Another day, another Cooper Arms rifle...

lunde

lunde

Joined
Jun 20, 2000
Messages
3,668
I picked up my latest rifle today, a Cooper Arms M52 Excalibur in .30-06, with unfluted stainless steel barrel. I ordered it in early February. They just went into production, and mine was one of the first made. If it shoots as well as my dad's M52 Classic with French walnut stock, in the same caliber, I will be pleased (three shots at 100 yards):

m52-classic-30-06-group-08142007.jpg


I was present to witness this group. :thumbup:

My dad is picking up his tomorrow. His has a fluted stainless steel barrel, and chambered in .338-06. We have consecutive serial numbers. His will be used for elk hunting in South Dakota next month. I will be there.
 
Yeah, this one is a tad off, too:

m22-phoenix-65x55-group-02232006.jpg


High and too the right... ;)

Bummer, because this is my antelope load, which will be used on 10/01/2008 in Wyoming.
 
Ken, you know perfectly well this thread is useless without pictures of the rifle.

Congrats on the rifle though. :thumbup:


lunde said:
High and too the right... ;)

Bummer, because this is my antelope load, which will be used on 10/01/2008 in Wyoming.
Click to expand...

You're really going to have to aim low-left to drop that sucker. :p
 
Hey Ken where is the Pork :confused: :confused:

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Hey am I going to have to post pictures in this thread too? :grumpy:


.
 
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but on a serious note....


COOPER rifles are top notch


congrats on the score & hope you & your pops have a successful hunt
 
Here's my dad's M52 Classic that shot that stunning group:

m52-classis-30-06-dad.jpg


It was a gift from me. Here is one of both of us, touching the rifle:

m52-classis-30-06.jpg


My M22 Phoenix, which is my current antelope rifle, and has taken two thus far, is shown here, shortly after I mounted its scope:

cooper-2410-1.jpg


I still haven't ordered the scope for my M52 Excalibur. I am thinking of a Leupold VX-III 4.5-14x40mm LR with Varmint Hunter reticle, which is the same as on my M22 Phoenix in 6.5x55 SE.
 
YOWZA!!!

Awesome group and an amazing rifle!!!!

I really like the pic of you and your dad!!! :thumbup:

Killer cool ! ! ! !

Jerry :D










.
 
A beautiful sporting rifle! I see Dad learned one of my tricks for accuracy, a little glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to steady the nerves. Wow, who locked the janitor in the building last night!! He's probably into the Boss's liquor cabinet cruisin' knife porn on the net!!
 
Sometimes if you are good at re-loading you can get many rifles to shoot well. I had a Cooper in 6PPC USA which could shoot screamer groups but also have had much cheaper Tikka Finlights in 6.5 x 55 SE and 300 WSM both of which could do the same. You look like you are not far off doing the same with the 30-06.....if you have a talent for re-loading then shooting well is a lot easier and you should consider doing some competitions.

Shooting those groups with a low powered (14x max) powered scope is excellent shooting. Usually a much higher powered scope is used by those who manage to do this....although they are often shooting 5 rounds...but three is ideal for a hunting barrel.

I like the 6.5 x 55 SE as a calibre....if your rifle shoots that well why not consider a higher power scope ( 5-25x ?) and give it some use in F Class competitions? You can take your time on your strings....keep the barrel cool...it would help you on wind calls for Antelope shots? Maybe you already do some competition shooting?

Check out www.long-range.com if you are interested in F Class shooting. I started out like this and with a 6.5 x 55 SE....now it is a "vocation" sport...I post over there as PeterW and have done some posts encouraging good hunting shooters to give this a go.
 
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It seems the fluted and unfluted barrels are shooting the same. What do the experts recommend? Fluted or unfluted? Looks like a beautiful gun.
 
I prefer unfluted barrels. My dad does, too, so I am not sure why he decided to go with a fluted barrel for his M52 Excalibur that he picks up later today. The barrel contour is the same as his M52 Classic (shown in two photos above). Now that I have my rifle in-hand, I am glad that I went with unfluted.

I suppose it can be a weight thing, though I cannot imagine the flutes trimming much weight. Flutes are sometimes preferred by varmint hunters, because the greater surface area means faster barrel colling, at least that's the theory. A rifle chambered in .30-06 is not a high-volume shooter, by any stretch of the imagination.
 
KEn you have great taste brother Hog!


bet your arrss I would trade ya:)
 
Lunde it looks like your wearing Danners! They are one of my favorite boots. And the rifles not bad either;)

But seriously those are some good groups (understatement) and the rifle is gorgeous.

How heavy is your pronghorn setup?
 
Great....one more Cooper in the Lunde stable. I still hate you for turning me on to Coopers. :D I can't own anything less when it comes to a rifles. Yes..I have owned rifles that have shot very well....but...well....they weren't a Cooper. Unless you own one....it's hard to put into words.

Perfect form...fit...function......a work of art as well as an awesome tool.

I keep lusting for that M52 in .25-06 with the stainless, fluted barrel. I am dreaming about it.

Congrats Ken!
 
Ken, great stuff. :cool::thumbup:

Cooper should be making the M52 in a lefty after the first of the year.:thumbup: I'm thinking I'll start putting my lunch money away, man their nice rifles.

Thanks for sharing.
Helle
 
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Helle, you wrote:
Cooper should be making the M52 in a lefty after the first of the year. :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Funny you should mention that. My dad is left-handed, and shoots left-handed, but all of his rifles are right-handed. He prefers this, and it does not slow him down one bit. In fact, he prefers this. He likes being able to see into the ejection port. Well, the way in which the ejection port is cut on their rifles, you can see inside from both sides of the rifle.
 
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