Elk Rifle Dilemna

S

scattergun1

Guest
I've been carrying the same S&W Model 1500 Mountaineer in 7mm Mag for almost 20 years. In 2003 I put a Leupold 4-14 VariX-2 on it. (huge improvement) This year I drew a 6A bull tag. Believe it or not, my wife suggested I buy a new rifle. Now that's encouraging! Last night at Sportsmans Warehouse I fell in love with three 300 WSM rifles and can't make up my mind. All have stainless barrels except the Browning.
1. Kimber 8400 (expensive but what an awesome piece! Don't really like the safety placement)
2. Browning Medallion w/boss (sadly it appears to only come with glossy stock. I very much like the muzzle-break and added accuracy))
3. Remington Model 700 (the old standby. Kinda leaning towards this one cuz I've owned the same thing in 30-06)

Anyone have experience with any of these weapons?
Thanks
 
The Kimber 8400 Montana could be the best production rifle out there (or a Sako). For $1100 you get Kevlar/carbon stock that handles recoil well. Pillar bedded, and match grade barrel and chamber. Three-position safety. Light and handles well.

RR
 
In my mind they would all be good , but I;d personally stay away from the Browning(just me) as I don't care for the glossy finish and the 300WSM doesn't have that much recoil any how ,(you've been shootin a 7mm)and with the right bullets I'm sure you can dial you rifle into some better than average groups so the BOSS isn't needed.
I've never held a Kimber so I don't know how the feel , but have heard alot of great stuff on them ...
 
My son just bought a tika t3 lite stainless synthtic( made by sako )in 300 wsm It weighs 6.6 lb price was $630. I looked at 5 different rifles at the gun shop I liked this one the best I personaly never saw a smoother bolt on any rifle. I bought a model 70 300 wsm stainless synthtic in 2001 it is comfortable to carry and shoot. I love that gun, killed 3 bull elk a bear and a mulie buck so far with it. You don't need a muzzle brake , they don't kick that much , My son is 5' 9'' and 145 lb I'm 5'8'' and 187 lb ( with age seems to come weight with me ) and they seem comfortable for us to shoot. Tika garintees a 1" group at 100 yds. Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.
 
I would go look for a now out of production Winchester M70 classic in 300 WM, not 300 WSM. Sportsmans still has some at their stores. You said you had your current rifle for a long time. Think about how you will feel with a WSM in 20 years. The 300 WM is proven the test of time. Dont care for the Kimber or the Ruger with the cast receiver. WIN, Rem and sako are real steel receivers. TIKKA, not something I want to carry.
 
deerhunter,
I have to agree with you,
I have just such a gun,
other than the fact that mine has a synthetic stock and is in stainless steel.
Supper gun, nothing more needs to be said.
 
don't get the BOSS, I had one and I couldn't get rid of it fast enough---way too loud for me. Normally when I shoot at game I don't hear or feel the rifle going off because because of my adrenalin but with my 30-06 with the BOSS, my ears were ringing for days afterwards. Plus I didn't see a whole lot of difference tuning it but then again I didn't mess with it a whole lot either.
 
They do make that Browning in a stainless with a composite stock that looks like wood. I bought one for a drawing we did last year. I didn't shoot it but it was sure a goodlooking gun. I have shot the Kimber rifles and I really like their actions. Kimber makes a great rifle. It would be between those 2 for me. Hard decision. Get the one that feels the best to you.


www.awholelottabull.com
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-03-06 AT 10:48PM (MST)[p]Don't mean to hijack but since the BOSS has been mentioned, I have to ask a few questions. I just bought a Win model 70 7mm mag from a friend and he had a BOSS put on it. Should I just keep it on or should I take it off? I haven't shot the rifle yet so I don't know what its like with one on. I've read some pretty good articles about it and I've asked a couple gun smiths and they said since its already on, keep it on. What do you guys think???

Donnie
 
Scattergun,

Congrats on the tag. Even more congrats on the wife telling you to buy a new rifle! I have a couple of thoughts:

I would get the Remington. What is a new Remington going for these days? 750 or so? I honestly don't know because because I haven't shopped for a new rifle since 01'.

When you put the new scope on in 03' you noticed how much difference it made. Why not go with the Remington and put the rest of the money into a good scope? Or, if you are planning on puttin' the Vari-X II on it, why not buy a better set of binocs or a range finder? Personally, I would get the Remington and put on that new Leupold that replaced the
Vari-X III

An awesome rifle with a average scope leaves you with an average set-up. However an average rifle with an awesome scope can still be an awesome set-up.

