My Scot's/Hebrew "Thrifty" bloodline reared its hardhead today, and I got lucky on GB. Won a T/C Venture Weathershield ( looks like SS only is a coating) in 308Win with a MossyOak pattern stock. The current MSRP for the Weathershield guns is $578, and the MO Tree camo'd stock is no longer offered so who knows what the add on was....but IMO the MO looks way better than a plain black with grey Houge touch panels....and with a $75 Rebate on NIB Ventures thru April. My net net cost, after Rebate, is about the same as a Ruger American in Blue/Syn.

This ought to be fun to see what such an inexpensive full featured rifle can do...and see if the 5-6 guys I asked about their experiences were true or not 'cause to a man they all said their Ventures SHOT GOOD. Lifetime Warranty to Original Reg'd Owner, 1" Accuracy guarantee, Pillar bedded & floated with an adjustable trigger, composite stock yadda yadda ...or what I used to call a "Car Wash" gun when I was hog hunting in the Ladonia section Caddo Nat'l Grasslands creek bottoms.
Ron

Do those come with optics?

I bought a Venture about a month ago and it's the best shooting rifle I have ever owned. I am amazed at how well it groups.
Going back tomorrow to buy another one in a different caliber before the rebate ends.
I do wish the magazine was built better. It's kind of cheesey.
BT

Bet it'll run Federal Gold Metal Match or Sierra Game Kings just as well as any other out of the box 308.

Ron I'm betting it will stack 'em in close. Today's technology is producing some mighty accurate rifles at a low price point. But, you knew that....

Colt, some of the older Venture package guns came with a T/C labeled scope of some sort, and I was seeing them as well on GB.

This guy in Mississipi had a pair of these Listed together, a 308 was 1st and 8 minutes behind was a 7-08. My plan was to take a run at the 308,and if I got outbid I had time to hit the 7-08. So I posted my bid about an hour early and sat back to watch both guns. There was a last minute fight over the 7-08 after my bid on the 308 skated thru un challenged...Oh Well.

I used to know an Old Geezer who was an uncle of a Lease member and shot downloaded 30-30 bullets in a choppped up 308 M70 that he'd bought cheap - the 1st owner had shot it with the muzzle plugged with mud at the very end of the barrel and it was cut back to 18-19"s or so. It was the best handling box blind gun I ever shot..and the RN 170's were devastating on WTails and kicked like a 222...and anything under 200 yards was his on sight.

The older and more decrepit I get the more the "how old So & So coped with stuff" memories are surfacing. I saw an old couple do a GDA Lottery hunt at Lake Mineral Wells SP some years back. He was 86, with a Pacemaker and she was 83 with a brand new 6 month old knee...but could toddle from the drop off truck to their assigned blinds OK and did not hunt together after the 1st Hunt Session. They hunted with 250 Savages in a 99 Lever & a 788? and 'tween them took only 3 of their allocation of 4 Wtails only cause she missed her 1st shot....and was why they had to be seperated aftet the 1st Session. I told my Other Half that I had seen the Future when I got home...reminded me of our times in the boat yelling at her to SET the #@!*&% Hook & DON"T lower your rod tip to reel that $#@!* 10lb Striper in....could have been just as easily PULL the #$@!* Trigger.

Even SPS had blem RN 170gr NPT's & blem 125gr BT's yesterday... but I'm gonna hold out for some 125gr NAB's 1st. 155gr Scenars might get a run thru as well...or other lite wt stuff I won't run thru the 300WSM to hunt with.

Yesss the idea of 165/168 Comp bullets was not lost on me, and I tried to buy a handfull of 30mm tube HS Vipers yesterday as well...but all the V-HS scopes I wanted on the Damaged Box Sale are gone. After looking at the BDC's at Cabellas in Allen last week I cannot pickup the thinner crosshairs well enough and I'll buy VPlx's instead, only with the reset & Zero Stop Turrets. Had a great conversation with Ken, the Vortex CSR I spoke with thursday and will definitely get on the Vortex bandwagon.

It struck me as hilarious that I was trying to put a $5-$800 scope on a under $400 rifle when I got off the phone with Neil.

Spring has always been my "Plottin' & Plannin" time and I'm in Full Mode.
Ron

Ron, I think you will like this new rifle.

I agree on the crosshairs in some scopes being too thin for hunting, have a few of those myself. Work great for full daylight but when it gets to that magic time of dusk or dawn those thin cross hairs get difficult to use. Especially when it comes to thin black crosshairs on black hogs.

Kind of like my 4-16 pst 1 focal plane mil mil on my $275.00 308 savage axis. But it will shoot .75 moa

It struck me as hilarious that I was trying to put a $5-$800 scope on a under $400 rifle when I got off the phone with Neil.

Spring has always been my "Plottin' & Plannin" time and I'm in Full Mode.
Ron
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