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Thread: Hunting bolt gun

  1. #151
    Seriously Paul that’s be amazing!!! I truly appreciate that!

  2. #152
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    This thread has been my favorite read over the past few days. Incredible how much content has been contributed over a three day period; I'm always blown away by the general wealth of information the PF regulars have. Just wanted to thank everyone for their contributions. Makes me fantasize about a hunting-dedicated section of the forum...

    I'm new to both hunting and bolt action rifles; last season was my first for white tail, and I ended up buying a T3x lite in 7mm-08 with the intention of purchasing (if we're being honest, reserving an excuse to buy) a larger caliber rifle in the event I move on to bigger game or greater distances. I've had absolutely zero complaints with the rifle, and my freezer is full. It's also my first foray into scopes, and I bought a Vortex Viper HS 4-16x50. I've found that - where I hunt - there's sometimes a surge of activity in the minutes before sunset, and I'm occasionally aiming with the sun behind my target. I end up with an orange flare (for lack of a better term) that shows up at about 10x magnification, and it makes the scope pretty useless in that situation unless I dial back the magnification. That doesn't present a hardship at the distances I'm shooting, and Vortex provides a sunshade with the scope that is supposed to help with that issue (I've never used it). As I understand it (again, I'm a neophyte, so take my conclusion with a grain of salt), nicer scopes with better glass coatings don't have this problem, negating the need for a sunshade. I'm already planning to upgrade my optic.

  3. #153
    Some great input right there.

    What would be your choice for next step up from that vortex and which line of vortex was it?

  4. #154
    Abducted by Aliens Borderland's Avatar
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    CR78

    7mm-08 was an excellent choice. Another necked down .308 that will be popular for a long time. My choice for .284 (7mm).
    In the P-F basket of deplorables.

  5. #155
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    Quote Originally Posted by CR78 View Post
    This thread has been my favorite read over the past few days. Incredible how much content has been contributed over a three day period; I'm always blown away by the general wealth of information the PF regulars have. Just wanted to thank everyone for their contributions. Makes me fantasize about a hunting-dedicated section of the forum...

    I'm new to both hunting and bolt action rifles; last season was my first for white tail, and I ended up buying a T3x lite in 7mm-08 with the intention of purchasing (if we're being honest, reserving an excuse to buy) a larger caliber rifle in the event I move on to bigger game or greater distances. I've had absolutely zero complaints with the rifle, and my freezer is full. It's also my first foray into scopes, and I bought a Vortex Viper HS 4-16x50. I've found that - where I hunt - there's sometimes a surge of activity in the minutes before sunset, and I'm occasionally aiming with the sun behind my target. I end up with an orange flare (for lack of a better term) that shows up at about 10x magnification, and it makes the scope pretty useless in that situation unless I dial back the magnification. That doesn't present a hardship at the distances I'm shooting, and Vortex provides a sunshade with the scope that is supposed to help with that issue (I've never used it). As I understand it (again, I'm a neophyte, so take my conclusion with a grain of salt), nicer scopes with better glass coatings don't have this problem, negating the need for a sunshade. I'm already planning to upgrade my optic.
    That Viper HS should be a pretty good scope. I am not aware of any scope that can completely eliminate a solar flare when the sun is hitting the objective.

    For my hunting, the scope quality is important, but the binoculars are exponentially more important. I spend many hours each day when hunting glassing with my binoculars. I maybe spent 30-60 seconds looking through my rifle scope on my last deer when I shot him (130 yards), and maybe 30 seconds the night before in the process of deciding to not try and make a shot (550 yards) and to wait till a better opportunity (which came the next afternoon). The deer prior to that, I spent maybe five minutes on my scope waiting for a feeding animal to turn and present a workable shot angle (300 yards). In between killing those two deer, I had an opportunity for a long range deer using a friend’s custom 6.5-.284 with a huge Nightforce scope - max magnification was 20x or more. 800yds, at dusk. I could not see it well enough, even through that $2500 scope sitting on that $5000 rifle, to feel good about taking a poke at that range. I spent minutes going back and forth between spotting scope and binos and riflescope. Two friends who regularly make that kind of kill and walk others through them were coaching me. The spotting scope had him, the binos had him, but the scope was just gray on gray blobs. There comes a time of day when no scope will work, and solar flare will shine in any of them I’ve ever touched.

