For all you ‘Doubting Thomas’ out there, it’s 10, count them! is a post from: Sambar Safaris Deer Hunting - Chris Boon, Australia

Our thoughts and hearts are with you at this time of loss and devastation.
I, myself feel so helpless when my friends and business partners Anthony and Marie are fighting for life and property and I cannot be at there side. We are with you all giving our full support, in spirit, courage, stength, in true “Aussie mateship”.

I would also like to devote a percentage (yet to be determined) of all hunts in the near future, to bushfire affected farmers.

To all others who have the financial means, I encourage you also to make this an opportunity to help those caught in this cruel disaster and make this a team effort.
Aussies are a tough bunch and a resilient type, most would rather “suck it up” than ask for help. But always remind them that you are there for them…… I think i’ll be doing a “little” re-fencing on my days off!

Chris
Reedy Safaris

We pause for a moment to consider the bushfire victims is a post from: Sambar Safaris Deer Hunting - Chris Boon, Australia

Here is part 1 of the introduction to caping a sambar stag, this sambar was taken by a hunter on a windy day of winter 2008. We videoed the sambar stag and three sambar hinds before and during the shot

Part 2 to caping a sambar stag, this is where we run through how much of the sambar stags skin is required for the taxidermist and run you through the process.

Part 3 explaining the first cut on a sambar stag, which is the beginning of the actual physical work on the sambar stag.

 Get more on a complementary rough as guts DVD

that has all the bits the others leave out!

Introduction to caping a Sambar Stag is a post from: Sambar Safaris Deer Hunting - Chris Boon, Australia

WHAT A VIEW!!!!

 An Introduction to Reedy Safaris – Sambar Hunting Part 1

An Introduction to Reedy Safaris – Sambar Hunting Part 2

Glassing sambar in the snow

Snakes live in sambar country all year round – Alpine Copperhead

Watching a sambar hind late in the afternoon

Hunter harvests his first sambar stag!

 Learn more on a complementary DVD when you join us…..

Sambar Deer Video’s – Sambar Deer Hunting Video Clips is a post from: Sambar Safaris Deer Hunting - Chris Boon, Australia

Check Out the GameCam Photo Album is a post from: Sambar Safaris Deer Hunting - Chris Boon, Australia

Like My Shot on the Cover of the Latest Issue of Wild Deer & Hunting Adventures? is a post from: Sambar Safaris Deer Hunting - Chris Boon, Australia

After meticulous tracking and a long wait, this is the pay-off. You experience the highs and lows of tracking that elusive prize, but then, if you have done everything right, you find yourself at the climax of the whole hunt.  Don’t lose concentration, don’t slip up and make a noise, steady the nerves and take your best shot.

Hopefully, just one.

There are more deer hunting videos on the video page, just click the link on the menu.

Sambar Deer Hunting Videos is a post from: Sambar Safaris Deer Hunting - Chris Boon, Australia

The fire glowed red and cracked sparks, just as easily as the two of us cracked cans. The hunter’s camp was set and the heated discussion glowed just as red too. Sambar deer created the most interesting topic when it comes to what caliber is best and what the projectile should do. No doubt many campfires have seen the flames of this topic. The talk went late into the night, imagine if you could have it all; “the perfect sambar round”.

“All” what you may wonder?

1. Large entry wound and wound channel
2. Full penetration and exit wound from most shot presentations
3. Massive energy release for “hydrostatic shock” and trauma
4. Compact bush rifle
5. Comfortable “felt” recoil
6. Short action if follow up shot is ever required
7. Medium to high velocity
8. Large bullet range from manufacturers, in both designs and weights

Wonder what that leaves you with?

It left me thinking………why don’t I try and build something? I have never done any wildcatting the most I have done is a small bit of reloading. The next week at work I sat down and penned a small sketch on paper. I have always loved the .375 bore however when researching projectiles I found that there was a limited range available. I wasn’t going to go smaller, so I settled on the .458 bore. This because of the 45-70 through to the 460 Weatherby in cartridges there were bullet weights from 250gn through to 500+ gns in all manner of designs from spitzers, hollow points, bonded, solids, partition even X bullets. So it was 458 caliber by elimination.

