sheep rifle ?

[handwerk]

So I've got my first Ak dall sheep hunt booked and have slowly been selling off some rifles to help funding.
I'm a die hard pre 64 M70 fan and have a couple custom jobs (270win/280AI) in mcm stocks that I like and shoot well, both weighing about 8lbs scoped.
With this being a week long backpack hunt, I'm considering getting a kimber montana, say in 270 to save near 1 1/2 lbs. In the big picture do you fellow sheep hunters feel like this would be a worth while move?
BTW I'll not be selling the two mentioned rifles.... I put this in the sheep forum cause I wanted to hear from folks that have been there/done that. This may be my only dall hunt, but someday I'll get that dang Montana bighorn tag as well...
Thanks

 

[Dusty2426]

So I've got my first Ak dall sheep hunt booked and have slowly been selling off some rifles to help funding.
I'm a die hard pre 64 M70 fan and have a couple custom jobs (270win/280AI) in mcm stocks that I like and shoot well, both weighing about 8lbs scoped.
With this being a week long backpack hunt, I'm considering getting a kimber montana, say in 270 to save near 1 1/2 lbs. In the big picture do you fellow sheep hunters feel like this would be a worth while move?
BTW I'll not be selling the two mentioned rifles.... I put this in the sheep forum cause I wanted to hear from folks that have been there/done that. This may be my only dall hunt, but someday I'll get that dang Montana bighorn tag as well...
Thanks

I have not hunted dall but backpack for other sheep and the kimber mountain ascent in 30-06 serves me well. Montana will be great also. 270,30-06,280ai all great sheep medicine without extreme punishment

 

[elkguide]

I have several Montanas and love them. However from my experiences guiding, I was much happier to se someone come in to camp with a rifle that they had put a lot of time in with it and it was part of them. 1 1/2 pounds is definitely a noticeable amount of weight, especially at elevations like you will see. If you're able to spend a lot of time carrying and shooting a new rifle before your hunt...... go for it. If you can't you have a couple of great options already in your hands.


(now that doesn't mean that you shouldn't buy a new rifle now to get ready for your "next" sheep hunt!)

 

[bates]

i wouldn't myself

those Montanas are great but i would rather have a custom rifle over one all day every day.

i carried a rifle that was over 8lbs on my hunt. could i have gone lighter, sure but i feel 100% confident with that gun and spent the money in other areas to save weight. lighter guns are harder to drive. i ended up shooting my ram at just under 500 and was glad i had the gun and that extra 1lb was worth it.

if your current guns shoot now and you are comfortable then i would pick one and take it

apply the funds to other gear.

i would also highly recommend a bipod for said rifle, i carried a harris but would check out the spartan bipod.

 

[HUNTSHEEP]

Ill never say don't buy a new rifle but for sheep hunts $$$$$ I would take the rifle I have the most confidence in hands down! Train a lil harder if that means u gota carry the extra 2lbs.

 

[Steve O]

8# is not bad. I’d stick with what you have. The Fannin in my avatar was shot with an 11# Model 70. I built a 7.25# 300 WSM M70 when I got back. I’m sure my next sheep hunt will be with an 8# rifle even with a 6# all up M700 Ti sitting in my safe.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Don’t listen to anything these guys are telling you when they say “don’t buy another rifle”. Trust me, you NEED another rifle and I think it should be a Kimber MA, 6.5 Creed! Oh, and you better hurry up before I buy it out from underneath you.


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[Stid2677]

By "booked" I assume a guided hunt, so there will be others to share the load. I would not be overly concerned about shaving weight from my rifle of choice, unless you just want to have a rifle to prepare and remember the hunt by. Either way I would practice as much as possible shooting from extreme angles in the prone position. This is the factor I see most when new sheep hunters try to get into a shooting position, they are unfamiliar with this style and often get scope cut over the eye from getting too close to the scope when shooting uphill. When the time comes, you will have lots of time, effort and money spent to not make a good shot. Missing and not being able to manage feet are two of the main reasons I see sheep hunters fail to fill a tag.

Best of luck

Steve

 

[fatbacks]

I’ve carried a tikka .300 WSM on plenty of sheep hunts. This year I was sick of the weight and length. Got a Barrett Fieldcraft 6.5 CM. One of the things I am most excited about is the short barrel coming in at 18”. Having bush whacked through tons of alder with a longer barrel, I think a short barrel will be super convenient and one of the best aspects of the gun.

Here she is - will not be taking the bipod. All in at about $1700. All new or like new off rokslide classifieds.

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[Jacques Etcheverry]

1.5 pounds is nothing if you start now with some training.



