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Hunting
The Basics, Starting Out
Rifle length, weight, forgiveness. What is an easy to shoot hunting setup?
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<blockquote data-quote="JakeC" data-source="post: 2574394" data-attributes="member: 115819"><p>Heavier gun isn't necessarily more accurate than a pencil barreled job, or it is in a roundabout way. It's both like and not like the bow. What the weight does (all other things equal) is equalize a small amount of the variables in recoil/return to battery, it matters a little bit less if your form is great like you say. A little. Many light rifles are very accurate. Stock quality has more to do with accuracy than gun weight. A heavy barrel can help with accuracy in another way, allowing for longer shot strings during practice and slightly easier load tuning.</p><p></p><p> Where the weight is matters. I have a heavy24" barrel and a pretty heavy scope for mountain hunting, 24 oz. It sucks to shoot offhand. Not the worst but I have considered replacing the almost weightless stock with something heavier just to balance it out. But ultimately I'm going to shoot off an aid given the ranges out here. Sticks or the pack. Besides, no matter how small my groups are the point of impact is going to move a LOT shooting standing vs rested. Proper sling use really helps with the weight distribution and the body torque, but standing long range shots are only a thing if you're Tom Selleck. I'm more accurate standing with a 30" mathews some days at 65 than I am with my rifle offhand, and I'm good. I'm youngish and strong but not fit and a 10-11 pound gun isn't as big a problem in the mountains as other things, even in the snow. I wish I'd saved longer and bought a carbon barrel, but a 24" sendero profile isn't going to be what breaks me and it makes the actual shooting more pleasant. </p><p></p><p>If you want a 26" barrel I'd go light in diameter, but that comes with drawbacks. That much weight way out there might be unpleasant in the woods. It;s like using a great big stabilizer and back bar. Maybe it makes the weapon awesome, but how are you going to get it to the elk? The extra length doesn't give you that much more speed and it CAN introduce more variables in load tuning and be more likely to "string" under different conditions. It's like arrow spine, adding length does a LOT more than make it longer, and you have to go way up in stiffness to make up for it or spend a lot of time tuning. What you gain in yards in most cartridges is purely philosophical, 1 to 2 percent velocity gain per inch. A 24" heavy barrel is hard enough the way the rifle wants to flip while carrying the sling over the shoulder. Not terrible, just annoying. Even if you find a great sniper's nest you have to hike to it. I handled a 24" medium sporter 25-06 in a bell and carlson stock last weekend. It was really, really nice. Maybe 9.5 pounds but balanced and stable while being fast.</p><p></p><p>I built a 7 saum because a short action is what I had and at the time 7mm bullets were the only thing left on shelves. I love having the weight range of the 7mm, and the recoil to horsepower/ballistics ratio of a 7mm is unbeatable, but if I was building now I'd build a 300 WSM and rely a little more on a brake. Nobody hates the PRC though. If you're okay with a standard action your options are endless.</p><p></p><p>Bultinkle is right that offhand stocks aren't prone stocks, but the lines of traditionally shaped stocks make it carry well in the hand and in the brush. It's like carrying a compound vs a stickbow. I like a fair amount of beavertail in the front to sit in a bag rest though. Other guys don't mind carrying chunkier stuff, I'm still getting used to having a scope to lug around. But don't underestimate how much you want that stock to suit you and how much it has to do with accuracy. </p><p></p><p></p><p>That got long, hope it's helpful though.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JakeC, post: 2574394, member: 115819"] Heavier gun isn't necessarily more accurate than a pencil barreled job, or it is in a roundabout way. It's both like and not like the bow. What the weight does (all other things equal) is equalize a small amount of the variables in recoil/return to battery, it matters a little bit less if your form is great like you say. A little. Many light rifles are very accurate. Stock quality has more to do with accuracy than gun weight. A heavy barrel can help with accuracy in another way, allowing for longer shot strings during practice and slightly easier load tuning. Where the weight is matters. I have a heavy24" barrel and a pretty heavy scope for mountain hunting, 24 oz. It sucks to shoot offhand. Not the worst but I have considered replacing the almost weightless stock with something heavier just to balance it out. But ultimately I'm going to shoot off an aid given the ranges out here. Sticks or the pack. Besides, no matter how small my groups are the point of impact is going to move a LOT shooting standing vs rested. Proper sling use really helps with the weight distribution and the body torque, but standing long range shots are only a thing if you're Tom Selleck. I'm more accurate standing with a 30" mathews some days at 65 than I am with my rifle offhand, and I'm good. I'm youngish and strong but not fit and a 10-11 pound gun isn't as big a problem in the mountains as other things, even in the snow. I wish I'd saved longer and bought a carbon barrel, but a 24" sendero profile isn't going to be what breaks me and it makes the actual shooting more pleasant. If you want a 26" barrel I'd go light in diameter, but that comes with drawbacks. That much weight way out there might be unpleasant in the woods. It;s like using a great big stabilizer and back bar. Maybe it makes the weapon awesome, but how are you going to get it to the elk? The extra length doesn't give you that much more speed and it CAN introduce more variables in load tuning and be more likely to "string" under different conditions. It's like arrow spine, adding length does a LOT more than make it longer, and you have to go way up in stiffness to make up for it or spend a lot of time tuning. What you gain in yards in most cartridges is purely philosophical, 1 to 2 percent velocity gain per inch. A 24" heavy barrel is hard enough the way the rifle wants to flip while carrying the sling over the shoulder. Not terrible, just annoying. Even if you find a great sniper's nest you have to hike to it. I handled a 24" medium sporter 25-06 in a bell and carlson stock last weekend. It was really, really nice. Maybe 9.5 pounds but balanced and stable while being fast. I built a 7 saum because a short action is what I had and at the time 7mm bullets were the only thing left on shelves. I love having the weight range of the 7mm, and the recoil to horsepower/ballistics ratio of a 7mm is unbeatable, but if I was building now I'd build a 300 WSM and rely a little more on a brake. Nobody hates the PRC though. If you're okay with a standard action your options are endless. Bultinkle is right that offhand stocks aren't prone stocks, but the lines of traditionally shaped stocks make it carry well in the hand and in the brush. It's like carrying a compound vs a stickbow. I like a fair amount of beavertail in the front to sit in a bag rest though. Other guys don't mind carrying chunkier stuff, I'm still getting used to having a scope to lug around. But don't underestimate how much you want that stock to suit you and how much it has to do with accuracy. That got long, hope it's helpful though. [/QUOTE]
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The Basics, Starting Out
Rifle length, weight, forgiveness. What is an easy to shoot hunting setup?
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