The First.308 Model 70 / Savage B.Mag.17 WSM

Transcription

1 The First.308 Model 70 / Savage B.Mag.17 WSM Lightweight Bergara Custom 7mm-08 Tested: Konuspro LZ x 50mm Steyr Zephyr II Ideal Riflescopes November 2018 No. 301 Display until 12/11/18 Printed in USA Browning s Winchester Leverguns

2 6 12 Page Page 6... COLUMNS Pronghorn Rif les and Cartridges Spotting Scope Dave Scovill Seven Pounds Is About Perfect Lock, Stock & Barrel Lee J. Hoots 16 Browning Lever-Action Winchester Reproductions Mostly Long Guns Brian Pearce 20 Set Triggers Down Range Mike Venturino The First.308 Model 70 / Savage B.Mag.17 WSM Lightweight Bergara Custom 7mm-08 Tested: Konuspro LZ x 50mm Steyr Zephyr II Ideal Riflescopes Browning s Winchester Leverguns On the cover... The Bergara 7mm-08 (top) has a Nikon Monarch x 42mm scope while the Gunwerks rifle (bottom) has a Nightforce NXS x 50mm G7 scope. Photos by Chris Downs and Brian Pearce. 22 Broken Stock Wrists Light Gunsmithing Gil Sengel 26 Konuspro LZ x 50mm A Rifleman s Optics John Haviland 60 Superlative Remington Model 12 Custom Corner Stan Trzoniec Master Index Ballistol for Nearly Everything Walnut Hill Terry Wieland Page FEATURES Bergara Custom Rifles Testing a Lightweight 7mm-08 Remington John Haviland The First.308 Winchester Shooting an Early Model 70 Featherweight John Barsness Choosing the Ideal Scope Practical Advice on Picking Perfect Optics Brian Pearce Steyr Zephyr II.22 Long Rifle A Refreshing Breeze from Austria Terry Wieland Savage B.Mag Beavertail Shooting a Heavy-Barreled.17 WSM Stan Trzoniec Page Rifle 301

3 Seven Pounds Is About Perfect LOCK, STOCK & BARREL by Lee J. Hoots S coped bolt-action sporters weighing less than 8 pounds are often referred to as being light in weight, possibly because many older (and some not so old) hunters prefer their hunting rifles to weigh roughly 8 pounds. However, when a scope is mounted to many rifles particularly aged models they weigh more than people think. Consider, for example, a common Ruger Hawkeye.270 Winchester with a walnut stock and 22-inch barrel listed by its manufacturer at 8 pounds. Add to it a typical modern hunting scope like a Vortex Viper HS LR 4-15x 50mm (21.4 ounces) along with rings tall enough to accommodate the large scope, and the end result is a weight of more than 9 pounds! Having pursued game in Russia, Africa, South America and most of North America, plus having tested factory loads and handloads mainly with bolt guns for nearly 30 years, I have come to generally prefer a scoped hunting rifle that weighs less than 8 pounds, depending on the cartridge. As it goes with lightweight bolt actions, or any rifle type for that matter, at times, both in conversation and in print small differences A good bolt rifle should balance in the hand as well as a levergun such as this Marlin 336 with a 20-inch barrel. Lightweight hunting rigs are often carried for miles but shot only once or twice. that amount to mere ounces feed tenuous discussions. One side is adamant that too-light rifles whatever that means just do not shoot as accurately as standard-weight rifles again, whatever that means. Additionally, three- or five-shot groups from a sturdy bench and sandbags at 100 yards are the demarcation by which all accuracy is judged, rightly or wrongly. This point of view, based only on shooting range results, does not easily transfer to the field, where a one- or 2-inch circle or diamond is not stapled to owensarmory.com tomas@owensarmory.com nick@owensarmory.com 12 the side of a coyote, deer or wildebeest. Furthermore, what these debates seem to ignore is that some hunters are not likely to ever shoot a flyweight rifle quite as well as they do one weighing about 8 pounds, either in the field or from a bench. This situation is about like that of two young infielders who can play a full season without an error, but only the young man who can occasionally drive fastballs over the centerfield fence winds up on the high school junior varsity team. So, the idea that lightweight rifles are inherently less accurate is a myth similar to the inherently more accurate or more efficient cartridge. Who can possibly prove this? Yet it has been repeated enough to become almost meaningless a subject I ve harped on enough. (As an aside, it just occurred to me Dave Scovill and I have often discussed the likelihood that if David Tubb perhaps the most successful competitive rifleman in history was given a random, reasonable.308 Winchester hunting rifle, unlimited Rifle 301

