catclaw

OUCH! She better have her papers or she will get sent back!

Don't get rid of your 128, when I am scouting, i don't carry the 701 since I know I wont be shooting. The ball head is much lighter and more convenient when I don't have a rifle with me. The Claw is still a big improvement over nothing even with the lesser heads. If you have a spring loaded head such as the pistol grip ones, good luck. All my buddies that have them have retired them. Once the springs get worn it, the optics creep constantly. I can't imagine what a 48" long rifle would do with it!

There are at least3 different plate styles that I have seen on consumer sized tripod heads. The 501 plate is the best one for Claw use. It slides in and has a much larger bearing surface. Once I tried it, I could not stand to use the Claw without it. If you support the rear, it is not as big of a deal though. Here are some photos of each: 501 and Camlock style 501 plate plates next to Claw and 501 mounted on Claw another perspective of plates for comparison Two tripods with both style heads I hope this was helpful. The 501 head is real heavy and the 701HDV is heavier than some of the heads that use the camlock style plate but man is the 701/501 style smooth.

No, it will not work as well. The problem is that the detachable plate is not the same as the one on the 501-701 series. This makes all the difference in the world. Although i prefer my Bogen ball head for its light weight when packing in, there is no doubt that it pales in comparison to the 701 for both shooting rifles and shooting video. The 128 will be better than not using the Claw but you will be short-changing yourself to use anything that doesn't incorporate the plate system used by the 501-701.

I would go with a 6.5-06 imp or the 280 Imp if you want to make a long ranger out of it. If you go with the 6.5- get an 8.5 twist and the 280, a 9 twist barrel. The 284 Winchester is tearing up the 1000 target shooting world right now and the 280 is that in a long action. 6.5 gives you a better choice of accurate bullets and a little less recoil. Good Luck!

I bought 4 claws last year for myself and some buddies that just had to have them. I have had at least 5 others who have contacted me for instructions on where to get them. They aren't $180 anymore and this helps. Once I tried the 701 HDV head I had to have one (Sorry Cade, I just can't do the 501 setup!) My son and I have shot over 500 prairie dogs off the Claw- mostly STANDING or sitting in lawn chairs. It is NOT as steady as a portable BR but where I shoot PDs, you have to pan and search constantly. One guy stands with the 15s mounted on a tripod and calls out where the dogs are and calls the shots. It is a great system and fun to boot. I have not had the opportunity to shoot anything bigger than a lion off the Claw so far. The lion was easy because I was glassing with my 15s, spotted the lion and switched my 15s for 300 mag. From spotting the lion coming in to dead was less than 5 seconds! My biggest problem with the Claw is getting it to clamp on stocks with much taper in them. I am going to have to modify mine or come up with a shim to use on my latest McMillan stock as I can't clamp it straight. It really soaks up recoil too. If you are hunting where you can go prone with the SHORT Harris bipod, you will be steadier than the Claw. But anything else is not going to be any better. I have shot some great groups using my shooting sticks under the buttstock and the Claw on the front. I just jam my shooting sticks right behind the pistol grip and get the Claw on target. I then slide the shooting sticks rearward- which pushes the muzzle down and I have a pretty solid rest. The Claw is not a replacement for prone shots (although I shot PDs prone off mine out to 500 yds) but rather something to use for those shots when you can't lay prone do to terrain or vegetation. This scout had never fired a center fire rifle before and hit a 5" metal plate at 200 yds 3 out of 3. This is before I got the 701HDV. I can't find my card with the good prairie dog pics...

