The tale of two 7mm-08s

[Tenntrapper]

First....this is all just basic, entry level BS. I just want to post something...

First rifle...Savage 110 Trail Hunter. It has a 22" med heavy Sporter barrel with Trijicon 3-9x40. Weighs 9lb 6 oz...empty. Being new, figured what I am doing would be a good opportunity to get the scope sighted in. What I'm doing.... fire forming brass. I'm using 145 hot core over RL15. This is Peterson 260 SRP that I'm using to make 7/08 brass. Just a starting load, and not very precise on the powder measuring...but within a kernel or two. Got sighted in and shot a group. Definitely not impressive, but about an inch and a half. I wasn't really expecting much, all things considered.
I could shoot this load out of this rifle all day long. Recoil in that heavy rifle was very mild...plus it has a decent recoil pad. Loved the scope. My first time with a trijicon...money well spent.

Second rifle....Ruger M77 Hawkeye compact.
16.5" barrel and weighs right at 7 lbs. Leupold VX Freedom 2-7x33. First off...the scope works, but I'm not impressed. Half the numbers aren't marked on the power adjustment....seems cheesy. The turrets...gritty at first but did start to improve the more I turned them. Clicks are faint, and no index mark (guess that's what you call it). The start/finish line....
Anyway... decided to sight it in while I had my bench setup. I shot this rifle while doing a ladder test, but wasn't aiming at anything...just shooting into a backstop.
I had a few rounds loaded up that Jerry helped me with. Just something theoretical that his computer worked out using the powder/bullet combo I plan to use. Didn't want to use those for sighting in, so used some factory Norma 150s I have. First off, them things are hot... Recoil in that little rifle will wake you up for sure... Especially after shooting that heavy Savage. But, I got her sighted in. I then used the theoretical loads to shoot a group. .428" 3 shot group...I can live with that. This is my still hunting rifle, I don't foresee shots more than 100 yards. BTW, it's a 154g Hornady RN over h4831sc. It's a compressed load doing a shade faster than 2400 fps out of the short barrel. Not a barn burner, but I bet it hits hard.
This is (for me) definitely not a bench rifle. Im sure though that it will be perfect for my intended use.

I've still got a bunch of 260 brass to fire form for the Savage. And I just got a delivery today of some CT 150g BTs. This is my intended load for the Savage. Unfortunately...I'm going to be using Norma brass in the Ruger...so I have some "unloading" to do.... shooting the factory ammo. I don't look forward to that...

 

[TboneD]

That compact Ruger is pretty sweet! Older I get the more I appreciate wood stocks and I wish I had another rifle in wood besides my Marlin 35 Rem.

As for the Savage they lost me when I saw how much it weighed. Sounds like a good gun for dialing in for open areas on private but I wonder why they named it "Trail Hunter". Maybe so folks would assume it was in the ball park weights as most other Savages?

 

[Tenntrapper]

That compact Ruger is pretty sweet! Older I get the more I appreciate wood stocks and I wish I had another rifle in wood besides my Marlin 35 Rem.

As for the Savage they lost me when I saw how much it weighed. Sounds like a good gun for dialing in for open areas on private but I wonder why they named it "Trail Hunter". Maybe so folks would assume it was in the ball park weights as most other Savages?

Yeah, I also wondered about the name... considering the weight. My plan for it is here on the farm. It's all open pasture and hay fields. I'll use the Ruger when I go to the other place I hunt...it's all wooded. I love hunting there.

 

[EastTNHunter]

So… Rosie was taken, Oprah was taken, now we have???

 

[Tenntrapper]

So… Rosie was taken, Oprah was taken, now we have???

Oprah is the 154 RN that I'm loading for the Ruger. Rosie was the Naturalis I was loading for the 243. BTW, I've got a bunch of those 243s if you're interested in reviving her...

 

[PillsburyDoughboy]

As for the Savage they lost me when I saw how much it weighed.

Right there with you. The older I get the more and more I look at lighter gear when I head to the field. Shorter, lighter the better !

 

[TboneD]

Right there with you. The older I get the more and more I look at lighter gear when I head to the field. Shorter, lighter the better !

There's a sweet spot, though. 7 lbs with scope is about the lightest I want, and that's where my 18" barreled Ruger American Predator 308 Win is with a Redfield 2-7x33. That's my rainy day/tree stand long hike rifle.

 

[PillsburyDoughboy]

There's a sweet spot, though. 7 lbs with scope is about the lightest I want, and that's where my 18" barreled Ruger American Predator 308 Win is with a Redfield 2-7x33. That's my rainy day/tree stand long hike rifle.

First year I went out west I went two different rifles . I 26 inch 338 Mag with Break and a 375 H&H Improved Mag with break with 4x16 scopes. Learned real fast I was carrying way too heavy a guns for as much hiking as we were doing every day. Next year I built a custom 30-06 with 24 Inch pencil thin barrel that shot lights out with a fixed 6x scope. My shoulder and back thanked me.

 

[TboneD]

First year I went out west I went two different rifles . I 26 inch 338 Mag with Break and a 375 H&H Improved Mag with break with 4x16 scopes. Learned real fast I was carrying way too heavy a guns for as much hiking as we were doing every day. Next year I built a custom 30-06 with 24 Inch pencil thin barrel that shot lights out with a fixed 6x scope. My shoulder and back thanked me.

You know it. Our daughter lives in Denver and if I ever was considering hunting out there, all my trips out there causes me to lean towards just taking my Savage 270 Win because climbing mountains in that thin air is hard enough as it is! I appreciate light rifles for hunting public ground, period, though, even flat ground here in middle TN. I shared a pretty remote pin on some public with my nephew that came up to hunt with me Thanksgiving weekend and you know what he's hunting with? It's a CVA single shot 35 Whelen! Dern thing has a 24" heavy barrel that absorbs recoil but the gun's gotta weigh 9 pounds with his scope! He's young and fit, though