4 match ammunition and a day of practice, he could leather up at the firing line and shoot better scores than a majority of the other shooters heavy or light rifle; scope sighted or otherwise. The point is there is always someone who can shoot a little better than the next guy, and the rifle or cartridge is usually a not a factor. I know and admire some experienced shooters who would disagree with one or two of the statements made here, but personal experiences are varied.) Some hunters use the term lightweight only if a bolt action weighs 6 to 6.5 pounds when fully dressed out with a scope, sling and a magazine full of cartridges. A rifle in this weight class (or occasionally less) is a true-enough flyweight, though there is probably no exact numerical designation that can be used to define how feather-like a rifle can/should be. The very lightest custom-production bolt actions I m aware of include New Ultra Light Arms This New Mexico bull was shot with a New Ultra Light Arms.308 Winchester with a Swarovski Z3 scope. sporters (as light a 4.75 pounds without a scope) and the Strata (5 pounds sans scope) by Rifles Inc. The Barret Fieldcraft production rifle weighs just a tick over 5 pounds. Many years ago in Sonora, Mexico, I carried a Strata.300 Winchester Magnum when November-December

5 At 6 pounds, 15 ounces, this.270 WSM with a Leupold VX II 2-7x 33mm scope was customized by Rifles Inc. to include a new barrel and Hunters Edge stock. an old, non-typical Coues buck was shot at a laser-measured 324 yards. If that s not good field accuracy, what is? Lightweights can provide plenty of accuracy, but there are other variables involved, not least of which includes the reputation of the rifle maker. Proper balance of any sporting rifle, for example, is critical, because it will be carried a whole lot and shot very little. Personal preference leans toward rifles that are slightly barrel-heavy. On a certified postal scale, my New Haven, Connecticut, Marlin Model with a 20-inch barrel weighs 7 pounds, 10 ounces with its leather sling attached, and it s a sure-enough light rifle. Any good lightweight bolt action should balance in the hand as well as the old Marlin. On the levergun, that balance point is about where the forestock joins the receiver. The balance point on a lightweight bolt rifle is usually The Remington 700 XCR II (left) with a Manners EH-3 stock and Swarovski 3-10x 42mm scope in Talley steel rings weighs 7 pounds, 11 ounces. The 6mm Remington (right) with a Leupold Vari-X III 2.5-8x scope and a Hunters Edge stock weighs 7 pounds, 6 ounces. Oversized scopes can throw off a rifle s balance. Compact versions such as this Leupold VX II 2-7x 33mm mounted in low Talley Lightweight rings are a better choice. With its 24-inch barrel, this Model Winchester weighs a tick over 7 pounds. found just ahead of the forward guard screw. A rifle s balance is largely dependent on barrel taper and length, receiver design or modification, and to a somewhat lesser extent, stock design. For example, New Ultra Light Arms rifles (newultra lightarms.com) feature a proprietary stock design and receivers of different lengths and diameters for different cartridges. Rifles Inc. (riflesinc.com) generally uses standard or modified Remington or Winchester receivers and either after-market stocks or those of its own design. Both companies are known to build highly accurate rifles, but some of the modern aftermarket stocks, particularly those made of carbon fiber, can be used to lighten up an old sporter. A new example from Stocky s (stockys stocks.com) includes the Long Range M50 weighing just shy of 2 pounds. With one exception a Remington Winchester Short Magnum customized by Rifles Inc. to include a fluted barrel and a Mc- Millan Hunters Edge stock for a total unloaded weight of 6 pounds, 15 ounces all rifles on hand that can be considered light are simple factory variants now bedded to one or another after-market handle. A favorite is a Remington 700 XCR II in a Manners EH-3 carbon fiber stock and fitted with an older Swarovski 3-10x 42mm scope in Talley steel rings. Its to Rifle 301

