Projects...projects....projects.

[Anonymous]

Just a note about ongoing gun projects around here.

Well,the boy must be getting fed OK... his 510 Mini 20ga now looks ridiculously tiny in his hands. I loved that little gun- perfect youth shotgun. Only he's too big for even the 11.5" LOP spacer now. I'm guessing something like a 13" would work until he's in late teens or so. Probably stick with a pump..maybe an 870 Youth model with a 21" or 24" barrel. I'd likely not bother but he has a lot of interest in wingshooting in the last year or two.

Still thinking about putting the wife a 7-08 together...call me a nut but I love the 7-08 as a low recoil alternative. The boy is loving his. We have a caribou hunt to go on and the wife should be appropriately armed I'd think. She says she'll just take my Scout and very well could but maybe a Kimber 84M or Tikka T3 will find a way home. She played around with an 84M last year and liked it...liked it a lot until she turned over the price tag. Hopefully she'll get amnesia or something.

Still thinking about medium bores....I hate the .338WM but may give it another chance given all the excellent light for caliber bullets out there. I got a writing request and may just take it on. Could be fun getting beaten like I owed it money through load development. Gave some thought to the 338-06, 9.3x62 and the Whelen but ammo supply in Timbuktu AK just make it too impractical to be any fun. .338WM grows on trees up here it seems.

Other than that- sighted in the Nosler 48 .300WSM last weekend... 1" group at 150yds from prone...I clicked it 2 clicks left just for spite then thought better of it and moved it back..... Boring. Just boring. It needs stock paint but I probably won't bother for a while.

 

[Guy Miner]

The .300 WSM seems like it's doing great.

What's the deal with not liking the .338 Win mag? Figured that was an Alaska standard.

Guy

 

[Anonymous]

The .300 WSM seems like it's doing great.

What's the deal with not liking the .338 Win mag? Figured that was an Alaska standard.

Guy

Lot's of folks here shoot them... My criticism of the .338WM is that it kicks ridiculously hard for what you get. Don't get me wrong- it's a killing machine- but it seems to hit hard enough to rattle most folks shooting ability. Lot's of guys packing .338s who firmly shut both eyes before yanking the bang switch...not the fault of the round per se, but I see it frequently enough.

I also think it's kind of like the .375 in Africa- the .338 is really too big for 90% of our shooting...caribou, deer, black bears, even moose just don't need that much oomph to kill. But I also think it's too small for the remaining 10%... brown bears in the alders leave me wanting something bigger, much bigger. Kind of a neither fish nor fowl kind of thing.

I will admit for a "one gun in AK" kind of deal it's very tough to beat- which likely explains it's popularity to some degree.

 

[SJB358]

I have had a few 338's and they do have some recoil but the latest, Pre64 isn't horrible at all. I do use a Past recoil shield with it, but other than that, it shoots really well and slings 210 PT's up over 3000 without too much difficulty. I really enjoy the 338 Win Mag. Granted, might not be perfect, but loaded up with some 275's it seems like it be pretty competent..

Maybe find one the stock fits you well with like another Nosler!

I like the 9.3 and 35 Whelen a bunch. I get the ammo problem though. Might be tough to come up with it in a bind.

 

[DrMike]

Felt recoil is determined by quite a variety of factors. Stock design is a major factor, as is stance at the time of firing. In the field and from field position, the recoil from most rifles is tolerable. It is bench time that takes away the pleasure. Also, many train themselves to tolerate recoil, though I suspect that no one ever "enjoys" excessive recoil.

 

[truck driver]

Bench time can be a bear with some rifles and 12ga slug guns. But the worse I've been kicked was from a Remington 1100 3" patterning turkey loads I had worked up in 2 3/4" shells. The factory recoil pad didn't work to well and it drew blood. Beat my shoulder up something ferrous. I didn't know I was hurt till I got home and my wife said what happened to you? She thought I had shot my self because my white Tee shirt was a bloody mess and my shoulder was so numb I didn't know it.

 

[SJB358]

That does not sounds like what fun looks like buddy. I don't mind zeroing the slug guns, but it isn't my favorite thing to do either.

 

[truck driver]

I was patterning Turkey loads leaning over the hood of my truck with the shotgun (1100) resting on bags. The loads were 1-5/8 oz #2 with buffering material clocking around a published 1400fps out of a 30" barrel. Those dang semi autos kick you 5 times with each shot, even with the forcing cone lengthened it was viscous and I shot 10-15 of those rounds straight. Partly my fault since I didn't reduce the load by 10% for the buffering but it sure was a tight load and killed quite a few turkeys.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok-one project solved neatly... some Father's Day admonishment to "Go get myself something" at the big hook and bullet in Fairbanks while the wife went on her way to more domestic errands.