The existing problem with the powerful cartridges already in 458 cal was that they are all built on long actions. Legally the cartridge had to be 2” in length for use in Victoria; I had a few base cases to choose from, 416 Rigby, 460Weatherby even the 458win trimmed back to 2” was an option. Yet if this wildcat was going to be successful in my opinion it would also have to equal the famous cartridge already in 458, the infamous 458winmag. I was at the time hunting with a 300WSM, which gave me an idea, why not see what the WSM case necked up to 458win held in case capacity.

I searched the internet for answers and came across a site www.ammoguide.com this site had a cartridge creator (CAD) where you could put in the case dimensions and it would give you certain answers. Whilst in the process of mentally configuring a new round I also searched for magazine articles for what would be required to “build” a gun. I started with a list, barrel, action, stock, reamer and dies to start, then the most important thing; a gunsmith to assemble the puzzle?
Searching I found a company in the US that builds custom reamers; I made a call and discussed it with David Kiff one of the main engineers at Pacific Tool and Gauge. He mentioned that he could do a basic 458WSM reamer and he could produce one rather quickly. I asked to think it over as I wasn’t sure that I wanted a WSM though I did want the short case, in CAD the case wasn’t holding enough water to make it “potent” enough.

Put simply I changed a few dimensions and came up with a “wildcat on a wildcat”. Instead on the standard case taper I made it less, now a 1 in 6/7 thou. I moved the shoulder forward so the neck was the same length as the 300WSM and at the same time I put a 40d shoulder to help solve any headspacing issues. This new case held the same or similar amount of water as the 458win and was much shorter. Calling David back in Oregon I advised him a fax was on its way with the new dimensions and to see if he could email me a reamer diagram.

Whilst this was going on I looked high and low for a gunsmith willing to take on the job, and was competent with wildcats. The name David Kerr in Melbourne kept popping up, so I called him up an arranged a meeting to discuss my plans. I needed an expert’s opinion on type of action, barrel and stock. David is a true gent and after many discussions we (read he) decided that a CRF action in 308 would be ideal since I could not afford a WSM action and a Tobler barrel with a 1-14 twist, profile etc would be my discretion. Calling around I found Victorian Arms had a BRNO 601 in 308 that was not fully functional and they were willing to sell it as an action only, bargain!

Meanwhile David Kiffs email came through and he asked what I wanted to call this new wildcat, in the beginning I had tabled it the “45 Velvet Sledgehammer”, however I decided to name it after the type of country it would be used in, so it became known as the 458 ALPINE. David finalized the sketch and the reamer went into production, I asked him who he thought could make the dies straight from the sketch, straight up he said Hornady. He was willing to do me a big favor and send the reamer sketch to Hornady and their Custom Die team would contact me direct.

A few weeks past and Lonnie Hummel from Hornady contacted me; I explained that I could not send him once fired cases as the first rifle had yet to be built. This was a small dilemma however, and Lonnie would build the dies from the reamer sketch. I told him to satisfy my curiosity and label the dies the 458 Alpine, he was more than happy to oblige. Everything was coming together, I ordered the Barrel from Robert Tobbler, no 8 profile (almost no taper) fluted stainless. It almost had to be stainless due to the conditions the gun would be subjected to!

I ordered a stock from overseas in grey laminate and it arrive promptly and all parts were put into cases and sent to David Kerrs, now the hardest part; the wait…….it was nearly two years before I heard about those pieces again, David had spent an inordinate amount of time getting the huge barrel to fit into the action. He advised me that he was going to get Geoff Slee to assemble the barreled action into the stock as the dimensions didn’t look quite right. He was right, and about 2 weeks later Geoff called and said the stock I had ordered was too thin in the fore-end and he was going to assemble me another….so the wait continued. The lows of building your own gun almost from scratch!

