M70 Featherweight

[35 Whelen]

Cheyenne,
Of course all of this is from a "guides perspective" and I am sure you have noticed over the years I am not keen on calibers that vastly over penetrate the animal effectively transfering very little of the true energy the gun actually has into the game.
I guided a fellow in the Brooks Range with a 257WM
He basically "vaporized both his Dahl Sheep and a huge Bull Caribou with it, that were in the 350yds for distance. He came to Montana and took a nice 29" Mule Deer and an Antelope with the same 257WM and had the exact same results as in Alaska. Have only had a few clients shooting a 270WM but like its baby brother it devistated Caribou even at very long range. So they are impressive calibers when combined with the correct bullets. Interesting your
Grandad was so impressed with their accuracy.
And how generous his gifting all of those great Weatherbys to your husband ! He must be a grand fella!

 

[Thankful Otter]

Earle, thank you again sir

Grandfaf was not a into rifles and bullets the way you fellows are. After he retired he reloaded as a hobby more than anything else. He was a hunter however and to him if the animals kept falling down when he shot them, it was a very accurate rifle. LOL When I go down in caliber for sheep and goats ( sometimes wolf and caribou ) I still use the 275 H & H, but he loves his 270 Wea. For large animals he likes his 340 Wea and those are basically the only two he uses. We are thinking about the 7mm-08 Camilla as a training rifle for a couple of teenage females who we are working with. It is suppose to be built to fit a female and the 7mm-08 is enough, without being to much for them.
I still have my 30-06, which is what they have been using. thanks again for your kind assistance, appreciated.

 

[5shot]

Just for reference, both my dad's and my 300 Wby MKVs shoot tiny little clusters. His is German, mine is Japanese.

 

[35 Whelen]

5shot,
Those rifles sound like beautys! Roy Weatherby was certainly way ahead of his time. The Mark V action was really kinda futuristic for its time. His decision to use the local, California Claro Walnut gave his stocks a signature look the moment you see one.
They are always "head turners" anytime someone draws one out of a case, for sure.

Cheyenee,
For what ever its worth, the 7/08 caliber has gotten a huge following here in Maine, the last 10 years or so;
Lots of sucess storys about how effectively it works
on Whitetails and Black Bears! And many have used it with great results on our Bull Moose with well placed bullets. Which makes alot of sense considering how close it resembles the tryed and true grand olde 7x57. I bet it would be an outstanding caliber on Caribou and Sheep for sure!
I had one in a T/C Compass that shot 1moa right out
of the box, had it as a "lender" and first fellow that used it shot a lovely "big 10 pointer" with it and insisted I sell him the rifle! Lol. Dont think you can go wrong with that caliber. Here is one that was harvested last week here in Maine .
Good Luck
E

 

[Thankful Otter]

5shot, thank you

Earle, that will provide a few meals, nice. thanks again. we have zero experience with the 7mm-08 but we have two females in training now and should have two more by next spring, so something that fits them, that could handle the little guys, sheep, goat, caribou, wolf would give them a decent start hopefully. It will rotate as they each will head off to college at some point and then enter the work force. not many come home these days after they leave, but regardless they will have the knowledge and hopefully the desire to continue to hunt wherever they end up.

rjm158 apologizes we stole your thread.

I am off and will not be able to respond so will say thank you now. Enjoy your season Earle.

I hope you all have a great season. Some are already coming to the end of theirs

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I had a model 70 classic sporter in 2506 that shot 3/8-1/2 MOA regularly with my handloads and about every bullet I tried.Is the only rifle I regret selling to this day...

 

[5shot]

rjm158 - did it follow you home?

 

[rjm158]

5shot, no it didn't. I was dismayed to hear others talk about the accuracy I was possibly going to get and, to be honest, 1.5 -2 inch groups don't excite me. I've grown accustomed to rifles that shoot sub-MOA regularly and maybe if I were a Model 70 fan already I could have looked past it. After reading previous posts , I was reminded of a Model 70 .223 I bought from a friend 20ish years ago and recalled that while I liked the rifle, it never met the "tackdriver" classification. The friend bought it back a couple of years later and used the action to build something else.

I own a Tikka T-3 and a Remington 700 Varmint 7mm-08's that shoot very well so I will stay with what I have.

Ron