The last rifle

[std7mag]

skipglo for the love of God, please don't repeat this outloud... Bwahahahaha!!!

Yeah...
I may have been in the same spot a time or three.

I really need to get a cabinet to store my guns.
My wife may not know which gun is which, but dang it she can count!!!

 

[M77Fan]

I can't help but wonder, why???

Her semi custom 7mm-08 has served her faithfully for 28 years.

Why change something that works for her?
Why change cartridge?

I've shot the 7mm-08 with 140gr Berger VLD at 1,000 yards. And i'd wager it will reach the 1,650 yards you mentioned.

My advice.
Give her, her 7mm-08 back.

^^
Wise man.

OP, it sounds like you had fun building a new rifle to all your wants (but not necessarily hers).

Not trying to start a fight, but while It is a nice gesture to want to improve your wife's rifle collection, is she just trying to please you by going along with this?

That weight sounds a bit problematic unless she is gaining strength in her own advancing age. It will be about 9 pounds with final accessories and a full magazine. You didn't say what hunting conditions or species it would be used under, but that does not sound like a quick response rig and its operation seems to rely on sticks or bags.

The one thing is, that this does not sound like your wife's rifle. Is she the one happily practicing for "The gun is being broken in with 147 ELD-M's, and a well-practiced routine until it achieves speed and accuracy", or it that you happily trying the rifle out? Is she "thrilled" with that new rifle now, or is she missing the old familiar 7-08?
Not trying to be a wet blanket on your fun, but I know that if it weren't my idea, I would probably not be warming up to what was built versus my familiarity and comfort and success with my old standby. But I am an old stick in the mud, and have developed my own strong preferences over the last 55 years of handling hunting rifles. Just a perspective.

I didn't send this yesterday, but now I am.

skipglo for the love of God, please don't repeat this outloud... Bwahahahaha!!!

^^^To my point. Don't act hurt if she prefers her trusty old 7-08 "after all that effort".

 

[Syncerus1]

M77Fan, no issues here. She has shot the gun sparingly, as I have. The loss of the MDT Send it has stopped the break in until new one received. Less than 20 rounds thru it now. The gun is the platform, and realistically I can swap out rings and scoe to a 3.5-18 Z5 and save a pound, but limit dialability to 725 - 750 yards, same 4W-i reticle.
She has reasonable opportunities at elk every year, WT ditto, antelope e/o year or so, and a very good chance at desert Bighorn on the horizon. She is 11 years younger and quite fit. No problems on sheep mountain for 25 days hunting thru Dec. 30 this past year. Goal was to have rifle less than 8 pounds all in. Your comment "that does not sound like a quick response rig and its operation seems to rely on sticks or bags" is confusing. A large part of my guiding life has been to train clients to use sticks for a 3-5 second shot window up to 300 yards (ability required) and pack and bags for everything over that if possible. She is an adequate shot and generally always under 375 yards with 7mm-08. The 6.5 PRC is generally an inside 700 yard chip shot conditions dependent. That very ability in this construct vs. the 7mm-08 is why I put this together. She has several B&C animals we have taken together, and a truckload of very high quality game from Africa where we have worked. Above comments for clarity, non defensive in any manner. Appreciate your words and experience, but am trying to understand the "bags and sticks", what method of rest do you employ while hunting?

 

[dug]

I use backpack for sitting or prong field hunting ,and rear bag .
If vegetation is to high and im on tri sticks i also use a mono stick for the rear butt stock ,using the angle that runs along the bottom of butt for adjustment up and down to stay on target.
Trigger stick works well for this also but they are bulkier to carry.
This is more stable than sticks alone but it decreases my effective range .

 

[Syncerus1]

Dug, I mimic your set up except I try to use my pack (NA only) for a rear stock/arm support wherever it can work. I've found it to be quicker and firmer than other methods. Not a fan of trigger stick - too heavy...
It's always about the hold... thanks!

 

[Idaho Lefty]

Here's a Little "Tip" my ole' Dad, taught Me, about Gun Buying, when a boy, in the 1950- 1960's ,..
Always go Shooting with, 3 Gun cases ( 2 with, Guns ! ) One EMPTY,.. just in case, you feel like stopping by,.. a Gun Shop !
Trick IS, NOT to let, the Empty One, "Flop around" much to, NOT raise,.. "Suspicions" !
My Mom, never caught On,.. to THIS !!
But, She DIDN'T "Lack" for, anything much, either !!
The 1950's and 1960's WERE,.. good, Times !
We were kinda Poor but, didn't ,.."know",. it !

 

[Syncerus1]

Idaho Lefty, now that's one I have never heard! Sound advice, even though today's gun prices might take a bag or three more money to seal the deal! Thanks for sharing...

