My Dad and his family were sharecroppers back then.
Dad had to quit school for a year to pick cotton just so they could make it.
(San Angelo is a small town in West Texas where the cotton was).
The author harvested this nice 9-point on a south Texas ranch with the Springfield Armory Model 2020 Redline.
Maybe that gives you an idea of the conditions.
That kind of situation is incredibly hard on game populations.
By 1940, the deer herd in Texas was down to 300,000.
The author urges hunters to consider carrying a handgun when hunting where applicable. This diamondback rattlesnake was found a few yards from his stand during the late December hunt.
Part of good game management requires that populations be maintained in accordance with what current resources can support.
One of the methods used to do so is a well-staged cull hunt.
The flora and fauna are both somewhat challenging in this arid environment.
Lightweight and compact, the author thought the Model 2020 Redline would be perfect for the deer stand in a South Texas deer hunt.
The local comment is that If it dont bite, sting or scratch, it dont grow there.
Then we are told what our target animals are.
We are normally tasked with culling mature does and mature bucks with small racks.
The author found that the heavier Hornady 143-gr. ELD-X bullets provided better expansion on this hunt than the lighter and speedier Barnes TTSX load. Both, however, did their jobs.
We just get to look at the trophy bucks and then wish them well in the rut.
I know, poor me!
Some people are into hunting for the trophy on the wall.
The Springfield Armory Model 2020 Redline bolt-action rifle is ready for a scope with a generous optics rail mounted over the receiver.
Im a meat eater.
My wife and I love the taste as well as the lack of hormones and fat in good venison.
Being a writer kinda person, Im also into the gear.
The author found the Mission First Tactical chest rig was a great match for his Vortex binoculars and range finder. The Top Knives Muley Skinner held its edge well into work on the third deer. Note his Ronin 1911 pistol.
I like to experiment with different rifles, different calibers, different optics, etc.
and see what works.
This years rifle selection was theRedline from Springfield Armory.
The view from the author’s blind was excellent — both in terms of visibility and the number of deer in the field. The difficulty was in identifying which deer were intended for culling.
I added my Dead Air Sandman-S suppressor and the appropriate QD mount.
With everything attached and loaded, the whole rig measured 45.5 long and weighed 9.4 lbs.
A trimmer scope and a titanium can could shave a pound a half from that number, easily.
Having always used factory ammo, I wanted to see what loads tailored to that rifle could do.
As always, I started with powder charges well below maximum listed and carefully worked my way up.
Since all my earlier success had come via Hornady 143-gr.
ELD-X (Extremely Low Drag eXpanding) factory ammo, I started with their bullets for my load development.
The mid-weight Hornady bullets have done well for me over the years.
That is where I started this time, and they did not disappoint.
My best reloads load clocked 2,680 feet per second (fps.)
which yields almost 2,300 foot pounds of energy (ft-lb.).
The standard deviation was an amazing 1.53.
This figure tells me how close to the average each velocity hit.
Then I experimented with lighter bullets.
TTSX performed the best.
My load settled on Vihta Vuori N555 powder and Federal Gold Medal Large Rifle primers.
My best groups averaged just under .4, and clocked right at 2,900 fps with a SD of 4.36!
That load yields over 2,200 ft. lbs.
at the muzzle leaving me the 1,000 ft-lb.
I want as minimum energy for whitetail deer to almost 500 yards.
I worked up another load with heavy 156-gr.
EOL bullets from Berger Bullets and Vihta Vuori N565 powder.
Admittedly, the older I get the more demanding my requirements for optics become.
That said, Ive never regretted saving for and buying good glass.
I used the outstandingLeupold Mark5 HD 3.6-1844 scopefor this hunt.
The PRS-1 mil reticle provides lots of data and aiming options without cluttering up the view.
My other two primary pieces of optical kit were made by Vortex.
How far is the feeder, the tree line, etc.?
I use the Vortex Razor HD 4000 laser range finder for that task.
My binos are also from Vortex.
The clarity and field of view at higher magnification are great.
The first is from TOPS those people cost me money every time I run into them.
My latest purchase was their 4.5 blade named the Muley Skinner.
My second is a good, old-fashioned Case knife that was a gift from my son.
It sits easily in the pocket and does a great job in tight spaces.
If you think I was being paranoid in carrying the Springfield Ronin as backup, see the attached photos.
The Redline travels in a beautiful canvas and leather rifle case from Galco.
It is pretty on the eyes, protective of the rifle and easy to carry.
Monday morning netted me a medium size doe and a 9-point buck that dressed out to 131 lbs.
Kansas deer hunters may laugh at our haul, but these are big deer for South Texas.
I used the Hornady 143-gr.
ELD-X factory loads for both with very satisfactory results.
Monday evening brought an even larger buck that I shot with the 120-gr.
We also recovered the spent round.
My compact Redline was perfect.
Easy to maneuver inside the blind, it hit where I pointed it.
That includes the one shot I sent a bit high.
So, he stood there and looked around while I nailed him with shot #2.
Were already set to go next December.
Cant wait to try those Berger loads in my Redline.
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