I perused the gun counter up and down...shotgun?...not really. Handgun? Not much interest anymore. Rifle? Now we're talking...

Messed a fair bit with the Browning X-Bolt. Felt good, haven't had a Browning in a long while and never an X-bolt. It had an intriguing set of features. Thought hard about one in .338WM, but hiding back in the corner was a stainless stalker, one in .270WIN. Thinking about how the wife might like a caribou gun for the fall, the .270 has the right stuff in that department and with the coated stock and squishy recoil pad it won't kick any more or less than a 7-08. I loved my old .270 and I still had some ammo hanging around. That should do nicely.

A Leupold 2.5-8x in Warne Maxima mounts and rings and we were in business.

Looking forward to working with the .270 again.

 

[Thebear_78]

Hard to go wrong with the 270!!

That said you might look into the 366 Alaskan, 338 wm necked up to 9.3. Performance on par with 9.3x64 but readily available brass.

 

[SJB358]

Very cool! Sounds like a good Father's Day gift. A good 270 has alot going for it too.

 

[DrMike]

Sounds like a Father's Day gift for the family! Good rifle to have.

 

[Anonymous]

.
Looking forward to working with the .270 again.

Great day on the range with my frequent hunting partner.

The Browning was perhaps the easiest rifle ever to get shooting well. Loaded up some Federal 130gr loaded with the SP bullet.

1 shot as a sighter. A scope adjustment. 3 shots, 3/4" group, right on center 2.5" high at 100yds.

Perfect. Ready to hunt in 4 shots.

 

[gerry]

And enough ammo for 16 caribou still Browning does make nice guns for sure.

 

[Anonymous]

And enough ammo for 16 caribou still Browning does make nice guns for sure.

I can't for the life of me determine why some guns are popular in some places and not in others.

I know only a handful of guys who run Brownings but after today's performance I can't figure out why that would be. I've worked way harder to get "good and accurate" rifles to shoot half this good. Heck- a local gunsmith won't work on a Browning...his report is they're trash not fit to hunt in AK with.

This one was pretty effortless and I can't imagine it's anything but suitable.

 

[DrMike]

Brownings have always been accurate for me. I don't own many Brownings primarily because of aesthetics--other rifles appeal to me more. However, I've shot quite a number of Browning rifles, and most were shooters for sure.

 

[gerry]

Some guys just have preferences for some brands and therefore don't give another type a fair shake I guess. I keep finding myself looking at the X Bolt, BLR and LH BAR all the time, I guess one of those will be my next purchase.

 

[Guy Miner]

I have heard that some of the anti-Browning bias comes from:

1. Overly complex trigger

2. Difficulty in re-barreling due to the threads

I have NO idea about the veracity of these statements!

Our family Browning BLR has served several of us well, from the 1970's on. Trigger has never been great, but it's workable. The rifle is accurate enough for the purpose intended and it's been 100% reliable.

***********************************************

Re the .338.... I'm reminded of a time when a fine young man showed up at the Idaho State Sniper Match, with his father's elk rifle, a .338 Win mag, sporter configuration. I can't remember if it was a Ruger, Remington or what, but it had no extra weight. Much of that match was fired from prone, supported only by a bipod. The young man was game, but the rifle was kicking his tail.

One of the great things about riflemen is their generosity and desire to help newcomers....

A fellow there quietly pulled the young man aside, and handed him a custom built 7mm WSM heavy barrel match rifle worth many thousands of dollars. Told him to use that, and the carefully crafted ammo with Berger VLD bullets. SWEET!

That young man did pretty doggone well, once suitably equipped.

What makes a good elk rifle, doesn't necessarily make a good match rifle.

FWIW, Guy

 

[BK]

My hunting pard has an original A-Bolt in .338 that has killed a fair number of elk and maybe a dozen deer. It works fine, and he's not one to take care of his stuff... I generally end up wiping his rifle down when I do mine, and I doubt it's bore has been cleaned since it was new.

That being said, it just leaves me cold. I MUCH prefer my M700s, M70s, Montana, and Rugers...

 

[Anonymous]

Some 100yd groups... 130gr SP and 130gr Trophy Bonded. Should do nicely for anything I'd shoot with a .270....