I currently have a 243, 7mm, and a 300 Win in the old style Ruger Stainless. All three of them would be a shoe-in if MTV ever did a "Pimp-my-Rifle" show. Their not pretty, but they all have good optics on them and will ring the paper plate size gong 10 out of 10 times at 450 yards. Optics are everything. I also have a Remington 270 and a 338 Ultra. The 270 is gun-rack jewelry, but the 338 ultra is my favorite. On all of the Rugers, I needed to have a smith do trigger work and float the barrels, but that ultra shot amazing right off the rack.

Are you planning on keeping the 7mm? If so, are you sure you want to get another caliber so close to the performance of your current one? Why not step up to a 338 Win. and round out your arsenal? The 7 could be dedicated to deer and a back up for elk camp, and you could have the 338 as your elk-primary. Then, you would also be well suited for bear/moose or Alaska should you ever decide to go!

If you are planning on trading in the 7, then a 300 WSM makes sense, although my personal preference is a standard Win mag.

Whatever you choose, enjoy the sweet-agony of the deliberation. Purchasing a new gun for a special hunt is sooo much fun. That's what I did with that 338 ultra and I never regretted it.

Best of luck,

Autumn Pulse



"Be a straight-shooter in all that you do."
 
I own the Kimber 8400 Montana in 300WSM. I have nothing but good things to say about the rifle. It is light weight and very accurate. Using Federal ammunition and the rifle will shoot about 1 m.o.a. I am sure that the rifle is capable of true m.o.a. accuracy but my skills hold it back. As far as recoil is concerned, it does kick quite a bit but I am still able to shoot it in the prone position with a bipod comfortably.
 
I am keeping the 7mm Mag. Selling that thing would be like selling one of my arms.

I bought an Alpen Apex Model 4040, 4-16X50/A-O scope from a dealer friend of mine last fall. I have not tried it out yet but plan to mount it on the new piece. The only thing unattractive about the Alpen scope so far is it's designed in the USA but manufactured in China.

Never gave much thought to a 338 but you make a good point. Ballistically the 7mm & 300wsm are pretty close. Of course your comments have forced me to make another trip to the gunshop. DARN!

Thanks AutumnPulse.
 
If your heart is set on the 300WSM... get the Kimber! No comparison. Look into the 325WSM too since they don't have a 338 yet. ;-) With the Kimbers you get a double whammy. Light sweet azz rifle that is made for hunting the others are just... production hunting rifles put together as cheaply as possible. While thier still nice they really are not in the same leauge.

I also second the notion of getting a 338WM. No sence in basic redundancy :) Good luck finding one in SS though in any make these days though... Seems like everyone has dropped it. You can find them on the net for a pretty fair price though in both Winchester and Remingtons, and IMO the Remingtons in SS BDL are a good deal if you can pick them up for around $500 new. You'll be looking at about $650-700 for the Winchesters.

Ruger makes a pretty fair rifle, but thier not all that pretty in the SS flavor IMO. I'm pretty sure they make a 338 however.

I'm sorry but I'm not of the spend a small forturne on optics crowd. Anymore if you spend more than about $300 on a scope you're wasting your money. Why was it just 10-12 years ago the Vari X III's where THE scope to have and now... its the VX3 or better in the $500-700 range? When the new VX2 is basically the exact same scope as the old Vari X 3 but people poo poo them? Marketing, and nothing more...

Save you money and use it to go hunting somewhere or upgrade your binos, something which you'll actully use more than 30 seconds a year...
 
You already have an elk killing rifle. Dead is dead if you can hit the right spot. Use the money yer wife just greenlighted for ya, then take her on a nice trip and get yerself a little lov'in. Ya baby!
 
Ok, let me throw another wrench into the mix.

Any of you ever considered the newer Savage Rifles? I think they look pretty awesome, not like the old canoe-paddle rifles they used to be. Savage has always had a very good name when it comes to out of the box accuracy. The only thing that ever held them back from becoming a major player was their clunky-dunky appearance. Ask a hardcore varminter what the best set-up is, right out of the box without doing any custom work to it, and most will say Savage.

Now they have the new accutrigger, which is also a very sweet set-up. I had the opportunity to have beers with the designer of the accu-trigger while in Vegas for the 06' Shot Show last Feb. Man, he really knows his stuff. And he's really cool, to boot. A Savage won't cost you nearly as much as any other rifle that's been mentioned on this thread so far, and I bet,if you put it on a gun vice, it would group tighter than any of them. I asked Scott, (accutrigger designer) why their guns have always been so ugly, but shot well. He said that have for years, had a very loyal niche of people that didn't care about anything but accuracy. So, Savage always put their manufacturing money into the metal components of the gun, especially the barrel. Now they want to go after some of that mainstream market share, and I bet in the next couple of years, you will see them do it.

