Hi all, this is my first post on this forum. Been looking to add to my collection and I'm starting to narrow down my choices for a new rifle. I decided on a stainless barrel with a plastic or laminated wood stock. However, I'm not crazy about plastic, there's nothing like a good looking wood stock but I already own a few of the traditional rifles and I would like something better suited for hunting in lousy weather and rough hikes through the woods.
Here are the ones I'm looking at:

1. Sako 85 Grey Wolf or synthetic, maybe even the A-7. IMO, these rifles are overpriced but they are extremely accurate with good resale even though I'll never sell it. The 75 is a better buy but harder to get these days.

2. Browning A-bolt SS Stalker or X-bolt. I always loved the A-Bolt and I haven't seen the X-bolt yet.

3. Weatherby Mark 5. I own a Vanguard and if I buy another, it will be the 5. I was always told, if you buy the 5 you should buy it in a weatherby magnum, better resale. IMO, I believe this to be true but I'm not too sure I want a WMag.

4. Tikka- seems to be the most accurate out of box rifle under $700. I have a friend who owns one and I can't believe the groups he can achieve with it.

There were a few more but I'm starting to lean more towards the Tikka with a laminated stock.

Caliber? Well, I think the 270WSM and the 300WSM are here to stay. My dealer sells a ton of rifles in these cartridges, especially the 270. I'm also considering the 7mm mag. I hunt mostly deer, hogs and with a possible bear and elk hunt in the future. I already own some standard calibers like the 06 and 444.

Anyone own a Tikka with the laminated stock?

Thanks

Welcome to the forum.

Careful, we'll have you shooting lever guns in no time :)

Enjoy your time here.

I'll add my welcome John. Most folks shooting the Tikka seem really happy with them. Another you might consider are the CZ's. Great wood, great metal and one of the best triggers on the market.

any of the calibers you mentioned will do for elk. My old hunting partner shoots a 7 Rem mag and has killed a pile of elk over the years shooting 175 grain Speer bullets. I've used several of the 30 magnums over the years and now shoot a Remington 8mm mag for elk. For deer I'm shooting a 280 Remington and that works well even for the longer ranges in this steep open canyon country here in Idaho.

Deer, Hogs, and a possible Elk? Sounds like 30-'06 to me.

The only better round for what you might want to do( insert pronghorns) is the CZ in 6.5 X 55. My hunting freind has dropped 200 lb. whitetails, pronghorns, etc. with a Winchester FW in that caliber. I love his rifle with the Schnabel(sp?) forend. The bullet is very long and "drives like the wind".

Ric

Yup, shoot a Laminated Stainless in .270.
Great looks, great trigger, great stock.
Shoots better than I can, or likely will.
Clips are expensive, but lightweight and won't corrode.

Anything specific you want to know (of any rifle), ask away. Lots and lots of knowledge around here.

Good luck,

jonas

Thanks, I have an 06 already as well as a few smaller calibers. Really don't need a new gun, who ever does right?LOL. Just looking for an excuse to buy one because I haven't bought one in about 15 years. Maybe I will sell one to justify buying another.

I don't reload yet, but who knows, maybe I will someday, so easy to find ammo wherever I may happen to be would be a plus. Here's a question about the Tikka or really about WSM calibers. Does a WSM achieve the same rated velocity shot from a long action and a short action, assuming the same lenght barrel? I heard there is a 200f/s difference with the 300WSM. Its negliable, I know, but why spend extra for WSM ammo if the specs are not achieveable?

Another you might consider are the CZ's. Great wood, great metal and one of the best triggers on the market.
He wants a stainless barrel. I don't think CZ make a stainless rifle (I've never seen one anyway). I'd love to see one if they do.

my tikka 270wsm as an excellent buy,
pushing the 140gr accubonds @ 3200 and putting them in 1/2" every time, i'm one happy camper. with a limbsaver recoil pad there is very little felt recoil.
get the 7mm rem mag if your not gonna reload, and an extra magazine as the wsm's only hold three.
you can do a better bedding job with the laminate version if you so desire.

Hey,

Sounds like you should look at the Tikka Stainless Lite. I handled one last week, and it seems to be well made, and very, very light. It could be a pretty good stalking rifle. It's also supposed to be very accurate. The stock is nice, too. I'd buy one.

As for calibre? i dont know what you really need to shoot an elk.... But the .270 WSM sounds good. I've never tried one, but if it's like the .270 Win you cant go too badly wrong.