6 Six-lug Weatherby Mark V Ultra Lightweights weigh less than 6 pounds without a scope a good starting weight for a field rifle that will be carried a lot and shot only once or twice while hunting mule deer in rugged country. tal weight without a sling or cartridges is 7 pounds, 11 ounces; its original weight without a scope or rings but with a plastic stock was listed at 7 pounds, 6 ounces. Why it s a favorite has become difficult to pin down except for, perhaps, the fact that it s a full-size rifle that balances well with a 24-inch barrel of standard taper, and it has been used with great success while hunting free-range game in South Africa. In fact, all the bolt rifles on hand weighing less than 8 pounds have 24-inch barrels, whereas most light rifles are built with 22-inch barrels. To fans of lightweight bolt guns, it would hopefully seem counterintuitive to top such a rifle off with one of dozens of so-called longrange riflescopes that have become so popular, thereby ruining the whole idea of the rifle itself. A light rifle deserves a proper scope. For my money, that means using a compact fixed-power or low-power variable, or at least a reasonably sized scope like the Swarovski on the mentioned earlier. A Leupold scope on a 6mm Remington has a 33mm objective bell and measures inches long; the scope on the customized.270 WSM is a VX-II 2-7x 33mm measuring 11 inches in length. A scope much larger would not only look odd, it would likely change the balance of an otherwise handy hunting rig, bring its weight to beyond 8 pounds and, if nothing else, it would look as out of place as a scope on the Marlin Having said all that, I might be convinced that some lightweights can be a little finicky when shot from a bench. To be more specific, they sometimes need to be handled differently when fired off sandbags. The Model 700 Classic Deluxe Stainless Fluted Limited Edition 6mm Remington has been on hand since its introduction in Given the idea that such a trim, little rifle chambered for a mild-recoiling cartridge should weigh a bit less than it did with its walnut stock, at some point a Mc- Millan Hunters Edge was ordered from Brownells (brownells.com). Though not all that uncommon with any rifle of any weight, in order to coax the best groups from it when shooting off a bench the 6mm needs to be held with both hands when compared to using the original walnut handle this is often the case with heavier rifles, too. Of course, this makes little difference for hunters because nearly all shots taken in the field require hanging on with all 10 fingers. Its original weight without a scope was 7 pounds, 6 ounces. As currently set up with Talley Lightweight scope mounts and a Leupold Vari-X III 2.5-8x scope, total weight is still 7 pounds, 6 ounces. This rifle will group shots into a tight cluster at 100 yards. All of this means it s plenty accurate for deer hunting and, like any other lightweight, it s a bit easier to haul up a mountainside. R November-December

7 Bergara Custom Rifles The Bergara rifle with a Nikon Monarch x 42mm scope weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces. John Haviland In 2006, Spanish company Bergara created a good name for itself in the shooting world by producing accurate barrels that placed one bullet after another in the exact same spot. Bergara followed up in 2012 with a line of custom rifles made in the U.S., featuring its barrels on actions made by other manufacturers. In 2015 Bergara started producing its Premier series and then the B-14 series of production rifles. These rifles have been well received by shooters and hunters and have taken up the majority of Bergara s sales. But the custom rifles were our first product line and we can never walk away from them, said Nate Treadaway, chief executive officer of BPI Outdoors, which oversees Bergara, CVA muzzleloaders and several other shooting-related companies. Bergara uses its Premier action on its custom rifles, although it will build rifles with about any brand of bolt action. The custom rifle line includes the Sport Hunter, Varmint Hunter, Long Range Hunter, Competition, Heavy Tactical and Heavy Tactical Chassis. These rifles are chambered in 13 cartridges from the Remington and 6mm Creedmoor to the.300 and.338 Winchester Magnums Rifle 301

8 Testing a Lightweight 7mm-08 Remington The air is pretty thin up there for rifles that cost several thousand dollars, Treadaway said. But there are still guys who want to buy unique and special rifles. For employees in its custom shop in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Bergara recruits former military personnel who worked in the U.S. Marine s Precision Weapons Section. Their duties, among others, were to build and maintain the Marine s bolt-action M40A5 sniper rifle. So they are experts at making accurate rifles, Treadaway said. Barrels installed on custom rifles are the same Bergara barrels used on Premier rifles. However, the custom shop s two full-time employees take accuracy several stages farther with barrels for custom rifles. They inspect barrel bores with a scope for flaws, lap the bores, cut chambers by hand and watchfully crown barrels. The barrel breach is trued, matched to an action, and the barreled action is inletted into a McMillian stock or a customer s stock choice. From there the sky is the limit for options. The Premier action is the most popular, although customers can select any action they want. Barrels can be fluted, and contours vary from lightweight and standard sporter to lightweight and standard varmint. Most standard cartridges are made with a 22-inch barrel, and magnums are made with a 24-inch barrel. Customers can choose a Timney or Jewell trigger, a blind magazine or a magazine with a hinged floorplate, or a detachable magazine. November-December

