From Sweden’s dense forests to the English countryside, Dr. Mike Arnold’s latest adventure begins with a tongue-in-cheek warning from a Scandinavian guide: bring too much rifle, and your tiny deer trophies may not make it home in one piece. In this edition of The Hole Story, Mike follows that advice into the field, testing a new rifle-and-Hornady-load combination on two of Britain’s smallest game animals, and discovering just how far the right setup can go to preserve both precision and prize!

Yep, I know. That title indicates I am really, really politically insensitive. The great thing about it is, being a geneticist, I know exactly where the inheritance of this trait originated. It goes back at least to my maternal grandmother. Known to me as Mamaw, as far as I know, she did not possess any school diplomas and was born and lived her entire life in Memphis, Tennessee. Under five feet tall, and with a whip-like sarcasm, she kept me and most around her in belly-hugging laughter. Then there was my mom. With the ‘w’ removed from her moniker, she was, and will always be, ‘Mama’. Very proud that she exceeded the five-foot height by ½”, she anchored our families’ politically incorrect frontline her entire 93 years. For example, with only a high-school diploma, Mama worked as the Personal Assistant for the CEO of one of the largest financial institutions in the country. In her role, she occasionally had to stand up to towering, and demanding billionaires, informing them that (in her words), “I would like to buy you for what you’re worth and sell you for what you think you’re worth, and retire on the proceeds.”

So, what’s up with the ‘inappropriate’ title of this post? Well, it derives from a hunting guide in Sweden, Stefan Bengtsson of Scandinavian Pro Hunters in response to my suggestion that I come back over for another hunt with him, bringing again my trusty MG Arms Ultralight in 7mm Remington Magnum, with loads tipped by Hornady’s 162-grain ELD-X bullet. I’d taken a beautiful Roebuck and Fallow Stag with that rifle and load on the first trip with Stefan and, his wife and fellow guide, Sofia Hammarskjöld Bengtsson. Stefan’s exact, sardonic reply to my suggestion of using the 7mm Remington Magnum on a subsequent hunt for the tiny introduced species, Muntjac and Chinese Water deer, was “Well, that would work, if you want two pieces per animal.”

As usual when stuck with a firearm need, I reached out to my friends, Kerry and Carol O’Day of MG Arms fame, describing to them the focal species of my upcoming England adventure. Their response was immediate, suggesting they loan me one of their Ultralights, but in 6.5 Creedmoor. I agreed that sounded fantastic, and turned to illud mihi electionis in ammunition supplier, Hornady’s Seth Swerczek. As with Kerry and Carol, Seth’s not only the top in his field, he's also a great guy…for a Yankee. Describing as I did for the O’Day’s the intended game animals, Seth’s suggestion was their 6.5 Creedmoor Precision Hunter with 143-grain ELD-X bullets. Again, trust the experts to come up with the perfect product!

Once the rifle and ammunition were in hand, I headed to the range for sighting-in and practice off my 4StableSticks Ultimate Leather shooting rest. The accompanying graph illustrates the accuracy afforded by the combination of MG Arms Ultralight + Hornady ammunition. I won’t belabor the point, except to state that group sizes from both bench and fieldrest – from the latter which I’d likely fire on the hunt – were ~2 inches or less all the way out to 400-yards. I had NO intention of shooting at an animal weighing in at ~20 pounds at even 300 yards, but I guess these data suggest that I could have.

In the end, my wife, Frances, and I headed to England with Joe Croot of Royal Outfitters UK. And as they say, photos are worth a lot of words. Taken at 67 and 100 yards, respectively, both the Muntjac and Chinese Water deer bucks dropped in their tracks to the accuracy of the MG Arms Ultralight and Hornady ELD-Xs. Great friends and their excellent products, once again, came to the rescue of this grateful hunter. And most importantly, both animals remained in one piece…

Author profile

Mike Arnold is professor and Head of the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia and author of the 2022 book, BRINGING BACK THE LIONS: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique. Mike’s book is available for purchase now at bringingbackthelions.com. You can find a description of Mike’s travels, talks, and articles at mikearnoldoutdoors.com.