Casting Boolits: Slovenia 2013

Today, 06:30 AM It does not seem two minutes since I put on a report of my 2012 visit to Slovenia. The years just seem to fly by the more you enjoy. This time I had two friends with me and as one wished to take his Mauser actioned custom 257 Roberts I decided that I would take my Encore but with the 26 inch 300 H&H barrel as both rifles could travel in the same Dosco roll on case. I had some 150grn Winchester Silver Tips from way back when which needed using up and even with a change of scope to a 56mil lens for low light it shot a one inch group with only a couple of 4 click adjustments. The barrel was made by the Custom Dept at T/C before the take over and has an integral muzzle brake and the finish and blacking is superb.
Our first stop was in the south of Slovenia to hunt one of the last great natural woodlands left in Europe. The area has probably the largest number of European Brown Bear, so much so that you can order bear goulash for lunch. Our quarry was a couple of cull eating size wild boar. We find selecting a suitable animal amongst maybe thirty or forty in a group and then getting close enough to ensure a swift clean kill, is far more exciting and difficult than walking up and just flattening any of the huge boar in the herd which is. to quote, like shooting a pig in a barrel. My first shot came from a high seat and was fairly simple. The second evening we took a walk along a forest trail and very soon came across a herd grubbing in some grass land on a steep slope below the trail, which enables us to creep along above them out of sight. The wind was perfect and a number of the big males came within ten yards, but no sign of what we wanted. My guide eased along and I followed. More pigs could be seen down in the trees but the guide shrugged and mouthed "Nothing" in Slovenian. He began to turn and come back towards me when he suddenly ducked down, pointed over the side of the road and put up two fingers. I assumed he was not being rude and that he has located two likely pigs. I scuffled forward as quietly as possible and looked over to see two good eaters grubbing up the turf about 120 yrds down the bank. Wasting no time I dropped prone picked one out in the scope, waited for it to move forward and clear the other and ....BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM! I saw four legs fly in the air as the silver tip flipped the pig over on its back. An exclamation from my guide suggested he had not had time to get his fingers in his ears and my colleague who was videoing it all had one ear ringing because he only had one hand one finger for one ear

After a move north we changed guide and went hunting roe deer bucks. These small deer live right up in the forests to the tree line as well as down in the valley and it was the tree line bucks we looked for. On our first outing we saw a fleeting glimpse of a roe in the distance and nothing else.
That evening on our drive up the rough forest track we spotted a buck making its way along the side of the hill in the trees and jumping out of the truck we eased along the track evetually spotting it now nibbling shoots from a small bush. The shot was 140yrds and almost vertical, so steep was the ground. I waited until buck buck moved into a good heart shot position and again the 300 H&H split the silence. The buck made a typical jump forward as when heart shot and tumbled out of sight. My guide suggested he took my rifle and climbed up to have a a look. I was more than happy to agree. He navished into the trees and a few minutes later I heard footsteps coming up the gravel trail and it was Tina, dragging my buck which had rolled all the way down onto the track about thirty yards behind us. We decided we had plenty of time to look for a second buck and drove up into an alpine meadow of perhaps 200 acres. We glassed it well but could not see anything and Tina suggested we look in the next one. We had almost reached the far side when a buck jumped out of a dip in the ground about a hundred yards away and walked off uphill. I bailed out of the truck and keeping down eased along the track until i could clearly see the buck about 180 yards away. It was standing above a large rock and I quickly got the cross hairs on the spot and again the peaceful alpine scenery was devastated by the good old 300 cartridge. I recovered from the recoil to see four legs sticking up behind the rock. Job done.
The great thing about all of these shots, was the actual carcase damage was limited to 30 cal hole in, one and a half inch hole out and lungs completely mushed. Everyone said that the 300 H&H was too much gun for this delicate job. It actually performed extremely well and very little if any eating meat was destroyed.
Well must go, my wife has just called to say I have one of those 'tree rats' American grey squirrels in one of my traps and it is waiting to meet its make via my Mossy 500 410. Attached Thumbnails