9 Peterson Cartridge Company Peterson Cartridge s main goal is to manufacture American-made rifle cases that are uniform in all aspects for long-distance shooters. Before loading Peterson 7mm- 08 Remington cases, I went over them with a micrometer, finding that the cases were very uniform in length and shoulder position, and case mouths were round and chamfered. I compared 10 new Peterson and Remington 7mm-08 cases in neck runout and thickness, weight and internal volume. Case neck runout of the Peterson cases varied.001 inch at most, while the Remington brass ranged from.002 to.005 inch. Case neck thickness of most of the Peterson cases was the same, with three differing between.001 and.002 inch. Remington cases wavered between.001 Peterson Cartridge Company 7mm-08 cases were used with handloads containing Berger 140-grain bullets and Accurate 4064 powder. The cases were very uniform in weight and dimension. to.002 inch. Ten Peterson 7mm-08 cases weighed an average of grains and varied in weight only.9 grain. In contrast, Remington cases weighed an average of and varied 3.1 grains. A spokesman for Peterson said its cases are heavier than other brands and might have a smaller internal capacity than other brands. Peterson cases did weigh nearly 10 grains heavier than Remington cases, suggesting Peterson cases have a smaller internal volume. However, weighing five cases of each brand full of water and subtracting their unfilled weights revealed that Peterson cases contained only 2 percent less internal volume than the Remington cases. Most of the extra weight of the Peterson brass went into the head and web area of the cases. Primer pockets in the Peterson cases were extremely tight, and seating primers required all the force I could muster on the handle of an RCBS Universal Hand Priming Tool. Velocities were close to the same when using Peterson and Remington 7mm-08 cases loaded with the same bullets, powder weights and Winchester Large Rifle primers. At the time this was written, Peterson Cartridge offered cases for the.243 Winchester, 6mm and 6.5 Creedmoor,.260 and 7mm-08 Remington,.308 Winchester,.338 Lapua and.375 and.408 CheyTac. Fifty Peterson 7mm-08 Remington cases sold for $37 (peterson cartridge.com). R 7mm-08 Remington Case Comparison extreme velocity bullet powder charge case velocity spread (grains) (grains) (fps) (fps) 140 Berger VLD Hunting A Peterson 2, , Remington 2, , Notes: A custom Bergara 7mm-08 Remington with a 24-inch barrel and a Nikon Monarch x 42mm scope was used to test all loads. Winchester Large Rifle primers were used. For more data on this cartridge please visit LoadData.com. Be Alert Publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in published load data. Listed loads are only valid in the test firearms used. Reduce initial powder charge by 10 percent and work up while watching for pressure signs. Building a rifle from start to finish takes about 40 hours, Treadaway said. The Premier action is the heart of Bergara custom rifles. The action is made in Georgia, he said, and soon we hope to have it made in-house. Premier actions come in short and standard lengths. The custom rifle I shot was a Sport Hunter with some personalized features. The rifle was chambered in 7mm-08 Remington on a short action with a 24-inch, lightweight sporter-contour barrel. Its spring-loaded magazine was contained inside a High Tech ADL stock with only an aluminum trigger guard for bottom metal. The person who ordered the rifle no doubt wanted to lighten the rifle a few ounces by foregoing a hinged floorplate. The recessed bolt face encloses the head of a cartridge case up to the top of the extractor groove. A sliding blade extractor located on the right-side locking lug grips a case to pull it out of the chamber, and a plunger ejector protruding from the left side of the bolt face kicks it out when the case clears the ejection port. Two nonrotating lugs located behind the locking lugs act to seal the raceway against gas escaping in the unlikely event of a ruptured case. The lugs also slide in the receiver raceway to keep the bolt from binding. The right lug and the right locking lug are slotted and glide on a rail in the raceway to further smooth bolt travel. Pushing the bolt stop release at the left rear of the receiver pivots a finger out of the raceway to allow removal of the bolt. A tab that protrudes from the bottom rear of the bolt shroud indicates that the firing pin is cocked. The spiral-fluted bolt body and nicely sculpted shroud add a refined look. The Timney trigger on the rifle released with 3 pounds of pressure each and every time, with no creep or overtravel. The High Tech ADL stock is simply efficient. It weighs a light 28 ounces with a.75-inch-thick Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad. The stock s comb is about as high and 32 Rifle 301

10 The rifle s bolt head has a recessed face, plunger ejector, sliding blade extractor and two nonrotating lugs that act as gas shields. The fluted bolt has a straight handle with a tapered knob that fits the palm of the hand. The rear of the firing pin assembly protrudes to indicate when the rifle is cocked. straight as possible, and the inch long forearm is pear-shaped in cross section and fits well in the palm of the hand. The stock is made with injection-molded urethane foam covered with up to seven layers of fiberglass and epoxy composite. It is nearly stiff enough to use as a pry bar. The Bergara custom shop fits aluminum pillars around the frontand rear-action screws and beds the stock with Marine Tex epoxy to cradle the receiver. Inletting between the barrel and stock s barrel channel is tight. A slight rise in the bottom of the barrel channel, about 2.5 inches back of the forearm tip, places some upward pressure on the barrel. Olive green paint with black speckles finishes the stock and agreeably matches the black matte CERAKOTE finish on the receiver and barrel. A Nikon Monarch x 42mm scope in steel rings on two-piece steel bases was mounted on the November-December

