RL338
Handloader
- Mar 23, 2017
- 3,366
- 5,487
Congrats on your elk.
I second the idea of Nathan’s Beast Brake , they work.
I second the idea of Nathan’s Beast Brake , they work.
Caught Yet "Another" Great Deal!
- Thread starter preacher
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LimbSaver fixed that issue years ago and the newer pads work as intended (very well). I have several on my rifles, even the 2 I had that went soft and replaced, and have had no issues since.
Another update!Since most rifle loonies have a rifle or two (or more) in their closet or safe that doesn't get out as often as they should, I would say that it just proves we are all sinners anyways!
I too recently acquired another rifle...a LH Browning X Bolt All Weather in 270 WSM in excellent condition that came with rings, scope and ammo for a good price. It is the early version w/o the muzzle break. Supposedly shoots the Federal Premium 140 gr Trophy Bonded Tip ammo that came with it into 1" groups, We'll see. Also look forward to trying the 136 gr Terminal Ascent ammo in it once I can acquire some. I will swap out the Nikon Monarch 3 3-12x42 scope that came with it for a Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40 B&C Gunmetal Grey scope I have on hand.
Will look similar to the 6.5 Creedmoor I have, except for the colour of its' matte Leupold scope, that I took to New Zealand last spring, and am taking to Africa in May.
Update:
Pic
2nd Update:
I have picked up some Low Talley's and am getting them Cerakoted in Titanium finish to match the rifle and lower the scope
3rd Update:
New Talley's mounted. THe Federal 140gr Trophy Bonded Tip ammo shot 3 shot groups @ 100 yards of 0.396" at 3156 fps out of the 23" factory barrel (factory specs of 3200 fps from a 24" barrel) and a SD of 7.8! Most accurate ammo shot to date in this rifle; too bad it is discontinued! But I did find 2 more boxes in a gunstore on a recent business trip! And it worked fine on my caribou this fall at 210 yards! It also shoots the Nosler 140 gr AB ammo into 0.565" groups @ 100 yards at 3073 fps (factory spec at 3100 fps) and SD of 18.1, so I do have a great shooting second option! I also found some of the Federal 136 gr Terminal Ascent ammo for it in another gunstore on this trip, so will finally get to test it too!View attachment 21754With Leupold mounted rifle weighs 7 lbs 13 oz w/ empty magazine.
I just found another one of these rifles chambered in 7mm Rem Mag, and at a better price than I paid for the 270 WSM above! The only difference will be a 26" barrel on the big 7 compared to the WSM's 23" barrel, with an overall weight difference for the longer action and barrel of just 5 oz. Now to get it home!
Have already found 5 boxes of the Federal 155 gr Terminal Ascent ammo for it.
I have a set of Talley 1" lows for it that I will take in to get cerakoted in Titanium to match, and mount a spare Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40 B&C Gunmetal Grey scope I have on hand.
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- #104
Nice catch BlkRam! (and be careful driving home, (assuming you are on The Road?) As you may know, Utah is Browning Country (may as well say 7mm Rem Mag Country too, very popular here!) That 155 TA sounds interesting, and I read some very good reviews of it on Game.
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I'm apparently making BC Browning country too, as this will be my 5th rifle in my safe at this time, and my wife has an X Bolt too.. (By getting it home I mean either waiting to have it shipped or taking a road trip to pick it up over the Christmas Holidays, as Canada Post is currently on strike)
If the Terminal Ascent rifle performs as well as it has in my 6.5 CM's, I'll be happy!
And I'll get to perform side-by-side comparisons of the ammo in the 7mm Rem Mag and PRC when I find the Terminal Ascent ammo for that rifle too. Should be fun! (If the mail strike isn't over by New Years, I'll be going to pick up as a side trip when going to ring in the New Year with friends in Prince George.)
(Finally found some for the 270 WSM to try, and have yet to try it in my 6.5 PRC; have a little shooting to do when we get a nice day when I have the free time to get to the range!)
It has been awhile since I last had a 7mm Rem Mag, but I enjoyed shooting and hunting with it. I took mtn goat, mule deer, moose and elk with it. I used Federal 165 gr SGK ammo in it, and it would produce groups of less than 1/2" and performed well on the game taken.
Looking forward to this rifle!
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- #106
I remember Col. Charles Askins hunting a Polar Bear with the then new 7mm RM and the factory 175 clkt. He said something that just seemed to strike a note in me! He was gifted the rifle/hunt in order for him to do a story on it. He really preferred the 8mm over anything (absolutely hated the 30-06! ) but he said that 7mm is a fine caliber and could not figure why Remington had chosen the 175 " as everybody knows the 7mm balances better with the 160 grain than any other". End of quote. I started loading them in my first 7mm (160 NPT) later in life, in other 7mm mags, I've tried the 160s with boring results...accurate and deadly! ha I remember when Federal started loading the different 165's. They "almost" screwed the pooch in the 90s with that "Extended Range" ammo. It was just very thin jacketed , c&c. PHs in South Africa hated the 7mm RM solely "because of that ammo that American hunters used!" A great cartridge deserves a great bullet!
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Back in the late 80's I read an article (do not recall author) that stated that the 160/162/165 gr class of bullets was the optimum weight for the 7mm caliber. At the time I had just gotten a 280 Rem and was learning how to reload for it.
