Hunting Rifles for Ken

(A friend asked my opinion on hunting rifles.  He was interested in a .30-06 for deer hunting.  I told him it was an excellent choice and, if you couldn’t get it done with an ’06, you probably couldn’t get it done.) 

Here are my primary hunting rifles.  I also have .22s for small game, a .416 for really big game, and shotguns for birds and whatnot. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRhUtXF09Ls

If I were to reduce to only one of my rifles, I’d go with the .300 mag.  It has iron sights in case my scope goes tango uniform in the middle of a hunt.  It also has better long range capacity than either of the carbines.  And, it can throw heavier bullets than the .308.  I like the repeater because it allows for quicker follow up shots than the single shot.    

The .308 is my primary because it’s light and handy.  The action on a .308 is an inch shorter and a pound lighter than a .30-06.  Out of the 20 inch barrel, the .308 throws the lighter bullets almost as fast as a .30.06 would out of a similar carbine.  However, the ’06 will throw much heavier bullets out of a longer barrel much faster than a .308 would. 

I don’t have iron sights on my .308 but it’s not a handicap as I have backup rifles in case the scope goes out.  Likewise, if I need to do some longer range shooting or go after heavier game (although the .308 will kill anything on the planet), I can go to one of my other rifles. 

As far as calibers go for medium to large game, I like a minimum of 6.5 millimeter and 140 grains.  As caliber goes up, I tend toward the heavier bullets so I get good ballistic coefficient and sectional density.  In a .30 caliber, I like 165 to 200 grain bullets.  For longer range shooting I like 2700 to 3000 feet per second muzzle velocity.  That speed combined with a  good ballistic coefficient will get you a terminal velocity in excess of 1800 FPS past 300 yards.  That terminal velocity insures good bullet expansion. 

If I were to start over with a single rifle, I’d get a bolt action repeater with a 24 to 26 inch barrel and iron sights.  I’d probably go with a .270 and use a good premium bullet like the Barnes X.  The .270 shoots as flat as my .300 but doesn’t kick as badly.  A 150 grain X bullet out of a .270 will shoot through both shoulders of an elk.  I’d mount a really good 2-8X or 3-9X variable scope on it for both close and long range capability. 

Years ago there were some Ruger 77 Express models in .270 on closeout.  I still kick myself for not picking one up but I didn’t need another rifle at the time.      

Mari's Crosman Benjamin 397

A friend of mine wanted to learn to shoot.  One of the best tools for learning marksmanship is the air rifle.  Air rifles are inexpensive to buy and shoot and require minimum space to use.  They are quiet and have little to no recoil so won’t mask any shooting errors.  Mari tried my Daisy multi-pump and liked it.  I don’t care for the quality of the current Daisy rifles plus I wanted to cut the stock to fit her and that’s difficult with a hollow plastic stock.  I also prefer a brass barrel on a multi-pump; the current Daisys use steel.    

I decided on a Crosman Benjamin 397 .177 caliber.  Besides being virtually recoilless and easier on scopes, the 397 is less expensive than the better break-barrel spring guns.  The multi-pump 397 also offers a choice of velocities.  Most of the current break-barrel rifles are high-velocity.  The 397 has been getting good reviews online and has a wood stock and brass barrel.   

Mari liked the aperture sight on my .22 rifle so I ordered a Williams 5D-SH receiver sight.  I also ordered a hard rifle case, some pellets, and some airgun oil.    

When the rifle arrived we took it out to check the zero and test fire.  If there were any problems, I wanted to be able to return it under warranty before I did any customizing.  The rifle functioned well and the factory rear leaf sight was pretty much dead on. 

The 397 is already drilled and tapped for the Williams sight.  On some older models the front sight is too short for the Williams and doesn’t allow sufficient elevation adjustment.  A taller front sight or modification to the rear sight may be required. 

I degreased the mounting holes.  Since the receiver is brass, and I didn’t want to over-tighten the mounting screws, I made sure to use a bit of Loctite.  I looked through the aperture and it aligned fairly well with the previously zeroed leaf sight so I was reasonably certain I could get a good zero without any modification to front blade or rear aperture. 

Once I was sure the Williams sight was going to be fairly close to zero without any machine work or modifications, I removed the leaf rear sight.  I removed the two windage adjustment screws.  I then put a punch through the windage adjustment screw hole at the front of the sight.  I put the muzzle of the rifle on a protected solid surface.  By pressing forward on one side of the punch and tapping toward the muzzle on the other with a light brass hammer, I was able to drift the sight clear of the two triangular base grips.  With the sight removed, the base grips fell right out. 

The trigger was reasonably consistent out of the box.  Pull weight wasn’t bad so I left that alone for the moment.  I opened up the trigger mechanism and didn’t see anything too grotesque.  I made sure there weren’t any machining chips or chunks or overly rough surfaces.  I hit all the contact points with some moly grease and left it at that.  If, after some break in, the trigger needs some refinement, I can go back in and polish or re-contour contact points or lighten springs. 

