Cooper Excaliber or Jackson Hunter?

I

ILoveBigRacks

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Am thinking I may need to splurge on a new toy (never mind that I'll have to clear out some existing to toys to pay for it :rolleyes:) and really have eyes for a Cooper as a new go-to antelope/deer/bear/moose rifle. Am torn a bit between these two rifles though for different reasons. What exactly are the differences aside from the obvious. Looks to me like the Excaliber has ###y written all over it with the fluted bolt and barrel - yet the Jackson
Hunter, while not fluted, has a stainless barrel which I'm very partial to. I'm wondering why they didn't offer the Excaliber with the stainless option actually as I was leaning that way until I saw it was a blued barrel. Now I'm not sure.

Am thinking either .280 or .280AI although I'll keep the caliber selection until after I decide on a model.

Anyone have experience with either or both of these? Thoughts?
 
Yeah, saw that one. LOP has been shortened by over 1/2" unfortunately and, being a bigger guy, I'd hesitate to drop 2k on a rifle that's been shortened. Might be fine, might not - would hate to find out the hard way.
 
I've handled the m52 classic, excaliber, and JGR. To me, the JGR felt the nicest. The excaliber is kind of "###y" with that fluted barrel and bolt, and you don't have to worry about damaging any of that nice wood. That JGR just felt good, comes up nice and it's pretty sharp looking too. You can get the Jackson Hunter if you want the synthetic stock.
 
I own both an Excalibur,and a Jackson Hunter both in 280AI.They fit slightly different due to the different stocks,and the weight and balance is slightly different.I would prefer an all stainless barreled action,but if the action is going to be chrome moly,it's not a huge advantage to have a stainless barrel.I slightly prefer the fit and feel of the Jackson Hunter,but the Excalibur is slightly lighter to swing and carry.If I had my choice,I would have a stainless action and 26" fluted barrel,in the Jackson stock,but that isn't an option,so I can easily get by with either the Jackson or the Excalibur.I doubt that either will disappoint you.
 
Thanks for the first hand knowledge guys, much appreciated. I'm leaning towards the Jackson Hunter. Love the fluted bbl and bolt of the Excaliber but the I'm very partial to stainless. Do a lot of quad riding with the rifle in the holder on the front rack and as such, the barrel does tend to get branch whipped a bit in tighter confines making blueing wear on the barrel a lot more of an issue than the action.

Actually I've been informed that the Excaliber can be had in stainless. Might have to investigate this further as I raise some funds. Not sure how much more it would cost or how long the wait for it would be so that would be the deciding factor.
 
The Jackson has fired several 1/2" groups,but due to a slight bedding issue that is currently being corrected,it did throw a flier now and then that opened groups up to just over 1".I just recently received the Excalibur,and will be testing it today for the first time.Then again with the weather conditions we currently have(around zero and snow/rain),the gun won't really get a fair trial until next spring.
 
i'VE GOT A JGR IN 25-06 & IT SHOOTS BETTER THAN ME 1/2 INCH GROUPS WERE EASILY OBTAINED I'M VERY HAPPY WITH IT
TONY
 
I just returned home from the first range session with the Excalibur.The temperature was 0 degrees,and it was very wet.I fired one shot at 100 yards after bore sighting,and was dead center height wise but three inches to the right.I made a scope adjustment and fired a three shot group measuring .650".I made one more fine scope adjustment,waited ten minutes for the barrel to cool, then fired a .690" group which was just under 3" high,and centered.My hands were getting cold,so I sat in the truck and warmed up before shooting a .450" group to the same point of impact,so no more scope adjustments were necessary.The average of the three groups was .597",which isn't 1/2",but given the conditions,and this being the first load tested,I am pleased with the results.I am also using a 3x9 scope,so more magnification could shrink the groups a bit.The load was the 140grTTSX ahead of IMR 4831,which is the identical load that the Jackson hunter prefers.The fact that both guns like the same load certainly doesn't hurt either.

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Wow, not bad if it was cold and wet. I notice that it seems to put two through the same hole and just the third is a little out( can't call 1/2" a flyer?? )
Good shooting.
 
The two shots together were not the first two or last two shots in every group,it seemed quite random.I was likely the limiting factor,with my glasses fogging,and my fingers getting cold,and me rushing more than I should have to get warm and dry.Next spring ,with better conditions,I will get a much better idea of what the gun is really capable of.Then again,with only one load tested,there may be a more accurate load waiting to be tested.
 
These cooper rifles seem interesting,in general is the quality much better than kimber?only reason I ask is there are new kimber montana's floating around for $1200,you could have a custom barrel installed and still be under $2000.
 
What really impressed me about Cooper was first of all the action design,and secondly the fit and finish.The bolt is simple and well made,the safety and bolt release are small and sturdy,but easy to use,and the triggers are very crisp.The metal to metal fit is very good,at least as good as Sako,and far better than the Weatherby Mark V.I don't have a lot of experience with Kimber,but I prefer the Coopers to the Kimbers that they had at Huntfest.

If Cooper would only build a stainless action,and offer a Mcmillan stock as an option,I would consider them the perfect rifle.
 
grit said:
These cooper rifles seem interesting,in general is the quality much better than kimber?only reason I ask is there are new kimber montana's floating around for $1200,you could have a custom barrel installed and still be under $2000.
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I own two coopers and several kimbers. The metal work on the Coopers is top notch, the action is soooooooooooo smooth. The Coopers also use a little heavier barrel which probably helps their accuracy against the kimber. The kimbers are a lot lighter and easier to pack up a mountain side. Cooper has nice wood, and kimber has nice wood, the french walnut kimbers are pretty darn nice but you can upgrade your cooper to what ever you want. The Kimber trigger is awesome! You can set them up to less than a pound with no creep, and so crisp I love them. We've been into a couple cooper triggers, and they don't adjust quite so nice. The one on my .22 adjusted great, but the mdl 52's don't adjust quite so good. The kimbers also come in magnum chambers and they have ashort action repeater, the coopers are single shot. The new price of kimbers has come up too, looking at $1500 for a new kimber the cooper is only a couple hundred more.

I've considered re barreling a kimber with a little heavier barrel but I haven't done it yet. The montana stock is quite hard, expect to put a little time in if you open the barrel channel. Also the montana is very light, recoil of a .300mag may not be so pleasant but a short action montana is a hell uv a mountain rifle.
 
The kimbers also come in magnum chambers and they have ashort action repeater, the coopers are single shot.
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Just so people don't get the wrong idea,not all Cooper rifles are single shots.The model 52s offer a very well designed three shot removeable magazine.
 
Right, the /06 family is a three shot repeater version and the mag is single stack, or center feed.

I should also add, the kimber montana is a blind mag, and the wood stock kimbers have hinged floor plates.
 
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stubblejumper said:
Just so people don't get the wrong idea,not all Cooper rifles are single shots.The model 52s offer a very well designed three shot removeable magazine.
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You can get one with a detachable mag? I think that seals the deal for me as, aside from the lack of a ss action, the detachable mag was the only option I was hoping for but didn't see available. Now, time to see about raising some $$.
 
ILoveBigRacks said:
You can get one with a detachable mag? I think that seals the deal for me as, aside from the lack of a ss action, the detachable mag was the only option I was hoping for but didn't see available. Now, time to see about raising some $$.
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The M52 is a detach mag. The M57 (rimfire) is also a repeater while the M38 (22 hornet length) , M21 (223 length) and M22 (22/250, 6.5/284 etc) are single shot bolt actions.
 
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