Suppressed rifle(s) for Alaska: Spend my money!

[AKNomad]

I pulled the trigger on a Diligent Defense Enticer L-Ti suppressor today. I now have 6-8 (hopefully) months to get a rifle ready to accept it, none of my current rifles have threaded barrels. I'm having fun looking through all the options, and thought I'd solicit some ideas from the community. So, help spend my money!

Current setup:
Rifle 1: Tikka T3x Lite Stainless, 270 Win, 22.4" barrel. All stock components.
Rifle 2: Browning A-bolt stainless, 300WM, 24" barrel. All stock components.

Expected Uses:
I'd like to be well equipped for most Alaskan game:

• Sheep, goats, black bear, Sitka deer will be the most frequently targeted.
• Moose and caribou will be a target, but less frequently.
• Potential for elk and brown bear in the near future, mule deer and antelope in the far future.
• Most shots < 300 yards. All shots < 400.

Priorities:

• Left handed
• Stainless or coated actions and barrels
• Factory ammunition
• Weight: < 8.5# for mountain hunts, 7.5-8# preferred.
• Length: shorter preferred for goats and deer (will be hunting SEAK).
• Durability and versatility are more important than saving a few oz or improving grouping by .25 MOA.

Options Considered:
I need to cover my uses with one or more rifles. I'm not against having more than one rifle to cover all my scenarios and am not afraid to spend some money, but do want to be reasonable and avoid excess. Beyond that, I'm OK with modifying existing rifles and/or new ones. I recognize the 270 isn't a great cartridge to cut down the barrel on. Budget wise, a re-barrel will cost me ~$500 and a new Christensen Mesa FFT will run $1800, so I'm open to anything in between those, per rifle.

 

[9.3koolaid]

What I would do...
- Sell the browning
- Chop and thread the 270
- Get a rokstock
- Upgrade optics depending on what you already have
- Shoot factory 145 eldx

Could do it all unless you draw a bison tag

 

[AKNomad]

What I would do...
- Sell the browning
- Chop and thread the 270
- Get a rokstock
- Upgrade optics depending on what you already have
- Shoot factory 145 eldx

Could do it all unless you draw a bison tag

If I draw a bison, I'll take that as an excuse to get something new!

Any concerns over chopping the 270? I've heard they don't do as well with shorter barrels. OTOH, I'm not out much if I chop and decide later I need a longer replacement barrel.

 

[9.3koolaid]

I've never owned a 270, let alone a shorter barreled one. But, while it might lose a few fps more per inch than another caliber, I don't think it would have any effect on your hunting capabilities.

 

[Boltgun]

Sell the Browning. Thread the 270, and might as well take off a couple inches while it’s in the shop. Lots of guys here shooting elk and even griz with much smaller than 270.

Then buy a smaller caliber to match the 270, cut short and threaded. Maybe a fast twist 243? Or an RSS in 223 and shoot the snot out of it.

 

[Yellowknife]

My experience hunting Alaska with a suppressor over the last five years....

Chop the barrel on what you have. Just do it. Even 18.5" on my main gun is a touch too long for deer and moose brush. Velocity loss has been no factor, and I have shot multiple of all of the species except bear and elk that you are talking about with my Tikka + Gemtech. I'm also chambered in '06, so it starts at a velocity handicap to either of your calibers.

Before you go spending money on another rifle, the easy answer is to just whack the .270 and hunt with it for a season. Cheap and easy and If it doesn't do what you want it to do (unlikely), you will have gained valuable experience with what you DO what. Odds are you will just decide to cut the .300 back also.

Biggest issue with the suppressor is carrying it slung. It makes the gun top heavy with the carbon stock I have. So... shorter is better, and a standard weight stock is best.

 

[gtriple]

Sell the Browning.

Remove the 270 barrel from the Tikka and replace with an 18" 7PRC barrel.

Buy either a highend stock or the HNT26 or XLR Element 4.0 MG folding chassis (I recommend the XLR).

