Seasoned hunter and author Dr. Mike Arnold heads to the range in Northeast Georgia to test the Seekins Havak rifle and a Stealth scope with a selection of Hornady ammunition. Read on to see what he uncovered when he delved into the data…

I love my job as a professor and scientist. I enjoy even more when I am able to mix my love for scientific data with my passion for the shooting sports. But sometimes I forget that I ought to pace myself. The time I fired 30 rounds through a 50 BMG at a one-mile target comes to mind. Recently, as I drove away from the Elbert County Gun Club, I realized pulling the trigger on just north of 100 cartridges, using the Seekins Precision rifle, chambered in 7mm Remington Magnum might have been another example of overdoing it. Pooped summed up how I felt physically. Yet, elated described me as well. I fired all those cartridges because of how much fun it was to experience the incredible accuracy obtained by all of the ammunition provided by Hornady’s Seth Swerczek.

The rifle used in this range workup was a Seekins-HAVAK PH2-NRL rifle topped with a Stealth Vision Extreme SVX 5–30x56 Illuminated riflescope with their patented anti-cant technology. I knew this combination was incredibly accurate. I had previously fired 60+ ‘Extreme’ cartridges from Hendershot’s Sporting Goods topped with Hornady, 175-grain, ELD-X bullets, in preparation for a whitetail hunt with Larry (Mr. Whitetail) Weishuhn. What I did not know was how accurate this rifle + scope combination would be with three types of Hornady ammunition.

After explaining to Seth that I wanted the chance of testing the HAVAK rifle and Stealth scope across several ammunition types, he sent the following: American Whitetail, 139-grain Interlock; Superperformance, 154-grain SST; Precision Hunter, 162-grain ELD-X. Seth’s reasoning was that these Hornady 7mm Remington Magnum cartridges gave a range of projectile weights and designs. The muzzle velocities of the 139-grain, 154-grain and 162-grain bullets listed on the ammunition boxes were 3150 fps, 3100 fps, and 2975 fps, respectively. My LabRadar chronograph registered the very similar velocities of 3143 + 23 fps; 3126 + 9.5 fps; and 2934 + 21 fps.

When reviewing shooting equipment — whether riflescopes, ammunition, firearms, or in this case, all three — I shoot first from the bench. I know “Duh!” But the bench is not primarily for zeroing the firearm onto the bull with certain ammunition. In fact, for my reviews, as long as the 100-yard groups are near center, that’s all I need. I am measuring accuracy, so I want group sizes. If the bullet holes happen to be in or near the bull that’s fine. If not, that’s also fine. I normally use my homemade sandbags, sewn into a fabric cover by my sweet wife, Frances, for the forearm rest. An Armageddon Gear, Wax Canvas “OG” — Optimized Game Changer® Shooting Bag supports the butt. Because of the attachment points provided on the HAVAK stock, for this range workup I used my Harris 1A2-BR2 Bipod instead of the sandbags.

After completing the bench portion of the entertainment, I almost always switch to my 4StableSticks Ultimate Leather standing rest. I have said it many times, but it bears repeating. I am a hunter, not a competitive shooter. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy watching and participating in long-range shooting. And, yes, I once accomplished 2 x 0.5 MOA groups on a metal plate at a distance of one mile. However, no one watching me shooting on a range would conclude, “That Mike Arnold is a competitive shooter!” I am ok with that. I want my shooting on hunts to be excellent. It isn’t always, and I have written about some of those instances. Regardless, when I am reviewing a rifle etc., I produce data that I hope helps hunters know what they are in for if they purchase the riflescope, ammunition, firearm, and/or shooting rest.

Readers may notice from my articles and books, that I am a bit Type-A. Or as my grown kids maintain, I am the king of the OCD empire. That is a partial explanation for what happened when I worked with the Seekins rifle, Stealth scope and Hornady ammunition. I demand that I test a shooting product until the point at which I feel comfortable (or not!) in recommending its purchase by family and friends. As usual, I began by firing approximately 10 cartridges from each of the three ammunitions at a 100-yard target, both for quasi-zeroing (see above) as well as for measuring muzzle velocity using my chronograph (~30 cartridges). I then fired three cartridges of each ammunition into targets at 100, 200, 300 and 400 yards from the bench (=36 cartridges). As the simple math indicates, I was already approaching seventy rounds of magnum ammunition through the Seekins rifle.

The next series of shots involved the same ranges, but I switched from the bench to my cherished 4StableSticks standing rest — in this instance the [photogenic] Ultimate Leather model. I love these French-made shooting ‘sticks’. I encountered a standing rest model on my first African safari. It was the final day of my hunt. Professional Hunter, Arnold Claassen, (then with Blaauwkrantz Safaris, now owner of African Select Hunting Safaris), had worked his butt off to get me everything from a Vaal Rhebok to an Eastern Cape Kudu. The remaining animal, a Bush Duiker, was proving to be elusive. During my time with him, Arnold called in several animals using a [cheap] plastic, predator call. That is what engaged Arnold again as we stood on a slope, with the sun setting on the stunning Eastern Cape landscape. Before starting his calling, my PH set me up on a strange (to me) rest that looked anything but steady. With the first whistle, a beautiful little ram darted out of the dense, Chapparal-like scrub. I whispered, “What is the distance!?” Arnold, through clenched teeth hissed “He’s staring at us, shoot him!” I realized as the crosshairs settled, the rifle went off and the little form dropped that I had absolute solidity off these aptly named ‘Stable Sticks’. It turned out that the shot at the small, Bush duiker was around 125 yards. I climbed down the slope pondering the amazingly effective rest. Since that first encounter, I have always used 4StableSticks products when reviewing hunting rifles.

As a research scientist, I want a ‘balanced’ experimental design in my reviews. This requires that I collect the same number of data points for each side of a cross comparison (in this case, rest x ammunition x distance). In statistical terms that means filling each ‘cell’ with the same number of observations. For example, if I fire three American Whitetail, 139-grain Interlock cartridges at the 100-yard target from the bench, I need to also fire three cartridges at 100-yards from my Stable Sticks. Someone might argue that for statistical rigor, there should be a minimum of five observations (shots) per cell. That is correct. However, I am not providing error bars around my estimates of group sizes in order to argue that the bench is better at 100-yards than the Stable Sticks, or that one ammunition type does better than another at 400-yards, etc., etc. Furthermore, I doubt my shoulder would hold up to the number of cartridges needed for statistical significance.

So, let’s land this plane. The bar graph clearly illustrates the results from the range work. Simply put, every ammunition x rifle combination worked well. If I planned a hunt where I knew there was a good chance of shots out to 400 yards, I might choose the American Whitetail load for this Seekins-Stealth package. However, what the graph indicates is that every ammunition type, at every distance, off both rests, gave 1xMOA diameter, or less, three-shot groups. As a reminder, 1xMOA at 400 yards is approximately four inches. If I am hunting anything the size of a Grey duiker, Pronghorn Antelope, or Whitetail deer, four inches is less than the heart-lung area. I hope I can get closer than ~four football fields’ length before I take a shot at a game animal, but if not, this rifle + optic + any of the three Hornady ammunitions will help me close the deal.

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.