Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

I bought one of these many moons ago, sent it off to McMillan to have a custom stock put on, and had some trigger work done by the local gunsmith here.

Sent the Leupold 6x20x40mm scope to have micro-dial "towers" put on it so I wouldn't need a "dime/screwdriver" to make adjustments.

It has a matte stainless Shilen 7.62 NATO bbl on it, and Harris bi-pod.

And it's a safe queen at a pounding 20 lbs. It is NOT a field gun.

But this thing can reach out to 1000 meters with the custom 7.62 NATO loads I had someone make for me.

It's like owning a Ferrari. It's "Black and Silver", and Just looks like a piece of art sometimes.

Would you keep it, or trade/sell it to get something more "field worthy"?

Sounds like your're really not inclined to shoot it, Rev. It's not gaining value nor giving you any enjoyment while sitting in the safe. Might be time for it to move on. Shame for it to just sit and go to waste.

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Well, like the guy who wipes his Ferrari down with a baby diaper, and can account for each, and every mile.

It's that intrinsic "HOLYSH'T! I OWN AN (insert awesome item here)!"

I would feel the same if I had a Stryker APC... even if I couldn't drive it every day.

But I get what you're saying. I think if I had something more "field worthy" I would probably bring it out more often.

I must contemplate this on the "Tree Stand of Woe".

There's that, too, but do you really enjoy it just sitting in the safe?

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You know? I should take it to Cavalier, and shooting some Amateur competitions.

What could it hurt? Other than my wallet.

20lbs is a bit heavy for a .308 field gun, but not by much for the intended use. Long range tactical rifles are heavy; kinda necessary because of the long and thick barrels, unless you pay BIG bucks for CF wrapped. IIRC, fully outfitted mine weights ~17lbs.

Long range guns are fun, but not something you shoot all the time (unless you're very lucky in the land department). A good long range gun can teach you so much about shooting that I'd recommend keeping it and taking it out to play at least a couple times a year. It's worth the drive to a good 1k+ range once you work skill level up.

Every rifleman should have a decent bolt action .308Win capable of shooting to 1k, if for nothing else than becoming a better shooter. You can't really learn to read wind without actually doing it and seeing how close your shot is.

Keep it! With the nation's copper phone infrastructure going the way of the dinos, a feller's got to have an alternate way to reach out and touch someone...

You know why I stopped shooting it?

I had a 60 year old lady whip my azz in competition down in Tidewater with a single shot .50 cal.

You just don't come back from that easily.

But Gundy is correct, you have so many factors in place with a 1000 meter .308 shot that it's overwhelming at times. 20lbs makes the recoil feel like a light shove than a huge kick, PAY the extra money for decent glass, and make sure the rifle fits you well. It's why I have a custom stock built for it.

Having to watch wind speeds every 200 meters out (5 different wind speeds), the weight of the bullet (168 fmjbt with a fast burning power, and magnum rifle primer), the benchrest itself (a pocket level to insure it's not off kilter), and then the temperatures (Cold it shoots flat, hot it's a lil' out of MOA).

Shoot, just talking about it makes it tiring...until that lil' flag comes up that you have a "10-X" hit at 1000 meters.

I wish I still had the tape, but I had the target range officer put a VOX cassetter recorder under the target, and that "ZZZIIPPTHWAP-soft pow" sound just makes it AWESOME!

Yeah, I'll keep it, and dump the cheap .308 I bought as a "field gun", and just upscale to a semi-auto AR-10, or S/A M1A1... Later.