I had bought a sporterized 96 Mauser with factory stepped barrel lopped off at 20" in 6.5x55. Was in a laminated thumbhole stock with Timney trigger, Leupold base and lowered bolt. Put a Leupold 3-9 compact on it and loaded it with 156grain Norma Alaska ammo. The barrel looked like a sewer pipe but would absolutely stack about anything you fed it. Never saw an elk on that first trip but took a nice mule deer buck. Two years later took the same rifle but this time wearing a long tube M8 4x Leupold, loaded with 160 grain Sierra semi-point over Reloader 22. Took a decent Mulie then my first elk. Luckiest shot of my life. My brother had bumped a group of elk and a bull was following about 6 cows at a full run on a hill side above me. I dropped down to a knealing position settled the horizontal line on the Bulls back and gave the trigger a squeeze. Bullet entered just behind near shoulder angled forward and through the lungs and top of the heart being caught by the hide on the off side. Like flipping a switch, went right down Later ranged the shot at 273 yards.
