Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Your perfect mountain rifle.....?

I bet that I have owned and used at least a dozen .270s, usually have 3-4 at any given time and I now have three custom P-64 Fwts. so chambered, with all the "goodies".

However, I KNOW and most wise men also KNOW that the magnificent .280 Remington, of which I also have three fine, light custom examples, is FAR better as a genuine "mountain cartridge"!

In fact, I have yet a fourth, another Brno 21/22 with the 60mm bbl. that I am having reamed from 7x57 to .280 to VASTLY improve this already outstanding rifle. With a 3-pos. safety, good trigger and good synthetic handle, topped with a Swaro. Z3 3x9 in Talley QDs, it is just THE "mountain rifle" to have and discerning gents know this to be factual truth!

In fact, I have yet another of these actions and may even build a fifth .280.....but, I do NEED a .25-06.............

.280 RULES!!!!

Having it built now

Rem 700, blueprinted
Broughton 24" #3
280AI
McM Hunters Edge, pillar and skim bedded
Bolt Ti fluted by Kampfeld
Coated
Talley lows
FX3 6x42 M1

Still thinking about aluminum bottom metal and a different trigger or not.

.280 AI
700 ADL blue printed
MR edge stock
Rock #2, 1:8.5 twist finished at 23"
Tuned factory trigger
Kampfeld bolt work
Smithed by Southern Precision Rifles
Weighs 7lbs flat as pictured
Shoots 162 Amax with R17 at 3k (still in load development)

Bob, if those are your rifles, would you care to elaborate on the bolt handles?

Thanks.

CFVA: The rifle on the left is mine and the other belongs to my pal Matt.Both started out as M70 Classics and both bolt handles were re-contoured by Gene Simillion,who built my rifle and did much of the metal work on Matt's.

Thanks, Bob.

The bolt handle is one of my biggest complaints on the Classic 70's. Now I'm curious what it would cost to have one of mine recontoured, any ball park guess?

My Winchester Featherweight in 7x57 w/ Leupold 2.5 x 8

Is there anything else...

CFVA I have no idea because that alteration was part of Gene's package; but I know he has a brochure and price list and you could contact him and ask.

Ideally for poking around out west I'd like something about 7/7.5 lbs with scope. I'm not sweating the extra 3/4th pound or so of my Weatherby Sub MOA 30-06. It balances well and I never have to worry about accuracy.

Locally, I like my 99, but would like to get my hands on a BLR lightweight in 358.

Thanks, Bob! I'll look him up.

Gene typically uses a Talley knob, cuts the old one off and welds on the new one. Steve Heilmann will also do it and his work is flawless. I'm not sure what Gene charges or if he does one off jobs, and Heilmann is right around $300. Or he was.

pathfinder thanks. It is possible I am incorrect about the re-shaping because I saw the Winchester stamp on the root of the bold handle and assumed he reshaped...I never asked. You cleared it up in my mind.

It is possible he cut the old one off and welded a new one.

In any event the rifle was put together to be JUST light enough for me to take up a mountain,and as light as I want it considering the chambering.

Very nice all around rifle here. My ideal would be very similar built on a titanium action with a Jewell trigger.

This modification REALLY improves the appearance of a Classic 70, I only have two of these, both custom, in .308Win and .338WM and these have been reworked for function, but, no other mods were done.

They are very specifically for use as "truck guns" as they are STS and this IS BC, where it seems to rain......

The .338 is the "understudy" to my custom Dakota 76-.338, done by master gunmakers "Martini" a couple of years ago which is my primary Elk rifle, but, at what it would cost to replace, I wanted a "spare" that I could use and not worry about "dinging"....plus, nobody has ever had to "force" me to buy another hunting rifle.......

Recoil with the current crop of "UL" hunting rifles is an issue that very few address in these commentaries and I applaud Bob's honesty in this respect. I have been shooting for 55+ years, owned about 150 big game rifles and am still, at 67, quite comfortable with my light .338s and 9.3s, even my .375H&Hs from the bench. BUT, I also make certain that they weigh an appropriate amount and I do not buy or build .338s that weigh 7 lbs, all up or .30-06s that are 6 lbs.

I have seen enthusiasts with fat wallets and little experience have rifles built that they boasted would be THE ULTIMATE .300 Mag. for BC's declining wild sheep. A few range trips and suddenly, the piece is for sale.......

As always, Bob nails it and I expect that the Mashburn, one of maybe 4 wildcats I would ever consider bothering with, is both pleasant to shoot and thus hits where he looks. I found the 3 7mm RM rifles I used to have to be WORSE with 175s than my .338s were with 210s, must be some "gremlin" involved and these were all Ruger 77s, "tangs".

So, my "mountain rifles", .270s and .280s, run about 7.25 to 7.5 all up and my .300 Norma, goes a hair over 8, with the .338s at 8,5 and this seems about ideal to me.

BobinNH, yours may have been done that way. But I know he does replace them and usually the joint is below the "dog leg" in the handle.

Here is a photo (reversed sorry) of a Heilmann handle in the white.



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Sweet! I like it. 7lbs, 162s @ 3 grand, MR edge in the perfect color. What's not to like? Nice!

Skeletor6lbs 4.5ozs


Savage Ackley6lbs 8ozs


Both go on every hunt I go on!

h-s precision SPL .300 WSM. conetrol rings and swarovski 3-10x42

kutenay the 338 with 210's is oddly gentle for what it delivers and at least one friend who blanched at the thought of a 300 win mag at full throttle had no difficulty with my 338 and that bullet....strange but true.



pathfinder I understand through friends that Heilman is the king of bolt handles as well as a superb metal smith....unfortunately I have never owned any of his work...sigh.

Mine is a Rem 700 Mountain Rifle ADL style in 30-06 22" barrel with Talley one piece light weight bases and rings and a 2.5x8 Leupold scope in a painted Bansner Stock with a 1/2" decellerator pad and swivel studs that weighs 6# 10 oz. Shoots great and is light weight. Very good traditional all around rifle for me.