les
Hammer Time Executive member
I really enjoy the forum. I'd mention names, but I know I would forget someone, so I will just say thank you to all for my new gun. I'm not a spring chicken anymore. I've been out shooting my 30/06 Ackley Improved at the range again. Somehow it just seems a lot heavier than when I was 40 years old. I have my Remington 788 in 308 up and running finally. It is fun to shoot at the range too. I had two goals for that gun over 20 years ago. I achieved one goal and that is that it would shoot mono bullets well. My second goal is that it would be light weight. My gunsmith was supposed to lighten it. He wouldn't. That is a long story that is 20 plus years old. It can rest. It weighs over 9 pounds. I love my 300 RUM, but it isn't light weight.
I wanted a light weight rifle. My 6.5 Creedmoor is a fairly light rifle. That said, it is a little under powered for hunting elk in my opinion. When all is said and done, I much prefer 30 caliber and up rifles. I hunted elk for years with my father-in-law who used a 7mm Remington Mag. It worked well, but I noticed that my 30/06 AI put them down with much more authority. Just to be clear I am not disparaging anyone who shoots a smaller caliber. I'm talking about MY personal preference. So I knew my next gun was going to be a 30 cal or better. I wanted a short action if possible.
I get jealous of you right handed folks. There just are not that many options for us lefties. I did several mock builds with what I wanted and they all went north of $5,000.00 quickly. That is out of my budget. I had pretty much thought I'm going to have to settle for a 308 Winchester which is a little light on horsepower for where I wanted to be. I talked to several of my hardcore hunting friends (one guy hunts Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah,and Nevada). He is an animal. He said to me, "Have you ever looked at the 300 Winchester Short Mag?" That is what he uses. I said, "No." When I looked, I was very pleased with what I saw. The 308 holds 52 grains of water. The 30/06AI holds 61.5 grains of water. The 300 WSM holds 76 grains of water. The 300 RUM holds 110 grains of water. When I picked up my gun yesterday, they had a 30-378 Wby Mag (127.7 grains of water). I picked it up and wow what a heavy long gun! I've been a "bigger is better" guy for a long time! My RUM all in with a scope is lighter and feels better than the Weatherby. Maybe I have finally come to my senses. So, I determined that a 300 Winchester Short Mag was in my sweet spot. The search was on!
I wanted a gun 6 pounds or less. I wanted a gun with a high quality barrel. I wanted a gun with a good action. I wanted a gun with a good trigger. I wanted to keep the cost within reason. I looked and looked. Behold I found what I wanted. My gun has a Proof Research carbon wrapped stainless steel barrel. Oh, I also wanted a 24 inch barrel. I wanted a better than run of the mill action. This gun comes with a factory blueprinted action. It comes with a good trigger. I found it on sale for less than 1500 dollars. Drum Roll.........................I ended up buying a Savage 110 Utralite left hand in 300 Winchester Short Mag. The proof will be in the shooting, but just taking it through the paces, I am pleased! The fit and finish are really good. Scope and brass should be here today. I'll be putting a Ultradyne Apollo Max brake on it too. I plan on only shooting Hammers in it. Everything is a compromise one way or another. I'm all in with everything for less that $2,500. I'm all in for less than the other gun I was looking at or the build I was considering with my gunsmith. So stay tuned for the shooting results. That will be the real proof that I made the right decision. Again a big thanks to the forum to help me think things through. Did I over think it?
I wanted a light weight rifle. My 6.5 Creedmoor is a fairly light rifle. That said, it is a little under powered for hunting elk in my opinion. When all is said and done, I much prefer 30 caliber and up rifles. I hunted elk for years with my father-in-law who used a 7mm Remington Mag. It worked well, but I noticed that my 30/06 AI put them down with much more authority. Just to be clear I am not disparaging anyone who shoots a smaller caliber. I'm talking about MY personal preference. So I knew my next gun was going to be a 30 cal or better. I wanted a short action if possible.
I get jealous of you right handed folks. There just are not that many options for us lefties. I did several mock builds with what I wanted and they all went north of $5,000.00 quickly. That is out of my budget. I had pretty much thought I'm going to have to settle for a 308 Winchester which is a little light on horsepower for where I wanted to be. I talked to several of my hardcore hunting friends (one guy hunts Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah,and Nevada). He is an animal. He said to me, "Have you ever looked at the 300 Winchester Short Mag?" That is what he uses. I said, "No." When I looked, I was very pleased with what I saw. The 308 holds 52 grains of water. The 30/06AI holds 61.5 grains of water. The 300 WSM holds 76 grains of water. The 300 RUM holds 110 grains of water. When I picked up my gun yesterday, they had a 30-378 Wby Mag (127.7 grains of water). I picked it up and wow what a heavy long gun! I've been a "bigger is better" guy for a long time! My RUM all in with a scope is lighter and feels better than the Weatherby. Maybe I have finally come to my senses. So, I determined that a 300 Winchester Short Mag was in my sweet spot. The search was on!
I wanted a gun 6 pounds or less. I wanted a gun with a high quality barrel. I wanted a gun with a good action. I wanted a gun with a good trigger. I wanted to keep the cost within reason. I looked and looked. Behold I found what I wanted. My gun has a Proof Research carbon wrapped stainless steel barrel. Oh, I also wanted a 24 inch barrel. I wanted a better than run of the mill action. This gun comes with a factory blueprinted action. It comes with a good trigger. I found it on sale for less than 1500 dollars. Drum Roll.........................I ended up buying a Savage 110 Utralite left hand in 300 Winchester Short Mag. The proof will be in the shooting, but just taking it through the paces, I am pleased! The fit and finish are really good. Scope and brass should be here today. I'll be putting a Ultradyne Apollo Max brake on it too. I plan on only shooting Hammers in it. Everything is a compromise one way or another. I'm all in with everything for less that $2,500. I'm all in for less than the other gun I was looking at or the build I was considering with my gunsmith. So stay tuned for the shooting results. That will be the real proof that I made the right decision. Again a big thanks to the forum to help me think things through. Did I over think it?
creedmoor
