Exclusive – Meet Ammon Ammon 75 the record breaking hunter,

The Record Breaking Hunter

Exclusive Head-to-Head interview

Who is Ammon Ammon75?

It’s not some secret enigma code nor a new ELR cartridge, but it is equality discreet. If you follow the hunting scene online through the popular hunting channels, you probably must have hit one of Ammon Ammon 75 professional productions of far flung hunting adventures around the world. The record breaking hunter as he is also known has hunted in some unforgiving territory but he is probably best known for some of his long range shooting ability in situations where you will only have one or maybe 2 shots at a game animal, some considered to be outstanding dimensions of their specimen. Today we ask Ammon Ammon 75 some interesting questions to learn more about the man with the synonymous hat that keeps his identity, unknown. In this interview, we strive to lift the brim of that hat and learn a little more about this exceptional long range shooter and hunter.

Although we mostly cover ELR and Long range shooting competition in this site, I am particularly intrigued with the hunting scene as well. I understand the role it plays in the ecosystem as well as it’s importance as an industry when done sustainably in cooperation with the regulators that also see the benefit of this mutual cooperation.

I am particularly fascinated by the advancement of hunting rifles in successfully managing to achieve target like performance even at the lower end. Their challenge is maintaining that performance over numerous shots but that is not the objective of a hunting rifle.

In this view, the most important part of a hunting rifle which overlaps that of a target rifle or tactical rifle setup is the ability to reliably put the first shot precisely and the skill of the shooter and spotter to accurately predict the drift and fall of shot. That first round hit capability confidence.

Ammon Ammon 75 video productions have become the rave of the internet, not least due also to his ability in making some impressive shots across canyons where otherwise such a hunt would probably not have been possible. In some of these situations, getting closer is a not an option. This is naturally possible because Ammon Ammon 75 as he is known online trains exclusively for 1st and 2nd hit shot scenario. Practice like you expect real world scenarios to be like and that’s what he does. We shoot only 3 rounds per target when we train for ELR because that is what we are given in competition. If we cannot connect in those 3 shots, we have no business making a shot. In Ammon’s case, the opportunitiy window is even tighter.

Further on in this EXCLUSIVE Interview, he reveals the number of rounds he shoots every year and Ammon Ammon is not light on his barrels.

In the video below, you can see Ammon Ammon 75 loading his single shot Johann Fanzoj rifle as he attempts to line up on this red stag in New Zealand.

We had the opportunity to have a head to head with Ammon Ammon 75 following the Johann Fanzoj Kipplauf rifle he had made to measure for him in 338 Lapua Magnum to understand why he had this rifle built. Most kipplauf rifles do not see this sort of action and maybe are not built for this so his choice of rifle build was intriguing.

May I wish to thank Patrick and Daniela Fanzoj that kindly introduced us to Ammon Ammon 75. We must highlight that the precision of a hand made rifle to the exact specifications with very accurate handloads or high quality hunting ammo make these shots in the field more doable. Ammon Ammon 75 knows his guns well, as a rifle collector, he has no shortage of high end custom built rifles in most high performance calibers so when he set out to build the Kipplauf rifle with the Fanzoj siblings, he had a well chartered plan.

Some of his custom rifles can be seen below in this beautiful expose’.

When you commission the best, you get the best. This Johann Fanzoj hand made kipplauf rifle is completely bespoke, every piece of the rifle components is made inhouse by hand by highly experienced craftsmen in Ferlach, Austria home to gun making for over 200 years. Learn more about the Fanzoj siblings here.

I know well enough how difficult a 800m shot can be when you are under pressure and you need to make a wind call in a short time span before the game moves out of your shooting window. That resembles competition like situation except here you are dealing with a living creature not a steel plate so the stakes are higher. During Extreme Shot Italia ELR competition as well as King of 1 mile in France which we have attended multiple times, I have seen shooters miss a cold bore target or even their first round at 600m only to nail it on the second round. That’s because when you must take a shot in a specific time window, the difficult of that shot increases by the second.

Let’s see what Ammon Ammon had to say to us. 

1. Ammon, what is the reason you opted for a break barrel rather than a conventional bolt action?

An interesting question. I don’t take EVERY break barrel. I ordered this break-open barrel because this break-open barrel is sensationally precise. That’s why I chose it.

