STOMP442

A heavier weight barrel will not increase barrel life any. It may improve accuracy some over the standard light weight factory barrel but the throat will wear just as fast. With that caliber, the barrel will need to be treated the same as brass or any other component. You will only get so much use of out of it before it needs to be replaced. I would shoot out the one you have before I replaced it. Shouldn't take long.

Posting for a friend. Located in Safford. Chinese SKS modified to accept AK mags. Package deal, rifle, scope, 11 mags and 1000 rounds of ammo. Asking $700 for the package. His name is Josh and you can contact him directly with any questions or work out a meet for a deal. 928-965-4684.

First, congrats on the great bull. Second, it would be hard for me to walk away from a bullet that on every other occasion has worked flawlessly. It's hunting and things can go wrong no matter how hard we prepare or what equipment we use. There is not a bullet on the market that will give you 100% results, there are just too many variables. Third I think 3A 3C bulls are just tougher than most. I shot a nice bull two years ago with a .280 Ackley Improved that soaked up 6 solid hits with 168gr VLDs before he finally quit. He literally had zero internal organs and when we opened him up it was just a mushy jello to pour out. Somehow he managed to stay on his feet for quite awhile behind a juniper tree before he finally fell over. I don't blame the bullet at all, sometimes things just don't go the way we think they should.

Most medium height rings will fit if the rifle has a standard sporter type barrel and standard weaver style bases. If it has something heavier like the long range or Sendero a high ring might be needed depending on the height of your base. I would recommend a set of the Burris Signature Zee rings in medium height.

I have yet to see any factory-produced rifle out shoot a Tikka. My one and only complaint with them is their short barrel lengths.

I have a complete LA Magnum assembly new in the package. Black Aluminum and comes with box, follower, and spring. I paid $150 for it. I'll let it go for that plus whatever the going rate for a USPS flat rate box is. Shoot me a PM if you want it.

I just upgraded my glass so I am not needing these anymore. 1. Steiner Predator 12x40. I have used these for the past 10 years or so and have gone with me just about everywhere. They are well used but still glass up deer just fine. $200 2. Nikon Prostaff 5 12x50. I bought these last year and used them only a couple of times. Nice pair of glass, like new in the original box and even has a the tripod U mount adapter. $200 3. Nikon Action Zoom XL 10-22x50 These are also like new in original box. I bought these for my niece to use on her youth hunt a couple years ago. She used them for a few days and they have been in the box since. $80

I have two unopened bottles of Reloader 26. Asking $40 a piece or trade for Retumbo. Located in Safford.

I have one metal trigger guard. Midway wants $40 for a brand new one. Mine is a new takeoff so I'll do $30 shipped.

I have a few ADL boxes, springs, followers and trigger guards long and short standard cailbers. .243 308, 270, 30-06. $45 shipped. I also have a handful of takeoff X mark triggers. $25 shipped.

Tikka T3 lite in .300 WSM and be done with it. Top it with a light weight quality Leupold, load it with 185gr Bergers at mag length and you can shoot 700 yards all day long and tackle all the grizz you like. Or, spend thousands of dollars on a custom rig that may or may not shoot any better and be only a couple ounces lighter. I hate super light rifles. They are hard to hold steady, recoil is always an issue and the cost is generally outrageous. There are lots of areas to shave weight besides the rifle. Trim up the pack and the gear and turn ounces into pounds. I would much rather carry a rifle that I am confident in than one that is marginally more comfortable to carry.

What is the twist and where are you located?

For the money and right off the shelf the Tikka is very hard to beat. I have messed with lots of the higher end factory rifles like the Christensen, Cooper and Kimbers. I haven't seen them do anything better than a Tikka that costs half as much. The Tikka will easily be a half moa rifle even with off the shelf ammo. I have yet to mess with one that hasn't shot extremely well. I would drop the $700 on a Tikka and put the rest into a nice piece of glass and skip the lower end glass bit and just be done with it. With a little bit of work, the Tikka can be truly amazing. Here is a five shot group of a load I worked up for a factory off the shelf Tikka T3x in 6.5x55. No bedding, no trigger, just bone stock.

The only downfall with the .243 Win is barrel twist. If manufacturers would offer an 8 twist that would allow for the High BC 105 weight class of bullets to be used and that would really open the doors to hunters in the versatility department. The 105 Berger is devastating on deer and offers ballistic performance very similar to the very popular 6.5s. Your average .243 Shooter never even thinks about bullet weights above 85 grains.

The rifle itself is generally the cheapest thing on any of my rifles. For a hunting rifle, the B&C is definitely a great stock for the money.