Okie dokie, update time... 
Enjoyed a few beautiful first days of our rifle season! Passed several small bucks and left the does out for 'chum', as the rut seems to be in full swing. Heck, I got a trail cam pic of a buck toppin' a doe, not two days ago!
To tie into the thread on box blinds, it sure was nice to sit back & relax in the huts we built recently...
And to quickly again touch upon what came up in another thread, regarding the importance (for me) of rifle 'balance'...look how my Redline sits fat & sassy. Nothing holding the rifle on that small sandbag, but it's own weight. Such a joy to handle a rifle that ain't tippy!
Alas, let's move along to terminal performance! By day 3, learned adjoining neighbors knocked two of our 'shooter bucks' down, and sent congratulations! So, since we aren't in some kinda big buck paradise, I figgered to hafta give the Redline a chance to fill an antlerless tag that had begun to burn a hole in my pocket! Least I could do was get the shot on video, so we got that taken care of...(stand by for that)
For now, I can happily report this:
A 70 grain Barnes TSX running ~3900fps from the 1:9 twist Brux on my .220Redline, is a sho'nuff deer ventilator!
Shot was about 115yds, mature doe broadside w/slight quarter away
Impact was mid-height & 3" behind the shoulder (akin to the 'perfect' bow shot)
Deer barely reacted at the shot, hopped 60yds downhill & flopped
Bullet passed thru, leaving a nickle sized exit, just behind the offside shoulder
In other words...PERFECT!!!
As with any 'first time' experience, there are always concerns that actual performance may not fully live up to intended/expected performance. But, it sure did here, and I could not be more pleased! The TSX held up its end of the bargain, despite being pushed very hard!!! I'd used these same bullets successfully @3550 FPS on deer, so to see them still work at +>300fps & relatively close range just solidified my opinion that these are some wicked tough killin' boolits...
Seems that the topic of 'blood trails' is always good for debates, as we know that ya really never know what you're gonna get! But, I maintain that two holes are better'n one! And will let the picture tell 1,000 more words on the subject...
For reference, that doe weighed 130#, dressed weight...they grow big here in cow country! The snow makes it easy to see how much blood can spray outta two little holes...when they're punched in the right spot. This what I consider a clean kill, with no mess, no muss, no fuss. Just a beautiful animal lying peacefully intact after being harvested. Even after shooting many deer, I'm still humbled to walk up to a downed animal & gives thanks for the opportunity to reap the blessing of meat they provide. Hope I never forget that most important part of hunting!!!
Based on this initial success, I'm a lot closer to declaring that this .220Redline is a legit 'meat gitter'. After carrying a 6x45AI last couple years, the Redline is some kinda overkill! Who'd a thunk that could be said about a .224caliber???
Thanks again for reading along! Will keep y'all apprised periodically on continued success (and failures) of my .200Redline. Maybe a nice buck wants to step into range before end of season, maybe not. We shall see...
Happy hunting!
Enjoyed a few beautiful first days of our rifle season! Passed several small bucks and left the does out for 'chum', as the rut seems to be in full swing. Heck, I got a trail cam pic of a buck toppin' a doe, not two days ago!
To tie into the thread on box blinds, it sure was nice to sit back & relax in the huts we built recently...
And to quickly again touch upon what came up in another thread, regarding the importance (for me) of rifle 'balance'...look how my Redline sits fat & sassy. Nothing holding the rifle on that small sandbag, but it's own weight. Such a joy to handle a rifle that ain't tippy!
Alas, let's move along to terminal performance! By day 3, learned adjoining neighbors knocked two of our 'shooter bucks' down, and sent congratulations! So, since we aren't in some kinda big buck paradise, I figgered to hafta give the Redline a chance to fill an antlerless tag that had begun to burn a hole in my pocket! Least I could do was get the shot on video, so we got that taken care of...(stand by for that)
For now, I can happily report this:
A 70 grain Barnes TSX running ~3900fps from the 1:9 twist Brux on my .220Redline, is a sho'nuff deer ventilator!
Shot was about 115yds, mature doe broadside w/slight quarter away
Impact was mid-height & 3" behind the shoulder (akin to the 'perfect' bow shot)
Deer barely reacted at the shot, hopped 60yds downhill & flopped
Bullet passed thru, leaving a nickle sized exit, just behind the offside shoulder
In other words...PERFECT!!!
As with any 'first time' experience, there are always concerns that actual performance may not fully live up to intended/expected performance. But, it sure did here, and I could not be more pleased! The TSX held up its end of the bargain, despite being pushed very hard!!! I'd used these same bullets successfully @3550 FPS on deer, so to see them still work at +>300fps & relatively close range just solidified my opinion that these are some wicked tough killin' boolits...
Seems that the topic of 'blood trails' is always good for debates, as we know that ya really never know what you're gonna get! But, I maintain that two holes are better'n one! And will let the picture tell 1,000 more words on the subject...
For reference, that doe weighed 130#, dressed weight...they grow big here in cow country! The snow makes it easy to see how much blood can spray outta two little holes...when they're punched in the right spot. This what I consider a clean kill, with no mess, no muss, no fuss. Just a beautiful animal lying peacefully intact after being harvested. Even after shooting many deer, I'm still humbled to walk up to a downed animal & gives thanks for the opportunity to reap the blessing of meat they provide. Hope I never forget that most important part of hunting!!!
Based on this initial success, I'm a lot closer to declaring that this .220Redline is a legit 'meat gitter'. After carrying a 6x45AI last couple years, the Redline is some kinda overkill! Who'd a thunk that could be said about a .224caliber???
Thanks again for reading along! Will keep y'all apprised periodically on continued success (and failures) of my .200Redline. Maybe a nice buck wants to step into range before end of season, maybe not. We shall see...
Happy hunting!