_Kar.

Hi all and Hello MikeG (Mike has helped me out with my shotgun queries in the past)
I need your advice on some thing technical. I recently bought an old but unused .30-06 bolt action rifle made by E. J. Churchill, gun makers from London, England. It is built on the Military Mauser 98 action. It takes seven rounds in the magazine. Year of make is 1941 and it was most probably made for the British army in the world war II. The rifle is drilled and tapped for a scope mounting. However, I cant seem to find the right mounts even on the web. I have tried sending the measurements to Leuopold but they just asked me to buy the standard mounts for a Military Mauser 98 Action. I took the following measurements with the help of Vernier Callipers:


Distance between holes drilled for scope base (measurements are Centre-to-Centre)

Front Receiver:
0.8907 inches or 2.2625 centimeters or 22.625 millimeters

Rear Receiver:
0.50295 inches or 1.2775 centimeters or 12.775 millimeters

Difference in height of front and rear receiver is 1.23 millimeters (the Rear being lower than the front).


1. Can you suggest a two piece scope base for the following measurements?

2. I took this rifle to the firing range to test fire it with the open sights. It has a V-notch sight with fixed 100metres, alongwith 200 and 300 metres flip up leaves. I fired Winchester Super speed 180 grain rounds. I used the 100 metre sight only. The problem is the bullet did not drop more than two inches from 100 metres to 550 metres(with the same 100 metre sight). None of my friends would believe it as the result defies the standard ballistic charts that we have seen for any .30-06 rifle cartridge. I tried some other rounds such as Sako Hammerhead (180 grain) and a couple of East European rounds. I then asked a senior member of our rifle club to try it out. The results were the same.

My question is that can a .30-06 shoot with such a flat trajectory? Or is there some thing wrong with the rifle?

The Tikka Lite with SS is what I'm leaning towards but I favor the laminate version. Dealers don't seem to stock the Laminate, or for that matter, any other Tikka without the plastic stock.

Randomblunt, why do you think a 7mm is better for someone who doesn't reload? Is it because the ballistics of the WSM fails to match spec. in a long action without some tweaking?

[quote=JohnM.;345392]Thanks, I have an 06 already as well as a few smaller calibers. Really don't need a new gun, who ever does right?LOL. Just looking for an excuse to buy one because I haven't bought one in about 15 years. Maybe I will sell one to justify buying another. [quote]


I know that you don't mean that. Wives read statements like that and can get the wrong idea, and decide we should spend money on luxries like food instead of new guns.

My wife is great about these things, she never questions what I buy as long as I'm happy. This however can only be if I don't question what she buys! LOL

Randomblunt, why do you think a 7mm is better for someone who doesn't reload? Is it because the ballistics of the WSM fails to match spec. in a long action without some tweaking?[/quote]

# bigger range of cheaper, maybe more available factory ammo.

not sure what you mean by the second part, the action length has nothing to do with ballistics/velocity. barrel length (measured from bolt face) has more to do with it.
with factory ammo both cartridges will push a 140gr bullet at about the same velocity.
and nearly all factory ammo 'fails to match spec'. but my 270wsm with federal 150gr fusion ammo has a MV of 3060fps which is very close to the factory specs 3080fps.

This is what I heard about the WSM in a long action

http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/index.php/topic,125446.0.html

not so with my rifle, but if what they say is true for the majority, maybe take a look at the savages? always thought they were an ugly rifle myself.
the velocity differences are probably due to slightly larger bore diameter.in the tikka in which case you should be able to load maybe 5% above max, esp. with the long throat.

One thing about the WSM or short mags vs Regular magnum calibers is the amount of powder used to achieve the same velocities. I have a Rem 7mm magnum and a Rem 7mm SAUM that I reload for. The same bullet, powder, velocity with both guns but the SAUM uses a good bit less powder. Other than the savings on powder for reloading purposes there is no advantage with a short mag over regular mag. The 270 wsm is another story. It is an awsome caliber with some very respectable velocities, energy and accuracy. If you are not reloading I would probably choose the 300 magnum or 7 mm magnum since you include elk as possible game hunted. If you are gonna reload maybe the 300WSM or 7mm WSM or SAUM. Heck your wife won't care, get a couple of different calibers and let us know which one you like best.

Iv owned a A-bolt SS for about 2 years now and im impressed with everything but the stock(injection mold). The trigger is crisp and it feeds well. Also like the 60 degree bolt- good for quick follow ups!