This is a good point. Not everyone can shoot open sights as our eyes are getting older, but that being said, I have added fibre optics to a couple of sets of open sights on my carbines and it really makes a big difference for my aging eyes. I can still use them when they stand out like that and they are great for keeping the weight down.
Best cartridge for Light Mountain Gun
- Thread starter Huntin' Gun
- Start date
This is a good point. Not everyone can shoot open sights as our eyes are getting older, but that being said, I have added fibre optics to a couple of sets of open sights on my carbines and it really makes a big difference for my aging eyes. I can still use them when they stand out like that and they are great for keeping the weight down.
My feelings exactly, and man that is a beautifull area you took that sheep in!
my next purchases will be a marbles tang, or williams FP and a lyman globe front for my .444 marlin. even with the williams that gives it a 25" sight radius, which would make it as accurate as it needs to be within it's 200 yd range.
I have this setup already on my marlin 336 in 30-30, but i'd like the extra 2" of barrel length and bullet oomph of the .444.
If you are hunting anywhere you may run into a grizzly bear, then think about a .30 calibre as a minimun. Light weight is nice,but when you pull the trigger on a critter recoil doesn't seem to come into play the same way as when you are sitting at the bench sighting in your scope for example. Tikka makes a t3 light which is a very good value for the money, and comes in all kinds of calibres. Another good value for the money is the weatherby vanguard (a little heavier). If I were you, I would be looking at a .300 win. mag. or a .300 wby. with nosler partitions or barnes x.
- Location
- Lumby Town!!
It's tough stuff to find, and really doesn't come in any very interesting loads even when you do find it. The 358 really is a handloaders round. My .02$ anyway
.270 winchester is the original mountain cartridge. No flies on the 7mm-08 Rem. either.
sikwhiskey
CGN Regular
- Location
- Lethbridge
Couldn't agree more. After downing an Elk and a Moose in the last 3 years, I have had 2 close encounters with 2 big Grizzlys. Sure 270/ 7-08 is plenty with the right shot for any game! But When that Bear is charging and you have a 6.5/55, if you live, hope you carry a change of shorts!!!!!!!
300wm and 200grn tsx, All I carry from now on.
- Location
- AB foothills
It's not.
This is a Rem. Mountain rifle in .260 with a Ti take off stock as well as other mods. It comes in at 6 pounds 7 ounces without a sling or rounds. The Ti is not that much lighter, my friend owns one in .260 and it comes in almost exactly the same.
This my Ti in 300 SAUM. It weighs in at just under 7 with the sling.
Last edited:
Yep! The best source of 358 Win ammo is a friend who handloads. You must know someone back there who does that. If not, it's a good excuse to get started yourself.
Ted
Yeah, I reload all of my own stuff, and .358 Win is not among them. I'm asking for a friend of a friend from the NWT.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I like the way you think. You just might be someone worth paying attention to. Folks get all caught up on big magnification for their big game scopes and end up with a sight that is far more difficult to use than a set of irons that appear rock solid on the target even when you are winded from the exertion of climbing at altitude (those hills in the Yukon kicked my butt).
A scope is useful for older folks with tired eyes, but its real purpose is to make it easier to see the target, and most big game animals are already a large target. My ZG-47 .30/06 is trim and light for a full size bolt gun. I upgraded the sights on this rifle not to a scope but to a NECG peep sight opened up to a ghost ring and a wide rectangular front sight. Given good bright light conditions it will group 5 rounds MOA out to 300 with handloads topped with game bullets. Most of us would benefit more by putting $400 down range than we would by installing $400 glass. We now have 4 aperture sight equipped guns that see regular use and will probably never be scoped; a M-94 Winchester in .30/30, my ZG-47, my wife's M-1600 Husky (another .30/06) and my 12 ga Mossberg 590.
My .375 has a Talley ghost ring as a back up sight to the 2X scout scope, but the comb of the McMillan stock is too high to allow for comfortable shooting with it. My cheek must mash down so hard on the stock that the recoil snaps my head back and threatens to loosen my teeth, so emergencies not withstanding, that one will stay scoped.
