lancetkenyon

Great deal, and amazing offer.

What ring height are the ones you have now (low)? And what height did you re-order (medium)? Can you slide the scope forward 1/2" in the rings and clear the barrel with the bell? Of course, will it be in a comfortable shooting position if you do?

I just built a .300RUM, had it put together by Phoenix Custom Rifles. I used a Rem 700 BDL LA from a rifle I already had. I had won a certificate for a free barrel by Rock Creek. So add about $350-700 to my price for that. Donor action-$0 (I bought the rifle new in 1999 for $650 and used it for 16 years) Barrel-$0 (normal cost would have been around $700 for what I ordered) Trigger-$100 (I had the stock Rem trigger worked to 3# back in 1999, I would go with a Timney Calvin Elite if I were to do it again) New HS Precision stock-$360 on sale PCR to true action, chamber and install barrel, supply & install Badger Thruster brake, perform minor stock work-$900 Badger 20MOA Picatinny rail-$140 Scope & rings-$0 (swapped from another rifle for now) Paint for action/stock-$80 in materials, a few hours so far in labor. I am in it for about $2150 right now. Add the barrel cost puts me around $2500-2850, and a scope/rings would add another $1600-3100 depending on how much I wanted to spend. The rifle, as it sits right now, just shot a .137" 3 round group with absolutely no load development.

I found a book on the FS205 road while up in Kaibab (12AE) last week. It's a long shot, and I doubt anyone would drive more than 30 miles to get it back, but if you lost one, I have it. Looks like a great story, and if no one claims it, I will be reading it next. Tell me the title and it is yours.

Factory loads are made to fit in every gun of that chambering made. From short throats to long, from short magazines to long, from single shots to semi-autos. This is one of the huge benefits of reloading. You can fine tune your seating depth to what YOUR gun prefers.

Spending the $1400 in upgrades should definitely get you a better gun than a stock Rem 700 LR or Savage LRH. Much better trigger, same or better quality stock, much better barrel, trued action and the ability to choose whatever cartridge you want from mild to wild, bedding if you want, and the opportunity to do whatever color, shape, barrel contour & twist rate, etc. Plus, you can do the trigger and stock installation yourself. Spending a little here and there always seems easier than dropping big money all at once. And you can usually see the difference each component makes.

Has anyone ever tried the sideways drill with their rifle? Lay your rifle 90° flat, and if you know the corrections to make on your scope, you will hit what you are aiming at. But you have to make corrections. And I doubt you can hold a rifle upside down as long as the reticle is level and still hit your POA unless you are at very close range. Look at a lot of the military teams designated marksman rifles. They are equipped with a scope, and offset open sights on a 45°for CQB scenarios. For closer ranges, they are plenty good enough. For the longer shots, they go to the scope. Once a sight is dialed in for a specific distance, your rifle will hit if you have it set up for that. Alter anything, and your POI will shift. Set a rifle up on a cant, with the reticle level and verified POI at 100 yards, and it will hit at 100 yards. Change anything, and POI will change. I still think it will deviate at distance a bit. It would be interesting, AFTER HUNTING SEASON, to see if it truly does deviate from POA at distance. Not just doing the math, or reading articles, or researching, but going out and actually testing.

Optics, optics, optics. Practice, practice, practice. I would rather have a mediocre rifle and good optics, than a $5K rifle with a scope that won't track and I can't see the target. If it is not repeatable, it is junk unless you plan to shoot at 100-200 forever. Keep the .270 for now, load some 150 NABLR, buy the best glass you can afford ($1000-1500 minimum) in some good rings and base/mount ($200-500), and learn to shoot. The .270 Win is PLENTY capable to shoot to 600+, and even 1000 yrds in the right hands. I can shoot my .25-06 Ackley and 115 HVLDs to 1K easily. The added BC of the 150 NABLR will help a lot. Upgrade the trigger next ($150-250), then the stock ($300-1500). By that time, you will be 50% to a semi-custom already. Then buy a good quality barrel (Bartlein, Brux, Rock Creek, Kreiger from $350-700) and have a smith true the action and chamber it for you ($400-700). The time spent practicing will net you better results than just buying a LR rig and expecting to hit at 1000 yards every time. But to get the most out of ANY LR rig, you will need to hand load. And that is a whole other can of worms and money. You can re-chamber to anything in the .30-06 line that would be suitable for shots to 1000 (6.5-06 AI, .280 Rem, .280 AI, .30-06 AI etc.) or change the bolt/have a gunsmith alter the bolt face from .473" to .532" and open up the options to include any of the magnum cartridges (.264 WM, 7 RM, 7STW, .300 WM etc.).

As for "timing" a barrel, we all should know that a bore is NEVER a truly straight path. It can vary as little as .0001" to as much as .0050" or more and still shoot very sub-moa. If you "time" a barrel, or make sure the bend in the bore is at 12:00 or 6:00, you SHOULD have a more predictable bullet flight path. I sincerely doubt ANY factory barrel has ever been timed. A good gunsmith should check this on a custom barrel, and ensure your barrel is timed to give you the best opportunity of true centered bullet path from the rifle. I think a few degrees (less than 3°) of rifle cant with the reticle leveled would not make a huge difference, but there are definitely ways to get around it, and as long as you know your actual drops and offset, you can account for them when shooting longer distances. But you have to go out and physically shoot at these distances to confirm what your rifle ill be doing. I can 100% say for certain that canting a rifle 3° that was set up for 0° cant WILL make a huge difference at 800 yards. Even at 500 yards.

http://www.reloadersnest.com/frontpage.asp?CaliberID=244

No sweat. Let me know. If you want to tinker with it, I can throw some your way.

