Jaywalker
November 3, 2003, 11:35 AM
I recently bought my first Winchester rifle. Even though I was looking to buy a light-kicking rifle, I came out of the store with a Winchester Model 70 Classic LT in .300 Winchester magnum. It's not light-kicking. Before leaving the store I told the sales guy that if he really wanted a happy customer, he'd sell me a PAST recoil Shield for half price - one of my brighter moments.
The trigger is now four pounds, down from six, and has a little creep. It isn't noticeable until trying to get all of the bullets into an inch.
Yesterday was actually my second range day, with the first being wasted by my installation of the wrong rear scope mount. This caused me to change everything but the mounts before discovering the problem. (I bought a new Weaver K-4 and new Burrris rings.) By day before yesterday, I had the proper rear mount installed. I used my new Leupold Magnetic Boresighter (another bright moment) to get the bullets on paper, then sighted the M70 in.
Originally off by what I estimated to be four inches, the 16 clicks overcorrected. Even if the error were the scope's, I don't consider it serious, since for me the scope is "set and forget."
After getting the bullets where I wanted them, I fired two three-shot goups for accuracy. The first group, Remington Express CoreLokt 180 grain was one-an-an-eighth inches. The second, Federal Premium 180 grain Nosler Partition, was 31/32-inch (yes, I know, but it was less than an inch, and wasn't a "sixteenth").
Impressions to follow. First, the M70 performed better than I expected, and I'd have been somewhat satisfied with less accuracy. I would almost have preferred it, since I was looking for an excuse to cut the 26-inch barrel back to 24-inches. I can't now, of course. Second, a small amount of creep is definitely noticeable when awaiting the big boom to follow. I believe there is more accuracy here than I have tapped, as I recall the crosshair position on only about half of the shots. That implies to me that I was flinching half the time on the one-inch groups. Third, I found the Weaver K-4 fixed power very suitable to this rifle; it was clearly capable of delivering MOA performance, and I found I could get the shot off a little more quickly when I wasn't agonizing over the crosshair wiggle that's apparent at higher magnification. Finally, I may buy stock in the PAST Recoil Shield company.
I bought this rifle for its looks, but I've learned that Winchester is really making a quality product. I'm ready when someone invites me to hunt moose.
Jaywalker
The trigger is now four pounds, down from six, and has a little creep. It isn't noticeable until trying to get all of the bullets into an inch.
Yesterday was actually my second range day, with the first being wasted by my installation of the wrong rear scope mount. This caused me to change everything but the mounts before discovering the problem. (I bought a new Weaver K-4 and new Burrris rings.) By day before yesterday, I had the proper rear mount installed. I used my new Leupold Magnetic Boresighter (another bright moment) to get the bullets on paper, then sighted the M70 in.
Originally off by what I estimated to be four inches, the 16 clicks overcorrected. Even if the error were the scope's, I don't consider it serious, since for me the scope is "set and forget."
After getting the bullets where I wanted them, I fired two three-shot goups for accuracy. The first group, Remington Express CoreLokt 180 grain was one-an-an-eighth inches. The second, Federal Premium 180 grain Nosler Partition, was 31/32-inch (yes, I know, but it was less than an inch, and wasn't a "sixteenth").
Impressions to follow. First, the M70 performed better than I expected, and I'd have been somewhat satisfied with less accuracy. I would almost have preferred it, since I was looking for an excuse to cut the 26-inch barrel back to 24-inches. I can't now, of course. Second, a small amount of creep is definitely noticeable when awaiting the big boom to follow. I believe there is more accuracy here than I have tapped, as I recall the crosshair position on only about half of the shots. That implies to me that I was flinching half the time on the one-inch groups. Third, I found the Weaver K-4 fixed power very suitable to this rifle; it was clearly capable of delivering MOA performance, and I found I could get the shot off a little more quickly when I wasn't agonizing over the crosshair wiggle that's apparent at higher magnification. Finally, I may buy stock in the PAST Recoil Shield company.
I bought this rifle for its looks, but I've learned that Winchester is really making a quality product. I'm ready when someone invites me to hunt moose.
Jaywalker
