Recent content by Northwinds308

  1. Northwinds308

    .243 Opinions

    There's often a reason for that. I've seen a moose take 4 rounds of 7mm Rem Mag Berger's and the only reason it didn't make it into the lake was a headshot. We gutted it out and they hadn't penetrated to the far lung. Ask one of the more experienced Canadian or Alaskan guys how far a moose will...
  2. Northwinds308

    .243 Opinions

    For the Barnes give this a try before you write them off. 1. Clean your barrel. They use a different alloy than guilding metal used on most jackets and it does affect performance. I had a rifle that wouldn't shoot them under 2 inches. Cleaned it, shot a few foulers... Low and behold it was a...
  3. Northwinds308

    Why Carry a Sidearm?

    As long as you have the budget to train with it is argue a 10mm would be good all around in a capacity restricted state. Strongly recommend a weapon light for home defence/bears as many encounters will be in the dark. Just be aware that with increased recoil and muzzle rise you'll need to...
  4. Northwinds308

    Why Carry a Sidearm?

    Where are you hunting? If it's just black bears any good modern 9mm is your best bet. I have a very strong preference for Glocks or other reliable striker fired pistol with NO EXTERNAL SAFETY. Supposedly 16% of guns "jam" during bear encounters. More like 16% of people are incompetent and...
  5. Northwinds308

    Why Carry a Sidearm?

    Block there's a book about them called The Hidden War, seriously worth a read if you want to know more about them and the people that made them abandoned. Basically a conservation officer SWAT team made up of a whole bunch of agencies. Steven Rinella had the author on the Meateater podcast and...
  6. Northwinds308

    Estimating muzzle velocity for dope chart

    Definitely agree with this and just wanted to add to my earlier statements. My contribution was more to point out you can't do proper data tables without a chronograph and/or applied ballistics to true the results to your rifle. Putting half @$$ data in means you're guessing, not calculating...
  7. Northwinds308

    Question on elk round

    Shoot a heavy for caliber bullets and put it where it needs to go, don't take long or marginal shots and you'll do fine. Any of those rifles will work. For those ranges I like a 180 TTSX from a .300 Win Mag. Hits like a truck.
  8. Northwinds308

    Estimating muzzle velocity for dope chart

    This is an incredibly inaccurate way of going about it and assumes the advertised BC is correct for your muzzle velocity and twist rate. Very rarely are manufacturers published BC's correct for your rifle and it varies by brand. For example Berger is pretty good, Nosler is pretty bad. If...
  9. Northwinds308

    Estimating muzzle velocity for dope chart

    Look up Maximum Point Blank Range. The box will get you close enough to use it successfully, and keep your shots under 300. There are ways to true your ballistics without use of a chronograph that involve a particular type of software. By entering data at various ranges it will spit out a true...
  10. Northwinds308

    First big game animal?

    Borrowed a rifle from my uncle because my dad hadn't hunted for years and another uncle had his rifle. 7mm Rem Mag. Broke my nose on the scope. Killed the deer though!
  11. Northwinds308

    Bear Safety in the Rockies

    That's fair enough and everyone has their preferences. I just think it's funny how many guys get all "muh fortey fiiiivvveee!" Not realizing that if they pick the wrong ammo the difference is marginal at best. A lot of lackluster performance with 9mm has to do with FMJ ammunition, which sucks in...
  12. Northwinds308

    Bear Safety in the Rockies

    I wouldn't be so pro sidearm if I didn't shoot a couple thousand rounds a year. I'm fortunate that way. I'm unfortunate in that the government will not budge on wilderness handgun carry. Wish I could.
  13. Northwinds308

    What chest binos do you run? Western hunters only.

    10x50's soon to be 10x42 rangefinding EL's.
  14. Northwinds308

    Reticle choice for 7mm Remington Magnum

    I always prefer a BDC just for more precision, it's much more accurate than "yeah hold on the hairline." That said, some people find them distracting. My choice for a BDC is always Swarovski BRH. 0.5 Mil increments just make sense and make running your calculations easy.
  15. Northwinds308

    Bear Safety in the Rockies

    Not being defensive, presenting data. You said the data is that spray is more effective and if there were failed counts to tell you. I pointed out that the data is inaccurate and that there are multiple failed counts of bear spray not stopping the threat. You may do with that what you will, just...
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