Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
Stick the spare ammo between the fingers of your left hand ( assuming you're right handed) .
What do you do with spare rounds?
- Thread starter tikka_madras
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levigsp
Well-Known Member
Having read the above I must echo what other have said, Ive now shot driven hunts in various countries of Europe and on most occasion 1 or 2 shot a drive would be a good result. I had whole days without a shot on a few occasions, but there is always an exception.
In 2018 I took part in a shoot with 15 other guns, Pigs, Deer, and Sheep were the order of the day.
I got nothing on the first very long drive that lasted to 11.30 am! after lunch I had almost consoled myself that it would go the same way, this was my 3rd time in the area.
How wrong I was, I emptied my mag 5 shots within 10 minutes of starting, 3 pigs, half hour later emptied it again and again, result for one afternoon drive was 8 pigs of various sizes, 1 very good red stag, 4 hinds, 2 mouflon rams, 1 ewe with injury, 1 fallow doe and 3 foxes.
My total for the day was 20 head, total bag for the day was 37 animals! so I was very lucky the following 3 days I got one fallow doe..
I may never see the likes again, most likely I wont, but I use a ten shot mag now and all my bullets[40] are in the same mags.
In 2018 I took part in a shoot with 15 other guns, Pigs, Deer, and Sheep were the order of the day.
I got nothing on the first very long drive that lasted to 11.30 am! after lunch I had almost consoled myself that it would go the same way, this was my 3rd time in the area.
How wrong I was, I emptied my mag 5 shots within 10 minutes of starting, 3 pigs, half hour later emptied it again and again, result for one afternoon drive was 8 pigs of various sizes, 1 very good red stag, 4 hinds, 2 mouflon rams, 1 ewe with injury, 1 fallow doe and 3 foxes.
My total for the day was 20 head, total bag for the day was 37 animals! so I was very lucky the following 3 days I got one fallow doe..
I may never see the likes again, most likely I wont, but I use a ten shot mag now and all my bullets[40] are in the same mags.
That’s one hell of a day! Stuff dreams are made of
I have a 10-round leather bullet pouch which fits snugly into my jacket pocket, it keeps the rounds from rattling around and makes them easier to get hold of, plus I doubt that I could make the whole pouch fall out of the pocket accidentally and I have tested that theory. I don't use the built in loops in my pocket cos there aren't enough of them & they're too small
I carry a further 10 rounds in a leather & webbing cartridge holder on my belt
At the start of a trip I might carry more ammo in a box in my pack or in my other jacket pocket, but after a day or two the 20 rounds is usually all I carry
I find having the rounds in my pocket (right hand pocket on the jacket) and in a cartridge holder on my belt is easy for me cos that's where I've always put them
I would suggest that's the key, whatever you choose stick with it and build the muscle memory so that reaching for your spare ammo becomes instinctive and you don't have to think about what you're doing to much - better looking at it than looking for it I suppose
BTW
I've been on a dozen or more trips totalling about 45-50 days hunting which means at least 140-150 drives - I've only come close to running out of ammo just the once, but I've gone without having the chance to get a shot at anything more times than I care to recall. In fact I've stood many a day without seeing any game, never mind anything shootable - on one whole miserable trip to Croatia all I saw was frozen forest, not even a bird moved
Oh, and I've never bagged a decent Keiler - yet.......
However, I love the sport and I'm already hoping to make it on another couple of trips this season CV-19 etc permitting, the highlights more than make up for the low points, it's a great sport
I carry a further 10 rounds in a leather & webbing cartridge holder on my belt
At the start of a trip I might carry more ammo in a box in my pack or in my other jacket pocket, but after a day or two the 20 rounds is usually all I carry
I find having the rounds in my pocket (right hand pocket on the jacket) and in a cartridge holder on my belt is easy for me cos that's where I've always put them
I would suggest that's the key, whatever you choose stick with it and build the muscle memory so that reaching for your spare ammo becomes instinctive and you don't have to think about what you're doing to much - better looking at it than looking for it I suppose
BTW
I've been on a dozen or more trips totalling about 45-50 days hunting which means at least 140-150 drives - I've only come close to running out of ammo just the once, but I've gone without having the chance to get a shot at anything more times than I care to recall. In fact I've stood many a day without seeing any game, never mind anything shootable - on one whole miserable trip to Croatia all I saw was frozen forest, not even a bird moved
Oh, and I've never bagged a decent Keiler - yet.......