It wasn’t until March 2007 that I got the call to pick up my new toy 3 years in the making! This was the part I was dreading would it work, would I find someone with enough information regarding powders and weights etc to help me load my fire forming rounds and then my decent hunting loads? It was time to speak to some of the boys at the range and see what they knew……they knew one thing, “speak to Fudgy, here’s his card” was the reply I got multiple times!

Greg Fuge AKA Fudgy was a top bloke and straight up from the onset was intent on making the best loads and then the most accurate loads he could with my barrel, for me I wanted hunting loads, to him it was about putting all the shots in the same hole……basically we got the same compromised result in different ways LOL. He did say I was crazy creating a 45/70 on steroids I left the Norma brass, Remington/Hornady/Nosler projies and Hornady dies with him; he was going to look up some powders and primers and start the initial loads. I am so happy with his work that I still get him to load the rounds today!

So twice a week I went over to Fudgy’s while we pondered over fire forming loads and primers, all the time he was running the barrel in one shot clean, overnight soak, the full deal. It was paying off, we were increasing the powder charges by half a grain every two shots to get the cases to expand fully. The barrel was lapping in and opening up and the chamber showed it was absolutely spot on, not even a 10 thou out in anyway. Which also showed on the paper the fire forming loads were turning out nice 1 ½ inch groups while the full power loads were doing the same exactly 5” higher…..this is what the gun was designed for and we hadn’t even done proper load tailoring. (See table for velocities of MKII)

The scope was a high power 6-24 Alpen and on the guns maiden trip out for a sambar, a ½ grown one stood still long enough for a head shot to be taken, not really a test of the caliber but it sure worked, spinning the animal 45degrees! As always there was no felt recoil, however the man with the loudest gun in the valley wins and I think I won that day? This gun being a prototype I came to some conclusions, one this was an unreal cartridge “Sambar specific” if you like, yet the gun weighed in at 5.5kg loaded and wasn’t suited for the Alpine country I planned to hunt.
Well it was after this that I decided another 458 Alpine should be built; MKII. This one not a test gun but a serious hiking and sporting rifle! I have handled many different types of rifles in my time previously working in a gun shop and one make and model sticks in my mind as being the best “field” rifle design, the Browning Stainless Stalker A-bolt II. We all know the features that make it so damn practical, but for a re-barreling and re-chambering job, they are magazine is easy to alter for round feeding, recoil lug easy to strengthen and glass in, plus synthetic stock is so easy to mill out as well as fit a quality recoil pad. Since David Kerr had retired he suggested I approach Shane Clancy of Clancy’s Gunsmithing if I wanted the best combination of hunting an accuracy in a sporting gun. Shane like David and Fudgy was joy to deal with and he said “yup no probs send me the gun, once fired cases and the reamer…..it’ll take 3 months”. Once you’ve done something before, the second time is so much quicker!!!

So a quick call around and I had myself a brand new Stainless A-bolt in 325wsm and that same day it left with the bits to Clancy’s, he ordered a special 1.14 twist MAB stainless profile No7. Shane also being of the younger generation, took photo’s of the guns progress and built the gun “they way I would if it was my own gun” which is always comforting. Things like “truing” the action, matching the bead blasting and lapping the barrel weren’t asked for but done as a matter of course, though you will always get what you pay for. Three months later Shane called MKII is ready anything else you’d like done, I replied bead blast the chrome off the bolt and stamp it, make sure you stamp it CLANCY as well. It arrived within the week; the smile on my face couldn’t be sawn off.

