Five or so years ago when I went to take the hunter's safety course, as a midlifer trying to take up the harvesting of OG free range grass fed meat from the forest, this rifle was up on the wall in the gun store. New to hunting, new to shooting, it looked like a great deal! Already set up with the scope, sling, soft case, and 40 or so rounds of the previous owner's handloads. "That's a pretty hefty caliber for a new shooter," they said. "Nah, I'll be fine," I said. "What are you gonna go and hunt?" they asked. "Well I want to learn elk hunting," I said. "Ok. Well. Are you sure you don't want to practice your marksmanship with something a little, ah, more forgiving to shoot?" "Nah, I'll be fine," I said. "Well OK then, here you go, and good luck!" they said, happy to have sold a rifle that was in the store on consignment for who knows how long.
My first trip to the indoor 100yd range was eye opening, to say the least. More like, it darn near opened up my shoulder socket. 12 rounds down, each shot more painful than the one prior, me literally sweating and shaking, rested on a carpet-covered 4x4 post (all that was on hand in the lane), trying to squeeze the trigger the way I knew it should be done. I still have that target paper if anyone wants a good laugh. The rifle was decently zeroed, maybe 2" high, but zeroed (as far as I could discern). I however, was not.
My shoulder was yellow, green, and purple the next day. By midweek, the hematoma had spread down my arm to my elbow. Next time out, the slip-on limbsaver helped a bit but it was still a bear for me to manage. Yet I still went on my first two elk hunts with this gun! Found some animals both times out. But both were unsuccessful. No need to share all details of the second empty tag, but suffice to say, in the excitement of finding a cow in my crosshairs at about 70 yards, it was my lack of confidence that prevented pulling the trigger. Well, that and a lack of competence - I had not pushed the 3-position safety all the way forward.
Then and there, I knew I needed to spend WAY more time shooting and handling the weapon. It had to be second nature.
The good news? This debacle led me down the road toward a Tikka CTR 6.5 Creedmore (yes, they are good for something, and no, I never grew a man bun, but I did drop it into a sweet chassis, got a cool scope, learned to pull paint off steel at 1k - *sometimes ), a 7 Rem Mag, a 6.5 PRC, a Marlin lever gun, and all sorts of new experiences. And a lot of remarkable encounters but ultimately still unsuccessful elk hunts since. Some great opportunities, encounters on nearly every outing, but still no full freezer despite the efforts . . . and NO REGRETS either. Well, maybe one, but that was on me, 100%. The others were newbie mistakes and that's OK. I have learned something every single time out.
The bad news? This really cool rifle needs a new home. I can't afford to have it collecting dust any more. I'm sorry to see my first friend of a firearm head out of the house.
All I know about it is what you see in the photos. It's got the old school Leupold scope, the sling, the recoil pad. I'm selling the ammo shown as well. Some of the prior owner's handloads plus a few boxes I bought in a more hopeful spending spree. It's all I've got and I won't need it.
Will I regret this? YEP. Is it the end of the world? NOPE. Do I have to? Eh, I do, dang it. I need to pare down. It's gotten out of hand.
Sorry old girl. Go make someone else happy this time. $1450 to your FFL, ammo ships separately.
My first trip to the indoor 100yd range was eye opening, to say the least. More like, it darn near opened up my shoulder socket. 12 rounds down, each shot more painful than the one prior, me literally sweating and shaking, rested on a carpet-covered 4x4 post (all that was on hand in the lane), trying to squeeze the trigger the way I knew it should be done. I still have that target paper if anyone wants a good laugh. The rifle was decently zeroed, maybe 2" high, but zeroed (as far as I could discern). I however, was not.
My shoulder was yellow, green, and purple the next day. By midweek, the hematoma had spread down my arm to my elbow. Next time out, the slip-on limbsaver helped a bit but it was still a bear for me to manage. Yet I still went on my first two elk hunts with this gun! Found some animals both times out. But both were unsuccessful. No need to share all details of the second empty tag, but suffice to say, in the excitement of finding a cow in my crosshairs at about 70 yards, it was my lack of confidence that prevented pulling the trigger. Well, that and a lack of competence - I had not pushed the 3-position safety all the way forward.
Then and there, I knew I needed to spend WAY more time shooting and handling the weapon. It had to be second nature.
The good news? This debacle led me down the road toward a Tikka CTR 6.5 Creedmore (yes, they are good for something, and no, I never grew a man bun, but I did drop it into a sweet chassis, got a cool scope, learned to pull paint off steel at 1k - *sometimes ), a 7 Rem Mag, a 6.5 PRC, a Marlin lever gun, and all sorts of new experiences. And a lot of remarkable encounters but ultimately still unsuccessful elk hunts since. Some great opportunities, encounters on nearly every outing, but still no full freezer despite the efforts . . . and NO REGRETS either. Well, maybe one, but that was on me, 100%. The others were newbie mistakes and that's OK. I have learned something every single time out.
The bad news? This really cool rifle needs a new home. I can't afford to have it collecting dust any more. I'm sorry to see my first friend of a firearm head out of the house.
All I know about it is what you see in the photos. It's got the old school Leupold scope, the sling, the recoil pad. I'm selling the ammo shown as well. Some of the prior owner's handloads plus a few boxes I bought in a more hopeful spending spree. It's all I've got and I won't need it.
Will I regret this? YEP. Is it the end of the world? NOPE. Do I have to? Eh, I do, dang it. I need to pare down. It's gotten out of hand.
Sorry old girl. Go make someone else happy this time. $1450 to your FFL, ammo ships separately.
