Longrange blog 252: 300 Norma Mag and deer in strong wind

Stalking deer in open landscape. The 300 Norma Mag can be really good when you need to shoot in strong winds as you have a better error budget on the windcall. New cameras, new techniques, experimenting with the film.
Hunt here? [e-mail]. / albadeerstalking
Music, standard license from Premiumbeat.com:
"Will You Follow Me" by Tiny Music
"Withholding Nothing" by Brightside Studio
"Irish Storm" by Roberto Ignis

[@RondaneLongRangeRLR]

Oh, you've really made your hunting movies up to a whole new level. You make it look like you have a whole movie team with you. While showing the challenges of filming combined with hunting

[@THLR]

Many thanks. It looks a lot smoother and faster when you condense a few hours work into a few minutes view. It felt like I was staggering clumsy and slow throughout this trip. Lot of new gear to get used to.

[@vincentgray4122]

Great hunt, superbly captured. Appreciate the honesty of including the footage of the deer requiring follow up shot.

[@THLR]

Thanks for that Vincent. I can assure you one doesn't feel too smart when a deer runs, but it ended quickly. It was hit low and far back in the chest, puncturing the lung but not really destroying the vitals fast enough.

[@vincentgray4122]

I have just returned from an Eastern Cape management/cull safari. All but two shots were "one and done". I am not happy that two required follow up shots, and it chastened me to analyse reasons for those first shot placements. As best I can determine, the common issue was taking the shots immediately after rapid exertion to arrive at firing point at the end of the stalk. So more fitness/breath hold rehearsal required. Also I used local PH's tripod instead of my preferred quad sticks which I normally use in UK. Lessons learnt.

[@THLR]

Yes, the setup routine is where I have my biggest payoffs for hunting. My practice doesn't really change the way I hunt, it just gives me an overcapacity to handle normal hunting situations. This weekend I was skiing for capercaille, that is stalking on skiis and shooting from positions with everpresent and invasive snow. I'm not used to this, but not having to pay attention to basic things such as safety, loading, lens caps, setup etc made it possible to make full use of the opportunities I had. It feels very rewarding to see practical results from the training investment, after all, the setup test is only 1 minute of the rangetime but it includes most issues you need to adress for a normal hunting shot.

[@chrome8675]

Congrats Thomas, I respect your hunting ethics. Thanks!!

[@THLR]

Many thanks for that Jason, good to hear from other hunters!

[@Johnerik01]

Really enjoyed the editing, drone footage, and music. It added a depth of feeling into the hunt. Great hunting!

[@THLR]

Thanks for that. It was definitively digging up the music (took hours) that was the bulk of the job. I was also hoping to get more out of the drone, but the drone simply takes too long to set up and also I'm not skilled enough as a pilot.

[@Johnerik01]

THLR.NO for sure. I've been looking into royalty free music and the like and it seems to be a black hole of uncertainty. Given that wind, you're a more skilled pilot than you think!

[@THLR]

I've learnt that royalty free music for private persons is a real hassle. I currently buy my Licenses from Premiumbeats.com but there are other services out there (I just haven't tried them). It has a good feature of sorting music by BPM (beats per minute) which lets you look in the right area pretty fast. The DJI drones seems to be extremely userfriendly as I had no problems flying it first attempt. Getting quality film out of the same flight is another matter though, I have not cracked that code yet...

[@Johnerik01]

THLR.NO thanks! I'll look into that. Ever thought about dabbling and creating your own music from scratch?

[@THLR]

A.k.a. KZbin channel suicide? No, my musical ability stops at pressing "Play"

[@onemanriflemaker3873]

Wow Thomas. That's a proper increase in production value.

[@THLR]

One Man Rifle Maker Thanks for that! I had to google "production value" which is a telltale... :D But it's been fun learning a bit more about filmmaking.

[@cratxn1]

Commercial Grade Videography my friend...each subsequent viewing I discover something I missed before...great editing

[@THLR]

Thanks for that CR, really means something coming from a fellow and experienced hunter. I tried to be as brutal and down-to-earth as possible in this film and show the contrasts.