Hello Dan, I would like a 7mm barrel that will stabilize the highest BC bullets available. Dan might think of the 200 RBBT wildcat bullets that wont stabilize in a 9 twist and suggests a 7 twist where your buddy, who has never heard of wildcat bullets has the 180 Bergers is mind. Your buddy gets the 7 twist as per Dan's recomendation, runs thin jacketed Bergers in it (which will desintegrate in a 3 groove barrel) and the problems begin. They ordered 3 barrels SPECIFICALLY to shoot 180 Bergers. Dan knew this. HE recommended the 7 twist (my buddy wanted the 3 groove). Like I said, by the time he hit 80 rounds it was shredding the Bergers. He told me that he called him and asked him if he had other twists with a 3 groove, .284. He told me that Dan told him no. I didn't call Dan so I don't know myself and I don't care. He recommended a 3-groove, 1-7 twist to shoot the 180s. Bad advice. It wasn't my intentions to bash Lilja. Many people have built some great rifles with his barrels. I have only ONE Schneider barrel- no koolaid for me, most of mine are Kriegers. My last barrel was a Mark Chanlynn barrel- I prefer cut rifled over button. It is a great barrel. I did just order 2 Schneiders for projects and one will be chambered here shortly (7mm-300 WBY). I'll post some pics of it when done. If it doesn't shoot, I will state such. Time to move on. You don't need a 16# rifle to shoot accurate at long range, but a 7# rifle is not going to ever make a great long range rifle unless it is a carbon fiber wrapped barrel IMHO. If they were, the pro's would use them. I am done on this topic.

Gary Schneider makes 10 sniper barrels for every ONE that Dan builds. My buddy's "experience" is just that- a factual experience. You and I come from different worlds I guess. I know LOTS of guys that have had bad experiences with Liljas. Did you know Hart doesn't warranty their barrels??? Must tell you something! I have had best luck with cut rifled barrels, Krieger, Obermeyer, Rocky Mtn. Pederson et al. I used the last Schneider on a recommendation from the Scottsdale rangemaster. It is the "fastest" barrel I have ever had. Period. I never said that Lilja doesn't make good barrels, only that he thinks he is infallible and he is not. All the barrel makers that I buy from want me to be satisfied- if I am not, I can send it back and they will make it right. Hart and Lilja won't do that. I had a rifle built by a prominent BR gunsmith a few years ago. It wouldn't shoot. We tried everything; cryo, bushing the bolt, speedlock etc. Finally he tried to get it to shoot himself. He said that that barrel (Hart) was no good. Hart, of course, wouldn't warranty it so he put a Krieger on it. All of a sudden it was shooting. Will I ever buy another Hart?? I wouldn't spend the $$ to have it chambered if they gave it to me. Anyone who would recommend a 7 twist 3-groove for a hot magnum to shoot a bullet that will easily stabilize with a 9 twist is irresponsible. This fact alone guarantees that I will never buy a barrel from him. It's all in the Kool-aid Phil. Someone gets a screamer barrel and he is now the best maker in the world. whatever

I pulled up several hundred plants one day. It is hard work!!!

Huh? What the Sam heck are you talking about? What did you just say Willis? You are simply flat out wrong on this one Lark. Provided all things being equal, a heavy barrel will out preform a skinny barrel 9.999999 times out of 10. The advantage comes from making the barrel stiffer, ie less flexible. As for heat, the barrel heats from the inside out so it makes no sense that a heavy barrel permits rapid firing more so than a skinny barrel. A heavy barrel does dissipate heat faster than a skinny barrel however. All that means is that you needn't wait as long between strings of fire to cool the barrel. As for the military and police sniper's, I can speak from experience & not from Soldier of Fiction Magazine. We carried heavy barreled weapons because they were more accurate P. E. R. I. O. D. End of story. There are a lot of great barrel makers out there, Krieger, Hart, Douglas, Lilja, just to name a few. I also had a Schneider on my SR-90, didn't care for it much. The SR-90 on the team with a Lilja simply shot circles around the Schneider. But that is just one man's experience with two different rifles, do what you will with it. I've spoken with Dan Lilja a few times about the subject. He is extremely knowledgeable about barrels. If I was having a custom rifle built, I'd call him (you can find his # on his web page), tell him what your making and in what caliber and simply follow his advice. http://www.riflebarrels.com/articles/longr...tical_rifle.htm http://www.riflebarrels.com/articles/barre...of_accuracy.htm Phil- don't drink the Lilja Koolaid. This guy is as much a knucklehead as the rest. My Schneider barrels have been fantastic. My one Hart is a junker. Gotta have more than one sample to make an informed decision. Lilja is the same goofball that talked my buddy into a 7 twist, 3 groove barrel for his 7mag. After 80 rounds it wouldn't shoot the thin jacket 180 Bergers- would blow them up. By 200 rounds, it wouldn't shoot the heavy jacket Bergers. Now he is stuck with Accubonds as everything else blows up in mid-air. Berger recommends a 9 twist for that bullet. Lilja talked him into a 7 twist. I told him that Dan probably didn't have a different button for 3-groove 7mm. He called Dan and asked him- he didn't! He simply talked this guy into buying the ONLY 3-groove barrel he could provide. Dan thought he knew more about it than Walt Berger and Bryan Litz. Dan makes some of the best 22 RIMFIRE barrels in the world but I wouldn't buy one of his other barrels on a dare! I have talked to him enough times to form this opinion. He makes a better barrel than me, but he is a salesman and does NOT have the consumer's best interest in mind.

