Some help with a new Elk rifle please

[LoneTraveler]

Cleaning the bore, Removing Carbon ring, Check bedding, Check Scope and Mounts are all good suggestions. You say you have had the Browning for 21 years. My suggestion would be Check The Firing Pin Spring and Replace it. Brownell's lists a new spring for about 5 bucks, Plus Postage. Cheap fix. Even if you put it up for sale. Accurate rifles are worth more.

I have brought several rifles back to their youth and prime, By replacing the firing pin spring. If the firing pin does fire the primer exactly the same every shot, accuracy will suffer. Good Luck

I miss wrote the last sentence. It should have read
If the firing pin does nott fire the primer exactly the same every shot, accuracy will suffer. Good Luck.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I built a custom off of my old A-Bolt II that the barrel went south on... Granted, I used a new factory take-off 26" Rem 700 barrel, that we milled-down the shank and tennon and threaded it for metric threads (Browning receivers use Metric threads) set the headspacing to +/- .0002", and hand-lapped, and custom target crowned it. Barrel shoots 1/2 to 5/8" 3-shot groups with minimum load development and 168 Berger VLD's. Paid less than $100 shipped for the brand new barrel on eBay, and then paid the smith to do the work. So, I revived a burnt-out Browning and made it a 1/2-MOA gun for less than $500.

If interested, I can post some pictures of it. It's the world's first and only, and I call it "The Brownington".

Sorry, meant .002" headspace... Just saw the extra zero and it won't let me edit the original post.

 

[Majja13]

Thanks for all of the good info guys. I think for the time I am going to give it a through cleaning, new firing pin spring and put some more rounds down range and see what I can really get it to do.

PS I do like the Savages. I have been wanting a 10 FCP for years ..

 

[Timber338]

Thanks for all of the good info guys. I think for the time I am going to give it a through cleaning, new firing pin spring and put some more rounds down range and see what I can really get it to do.

PS I do like the Savages. I have been wanting a 10 FCP for years ..

Just a quick word of caution... Bullets are expensive and you can spend a lot of money in ammo trying to chase your tail figuring out how to make a 1.5 -2 moa rifle shoot better. I'm with Barrelnut in finding a factory rifle that comes with a brake installed. Savage makes some very nice rifles at a great price. Several friends of mine have Savage weather warriors and I've watched them kill a lot of elk.

 

[otis332]

I hear lots of good things about Tikka. I would look at the 300 wsm or 270 wsm. Those can be had for a pretty good price.

 

[RevJim]

I live up ( or down?) the road from you Pard. I use a gunsmith in Taylorsville...801 964 6846 Ray Frederico Nightowls gunsmithing. He does great work at a fair price. He can put on a good muzzlebrake for you for around $150. Having a young family is tough on a man's 'Hunting Budget", ha. You could put that rifle in a synthetic to save some weight, and if you only shoot out to 200yds you could cut a few inches off that barrel too. If I did that, I'd load that 300wm down to 30-06 level. Another option to a muzzle brake is to have it Ported ( ala Mag Na Port) Ray can get that done for you pretty reasonable too. Stopping that muzzle climb will be difficult to do on any rifle bigger than a braked 270 win. I don't think that was your problem, sounds like your rifles total weight and fit made the shot difficult. I like fast handling rifles for my own elk hunting, which is just like yours. I use a 35 Whelen AI, braked, with a 1.5x5 scope. Very light, hits like a 338Winmag, joy to carry. I also use a Mod 70 Featherweight Classic in 30-06 with a 2.5x8. (My hunting buddy has used a Browning BLR in .308 for 40yrs!) heck, I just described any good lightweight rifle in 308 to 30-06! ha. Myself, when I lose faith in a rifle, its gone! Life is too short to agonize. Look around in the Classifieds, someone might trade you a decent 308, 270, 30-06 for your magnum straight up! Good luck to you Pard.