The Survive! Never Say Die! Chat Thread

Texas_toothpick said:
We had a tornado touch down on our neighbors place. It got a few of our trees and blocked both entries to our creek. Went right down our shooting lane, over our stand and feeder. Only one house was hit where it started about 7-8 miles away. It just hopped and skipped about 20 miles across east Tx. Prayers for those in its path.
Click to expand...


When where? My brother is a transplanted Texan
 
I hope everyone is ok TT I lived in Texas/Kansas for about 4-5 yrs as a kid, those storms are no joke...
 
Damn Tex! Hope all is well.

Hunter, I am really just going to he happy ringing torso sized steel silohuettes at 200. With my 10.5 inch barreled M4 and an irons I can consistently ring those steel targets at 200, standing and unsupported. So a .308 with a way better strigger shouldn't be too hard. I will do my paper shots prone to get the most stable platform. I have no expectation of a super tight group on paper. I definitely will post some pics.
 
It'll work out. No one got hurt that I know of. My fathers a paramedic and on the vol FD here so I'm sure they would have got called out. I don't know for north of us though.
 
Sorry to hear that TT. Glad you and yours are safe.

Cool rig Riz. I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on it.
 
So I am impressed with this rifle! It needs an optic for sure, but I am really torn about what to put on it. I fred 100 rounds. The first 25 or so were at 8 inch shoot-n-see targets. It was shooting about 3 inches to the right and 3 inches low right out of the box at 100 yards. I was shooting prone with the ghost ring and post combat iron sights using my backpack as a rest. The initial 3R3L impacts may have been just me and the way I match up the irons. After a small movement of the ring to the left I was still a little low and pretty much centered. The below pic is 8 rounds that I fired once I tweaked the windage. The white paper and any holes on it were already there when I got to the range.



As you can see the rifle shoots great! The issue is that the post sight is wider than the 8 inch target appears to the naked eye at 100 yards. I did not mess with the elevation. After firing this string of shots I started shooting at steel silhouettes because they are fun! At 200 yards, prone, I was crushing them. Backed out to 300 and wasnt hitting the steel and couldnt see my bullet strikes with the naked eye. I was by myself so I had no spotter to assist. I walked down, put my phone on video and recorded the impacts of 10 rounds at 300. They were all between 12-18 inches low and dead center. I left my elevation set where it was. When I go back I will probably zero the irons at 200. That should make me a couple inches high at 100 and maybe 10 low at 300.

My shoughts on the gun itself...

Its very light. Has an excellent trigger with no creep. The trigger just breaks. Over half of the rounds fired actually surprised me when they went off! Which is a very good thing. The polymer mags from ruger are way better than the metal accurate mag that comes with the gun. They are lighter, easier to load and feed much more smoothly than the metal mag. They also dont hang as far out of the gun, but still hold ten rounds. The recoil is light due to the excellent muzzle break. There is one issue... The concussion from the break is rediculous! I stopped at 100 rounds because I was getting a headache. Something else really made me happy too. I pulled the bolt and ran a boresnake 3 times. Looked down the tube (from the rear) and it looked like I had never fired the gun! After shooting a direct gas impingement colt commando for so long, I am used to a very dirty gun. It was nice not to have to spend 40 minutes stripping, cleaning and reassembling the rifle.

Over all I am impressed and cant wait to put an optic on it. Its a fun gun to shoot. I cant decide on which scope to buy though. Once I do, I will report back on it and how she shoots.
 
Last edited:
Riz! said:
So I am impressed with this rifle! It needs an optic for sure, but I am really torn about what to put on it. I fred 100 rounds. The first 25 or so were at 8 inch shoot-n-see targets. It was shooting about 3 inches to the right and 3 inches low right out of the box at 100 yards. I was shooting prone with the ghost ring and post combat iron sights using my backpack as a rest. The initial 3R3L impacts may have been just me and the way I match up the irons. After a small movement of the ring to the left I was still a little low and pretty much centered. The below pic is 8 rounds that I fired once I tweaked the windage. The white paper and any holes on it were already there when I got to the range.



As you can see the rifle shoots great! The issue is that the post sight is wider than the 8 inch target appears to the naked eye at 100 yards. I did not mess with the elevation. After firing this string of shots I started shooting at steel silhouettes because they are fun! At 200 yards, prone, I was crushing them. Backed out to 300 and wasnt hitting the steel and couldnt see my bullet strikes with the naked eye. I was by myself so I had no spotter to assist. I walked down, put my phone on video and recorded the impacts of 10 rounds at 300. They were all between 12-18 inches low and dead center. I left my elevation set where it was. When I go back I will probably zero the irons at 200. That should make me a couple inches high at 100 and maybe 10 low at 300.

My shoughts on the gun itself...

