It was raining that early December afternoon—not enough to warrant staying indoors, but enough to make things uncomfortable. Deer sign was minimal in the Hudson Valley, to say the least, as the EHD breakout of the previous few years had taken a toll. In fact, in my little secret spots where I would have guaranteed the sighting of at least a doe or two, there was nothing. Still, I had a tag in pocket … and I wasn’t giving up.
At 4:15 pm he broke cover, stepping into the old orchard, apparently smelling the evidence of a doe I hadn’t seen. My thumb disengaged the safety, and as soon as the crosshair was tucked in behind the buck’s shoulder, I broke the trigger. The 6.8 Western barked, and a 140-grain Badlands Precision bullet had me notching my tag—with an irremovable smile on my face.
I have an undeniable infatuation with projectiles, to the point of obsession. Long ago, I came to the realization that the bullet (and only the bullet) touches the game animal, target or steel plate. The choice of bullet—and the ability to modify the performance of that bullet—is what drew me to reloading, and experimentation with different projectiles has garnered me with a ton of experience over the years.
While I use, enjoy and love classic projectiles, such as Federal’s
