Hoss50

Pretty awesome lance.

Keep trying different combos until you find what your rifle likes. Mine likes h1000 and bergers so I bought an 8lb keg of h1000 and plan to buy a 500ct box of bergers soon. Re22 has shown promise in my rifle but h1000 was better so I went that route. Each gun is different though. Harley

What are you using for COAL? do you know how far off the lands you are? You might need to play with seating depth too. My rifle loves berger 115gr hvlds, and hornady 117gr btsp bullets. It shoots both very well. It didn't shoot nosler ballistic tips great. No bad, but not like the other 2. It shoots SSTs pretty decently too but I have not played with the load much so I bet it could get better. Harley

WeRE the loads accurate? Was the velocity spread consistent? Dont worry so much about velocity if the accuracy is there. I shoot basically the same load you were testing in my 257 van guard series 1 and it is accurate so I shoot it. I have shot groups consistently sub MOA with mine, and even shot a couple groups sub .5 moa. I have shot sub MOA groups at 500 yards with this load combo in my weatherby. My cow elk didn't care how fast the bullet hit her this year, I hit her were it counted and she fell down. The shots were roughly 270 yards and I drilling her twice with great results.

That looks alot like the Swedish mauser I have in my safe that was sporterized by kimber in the 80's. I love the 6.5x55 and I am working on dialing in a load for it for my son. Congrats on the piggy.

Very nice.

Not a premier day, but that is a GREAT price. I am told the earlier days are fun though because there are a lot less people. Bump.

.270, You're Chuck Norris?

Nice. That is awesome. I had to teach myself when I was about that age. If I didn't it ment I didn't get to shoot as often.

Series 1 weatherby or the newer series 2?

I know a lot of guys carry 2 optics with them in the field. I have a set of 8x42 Diamondbacks I carry around my neck. I am still learning and upgrading my items and what I carry. I learned this year I need something with more magnification for longer ranges beside my 8's. I am debating getting a set of 15's for my pack or a spotting scope for my pack. Thoughts, suggestions? I am investing in lower/moderate range hardware for now that I can pass to my son's as they get older and go with me, so honestly I am looking at Vortex 15x56 Vultures & the Diamondback 15x45x60 Spotter. I need a spotter for general range work too so I am kind of leaning that way but I wanted to hear thoughts and opinions. A $1000+ set of bino's or spotter isn't going to happen. That money isn't available right now or soon with the amount of other stuff I need to upgrade/get. I need to upgrade my pack and get a range finder still as well. I have a 4 year old and 1 year old son that will need some gear soon enough though so this stuff will be passed down and maybe later I can get myself some nicer gear. I spotted some deer at probably 1000+ yards this elk season and I was trying to see them better. Even with my buddies set of nicer 10x42 Zeiss bino's I couldn't see much other than deer bodies at that range. That is what is prompting me to want to get something bigger for the pack. I could see animals but couldn't tell jack about them at that range other than they were deer and count them. Harley

Not after tax and gas to get there.

4 points should probably get you drawn in most of the northern cow elk units.

My grandfather bought me Remington 700 adl in 3006 and gave me a used winchester 69. I still have the winchester and it is a tack driver. I sold the 3006 when times were tough. I don't regret it as I really never bonded with that gun and I bought my 257 weatherby when. I got flush again. I shot my first elk with that rifle this season. Harley

I have a crap ton of 7mm Rem mag brass if you need more. All different head stamps. Bruno's had some h1000 in stock yesterday too if you need more. I will have a 8lber soon too if you need a.couple lbs

Don't tow anything heavy on that extension.... bad news. How big of trailer do you plan to tow? Weight? I wouldn't even consider towing anything heavier than a pop up trailer on that extension, especially a harbor freight extension.

Nice build Lance. I am sure he will be proud. It probably isn't the route I would have gone but do it how you think he would want it and you will use it. Getting used is the key. The gun that sits in the safe doesn't create memories.

not anymore.

I would buy as much scope as you think you need. I am probably going to go with the 4x16x50 Viper HS LR scope for my 257 Weatherby soon. I plan to use it kind of how you are talking, not really shooting past 600 yards or so. I have a Redfield Revolution in 3x9x40 on my rifle now and I like it a lot but it is not enough scope for me at 500 yards. I have hit steel at 500 yards with no problems with this rifle an scope, but the target is just to small for my liking even on 9x. More magnification is not always better. I don't honestly think I want a 24x scope scope on my rifle to shoot 500-600. If I was working on shooting 1000+ I think that is a good choice. Those are just my opinions though.

I like my 8x42s. They are pretty clear and alot better than what I had. I compared them to a $550 pair of leupolds and a set of more expensive zeiss in low light during elk season. They were not as good as either pair but they were no slouch either. I would say they were only slightly worse than the leupolds and less than half the price.

Keep in mind that the area area between i 17 and bumble bee is also a popular gold panning, offroading, and horse back riding area. I would push past that area more toward cleat or and the West side of that big valley. I would also be inclined to look south of that big wash. You can access so.e of that off dirt roads not far off the I 17. If you see anything and feel like sharing I have a good buddy who is planning to hunt 20b for ham Hunt with his disabled father. He is always looking for places to check out

I was happy that the Bengals lost at the hands of 2 or the worst character guys in the league. Serves them right for rewarding terrible people with millions of dollars just because they run fast and hit hard. Character counts in life.

I am newer at glassing but buy the 8s or 10s your eyes like and get a bigger pair for the pack. I have 8x40s on my neck and learned this year I need a bigger pair too. I caught site of some deer during my elk hunt way out and couldn't tell much about them. A set of 15s would have been really nice to dial in more info on them. When I bought my 8s I had intended to buy 10s but the 8s felt better to my eyes.

I love my weatherby vanguard in 257 weatherby but it is not a round I would shoot on a bull elk past 500 yards at the very most. It did a great job on my cow elk this season at just under 300 yards but much more then that is pushing it to far IMO. My vanguard is a basic blued series 1 and will shoot sub MOA with handloads all day with a Redfield Revolution scope. For a non handload er though you don't want a weatherby caliber. I would look at a Tikka or savage in 7mm Rem mag or 300 win. Muzzle brake it if you need to.

Learn to reload on a single stage, but you will want to invest in a progressive someday if you plan on shooting things like 223 and 9mm a lot. It is slow to reload those on a single stage vs. the volume of ammo you usually shoot in those calibers. I personally don't reload 9mm because it isn't worth my time to do so on my single stage press. I would rather pay $12-16/box instead of paying $8-10 for the components and spending an hour or more of my time loading them. The money savings on a single stage press is on the larger more expensive calibers like .270, 300 RUM, etc. Get a good manual and read through is before you ever even attempt to load a round. Make sure you understand everything and what you are doing before you start playing with real loads. Go slowly and make sure your method is sound. Put thought into setting up your reloading area and making sure you have good equipment. You need a lot more than a press and dies to reload correctly. I got lucky and my dad bought a pretty complete reloading setup from a friend of his when I was young and it had the Speer manual and others with it. My dad never learned how to use it, so I taught myself to reload from reading the manuals when I was about 12 years old. I am not a master by any stretch of the imagination and I have a lot to learn and have learned a lot here. There is a lot more involved than just making a round that goes bang and doesn't blow up the gun if you are trying to reload for accuracy and distance. Reloading is a scientific process and should be treated as such. Start with X and only change 1 variable at a time when you are trying to work up loads. Dial in what you are doing little by little and don't be afraid to scrap 1 or more components if it doesn't look like your gun likes what you are feeding it.