I have a Savage LH in 300 WSM. Will do anything I ask and am capable of myself. Synthetic with accutrigger. Mine prefers 180 gr. accubonds. Not too heavy. Have carried it up and down in AZ and NM. Don't use it much here in Texas, but I would not part with it either. Have taken it to 500 yards on targets with great success. Not much for game over 400 myself. I think one like this would fit your needs well. Just put good glass on it and go.

Thank you! I wasn't trying to argue just pointing out why I would prefer a slower twist, just me and my addiction to the fast movers. Our needs differ.

Another straightforward question about hunting rifle options sidetracked into a rifle building thread and, finally, fuss.
Again.

You don’t have to make every rifle buy a construction project if you don’t want to. Buy a good rifle (Tikka, for example) and see how it shoots. It’ll probably shoot as well as any plumbing project you spend 3-6 months and a bunch of time messing with.

Out of curiosity what twist would you recommend for that combo?

Hwy,

a 125 - 130 6.5 will work fine in a 1:8”, especially bullets appropriate for elk and bear as mentioned by the OP.

I’ve gone elk hunting exactly once, so take my comments fwiw. I hunted with a friend that guided for elk for more than 30 years. His view was most modern cartridges were more than adequate for elk, bullets are what mattered. His list of preferred bullets were Partitions or Barnes, although Accubonds were acceptable, end of list.

Having said that, he asked what rifles I owned, and said bring my 308 and 300 Win Mag Montana Rifle Company rifles. The 308 was plenty for elk, but he had a bad experience with a sow black bear a couple of years before. Because of that close encounter, he wanted me to carry the 300 Win Mag MRC with the Barnes load I had worked up (165 TTSX). He did not trust the 185 Berger to reliably penetrate on a bear at point blank range.

We hiked a lot of miles in rain or sleet everyday except for one. The adverse conditions did not bother the rifle at all. The scope is a Nightforce NXS 2.5-10x42.

I have three Montana Rifle Company rifles, 260, 308, and 300 Win Mag. that have been shot quite a bit. All have been very accurate and very reliable right out of the box, nothing further required.

The three position safety blocking the firing pin, the gas deflector blocking the left raceway, and the large bolt shroud which is another gas block are design features I really like. I have seen a factory rifle round split in the body in a R700. The shooter let out a yelp and had powder particles on his face, so it is a factor to consider. Paul Mauser lost an eye to gas blowback, which led to his classic design.

Their barrels take about 40 - 60 shots to really settle down. They are very well built, very durable and reliable. Definitely can give them a recommendation.

For chambering, 7 Rem Mag or 300 Win Mag of the choices you listed, although the 270 with a good bullet should work fine.

But if he’s earmarked $2000 to spend on his perfect hunting rifle, why not get the best rifle he can. This is a forum, not a Q&A page. It’s expected that ever topic is going to stray a little bit. Would be a pretty boring place to be with no personality if everybody just answered his question with their favorite brand. It’s a discussion.

Personally, if I wanted a light to mid weight rifle, I’d find somewhere to handle the kimber cooper and montana rifle companies offerings then decide if they would meet my needs. I think you’d get more value for your money if you had a semi custom rifle put together.

Or just buy this one.

https://aprifles.com/collections/ready-to-ship-rifles/products/apr-maverick-7mm-rem-mag

he's a lefty, other than that, perfect choice. some forget the greatness of the 7mag.

Oh yeah. Forgot about that part.

I like browning, but hate that stock.

I would love a hells canyon speed but it only comes RH

A couple good resources here, for this very topic. Scroll down to "twist rate chart"

http://riflebarrels.com/calibers-and-twist-rates/

http://www.shilen.com/calibersAndTwists.html

how is the quality of the Montana Rifle Company rifles? I mean the fit and finish?

We, as lefties, are often bound to build, or highly modify to get what we want. For instance, I searched high and low for a LH Tikka Varmint .223, nope, not available in left hand. If it were available I would not change a thing about the rifle, just develop a load, and run it. Instead, I again, had to buy a donor rifle, and buy a barrel, and get those parts to my gunsmith. I will have an additional $600 invested over what a RH shooter would. However, my end product will in fact be better. A higher quality barrel, with much tighter tolerances during machining.

It is just the price that has to be paid as a LH bolt action shooter.

I am not interested in building a rifle, however not opposed to having someone build it for me.


that Alamo precision rifle would in fact be perfect if the bolt was on the opposite side of the receiver.


i'm not a long range (400 + yard ) shooter, and won't ever be. I'm not all that concerned about the ballistics of a bullet when it hits at 750 yards i'm concerned about what it does when it hits hide, meat and bone at 150-350 yards. I also wont have time to set up the rifle on a bipod, get a wind reading, etc. My elk I shot took about 30 seconds from him coming out of the woods, putting glass on him, getting the rifle up and me to start shooting. Most of my game is shot very quickly by most peoples standards. animals just don't hang around very long for me

i'm not gonna judge a rifle negatively if I can get 3/4"-1/2" MOA from it.....hell I don't know if I had a true 1/2" MOA rifle if I could shoot a group that tight.

Looking for something in the 6 1/2-7lb raw rifle weight, in a 7mm, .300 wsm or a .300 win.


the .300 wby is just too much gun for what i'm wanting. if I want to get beat up like that when I pull the trigger I would get a .338 win mag

If they had the Mark V ultralight in .270 wby or 7mm wby mag I would already be done shopping

Fitting of parts is excellent. Finish on the X2 is matte bead blast, so not high gloss like your Weatherby rifles. The matte finish is good for hunting to prevent reflections and shine, also it hides rough use better.

The Montana Rifle Company really is a resurrection of the pre-64 Model 70 with significant safety improvements. The MRC also uses the original M70 trigger which generally is regarded as one of the best and most reliable ever made.

TT85,
since you like Weatherby products, also look at the Vanguard.


The 270 you already have shooting 150’s is another option to consider.

The Tikka would fit your bill fine IMO. It’s light and they shoot fine. I don’t mind spending whatever on a rifle I want, but if I were a lefty I would get the Tikka in .300 Win or WSM, put a high end Leupold (probably a VX5 or 6 HD) on it, and go hunting.

The MRC would be probably be a good choice too if you like the controlled feed action. Jeff likes them and that’s a pretty good testimonial.

Nothing wrong with having one built if that’s what you want to do either. Lots of folks enjoy getting one built to their specs. It’s just up to you.

Getting a rifle/ load shooting as tight as possible is the removing of factors that cause a missed shot. Removing rifle, ammo, base, rings, scope as factors, leaves only the shooter as the last factor. Once all the equipment is nailed down solid, all one has to do is put the reticle where they want it, have edge to edge clarity, maintian good trigger control/ follow-through and the bullet will go where he wants it to go.

At 400 yards and under, on an under MOA rifle another 1/4” or even 1/2” isn’t going to make a bit of difference or cause one single missed shot.

I would go with this and call it good. Save the money for some nice glass.

https://www.eurooptic.com/JRTXB470-Tikka-Tikka-T3x-Lite-LH-7MM-Rem-Mag-S-S-SYN-243--ba.aspx

I cant bring myself to buy that rifle. They just don't do it for me.

I’m predicting the MRC may be in your future then.

ah, smart man

Talked to them and that is most likely the builder I am going with.

The caliber selection is incredible

I don't think you would have an issue if you are using Partitions or Accubonds. They aren't varmint bullets that will spin apart. If I had any concerns, I would email Nosler. They designed the cartridge and the bullets and they would know best if there are any concerns.

Buzz, never bad mouth the Tikka on the THF!