[@JimFleming1953]

Good job, Thomas, the coup de grace was exactly the humane and ethical thing to do, sir.

[@THLR]

Thanks for that Jim. Yes, I would agree. With an animal that's already hit, I am not picky about what kind of shots to follow up with.

[@philippefrater2000]

Yep! The sound is really awesome! Nice job.

[@THLR]

Thanks for that Philippe!

[@philippefrater2000]

THLR.NO Your welcome! Your channel is a must. Sincerely... 🙏🏼

[@ctcollinthib]

Man you guys up north are some hard men. I'd have a hard time talking myself out of the house in all of that cold and wet and wind.

[@THLR]

Thanks but it's really not that much to it. Living in these areas just eliminates choice, the weather is what it is.

[@DuRöhre4711]

Great Video, again! Love the Drone Footage and Music.

[@THLR]

Thanks for that, it was a lot of work finding suitable music so glad it was appreciated.

[@proyectomer]

Amazing hunt and beautyfull images and filming, great work on this video!

[@THLR]

Many thanks for that, glad you enjoyed it and took the time!

[@predatortt7694]

Great pictures from great hunting. Thumbs up!

[@THLR]

PredatorTT Thanks for that, glad you liked it!

[@jeremycumbee703]

Great video, great hunt, exceptional shooting Thomas! Tough conditions to hunt in!

[@THLR]

I guess coincidence determines the gauge of the conditions. Chance birthed me into a place with awful weather, so this would be considered normal for me many months of the year. But yes, it was a really nice day. We even got proper stuck in a mud rut on the way back home, unfortunately I didn't have enough light to film that. It would have been hilarious to watch us wrangle the quad up from the mud.

[@steyrman2]

Top class work there and perfect follow up shot

[@THLR]

Thanks for that, glad you enjoyed it. I bought a GoPro and a mouthpiece in an attempt to capture more details in the final stalk, also brough a few extra cameras. It works fine, only I don't get enough oxygen so there will be a lot of heavy breathing. Unfortunately, in this film one of the deer (bottom right) saw me and was already looking when I set up the last camera, so I didn't dare to stay up and compose/ zoom the picture. It is ok for me if the deer walks, but I think my mentor would be a little annoyed if a full day's work was lost to "motion picture vanity".

[@sealgair8429]

Love the new intro.

[@THLR]

Thanks for that, the drone really opened my eyes to some new colours in the landscape.

[@milo555100]

Hi TH. Is your .300 Norma a standard or semi weight barrel? Is it cut short? Beautiful video Sir. Thank you! Oh.....one more thing. Have you found all of your Blaser barrels to shoot well?

[@THLR]

I have a semi weight barrel and on this one I have not touched the barrel lenght. YEs, only one barrel has ever shot poorly for me and I got a refund on that one.

[@user-ui1ke1uy2w]

Good hunting! Congratulations! 5 points out of 5!

[@THLR]

Thank you, glad you liked it!

[@poulo69]

Great shooting Thomas 👌

[@THLR]

Thanks for that Paul!

[@JimmyGunXD556]

And......the 2017 Roe hunter award goes too...(drum roll)..Thomas "get'r done" Haugland!! Haaaa! Awesome multiple shots and superb video!!

[@THLR]

Thanks Kimmy, best wishes for 2018. Hope you're not snowing away like we do right now.

[@JimmyGunXD556]

THLR.NO Im in over 20 inches of snow over holidays. I get lake effect off lake Erie. This morning it was 4F*. Have a great new year!!

[@THLR]

JimmyGunXD556 Yikes that's a lot of snow and cold. We are barely below zero here by the coast.

[@scottyoungsheep]

Hei Thomas, are you still hunting with 300NM, and what’s your opinion of it after some time to evaluate it strengths and weaknesses?

