Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Tough, bullet proof rifle ideas

I hunt in a rough place. It's a true desert, 3.5 inches of rain a year. The ground is all rock. The rock is all loose. You take a step, and half way through it, down you go. Very tough on rifles. Broken scope reticules, scope mounts that let go. Broken stocks. Home of the Desert Bighorn, and the Burro Deer (O.H. eremicus !). Here's what I've done. Replaced stock with ADL McMillian unit w/ graphite added. Replaced factory SS trigger guard and floorplate with steel McMillian ADL unit. Saved six ounces of weight in doing so. Went from Redfield style scope mounts to dual dovetail units. Use Leopold 4X already. Any other ideas ? Would appreciate all comments. E

I forgot to describe the rifle. It's a Win M70 Featherweight, in .308. The scope is a 4X Leopold. E

Now if it just had a gorgeous wood stock you would be all set!<P>Sounds like a tough combination to beat from the practical standpoint, in particular the swap to the ADL configuration makes exquisite sense to me.<BR>art<P>------------------<BR>Life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun.

Hi E,<P>You are the first person I have ever heard mention that burro desert mule deer, since<BR>I read an article in a publication from the Arizona Game and Fish at least 10 years ago.<BR>In Az. we have the "burra", crooki, and rocky mt. mule deer. Isn't it interesting? Better not let the antis know this they might make a variety an endangered species/<P>Regarding the extra protection:<P> How about a deeply recessed crown incase you wack the end of the barrel. I don't know if it exists that large, but how about some shrink tubing over the barrel and/ or scope?<BR>This would look bad, but you could wrap the entire rifle with some camo tape. Finally learn how fall so you get hurt but not that scope!! ;-)<P> I have hiked near dateland and know the type of country you talk about. It is rough!<P>see ya....Ross

I had my two custom rifles done up with deep, recessed muzzle crowns. I'm going to wait until I damage the one on the Winchester before I have it done. You have some Burro Deer in Az. They live in the Ironwood Desert. Yuma, Wickenburg, etc. along the lower Colorado River region. They are larger than O.H. Crooki. Thanks for the ideas everyone. E

Eremicus, sounds to me like you have a pretty bullet proof rifle as is. Very similar to my set up except I still have a 3x9 Leupold on my rifle. I know it's more prone to hazard, but I'll take my chances. Here's my set up. Model 700 ADL action (converted from a BDL) McMillan KS Mountain Rifle stock, steel trigger guard, Burris Signature dove-tail rings, Leupold dovetail mounts, Butler Creek scope covers, Uncle Mikes padded benrest style sling. I like that sling for padding the rifle while shooting of rocks or logs. The only thing I wish were different is, I wish it were a stainless steel barreled action as we get a little bit more than 3" of rain a year.

It seems the first thing to go on just about any rifle is the scope and even the strongest scope is weaker than 99% of the rest of the rifle, so that's where I'd start first.<P>While dual dovetail mounts are very rigid, the detachable mounts get my vote since it allows a person to carry a backup scope pre-sighted in. Not all detachable mounts are created equal and it requires that the repeatability be checked on each individual rifle with both scopes, but it seems to me the only way to insure a rifle will hit where it's aimed after taking a fall. After shooting Leupold QR rings they get my vote since they return the scope to center very well. Talley mounts are more classy, but they didn't return to zero nearly as consistantly.<P>cheers!<BR>BH

I hunted almost exclusivly with a 722 rem in 308 for over 30 years.Have you tried 130 gr hp speers loaded to 3000 fps? I killed a whitetail in the rough country in s.w.TEXAS a loooong way off with that load.<P>------------------<BR>Boone and Crockett was rednecks

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to post their thoughts. No, Gene, I haven't tried the 130 gr. Speer HP. The Burro Deer have a bad habit of putting cover between us. I find that I often have to shoot through said cover. I've noticed that premium bullets hold together, and penetrate reasonable well for this work. I'm going to post some thoughts on this. Probably with a title like "Thoughts on shooting through cover", or something. E

'Dunno how this happened...<BR>Eremicus, I have seen you on Shooters but didn't know you were from Placerville. I lived nearby in Auburn for a few years but now live in Fairfield. 'Hot up there the last few days?<P><BR><p>[This message has been edited by subminit will (edited May 22, 2001).]

Hi subminit will. The weather has been super. Much drier up here than where you are. And no smog, like the bay area. If your headed up this way, e-mail me before hand, and I'll have you over for coffee. E

Eremicus, I would agree with the detatchable scope idea and I would add a set of iron sights, maybe a nice peep. I won't be without them agian, when scopes fail it is always at the worst time.

I agree with a good detachable set of rings or bases. In a way, scopes on Ruger big game rifles can be removed and reinstalled without any problems, but I would not mind a true detachable set of rings or bases.<P>The rifle I use is a stainless Ruger M77 MK-II (CRF), with a Leupold Vary-X III, 2.5-8x, but I don't use "quick-disconnect" type of bases. The good ones are too expensive, so I rely on the Ruger "came with the rifle" ones. I have never had to remove the scope because of damage or any other problems, except one time when I dented it a little and had to send it to Leupold for testing. The old "boat paddle" stock keeps on going like the Energizer Bunny, nicks, scratches and all.<P>If I had to replace this stock, instead of spending lots of money I would buy a Hogue Rubber-Overmolded stock with aluminum pillars. This stock only costs $99.00. There is another Hogue with a full-length aluminum bed, but I don't see the need to go that far with a "work horse" rifle like mine.<P>I have fired at least 600 rounds with my rifle, and so far it is accurate enough to get me a moose each year, some with one shot as far as 200 yards. The scope has taken whatever recoil is left from the KDF muzzle brake, and it has not failed me once.