    For where and how I hunt, the binoculars make much more difference. And at reasonable ranges, at least in my experience, a more reasonable priced scope will take care of business. I would probably feel okay to spend up to $1k on the right scope, but the Burris on my .243 was only about $150 and does the job. Others with more varied experiences may feel a higher end scope is more important.

  6. #156
    Quote Originally Posted by CR78 View Post
    This thread has been my favorite read over the past few days. Incredible how much content has been contributed over a three day period; I'm always blown away by the general wealth of information the PF regulars have. Just wanted to thank everyone for their contributions. Makes me fantasize about a hunting-dedicated section of the forum...
    OK, I'll throw out a few pointers. All of this has been written down long ago by people more knowledgeable than me. Read everything you can find by Jack O’Connor, Finn Aagaard, and Craig Boddington. You’ll discover more along the way. If you can only read one, pick Aagaard.

    General
    • The cheapest guns are the ones you already own.
    • Dollars cannot express the value of a rifle that holds its zero and a scope that tracks properly.
    • I’d rather hunt with a $1,000 pair of binos and a $200 rifle than the other way around.
    • You will learn to love LocTite.
    • I despise screws that shoot loose, rifles that kick too hard, and rifles that are too light.
    • Time is the most important thing about all of this, and it’s the only thing you can’t replace.

    Rifles
    • You need a rifle that you like and that you can shoot well. You can hunt most of North America with something on the heavy end of the deer rifle scale and a 4x scope. It should be bedded into a synthetic stock with a free-floated barrel, and should balance at the front action screw. It must hold its zero and the scope must track properly. Almost everything else is irrelevant.
    • Once you have that rifle, get another one chambered for a similar cartridge and get it ready to go. Then you’ll have double the options if ammo gets hard to find.
    • Keep one rifle clean and zeroed for a general-purpose hunting load, and have a few boxes of that load on hand. You may get a chance to hunt when you least expect it or time may get tight in the weeks before hunting season. If you decide to work on that rifle for some reason, get another one into that condition before you touch it.
    • If a 308 or a 30-06 is the wrong answer, then double-check the question.
    • Hunting cartridges are more alike than different. Obsessing over the best ones can be enjoyable but is (almost) a complete waste of time. When in doubt, choose logistics over ballistics.
    • Some people want different rifles and loads for every situation. Or you can get one good rifle/load combination and vary the optics and zero to match the situation.
    • Factory ammo is more accurate than most people think. Some military 308 and 30-06 is almost as good.
    • Not every rifle shoots every load well.
    • A Nosler Partition with a damaged base will fly all over. Damage to the tip is virtually meaningless.

    Scopes and Sights
    • You should know how to use iron sights well. But a scope adds 45 minutes to each end of the hunting day because you can see crosshairs long before and after you can see iron sights. Scopes also work better in the brush than most people know.
    • High-magnification scopes and fine reticles help you shoot small groups, but 4x and a standard duplex is fine for most things. An illuminated 4x that tracks properly may be the ultimate hunting scope.
    • Illuminated LPVs make a lot of sense, ideally with some ranging ability.
    • A rifle that can reach several hundred yards is hobbled with a 2.5x scope.
    • Learn about zeros and when to use each one. The Jack O’Connor Zero puts a high-velocity spitzer +3” at 100 yards and dead on between 225-245 yards. He developed it for open-country deer hunting and it’s a good general-purpose choice. The idea is that you can hold on the (roughly) 8” vital zone of a deer and get hits out to 300-ish yards. But most people kill most game within 200 yards, and this zero puts your bullet more than 2” above line of sight from 70-200 yards and more than 3” above the line of sight from 110-165. That can cause high misses, especially on moving targets. The same load zeroed about +1” at 100 will be dead on around 150 and within 1” of the line of sight all the way out to almost 200. It can be a lot more useful in SOME cases.

