I scored with the XP100 this last week during our rifle elk season. First kill with the XP100 since I had it made 2 years ago. It was made because, well, Ernie made me do it. HA!!! I went to Wy-shot two years ago, and was hooked on long range pistols. I showed up early, and Ernie showed me his reloading mansion... I mean room. He let me help him do some reloads for the upcoming long range sessions. Now, by long range, I don't mean 100 yards, 200 yards, or even 500 yards. I'm talking 1,000 yards plus. And yeah, I did it myself. I went from knowing nothing about long range shooting, to hitting a prairie dog size steel target at 1176 yards in about 2 days. Ernie is amazing at teaching that stuff. Well, it stuck with me. I had a 284 Winchester made on an XP100 frame, and it is my absolute favorite firearm. If my life depended on one shot, that's the firearm I would use.

Anyway... On to the hunt...

Four of us were hunting this last week at our property in south Colorado. Three of us had cow tags, and one had a bull tag. A herd of 30+ started coming into range. Myself, my wife, and my buddy's wife, Amy, had the cow tags. We all laid down prone with our firearms, I ranged the hillside across the canyon at 272 yards. I told the two gals where to aim based on their rifle / bullet, and we waited. The cows came into view, the three of us picked our critter, Lee counted to three, and we fired. All three cows went down in 30 yards or less. My first kill with the XP100, my wife's 3rd elk with her 270 WSM, and Amy's first ever elk.

Since this is a handgun forum, I'll stick to info concerning my handgun. I used a 162g Hornady ELDX over 56.5gr 4831 Short Cut (the powder Ernie recommended). I did not recover the bullet cause it was a complete pass through. Didn't hit ribs at all. But it did it's job. The lungs were a mess, and the critter made it less than 30 yards before stopping.

I can't tell you how excited I was to use the XP100. All because of Ernie and Wy-shot. Also, this pistol was dipped and cerakoted by Derek Schaffer, owner of Ace Custom Coatings in Dublin California, whom I also met at Wy-shot that same year and became good friends with. He and Lisa are a riot!! I would be willing to bet he has more of these XP type pistols than Ernie!

Thanks Ernie for planting the seed! Thanks Derek for coating the pistol!

Congrats to all!

Congrats!

What a cool story.
Gotta love synchronized shooting!
Congratulations!
I hope you can make your way back to Gillette in the future and shoot with us again.
Enjoy that elk meat.
Very happy for all of you!

VERY GOOD, CONGRATS.

Great story. Looks like you had a very good time, as well as a successful hunt.

Bob R

Good times and tons of GREAT EATING!

Awesome story and shooting!

Nice work with the XP!

3 elk down = a bunch of freezer meat!

I bet all of you downing an elk at once was a sight to behold! Congrats! Love the look of that XP, too.

Thanks all. Yes, seeing three elk down was exciting, till I realized how much work I had just made for myself. Lee and Amy were our guests, so I wasn't about to have them do all the work. Specially on their first elk. I wanted them to sit back and enjoy it. It was a lot of fun, and they are already wanting to come back next year. Lee ended up getting a small 5x5 bull the next night, so all of us got to put a tag on something.

Processing elk is a lot of work, but it sure is fun.

Congrats buddy. Very happy for you guys. Hope to see you soon.
Derek & Lisa

Didn't Chris build that XP for you?

Yup! It used to have a black, blue, and white stock on it. And a stainless barrel. I traded for that stock at the shoot cause I knew it was going to get dipped anyway, and didn't care what color it was. Don't remember who it was, but someone didn't want it cause they didn't like the coloring, so I told them I'd take it. And the scope is one that Zee told me about. Leupold 6.5-20x50 LRP with a CCH reticle.

Thanks man! Yeah, can't wait to see that 20 Vartarg again. That pistol had me laughing so hard at what it did to Prairie Dogs. I'll never forget that as long as I live. They either catapulted through the air, or they vaporized! That was one of the best parts of the week for me - shooting that Vartarg. Hope to see ya again this year at Wy-shot, and possibly down at our ranch for your elk!! Would be glad to have you and Lisa along.

Great shooting! Congrats to all!

Derek,
What bullet are you using with your Vartarg?

Well done!

Awesome Job on you hunt and write-up! Your XP is chambered in a very practical caliber but I hope you realize you can't only have one. Every time I open the safe another one falls out!

Yeah, I learned that from Derek!! So far, I just have the one. I was about to buy a few of them at the beginning of this year, but Covid hit and it pretty much shut my electrical business down. We've made enough to make ends meet, but it's been a rough year. Can't justify adding another one - yet. Time is coming though.