All of us have certain passions, things that drive us in particular directions. This is a story about a boy’s passion and the paths he has been down that lead him to the road he’s about to travel – a moose hunt and a career as a hunting guide.
I’ll begin with asking you a question. Do you ever think about the impact one person may have on another? What about the impact you have on others? I do, regularly, and my hope is that there are more positive impacts than not.
I want to share with you about how a child’s dream becomes a reality, and the only thing left to do is equip him with the proper gear. The research begins! What equipment should we put together, that will prove to be perfect for a dream come true?
When I heard the news that Sam, a boy I had mentored in the shooting/hunting world for the past four years, has been invited up north to begin his dream career, I was ecstatic and had some work to do!
Samuel Atherton graduated from high school early and is ready for the next step, an opportunity to live out his dream as a moose hunting guide. The first thing I focused on was a rifle sufficient for the job.
Why is the rifle the most important? Unless you’re proficient with a sling and a stone, you’re going to need something to reach out and touch the moose with sufficient energy. The Ruger American Gen II (MSRP $729.00) fulfills that purpose. It also is light weight at 6.4 pounds and comes equipped with sling mounts, making it a perfect tool for the type of hunts that require a hunter/guide to cover a lot of ground without tiring.
I wrote an article on the Ruger American Gen II chambered in .243 (MSRP $729.00), and the success I achieved on a hog hunt. Having experience with this platform, I know it’s a good one to put into Sam’s hand. I had the opportunity to share with you how much I loved it through some written words and photos, of which I am grateful for the liberty to do so. Now I get the opportunity to pass some knowledge and experience onto Sam, yet again.
After some deliberation, I decided it should be chambered in .30-06, and of course, Sam agreed. This caliber provides a large enough round for sufficient energy and penetration on a moose without the consequence of maximum recoil.
This Ruger American Gen II also offers many adjustment options to modify for an individual or even, for Same to adjust to fit a client someday. Clients come in all sizes. I believe that will prove to be a great blessing for Sam and his future clients. Here are some of the adjustment options.
Before getting into more details about the rest of the gear, I’d like you to get to know Sam a little more. Sam didn’t get his love of the outdoors from his uncle or even from the friend of the family, Mr. Hebert, that took him on his first whitetail hunt when he was six. The hunt was without harvest, and some may say it was a terrible first experience, but I beg to differ. I see the proof of it to this day in Sam. It was a real experience and began to teach him patience, proper expectations, the challenges and rewards of the hunt, as well as the fact that a hunt is not always a harvest. That is when his desire to hunt was sparked.
Sam, being a part of a family of six, has enjoyed camping, hiking and traveling together, which has played a large part in his passion for the outdoors. He’s had wildlife encounters that most of us only dream of, thanks to the journeys his family has taken.
Sam is one of the children I’ve had the honor to coach and take with me on shooting and hunting trips. He was about 12-years old when I was invited to join him and his uncle on a jackrabbit airgun hunt in Texas. He’s been enjoying the outdoors with my family and me for the past four years, joining us for many different hunts – including small game hunts with airguns, graduating to his first whitetail deer and wild hog hunts.
Sam has been wanting a centerfire rifle for several years and I have a couple I could gift to him, but as I’ve already said, his desire is to hunt moose meant that I would not be able to give him a proper caliber. After I received the Ruger American Gen II in .30-06, a moose-worthy caliber, full of excitement for him, I took him all the gear.
When he saw the bright red Ruger emblem on the box, his face lit up, Sam’s no dummy; he knows the good stuff is in there. Sam is a smiler. In fact, when I met Sam, he was four years old and my nickname for him was “Smiling Sam.” One of the best smiles I’d ever seen on Sam’s face was when he got his first buck, Mr. Symmetrical, and oh my, what an honor to witness! I could match that smile to the one he had on his face when he pulled the Ruger American Gen II out of the box. I explained to him with that with the help of Ruger, Hawke, “Women’s Outdoor News,” his parents and me, all the gear, including the Ruger, would be his to keep. All he could say was, “Thank you!’
