Scope Swapping .375's

[Guy Miner]

Felt almost like a traitor, pulling the scope from my Ruger Number One and putting it on the Winchester Model 70 this morning. The Ruger has been a faithful and effective hunting rifle and just plain NICE to own, shoot, load for and hunt with. But... In recognition that a bolt action is likely a smarter choice than a single shot for grizzly hunting, the 1.5-5x got moved this morning while I was cleaning the two rifles. Now it's in Talley quick-detach rings on the Winchester - and I don't have a sighted-in .375 on hand! Yikes! Well, not with the scope anyway.

Before:


After:


Yes, I tried the sling from the Number One on the Winchester, but it's just not long enough to work well on that rifle. Works great on the Number One or my .30-30 Glenfield.

And just for the heck of it, a comparison of the muzzles. The Ruger has a MUCH heavier barrel, while this Winchester uses a Douglas barrel. I don't know the contour of the Douglas barrel, but it handles pretty nicely.


Sigh, I don't think the Ruger is very happy with me right now. Might have to do some iron-sight plinking with it. :grin:

Guy

 

[Anonymous]

That 1-5x just looks right on the M70....

Should be plenty of scope for your hunt.

For a longer sling that works well on a rifle with a barrel mounted stud you should consider a Trader Keith "rifle strap"...http://traderkeith.com/products.html

I've had one for quite a few years and it just plain works. Probably my favorite sling and it's carried just about everything. It worked really well on several .375s and my .416 that was just too long for a conventional sling. It even worked on a shotgun with a sling stud way out on a barrel/magazine clamp.

 

[lefty315]

Guy, what bullet are you going to shoot from the 375 for your bear hunt?

 

[FOTIS]

300 NP

 

[FOTIS]

On those guns any good 2x7 2,5x8 or 1,5x5 or 1.5x6 will do nicely

 

[JD338]

Guy,

The VX-3 1.5-5x20mm looks right at home on the M70 375 H&H.

JD338

 

[Guy Miner]

Guy, what bullet are you going to shoot from the 375 for your bear hunt?

I don't know - probably a Nosler.

Guy

 

[Guy Miner]

On those guns any good 2x7 2,5x8 or 1,5x5 or 1.5x6 will do nicely

The limiting factor is that doggone quarter rib on the Model 70. It looks great and provides a wonderful sight base - but... it limits the avail clearance for any scope with a middling-large objective lens...

I've shot bear at 320 yards with the 1.5-5x before, no problem. Not worried about not having enough magnification. Was very much concerned that I wanted a real low powered scope for things happening up close, in a hurry... :grin:

Guy

 

[DrMike]

That does look nice, Guy. Moving toward perfection!

 

[SJB358]

That's 1.5x5 looks GREAT atop your 375 Guy. I just put my 1.5x5 on my Whelen. I'm really liking it a lot to be totally honest and like guy, I don't feel incredibly handicapped with the lower x's. I could have put a FX2 4X on it and been plenty happy as well.

Hoping you give those 270's a try... They seem pretty fitting for an Alaskan 375 hunt.

 

[6mm Remington]

Guy I see we have a problem here! :shock: Not only have you robbed the scope off of your #1, but you left it without glass of any kind. Now I think that you need to rectify that problem and do it soon. That poor thing is all bent out of shape for being treated so poorly. You know a 2.5-8x36mm Leupold would look just perfect on the #1 and it would be a perfect match as far as power range goes as well. In fact dare I say it, but it would look even better on it than the scope that you pulled off of it! I'm just saying. :grin:

Nosler forum where friends help friends!

David

 

[Guy Miner]

David - I've NO plans to buy another scope!

In fact, am very likely to sell a couple of older guns I'm no longer using, to help fund this adventure.

BTW - that Ruger, equipped with a rear peep sight, clobbered a Cape Buff years ago with another owner! I almost took the scope off it a couple of years ago, when I went into some thick brush after a wounded bear.

Guy

 

[lefty315]

In fact, am very likely to sell a couple of older guns I'm no longer using, to help fund this adventure.


Guy

Yeah, I've tried that a couple of times too. Somehow I always end up picking up something else.

 

[Anonymous]

I've shot bear at 320 yards with the 1.5-5x before, no problem. Not worried about not having enough magnification. Was very much concerned that I wanted a real low powered scope for things happening up close, in a hurry..

Yeah- I've shot caribou at 300 yards with a 2.5x and a pile with 4x...

On a griz, most guides just won't let you shoot much past 150 or so. I guess if I had to root wounded griz out of the bushes I wouldn't let folks shoot past 75yds!

 

[Thebear_78]

Killed a moose a few years ago with a 2.5x scout scope at 280 yards.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Silent Sam]

I'd figure out which I wanted use between the 260 and 270 grainers first. Get a good zero dialed in for mpbr and then see where the 300's print. You may find one sight setting will work for different bullet weights. I've seen more than one 375 do this. With good QD mounts that positively rtz I'd be inclined to zero those irons with 300's and have a handfull of them with me regardless.

 

[Guy Miner]

I'd figure out which I wanted use between the 260 and 270 grainers first. Get a good zero dialed in for mpbr and then see where the 300's print. You may find one sight setting will work for different bullet weights. I've seen more than one 375 do this. With good QD mounts that positively rtz I'd be inclined to zero those irons with 300's and have a handfull of them with me regardless.

Those sights are regulated for 300 gr bullets at 100 yards and work really well.

Ya - I've found I can zero the scope for the 260 gr AccuBond at 200 yards and still plunk 300's accurately out there without messing with the scope. That was on the Ruger single shot though. Haven't zeroed the scope on the Model 70 yet though.

It's mounted in Talley QD rings, on some very sturdy bases.

Guy

 

[preacher]

I have been using that same VIII 1.5x5 on my Whelen AI since '95. Absolutely love it. I had it on one .375 ( a really heavy Mod 70) but it worked fine too. I somehow ended up using my 2.5x8 VIII and an older Nikon 2x8 on two other .375s. I also liked the Weaver 1x3 on heavy kickers, from .416 to .458 and it is another fine hunting scope. After I made a 347yd shot on a black wildebeest on 5x from my WAI, I never took it off for hunting. I do have a 2x7 Bushnell 3200 set up for it in QD rings, but to be honest, I prefer the leupold. I think you did the right thing as it sure looks good on that Mod 70. I'm just wondering...are you going to put it in a synthetic stock or just wax it up and be really careful with it?

 

[truck driver]

Guy, is the quarter rib soldered or screwed to the barrel? If its held by screws it could be removed. But I think the 1.5-5X20 is a perfect fit for the rifle caliber. I have the same on on my 30-06 and it works great for close quarters hunting set on 1.5 in heavy brush which you probably already know.

 

[Guy Miner]

Oh, I don't want to change a thing on that Model 70.

It's a really nice custom rig that I fortunately was able to obtain, at a price I could live with. It's a flippin' masterpiece and I'll not be removing that quarter rib...



It goes real well with the custom scope bases, made specifically for the Talley rings:



Glad I'm happy with the 1.5-5x, though I have toyed with the idea of a fixed 3x Leupold for it.

I dialed the 1.5x down all the way a couple of years ago when going into the brush after a wounded black bear. Was glad to have that scope. Ended up shooting the bear at about 10 - 15 feet. :shock:

Guy