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Okay, Scotty, you can take a deep breath. I know you'll like this little gem.
I picked up a rifle back in the spring. It's one I've been wanting since I first saw one a number of years ago. I wasn't really looking to buy a rifle, but then this one popped up on the radar and the price was excellent, so I couldn't pass it up:
I had originally seen one of these in 300SAUM and thought it was interesting. It stayed on the LGS rack for a while, and I really started thinking about getting one. That was back in 2005-ish. The idea of a handy, compact rifle with open sights really got under my skin for some reason. I've been acquiring various rifles over the past decade with two objectives. I like rifles to be interesting, but also serve a purpose. In fact, with the exception of one rifle I've bought (in my lifetime) all the rifles I've bought have been purchased with a purpose in mind. So I found myself thinking about what I have in the safe, and noticing that I did not have any open sighted rifles that might be useful for snap shooting while walking the woods. Up until I got into the lease I currently enjoy, I didn't really have any need for this sort of rifle, but the little 673 stayed in the back of my mind over the years. Well, fast-forward to this year and I found an opportunity to pick up this little rifle in 350RemMag to scratch that "open-sight-rifle-for-stalking" itch. It also manages to improve my average bore size a bit!
Well, today I got my first chance to go shoot since early this year. Right after hunting season ended I got moved into a new role at work and I've been working 70hr weeks since then, so I haven't gotten to the range at all since before last hunting season. Today I managed to grab some time, finally. I had a new scope on Mr. Hyde (270'bee) that needed to be sighted in:
I got Hyde sighted in properly, though the new lot of IMR7828ssc is a bit different in burn rate from the old lot. I'll work all that out, though. I was very pleased with the new Minox glass, though Mirage at 15-20x will take some getting used to, for sure. I think, for my use, the view is 98% of the Zeiss Conquest on my 300'bee, but either of these scopes is easily far more than I'll need during legal shooting hours. I'm equally sure that when it's not 90deg outside, mirage won't be such a problem. I did notice the mirage got markedly worse after the first shot from a cool barrel...maybe the heat generated from the loads is strong, huh?
I shot the new 673 as well. I was surprised that the little 350RemMag had such a stiff punch of recoil. I figured it would be pretty moderate in recoil, but I expected more of a shove than a punch. I started at 40yds and got on paper, then adjusted the rear notch and went back to 100yds. Two shots, low on the paper, and one called flier that never touched the paper. The disappointing part is, all the shots were either low or very low, and I've adjusted the rear up to a point where it's pretty "bent" looking versus the mount, and the adjustment screw is pretty close to as deep as it will go without running out the bottom. I'm not sure what to do with it, as I don't really want to add a scope to this rifle. I shot up at my deer lease so I was shooting off of sticks. I'm going to go to the range and shoot it from the bench as soon as I can (maybe in a week or two) but if it's still low, I don't know what exactly I'll do. Maybe a receiver-mounted peep sight? I hope it doesn't come to that.
I shot my 300'bee as well, and checked zero on my 30-06. The -06 was right where I left it, and even managed a half-inch group from the prone position. First time I've shot prone much. The 300 did well with some 200gr Partitions - thanks, Scotty! - but accuracy was still not quite where I wanted it. Of course, I shot in terrible conditions today - high heat, high instability, and plenty of biting insects, so maybe it's as much the day as the rifles/loads. The max charge with the 200gr Partitions put two rounds right on top of one another and the third round jumped out about 2", so I suspect heat and bedding are to blame, mostly. The rifle is still wearing the factory tupperware, so that's not helping the bedding.
Overall a hot day, but at least it was a hot couple of hours shooting. It's always nice to get up on the deer lease and breathe the air, at least. I hope you approve of the new rifle, Scotty. And now I finally have a 35cal in my safe!
I picked up a rifle back in the spring. It's one I've been wanting since I first saw one a number of years ago. I wasn't really looking to buy a rifle, but then this one popped up on the radar and the price was excellent, so I couldn't pass it up:
I had originally seen one of these in 300SAUM and thought it was interesting. It stayed on the LGS rack for a while, and I really started thinking about getting one. That was back in 2005-ish. The idea of a handy, compact rifle with open sights really got under my skin for some reason. I've been acquiring various rifles over the past decade with two objectives. I like rifles to be interesting, but also serve a purpose. In fact, with the exception of one rifle I've bought (in my lifetime) all the rifles I've bought have been purchased with a purpose in mind. So I found myself thinking about what I have in the safe, and noticing that I did not have any open sighted rifles that might be useful for snap shooting while walking the woods. Up until I got into the lease I currently enjoy, I didn't really have any need for this sort of rifle, but the little 673 stayed in the back of my mind over the years. Well, fast-forward to this year and I found an opportunity to pick up this little rifle in 350RemMag to scratch that "open-sight-rifle-for-stalking" itch. It also manages to improve my average bore size a bit!
Well, today I got my first chance to go shoot since early this year. Right after hunting season ended I got moved into a new role at work and I've been working 70hr weeks since then, so I haven't gotten to the range at all since before last hunting season. Today I managed to grab some time, finally. I had a new scope on Mr. Hyde (270'bee) that needed to be sighted in:
I got Hyde sighted in properly, though the new lot of IMR7828ssc is a bit different in burn rate from the old lot. I'll work all that out, though. I was very pleased with the new Minox glass, though Mirage at 15-20x will take some getting used to, for sure. I think, for my use, the view is 98% of the Zeiss Conquest on my 300'bee, but either of these scopes is easily far more than I'll need during legal shooting hours. I'm equally sure that when it's not 90deg outside, mirage won't be such a problem. I did notice the mirage got markedly worse after the first shot from a cool barrel...maybe the heat generated from the loads is strong, huh?
I shot the new 673 as well. I was surprised that the little 350RemMag had such a stiff punch of recoil. I figured it would be pretty moderate in recoil, but I expected more of a shove than a punch. I started at 40yds and got on paper, then adjusted the rear notch and went back to 100yds. Two shots, low on the paper, and one called flier that never touched the paper. The disappointing part is, all the shots were either low or very low, and I've adjusted the rear up to a point where it's pretty "bent" looking versus the mount, and the adjustment screw is pretty close to as deep as it will go without running out the bottom. I'm not sure what to do with it, as I don't really want to add a scope to this rifle. I shot up at my deer lease so I was shooting off of sticks. I'm going to go to the range and shoot it from the bench as soon as I can (maybe in a week or two) but if it's still low, I don't know what exactly I'll do. Maybe a receiver-mounted peep sight? I hope it doesn't come to that.
I shot my 300'bee as well, and checked zero on my 30-06. The -06 was right where I left it, and even managed a half-inch group from the prone position. First time I've shot prone much. The 300 did well with some 200gr Partitions - thanks, Scotty! - but accuracy was still not quite where I wanted it. Of course, I shot in terrible conditions today - high heat, high instability, and plenty of biting insects, so maybe it's as much the day as the rifles/loads. The max charge with the 200gr Partitions put two rounds right on top of one another and the third round jumped out about 2", so I suspect heat and bedding are to blame, mostly. The rifle is still wearing the factory tupperware, so that's not helping the bedding.
Overall a hot day, but at least it was a hot couple of hours shooting. It's always nice to get up on the deer lease and breathe the air, at least. I hope you approve of the new rifle, Scotty. And now I finally have a 35cal in my safe!
