TG in PA files

[jims]

TG in PA gave me about a dozen of his binders with all his load testing. Primarily based on the Savage SML design. I have them in about a a 1x1x1 foot box. I would like to pass them along to someone that would have use and maintain them altough I think most of his data is filed here or online. I would pay the shipping. Please advise if interested.

[reloader22]

15 years ago your inbox would be overflowing.

[jims]

I do believe you are correct but there has been some interest from some from Modern Muzzleloading. Indeed things are different today with straight wall centerfires etc.

[sw]

Jan 18, 2024 9:08:54 GMT -5 jims said:

I do believe you are correct but there has been some interest from some from Modern Muzzleloading. Indeed things are different today with straight wall centerfires etc.

The rumor is that here in this section of Arkansas (pistol, SG, ML) will also have straight walled cartridges. MLers will depreciate.

[jims]

It certainly made a significant difference in Ohio and MI I know. Shotgun slug guns and MLs of all types are used less now.

[dannoboone]

Jan 19, 2024 16:40:54 GMT -5 jims said:

It certainly made a significant difference in Ohio and MI I know. Shotgun slug guns and MLs of all types are used less now.

That's sad to know. Believing in "one shot one kill" I would never trade my
SML's for straight walled repeaters. These front stuffers can be loaded to
30-30 equivalent up to .45-70 and beyond. When Iowa made it legal for the
straight walled cartridges my response was "meh".

[cuda]

Dannoboone I live in IOWA too. And I said why do you need more than one shot? What you are a bad shot and need to keep shooting the deer. From 100yds to 150 yds I drop the deer where it stands with just one shot no need to shoot it again. For longer range I use a heart shot and with a 300gr hollow point they do not get far. I took my grandson for his first deer hunt at 14 he was so surprised at how many deer were walking around us. A young 8 point was at about 180yds I told him to shoot it he said I should shoot it as he said he was not sure he would make a good shot that far. I shot and said we were done for the morning and asked him if I hit it? He did not know so we went up to where the deer was blood everywhere he walk just about 50 feet dead deer. I told him shot placement was key to deer hunting I made a heart shot and we had our deer. Now all he want to do is go to the range and practice all the way to 200yds. And he is a really good shot too. I will always take my 50 over anything else to deer hunt. And I have a 45 that Luke helped me do that is what my grandson like to shoot. Range time makes better hunting times too.

[reloader22]

I live in a hunting community and have a large group of close friend that hunt together.  We have all evolved from slug guns with rifled barrels, hawkin rifles with sabots and scopes, to 100 gr inline guns to 150 grain inline guns, to the Savage in the end.  We are all about wringing the best out our platforms and spent countless hours and dollars to do it.  Being a one shot-one-kill camp is a foregone conclusion for us.  All of us pride in that and I would say we have almost 100% success rate in one shot one kill.

Then, in 2011, our county went to centerfire.  Not straight taper centerfire, we can use anything.  I would say that all of us now have at least 4-5 extra rifles each that we did not have 13 years ago.  Now did this "ruin" the experience of one shot one kill?  Heck no!  It probably enhanced it!  When that's your mid set, it has nothing to do with the weapon in your hands.  Additionally, it has created an entirely new passion among us all.....reloading.  Everyone has at least one press and tons of dies. Everyone is always bringing new guns/scopes to camp and everyone is doing tons of shooting.  The younger generation in camp, inspired by my generation, are going all out.  They have a 500 yds range in 50 yd increments and are always testing their ballistic apps and putting in extensive range time.  It has created a swell of new shooting and hunting enthusiasm.  Do we think we can shoot at anything out to 500 yds.  Heck no!  Not when hunting.  I personally passed up a 265 yd shot at a large buck this year with my 7MM Mag that shoot well under MOA at the range due to a wobbly rest.  The longest shot anyone made this year I think was 175 yds from a ground blind with a solid rest.  No misses this year.

The last weekend we get our muzzle loaders out.  There are Savages, knights, and a few TC's.  Actually they were out all regular season with known loads and zero's being checked at 100 and 200 yd targets.  They still all work extremely well.

Things evolve and change and I know many here have (including me for 15 yrs) joined the muzzleloading fanatics and felt somewhat superior to everyone else for getting it done perfectly every time.  It was a search for the best possible, easiest to use, most accurate, cleanest, flattest weapon legally possible to make sure of the one shot one kill.  That search is over when centerfire rifles are allowed.  We are not just a ML community but a shooting community.

This year one of the guys, who is struggling to get out as much as he used to with a bunch of little kids and a new job, shot two does in 10 seconds and got the majority of the meat he wanted.  Didn't get a chance to make it out again so only would have had one that day with the ML.  Both one shot by the way.

It's all good.  Shooting a lot of any gun is a good thing and taking deer with one shot all the time with ammunition in reserve is also a good thing.

[mike.dawson]

I echo some of the previous comments. Living in Florida since 1974 but growing up in northern Ohio , I never hunted down here. I went back one thanksgiving to my brother's place outside of Norwalk. It was a tradition growing up in the 50-60 to rabbit hunt on Thanksgiving morning. I still had my Fox side by side in 20 gauge and taking my wife with me we went Hunted rabbits for about 4 hours and limited out. Saw deer. I had never hunted deer and the next year went back and with a Knight muzzle-loader shot a big doe. After that I was hooked. I hooked up with the brother of a friend and hunted in Meigs county Ohio with the Savage ML II This forum provided great info as I grew into a 45cal converted Remington 700 ML. I used this rifle or the savage to hunt during gun season. I took the Savage up for Ohio muzzleloader season. It was either the Savage or the converted 700ML till Ohio allowed straight walled. Used a 444 Marlin for a few years and now shoot the 350 in an AR platform. I went back this year for muzzleloader season and took the savage . No deer taken but I remember the hunts where the savage did its job.

I became friends with Greg Hawk, Rossman, ET (Ed) on this board. I valued their help getting me up to speed. I now have a safe with three smokeless ML and a Knight disc in 45 cal. I 76 now and my hunting days are coming to and end climbing the hills in Meigs county to hunt deer. My go to loads in the Savage 50 is 59 gr N120 the 300 gr Barnes original, or 43 gr 5744. In the 45 cals N120 and the Barnes 195 knurled in a harvester light blue. I never got in duplexing as didnt feel the need. Ive rambled enough. A lot of the original board members have gone off to another board. I miss their input and discussions.