Really I find this and threads like it a little hard to answer. Really its like Ice Cream. If its freaking hot outside, it really doesn't matter what flavour someone offers, your likely going to take it. But if you have a choice, it may be a little more specific. A nice light gun in almost any caliber will do, but if you choose a specific one, like a 280, and I chose a .270, we are are really still just picking ice cream in the end. Except thise Tiger Tiger guys. They just don't belong.
Personally, I would like a good .270, 30-06, 7mm Mag, or .270 WSM in an all up 7lb rifle.
Personally, I would like a good .270, 30-06, 7mm Mag, or .270 WSM in an all up 7lb rifle.
A high quality, large diameter scope is very useful for shooting at first or last light. I've used both open sights and scope and I must say that open sights are not my cup of tea for late evening shots.
Good quality scopes gather light and make the image appear brighter than that observed by the naked eye. You already knew that.
Last edited:
Of the 95 replies on here, I wonder how many are based on the writers own, personal experiences in the mountains? I can quickly think of at least eight hunts where we took more than one day to get up a mountain. I couldn't begin to count how many times we have left a camp in early morning, arrived in the huntable alpine about 11:00 AM, hunted until about 4 or 5 PM, then made it back to camp before dark. Take my word for it, every ounce on that rifle counts, in spades.
A scope on the rifle has been mentioned. A scope makes a rifle very awkward to carry, compared to the same rifle without a scope. I used to hunt with a fellow that grew up and hunted in the Swiss Alps, and he always took his scope off and carried it in his pack, until we got up the mountain. I have shot a fair bit of game and carried on at least half of all my mountain trips, my old Husqvarna 30-06, with a Lyman 48 aperature rear sight and a near perfect post on the front. I never felt the slightest handicapped, because I didn't have a scope.
One late afternoon two of us were just getting off the alpine, into dwarf pine and scruffy brush, following a bit of a game trail. I was ahead, with the old Husqvarna on a sling over my shoulder. There were a lot of grizzly tracks and sign, so obviously we were alert. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the brush about twenty feet off the side. Then a large, male blue grouse flew up and landed on the trail about twenty five feet ahead of us.
In the time it took that grouse to burst into flight and land just ahead of us, I, by pure instinct, had the rifle off my shoulder, safety off, and lined up to shoot. The grouse had just hit the ground and within an honest 2 seconds, or even less, I was lined up on his neck and blew his head off. All with my iron sights!
A scope on the rifle has been mentioned. A scope makes a rifle very awkward to carry, compared to the same rifle without a scope. I used to hunt with a fellow that grew up and hunted in the Swiss Alps, and he always took his scope off and carried it in his pack, until we got up the mountain. I have shot a fair bit of game and carried on at least half of all my mountain trips, my old Husqvarna 30-06, with a Lyman 48 aperature rear sight and a near perfect post on the front. I never felt the slightest handicapped, because I didn't have a scope.
One late afternoon two of us were just getting off the alpine, into dwarf pine and scruffy brush, following a bit of a game trail. I was ahead, with the old Husqvarna on a sling over my shoulder. There were a lot of grizzly tracks and sign, so obviously we were alert. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the brush about twenty feet off the side. Then a large, male blue grouse flew up and landed on the trail about twenty five feet ahead of us.
In the time it took that grouse to burst into flight and land just ahead of us, I, by pure instinct, had the rifle off my shoulder, safety off, and lined up to shoot. The grouse had just hit the ground and within an honest 2 seconds, or even less, I was lined up on his neck and blew his head off. All with my iron sights!
It's not.
This is a Rem. Mountain rifle in .260 with a Ti take off stock as well as other mods. It comes in at 6 pounds 7 ounces without a sling or rounds. The Ti is not that much lighter, my friend owns one in .260 and it comes in almost exactly the same.
Nice rifle! Drop it in an Edge and it will weigh less.
I have a 700 BDL in 270Win with 23" Gaillard bbl (sporter contour with flutes) in an Edge with Talley LWs ex-low mounts and a Leupold FX-II 4x fixed. It weighs 6lb 10oz on my cheapy kitchen scale w/o sling or ammo. I can't imagine a better rifle for use in the mountains. Too bad I don't live near mountains.
