Recent content by Top Cat

My hunch would be that if you call McMillan they would inlet one for you...it's hard to believe that barrel is shot out. TC

Sure... why not? Any velocity loss will be small, and meaningless for hunting purposes, and the rifle will be lighter. I wouldn't worry about a few fps velocity difference one way or another. TC

The choice of caliber would largely depend on what you are trying to accomplish here, but in general my advice would be that it isn't a great idea to pick from these less popular calibers that have limited bullet selection choices. Other than the fact that those bores don't do anything that...

I'd try polishing the throat and first few inches of barrel with JB and see if smoothing that area out tightens the groups. If so, that may have to be a part of the ritual until the tube finally dies. With a tight patch you can feel if it's rough and gets smoother as you work on it. TC

For 3-400 yds I would just buy an over-the-counter rifle that you like, with the features you want and use it as it is. For example, a Tikka comes with a drop mag and would be a good package for what you want. TC

Look at the action and the bolt. If they show wear, you might consider have a gunsmith look at it, preferably one who has a scope, but unless you know the history of the rifle, I think a 257 Wby might tend to get sold when the barrel is shot out, or close to it, because of short barrel life in...

Under these conditions, I think 900 rds is good barrel life. I'd toss the tube...you got your money's worth. 270 AM is a hi-performance round...if it only lasts 600 rds it's well worth it. Without actually scoping the barrel, any opinion is just conjecture...so keeping that thought in mind...

I'd skip right over all those and look at a 375 or 416 Ruger Alaskan...right off the shelf it's a great rifle...simple and inexpensive. And although these cartridges are orphans, they would surely fit the bill as well for this purpose if a 338 Win is not the first and best choice. 338 RCM or...

Different ballistic programs use different mathematical equations to predict the bullet's performance in flight, and even ballistic computers that use the same basic math will likely have been "tweaked" by the software programmer either to improve it, or to make the necessary alterations to...

A new rifle is not a substitute for experience... it is common for inexperienced shooters to look to their equipment when there is a failure in the field, when quite often the rifles are more capable than the shooter. The 270 is an excellent round. A 270 with any Leupold scope is a fine Elk rig...

All this concern over 150 FPS? 7 WSM is very cool. 7RM is still a player as well. 7 Wby is a step up, but I doubt there is a real world 150 fps between any of them. All things considered, you're going to end up with a 7mm that will do what a 7mm will do. Barrel twist and bullet choice will...

I don't see any of this as a big deal. The guy's wife asked you to take possession of their guns residing in their communal house for safe keeping because of your wife's potential ownership interest and history in the case. The wife has the right to do that, and now, technically speaking...

Just to complicate things a little... In the real world, you will likely not actually end up with a total of 48 MOA elevation available. That's because it's normal to use up some elevation when sighting the rifle in. This can vary from rifle to rifle, but sighting in can easily use up 10 MOA...

Savage doesn't have any advantage in theoretical accuracy over the theoretical accuracy Tikka already comes with at no extra charge...so try shooting your rifle at longer range and see how it does. TC

It shouldn't matter. A more important factor is the distance from the muzzle, and shielding the cables from muzzle blast. To insure the most consistent readings, I always use a minimum of 15 feet, but with some rifles a little more distance wouldn't hurt. TC