Hunting with precision rifles

Walnutz

Walnutz

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Langley B.C.
Just curious how many of you are using your long range/precision rifles as your hunting rifle also? if so what's your current set up? Pics are always a plus! Cheers
 
well... i plan on using my factory savage 10 PC (.308) as a deer gun in the fall. ill see if i can dig up a picture or two. first one was a group i shot on an old target at 100 yards with factory ammo and then the second is the rifle with the mystery bipod that came on a different gun....not pretty or glamorous and its bloody heavy but it works and the scope is a Vortex FFP 4-16, really enjoying this as my first precision gun



 
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I have a Mauser 98 in .308 Win. laid in a Bodys laminate stock with a 22" Rock Creek 5R in a Remington varmint contour bbl. It's tips the scales at 9 lbs. It balances nice and looks sweet. I had it pillar and epoxy bedded. Using Federal Premium 165 grain Game Kings, this thing shoots sub-moa 5-shot groups at 100 yrds and is my long-range hunting rig.
 
ya...I am not too sure how well it is going to go but Ill give it a try at least once...ill ditch the bipod to save a bit of weight and find a nice place to hunker down and shoot off my pack. see if i can convince a decent white tail to walk in front of me. but to try walking all day through the bush with gun in hand, that would not be my idea of fun
 
For a coyote stand a couple hundred meters from the truck, sure.
Back into the mountains for elk or sheep, no thanks. I could carry 2 spare hunting rifles and still be less than the weight of my precision rifle setup!
 
That depends what I'm going after. I wouldn't drag my 308 precision rifle out for hunting. Mine is way to heavy with no real advantage . For deer / antelope size game I generally use a Weatherby 257 that shoots flatter and hits harder than my any 308 and is a "good enough sub moa gun " . Its obviously easier to shoot offhand...especially a fleeing animal

If I am going hunting in area where I know I need to really reach out , I use my TRG-42 in 338 Lapua . Currently driving out a Barnes 225Gr TTXS @ just over 3000fps as hunting load

Interesting thing is the 338LM doesn't kill smaller game such as deer any quicker / better than my 257WM .

The best investment I made was a folding stock . I can sling the rifle much lower on my back and this makes it much easier when busting bush with a 27" barrel . Doesn't get caught up in the branches nearly as much

The next best upgrade was a TAB Biathlon sling. It makes it much much ...much X 100 easier carrying the rifle when dragging it up mountains and hills .

Frees up both hands and you just feel far better balanced . Very quick to get into action with the Cobra buckles

I'm generally a day trip hunter so all the supplies I need fit into a Maxpedition side pack

Only word of warning is don't get to crazy with light trigger pulls . Fine when shooting paper in decent weather . Totally different when your hands are cold , and you are trying to follow movers

I hate to admit it, but I buggered a whitetail last year tracking him as he was crossing a large field with hay bale stacks . There was only an opening between the stacks so I figured I would pull the first stage of trigger when he appeared again and pull into 2nd stage when crosshair dead on .

I have pulled first stage when shooting paper / gongs thousands of times and finish off 2nd stage when GTG so I know my trigger well.

As I was swiveling gun on bipod as I was moving from his body up to his chest the rifle went off somewhere in between .

I'm sure lots of guys here would disagree with me, but IMO a 2 stage trigger with a 2nd stage measured in oz is not the best idea for hunting

Also , you would be surprised how much the "feel" of the trigger changes when your hands get cold !
 
Yotawheeler - your mystery bipod looks to be similar to a Parker Hale design bipod as used on older AI rifles.

I go hunting with this but I carry it mid back with a padded biathlon sling. I like to stick to ridge lines.
 
Depends on the type of hunting you plan on doing. I have a savage 10fcp-k with a bushnell 6500 that i use for deer hunting the last few years. Its not light but its also not heavy its right around 12lbs loaded. For me thats manageable for a day of walking and pushing bush. If i was doing hunting in the mountains then i would go lighter.

personal preference.
 
I hunt approx 25-30 days per fall season in an area approx 1500sq Km's, most of it cross crossed by road's, I have opportunity about 3-4 times per season to shoot at an Elk or Deer beyond 800 meters... This year I made some incredibly long shots on stationary white tail's, one was 140 meters and one was 310 meters.... After dragging them back to my truck I have learned my lesson, unless I have my UTV handy I'm not shooting at anything past 100M.... :-D

Nothing wrong with taking a precision rifle hunting, just think long an hard about what happens after the bang ;-)
 
The heavier the rifle, the less beer you can carry with it in one trip.
Gotta find the right balance.
 
Sure I do, my CG63
CG-63-4.jpg
 
I suppose it depends on how you define precision rifle, but yes I take some pretty heavy rifles hunting at times. One that gets a fair amount of use is my BAT actioned .338 built by Defensive Edge.



Somewhat lighter but still solid 1000 yard rifles are a Sako 75, McMillan, Gaillard, Mark 4, Corlane's build in .300 RUM, and a A.C. Douglas, Rem 700, Sendero contour fluted Lilja, McMillan Rem Hunter, Mark 4 combination in .300 Win.
 
Heading back to Wyoming this fall again for antelope. I think it will be a precision rifle type of trip this time.
 
Like guys are saying, depends on the trip. I took my savage 10tr out last year and it wasn't great. I can do the same with any of my lighter 308s and not worry about beating them up.
Truck hunting, no problem. Coyote or deer stands, also no problem.
 
hakx said:
Hunting with 12 - 15 lbs of rifle gets old very quickly! Mine was a savage, too.
Click to expand...

Agreed! I shot one buck with my Savage 12FV in 308, but I did find the rifle heavy to lug around. Beautifully accurate, but heavy...

It's not so bad if you are sitting in a blind, but bushwacking it gets old fast.

Cheers
Jay
 
I hunt with my semi custom Rem 700 sendero 300 win mag. Its a pretty heavy gun but most of the hunting is done from truck or utv and glassing the ridges, or short walk to vantage points, Spot and stalk or calling. I wouldn't take it on a mountain or camp out type hunt but for the my purposes it works great.
 
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