Kodiak "Scout" - Again

K

Keith Rogan

New member
Some of you may recall the interesting (to me)discussion we had on my quest to build a rifle heavy enough to stop a bear but with range enough for medium game.

The criteria was:

It had to be light and short - a carbine in either a short action bolt configuration or a lever or pump light and handy enough to use in close cover.
Suggestions for a cartridge that fit the bill were more limited. The only two short cartridges capable of 300 yard shooting with no or minimal holdover were the new .376 Steyr or the .350 Rem Mag

And there we stood. When we started tallying the costs of the various rifles, rebarreling, rebluing or coating, etc, etc, the costs went through the roof. We simply couldn't find a rifle larger than .30 caliber in a short action of any type to use as a base for the "scout" - rechambering is one thing, rebarreling quite another.

The project simply died.
Then, a week or so ago I'm perusing the Remington Web Site and there in the "Custom Shop" is a Model 7 Short Action in .350 Rem Mag! Toss on a QD scope mount and some Express sights and its exactly what we're looking for.

I thank all of you for your input on the project. The rifle I'm looking for already exists and one will be in my gun cabinet before long!




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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
Keith,
Interesting rifle. But hunting way up there in Kodiac Island - I mean Kodiak island... Would you prefer a synth stock, or stainless finish... Just how would you prefer your rifle set up?
And how would Lars have his set up?

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Every man Dies.
Not Every Man Truely Lives...
FREEDOM!

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
 
Remington offers the rifle in two configurations. They both have 20 inch barrels. The "KS" is a kevlar stock and the "MS" is a Mannlicher style stock with gorgeous two toned laminated wood. The laminated will hold up as well as a synthetic and I'm a sucker for a pretty rifle, it'll have to be the Mannlicher with a Black T finish.
The setup will be a 1X5 scope mounted with QD - Quick Detachable mount. The rear sight will be replaced with express style sights.

And Lars? Lars would hotload his .243 to about 6000 fps and hope for the best(G).


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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan



[This message has been edited by Keith Rogan (edited July 22, 1999).]
 
Wow. How much?

The more I study the .350 Rem Mag, the more I am perplexed that it never caught on. I'm about to get a .35 Whelen, and they're the same, ballistically. How good it is that Remington is now offering this good cartridge again.
 
I have a Rem 600 in .308 that I bought with a cheap Tasco 4X scope on it and... No bolt! I need to get one, as I've been meaning to set this up as a pseudo-scout for, oh, about 6 years...

Have figured I may have to send it off to Remington's custom shop to have the bolt properly head-spaced. Any ideas?????



[This message has been edited by Long Path (edited July 22, 1999).]
 
I'd try Gun Parts Corp. for your bolt. I don't think the Model 7 action is the same as the model 600. Adapting one would be spendy.

Keith
 
A Remington Model 7 as a dangerous game rifle?
You gotta be kidding.

I will not bother to rehash my objections here.
 
Go ahead, Mad Dog, rehash your objections. I don't recall what the length of the bolt throw had to do with it?
At any rate, its not a "Dangerous Game" rifle. The idea was to have a hunting rifle for deer and caribou that was short and handy (and powerful) enough to deal with a bear at close quarters if you had to.

A .350 Rem Mag with 180 grain bullets is a 300 yard game getter. With 250 grain bullets its quite ballistically impressive at close range.
There are rifles that will do either job better, but none that will do both as well - that I can find.

Interestingly, I've been corresponding (emailing) with another Alaskan who was mauled a few years ago. We were talking about the event itself, but after a few days he mentioned that he now almost exclusively hunts his deer and caribou with an 18" barreled .375 H&H!
Maybe you have to have "seen the elephant" to know whats desirable in a a hunting rifle to be used in big bear country.


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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
I think that Mad Dog's objections are to its reliability. However, you're not talking about going LOOKING for a bear, which lowers your chances of failure happening with dangerous game....

Frankly, I like it.
 
Yes, I recall now. It was the lack of controlled round feeding in the Remington. Well, nobody else is making a short-action heavy except Steyr. I don't know if Steyr is controlled feed but I do know its $2600.

I've never jammed a bolt action in my life and I've shot tens of thousands of rounds out of a variety of rifles. A short action Mauser would be the ticket, but nobody makes one.



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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
Hi Keith,

I wonder why you didn't go with a Remingtom pump in .35 Whelen. Seems to me that you would get the ballistics that your looking for in a great package.

Get the .30-06 carbine version, tune the trigger, have the barrel bored out for to .35 and rechambered. Might be a few bucks, but I imagine it would be about the same as a M 7 from the custom shop. Bound to be faster to shoot than a bolt gun.

Buddy of mine has the M 7 in .350. With the lighter bullets it's a DRT rifle for deer. (dead right there)

BTW - the Steyr is a push feed.

Giz

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"Shoot low boys, they're riding Shetland ponies..." LG, RIP
 
Gizmo,

Rebarreling is far cheaper than reboring and its STILL damned expensive!
Figuring $600 for a rifle, by the time we rebarrelled, installed sights, reblued or Black T'd, we were approaching $1200 for the rifle. Add in the Gunsmith hours and you've got one expensive machine!
I can buy this factory rifle much cheaper.



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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
Just a thought,

How about a BLR in .358 Win. I have one and love it. Light, short action, Accurate. Although it might not be a flat enough round for what your looking for. That and it is pretty hard to find factory ammo.

Don't know if it would fit for you, but it will be my carry gun when I get up to Alaska.

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lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'entrate
 
A friend of mine has a .358 BLR. Its a nice rifle, but he doesn't get the range he needs for deer and its a pretty iffy round for bears as well.
Most of the hunting around here is in some pretty open country, you may see a nice buck 250 yards away across an open swale, it would be pretty frustrating to have a short range weapon.
I don't think they make the BLR in .358 anymore, I'll bet one would be just the ticket in wooded country.


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Keith
The Bears and Bear Maulings Page: members.xoom.com/keithrogan
 
The only place that I have hunted deer and antelope without the chance of running into a bear is here in Arizona, on the high plains.
All of the hunting and/or camping in Washington, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and such nearly always produced a bear or two, usually when least expected. Sometimes with potentially disastrous results.
I haven't "seen the Elephant", but I have seen, been attacked by, and shot bears.
Once in my tent, while I was in it too.
Once at breakfast in camp, while cooking bacon.
Once, coming through my cabin door while I was still in bed. He did not bother to open the door. He just went THROUGH it.
In my youth, I hunted them as a semi pro guide attached to an outfit in Washington.
We chased a LOT of bears for clients, and watched as they had every possible weapon malfuntion or failure known to man.

I learned that .357 magnums are not up to the task.
I learned that .44 mags are iffy.
I learned that 12ga. slugs do nicely up close.
I learned that Remingtons sometimes fail to extract.
I learned that Sakos sometimes bind up.
I learned that they nearly always fail at the most inopportune time.

Now, I never venture forth into anything that could even remotely be considered bear country without appropriate weapons.
As a result, I have got rid of all of the hunting rifles that had pushfeeds, crappy extractors, and iffy performance.
I have built up lightweight and full sized rifles in controlled feed actions, and hunt with them exclusively.
I will gladly carry the extra 8 ounces or so of a Mauser, Springfield, Dakota, or model 70 to get ABSOLUTE reliability.
 
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