Savage uses Precision Investment Castings for most of the internal parts, rather than MIM or powdered metal. I know this, because I am in the biz. I think Ruger has given the investment casting name a bad repoir, because they have never really been known for accuracy, but they became very well known when they flooded the market with lower cost rifles back in the 80's. At that time, all of the other well-known rifle companies were CNC machining all of their components, which is a tighter tolerance process, but much more costly. (Weatherby still does this) Since then, most have gone over to MIM or Powdered Metal (including Kimber) Investment Casting, although not as smooth, does have stronger tensile and yield strength characteristics. That means alot when you are shoving mass amounts of vibration (firing the weapon)through the assembled components, repeatedly. Steel,can and will fatigue just like anything else, so the denser, the metal matrix, the better, and Investment casting when done properly, offers a better process for material density.

That being said, I don't currently own a Savage, but when I am ready to purchase another Rifle, it will be between Savage and Remington.

Scattergun, how big is the shop you are looking to purchase from? I ask this because alot of smaller shops don't carry anything but the mainstream offerings, but any major store should have something for you to look at in the Savage line. I am not telling you to buy one, but you should at least take a look. I think you can get into one of their "Weather Warrior" models for under 500 bucks. What does it hurt, right?

Regards,

Autumn Pulse

"Be a straight-shooter in all that you do."
 
I'm checking out the bigger shops, Sportsmans Warehouse, mainly. There is a shop at Alma School north of Warner RD. in Chandler I might wander into over the next few days. Bear Mountain and Pistol Parlor might be worth a look see as well. The prices on-line are lower, however I still need to discover the shipping protocol for sending firearms to a local gun shop. (and the cost associated with the shipping) I'll also check out the Savage line. The Weather Warrior and the Hunter series both seem worth a gander. Thanks again for the tips.
 
Scattergun,

Despite other opinions, I think you should get a new rifle. After all, you won a very good tag, (I think?) I don't exactly know what state 6A is in, but from the sounds of it, it's special. I am all for a sacrificing a little to do nice things for the wife, but this is YOUR tag and YOUR special treat. She has already suggested you do something special, I would think that it would be even kind of an offense to not do it, after all she offered. Let's reverse the situation, if she WON (in a lotter) a trip to a vacation spot to a place you always you know she's always wanted to go, and you said, That's it baby let's go, but then she turned around and sold the vacation package for a new rifle for you.....wouldn't that soil that rifle a bit for you? Knowing that she really wanted that vacation? It's one thing if they save up with that intention, but it's another to WIN something strongly desired and then sacrifice it for your mate. I don't think that would be a sacrifice that your mate would appreciate as much.

I also think you would regret it down the road. Yes, your current rife will work, but if you get a new one, it's first experience will be that special hunt. So you commemorate it right out of the box. Every time you shoot it, it will bring back memories of that hunt. Also, there will be plenty of opportunity to take your wife on a trip. Hell, why not have light season next year. Tell her your planning for a week long hunt in another state, and then with a month to go, spring it on her that you are taking her somewhere special!

Enough about that. One other thing. The retail prices on the website are typically more expensive than what you will find in the store. I would be surprised if you paid what the website said.

Regards,

Autumn Pulse

"Be a straight-shooter in all that you do."
 
Well youve drawn a good tag, i would not mess with taking an unfamiliar gun. you never know how your are going to react when that trophy bull steps out, you may forget how to load it or take the saftey off. i would put the money into some other new stuff, say binocs/spotting scope etc....If you do go new, I would agree with the .338 option, a truly superb Elk round.




 
If you are used to the Remington that would be the more familiar gun. I am a firm believer in the 300WSM. I bought a Winchester 70 Featherweight last year and am impressed with the accuracy and its work on elk. I know the 338 is an awesome gun as well but I am a believer in the 300wsm. Good luck on your hunt. There are plenty of elk in that unit.
 
Rem 300 UltraMag......I know it's not on your list, and I've taken elk with a 270, but for potential 400+yard shots, the 300UM is one unbelievable cartridge
crcountry
 
Thanks for all the great feedback folks. I learned a lot about calibers and arms manufacturers over the last week.

I picked up a Savage Weather Warrior in 300WSM last night. Since a new rifle was technically her idea in the first place, my wife went along to sanction the purchase. I'm a lucky guy!

Have an awesome and safe 2006 in the field all. Sure hope we all have pictures to post to MonsterMuleys.com this year.

Scattergun1
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos

Member Gallery Photos and Videos!

9BC30017-3C49-47E7-ADA8-74E875390868.png
Screenshot_20200911-070145_Video Player.jpg
IMG_6726.JPG
Success for All!
Looking Pretty Good!
Looking like a taker!!
IMG_20220311_213535_833.jpg
FE51CE24-69AA-4315-9B98-BF1D94C1F8B1.jpeg
Private Land, DIY Bull
4D4A6619-AD23-4425-BA67-AEB3985F9211.jpeg
Heavy Slug Buck
Resized_20220930_085603(1) (1) - Copy.jpeg
Back
Top Bottom