Loaded and scoped this little beauty weighed 8lb on the knocker and balanced on the front action screw. When the mates came over for a look, the first thing they say is why the varmint barrel, after holding it the look at the muzzle and say “that isn’t a varmint barrel that is a wombat hole!” Due to the cartridges being blown out I can hold three in the browning magazine but only two with the bolt closed over, so it is a 2+1 not that any Sambar should need a second shot. I mounted a Pentax 3-9 SL with 4 1/2” of eye relief, I didn’t want to get bitten and the Pachmeyer decelerator pad Shane had installed was a perfect fit, a set of Talley QD mounts and rings rounded the rifle perfectly.

Fudgy, ran a few patches down the barrel and commented that we would need to drop the loads back a touch because this barrel was tight. I nodded, Shane had said the same. So the fire forming loads were knocked up with Hornady 300gn JHP and off we went. Well there was no recoil that is for sure, even on video I hardly move. The first shot at 50m was out so I wound the turrets to the shot and proceeded to shoot at the 100yd targets, as you can see the results were pretty amazing. This is how my brother Andrew called it, “Bang, yep just a touch to the left of bullseye, Bang, nope think you’ve missed, Bang, nope can’t see it; best we check the target”, you can imagine our surprise when we reached the targets to find one ragged hole! Now we had a super accurate round even if it was a fire forming load; it was time to go test this MKII and see what it could do.

On the third trip out with the new gun, I knew it was time to pull the trigger, the freezer was running low I had been taking a few new hunters out and helping them succeed, rather than pulling the trigger myself. The unlucky test animal was a full grown Sambar hind, one of two that had slunk out from the wattle filled gully. She was 7/8ths facing away, taking a deep breath I let out and put pressure on the trigger, it broke, she jumped, tail in the air and ran off. I pulled the range finder from my pocket….268yds….umm that is pushing it but a good test. I walked down to the spot where the shot was taken, and met Greg Benton my hunting partner for the day. He called a hit and said she fell down just over the rise, we followed up the marks and yep he was right, dead. I do not know the science that killed this deer, but the bullet sure made a mess and no significant part of the projectile had entered the chest. The jacket was found on and around the entry hole and the core was found on the same side where it had broken the front leg. The entry hole was huge in comparison to the usual pin prick. What it showed was that the cartridge sure was capable. The true test of a round and projectile is in the most adverse conditions, and in this case the 458 Alpine had performed very well!

I have tested this cartridge with light and heavy bullets and although not designed for heavy bullets it still seems to shoot them at speeds close to the ol’ 458winmag. (See table) This cartridge is really sambar specific, and the 300-400gn pills are its niche (exceeding the 458winmag), where it can dump a lot of energy and create large wound channels with multiple shrapnel wounds hopefully dumping the sambar on the spot, thus creating the ultimate Sambar Stopper. The 458 Alpine and the Browning are a winning combination, they do everything expected. The round does what it was designed to do and is my sambar cartridge and rifle combo; it will be found at my side from the 7yd to the 300yd shot, I know I can reliably take any Sambar, even with less than optimal shot presentations. Now I still enjoy the campfires glow, and argue over the best Sambar caliber; however grinning knowingly that I got it covered!

Even though it took almost 4 years, the author would like to thank the following:

*Gunsmith – David Kerr
*Clancy’s Gunsmithing
*Pacific Tool & Gauge’s – David Kiff
*Tobbler Barrels
*Hornady’s – Lonnie Hummel
*Geoff Slee Stocks
*Greg Fuge Gunsmithing and Load Development

Climbing the Heights of the Alpine – The Highs and Lows of Wildcatting is a post from: Sambar Safaris Deer Hunting - Chris Boon, Australia

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New Article in Guns and Game magazine is a post from: Sambar Safaris Deer Hunting - Chris Boon, Australia

Stick, String and Sambar = Patience, Practice and Persistence

With immediacy the sudden tang of the distilled alcoholic liquor filled my mouth as the aroma of the rum sank deep into my nostrils. I lowered the hip flask and gazed at the lifeless hide, how could I possibly feel joy? This day, this moment in time had been stewing over 18 months, and like any good concoction, the mix of emotions from start to, well; this end anyway, had been from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other. A journey like this one had started so innocently, when “John” had placed a longbow in my hand. From that moment on I had vowed to longbow harvest a mighty Sambar, not to carry a firearm on any Sambar hunt until my goal had been achieved. Lightly brushing the dust from the wiry bristles on her forehead my mind in turmoil ripped me back; past the hype of half an hour ago, further……. yesterday evening.

