Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles My brother has decided to buy a new rifle

So many good rifles out there. I don’t like the disposable Ruger American or entry savages. They are just junk IMO…. Once again, the easy button is a tikka.
Simply the best bang for the buck.
I have 6.5cm, 308 , 270 and 06.
For a newb a 6.5 is really nice and simple.
But 06 is my main squeeze, especially with elk as my main big game.
To be honest. 270 with 140s isn’t that far behind 7mm mag with 140s. Unless you’re shooting past 600+ yards the extra cost and recoil isn’t worth it.

What the *** happened to the Delta I used to know?!

Seriously, gents. Half the point of this forum is to enable each other to get more rifles. OF COURSE his brother should buy a new rifle AND keep the 721.

Yeesh.

Fug that, op find out what he wants for the wore out 721 and send me a pm. I'm in the market..mb

Im also with clockwork. Get a new rifle AND a new scope. Absolutely no sense in rendering a working rifle to not working.
I'll suggest a Tikka in 270!

Lots of good rifle out there. I'll throw in another one in the at or under $1K category in a wood stocked rifle, Sauer 100.

In calibers already mentioned but you said he isn't interested in that, but 308, 30-06, 8x57, or 7mm-08 if he'd want.

Agreed 👍

Well, I'm back from chatting with my brother. I took the time to make up a list of rifles at different price points that I could recommend for him to look at.

Turns out - screw that. He and his trophy hunting buddy went in together on a .300 PRC-with-a-can-hanging-off-end built by Best of the West. It will wear Huskemaw glass tuned for the 212 grain ELD-X factory ammo.

Now, I didn't ask what that set up will cost, and frankly, I don't wanna know. However, if it takes 2 to buy one, then it must cost a doozy.

Anyways, I brought the M721 back with me, including the spiffy new glass he just put on it. I plan to fuss with it over the Winter, figure out its problems, and see if I can work up a couple of loads that will perform out of the barrel.

I told him if I can't get it to perform by next Spring then it's time to send it on down the road...

So, if their new rifle ends up being an amazing shooter, which one of them actually owns it? (They can't fill out the 4473 as co-owners...) This has the potential to be a good rifle nut soap opera plot.

Good on you to take that 721 and try to figure out what's wrong. Probably just copper fouled very badly, would be my best guess. Probably needs a good glass bedding job too. Fix it up so it kicks your brothers new rifles azz and laugh all the way back home.

If I'm not mistaken, your brothers rifle is going to cost them about $8,000.00 with BOTW ammo custom tailored to that rifle. I know of a guy that bought one. He was not the brightest around, but paid the piper to get the rifle with the custom tailored ammo loaded for that rifle. Had the Huskemaw scope on top, that he had a problem figuring out how to dial. A funny story I have to tell about that guy: My coworkers and boss went with him on a bear hunt, and they set up some steel plates at 800 yards, since they knew shots may be far in the hells canyons. My coworker had just bought a Savage 12fv 6.5 creedmoor from me to practice longrange with. I had scribed the turret for different yardages. He just put the dial on 8 (for 800 yards), pulled the trigger and rang the steel plate. He put the rifle away and the guys said, "you are done?" He said, "yep, I hit the plate". The guy using the BOTW rifle missed the plate by a long shot and never did hit it. The savage 12fv was $349.99 on sale at Cabela's, but held its own.

Moral of the story: It doesn't take a $7,000+ rifle to make solid hits out to 1,000 yards. Sometimes the more expensive rifles may have issues anyway. My buddy found that out today at the 1,000 yard range with his Christensen Arms.

Anyway, it sounds like your brother had different intentions than you thought and his buddy talked him in to something that it sounds like is way above his level of shooting, when he would have probably been better off with a measly Tikka something. I'm also not understanding how 2 people can own 1 rifle?

That'd be like sharing wives with the most of us Loonies..

It's day 2 in the rifle cradle and the barrel is still dripping dissolved copper.

Hmmm... I think it's trying to tell me something...

While the barrel is doing its thing, I've cleaned all the gunk out of the bolt and cleaned up some surface rust here and there.

This is gonna take a while.

Keep us posted, if you don't mind. I like rifle projects, especially in the winter when things are slower. Good luck with it!!!

You could send that 721 out for a rebore. 35 whelen, 9.3x62, heck the new 338 Weatherby RPM might be fun.

I would have just rebarreled the 721 with another .30-06 tube. 🤷‍♂️

Douglas makes great barrels.

Agree!!

Well, after 2 full days of soaking and using up almost all my copper remover the barrel is finally clean enough. A bud is bringing over his bore scope this weekend and we'll have a look-see.

You don't have a range close by? I'd send some down to a target, and let the rifle tell you. A borescope is not the end all be all. With all the copper you mined, it may shoot just fine now. Shoot it and see how fast it fouls up and accuracy starts to degrade. Hell, I'm a member of a range in WA, and there are plenty of spots you can shoot at, in the NF if need be.

Model 70

I've never heard of anybody going in with someone to buy a rifle....Doesn't sound natural to me. I'd get on line and find a nice clean Sako Forester in 308 Winchester and call it good.

Model 7s are dandy’s as well