That is going to be a heavy rifle. You should decide what parameters you want before diving into this. I think you can do it with a 300 RUM as well. TAM had one built recently with an ABS barrel and it is a tack driver. Shoots 210 JLKs. Shot a 1000 yd group that would make for a 1000 yd BR rifle. I think it is pretty light too. There is a lot of good technology out there and I bet he didn't spend $5000 on it either. The ABS barrel will add about $500 to the price of the rifle so I am thinking you can get one for about $2500 + scope. Probably come out with a total package weighing under 8.5# that shoots like a million bucks. Personally, if I went any bigger than a 300 mag, I would go to a Chey-tac based case such as the 375 or 338 versions. I think it is not needed for 1000 yds though. If you want to shoot elk at 1500 yds, it would be the way to go. I have a custom 340 Wby for the real long stuff but it has a 12 twist barrel and won't shoot the 300s. To get the best utility out of a 338 Edge or snipe-tac you really need a 30" barrel. I needed something more portable than that!

I'll take the tree stands and paraphernalia. I PM with no response yet.

My latest creation is a Phoenix Machine/Defiance Machine full round action with long barrel tenon, Mark Chanlynn 1-8.5" twist chambered in 6.5-284. The reamer is ground to my specs to use 130 Norma Diamond Line bullets and 130 Bergers if needed. Bullets are seated out as it is a long action. Has Williams bottom metal, McMillan Remington "Hunter" pattern stock. It is pillar bedded with stainless steel pillars and Devcon. Scope rail is Seekins Precision 20 MOA which is bedded and glued to the action and set up with 8-40 screws instead of the typical 6-48s. Rings are Leupold Weaver style. Scope is Bushnell 4.5-30 6500 Elite series. If I did it over, I would have gone with an ADL style trigger guard in lieu of the Williams bottom metal and permanently attached a Bogen tripod adapter plate for my 701HDV tripod head so I could eliminate the gun claw. If I could have found an action that would cycle the WSMs to my liking, I would have built a 7mmWSM and shot 180 Bergers. I couldn't find anything that satisfied my reliability needs for feeding in a custom action. There may be one now though. Both of these are barrel burners but who cares. When it wears out, I will put a new one on! Here is a photo that shows it before metal finish.

Lark, you are obviously one of the best shooters in the entire world and have the most accurate rifles ever crafted. I can't believe I overlooked you name in the match reports the past 30 years. Wow- just think how many Wimbledon trophies you could have had. Carlos only had one! 1/2" groups at 200 yards with a sporter rifle is a wet dream my friend!! I quit reading at that point... Just think of all those stupid snipers all over the world and gunmakers that are needlessly shooting and making heavy barreled rifles. Wow- they could be shooting ultra light contours since most LE sniper situations only require ONE shot.