However, I love the sport and I'm already hoping to make it on another couple of trips this season CV-19 etc permitting, the highlights more than make up for the low points, it's a great sport
For driven boar I have two mags, one in the rifle and one fully loaded in my left pocket, in the right pocket another ten rounds all pointing forward so easy to pick out and refill a mag IF you find yourself on a hot stand, a couple of boxes in a rucksack just in case. Bullet pouches and the like are a waste of time when you need to get rounds into a rifle quickly, if your going stalking then pouches are a great idea.
Spare mags are a complete waste of time/pointless/daft if your rifle doesn't have a detachable magazine
If I took a rifle with detachable magazine on a driven hunt, then yes, I'd agree it is an excellent and efficient option for reloading during or after a hectic drive - probably the best option
But
Plenty of us hunt with rifles that don't have detachable magazines so toplaoding is the only realistic option - in which case pouches and the like are no longer "a waste of time" but become a decent way of holding spare ammo, arguably better than loose rounds in a pocket or back pack
Each to their own though
Did you make King of the hunt?, with the attendant bar bill?
I quite agree that if you don’t have a detachable magazine type rifle that spare magazines would be stupid, that is stating the bleeding obvious but if you read my post it pretty clear that I stated what I do, so in my case its the best option to use a spare magazine and glad I'm you agree. I’ve also done driven boar with a floor plate rifle and I can assure you that for me top loading is much quicker and easier when I can grab four rounds at a time from my pocket rather than fumble pulling one at a time out of a pouch, so for me a pouch is a waste of time. You really ought to read my post properly as I did not advocate loose rounds in a rucksack but carrying a couple of spare boxes of ammo. I can see how many driven hunts you have done but I have also done plenty over the years and from my experience what I have described is the quickest way to reload either type of rifle.
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8x57
Distinguished Member
Gents its nice to see and note what systems other people use, but I think you just have to work out a system that actually works for you.
Going back to the days before the government stole our pistols a friend of mine carried a whole heap of speedloaders for his revolver. I think it was HKS who used to advertise their speedloaders with the buy line "the three second reload". I don't think I ever quite matched that claim but I wasn't far off it. However with my friend we used to tease him that it was the 25 second fumble. The poor guy could never quite get them to work for him. It always resulted in a 15 -20 second fumble trying to align the rounds with his cylinder and at least three rounds falling to the floor resulting in that reload being abandoned and another speedloader taken from his belt, by which time the targets had turned away.
He coveted my S&W model 52 semi auto pistol and after letting him use it several times in competition I eventually sold it to him. He got on great with that pistol and quick reloads were no longer a problem for him. The model 52 normal only held 5 rounds of .38spl wadcutter but as was common at the time a couple of minutes with a file soon converted the magazine to take 6 rounds.
Going back to the days before the government stole our pistols a friend of mine carried a whole heap of speedloaders for his revolver. I think it was HKS who used to advertise their speedloaders with the buy line "the three second reload". I don't think I ever quite matched that claim but I wasn't far off it. However with my friend we used to tease him that it was the 25 second fumble. The poor guy could never quite get them to work for him. It always resulted in a 15 -20 second fumble trying to align the rounds with his cylinder and at least three rounds falling to the floor resulting in that reload being abandoned and another speedloader taken from his belt, by which time the targets had turned away.
He coveted my S&W model 52 semi auto pistol and after letting him use it several times in competition I eventually sold it to him. He got on great with that pistol and quick reloads were no longer a problem for him. The model 52 normal only held 5 rounds of .38spl wadcutter but as was common at the time a couple of minutes with a file soon converted the magazine to take 6 rounds.
As I said, each to their own - you find loose rounds easier, I don't.
