forepaw

Not sure what the problem was. Their comfort level with the 6.5 overall, and especially the mag. didn't seem too high. Years ago, when I was in high school I met Harry Lawson at a couple of AZ State Fairs. I always had an idea I would try to get one of those rifles. Of course by the time I inquired on a possible build, he had passed away, and his son, or sons, had taken over the business. I still ended up with a 6.5 (6.5x55) just not a Lawson in the mag. version. They used to have almost a cult following, but by today's standards, they seem to be more of a prestige item than a hard-core rough country medium range rifle. forepaw

Actually, this looks like it might be a better round. As I recall, you couldn't use 140 gr. bullets in the 6.5 RM as you had to seat them too deep (to feed from the magazine). They might have been ok if single-loaded in the Rem. 600, but most folks just used 120 gr. and seemed to do ok. At one time, I considered a 6.5 RM custom rifle using a long action, but the guys in that shop on N. Ritchey in Tucson discouraged the idea. The 6.5 and Rem. 600 was a very cool cartridge and rifle! forepaw

You are on the right track with considering a heavier field tip and broadhead. See if you can borrow a few, and number your arrows, then shoot groups at normal ranges. There may be a slight advantage with one weight over another. It might not be apparent right away, but keep shooting, and set aside the arrows that are consistently out of the group. At some point you will see that under most conditions and ranges, one weight will shoot better than the other. I have struggled with this myself, as I am right on the edge of the chart for spine and draw weight. I have one bow that shoots better with 125 gr. and one that shoots better with 100 gr. - small differences can show up by using different weight tips. Sometimes only a few pounds of draw weight or a different brand of arrow can do it. If you are lucky, you will find that one weight will shoot much worse, or much better. Then you can move on to other things like, grip, form, follow through, etc. forepaw

What do you know. Looks like the old 6.5 Rem. Mag. (ca. 1965) without the belt. forepaw

The old-time campers and cowpunchers used Thompson's Water Seal - possibly diluted 50:50 or so, and then brushed or sprayed on. I have only used it on a limited basis for canvas, and don't have any way to offer a recommendation. It was the gold standard years ago, and as I recall it seemed to work well both as a water repellent and a canvas treatment. forepaw

The USGS summary is referring to the Little Colorado confluence which is many miles downstream. The water conditions at LF are known to be poor for survival and reproduction of native warm water species like the humpback chub. So something else might be going on - possibly related to the tree-hugger enviro-whacko agenda, possibly not. The AZGFD fisheries person for that area can provide an update. forepaw

Pentax 8x43 DCF ED. Check amazon. forepaw

I understand wanting a .30 cal. magnum, but what are the uses intended? In some ways, they are not the best as an all around rifle, though they will pretty much do it all. It comes at a price though - more barrel wear; more noise and recoil; a heavier rifle in order to tame recoil; a longer barrel in order to take advantage of all that powder you will be burning; possibly a more critical choice of bullets, in order to find something that shoots accurately but also will hold together when a shot presents itself at close range; and etc. I am not anti-magnum, I just think it is worth being realistic about how much better off you will be with one. They will take game reliably at very long range, but if you don't practice, and tune your rifle and loads, and are tempted to try long shots, you could end up with long hikes after wounded critters, or find your wounded animal with someone else's tag on it. With rifles there is no free lunch. If one is light and handy and easy to carry, then it is difficult to shoot well from field positions; magnums can be heavy and bulky to carry, but settle down quicker from an improvised rest (assuming you are in good shape and get your wind back quickly). If you load for reduced performance, in order to make noise and recoil more user friendly, then you are right back at '06 performance - maybe not as good. With today's powder and bullets, the old traditional cartridges are still pretty useful, and capable of better performance than you might think. Some of the high-performance factory loads place the '06 in magnum territory, something you will know the second you touch one off. For longer range use in states like AZ, where there are no big bears, and using scopes with reliable elevation adjustments, you can do very accurate long-range shooting with lighter calibers. They are easier to carry and more fun to shoot, in general, and modern streamlined bullets arrive with enough energy to kill elk and mule deer as far as you can keep your shoots on a paper plate from a field position. .30 and .338 magnums will absolutely buck the wind, and hit hard at unbelievable distances, but you still have to put the bullet in the right place! Hope that helps. forepaw