Put a Nightforce on it (if you don't have).

Never look back.

 

[Yellowknife]

Sell the Browning.

Remove the 270 barrel from the Tikka and replace with an 18" 7PRC barrel.

Buy either a highend stock or the HNT26 or XLR Element 4.0 MG folding chassis (I recommend the XLR).

Put a Nightforce on it (if you don't have).

Never look back.

1. Bolt face is wrong to go from .270 to 7 PRC. And I'd bet .270 ammo is vastly more available wherever AKNomad lives. We can't ship ammo up here, so availability is a thing for most of us Alaskan's. Nothing wrong with a 7, but also no real benefit in his described use case I think.

2. Chassis are not ideal for Southeast AK IMO. Great for some applications I'm sure, but a traditional stock has less points to hang in the thick stuff he will be navigating and less cold metal to hang on to when hand carrying. I just got back from an Alaska blacktail hunt myself, and a chassis would have been a minor handicap with no corresponding benefit.

I'd guess based on years of hunting the same game up here, that his <100 yd shots will outnumber his 300+ yd shots by a substantial margin, and I always recommend to set up your gun and caliber selection for the high probability shot opportunities.

 

[gtriple]

1. Bolt face is wrong to go from .270 to 7 PRC. And I'd bet .270 ammo is vastly more available wherever AKNomad lives. We can't ship ammo up here, so availability is a thing for most of us Alaskan's. Nothing wrong with a 7, but also no real benefit in his described use case I think.

2. Chassis are not ideal for Southeast AK IMO. Great for some applications I'm sure, but a traditional stock has less points to hang in the thick stuff he will be navigating and less cold metal to hang on to when hand carrying. I just got back from an Alaska blacktail hunt myself, and a chassis would have been a minor handicap with no corresponding benefit.

I'd guess based on years of hunting the same game up here, that his <100 yd shots will outnumber his 300+ yd shots by a substantial margin, and I always recommend to set up your gun and caliber selection for the high probability shot opportunities.

Good call on both.

I'd adjust my recommendation to just chop and thread the 270 barrel. 16-18" would be handy.

And you don't have to upgrade the stock. Just building a cheek rest and adding the Tikka vert grip makes a big difference.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I have a tikka t3x 30-06 that has been cut to 18”. I shoot it with a TBAC ultra 7. It’s a great setup. I still get good velocity with my hand loads using 180g accubonds.

 

[AKNomad]

Sell the Browning. Thread the 270, and might as well take off a couple inches while it’s in the shop. Lots of guys here shooting elk and even griz with much smaller than 270.

Then buy a smaller caliber to match the 270, cut short and threaded. Maybe a fast twist 243? Or an RSS in 223 and shoot the snot out of it.

Smaller caliber could be a nice addition, especially if chopped short as well.

 

[AKNomad]

1. Bolt face is wrong to go from .270 to 7 PRC. And I'd bet .270 ammo is vastly more available wherever AKNomad lives. We can't ship ammo up here, so availability is a thing for most of us Alaskan's. Nothing wrong with a 7, but also no real benefit in his described use case I think.

2. Chassis are not ideal for Southeast AK IMO. Great for some applications I'm sure, but a traditional stock has less points to hang in the thick stuff he will be navigating and less cold metal to hang on to when hand carrying. I just got back from an Alaska blacktail hunt myself, and a chassis would have been a minor handicap with no corresponding benefit.

I'd guess based on years of hunting the same game up here, that his <100 yd shots will outnumber his 300+ yd shots by a substantial margin, and I always recommend to set up your gun and caliber selection for the high probability shot opportunities.

Correct on the ammunition front. Ammunition availability was part of the reason I went with the 270 to begin with, so I like keeping with commonly available cartridges.

 

[Unckebob]

I've never owned a 270, let alone a shorter barreled one. But, while it might lose a few fps more per inch than another caliber, I don't think it would have any effect on your hunting capabilities.

