shotgun Slugs – may also be used in rifled barrels
3-Hevi-Shot Foster Slugs (apparently discontinued, but a few still around)
4-Winchester Super X RS15LF Zinc Slugs (apparently discontinued, but a few still around)

Sabot Slugs for rifled barrels:
1-Brenneke SuperSabot Lead-Free
2-Federal Premium Vital-Shok Barnes Expander Sabot Slug
3-Federal Premium Vital-Shok Trophy Copper Sabot Slug
4-Hevi-Shot Sabot Slugs (apparently discontinued, but a few still around)
5-Hornady Lead Free Monoflex Polymer Tipped Slug
6-Remington Premier Copper Solid Sabot Slug and Managed-Recoil Copper Solid Sabot Slug
7-Winchester Supreme Elite XP and XP3 Sabot Slug

spotting scope vs. binoculars?

This is a question I've been wondering about for our elk hunt.  I have a good set of binoculars and a cheap spotting scope I use for target practice so considering upgrading the scope, but don't want to if not needed.

If found contradictory opinions with tons on them on forums and none that have been satisfying. 

What do you think?  Have you found something that can help answer the question?

.300 Weatherby Magnum

Rifles being used for the up coming elk hunt are split between 30-06 and .300 Weatherby calibers.  Since four of us recently bought the 300 I thought I'd link this blog to the Weapons & Guns blog to feature this rifle.

GO TO .300 WEATHERBY MAGNUM

Match Your Bullet to Your Game

The next aspect of hunting we need to examine after looking different game classifications is what bullet is best for CXP 1, 2, 3, or 4.  Although we are focusing on best bullet selection for elk, it's good to know how to match up with all species. 

This type of know how will make you better able to either pick the correct box of cartridges off the shelf or choose the best bullet when reloading.

Click here to learn more...

Pig Hunting - When It Goes Wrong

 Wild Pigs, the Poor Man's Grizzly 

Several of us have done pig hunts or plan on one soon.  Here's an interesting video that will make you think about what can happen if things go wrong.

Click here to see video

 Picking the right rifle for the job has been a big discussion point.  Heck, how doesn't like thinking about the possibilities?  Of course lots of factors go into such a discussion, but perhaps the first thing that should be considered is the size of the animal you're hunting.  There are several different classification systems out there.  For this discussion I've settled on Winchester Arms use of the CXP rating that stands for "Controlled eXpansion Performance."  The animal's size and hide affects bullet/caliber selections.  Where do elk fit?

Click here to find the answer.

Shot Placement Video

Here's another post on the subject of shot placement.  This time it's a video designed to help you visualized where to aim when you see an elk in the field.  Shot placement is the most important factor in order to have a successful hunt.

What's Your Favorite Rifle Caliber?

This is a favorite topic for all hunters!  From my conversations with The Brotherhood I know it has been intensively examined in light of the upcoming elk hunt.  What caliber do you like best? Why?

I'll be running a series of posts related to this subject, so stay tuned...

Shot Placement for Elk

I know The Hunting Brotherhood has had their fair share of experience making shots that count, but it's not a bad idea when hunting a new species to consider where the best spot is to aim for an ethical harvest.

Click here to view shot placement on elk and have a conversation on where best to shoot them.

Practice!

257 reloads finally match/beat Norma factory loads.

I know that Kirk, Scott, and Hunter will all 3 be shooting a 300 Weatherby Magnums.  Factory ammo for Weatherbys is made by Norma in Sweden.  This ammo is loaded much hotter than ammunition you'd buy in the U.S. which is one reason why the Weatherby rifle much more accurate in my opinion.

My favorite rifle is a 257 Weatherby Magnum.  I love how flat and fast is shoots, plus the punch delivered with the right bullet is devastating as it travels up to 3,500 fps! 

Exit wound of 257 shot at 300 yards quartering to shooter.

It is the only cartridge I've every been challenged to reload better than the factory rounds.  After experimenting quite a bit, I've found Reloader 25 with 73 grains of powder, Federal 215 primers, and 100 grain Speer Hot-Cor bullets to be best.  The above target was shot at 100 yards with 12 mph winds.  Now that I'm satisfied at 100 yards I plan to move out to 200, 300, and 400 yard ranges.

I may use the 257 for elk.  Haven't made up my mind yet.  Inventor of the cartridge, Roy Weatherby, shot everything up to a polar bear and African buffalo with it!  I've got a couple other rifles that at 300 magnums that will compete with the Weatherby 300 that I plan on practicing with to see with can group the best out to 400 yards, however I hate to pass up a chance to buy a new rifle and for that reason alone I may also get a 300 Weatherby Magnum.

We should all be practicing at the ranges we plan on shooting from while elk hunting, not only from the bench, but also in the positions you might be using in the field.  One chance may be all you get.  Make it count!

300 Magnum Pros and Cons

Here's a decent article from Shooting Times on 300 Magnums.  Good read since looks like a lot of you are thinking about using this caliber for the elk hunt.

Online link

Ballistic Comparisons

How to get proof of hunter education...

If you're like me, it has been decades since you did your hunter safety class.  You can get the proof required by some states (like Colorado) by going to your state website.  For those of us in Ohio, here's the process:

1 - Start at ohiogamecheck.com
2 - From here you will need your "customer ID."  This is printed on your hunting license or call be gotten by calling ODNR at 800-945-3543.
3 - Now click on MANAGE YOUR CUSTOMER ACCOUNT.

4 - Choose customer ID circle and input appropriate information.

5 - The next screen has the information you need as proof of hunter education at the button of the page.  Print or snapshot this information and you should be good to go!

Hunt Calendar

I setup a Google calendar we can all use to keep track of hunting plans.  Each of you have been sent an invitation which will allow you to view the document.

Here is a link to the 2016 November page.