[@THLR]

No and lack of suitable hunting bullets was it's downfall in my gunsafe - I sold it. For me the whole idea with the 300NM is the HUGE error margin it gives you on the windcall. However, these high-Bc bullets were also too volatile and caused excessive carcass damage, which is no good when the deer is sold to game dealers. Sure, 30 cal has many premium hunting bullets, but with lower bccc. That lower Bc gives ballistics and winddrift which can easily be copied by other cartridges with less recoil and cost. The strenght is as said the huge error in windcall when proper bullets are used. It is also one of the most precise/ easiest to load for cartridges I have used, it's just that I am not willing to have that amount of "dead $" buried in the safe as I wasn't using it enough to justify it.

[@scottyoungsheep]

@@THLR Cheers for the in-depth reply! I saw this same barrel for R8 advertised at Villmarksutstyr.no, and i'm REALLY tempted... www.finn.no/bap/webstore/ad.html?finnkode=120586135 But watching some of your videos (one back over my side of the puddle, where the ghillie says "you blew it into next week" ) - made me pause for thought. Seems like a lot of energy for anything small, and within a couple hundred metres. I have a 338 Blaser Magnum barrel, it has more energy at like 450m than my 6.5 has at the muzzle. And as fun as it is, well, it's a bit 'strong'... :-) Have you gone back to the 6.5-284 (my existing barrel), or are you trying some 7mm or similar ?

[@hunterdalton7075]

Can you tell me how much meat was lost if any to this caliber I just built one and was wondering if it’s to much for deer

[@THLR]

Depends on type of deer and bullet used. With a soft bullet it was excessive, behaved similar to a varmint rifle. For lung shots it was ok, a shoulder shot ruined too much IMO

Nice. I did some red deer stalking in November near dumfries. Was awesome :)

[@THLR]

Scotland is a most underrated hunting destiantion and extremely accessible for us Scandinavians. Glad you had a good time!

[@Josefselvadek]

Very nice work Thomas ! Can't wait for the next ones.... What bullet are you shooting ? Happy new year !

[@THLR]

Thanks for that Giuseppe. I used the Hornady ELD M 225gr to get the V0 down, but this bullet (unlike 6,5mm 140gr Amax) was a poor choice for red deer being too soft when hitting bones. This resulted in unneccesary carcass damage and required very careful bullet placement.

[@zwillythekid9690]

What a well made video! I am particularly interested in those "arm-gaiters" you were using for field dressing. Where can I find some of those? They don´t seem to be popular arround here in Germany.

[@THLR]

Zwillythekids Kanal Thanks. I bought mine at a local hardware store.

[@zwillythekid9690]

Thank you

[@THLR]

Zwillythekids Kanal www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/disposable-sleeves

[@zwillythekid9690]

Thank you again! I have found them. Might raise some eyebrows using them. For some even gloves are frowned upon. ;)

[@THLR]

Zwillythekids Kanal Oh yes, that terrible cleanliness and hygiene. We must keep that away from hunters and food ;)

[@JavierDeLaRosa007]

Great shooting!

[@THLR]

Thanks for that, but it looks smoother in the film than reality. Just the result of chopping hours down to minutes.

[@forestalfrank1074]

That video was fantastic! Nice music. Superb edditing! How many hours did that take you?

[@THLR]

Too many. This was version Three. But I've picked up on how to do it now, so next episode will not take nearly as long to make. Trial-and-error is not my favorite way of learning, but definitively the most used.

[@forestalfrank1074]

Well it definitely paid of. When are you going to make a hunting and shooting film in movie length?! That would be so cool but probably clash with your work.

[@THLR]

Never going to happen, Idon't have the euipment or interest.

[@forestalfrank1074]

What a shame. So we have to live on your chanel.

[@THLR]

I hope life exists outside internet! ;)

[@klitmajakka]

Hi Thomas! Im a bit curious to know if you still have your .338 Lapua and If you use it? Great video as always :)

[@THLR]

My Steyr 338LM? No, got rid of that years ago. too Heavy to be used as a hunting rifle, so no place in my cabinet for that.

[@sebastienhertrich5852]

Hy Thomas, great vidéo, couldt you tel me what the moderator you use ? Thank you .

[@THLR]

I have an Atec Optima. I like it because the weight is around 300 grams.