I started middle of the road on my powder charge weight. Wound up shooting a .135" 3 shot group. So no need to fiddle until after elk season. You only have a couple weeks, so don't start off so low you won't want to hunt with it when the time creeps up on you. If you want to try any RL22, I have a ton of it you can try. Seems like that is a more popular powder for the .300WSM over the H4831, but being unconventional doesn't hurt.

I think the 195 HVLD in a 7RUM/7 Dakota/7LRM/7STW/7 Lazzeroni/28 Nosler would be great with a 1 in 8", 27"+ barrel. A 1 mile deer rifle, or 1300+ yard elk hammer. For cases with less capacity, like the 7RM/7WSM/7RSAUM/maybe even a .280 AI, I would rather shoot a 168 or 180 HVLD at a little higher velocity myself. Anything smaller case wise (7-08/7x57/etc.), I would go 150-168gr. max. Sure, a .308 WIN can shoot a 180-210 HVLD, but at 2500fps or less, they lack the horsepower to be considered in the long range game. Can thy? Yes. Are there better rounds more suited for the heavies? Absolutely. Just remember, shot placement trumps everything else. So with a little less case capacity, lighter bullets, and lighter recoil, if you can hit your animal easier, shoot the lighter cartridge. A 168-180 HVLD starting out at 2850-2900 will kill anything you put the bullet into the vitals with at reasonable distances. You just extend the range if you can handle the additional recoil or weight of the rifle. But the 7mm 195s are like the 230gr .308s. All the cool guys are sending them out at triple the speed of sound, so they must be magic. If you can afford that magic, go for it!!!

Depends a bit on the runout and timing of your barrel. If it is a factory barrel and rifle, I doubt it was timed at 12:00 or 6:00, so might not make a difference. If you cant your rifle just a bit to get comfortable, and level your reticle, and ensure proper POI when you sight in at 100 (or 200) yards, it might not make much of a difference. Biggest thing is make sure your rifle hits where you want when you set it up, and make sure you keep your reticle level when shooting in the field. Repeatability is more important than a perfectly set up rifle.

Got a little sanding, and painting done on the stock this weekend. Sanded it way down, and I am trying a new paint. I really like the finish so far.

Hurry up and go shoot it. If you are lucky, you very first load will shoot under 1/4 MOA like my .300RUM did that PCR just built for me. A light load, but should work wonders on any elk. 210 Berger HVLD @ 2956fps that shot in the mid .100s. Not a hot rod load, but for the first powder selection, first charge weight, first seating depth, etc., I was quite pleased. Not messing with it before Taylor's elk hunt.

Hopefully have another write-up at the beginning of December with some elk photos in it.

Level gun, level scope reticle (make sure reticle is level inside scope tube). Canting your rifle will cause shift in POI at distance. Depending on how much cant, and how far you shoot, it can be negligible or enough to cause a miss.

To all of the muzzy hunters heading up there now.....there are still a ton of monsters roaming around. Good luck, and enjoy the experience.

7WSM 7RSAUM 6.5 4S 6.5 RSAUM 6.5 WSM .260 Rem .260 Ackley Imp. 6.5 SLR 6.5 Creedmoor 6.5 x 47 Lapua .257 Roberts .257 Ackley Imp. .250 Savage .250 Ackley Imp. .243 Win .243 Ackley Imp. 6mm Rem 6mm Ackley Imp. 6XC 6 x 47 Lapua 6 SLR 6mm Dasher There are a lot more wildcats out there that would work great in a SA, but I don't want a 50+ cartridge list for you to narrow down.

My dogs went nuts at the 11:30 one, but I was dead to the world. Never felt a thing in North Valley. Last one I felt was the big one in Mexico.

I was there last week with my 13 year old daughter on her hunt. We came away empty handed after hunting our butts off, but not for lack of seeing deer. I would think we saw 500+ over 9 days. 85 bucks, 12 shooters, and 4 absolute TOADS. Anywhere from 75 yards to 790 yards. From 5 minutes to 30 minutes watching the toads evade us. Just could not get the stars and optics to align with the vitals. Great times, but weather and moon phase sucked. The muzzy hunt should rock this year. Be prepared to shoot 250-300, and you will have a legitimate chance at a book buck. Remember, they don't get that big by being stupid any time other than the rut.

I had a Howa 1500 Heavy Varmint in .22-250 for a while. Shot just fine, just under MOA with factory Hornady 40 grain V-Max loads. Sold it when times got tight a few years ago. It was a shooter for sure.

Just cross thread them. Stronger than Loc-Tite.....once. Blue here too. If you are gonna go big, go green....

You ROCK!!! Everything comes on under the broken glass. I just ordered the part for $20.33 with shipping. Out of warranty, I have had it for a couple years. I am on my way to Harbor Freight to get a T7 torx bit. Thanks Str8Shot. Saved me a few hundred bucks.