My New "go to" gun!
- Thread starter KO
- Start date
Thanks. I'll take a look around this afternoon after turkey. I don't want to add another swivel stud, so the Safari would be the way to go? I am definatly intrigued with this concept now that you guys mentioned it.
mike shickele
Regular
Hey Boomer
I agree with you that a sling is the best rest that a person can carry into the bush. I myself prefer to go into a hasty sling. I used to use a leather sling, but I've now grown fonf of those springy slings from Uncle Mikes. I set mine slightly undersize, then when I sling up, the sling stretches to just the right tension.
Mike
Have you ever looked at or tried the Ching Sling mike? I find it to be an order of magnitude more steady than using a regular sling hasty style. But I agree, a sling is a far more practical steadying device than some of the silly bulky bi- and tripods I see people buying.
Boomer, you and I think alike!
Boomer, you and I think alike!
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Mike, the Safari Ching Sling has some real advantages over the hasty sling. It is faster and puts more positive load on the front swivel which is what locks the rifle into your body.
I have three M70 Featherwights. A push feed 280REM redone in a Brown Precision stock...pillar bedded, locking lugs lapped, scope rings lapped, trigger smoothed and set.
The other two are 270WIN and 300WSM with the controlled round feed actions in the original wood stocks. The same setups as mentioned above have been done on them as well. All three rifles have Leupold 2.5x8 VX III scopes, Weaver bases and medium Burris Zee rings.
All three rifles are one inch/three shot rifles with my handloads. My loads for these rifles are pretty much factory type spec. I'm not big on shooting "hot rodded" loads in rifles with thinner barrels. I have other rifles with standard or heavier countour barrels that I do have some loads that are a bit on the "warm" side that I shoot.
I have heard more than once that some folks that could not find a suitable handload for their Winchester rifle had good luck shooting Winchester factory ammunition in them versus other brands. Is this true?...Does this work?...I don't know why that would be, but they had tried other brands too in similar bullet weights; and say they felt that the Winchester shot best. Hmmmm? Could be worth a shot (pun intended) just to see.
If I had to say one thing to do for sure...it would be to pillar bed the action. I'm a big believer in this for any wood stocked hunting rifle. Always seemed to work well for me.
The other two are 270WIN and 300WSM with the controlled round feed actions in the original wood stocks. The same setups as mentioned above have been done on them as well. All three rifles have Leupold 2.5x8 VX III scopes, Weaver bases and medium Burris Zee rings.
All three rifles are one inch/three shot rifles with my handloads. My loads for these rifles are pretty much factory type spec. I'm not big on shooting "hot rodded" loads in rifles with thinner barrels. I have other rifles with standard or heavier countour barrels that I do have some loads that are a bit on the "warm" side that I shoot.
I have heard more than once that some folks that could not find a suitable handload for their Winchester rifle had good luck shooting Winchester factory ammunition in them versus other brands. Is this true?...Does this work?...I don't know why that would be, but they had tried other brands too in similar bullet weights; and say they felt that the Winchester shot best. Hmmmm? Could be worth a shot (pun intended) just to see.
If I had to say one thing to do for sure...it would be to pillar bed the action. I'm a big believer in this for any wood stocked hunting rifle. Always seemed to work well for me.
I *was* going to take this opportunity to show off my 2008 sporter again, but people are likely to be tired of seeing my gun everytime someone starts an M70 thread. What I *will* say is that those safari ching slings look pretty good. I might have finally fount a sling for my gun...
mike shickele
Regular
Mike, the Safari Ching Sling has some real advantages over the hasty sling. It is faster and puts more positive load on the front swivel which is what locks the rifle into your body.
Yeh, that looks steady as heck, but I could see myself becoming a tangled mess in that at the worst moment; especially with thick clothes on. For me, the nice thing about a hasty sling is that I've practiced it so much that I do it without thinking, within seconds, standing or sitting, and I can use a normal sling to do it. It is always nice to find a better way to steady the rifle though. I tried the sling/bipod meathod out, but that was definitely not for me; too much hanging off of the rifle, and too limiting.