[@sebastienhertrich5852]

THLR.NO thank you ! Have à Nice week-end

[@John1911]

So...now that you are hunting with the 300, what are your impressions in wind vs your old 6.5-284? -Marky

[@THLR]

John1911 Gun Blog Terribly good. "Good" as in significantly less winddrift than my 6,5mm. "Terribly" as I have 20 years of 6,5mm habits and hold windage according to that when things happen fast. I had several deer that were marginally shot this year.

[@cratxn1]

Great wind calls. What is your partner shooting to deal with the wind ?

[@THLR]

Thanks CR. I think mentor is more precise than partner, we are not equals as I am learning the particulars of this hunt from him. In my opinion, being out with someone really skilled is the fastest way to gain own competence. I believe he's shooting a 260 here. He also has a 243 and a 270 and I'm not really familiar enough with his rifles to tell them apart.

[@cratxn1]

especially good wind call on the coup de grace shot in those quick / high gust values ! small target plus I know you were in a hurry to put the hind out of pain.."Good On You"...great music at the end

[@THLR]

Thanks for that. Yes, that shot I was happy to pull off.

[@PATHFilmsNZ]

Nicely done

[@THLR]

PATHFilmsNZ Thanks Pete, had a bit of stepping up to do seeing how you use your drone!

[@axelrolle8150]

Happy new year!

[@THLR]

Happy New year and best wishes!

[@blaserlongrange7616]

Nice shooting 👍💪

[@THLR]

Thanks for that. This season I've had quite a few poorly placed shots (6,5mm windcalls with a 300Nm doesn't work...) but this was not those :P

[@juanjoseermakimix1728]

Hi thomas,!! In the minute 4:30 what is the brand of that jacket you wear?? The mimetic. 👍

[@THLR]

Juan jose Ermakimix The grey one? Sitka Flash, good jacket but a bit short.

[@JonHunter80]

doesnt that 300 norma damage too much meat at only 250 yards? heel even at 500 yeards I'd think that would be the case.. now if that were a bison or moose I'd see the need for the 300NM

[@THLR]

It does. The meat damage was excessive and I stopped using it. Was simply unable to find hard enough bullets that also had a very high Bc.

[@juanjoseermakimix1728]

Thomas! What gloves you use? Nechanix???

[@THLR]

No these were Kuiu Attack. They are ok, but some quality issues (gloves are different size L/R hand).

[@juanjoseermakimix1728]

THLR.NO aaaaaaaaa. 🤔. Thanks. Are you going to travel some time to hunt here?to spain?

[@FocaBilotado]

what cameras do you use make videos?

[@THLR]

Joao Silva Canon sx60hs, gopro 6 and DJI Spark

[@sigurdtoverud9345]

Great video :) Just a thought, taking 3 deer in one situation is quite risky in my opinion, because the last ones are scared and jump around. Perhaps abstain for at least the 3rd animal in this situation? Feels a bit over the top for me, especially when the animal was in fact wounded, showing the added risk of the stressed siutation. Just some constructive criticism from me :)

[@THLR]

Sigurd Toverud Could be, I certainly have no need to shoot all the deer myself and I'm perfectly happy to shoot/film one deer. However, the professional hunters needs the deer shot and must work another day to take the deer off the property if not done on this day. I believe they are required to cull 1200 to 1500 deer depending on that years management contracts. That day we shot 4. The day before I think it was 15.

[@sigurdtoverud9345]

Yea okay I understand :)

[@THLR]

I think you will like the next film better, that one is "my time" with no pressure to drop deer.

[@juanjoseermakimix1728]

Ah! How Many meters was the shoot ??

[@THLR]

Juan jose Ermakimix Sorry, I don't remember that.

[@jaycupples4362]

What kinda of rifle did the other guy have?

[@THLR]

Without being entiely sure, I think that's his Tikka T3 in 260.

[@knieja37]

jump over the water, level master!

[@THLR]

For once! I have a history for falling into it... :D

[@mehmetkaya7154]

👍👍👍

[@THLR]

Thanks!