Recent developments in ammo availability, reloading considerations and MDOC’s adoption of Antler Point Restrictions all came together and I decided it was time to take a look at my rifle battery. With both a 94 Winchester and a WASR AK variant, I was fat in the ‘iron sighted midrange’ department, which is where I’ve spent most of the past 40 years.
The WASR is a recent acquisition and it’s turned out to be fully equal to the ’94, inside 300 yards. I’ve still got my .54 Hawken, if I want to go primitive. So when a fella offered me $200 more than what I paid for the Winchester, I took it. I realize some will disagree with that decision but when it comes to guns, I’ve always been happy with simply having the bases covered. The only thing I really needed was a full-snort centerfire hunting rifle.
Nearly 20 years ago, I traded into a Remington Model 78 ‘Sportsman’ 30-06. To the uninitiated, the 78 was simply a plain-Jane Model 700 produced between 1984 and 1988, with matte bluing and put up in a walnut stained birch stock with a blind magazine. They were available in .223 Remington, .243 Winchester, .308 Winchester, .270 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield. The way I use a rifle, the Model 78 is perfect for me. I need a rifle that can stand hard service; but I detest the current crop of sightless, synthetic-stocked centerfires.
I was blissfully happy with my 78 until the fateful day when my wife wanted to shoot it. She clobbered gallon jugs at 200 yards with it and fell immediately in love. Lacking a recoil pad, it walloped her pretty hard, so I cut the stock to fit her with the best Decelerator pad then available. She still loves it; but when I shoot it I get a thumb knuckle in the schnozz… it’s just too short for me. It's Mama’s gun now and I'm good with that.
I cruised auction houses, pawn shops and gun shops looking for another 78/06, to no avail. Then in the last month, our local outdoor market produces TWO of them. One had the dark stock, which I like, and it also had the better scope- a very clear old Bushnell Sportsman 4x12 with the parallax-adjustable objective. So that’s the one I bought, for a little less than a sightless WalMart plastic rifle and a bubble packed scope. I hurried home and ran five rounds through it. No mechanical problems surfaced, though the trigger could use a little TLC.
Range report when the monsoons stop.
The WASR is a recent acquisition and it’s turned out to be fully equal to the ’94, inside 300 yards. I’ve still got my .54 Hawken, if I want to go primitive. So when a fella offered me $200 more than what I paid for the Winchester, I took it. I realize some will disagree with that decision but when it comes to guns, I’ve always been happy with simply having the bases covered. The only thing I really needed was a full-snort centerfire hunting rifle.
Nearly 20 years ago, I traded into a Remington Model 78 ‘Sportsman’ 30-06. To the uninitiated, the 78 was simply a plain-Jane Model 700 produced between 1984 and 1988, with matte bluing and put up in a walnut stained birch stock with a blind magazine. They were available in .223 Remington, .243 Winchester, .308 Winchester, .270 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield. The way I use a rifle, the Model 78 is perfect for me. I need a rifle that can stand hard service; but I detest the current crop of sightless, synthetic-stocked centerfires.
I was blissfully happy with my 78 until the fateful day when my wife wanted to shoot it. She clobbered gallon jugs at 200 yards with it and fell immediately in love. Lacking a recoil pad, it walloped her pretty hard, so I cut the stock to fit her with the best Decelerator pad then available. She still loves it; but when I shoot it I get a thumb knuckle in the schnozz… it’s just too short for me. It's Mama’s gun now and I'm good with that.
I cruised auction houses, pawn shops and gun shops looking for another 78/06, to no avail. Then in the last month, our local outdoor market produces TWO of them. One had the dark stock, which I like, and it also had the better scope- a very clear old Bushnell Sportsman 4x12 with the parallax-adjustable objective. So that’s the one I bought, for a little less than a sightless WalMart plastic rifle and a bubble packed scope. I hurried home and ran five rounds through it. No mechanical problems surfaced, though the trigger could use a little TLC.
Range report when the monsoons stop.
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