walkinhorseman
Beginner
- Sep 28, 2010
- 152
- 111
Just purchased a Nosler 48 Heritage in 7mm-08. It should be delivered within a week. My quest for a wood stocked 8# hunting rifle ended with the decision to buy a short action Nosler 48 Heritage, after considerable thought. Caliber was not as important as the character of the rifle. I had considered the 260 Rem, 7mm-08, and the parent case 308 Win. This will be the fourth 7mm-08 that I have loaded for and hunted with. As with the caliber, I had several candidate rifles in mind. Compared to other manufacturers product line strategies, I think that Nosler’s direction with the M48 is more in line with my concept of a hunting rifle. I like the fact that Nosler has chosen to limit the number of models and focus on producing a quality hunting rifle. I’ll explain how I decided on purchasing the Nosler 48..
My go to whitetail rifle for many seasons was a Sako AII Hunter 7-08 that lived in a McMillan Sako Hunter pattern stock. That rifle pretty much exemplified what I wanted out of a hunting rifle. The design attributes of the action were perfect. The trigger was excellent and tunable to 3# without smoothing. It was a flat bottom action with integral dovetails, integral recoil lug, a hinged floorplate, a non-plunger ejector and a bolt lock safety.
Like any rifleman, I am always seeking the Holy Grail of hunting rifles. As we hunt with a rifle, our requirements are refined and we make adjustments, based on our hunting style and needs. I was well into my hunting career when I started using the 7-08. It satisfied my needs for many years. There was a point where too much redundancy existed in the gun safe and I needed to generate funds for a match rifle. Additionally, I wanted to try one of those trendy new calibers, the 6.5 Creedmoor, in the Cooper platform. So, the old hunting partner went off to a new owner.
The Cooper Excaliber had similar size and weight to the Sako, however it certainly did not feel the same. The classic pattern stock by Bell and Carlson was a very stiff platform with a pleasing forend shape. The grip radius and thickness were just not comfortable in my hand. I prefer a more open and slimmer grip. The Cooper trigger was very good and the action was smooth. Believe it or not, having used two lug bolt action rifles all my life, the three lug bolt lift took some getting used to. The design deficiency that the rifle had was the safety. I didn’t care for the rotary style, the fact that it did not lock the bolt closed, and there didn’t seem to be a positive detent for the positions. Detachable box magazines are a convenience that some may like. At least Cooper keeps them below the stock line so they do not interfere with carrying. I can't understand why replacement magazines cost as much as they do. In the case of the 6.5 Creedmoor, Cooper uses the 308 family magazine box. A casual look at this application says that it should work. There is a problem because the headspace of the Creedmoor is shorter than the 308 family. The side of the magazine box has ribs formed at the case shoulder to stop forward movement under recoil. Because the Creedmoor case body length is shorter than the 308, the Creedmoor is free to move forward with the bullet point of the second round down snagging in the magazine latch boss punched into the front of the magazine. This resulted in feeding failures unless the bullets were deeply seated into the case. I sent the magazines back to Cooper who made some tweeks to the follower spring and gave me a free magazine. This was not a first principles correction of the problem. The ribs on the box sides need to be properly positioned to endgage the 6.5 CM shoulder. One last criticism of the Cooper was the bedding. At the price point that the Excaliber is at, they should at least put the barreled action in a decent bedding job. I put about 300 rounds through the Cooper developing loads. The accuracy was around MOA, which I felt could have been improved with a good bedding job. Although Cooper provides a test target with their rifles, I feel that it is deceptive. Their test range is just 50 or 60 yards and three shots don’t reflect the statistical accuracy of ANY rifle. I have handled several Cooper wood stocked rifles that I find pleasing in hand. Unfortunately they are off of my short list because of the safety. Their customer service was very good.