The factory stock was a bit long so I cut it off and fitted the original buttplate. 

A good way to get an approximate length of pull is to bend your shooting arm 90 degrees at the elbow.  Now, take a yardstick and put it in the crook of the elbow.  Grasp the yardstick with the shooting hand as if it were the wrist of a rifle stock.  Bend the trigger finger as if pressing a trigger and measure the distance from the inside of the trigger finger to the inside of the crook of the elbow.  This measurement should be pretty close to the maximum comfortable length of pull (LOP) for you.  It may be desirable to cut the stock even shorter to allow for heavy clothing or just to make the rifle feel a bit handier. 

I measured the current LOP on the rifle and Mari’s LOP and calculated the difference.  Despite the fact that you don’t want to exceed the maximum LOP for the shooter, it’s generally a good idea to initially cut the stock just a tiny bit longer as you can always remove material.  Plus, if you get a rough cut, you can sand back to the final dimensions. 

I removed the plastic buttplate.  Some manufacturers glue the buttplate in place and it may be difficult, if not impossible, to salvage it.  It’s a good idea, with a glued on buttplate, to have a spare in hand in case the original is damaged while removing it.  Fortunately, Crosman did not glue on this buttplate. 

I wrapped the buttstock with masking tape around the point where I was going to make the cut.  The tape does several things.  I can mark my cut line on the tape without marking the stock.  The tape helps prevent tear-out and chipping when I make my cut.  With the tape in place, I can grind the buttpad to near final dimensions when it’s installed with minimum risk for damaging the stock.  Note that much of this is irrelevant with an unfinished stock as you can grind buttpad and stock together and then finish the stock. 

I carefully measured and marked several points around the tape from the butt to the intended cut point.  I then took a flexible straight edge and connected the dots so I had a continuous cut line around the stock. 

With my old shop, I had a jig for my table saw that would allow me to mount the buttstock.  I would set the stock against the fence, set the cut angle on the butt (usually the same as the current angle), and then set the fence for the depth of cut.  Starting at the toe of the stock, as that’s the most likely to tear out or chip, I’d make one pass and hope for a clean cut.  As I no longer have a table saw, I used a Japanese pull saw with fine teeth to make the cut.  I worked very slowly and carefully to maintain my angle and make a straight cut.  You can start your cut with a needle file to prevent any false starts or skips with the saw.    

I got a good clean cut and it only took a bit of sanding to get the butt flat.  I used a straight edge at several points and angles across the butt to make sure it was flat.  Again, this was much easier to do with a bench sander but careful work with a sanding block, while slower, will do the trick.  If you use a bench sander, again, sand from the toe of the stock to the heel as the toe is the most likely to break away.  By sanding back to the final length, you can remove many of the small chips you may get while sawing. 

When you cut a stock, the original buttpad often ends up too small for the butt.  You can fit the butt to the pad or get a new, oversized pad.  If the butt is finished and you don’t want to refinish the whole stock, a new pad is the way to go. 

Again, in my old shop I had a buttpad fitting jig.  I would mount the pad to the stock and scribe around the stock.  Then, I’d mount the pad to the jig and set the angle against the stock.  Finally, I’d grind the pad back to the scribe line on the bench sander.  It was quick and easy with no chance of damaging the finish on the stock.  Since I’m no longer in my old shop, I have to fit the pad while it’s mounted on the stock.  Slow and careful are the watchwords of the day. 

I put the pad against the cut stock.  The original pad was big enough to use.  I picked a drill bit that was about the same size as the shaft on the buttpad screws.  I didn’t cut off enough of the stock to eliminate the existing screw holes.  The existing holes were close enough to the correct position for the pad so I just deepened them a bit rather than drill new holes.  If I had needed to remove a lot of material, I would have scribed the pad and done the majority of the fitting off the stock.  As it is, I only had to remove a little material in a few places. 

With the masking tape still in place, I used a Dremel with a sanding drum to match the stock contour and remove the unwanted material.  By carefully working back to the tape, I was able to get quite close without damaging the finish on the stock.  I then removed the tape and remounted the pad. 

The toe on the pad requires a little more fitting which isn’t a problem.  The heel on the stock needs a tiny bit of fitting and that is a problem.  I can either order and fit another buttpad or grind a tiny bit off the stock.  If I grind the stock, I’ll have to try to match the original finish.  Either way, the rifle is currently functional as it stands. 

I removed the aperture insert on the rear sight to give a ghostring effect.  Mari used a similar sight on my .22 to good effect.  I was able to get a three round cloverleaf at about 10 meters with the ghostring.  Mari was getting good groups and hitting targets out to about 20 meters with three pumps from the offhand position.  Later, she had me put the aperture insert back in.  We had to bring the rear sight up a couple of lines for a new zero.  Mari hasn’t needed any windage adjustment. 

So far, the rifle has proven accurate, easy to use, and fun.  It’s serving its purpose as a training piece admirably.