Just some thoughts on today's budget rifle offerings and my observations over the past couple years, no plugs. Just tossing it out there for discussion.
Earlier this fall I purchased a Weatherby vanguard S2 stainless in 300 winchester magnum which prompltly shot 165 ttsx's and 73.0gr of IMR 4831 into sub moa 3 shot groups right out of the gate for the princely sum of 649.00 from Reliable here on the board, no fuss , no drama and no monkeying around. It wasnt my first howa based rifle and I knew what I was getting into , just the same it's nice when they live up to the advertising.
It got me to thinking that the last two marlin x7's in .270 and 30-06 did the same thing.
No real load development required , toss some loads that had worked well in other rifles together and go shoot them. All of them had good stocks, good triggers , nice soft recoil pads and fed and extracted flawlessly.
Since the big D over a decade ago now I dont buy fancy rifles , cant afford them for one and I can be hard on equipment at times, not intentionally but somedays a fella just dont care if he pinstripes the paint with alders , runs the boat into the dock or tosses the rifle in a corner of the wall tent at the end of the day.
This brings us to todays events, In a moment of weakness last friday while laid up with a sore back I was perusing Pud's specials list and a TC Venture caught my eye. I had never held or fondled one and the only guy I know who shot one was Shockey on tv.
I recall him making some nice shots with one and Corey as well so since it came with a 3 shot MOA guarantee and the price of 469.00 with a 75.00 US rebate I figured I had found my Christmas present to me.
It showed up in the mail yesterday, today I grabbed a box of shells I had loaded for a long gone rifle ( 57.0 IMR 4350 and hornady 180 Spire points) and headed out to give it a whirl.
Proof's in the pudding, 5 three shot groups shot one after another after 4 rounds to get it on the paper at 100 yds all of them under an inch and the average far closer to .75, I did let the rifle cool for 5-7 minutes between groups and made scope adjustments as I went along.
I must say the stock ergonomics are great, better than the vanguard for me anyways. Slim forearm , nice soft pad ,trigger is just ok about 3.5 lbs and a small touch of creep. Im used to two lug 90 degree bolts and the extra camming power they afford, not a deal breaker just something to get used to but it comes with a pile of scope clearance , super smooth bolt and it fed and extracted flawlessly. Its a bit different from what I'm used to but I like it just the same. Velocities were 2840 fps corrected across the chrony from the 24 inch barrel.
So if you were ever wondering about the TC Venture here's my limited experience with one and its worth exactly what you paid for it.
Earlier this fall I purchased a Weatherby vanguard S2 stainless in 300 winchester magnum which prompltly shot 165 ttsx's and 73.0gr of IMR 4831 into sub moa 3 shot groups right out of the gate for the princely sum of 649.00 from Reliable here on the board, no fuss , no drama and no monkeying around. It wasnt my first howa based rifle and I knew what I was getting into , just the same it's nice when they live up to the advertising.
It got me to thinking that the last two marlin x7's in .270 and 30-06 did the same thing.
No real load development required , toss some loads that had worked well in other rifles together and go shoot them. All of them had good stocks, good triggers , nice soft recoil pads and fed and extracted flawlessly.
Since the big D over a decade ago now I dont buy fancy rifles , cant afford them for one and I can be hard on equipment at times, not intentionally but somedays a fella just dont care if he pinstripes the paint with alders , runs the boat into the dock or tosses the rifle in a corner of the wall tent at the end of the day.
This brings us to todays events, In a moment of weakness last friday while laid up with a sore back I was perusing Pud's specials list and a TC Venture caught my eye. I had never held or fondled one and the only guy I know who shot one was Shockey on tv.
I recall him making some nice shots with one and Corey as well so since it came with a 3 shot MOA guarantee and the price of 469.00 with a 75.00 US rebate I figured I had found my Christmas present to me.
It showed up in the mail yesterday, today I grabbed a box of shells I had loaded for a long gone rifle ( 57.0 IMR 4350 and hornady 180 Spire points) and headed out to give it a whirl.
Proof's in the pudding, 5 three shot groups shot one after another after 4 rounds to get it on the paper at 100 yds all of them under an inch and the average far closer to .75, I did let the rifle cool for 5-7 minutes between groups and made scope adjustments as I went along.
I must say the stock ergonomics are great, better than the vanguard for me anyways. Slim forearm , nice soft pad ,trigger is just ok about 3.5 lbs and a small touch of creep. Im used to two lug 90 degree bolts and the extra camming power they afford, not a deal breaker just something to get used to but it comes with a pile of scope clearance , super smooth bolt and it fed and extracted flawlessly. Its a bit different from what I'm used to but I like it just the same. Velocities were 2840 fps corrected across the chrony from the 24 inch barrel.
So if you were ever wondering about the TC Venture here's my limited experience with one and its worth exactly what you paid for it.