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[rustyN]

It would probably be easiest to just lose 1.5lbs off of your body, unless you are already incredibly skinny.

 

[6mm Remington]

I think I would use that custom 280 AI but then again I'm pretty darn partial to the .280 AI and those Winchester model 70's!!

 

[oenanthe]

new sheep hunters try to get into a shooting position, they are unfamiliar with this style and often get scope cut over the eye from getting too close to the scope when shooting uphill.
Steve

Yep, gotta watch those long uphill shots. Might even happen to guys with twenty years of sheep hunting experience. Not that I would know anything about that, though. No, sir, not me.

 

[Snyd]

Hey, if you want a new rifle buy one. I've packed and shot a few sheep with my Kimber MT 325. One of my sheep hunting partners always packs his bone stock pre-64 Mod 70 270 complete with the steel buttstock that he has had since he was a kid. Pretty hefty 270.

If a 1.5 lbs is gonna be that big of a deal you might as well pack it in, sell your rifles, stay home and take up knitting!

Buy a new one or "run what ya brung". It's all about want, not need.

 

[mt100gr.]

I would agree with the above posters - if funds allow and you have the time to spend with a new rifle, buy one.

Every year we stand at the truck and ADD things to our packs before we venture into the MT unlimited district. The pounds go up but so does the comfort and overall morale of our hunt. I could carry a 6.5 pound Kimber or a 7 pound 30-06 but I always pack my 9 lbs ( with a bipod ) 7mm. I am the most intimate with this rifle and it's capabilities and that's what's matters most to me. I am on the 7 year wait now but I still carry the rifle in case we find a good buck or bull that my sheep hunting partner agrees we can't live without.

Train hard and don't take a scale to the trail head. If someone challenged you right now to ring an 8 inch plate at 400 yards, which rifle would you pick? I'd take that one sheep hunting.

 

[bizyrok]

Lots of good advice to ponder over. My Montana 84L .270 Win. weighed out of the box 5# 10 oz. and with Talleys and a 3-9x40 Leupold is now 6# 7 oz..
Certainly a modified pre'64 Fwt. can do the job, but a sheep hunt is a special event that could merit a new rifle. The Montana/.270Win combo is pretty hard to beat. That's why I put another on standby in the safe a couple years ago. Sheep hunts involve cardio, leg stamina and mental conditioning. The gear we have today probably can't get much better. A new rifle can be a great piece of incentive to get out there and train, shoot and get ready.

 

[adventure907]

I usually carry a pistol in a chest holster while sheep hunting. This fall, a very rare occurrence took place and I was fortunate to be the guy packing a rifle around on a sheep hunt. It was my first sheep hunt in a very long time that I was packing a rifle. It was my tried and true Model 7, weighing in somewhere around 9 lbs when loaded. After that hunt, I immediately started scheming to build a lightweight sheep rifle for the rare chance I get to hunt for myself. While I love my Model 7, I saw the benefits of having a lightweight mountain rifle for both in hand and pack carry.

As a wise old sheep hunter once told me, ounces count.

But with that said, I would much rather have a sheep hunter carry a rifle a little on the heavier side if he is intimately familiar and comfortable with it, rather than having the newest, lightest, wiz bang rifle that he can't shoot as well....

 

[Jimss]

I was actually in your same situation a few years ago. I was excited when I finally bit the bullet and bought a new sheep/mtn rifle. I've been on 3 sheep and 2 mtn goat hunts since I bought my Sako Finnlight in 300 WSM. I've been happy ever since! As soon as I bought my Sako I shot the heck out of it in all types of terrain, elevation, etc. I had as much confidence in my Sako prior to that hunt than any rifle I have ever owned. If you are willing to put in time and lots of ammo into a new rifle prior to your hunt I know you will be as excited as I have been if your set up shots as well as mine! I shed a few lbs off my shoulders when I bought my Sako so that was an added plus!

 

[BRWNBR]

There is no wrong answer here. Don’t go to crazy thinking on this one. If ya got the coin to spend, spend it. Or just lighten up one of the guns ya got if your worried about a pound. cheaper places to lighten your sheep pack. Get a quilt, light weight pad, lighter pack, don’t pack to much clothes, get smaller binoculars, loose weight, don’t bring a book, take a crap each morning instead of evening. If your gonna carry this rifle in your hands lighter is a huge difference. If your just gonna strap it to your pack it don’t matter.

 

[adventure907]

Well, I am going through sheep hunting withdrawals. It is a problem. I know it is a little off topic, but I thought I'd add a picture to this thread to spice it up a little. Only 8 or so months to go!!!!