We shot a lot of airguns together using scopes from Hawke Optics. He loved them and is accustomed to their glass. It’s a good thing Hawke makes optics for just about any platform – firearms, airguns and crossbows. I knew my next step. The perfect scope for the Ruger American Gen II and for Sam is the Hawke Endurance 4-16X50 (MSRP of $599.00) with the LR dot reticle. When Sam took his first look, he exclaimed, “I love this scope!” All I could do was smile.
His smile grew, (as if it could), when he saw there was more. Included with the Hawke Endurance scope was a pair of Hawke Endurance ED 10X42 Binoculars (MSRP $349.00), a binocular harness pack (MSRP $39.00), hats and beanie caps, (MSRP $17.00) for the cold days up north. He’s almost ready, there’s still some work to do and Sam can’t wait to do it.
After he unboxed his new gear in front of his parents so they could share the excitement, Sam and I headed to the Live Fire Training Academy, the local shooting range to test bullets and sight in his new gear from Ruger and Hawke Optics.
How do you decide what ammo to use? It is important to test ammo in your particular rifle, since not all guns like the same ammunition. Sam and I have spent many hours together testing ammo in airguns, so he knows the drill. We start at 50 yards and use one bullet to get somewhat close to the bullseye. Then we move back to the goal distance and for Sam that’s 100 yards. We Then shoot three-shot groups to compare the size of the groups from each type of bullet and finally, the tightest group wins!
Sam shot a group of three shots from each bullet, and I followed up. I have a lot more experience with guns, and have the .243 in this exact platform (my groups were a little better than Sam’s, which could be the overwhelming excitement from him on all the great gear, too). I’ll write him a prescription for trigger time when we finish.
These are the cartridges we tested: Hornady American Whitetail Interlock Spire Point 180 grain (MSRP $23.50) from Target Sports USA, Doubletap 30-06 Springfield 180 grain Swift Scirocco II, (MSRP $53.90), Federal Terminal Ascent 175 grain, (MSRP $64.99) and finally, Remington Core-Lokt Tipped 165 grain, (MSRP $53.99). And the tightest group goes to the Hornady Whitetails – not by much, but like I said the tightest group wins!
I can’t send Sam off with the point of impact at the moose’s front leg, so we needed to get dialed in and for this task – to hit a dinner plate area. Of course, once he arrives at the destination for hunting, he will need to verify that his scope is still sighted correctly. With the Ruger American Gen II sighted in, I am confident enough to say gear wise, Sam is ready!
This is what Sam had to say about a couple pieces of his new equipment:
“Some of my favorite things about the Ruger American Gen II are that it’s very light, doesn’t kick too much, is very accurate and I love bolt action rifles.”
“On the Hawke scope, I love its reticle, there isn’t a lot of stuff to get in the way, and its zoom capabilities are insane!”
Sam has been given the opportunity to follow a passion that started when he was a young fella, sparked by his father and mother and then nurtured by a few others along the way. I am honored to be one of those who was able to assist him on the road to his dream career. Before Sam departed, I said to him, “Sam you know I love to hunt, how cool would it be if one day you guide me on my very first moose hunt?” As Sam so often does, he blessed me with one of his big smiles.
Follow along with Sam’s success in the field on Airgun Angie’s many social media platforms, found with links on her website.
I am a wife and a mother who loves the outdoors, I also review and test airguns and shooting products for various manufacturers. As Airgun Angie, I get to spend a fair amount of time outdoors hunting and shooting! I love what I do, I get the opportunity to test many different types of shooting and hunting gear. My current adventures can be found on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC764VE4T-i2XihiyISmkJKA You can also follow me on Facebook, @leadlife17 "Airgun Angie." View all posts by Angie Perry