When we look at current semi-production rifles at the Nosler 48 price point, we have to consider Cooper, Sako, and the Montana Rifle Company. For me, Kimber is not in the running because of previous experiences. Being an old Sako advocate, I took a long look at the current Model 85 offerings. The laminated stock stainless Grey Wolf model comes close to meeting all of my criteria. Unfortunately, in model designs after the A-Series, Sako has changed their design to be more production friendly than technically correct. The recoil “lug” system is a real abomination. A little internet research illustrated the separate recoil lug plate that is sandwiched between the action and the stock. Maybe it works for their production engineers but it doesn’t work for me. It is just another place for movement in a vibrating system. That’s too bad because the Sako rifle does offer a lot of attributes that I like in a hunting rifle. If I make any future purchases of Sako rifles it will be the vintage L-Series or A-Series actioned rifles.
The Montana Rifle Company deserves a hard look. What’s not to like about stainless Model 70 Action. It’s flat bottomed, integral recoil lug, the most excellent safety ever designed, and hinged floorplate. For me, it came down to the stocks. Their wood stocked American rifle doesn’t suit my taste at all. The new X2 Extreme stock is very interesting. However, there is one detail that I noted while looking at pictures of the rifles offered on the internet sites. For some reason, the barreled action is set high in the stock above the barreled action centerline. This results in the trigger not fully extending into the guard such that the trigger finger would have comfortable purchase in the trigger radius. This deficiency is attention to detail in the manufacturing chain that could easily be corrected by making the trigger longer or dropping the barreled action to centerline in the stock. The barreled action above centerline is more cosmetic than a functional problem. However, the trigger placement would be uncomfortable to deal with. Finally, in the 7mm and 6.5 bores, I prefer a slightly faster twist rate than Montana uses, in order to shoot the heavy for caliber bullets. The Montana Rifle is at the lower end of this semi-production rifle price range and has a lot to offer at the price point. If they would offer a decent classic style wood stock or correct the inletting production problem, they would be viable options to me.
At this point you are finally saying to yourself, “This guy can’t be pleased!”. That’s not entirely true. I am willing to compromise and find work arounds to get what I want. As I worked through this decision making process, I also considered building a rifle from scratch or finding an old Sako in a caliber that I wanted. Further research was a call made to Nosler to talk about the stocks and safety. The salesman confirmed that the synthetic stocks were B&C and suggested that I might prefer the Heritage because it is slimmer through the grip. I was able to handle a couple Heritage rifles in 26 Nosler and found the stocks pleasing in the hand. I also learned that the trigger could be had in a 3-postion bolt lock safety. A call to Timney confirmed that the bolt lock 3-position safety trigger could be purchased and installed in the M48. I examined a Heritage to confirm that a slot was machined in the bolt handle and receiver tang to pass the safety bolt lock blade. It just amounted to an extra cost.
So I listed the attributes of the M48 Heritage, as I saw it. When I look at any wood stocked rifle, my eye first runs to the grain layout. A proper stock pattern layout on a wood blank has the grain running from the butt, linearly through the grip and rising slightly in the forend. Ideally you would be able to trace a straight grain run from the forend tip at the barrel through the grip to the middle of the butt. This promotes the greatest strength and if the stock swells and moves, the forend tends to move into the barrel instead of away from it. This is particularly important to three point (tip contact) bedded rifles. In examining Nosler Heritage rifles in pictures and hand, Nosler does a very good job in this critical detail. I was able to purchase a rifle on Gunbroker where the picture of the actual rifle was presented. This would not be the case with a rifle that is ordered from inventory. Cerakote is another desirable feature in the Nosler 48 along with the hinged floor plate. The barrel twists that Nosler uses are in concert with my opinions for the various calibers. Looking closely at the action design with the extractor style and integral recoil lug, the Nosler 48 offers a very good dollar value. The true test will be in the shooting. About all that I would change in the M48 is either integral scope mount bases (picatinny) or a simpler change would be to open the mount screw hole to 8-40 as H-S Precision does. That kind of makes using standard Remington bases a minor problem because they are designed for 6-48 screws. The fiberglass stocked models would be more attractive to me if they were in a style more like the McMillian Sako Classic. Better yet, why not replicate the Heritage stock pattern in the fiberglass Liberty model?
