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My 12YO daughter and I went on a parent/child axis doe & feral hog hunt organized by ghcof.org on a ranch in the Texas Hill Country run by internationaladventures.us . Both good outfits with guys who are great with the kiddos.
Saw no hogs, but a little hog sign. Turns out the county has a local non-profit with ~8 hog/predator hunters on the payroll there'bouts and the hogs, coyotes, foxes, and bobcats have a rough time of it.
This was supposed to be an easy hunt from a blind with a feeder out 100 yards or so. Turns out that the axis deer had no intention of hitting the feeders--but the sheep and out-of-season whitetails were throwing an ungulate convention. So it turned into a guided spot/stalk deal. Quite a bit more challenging, but my daughter was thrilled by the spot/stalk aspect and wants more of that sort of hunt. Thrilled as in, "I was shaking for the last part, when we were crawling on our bellies behind the bushes and I could not close my left eye because it was twitching."
She got her axis doe at 125 yards. This was her first big game or whatnot taken with a centerfire rifle.
Rifle:
Alexander Arms 6.5 Grendel 16" Incursion Complete Upper Assembly
Palmetto State Armory Lower Receiver and Parts Kit
Larue Tactical MBT-2S trigger
Leupold VX-1 2-7x33 Scope on one-piece Warne mount+rings.
Limbsaver recoil pad
Patrol-type 2-point sling to ease toting the rifle at the ready
Objective was a rifle light enough for my wife & daughter, with minimal recoil, but with enough power to reliably take medium game with a boiler room shot. Rifle weighs less than 6lbs before optics & ammo. To get lighter, I think you have to go with pricey exotic materials/parts or SBR. No complaints with any of the parts, though I might look for a heavier buffer as it slings brass a ways. Even the PSA mil-spec polished trigger was decent, though not nearly as nice as the MBT-2S. Several hundred rounds down range, zero malfunctions.
Will have to start reloading again, as she likes to punch paper much more with this AR15/6.5G than with any of the .22LR rifles she has shot. Until then, thank the Lord for Wolf steel cased 6.5Grendel. After the serious shooting is done, I unleash her on the targets with a box or two of Wolf to do with as she pleases. I do think that the Wolf improved her shooting. Yes, not as accurate for more serious work, but just letting her get after it at her own pace, with however many rounds in the magazine helps get her comfy with the rifle. Only did some preliminary accuracy testing with Hornady SST & ELD and Federal Fusion. It liked them all, but the Federal Fusion looked the best given my cursory testing.
My daughter used Hornady 6.5Grendel 123gr SST ammo to take the axis doe. I had wanted to use the Federal Fusion ammo, but could not get enough of it quickly enough, but SST and ELD is common locally. Yeah, I am the guy who cleaned out the local gun shops of 6.5 Grendel last week. I need not have worried, the SST did a number on the axis doe. Entry wound looked good, exit wound was the size of a quarter. During cleaning, the lungs looked to be chum. Just a mess. She made the canonical shot behind the shoulder and there was no blood at the spot it was shot. Fifty yards on, there was plenty of blood, leading to the axis doe about 100 yards from the spot it was shot. Must have taken 50 yards to fill the cavity until it reached the wounds.
We both had a great time.
Daughter, Rifle, & Doe
20190317_104347.jpg
Daughter, Doe, and Tracking Dog-In-Training
20190317_104001_pup.jpg
Saw no hogs, but a little hog sign. Turns out the county has a local non-profit with ~8 hog/predator hunters on the payroll there'bouts and the hogs, coyotes, foxes, and bobcats have a rough time of it.
This was supposed to be an easy hunt from a blind with a feeder out 100 yards or so. Turns out that the axis deer had no intention of hitting the feeders--but the sheep and out-of-season whitetails were throwing an ungulate convention. So it turned into a guided spot/stalk deal. Quite a bit more challenging, but my daughter was thrilled by the spot/stalk aspect and wants more of that sort of hunt. Thrilled as in, "I was shaking for the last part, when we were crawling on our bellies behind the bushes and I could not close my left eye because it was twitching."
She got her axis doe at 125 yards. This was her first big game or whatnot taken with a centerfire rifle.
Rifle:
Alexander Arms 6.5 Grendel 16" Incursion Complete Upper Assembly
Palmetto State Armory Lower Receiver and Parts Kit
Larue Tactical MBT-2S trigger
Leupold VX-1 2-7x33 Scope on one-piece Warne mount+rings.
Limbsaver recoil pad
Patrol-type 2-point sling to ease toting the rifle at the ready
Objective was a rifle light enough for my wife & daughter, with minimal recoil, but with enough power to reliably take medium game with a boiler room shot. Rifle weighs less than 6lbs before optics & ammo. To get lighter, I think you have to go with pricey exotic materials/parts or SBR. No complaints with any of the parts, though I might look for a heavier buffer as it slings brass a ways. Even the PSA mil-spec polished trigger was decent, though not nearly as nice as the MBT-2S. Several hundred rounds down range, zero malfunctions.
Will have to start reloading again, as she likes to punch paper much more with this AR15/6.5G than with any of the .22LR rifles she has shot. Until then, thank the Lord for Wolf steel cased 6.5Grendel. After the serious shooting is done, I unleash her on the targets with a box or two of Wolf to do with as she pleases. I do think that the Wolf improved her shooting. Yes, not as accurate for more serious work, but just letting her get after it at her own pace, with however many rounds in the magazine helps get her comfy with the rifle. Only did some preliminary accuracy testing with Hornady SST & ELD and Federal Fusion. It liked them all, but the Federal Fusion looked the best given my cursory testing.
My daughter used Hornady 6.5Grendel 123gr SST ammo to take the axis doe. I had wanted to use the Federal Fusion ammo, but could not get enough of it quickly enough, but SST and ELD is common locally. Yeah, I am the guy who cleaned out the local gun shops of 6.5 Grendel last week. I need not have worried, the SST did a number on the axis doe. Entry wound looked good, exit wound was the size of a quarter. During cleaning, the lungs looked to be chum. Just a mess. She made the canonical shot behind the shoulder and there was no blood at the spot it was shot. Fifty yards on, there was plenty of blood, leading to the axis doe about 100 yards from the spot it was shot. Must have taken 50 yards to fill the cavity until it reached the wounds.
We both had a great time.
Daughter, Rifle, & Doe
20190317_104347.jpg
Daughter, Doe, and Tracking Dog-In-Training
20190317_104001_pup.jpg
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