I do not recall the load developed for that Browning A Bolt with the Hdy 162 gr BTSP, and recall it being max with the data for the powder used in the Hdy manual (worked up in 1/2 grain increments), but it was very accurate (sub-MOA clover leafs at 100 yards) and recoil, and "thump" on the steel plates at the rifle range was more comparable to the 7mm Rem Mag 160 gr ammo than the standard factory 280 Rem ammo with 160 gr bullets. (Didn't have access to a chrony back then)
Since then, I have mostly used this class of bullets in various 7mm caliber rifles for years (280 Rem (160), 7mm Rem Mag (165), and 7MM STW (160)).
Recently, with 3, 7mm rifles (7mm-08, 280 Rem and 7MM STW) I was focusing on the 140 for the 7mm-08, 150 for the 280 and 160 for the STW. Now with the recent acquisition of the 7mm Rem Mag and 7MM PRC, and the newer Terminal Ascent ammo, I will be using the 155 gr for the Rem Mag and 170 gr for the PRC, if these both perform as hoped (MOA or better accuracy). I like having a specific bullet weight for the various cartridges I have in a given caliber.
I do love the 7mm!
As much as I also love the 6.5, 338, and 358 calibers and cartridges, if I were forced to use just one caliber, I would be hard pressed to not choose the 7mm. (the 338 being a close second)
It has very manageable recoil, shoots fairly flat to very flat (depending on cartridge), and performs very well on a wide variety of game and with a 175 gr bullet is still legal for bison, if retaining 2000 ft.lbs of energy at the animal. To date I have taken over 3 dozen animals ranging from antelope to elk, from 20 to 475 yards, with the 7mm caliber. I also shoot these rifles well (at least in my opinion!
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I do not recall the load developed for that Browning A Bolt with the Hdy 162 gr BTSP, and recall it being max with the data for the powder used in the Hdy manual (worked up in 1/2 grain increments), but it was very accurate (sub-MOA clover leafs at 100 yards) and recoil, and "thump" on the steel plates at the rifle range was more comparable to the 7mm Rem Mag 160 gr ammo than the standard factory 280 Rem ammo with 160 gr bullets. (Didn't have access to a chrony back then)
Since then, I have mostly used this class of bullets in various 7mm caliber rifles for years (280 Rem (160), 7mm Rem Mag (165), and 7MM STW (160)).
Recently, with 3, 7mm rifles (7mm-08, 280 Rem and 7MM STW) I was focusing on the 140 for the 7mm-08, 150 for the 280 and 160 for the STW. Now with the recent acquisition of the 7mm Rem Mag and 7MM PRC, and the newer Terminal Ascent ammo, I will be using the 155 gr for the Rem Mag and 170 gr for the PRC, if these both perform as hoped (MOA or better accuracy). I like having a specific bullet weight for the various cartridges I have in a given caliber.
I do love the 7mm!
As much as I also love the 6.5, 338, and 358 calibers and cartridges, if I were forced to use just one caliber, I would be hard pressed to not choose the 7mm. (the 338 being a close second)
It has very manageable recoil, shoots fairly flat to very flat (depending on cartridge), and performs very well on a wide variety of game and with a 175 gr bullet is still legal for bison, if retaining 2000 ft.lbs of energy at the animal. To date I have taken over 3 dozen animals ranging from antelope to elk, from 20 to 475 yards, with the 7mm caliber. I also shoot these rifles well (at least in my opinion!
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- #108
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- #109
Sold it next day to a fellow Elk Hunter over in Oregon! We are both Happy! The day before, I checked on a Local AD for a tricked out (heavier synthetic, Parkerized Metal) Model 700 in 300 WBY. He needed money and when he told me it was still Sporter Weight, we made a deal! I had sold the Vanguard to another guy and added some $$$ with it. Rifle been shot less than 30 X. I took it to my Smith to have a Brake added (he uses a three port) and a Trigger Tech Special, Hex Head receiver screws. I plan on trying out those 154gr HHT (tipped Hammers) should be a screamer!
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- #110
Well...I found a nice Mod 700 Classic in 30-06 up in Montana. Very reasonable price is why I jumped on it. Reason is, it should still be a Sporter weight ( I have had many, nice balance between heavy/light, for me anyway.) I have only hunted with ONE Kimber, an 84M Classic, back around 20+ years ago. my only 7mm/08. I later had it rebarreld with a factory contoured Lilja in 8" twist .224 and chambered for the 22/6mm Remington (AKA the 224 TTH). I killed exactly one exotic Ram with the 7mm/08 139 SST and a big hog with the .224 TTH 75 Scirocco. I have owned/shot many Kimbers, the ones in 300 WSM I can hold pretty still, good balance. I weighed this Kimber Classic 84L .270 (which have never shot except on sandbags, never hunted with it. Never tried it in hunting positions) Just scoped rifle (FFII 3x9 )no ammo, it weighs 6 1/2 lbs! Arrgh. I'm not going to embarrass myself with it, sending it back to my granddaughter for her wishes. I plan on shooting that 300 wby and 30-06 ALOT! Next time, I will do better...Lord willing, lol Tough getting older, but I just find a different way to do it!
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