That makes NO sense at all. All guns have "custom" serial numbers. They are whatever the manufacturer decides is needed. MANY guns have the same serial numbers- they are NOT issued by the govt. I can't imagine what you mean by "they couldn't find his gun" and "it came up as a 12 Ga shotgun". Who couldn't find his gun? Anyway don't worry about the serial number- there will be a place for it on the gun permit. I never had them look at my caliber stamp. Also. you can't take anything bigger that a "300 magnum" into Mexico unless they have changed their laws recently. I can't imagine why would would not have a caliber stamp on the gun somewhere? If it is not stamped- you can always take it to someone who has a pantograph or laser and have something put on it. I was there when this happened. When we were all checking our weapons in with U.S. Customs, they checked the serial numbers and his rifle would return as a 12ga shotgun. Luckily it did not cause any problems, just some confusion....lol! Again, I say that makes no sense. I have NEVER had US customs check my serial number. They were satisfied with the the form 4457 which you can get at any customs port. They only want to know if you are IMPORTING a gun as opposed to returning with it. There is NO database that you can look up guns by serial number to see what they are. There are not "rules" on serial numbers and manufacturers can make them anything they want. When you run a gun serial in the wanted file in NCIC it requires the make, type and in some cases, caliber because there are so many duplicates that they need to know if the stolen hit is really the gun being run.

SOLD Thanks

Thanks for the interest- Rifle has sold to the fist one who looked at it but wished to remain anonymous I am selling a Winchester Mod 70 push feed in 270 Winchester. This gun is like new- NRA 95%. Has never had a scope on it and I don't even think it has been fired. Get a rifle ready for that deer hunt before the rush! Priced right at $450 PM if interested. Dennis Sorry Doug- couldn't add pics until now. My computer wasn't up.

Breaking a barrel in is quite subjective indeed. Everyone has a different opinion of what "breaking a barrel in" means too. When you first shoot the rifle. clean it thoroughly after the first shot- use whatever you want as long as it isn't abrasive- don't use JB to clean during break-in. It will probably take quite a few patches to get it clean. It should cool quite a bit doing this. Then shoot it again. Clean it completely. It will probably take quite a few patches to get it clean- especially the carbon. Do this until it gets noticeably easier to clean. There is no magic number of shots that break in a barrel. You are simply burnishing the steel. A hammer forged barrel should be pretty smooth inside. Once it cleans up nice- shoot your group, working your load or testing factory ammo. I usually clean it again after the first couple of groups and then let it go until you notice that accuracy has dropped off before cleaning. There are some great solvents out there. Most of the new ones are better than Sweets or CR10. I like Bore tech, Montana extreme and TM to name a few. I just broke in a barrel last week. It took 4 shots to break it in. That isn't a lot of wear and tear on your barrel. It is better to get it to where it will clean nicely at first than to fight it for weeks. Good luck and have fun

That makes NO sense at all. All guns have "custom" serial numbers. They are whatever the manufacturer decides is needed. MANY guns have the same serial numbers- they are NOT issued by the govt. I can't imagine what you mean by "they couldn't find his gun" and "it came up as a 12 Ga shotgun". Who couldn't find his gun? Anyway don't worry about the serial number- there will be a place for it on the gun permit. I never had them look at my caliber stamp. Also. you can't take anything bigger that a "300 magnum" into Mexico unless they have changed their laws recently. I can't imagine why would would not have a caliber stamp on the gun somewhere? If it is not stamped- you can always take it to someone who has a pantograph or laser and have something put on it.

The 13th Warrior

For every light contour barrel that can shoot that good, there are 10 heavier contour barrels that shoot better. Rare is the #1 contour rifle that will shoot 3/4" groups. Another advantage to a heavier contour is that it will shoot different bullets to a similar point of impact. A light barrel is good for about 2 shots and then it is too hot and will start walking. I guess you can take this all into consideration. I just built a long range rifle for myself and it weighs 9 lbs all up. This is pretty heavy for a whitetail rifle in my book. Can't want to carry anything much heavier! I could have shaved about 3/4 of a pound with an ADL style magazine and a 1" scope tube. It works for me though.

Do I have to go shoot it first so you can see if it shoots or not??

I use one in 222 for calling.

Deleted

The word is that game and fish intentionally held off on releasing them BEFORE their stupid expo was over so that disgruntled hunters wouldn't fail to attend the expo. I have heard if from several sources so it is probably true. If they are out on Monday, I then will be completely convinced that it is true!