Another thing to consider (and this is an advanced technique, and I have not tried it) is to use a reduced load of fast burning powder, say, SR4759, and use a wad of tissue paper or dacron fluff seated like the old overpowder wads on shotgun shell reloads. It sounds crazy but I have read of shooters using a spoonful of cream of wheat over the reduced charge to blow out and fireform the case. The trick is to just get enough pressure to extrude the sidewalls and neck. As difficult as it is to find brass in your caliber, it might be worth trying - depends on how desperate you are to shoot it. forepaw

If the only difference is neck diameter why don't you just fire form it using reduced loads? Those 7mm bullets will rattle around going down the bore but won't hurt anything. Use blem. bullets for economy. forepaw

You're getting some good advice here. I would only add a couple things before you lock yourself in to a ballistic program. 1. Conduct a tall-target test to determine your scope (reticle) alignment and whether or not your elevation turret over tracks or under tracks (or maybe is dead nuts), and 2. Conduct a trajectory validation. This will confirm your chronograph readings. Do these with the load you plan to use, and you will have utmost confidence in your numbers. forepaw

Yeah. Too light for me. I set mine at 1.25# and it seems pretty good. forepaw

Another nice thing about Tikka's is you can order a YoDave trigger spring ($18 w/ shipping) and drop the weight as low as 12 oz. I don't think you can go below about 2.25 - 2.5 lbs. with the factory trigger spring. forepaw

You might watch the gunwerks youtube video. www.gunwerks.com or maybe it is www.G7.com, anyway it is a good instructional video. I believe they use Talley lightweight rings on their custom rifles, and they do lap them. I would also see what the mfg. recommends. I am not a user of Talley's so no personal experience that I could offer, I know they are excellent rings and widely used. Lapping is a simple process. You can cobble together some items from the hardware store, or order the Wheeler Engineering kit (or other kit) from Midway. forepaw

380 yds. - with a Remington 760 (Woodsmaster?) - it got 'er done! That was not just good shooting it was great shooting! Enjoy your lifetime buck! forepaw

My guess is bedding. It looks to me like your action is moving around. Torquing the action screws to spec. won't help if that is what's going on. You also could have a bad barrel. They are not real common, but do turn up occasionally. Before I did anything, I would clean, check all screws, and have someone who is a good shot shoot it and note the difference, if any. forepaw

Ok thanks for info. Is the Hybrid the same as the hunting bullet? I know they also make a target bullet, not sure if that is the HVLD. forepaw

As I understand Berger performance, part of the reason they are so lethal is they fragment after a few inches of penetration. In this case, it sounds like the bullet held together. Does that seem right? Sounds like no bone was hit, which means she made a great shot! forepaw

Good choice. I like Burris scopes. With that reticle, if you zero at 200 yds. the post will get you to 600. If you combine with a good rangefinder, you can get an idea of how much to hold off for wind. forepaw

The Strelok apps. will do it. The free download is pretty good. The Plus and the Pro versions have a lot more features. forepaw

Most of the major companies have BDC type reticles that will give a pretty close match with your ammo and point of impact to that distance. Some like Nikon and Burris, have free software to help calibrate your zero. Leupold makes a CDS scope which is slightly out of your price range for a new one, but you could no doubt find a used one in good shape. The basic things for your rifle would be glass bed, free float, re-crown the muzzle, adjust trigger, clean the bore with JB Bore Paste, and practice from field positions. Especially in the wind. A 10 mph crosswind at 400 yds. will probably move your bullet 18". If you put up some paper targets, they will really tell the tale! forepaw

You want to get to 500 or 600 yds. Ok. Does that mean banging gongs and boulders off the hood of your pickup, or capability of putting the first shot in a vital area on game? If the first, about any 3-9x40 scope with duplex crosshair will do. If the second, then you have more issues than just scope selection. forepaw

You probably have some slop in your press linkage. That wobble can lead to slight variance in bullet seating. Also, are you using a reliable comparator tool that measures the bullet at the same place just below the tip? If you are measuring COAL from base of the case to the tip of the seated bullet you will easily have variation of the amount you mention. Or more. It is not a big deal in a hunting rifle. If you have a target rifle with match chamber, then you would need to be a little fussier. forepaw

www.24hourcampfire.com has a Savage Collectors forum. Lots of knowledge and helpful folks there. forepaw

www.midwayusa.com has VX-6 scopes discounted 38%. Don't know how long that sale will be going, but you won't find a new VX-6 cheaper than that. forepaw