Its very light. Has an excellent trigger with no creep. The trigger just breaks. Over half of the rounds fired actually surprised me when they went off! Which is a very good thing. The polymer mags from ruger are way better than the metal accurate mag that comes with the gun. They are lighter, easier to load and feed much more smoothly than the metal mag. They also dont hang as far out of the gun, but still hold ten rounds. The recoil is light due to the excellent muzzle break. There is one issue... The concussion from the break is rediculous! I stopped at 100 rounds because I was getting a headache. Something else really made me happy too. I pulled the bolt and ran a boresnake 3 times. Looked down the tube (from the rear) and it looked like I had never fired the gun! After shooting a direct gas impingement colt commando for so long, I am used to a very dirty gun. It was nice not to have to spend 40 minutes stripping, cleaning and reassembling the rifle.

Over all I am impressed and cant wait to put an optic on it. Its a fun gun to shoot. I cant decide on which scope to buy though. Once I do, I will report back on it and how she shoots.
Click to expand...

That's Awesome!
With my eyes the best I was ever able to group with Irons was about 2.5 inches at 100yds. It didn't matter which rifle it was as long as it was capable of MOA accuracy. Now that my eyes are aging, I'm going about 4" groups at 100 with Irons. Optics are a different story. I'm still able to hold sub-MOA groups from prone if the rifle is capable.

I appreciate the review. I'll admit to being a fan of Cooper's concept. I think there is substantial merit to it, specifically in the Western US and more rural areas. When Steyr came out with their version that Cooper endorsed, I wanted one in the worst way. I just couldn't justify the cost at the time, nor did I have much application for it in South Florida. I didn't have much interest in the Savage variant; but I'll admit to being intrigued by the Ruger. Your review was just what I needed to be motivated. In North Idaho, most of my elk hunting is in heavy timber, and I have often thought that such a rifle would be a perfect fit.

Thanks Riz! And please keep the updates coming.

Junkyard
 
Elk hunting in heavy timber is the perfect application for this rifle with a low power, forward mounted scope. You would easily be able to make quick shots on moving elk in the under 200 range and then still have confidence in your shooting out to 300, maybe even 400 yards depending on which scope you buy. Burris makes a long eye relief 2-7 power, leupold makes a 1.5-4 and a fixed 2.5 power. Those are the three that I am looking at. I am leaning to the leupold fixed 2.5 just to keep it simple. I like the challenge of shooting irons and or low magnification. I think it makes you focus on fundamentals and skill.
 
Ok Riz, if you love your gun so much why don't you just marry it?! :D

OR we might be in need of a SURVIVOR! firearm thread. Do we have one of those?
 
Riz! said:
Elk hunting in heavy timber is the perfect application for this rifle with a low power, forward mounted scope. You would easily be able to make quick shots on moving elk in the under 200 range and then still have confidence in your shooting out to 300, maybe even 400 yards depending on which scope you buy. Burris makes a long eye relief 2-7 power, leupold makes a 1.5-4 and a fixed 2.5 power. Those are the three that I am looking at. I am leaning to the leupold fixed 2.5 just to keep it simple. I like the challenge of shooting irons and or low magnification. I think it makes you focus on fundamentals and skill.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to say thanks a lot! now I've got the Ruger Website pulled up, and I have to wait until the local Gun shops open, so that I can call around and get pricing. I agree with everything you just said about hunting, but I'd likely not see a 400 yard shot or even a 300 yards shot around here, unless I was shooting from ridgeline to ridgeline and realistically that would be closer to 600-800. I have other rifles for that type of work.

As to the optic, if I was setting it up, I'd go with the 2.5 Leupold. And I might because of you. now I have to go inventory my "Tradin' Stock."

Junkyard
 
Thank you Riz! That is dang fine shooting with that setup. You're going to get great accuracy with an optic. I have a .243 topped with a 1.5-6x scope that has been my whitetail rig for a long time. It's pretty dang capable from end-of-the-barrel to 400 yards.

Junkyard, you're making me remember hunting through that doghair cedar up there :)
 
Hard Knocks said:
Thank you Riz! That is dang fine shooting with that setup. You're going to get great accuracy with an optic. I have a .243 topped with a 1.5-6x scope that has been my whitetail rig for a long time. It's pretty dang capable from end-of-the-barrel to 400 yards.

Junkyard, you're making me remember hunting through that doghair cedar up there :)
Click to expand...

The truth is, anymore I just take my rifle for a walk in the woods. I hunt with a few friends, but for me it's more to get out and be in the woods than to collect antlers. Every once in a while it's time to put meat in the freezer, but I could easily do that from my deck any given morning. Not very sporting though.

There certainly are some deep dark draws up this way, and it always amazes me how those elk get down in there; and how quiet they are about it. They really are ghosts of the forest for sure. I don't know anything about Elk hunting down your way, but I would imagine you'd have some fine upland hunting down there.