I find having rounds exactly where I expect them to be, the right way up and not rattling about in my pocket to be a bit better - that's why I use a pouch & belt loop
Whatever approach the OP adopts (mags, pouch, pocket) I'd still advocate practice though
I recalled the number of drives I had been on not as some sort of justification for "my" way of doing things, but more as proof of my own suffering of "wild boar fever"
I haven't shot anything like enough wild boar to possibly justify the amount of time, effort & money I've spent doing it - but I can't give it up
That's what that PS was meant to be about - not me bragging, you clearly took it the wrong way
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I've seen a few folk who could use speed strips, or even loose loading, more easily than speed loaders right enough - getting, or not getting them lined up properly with the cylinder was always the issue
Agreed its each to their own and TBH I have never found an issue with loose rounds in my pocket arranged ready to pick them up, I tend to stand as still as possible on a drive so rattling of rounds is not an issue. Practice as you say is invaluable and I would also advocate the OP gets some tuition to learn the small details in technique that make all the difference, I find Paul at Corinium Range near Gloucester to be a very knowledgeable guy. The Indoor cinema at Holland and Holland on the other hand has instructors that in my opinion are a joke and judging by comments made by them it wouldn't surprise me if some of them have never seen a wild boar in real life. Its worth going there however just for a bit of practice and the craic with a bunch of mates usually the day before flying out to hunt. I don't know where I inferred you were bragging I simply have offered my preferences based on my experience and I'm sure the OP will do as most people do and try different routines to see what suits him.
badbob
Well-Known Member
We're on a boar hunt not a video game or fighting a relentless army of zombies.
In which case we need an AR 15 . I can work the bolt on my tikka pretty fast, a blaser might be quicker. Yes I've emptied my tikka, killing two boars and an oak tree. Then reload. Ok it takes a few seconds, so what.
Spare mag, leather pouch six rounds, box of 20 in the pocket.....if I use that lot I've had some sport.......
In which case we need an AR 15 . I can work the bolt on my tikka pretty fast, a blaser might be quicker. Yes I've emptied my tikka, killing two boars and an oak tree. Then reload. Ok it takes a few seconds, so what.
Spare mag, leather pouch six rounds, box of 20 in the pocket.....if I use that lot I've had some sport.......
Hi Jer
I didn't think you had inferred that I was bragging, I was just trying to head of accusations of that from others
I've been to H&H a few times, great for a practice and the company - any help with my swing is much appreciated
I think some of the team there are more interested in African game right enough, but I have met a couple of them who seem to be quite keen on driven boar.
The best thing I've done there was a visit to the workshop where they build their double rifles, I could have spent a day there
They were in the late stages of building a 700NE double - lovely looking rifle it is going to be, but I don't think I'd want to fire it even if I could afford it
I didn't think you had inferred that I was bragging, I was just trying to head of accusations of that from others
I've been to H&H a few times, great for a practice and the company - any help with my swing is much appreciated
I think some of the team there are more interested in African game right enough, but I have met a couple of them who seem to be quite keen on driven boar.
The best thing I've done there was a visit to the workshop where they build their double rifles, I could have spent a day there
They were in the late stages of building a 700NE double - lovely looking rifle it is going to be, but I don't think I'd want to fire it even if I could afford it
When people ask about what rifle to buy i always throw in the remark about the benefits of a top loading mag, I have an old Browning A bolt and its always served me very well on driven days, (and would probably out shoot rifles with an extra digit on the price tag) being able to shoot 5 in quite quick succession and just as quickly loading the magazine again for the next train to come through.
Hi Tony, Can I ask where you sourced your 10 shot mag and is it for a .308? I've seen them in Finland and NZ but neither will export to the UK. Browning say they only supply the 4 shot.
Or if anybody else knows where you can purchase a 9 or 10 shot mag for a .308 Maral. TIA.
Got both /308 and 30-06 from a dealer in Lincolnshire about 2 years ago, most dealers can get them despite Browning saying that they are not made! The latest non breakdown Maral supplies a 4 and 10 round magazine in the box.
Ive PM'd you details of my contact at the dealers - he may still be there.
Ive PM'd you details of my contact at the dealers - he may still be there.
Jagare
Well-Known Member
For driven days using my Double I bought a leather Holland & Holland cartridge holder. It was the only one I could find that held 10 rounds with the rounds in pairs with a gap between each pair. I'm sure there are other makers who do the same. The 8x57jrs were quite tight in the holder so I oiled .308 cases with leatheroil and pushed them in and they stayed there oiling occasionally I left the .308 cases over the summer . Now the 8x57 are a nice snug but easily removed fit. As others have said, driven boar is rarely like the wild boar fever vids. If I'm using the Mauser M03 I have 5 in the mag and 1 in the chamber.
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