- Joined
- Nov 9, 2008
- Messages
- 96
- Reaction score
- 53
After filling a bonus doe tag on November 11th (with a .250 Savage, Savage 99), I started carrying my TC Omega for the rest of the rifle season, and also for the 2 Saturdays in early December during Maine's BP season. So the rifle was loaded on Saturday, November 18th, and then carried out in the woods many times, and stored -- uncapped, of course -- but with the muzzle taped in a garage that stays about 50 degrees. She was in & out of the woods and garage several times over that month.
Then I finally shot out the load the other day on December 27th -- almost 5 weeks later.............
It was a balmy 5 degrees out, with gusty winds at the range, but the 1st shot went right off and hit solidly in the black at 75 yards on the local range. (I did prick the powder charge with a nipple pick before capping it with a 209 primer.)
And then, since the gun had been shot and needed to be cleaned anyhow, I proceeded to put 4 more shots down range, all loaded "from my pockets" using the TC quick-loaders that I carry while hunting in the woods, and I got a nice deer-killing group. No, the group wasn't as tight as they were back in the early fall while sighting-in off the bench, as these were shot offhand in the cold with my left arm braced against an upright pole (just like resting beside a tree in the woods). Given the extreme cold temps, I found that a short T-handle screwed onto the ramrod really helped me get a grip on it to run a damp patch (saliva) down the bore between shots.
All in all, the Omega did fine, and I'm thinking if it can pass this storage test -- and the shooting and loading in very c-c-c-c-cold temps -- then it will do just fine for BP hunting in the late seasons to come. And with the bore being taped for storage, it looks as good now as it ever did.
I think that shooting in those conditions tests the "shooter" as much as it does the equipment, as I'd already been at the range for an hour in those temps shooting some other stuff. It's really interesting and informative to see what works well, and what doesn't, and do it all safely without any deer in sight at the range; as I think that will help me when out in the woods.
One lesson learned? Those little air-activated hand warmers that I will sometimes tuck inside of each boot and glove late in the season sure would have come in handy on that day!
But the TC Omega did great.
Old No7
Then I finally shot out the load the other day on December 27th -- almost 5 weeks later.............
It was a balmy 5 degrees out, with gusty winds at the range, but the 1st shot went right off and hit solidly in the black at 75 yards on the local range. (I did prick the powder charge with a nipple pick before capping it with a 209 primer.)
And then, since the gun had been shot and needed to be cleaned anyhow, I proceeded to put 4 more shots down range, all loaded "from my pockets" using the TC quick-loaders that I carry while hunting in the woods, and I got a nice deer-killing group. No, the group wasn't as tight as they were back in the early fall while sighting-in off the bench, as these were shot offhand in the cold with my left arm braced against an upright pole (just like resting beside a tree in the woods). Given the extreme cold temps, I found that a short T-handle screwed onto the ramrod really helped me get a grip on it to run a damp patch (saliva) down the bore between shots.
All in all, the Omega did fine, and I'm thinking if it can pass this storage test -- and the shooting and loading in very c-c-c-c-cold temps -- then it will do just fine for BP hunting in the late seasons to come. And with the bore being taped for storage, it looks as good now as it ever did.
I think that shooting in those conditions tests the "shooter" as much as it does the equipment, as I'd already been at the range for an hour in those temps shooting some other stuff. It's really interesting and informative to see what works well, and what doesn't, and do it all safely without any deer in sight at the range; as I think that will help me when out in the woods.
One lesson learned? Those little air-activated hand warmers that I will sometimes tuck inside of each boot and glove late in the season sure would have come in handy on that day!
But the TC Omega did great.
Old No7