    HUNTING
    • 400 yards is a long poke. (Lost River)
    • Pre-hunt training matters. Include dry-fire, zero confirmation, work on whatever your guide suggests, running the bolt, and as much live fire as you can manage.
    • Don‘t overlook stuff you can do for free, like dry-firing, staying in shape, and using binoculars. The list is surprisingly long.
    • Accuracy is important but matters less than most people think. 1.25 MOA is really good. 1.5 MOA is good enough. 2 MOA will put a lot of meat on the table—as will 4 MOA if you know what you’re doing. 1 MOA is icing on the cake. Sub-MOA is icing on the icing but getting there can be expensive.
    • Start planning your next hunt on the drive home while your mistakes are fresh in your mind. Write things down, then you have almost a year to review what didn’t go well and fix them before you go back.
    • Keep your binos handy and use them—game can show up at any moment.

    SHOOTING
    • Bench technique matters. You have to learn to shoot from a bench—it doesn’t just magically happen.
    • Field technique matters more than bench technique. Read The Art of the Rifle by Jeff Cooper to learn about this.
    • At some point, you have to get off of the bench and compare rifles on practical tasks from realistic positions. This means use a timer, shoot at scoreable targets and note your results, shoot beyond 200 yards, and practice shooting from expedient positions and getting into position quickly.
    • Learn to use a shooting sling, shooting sticks, bipods, and a ruck in the field. Figure out beforehand if they cause POI shifts.

    That’s all I’ve got for now.


    Okie John
    “The reliability of the 30-06 on most of the world’s non-dangerous game is so well established as to be beyond intelligent dispute.” Finn Aagaard
    "Don't fuck with it" seems to prevent the vast majority of reported issues." BehindBlueI's

  7. #157
    Spoke to Europtic and they still stand by their suggestion on the sako in a sub $1000 choice followed by Tikka and then Bergara.

    He had never heard of any issues with the A7 and said if there was Sako would bend over backwards.

    I mentioned the local shop having 308 hence my leaning that way. He said they got in 6.4 in today but it’s sold already. If I wanted 308 in a rifle then tikka would be his pick but they have none and then followed by Bergara. They didn’t have any Bergara but I can get that wilderness hunter for $799. A7 is $900.

    He said the sako a7 is definitely a cut above the other 2 and he considers the Bergara a little more average than even tikka.

  8. #158
    Quote Originally Posted by newyork View Post
    Spoke to Europtic and they still stand by their suggestion on the sako in a sub $1000 choice followed by Tikka and then Bergara.

    He had never heard of any issues with the A7 and said if there was Sako would bend over backwards.

    I mentioned the local shop having 308 hence my leaning that way. He said they got in 6.4 in today but it’s sold already. If I wanted 308 in a rifle then tikka would be his pick but they have none and then followed by Bergara. They didn’t have any Bergara but I can get that wilderness hunter for $799. A7 is $900.

    He said the sako a7 is definitely a cut above the other 2 and he considers the Bergara a little more average than even tikka.
    Stop talking to people who sell rifles for a living (especially EuroOptic) and start listening to people who use them. A7 issues are well documented. Sako might bend over backwards to help shooters but they're owned by Beretta, who has a reputation for making shooters bend over forwards when it comes to long guns.

    There are plenty of good rifles out there. You just have to find one. Again, be patient.


    Okie John
    “The reliability of the 30-06 on most of the world’s non-dangerous game is so well established as to be beyond intelligent dispute.” Finn Aagaard
    "Don't fuck with it" seems to prevent the vast majority of reported issues." BehindBlueI's

  9. #159

  10. #160
    Abducted by Aliens Borderland's Avatar
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    Read everything you can find by Jack O’Connor, Finn Aagaard, and Craig Boddington.
    If you read O'Connor, you'll end up with a .270 Win. He died in 78 so I won't hold it against him. I think he was the reason I bought a 7mm Mag in 1970.
    In the P-F basket of deplorables.

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