 

[M77Fan]

Syncerus, oh to be 11 years younger! I guess it is because I am no longer "younger" that I thought that was a bit heavy of a rifle for an older lady to sling into action quickly, but I see your method of using sticks may not require that so much, especially if there is a partner to place sticks for the shooter. 3-5 seconds is pretty quick. My "boat anchor" Rugers seem to be getting heavier lately, especially after a shoulder replacement, and my favorite is about a nine pounder. So it was mostly because of the weight I made that comment. What I use is...I actually made myself a longer walking stick that I set up as a quick mono rest after I had the shoulder work done. I have been using a walking stick anyway, as an aid after the other joint replacements. I actually prefer trees or rocks as rests since I don't have to carry those. (For example, on my first sheep, after belly-slithering over 150 yards down the talus and tundra mountainside, I built a small rock cairn to shoot off from prone.) But so often I am caught not near a natural rest. I once took off my boots and piled them up as a prone rest on a short-grass pronghorn - use what you've got. I tend to carry my rifle in my hands all the time, both as a result of hunting in close cover, and due to the ever-present possibility of grizzlies where I hunt elk. So I tend to always have a quick response in mind. It is true that for longer ranges you do have more time, and the longer the range, indeed, you should take a little time to get the shot right. If she has a desert sheep hunt looming, I can see why you chose what you did; it will extend her effective range. I wish her the best of luck on that one. Sheep hunting isn't like anything else.

 

[JiggyIi]

The habits of age and life experience are challenging. I have been a .30 caliber guy for over 50 years. My first experience was with a .30-06 in the early '60's. At the age of 14, or thereabouts, I shouldered the rifle, a scoped Remington bolt action, and fired one round at a can some yards away. The sound, recoil, and visual effect of that experience left a lasting mark on my being, not to mention the scope cut over my right eye.
In the late '60's I bought a new Ruger 77 chambered in 6mm Rem., topped with a Tasco 3-9 scope. It was the most accurate rifle I had ever fired. Sub ½ MOA with Remington Core-Lokt 100 gr. green box ammo, and it still is. It took lots of coyotes, 2 pronghorn, and a few deer.
In the early '70's my uncle welcomed me into the .30 club. I took the training to heart and purchased my first .30, a pre '64 model 70 in .30-06., topped with a Leupold Vari-X III 3-9 duplex reticle. Using all the knowledge gained and applied with other .30's this became my primary rifle. It has accounted for more animals than I will quatify. I made a post on another Forum about half the number of big game taken and was severely mocked, North American hunters are NA biased and most have little real world hunting experience. I will not herein repeat that lesson. That same rifle was rechambered by RCBS in the mid '80's to its present form, .300 Win. Mag. It wears a Swarovski Z5 in 3.5-18x44 glass. It is lethal to silly ranges of plus 700 yards.
Fast forward to 2023. After 4 plus decades I drew a NV Desert Bighorn tag. Many friends of mine have a variety of "over the horizon" guns from the best out of the box makers to truly custom rifles. They are, in each incarnation I have fired, a true ballistic wonder, long range abilities still required. I took my ram on day 25 with one of these rifles. A Proof Research 6.5 PRC and a 147 gr. ELD-M bullet. 580 yards, prone. I was now focused on the PRC family, bolstered by the carrying of a borrowed 300 PRC for elk less than a month earlier.
Today's tech is sci-fi to this old experienced shooter, of constrained ability and financial means. My wife has the ability to enjoy some truly wonderful hunts in the coming years and so using that excuse, I undertook to buy/assemble a suitable rifle for her, to replace her semi -custom 7mm-08. It is the only rifle she has known for over 28 years, and she has taken nearly triple digits of game with it, shooting only 140 gr. Nosler partitions. She was not thrilled with the idea, but gave her tentative approval to proceed.
I did my due diligence, and waffled mightily between the 6.5 and 7 PRC. The 6.5 won out. I know, I know, the 7 PRC does everything better. The recoil and cost per round of the 6.5 PRC sealed the deal. Top end guns are financially out of reach at my age/income, but a variant of one could be assembled. I looked at Fierce, Gunwerks, Proof, and a handful of others. I chose the Proof Elevation. It is thin wristed, and a classically shaped rifle. 24" light Sendero barrel, Zermatt medium action with all the flexibility built in, 7.5:1 twist for the truly long-range Berger 156 EOL's, and to my hands and eyes, a quality product. It wears a Swaro X5i 5-25x56 glass, supported with Warne Mountain Tech low rings, a SRS 2 Ti Pro brake, and until a few weeks ago an MDT electronic vertical level, until a range guy snapped it off, replacement being looked for at a deal price. It weighs 8 lbs. 11 ounces. Not as light as I wanted, but the glass is worth the extra pound.
Please let ne know your thoughts and ideas on the parts, and what I did less than well. I'm familiar with the FFP vs. SFP issues glass issues, barrel length discussions, etc… we shoot off sticks when required from being African centric, and bags prone when possible courtesy of my uncle. The gun is being broken in with 147 ELD-M's, and a well-practiced routine until it achieves speed and accuracy. What are your thoughts on the 156 Bergers, and Hammers? Primarily a hunting gun with some range work out to a thousand yards. We have range capabilities to 1650 yards.
This is a really great Forum and fellow members, thanks all!

If'n it isn't broke, don't fix it️I would stick with the 7mm-08