Junkyard


Edited to add: Only 5 more minutes before the gun shops open.;)
 
Well i decided to order the Leupold 2.5 fixed today. Should be here by the end of the week. Hopefully I will get it mounted up and zeroed by Friday. A couple things make me lean that way. I love the challenge of shooting irons. The 2.5 will be about as close to irons as a scope can get and allow for just enough magnification to be able to ring steel out to 300 and make precise shots under 300. Also it fits with the philosophy of the rifle. Simple, ultra reliable made for use under 300. I went with quick detach warne brand rings. If I ever want to shoot precision at longer ranges I will get a high magnification scope and mount it traditionally. The 2.5 gives me options
 
Riz! said:
Well i decided to order the Leupold 2.5 fixed today. Should be here by the end of the week. Hopefully I will get it mounted up and zeroed by Friday. A couple things make me lean that way. I love the challenge of shooting irons. The 2.5 will be about as close to irons as a scope can get and allow for just enough magnification to be able to ring steel out to 300 and make precise shots under 300. Also it fits with the philosophy of the rifle. Simple, ultra reliable made for use under 300. I went with quick detach warne brand rings. If I ever want to shoot precision at longer ranges I will get a high magnification scope and mount it traditionally. The 2.5 gives me options
Click to expand...

Awesome!

I'd really be interested in the updates, and more pics when you get it set up.
I called around this morning to the different shops, but none of them had one in stock for me to go fondle. Depending on your progress, I might just have to order one.

Thank Riz!

Junkyard
 
I had to order mine. I wanted black barrell and the synthetic stock and no place had it.
 
I would have thought that one of the shops around here would have had one.

Where I grew up, we could only hunt with a Shotgun and slugs for whitetail. In Florida, I hunted hogs with a knife and gators with a handgun. Out here, I mostly use a .30-06 for elk, Sometimes a .300 win mag if the terrain is more open.

Most of the guys I know or have seen hunt out here fall into one of four catagories:

Lever-action .30-30 guys

Traditional Bolt action in standard calibers (typically up to .300 win mag)

the Long Range Shooters/Hunters (it's pretty popular around here, but guys typically have to South to do it)

and then there are the guys that have those Ultra-Whizz-Bang-Super magnums to hunt a whitetail at 70 yards and in. Go figure.

Junkyard
 
Maryland allows rifle hunting in the western part of the state. Shotgun everywhere else. You may be able to use rifle on the eastern shore but I am not sure. Handgun and muzzle loader can be used everywhere also.

I have always wanted to hunt hogs with a knife or a spear. Seems very primative.

Funny thing about all of my gear that I just realized. I have a miniature sporting goods store in my basement and virtually no time to use it! Kind of sucks.
 
Junkyard said:
The truth is, anymore I just take my rifle for a walk in the woods. I hunt with a few friends, but for me it's more to get out and be in the woods than to collect antlers. Every once in a while it's time to put meat in the freezer, but I could easily do that from my deck any given morning. Not very sporting though.

There certainly are some deep dark draws up this way, and it always amazes me how those elk get down in there; and how quiet they are about it. They really are ghosts of the forest for sure. I don't know anything about Elk hunting down your way, but I would imagine you'd have some fine upland hunting down there.

Junkyard


Edited to add: Only 5 more minutes before the gun shops open.;)
Click to expand...

The elk outnumber the deer here close to home. It is excellent elk hunting, mediocre muledeer hunting. Of course, deer hunting is fun, elk hunting is work, ha. But there are definitely places here that will stretch out your barrel. I hunt with traditional bolt action as I like to close as much ground as possible. That can still result in some long shots due to our open country.

Riz! said:
Well i decided to order the Leupold 2.5 fixed today. Should be here by the end of the week. Hopefully I will get it mounted up and zeroed by Friday. A couple things make me lean that way. I love the challenge of shooting irons. The 2.5 will be about as close to irons as a scope can get and allow for just enough magnification to be able to ring steel out to 300 and make precise shots under 300. Also it fits with the philosophy of the rifle. Simple, ultra reliable made for use under 300. I went with quick detach warne brand rings. If I ever want to shoot precision at longer ranges I will get a high magnification scope and mount it traditionally. The 2.5 gives me options
Click to expand...

Junkyard said:
Most of the guys I know or have seen hunt out here fall into one of four catagories:

Lever-action .30-30 guys

Traditional Bolt action in standard calibers (typically up to .300 win mag)

the Long Range Shooters/Hunters (it's pretty popular around here, but guys typically have to South to do it)

and then there are the guys that have those Ultra-Whizz-Bang-Super magnums to hunt a whitetail at 70 yards and in. Go figure.

Junkyard
Click to expand...

'It fits with the philosophy of the rifle' Well said Riz, I totally agree, and it goes hand in hand with the types of hunting Junkyard describes as well. You hit almost exactly one of my mottos: 'Stay true to the philosophy of the rifle.' Flat-shooting with high power optics, or fast-handling with low power optics or iron :thumbup: Both have their place.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top