I have not hunted with a wood stocked rifle in decades. I am looking forward to hunting with this more traditional style hunting rifle. In spite of all of my criticism, I am sure that I will enjoy shooting and hunting with my M48 Heritage 7mm-08. I will report on shooting results after I get to know this rifle.
My go to whitetail rifle for many seasons was a Sako AII Hunter 7-08 that lived in a McMillan Sako Hunter pattern stock. That rifle pretty much exemplified what I wanted out of a hunting rifle. The design attributes of the action were perfect. The trigger was excellent and tunable to 3# without smoothing. It was a flat bottom action with integral dovetails, integral recoil lug, a hinged floorplate, a non-plunger ejector and a bolt lock safety.
Like any rifleman, I am always seeking the Holy Grail of hunting rifles. As we hunt with a rifle, our requirements are refined and we make adjustments, based on our hunting style and needs. I was well into my hunting career when I started using the 7-08. It satisfied my needs for many years. There was a point where too much redundancy existed in the gun safe and I needed to generate funds for a match rifle. Additionally, I wanted to try one of those trendy new calibers, the 6.5 Creedmoor, in the Cooper platform. So, the old hunting partner went off to a new owner.
The Cooper Excaliber had similar size and weight to the Sako, however it certainly did not feel the same. The classic pattern stock by Bell and Carlson was a very stiff platform with a pleasing forend shape. The grip radius and thickness were just not comfortable in my hand. I prefer a more open and slimmer grip. The Cooper trigger was very good and the action was smooth. Believe it or not, having used two lug bolt action rifles all my life, the three lug bolt lift took some getting used to. The design deficiency that the rifle had was the safety. I didn’t care for the rotary style, the fact that it did not lock the bolt closed, and there didn’t seem to be a positive detent for the positions. Detachable box magazines are a convenience that some may like. At least Cooper keeps them below the stock line so they do not interfere with carrying. I can't understand why replacement magazines cost as much as they do. In the case of the 6.5 Creedmoor, Cooper uses the 308 family magazine box. A casual look at this application says that it should work. There is a problem because the headspace of the Creedmoor is shorter than the 308 family. The side of the magazine box has ribs formed at the case shoulder to stop forward movement under recoil. Because the Creedmoor case body length is shorter than the 308, the Creedmoor is free to move forward with the bullet point of the second round down snagging in the magazine latch boss punched into the front of the magazine. This resulted in feeding failures unless the bullets were deeply seated into the case. I sent the magazines back to Cooper who made some tweeks to the follower spring and gave me a free magazine. This was not a first principles correction of the problem. The ribs on the box sides need to be properly positioned to endgage the 6.5 CM shoulder. One last criticism of the Cooper was the bedding. At the price point that the Excaliber is at, they should at least put the barreled action in a decent bedding job. I put about 300 rounds through the Cooper developing loads. The accuracy was around MOA, which I felt could have been improved with a good bedding job. Although Cooper provides a test target with their rifles, I feel that it is deceptive. Their test range is just 50 or 60 yards and three shots don’t reflect the statistical accuracy of ANY rifle. I have handled several Cooper wood stocked rifles that I find pleasing in hand. Unfortunately they are off of my short list because of the safety. Their customer service was very good.
When we look at current semi-production rifles at the Nosler 48 price point, we have to consider Cooper, Sako, and the Montana Rifle Company. For me, Kimber is not in the running because of previous experiences. Being an old Sako advocate, I took a long look at the current Model 85 offerings. The laminated stock stainless Grey Wolf model comes close to meeting all of my criteria. Unfortunately, in model designs after the A-Series, Sako has changed their design to be more production friendly than technically correct. The recoil “lug” system is a real abomination. A little internet research illustrated the separate recoil lug plate that is sandwiched between the action and the stock. Maybe it works for their production engineers but it doesn’t work for me. It is just another place for movement in a vibrating system. That’s too bad because the Sako rifle does offer a lot of attributes that I like in a hunting rifle. If I make any future purchases of Sako rifles it will be the vintage L-Series or A-Series actioned rifles.
