- Joined
- Dec 7, 2016
- Messages
- 4,615
- Reaction score
- 7,039
Our deer season began last Saturday and I've been chomping at the bit to give the new-to-me Patriot .45 a go as a smokeless rifle. On Saturday afternoon about 20 minutes before the daily closing time I popped a decent doe using smokeless and a 195 grain Barnes Expander in a blue sabot. Dead on and super effective medicine. I have one more tag to fill and plan to rotate between the Patriot and the Optima pistol for the remaining days of the season.
I hunt a hill that, simply stated, sucks to climb. The steep sides are just a burden to climb and I need to rest often, but I can attest to how that Patriot, being so much lighter than the other in-line rifles I own, made the climb the two days its been up the hill so much nicer. And the needle threading accuracy sure does a lot for one's confindence in the field, especially when there is hair in the sights.
I hunt a hill that, simply stated, sucks to climb. The steep sides are just a burden to climb and I need to rest often, but I can attest to how that Patriot, being so much lighter than the other in-line rifles I own, made the climb the two days its been up the hill so much nicer. And the needle threading accuracy sure does a lot for one's confindence in the field, especially when there is hair in the sights.