Muttly
WKR
The great debate, part twenty eight, or thereabouts.. Getting married in August, so theres a bit of a spending freeze on bows, guns, and such, which gives me plenty of time to ponder, plot, and scheme in the eternal quest for the next great "this is the last one, the ultimate, after this, I,ll be set for life" class of firearm, at least, till the next one..
Picked up the first Montana this last fall, a two fitty seven Bob. And became hooked on light rifles within the first two shots. Had a screaming deal on a .264 Win Mag round the same time, a Win 70. Have a sneaking suspicion it might be cheaper and easier to buy a Montana in a larger caliber than to try and put the .264 on a diet?.. Caliber wise the .264 might be pretty skookum for goat, but no first hand experience in that regard.
So I find myself thinking that probably the path of least resistance is to somewhere along the way round up a Montana in a more goat/bear/moose/ miscellaneous big, and or tough critter worthy caliber.
Not ruling out the Mountain Ascent, looking at both. I,m thinking the likeliest suspects are the 84L, long action size. 270.. Not sure if theres much, if any gain over the .264, other than weight. On the other hand, I,ve probably got 250-300 rounds of .270, dies and whatnot from the last one I had, but currently 270-less. Had a nice load worked up with 150 A-Frames, pretty accurate in the last gun, should oughta almost do the job on goat shoulders. I think..??..
280 Ackley. Seems like it would be a fun new caliber, get a little more weight in the bullets. Think 160s would be a good start, not sure if 175s are likely to do well out of the 280? Also, no longer terribly opposed to muzzle brakes, so with or without a brake, think the recoil should still be fairly pleasant even in a light rifle. No prior experience with 7s of any sort, so open to suggestion.
30-06. I don,t have one. I,ve recommended, considered, and been surprised on occasion that I don,t actually have one. More frontal area.. God knows there,s ammo for it anywhere. In plenty of different weights. As far as reach, don,t know that I,m likely to be shooting at any critters any where past 300 yards, if that far, so long range ability, though nice to have, might be a non issue.. And I can,t help thinking 180s oughta be effective.. So at this point, I,ve still got a pretty light rifle, fairly short barell, and what I THINK should be plenty of bullet weight?sectional density..
300 WSM. The dark horse, at this point. Few ounces heavier, think the barrel is still 24". Don,t recall ever picking up a WSM Montana, so for those that have them, are the stock dimensions any different, thicker, or do they feel the same in the hand and balance wise as the 270/30-06 size?
Enough of a performance gain over the 30-06 to go up in gun weight and powder burned?
I reload, so not too worried about ammo, but ht ability to walk into a store and grab ammo definetly does,nt hurt.
300 Win Mag. Seems like an easy choice as far as bullet weight, reach, and ability to get brass, bullets, and such. But getting into the longer barrel again, and a scoshe over a lb heavier, if comparing the weights of the Mtn Ascent. And either more recoil, or use the muzzle brake..
And, in a Montana, not really thinking it,s going to be a long range rig, but wondering if it hits em enough harder in the 100 to 300 yards sort of range to justify the extra weight and recoil?
7 Rem Mag. Seems pretty similar arguements for and against as the 300 Win Mag, but maybe a little better balance of recoil and reach?
338-06. Would require a rebore or rebarrel, any 84L Montana should be a good start.. Good bullet selection, looks like 180s would have the same velocity, maybe better than out of the 06, more frontal area, and the ability to sling 210s at a pretty good clip. Which has a certain appeal!!
Should be brass aplenty, weight still ain,t much over 6 1/2 lbs scoped, and I think it should be a good all rounder for Alaska... Lighter rifle I believe than a 325 WSM, better bullet selection, don,t see too many down sides to this one. Has oddball appeal in its favor as well!
9.3x62. This one seems unlikely, but I,ve got plenty of brass and bullets, and a couple rifles, so I thought I might just as well toss it out there..
Looking for suggestions, thoughts, comments, etc.
Thanks in advance and I apologize for the long winded post!!
Picked up the first Montana this last fall, a two fitty seven Bob. And became hooked on light rifles within the first two shots. Had a screaming deal on a .264 Win Mag round the same time, a Win 70. Have a sneaking suspicion it might be cheaper and easier to buy a Montana in a larger caliber than to try and put the .264 on a diet?.. Caliber wise the .264 might be pretty skookum for goat, but no first hand experience in that regard.
So I find myself thinking that probably the path of least resistance is to somewhere along the way round up a Montana in a more goat/bear/moose/ miscellaneous big, and or tough critter worthy caliber.
Not ruling out the Mountain Ascent, looking at both. I,m thinking the likeliest suspects are the 84L, long action size. 270.. Not sure if theres much, if any gain over the .264, other than weight. On the other hand, I,ve probably got 250-300 rounds of .270, dies and whatnot from the last one I had, but currently 270-less. Had a nice load worked up with 150 A-Frames, pretty accurate in the last gun, should oughta almost do the job on goat shoulders. I think..??..
280 Ackley. Seems like it would be a fun new caliber, get a little more weight in the bullets. Think 160s would be a good start, not sure if 175s are likely to do well out of the 280? Also, no longer terribly opposed to muzzle brakes, so with or without a brake, think the recoil should still be fairly pleasant even in a light rifle. No prior experience with 7s of any sort, so open to suggestion.
30-06. I don,t have one. I,ve recommended, considered, and been surprised on occasion that I don,t actually have one. More frontal area.. God knows there,s ammo for it anywhere. In plenty of different weights. As far as reach, don,t know that I,m likely to be shooting at any critters any where past 300 yards, if that far, so long range ability, though nice to have, might be a non issue.. And I can,t help thinking 180s oughta be effective.. So at this point, I,ve still got a pretty light rifle, fairly short barell, and what I THINK should be plenty of bullet weight?sectional density..
300 WSM. The dark horse, at this point. Few ounces heavier, think the barrel is still 24". Don,t recall ever picking up a WSM Montana, so for those that have them, are the stock dimensions any different, thicker, or do they feel the same in the hand and balance wise as the 270/30-06 size?
Enough of a performance gain over the 30-06 to go up in gun weight and powder burned?
I reload, so not too worried about ammo, but ht ability to walk into a store and grab ammo definetly does,nt hurt.
300 Win Mag. Seems like an easy choice as far as bullet weight, reach, and ability to get brass, bullets, and such. But getting into the longer barrel again, and a scoshe over a lb heavier, if comparing the weights of the Mtn Ascent. And either more recoil, or use the muzzle brake..
And, in a Montana, not really thinking it,s going to be a long range rig, but wondering if it hits em enough harder in the 100 to 300 yards sort of range to justify the extra weight and recoil?
7 Rem Mag. Seems pretty similar arguements for and against as the 300 Win Mag, but maybe a little better balance of recoil and reach?
338-06. Would require a rebore or rebarrel, any 84L Montana should be a good start.. Good bullet selection, looks like 180s would have the same velocity, maybe better than out of the 06, more frontal area, and the ability to sling 210s at a pretty good clip. Which has a certain appeal!!
Should be brass aplenty, weight still ain,t much over 6 1/2 lbs scoped, and I think it should be a good all rounder for Alaska... Lighter rifle I believe than a 325 WSM, better bullet selection, don,t see too many down sides to this one. Has oddball appeal in its favor as well!
9.3x62. This one seems unlikely, but I,ve got plenty of brass and bullets, and a couple rifles, so I thought I might just as well toss it out there..
Looking for suggestions, thoughts, comments, etc.
Thanks in advance and I apologize for the long winded post!!
