The "Perfect" Lightweight Stalking Rifle
- Thread starter Dorsettaff
- Start date
deeangeo
Well-Known Member
It’d be good to know you/it can, 300+ Yd shots are on occasion needed out on open hill in Scotland.
Not often, but it may be required.
There are times when there’s no significant cover and a good few pairs of eyes watching when culling hinds in particular.
Why not. If the man and machine can do the job at 400 yards and another man and machine can only do it up to say 200 yards then what's the difference. If a man wants to enjoy getting as close as possible before shoot that's fine. Everyone is different and each to their own. The main thing is we kill humanely. I have seen animals wounded or missed at all distances (more at close distances when there is a time pressure). It's about knowing the rifle, ammo, scope etc, conditions on the day and your own capabilities. I have seen guys that struggled to get a 4" at 100 yards and I have seen others get reliable 1/2" groups. So what range would you let the guy shoot deer who struggles to get 4" group and at what range would you let the guy who gets the 1/2" groups.
Neil built my 7mm-08 maybe 5 years ago and it remains my favourite centrefire rifle. As mentioned in another thread today, the outfit is not light at all, and I have been tempted to rebuild it or perhaps rebarrel my .243 to make a super light 7mm-08 and have two.
What twist rate is your Bartlein? My PacNor is 1 in 10" and I have used 139 grain and 150 grain bullets with no trouble at all. I have some 160 grain as well but not had time to try them.
What twist rate is your Bartlein? My PacNor is 1 in 10" and I have used 139 grain and 150 grain bullets with no trouble at all. I have some 160 grain as well but not had time to try them.
I wouldn’t even consider owning one that couldn’t
YES! and further. This is a good point Muir. I have known peeps that never shoot a target further than 100 yet "will have a go" at deer at 3 times that distance
Where’s the joy in being able to step out of your vehicle point a rifle at a target, shoot and then be on your way?
I can get as much or sometimes more exhilaration from the stalk than of the actual shot, especially if it’s been a particularly difficult stalk.
If I get close in and grass a beast then great; however, if I’ve missed a chance I replay the stalk in my mind and try and work out what went wrong. By doing this I learn things both about myself and nature.
What does the shooter learn from taking a 400yd shot apart from that they can use some fancy gadgets that give them the elevation and offset for the shot?
GOMX
Well-Known Member
Love Neil’s work ...As the dark winter evenings draw in and whisky fuelled fire side chats drift towards "what would be your ideal stalking gun"...….I have IMHO found what I consider to be my perfect "Go To" stalking rifle!
The brief was.....Must be light enough to haul up and down the Scottish hill all day, short enough to scramble through Dorset heathland gorse and New Forest birch thickets. Must be able to shoot effectively out to 400m, must be able to launch a 120-160 grain bullet at reasonable speeds to knock down all of the UK species and a cheeky pig or two if needed. Must look sexy (Obviously!) and mustn't cost my other arm and leg ( the other two being spend on an R8)
So a trip to The Dasherman...….. a second hand shot-out T3, a 20" Bartlein barrel, an Atec Hertz can, a lightweight hunter PSE stock from Edi, a set of Talley rings, a spray of graphite black cerakote, a twirl of a router along the bolt, a Swaro 5-30 x 50 on top, and VIOLA !!!
Weighing in at a tad over 7.5lbs fully loaded...…... my 7mm-08 "Hill & Heathland" machine!
Christened with a Dorset muntjac, followed by a roe buck, fallow buck, sika stag and dragged up to a wet Scotland for a red hind.
Pushing a 140gr Interbond at 2800fps it drops everything its hit so far!
A HUGE thanks to Neil for making it happen....Its all I could have dreamed off and exactly what we set out to achieve!
Happy Bunny !!!
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I know what you are saying and that is good you get that enjoyment out of it. I would not critisys you. I do question some people who frown upon others who can kill animals cleanly at a given distance(be it a 100 yards or 400 yards) just because it's a distance that they for one reason or another find disagreeable. I can fully understand if someone was wounding deer at a certain distance(whether 100 yards or 400) then I would certainly be in a disagreement with what they were doing but if a person can kill at 400 yards as well as the next man can at 100 yards and chooses to do so then is one of them better than the other. A dead deer is a dead deer. I have a cull to achieve and it helps if I can shoot at a distance. By that I mean shoot and cleanly kill. Not everyone is into the stalk as close as you can thing. If I was, I think I would just take a camera
tusker
Well-Known Member
To be honest I am surprised you have to ask this question. (you must be bored).As the dark winter evenings draw in and whisky fuelled fire side chats drift towards "what would be your ideal stalking gun"...….I have IMHO found what I consider to be my perfect "Go To" stalking rifle!
The brief was.....Must be light enough to haul up and down the Scottish hill all day, short enough to scramble through Dorset heathland gorse and New Forest birch thickets. Must be able to shoot effectively out to 400m, must be able to launch a 120-160 grain bullet at reasonable speeds to knock down all of the UK species and a cheeky pig or two if needed. Must look sexy (Obviously!) and mustn't cost my other arm and leg ( the other two being spend on an R8)
So a trip to The Dasherman...….. a second hand shot-out T3, a 20" Bartlein barrel, an Atec Hertz can, a lightweight hunter PSE stock from Edi, a set of Talley rings, a spray of graphite black cerakote, a twirl of a router along the bolt, a Swaro 5-30 x 50 on top, and VIOLA !!!
Weighing in at a tad over 7.5lbs fully loaded...…... my 7mm-08 "Hill & Heathland" machine!
Christened with a Dorset muntjac, followed by a roe buck, fallow buck, sika stag and dragged up to a wet Scotland for a red hind.
Pushing a 140gr Interbond at 2800fps it drops everything its hit so far!