11 Bergara Custom Rifles Cast bullets loaded with Unique powder in 7mm-08 cases provided this group at 100 yards. A bolt release lever at the left rear of the receiver pivots a finger out of the raceway to allow removing the bolt. rifle. The whole outfit weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Bergara states All custom rifles are capable of producing sub.5 MOA or less [groups] at 100 yards. That s a sizable accuracy guarantee. Fulfilling it requires finding factory or handloaded ammunition that shoots that well, agrees with the rifle, and a shooter capable of doing his part. I shot five factory loads and four different 7mm-08 handloads through the rifle supported on a bench. The accompanying results table lists the average size of two, three-shot groups fired at 100 yards. Of the factory loads, Winchester Supreme 140-grain Ballistic Silvertip ammunition came the closest to the Bergara guarantee with three-shot groups of.51 and.66 inch for an average of.58 inch. When sighting in the Nikon scope, my first three-shot group measured 1.47 inches shooting Berger 140-grain VLD Hunting bullets loaded with 38.0 grains of Accurate The next group measured.68 inch shooting the same load. Two groups shot for record measured.40 and.89 inch, 7mm-08 Remington Handloads overall 3-shot loaded 100-yard bullet powder charge length velocity group (grains) (grains) (inches) (fps) (inches) 140 Swift A-Frame W , Berger VLD Hunting** A , , RCBS 7mm-145-SILH Unique , Factory loads 144 Browning BXR (2,800*) 2, Hornady Precision Hunter ELD-X (2,770*) 2, Remington Express Core-Lokt PSP (2,860*) 2, Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertip (2,770*) 2, Winchester Super X Power-Point (2,800*) 2, * stated velocity ** Peterson case 200-yard group Notes: A custom Bergara 7mm-08 Remington with a 24-inch barrel and a Nikon Monarch x 42mm scope was used to test all loads. Remington cases and Winchester Large Rifle primers were used except where noted. Groups were the average of two, three-shot groups. Velocities were recorded 10 feet in front of the muzzle. Temperatures ranged from 16 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. For more data on this cartridge please visit LoadData.com. Be Alert Publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in published load data. Listed loads are only valid in the test firearms used. Reduce initial powder charge by 10 percent and work up while watching for pressure signs. for an average of.64 inch that s as steady as I can hold. My standard practice load for the 7mm-08 consists of bullets cast from an RCBS 7mm-145-SILH mould loaded with 13.0 grains of Unique. The Bergara rifle shot the cast bullets in a 1.00-inch group followed by a second 1.41-inch group. A winter wind blew that morning, and I was more than pleased. A look at the Bergara s bore with a Lyman Borecam borescope showed some shallow tool marks perpendicular to the bore here and there. Mostly, though, the surface of the lands and grooves was smooth. Thin streaks of copper fouling covered a good portion of the bore after firing about 80 cartridges. After firing 35 rounds pretty much one after the other, I Bergara usually installs Timney triggers on its custom rifles Rifle 301

12 A.75-inch-thick Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad soaks up what little recoil the 7mm-08 generates. shot three Berger 140-grain bullets that formed a 1.02-inch group at 100 yards. On another cold but calm day, the Bergara rifle was shot at 200 yards with Berger bullets loaded over 41.5 grains of Accurate The first three bullets formed a.73-inch group, and a second measured 1.19 inches. The.96-inch average meets Bergara s.5-moa guarantee. I also shot that Berger bullet load at 200 yards from the prone position with a Harris bipod clamped on the rifle s front sling swivel stud. The 7mm-08 produces mild recoil, and there was even less with the bipod s legs gripping the carpet on the shooting platform. Several groups averaged about 2 inches. The stock comb needs to be higher for shooting prone, but I just moved the recoil pad up on my shoulder until the comb was tight against my cheek. That s possible with the mild 7mm-08, but it s not such a good idea with rifles that kick hard. My trigger-hand fingers were cold from the winter wind, and I held them close to the hot barrel to warm them. While my fingers thawed, I eyed the 20-some cartridges doing no good just sitting there in the box. Four at a time, I loaded the cartridges in the magazine and shot them at a steel plate The test rifle and Berger 140-grain VLD Hunting bullets loaded over Accurate 4064 provided this 200-yard group. at 300 yards. A fleeting gray cloud surrounded the plate and a steel clang sounded when one bullet after another hit the plate. After firing the last bullet, I had certainly warmed up to the Bergara rifle (bergarausa.com). R November-December