I bought a 270 Win 20" and a 20" 280AI barrel for my Origin builds. I am very happy with them. Both suppress well.

With a 24" barrel, the box on the 270 130g Superformance ammo said the initial velocity would be 3,200. With my 20" barrel, I got 3,130 fps with the Superformance ammo and 2,830 fps with their 145g Precision Hunter load vs a 2,970 fps box velocity.

Simple Upgrade in Power: the 280 AI uses the same bolt face and magazine as the 270/30-06. It should be an easy barrel swap. It is faster than the 270 and has the option of much sleeker, heavier bullets (get a fast twist barrel). It is not much slower than a 7 Rem Mag

Why do I have a 270 and a 280AI? I have two kids. The 270 is much easier to find brass and inexpensive bullets to reload. Factory ammo is much much easier to find. The 280AI is a handloader's cartridge. I intend to shoot the 270 much more than the 280AI.

270 Win 130 gr SST® Superformance® - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

...

www.hornady.com

270 Win 145 gr ELD-X® Precision Hunter® - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

...

www.hornady.com

 

[jimh406]

Thread the barrels of one or both of your current guns if they are accurate. Restock one or both with a folding stock. Many people have noted better accuracy with a suppressor although there is no guarantee.

Silencer Central has an easy to do rethreading process that has fair prices starting at about $125.

Otherwise, I'd consider a Howa Superlite or Savage Ultralight.

 

[axeforce6]

I say sell em both and get a ridgeline FFT in 300wm. Or a 300wsm if you can get ammo for it.

 

[Johnboy041586]

Correct on the ammunition front. Ammunition availability was part of the reason I went with the 270 to begin with, so I like keeping with commonly available cartridges.

 

[Sevens]

What I would do...
- Sell the browning
- Chop and thread the 270
- Get a rokstock
- Upgrade optics depending on what you already have
- Shoot factory 145 eldx

Second this recommendation. The tikka gives you options to should you wish to rebarrel down the road.

 

[MooreAK]

Correct on the ammunition front. Ammunition availability was part of the reason I went with the 270 to begin with, so I like keeping with commonly available cartridges.

-Ammo is readily available here. However you can ship ammo all day long up here via “Carlile my connect”
-I love the 270 and use it for all mentioned above. However if going to spend the coin to chop thread, stock ect, you could easily sell both rifles (or just one) and get a seekins, waypoint, or UM tikka, or similar and pick a cartridge where bullet choices aren’t so limited for about the same money.

 

[AKNomad]

-Ammo is readily available here. However you can ship ammo all day long up here via “Carlile my connect”
-I love the 270 and use it for all mentioned above. However if going to spend the coin to chop thread, stock ect, you could easily sell both rifles (or just one) and get a seekins, waypoint, or UM tikka, or similar and pick a cartridge where bullet choices aren’t so limited for about the same money.

I've had no issues finding 270 or 300wm - I don't know about what other cartridges are like, so I'm open to anything that has good availability. I'd prefer not to rely on forwarding with Carlile- but my mind could be changed on this. What other cartridges do you think I should consider?

I think the browning is out regardless of what I do with my tikka - it looks like I won't be able to thread that barrel while keeping the length required for the suppressor (20"). So, this does push me down that one rifle path.

 

[MooreAK]

I would consider a 6.5 prc, if you’re thinking something along the line of a 270win. There is much more selection of good factory ammo consistently on the shelf, and you have the option of match ammo. 7prc, rem mag, or even a .30 cal. Lots of good options out there.

I love the 270. In standard 1:10 twist with a 20 in barrel and a 130gr projectile you’d prob be around 2900fps.

I was at 2725fps with a 22in barrel with Nosler 150gr ABs

At 3050 with a 24in barrel fast twist and hand loads. Lots of other posts with velocity’s and such.

Guess it just depends on how you want to get the job done.

There is a lot of good info/ food for thought, on the shoot2hunt podcast on this very subject.