Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Dakota Arms M76 - Opinions

Redfish and Snook.

Looks vs. utility.

The barrel band lets the rifle ride much lower over the shoulder with sling. OK is thick stuff. If one likes to wrap up in a sling for a long shot, not so good.

Banded front sight, the Champlin has one, looks good, may be tougher than a ramp sight, but doesn't offer that much for me. A properly mounted ramp is pretty stout. I've already given my opinion on the quarter rib.

All that stuff looks cool and safari, just may not be worth the cost for what it offers.

I like pretty guns, but utility is a big deal for me.

DF

Yup DF.

Y'all are without question correct. The only thing I'd quibble with is the quarter-rib. On the Zastava, even with a 30mm tube, 40 mm objective, and Warne QD low rings, there's still plenty of room between the bell and barrel. Besides, if the rifle had a rib it would be wearing 20 or 24mm glass, 1-6x or so, illuminated. Plenty of room, just like your picture. Also, I think a fiber optic front sight (like the one in your picture) with one or two rear leaves would be helpful in poor light when trying to find a pig in myrtle and oak thickets. You're in Louisiana, right? I'm in Florida. The thickets around our marshes aren't terribly different.

As for the barrel band swivel, again, you're absolutely right. I've always shot using a hasty sling so the swivel stud on the stock just makes sense. But there's still a lot of wood on the front of that thing!

The economics are hard to justify, as well. This isn't a pre-64 action or Oberndorf Mauser. It's a $550 Serbian rifle. I guess I didn't forget everything that 27 years as a CPA taught me.

I expect ultimately what I'll wind up doing is the same thing I generally do: just continue to carry that old Mauser into the woods and kill stuff, while waiting for the urge to pass...assuming y'all will stop posting pictures that make me covet my neighbor's rifles! So much for Lent....

Who would do something like that.

Dang it!!

What is wrong Rev.

You ain't playin' very nice. I'ma tell Ingwe if you don't quit!

HAH! Tell him what?

What is that?

Winchester M 70 Stainless Steel .375 H&H.

Ah. Nice.

Betcha it'll kill a Florida porker.

No doubt!

Yup.

Although what I'd do is load that .300 H&H down and have some fun with it.

Rev,please don't take this the wrong way,BUT,load down a .300 H&H! Keep this up I'm gonna tell Ingwe.

I have that same .375 H&H SS Classic. I cut mine to 21", added NECG irons and a 3-9x40 Conquest.

And, yep, it'll sure stick a porker...

DF

And the piggies end up in a nice little pile!

Even more amazing when you realize they're doing it all offhand.

The shooting is incredible, no doubt about it. I don't know if you've seen the clips of the indoor range where they shoot, but it is a live-fire range with a video of running boar. At the shot the video freezes for an instant and a red dot shows bullet impact. I wish I had one of those handy! I remember as a kid reading one of Jack O'Connor's books and he had an illustration of how to practice a running shot by having someone roll a tire with a target in the middle down a hill. The only problem in south Florida is that we don't have any hills.

One of my parishioners is from Germany and his mother frequently shoots driven game. And you're right: they pile them up at the end, have a little ceremony respecting the game, then off to the market they go. He said it's a pretty interesting experience.