Dialing, the ringing started I waited…….
“Boony?”
“Oi bud, is it alright to bring a load of garden waste up to your place for a burn-off?”
“Yeah no stress mate, what time?”
“I’m thinking of say, OMGIFE?”
“Well sun up at 6ish so 4.30am?”
“Done mate, speak then”
“Hey, I got a good feeling ‘bout tomorrow”
“Funny that, same here, cheers bud” As I hung up the phone, I hadn’t lied.

OMGIFE; even my wife knows that word; she smiled and shook her head. It was an acronym termed much earlier in my hunting career standing for “Oh My God It’s F-N Early” and there had been many times it had been coined in the past 5 years. Still something nagged me, so I searched. Finding the film camera under the bed I checked there was film and slid it into my pack, still my mind wasn’t settled so I grabbed the video camera and started to charge the battery. Then un-wrapping a new cassette whilst sitting on the lounge there was a voice; “You don’t even video the kids, I guess this hunting is more important?” Donna, my most patient wife queried. Looking up I smirked, no way was I falling for this one!

Reaching over I pushed the “off” button on the alarm clock and gently slipped out from the doona. I had planned well the night before, bowl on the bench with cereal just needing milk and coffee mug just needing the kettle to boil. I slipped into the shower for a “de-scent”. Taking the last mouthful of coffee, I picked up my bow and eased myself out the front door. I had done this so many times it had become a routine for a Sunday. The trip to Ant’s place was quick, my mind wandering to the weekend before when the two of us had had an amazing “stand-off” with two small stags at 42yds. I could only hope for a repeat, the full moon hung low in the twilit sky as I pulled into Ant’s driveway, n’er was there a better sign……………
Haphazardly throwing all my gear into Ant’s tray I gently lowered the bow and feathered arrows on top. Ant had backed me all the way, not a doubter. There of course had been. “If it hasn’t been done before what makes you think you can do it” went through many a punters mind. Hunting Sambar with a longbow I had definitely challenged myself. Almost every night for 18months I had put 20-40 arrows into a target. I had termed it “practicing instinct” (oxymoron); I hoped one day it would all pay-off.

“Get that into ya”. Jolted; Ant shoved a steaming hot coffee in my hand I could hear excitement in his voice. There would be four of us going out this morning; splitting into pairs we would be hunting either side of a 2 kilometer long spur. We each had been patterning the deer in this part of the forest for three long months, being public land we shared our knowledge as well as the woods with other hunters, bush users and of course, the deer. The headlights flickered catching spiders eyes and ‘roos hopping across the dirt track, then the tail reflectors of Millsy’s car flashed into view. Pulling the ute up along side there were energized whispers hushed around as we donned the head lamps and adjusted our gear. I had always been the last, and as usual stringing the 76lb bow was a little more tedious than the others just slipping a magazine full of rounds, “Shearer” topped it off by asking if I was always going to hunt with the bow!

Lamps on we headed for “abattoirs track”, it had been so aptly named because it was a goat trail that instead of contouring around the hill it almost plunged vertically straight to the creek about 250yds and then straight back up a mountain just as steep. So if you didn’t slip and crack your head on the way in, you’d definitely be knackered on the way out!! Wearing my trademark inside out moccies AKA “silent stalkers”, it made the track even more treacherous. My headlamp glowed red and made the leaves and stones merge together, making it difficult to pick a non slip surface to the bottom of the hill.

Picking our way through the native rubus and thistles ………read more

Hunting Sambar With A Longbow Part 2 is a post from: Sambar Safaris Deer Hunting - Chris Boon, Australia