Mike
The Safari Ching sling does require a bit more attention due to the split design.
If you are well practiced and confident with a hasty slung GI strap, stick with what works and go hunting!
I agree that a bipod is too cumbersome, at least for me. Varminting is a different story of course.
Thanks. I hope she functions well this season. I am still trying to find out who exactly carries these slings close to Red Deer. Does anyone know if either of our shops have them? If not I'll do some driving around this week. Thanks again. KO
Here you go (100M):
I knew this rifle could do better than it had shown so far! The shot to the right was the first fowling shot, right after cleaning the barrel at the range, then came the next three you see there. Unfortunately the we were affected by a wind from hell, blowing like a hurricane for a few seconds then stopping or changing directions, so that was my best group of the day. I did get another "not so bad" group of 5 shots in less than 1.5", but then the 6th shot got blown 1" further right
Anyways, I'm just starting to reload for it, so I'm sure it can get better. I'm not looking for smaller groups, but for more consistency. I would settle for 1" to 1.5" with a good degree of consistency Also, I still need to learn how to shoot it, it is much snappier than I was expecting it to be.
Oh, by the way, the J B bore treatment really helped, I think I got less than half the amount of copper fowling this time around. Unfortunately, most of what I got was to the sides of the lands, which is where it matters the most. But I'm sure that too will get better with some more shooting. I am happy with this rifle so far, now I only need to get a decent scope/mounts combo to mount on it and I'll be all set.
I knew this rifle could do better than it had shown so far! The shot to the right was the first fowling shot, right after cleaning the barrel at the range, then came the next three you see there. Unfortunately the we were affected by a wind from hell, blowing like a hurricane for a few seconds then stopping or changing directions, so that was my best group of the day. I did get another "not so bad" group of 5 shots in less than 1.5", but then the 6th shot got blown 1" further right
Anyways, I'm just starting to reload for it, so I'm sure it can get better. I'm not looking for smaller groups, but for more consistency. I would settle for 1" to 1.5" with a good degree of consistency
Also, I still need to learn how to shoot it, it is much snappier than I was expecting it to be.Oh, by the way, the J B bore treatment really helped, I think I got less than half the amount of copper fowling this time around. Unfortunately, most of what I got was to the sides of the lands, which is where it matters the most. But I'm sure that too will get better with some more shooting. I am happy with this rifle so far, now I only need to get a decent scope/mounts combo to mount on it and I'll be all set.
KO,
That is one of the prettiest and best designed and built rifles to come out in a long time.
The legendary Pre-64 Model 70s were not as good as these new ones to come out in 2008. (hold the fire from the pre-64 crowd). The one gun crowd will take that 30-06 over anything else.
You have done well with your choice and you will work out the bugs and get it working.
Good luck and keep us posted.
That is one of the prettiest and best designed and built rifles to come out in a long time.
The legendary Pre-64 Model 70s were not as good as these new ones to come out in 2008. (hold the fire from the pre-64 crowd). The one gun crowd will take that 30-06 over anything else.
You have done well with your choice and you will work out the bugs and get it working.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Thanks, I will keep you posted. Hopefully with a couple nice deer in a couple of weeks. G.L. That is a nice group! I'd be happy with that consistently as well. What were you using for ammo?
Thanks KO! I don't think I can shoot groups like that very often though, specially not in the kind of weather we got last weekend. But like I said, I'd be happy with 1" to 1.5", if I can shoot them on demand.
Ammo was my own reloads, you can see the recipe on the load label on the target. The 165gr Hornady Spire Points shot better than the 150gr Combined Technology Fail Safes. Although I must say that I tried a different hold for the last 2 shots with the fail safes and I managed to put the 2 bullets in the same 8-shape hole. That is why I believe that, once I've learned how to shoot this rifle, and do so in good weather conditions, I will get respectable groups, indeed.
Awesome! I can't read the card on my crackberry, but I'll mark that down. I'm digging out my re-loading gear this winter to give it a go again. I think with some good ammo and a bit higher round count I'll see a bit better performance as well. Thanks for sharing.
KO