A HUGE thanks to Neil for making it happen....Its all I could have dreamed off and exactly what we set out to achieve!
Happy Bunny !!!
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It is very easy. Rigby 275 with a 6 X 42 leupold. Really cant see why a lump of plastic can compere.
Tusker
Attachments
Sorry we have moved on since that Rigby. Even Paul Mauser would have chosen the carbon stock over the wooden one if they would have had the chance. Paul was an engineer and would have understood the benefits. Let's face it, wood fitted to a rifle is a dead, rejected by nature material that is slowly decaying... dead wood has no purpose in nature except rotting/creating humus... fact. It was never designed to be a rifle stock and does not even have the right fibre orientation. Wood was used because nothing better was available... fact. Yes wood looks nice but has too many disadvantages compared to modern possibilities. Ever asked why they don't build aeroplanes of wood anymore? I have a few wooden stocked shotguns and the odd rifle but if you want something really reliable wood is not the way. Even the military noticed latest while Vietnam that wood is not the way to go if you need reliability.
edi
JabaliHunter
Well-Known Member
I don’t think I could have such an unpatriotic cartridge in my ideal stalking rifle
Take your pick...
I'm with Tusker
I admire my 6.5 x 55 in 'Blaser plastic' for its accuracy, design and function
I am pleased with my CZ for its robust simplicity and accuracy
However I do not get the satisfaction from them that I get from handling my wood clad Mauser 98 in 9.3 x 62 with its bumps and scratches and history
I admire my 6.5 x 55 in 'Blaser plastic' for its accuracy, design and function
I am pleased with my CZ for its robust simplicity and accuracy
However I do not get the satisfaction from them that I get from handling my wood clad Mauser 98 in 9.3 x 62 with its bumps and scratches and history
Thing is a wooden rifle stock has character whereas a carbon stock is just a piece of......well man made carbon.
It’s a bit like trains every kid wants to drive a steam train or even the Class 37s with their deep diesel grunts. They all have character and a presence.
Whereas the new 385s in Scotland are pretty soulless. Yes the look great all new and shiny but give it a few years when they’re covered in dirt, grime and scratches then they become indistinguishable from one another.
Dorsettaff
Well-Known Member
Folks,
Thank you for all the discussion!
So.…...to answer
Why 400m? Well why not? Doesn't mean to say I shoot everything at 400m does it? If I said it was built for 1000m then I'd have some patronising looks, if I said it was built for 200m then people would worry why it couldn't shoot past 201m.
The clue is in the design remit...….I wanted it light....so a short barrel was required....hence not long enough to burn lots of powder for long range.
Yes I practice, practice, practice at all ranges out to 1200m but rarely shoot deer over 300m.
As Deeangeo commented its difficult sometimes on a open hill to get within 150-200m and the ability to have a rifle that can deliver an effective bullet at up to 400m is benefical.
My last few deer have been shot at 60m, 165m, 125m, 150m, 185m and 105m...….longest shot taken was on a red calf in Scotland at 330m. The deer had to be taken and we weren't going to pussy foot around trying to creep in closer...a job needed to be done and so it was.
Why plastic? Well, I love my wood stocks but when you are crawling through brackish water, peat bog, gorse, thickets, over rocks and assorted crap your lovely walnut soon looks like a bit of MDF. Plastic is light (see above!), rigid, well engineered and doesn't mind getting wet, bashed, scraped etc etc
I love and admire the Mausers, the Rigbys, the Enfields, Sauers (of which I have owned one), Blasers (of which I have owned an R93 and an R8) and everything that people shoot and treasure.
This is not a heirloom or a classic rifle.....this is a workhorse, a tool, a machine....designed, engineered and built by very skilled men who understand metal and carbon far better than I . I gave then a remit.....they produced a tool for my specific requirements
Anyway....keep the chat going!
I'm off to shoot something in the arse at 565m whilst filming it with a drone for my YouFaceGram webinar vlog channel whilst dressed head to toe in RealityTree Ultra HD 5D camo
Thank you for all the discussion!
So.…...to answer
Why 400m? Well why not? Doesn't mean to say I shoot everything at 400m does it? If I said it was built for 1000m then I'd have some patronising looks, if I said it was built for 200m then people would worry why it couldn't shoot past 201m.
The clue is in the design remit...….I wanted it light....so a short barrel was required....hence not long enough to burn lots of powder for long range.
Yes I practice, practice, practice at all ranges out to 1200m but rarely shoot deer over 300m.
As Deeangeo commented its difficult sometimes on a open hill to get within 150-200m and the ability to have a rifle that can deliver an effective bullet at up to 400m is benefical.
My last few deer have been shot at 60m, 165m, 125m, 150m, 185m and 105m...….longest shot taken was on a red calf in Scotland at 330m. The deer had to be taken and we weren't going to pussy foot around trying to creep in closer...a job needed to be done and so it was.
Why plastic? Well, I love my wood stocks but when you are crawling through brackish water, peat bog, gorse, thickets, over rocks and assorted crap your lovely walnut soon looks like a bit of MDF. Plastic is light (see above!), rigid, well engineered and doesn't mind getting wet, bashed, scraped etc etc
I love and admire the Mausers, the Rigbys, the Enfields, Sauers (of which I have owned one), Blasers (of which I have owned an R93 and an R8) and everything that people shoot and treasure.
This is not a heirloom or a classic rifle.....this is a workhorse, a tool, a machine....designed, engineered and built by very skilled men who understand metal and carbon far better than I . I gave then a remit.....they produced a tool for my specific requirements
JR....1 in 9
Anyway....keep the chat going!
I'm off to shoot something in the arse at 565m whilst filming it with a drone for my YouFaceGram webinar vlog channel whilst dressed head to toe in RealityTree Ultra HD 5D camo
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