In light of Marc’s concern over the above mentioned
groups on paper, shooting the walkabout in the fi eld brought to mind something Jeff Cooper once wrote. While Cooper was addressing hunting or game rifl es, I believe the concept applies to varmint rifl es as well, especially walking var- minters. To quote Cooper: “In rifl e work group size is of some interest, but it is by no means the critical consideration that some commentators seem to deem it. It is well to remember that a rifl eman does not shoot groups, he shoots shots.” Col. Cooper was referring to fi eld rifl ery, not bench or range work. While rambling around the towns busting prairie dogs, the idea of fi ring groups, be they small or really small, seemed pretty unimportant. The Spartan Walkabout’s ability to place individual shots precisely on small furry targets at unknown ranges, and on demand, impressed everyone who shot the little rifl e. First and foremost the 223 Spartan Walkabout is a hunting rifl e and, in combination with the Nosler Custom Varmint ammunition, it has proven to be incredibly effective in the fi eld, shot after individual shot. EARLY JULY, WEST VIRGINIA
I had been so successful out West shooting small targets
at unknown distances with the 223 Walkabout that West Virginia woodchucks should have been like shooting fi sh in a barrel. On my fi rst outing after returning home, I headed down the road to a freshly cut hay fi eld to see if the ‘chucks were out. I didn’t have to sit and glass for long. I slid into a prone position and lowered the bolt on a Nosler 40-gr. BT factory load. I put the VX-III’s crosswire on the fat ‘chuck that was out there about 225 yards or so, and “bang” … I had a clean miss. “What’s with that?” I thought. Not too much time had passed when another of the alfalfa eaters made an appearance. Same scenario … and another miss. I knew the problem wasn’t with the 223 Walkabout, so it had to be me. Overconfi dence was the culprit. Again, going into blasting mode with the Colt AR and ignoring the fundamentals was the problem. The ‘chucks seemed so big compared to prairie dogs and ground squirrels that I got sloppy. Not holding hard and just yanking the trigger is not conducive to accurate shot placement. I stayed in the fi eld until it was almost dark and got four more shots at woodchucks. Ranges were from a close 100 or so yards out to about 275. No matter how good your rifl e and ammo combination is, you have to pay attention. In this case, I knew the Spartan Walkabout and Nosler ammo were a proven deadly combo so the only variable was the guy on the gun – me. Hold hard and press! BARREL TWIST AND SHORT BULLETS: BACK IN MONTANA I did a quick zero check on the Coyote with my old 55-
gr. Win. PSP load and headed back out. It didn’t take long to realize that I was missing dogs that should have been mere chip shots. Back to paper. The target shows the results. When fi red out of the 1:9” twist barrel, the stubby 55-gr. PSPs would put three or so shots where they belonged and then throw a couple of serious fl yers. It did this consistently. When I returned home, I tried to fi nd the BC of this 55-gr. PSP Win- chester bullet but could not come up with it. Suffi ce it to say the bullet was too short to stabilize in the Colt’s 1:9" barrel. The 55-gr. Hornady A-Max bullets shot just fi ne, being longer and obviously having a higher ballistic coeffi cient. So, hand sorting, by trying each round loaded with the longer Hor- nady A-Max bullet in magazines, became a regular evening
activity around my camp. The good news was that I came up with enough ammo to shoot the Coyote a lot. GOPHERS AND AR CONVERTS
I had always wanted to be in Phillips County for the
annual Loring, Montana, gopher hunt but, until 2011, the timing never worked out. Weather and other considerations had postponed the 2011 gopher shoot until June 4 so I teamed up with a local friend to enter the contest. We were joined by another fellow and his son, making us a team of four. The proceeds from this event went to rebuild the volunteer fi re department’s building which suffered a roof collapse under the winter’s heavy snows. A cool cloudy morning was spent cruising rangeland
and shooting ground squirrels with an assortment of rimfi re rifl es. The weather made the shooting pretty sparse but we still had a great time, and tallied up some gophers. A hot lunch of burgers with all the fi xings was served back in Loring at midday and the conversation revolved, not surprisingly, around guns and hunting. The subject of AR-type rifl es came up and when I mentioned I had one in the camper – well, I had to break out the Colt Coyote, as none of my companions had ever shot an AR pattern rifl e. The weather took a turn for the better after lunch and the Colt AR got a workout. Once again, it ran perfectly with the now sorted 223 ammo contain- ing the Hornady A-Max bullets. To say the Colt rifl e was a “hit” is to put it mildly. I’d bet when I return to Montana in 2012 there will be at least one, and probably two, new Colt AR platform rifl es in my teammates’ pickups. Our team did, by the way, place third in the 2011 Loring, Montana, gopher shoot and we had one heck of a good time. Thanks to those who took the time to organize this event and to those com- munity businesses that donated to the prize table. SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2011 - DAY 15 BADGER BREATH
Don and I went to a place up north to shoot gophers
while the other boys went to the big coulee. I deposited Don, with his bad back, in a lawn chair and took off in the Mule, with my Blue Heeler Maggie and the Spartan Walkabout, to do a bit of exploring on this new piece of real estate.
www.varminthunter.org Page 93
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