2. Why did you go with Johann Fanzoj for this build?

JF with Patrick Fanzoj put exactly my ideas on paper and then technically and aesthetically realized them. We both learned from each other. I had previous experience with Kipplauf rifles, and I also knew that with large calibers those were uncomfortable.

Here is the team behind every hand made rifle, experts at their craft masterfully combined to create one single piece of exceptional, bespoke, luxury riflecraft.

3. You chose a 338LM cartridge for this break barrel build over a 30 caliber magnum. Why is that? 338 tends to kick more due to heavier projectile and less choice in terms of hunting ammo.

I come from the long range field. The 338LM has more energy at long range than a .30 caliber. For me it is important that I bring enough energy into the animal´s body with calibers that have less recoil. I know the 338 has hard recoil but my Kipplauf from JF did a good job of making the recoil feel like a .223 Rem.

4. I noticed you are using Lapua Scenar heads in the video. Do you find these work reliably on game compared to say Hornady ELDx or Accubond?

Definitely for mountain hunting sheep and goats, but not for African game. The Lapua Scenar is a soft bullet, but I think it’s a great combination with the 338 LM in particular, and at distances of 1000-1500m it always keeps over 2000 joules. The Scenar is more precise than anything else. If you can get the shot into the vitals at that distance, then the game doesn’t stand a chance.

*Editor’s note: Before you slam the choice of bullet, please bear in mind that the person doing this has hundreds of in the field shots on game with this bullet and is speaking from real world experience. If he says it works, he must know something about this.

5. Do you also use this cartridge in other rifles you possess?

Yes, in many others.

 

6. How would you describe the recoil of this break barrel setup at the current weight including scope?

Shoots like a .223Rem!!!

Editor: Checkout what’s it like – WATCH the rifle RECOIL as it breaks the silence in the valley to make a clean shot

Have you ever seen such a beautiful muzzle brake? We haven’t!

7. I noticed you complimented it with a 5-40×56 March. Why did you choose this scope for the break barrel build?

It’s for no particular reason. I like scopes with high magnification because I use them to target the game. March has very good quality and even with 40x magnification it can compensate for the parallax and see the game well and can address it clearly and sharply. When shooting, I turn back to 15-18

I want to address the game myself !!! i am a hunter ( I don’t want to rely on the guide with the binoculars)

Editor’s note. We happen to have the same scope on this 33XC rifle albeit with a different reticle and it’s a superb piece of glass. Shown below is the same scope on a tactical setup.

Shown below in two reticles one more PRS oriented and another as used by Ammon Ammon.

8. Shots in the field as we saw in the video are a result of practice. Do you find yourself practicing with this setup, is it comfortable to practice with?

I practice a lot. In the year 25-30 000 shots. Mostly on the weekends on my private ranch. But I don’t practice with this rifle, but with different models, I practice in cal. 308Win. Ammo is much cheaper and the .308W is a very good bullet to understand wind drift. 308 does not forgive mistakes. 

When shooting at long ranges in .338 or 300Norma they are forgiving the shooter mistakes. When Correcting 10 clicks , with 2 click misjudgments you are still in the vital area.

9. Would you consider this rifle build as a mountain rifle or would it be equally at home for African plains game?

I had this rifle built specifically for mountain hunting I have other rifles for Africa, also rifles from Johann Fanzoj.

Editor: In the video below, Look at how easy it is to assemble it in the field where none of the moving parts are affected. the scope sits on the bridge mated to the action. It carries very well in a back pack.

10. Do you shoot factory ammo or hand loads?

Both . I used to load it myself. 300Norma, 308 7mm are handloaded. I have good guys that help me with this nowadays, due to a lack of time.

11. What sort of performance do you expect from a rifle build of this sort, what are your accuracy requirements?

Group: Hole in hole at 100m. that is crucial. On a hunt the first 2 shots are important. SubMOA – 0.20MOA minimum In any case !

12. Can you share any pictures with us of the ammunition tests you have done?

This particular Kipplauf we only tested at Fanzoj´s private underground shooting range on 100m. It shot continuously perfect with Scenar. That was it. Then I took it hunting – perfect.

13. Given the right conditions, how far out would you feel comfortable engaging game with this setup?

1200m/ 1st shot  at clay pigeon / in normal windless conditions, +15 degrees

14. Do you dial or hold for windage?

Mostly “dialing”, but I stop at the 2nd shot. Don’t have time to correct again

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