The Montana Rifle Company deserves a hard look. What’s not to like about stainless Model 70 Action. It’s flat bottomed, integral recoil lug, the most excellent safety ever designed, and hinged floorplate. For me, it came down to the stocks. Their wood stocked American rifle doesn’t suit my taste at all. The new X2 Extreme stock is very interesting. However, there is one detail that I noted while looking at pictures of the rifles offered on the internet sites. For some reason, the barreled action is set high in the stock above the barreled action centerline. This results in the trigger not fully extending into the guard such that the trigger finger would have comfortable purchase in the trigger radius. This deficiency is attention to detail in the manufacturing chain that could easily be corrected by making the trigger longer or dropping the barreled action to centerline in the stock. The barreled action above centerline is more cosmetic than a functional problem. However, the trigger placement would be uncomfortable to deal with. Finally, in the 7mm and 6.5 bores, I prefer a slightly faster twist rate than Montana uses, in order to shoot the heavy for caliber bullets. The Montana Rifle is at the lower end of this semi-production rifle price range and has a lot to offer at the price point. If they would offer a decent classic style wood stock or correct the inletting production problem, they would be viable options to me.
At this point you are finally saying to yourself, “This guy can’t be pleased!”. That’s not entirely true. I am willing to compromise and find work arounds to get what I want. As I worked through this decision making process, I also considered building a rifle from scratch or finding an old Sako in a caliber that I wanted. Further research was a call made to Nosler to talk about the stocks and safety. The salesman confirmed that the synthetic stocks were B&C and suggested that I might prefer the Heritage because it is slimmer through the grip. I was able to handle a couple Heritage rifles in 26 Nosler and found the stocks pleasing in the hand. I also learned that the trigger could be had in a 3-postion bolt lock safety. A call to Timney confirmed that the bolt lock 3-position safety trigger could be purchased and installed in the M48. I examined a Heritage to confirm that a slot was machined in the bolt handle and receiver tang to pass the safety bolt lock blade. It just amounted to an extra cost.
So I listed the attributes of the M48 Heritage, as I saw it. When I look at any wood stocked rifle, my eye first runs to the grain layout. A proper stock pattern layout on a wood blank has the grain running from the butt, linearly through the grip and rising slightly in the forend. Ideally you would be able to trace a straight grain run from the forend tip at the barrel through the grip to the middle of the butt. This promotes the greatest strength and if the stock swells and moves, the forend tends to move into the barrel instead of away from it. This is particularly important to three point (tip contact) bedded rifles. In examining Nosler Heritage rifles in pictures and hand, Nosler does a very good job in this critical detail. I was able to purchase a rifle on Gunbroker where the picture of the actual rifle was presented. This would not be the case with a rifle that is ordered from inventory. Cerakote is another desirable feature in the Nosler 48 along with the hinged floor plate. The barrel twists that Nosler uses are in concert with my opinions for the various calibers. Looking closely at the action design with the extractor style and integral recoil lug, the Nosler 48 offers a very good dollar value. The true test will be in the shooting. About all that I would change in the M48 is either integral scope mount bases (picatinny) or a simpler change would be to open the mount screw hole to 8-40 as H-S Precision does. That kind of makes using standard Remington bases a minor problem because they are designed for 6-48 screws. The fiberglass stocked models would be more attractive to me if they were in a style more like the McMillian Sako Classic. Better yet, why not replicate the Heritage stock pattern in the fiberglass Liberty model?
I have not hunted with a wood stocked rifle in decades. I am looking forward to hunting with this more traditional style hunting rifle. In spite of all of my criticism, I am sure that I will enjoy shooting and hunting with my M48 Heritage 7mm-08. I will report on shooting results after I get to know this rifle.
