Critique My Dream

[wind gypsy]

I had the chamber pushed out a little when I had it built. 40thou

You had them chamber it headspaced .040" long? Custom reamer with shoulder .040 forward? Or just the throat?

 

[Dcrafton]

You had them chamber it headspaced .040" long? Custom reamer with shoulder .040 forward? Or just the throat?

I believe it was just the throat so I could set the bullet out more.
I did not come up with the design, it was my smith but we did discuss things a bit before he did this. It’s been about 1.5 years now.


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[Dcrafton]

You had them chamber it headspaced .040" long? Custom reamer with shoulder .040 forward? Or just the throat?

Here is my chart

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[Wrench]

Yeah, I'm just trying to understand where the thought that vertical grips are just for prone comes from. The only thing I can think of is they may not be as handy just for carrying and thus slower to shoulder? But once shouldered i can't imagine how having a more natural hand position for pulling the trigger would ever be a negative. Seems like if they were an impediment for snap shooting they wouldn't put a pistol grip on every single rifle designed for combat.

There is a reason that no vertical grip upland or goose gun exists.....because they're ergonomically disgusting to flow into on the fly, and nobody has time to set up a tripod to shoot a passing bird.

 

[Antares]

There is a reason that no vertical grip upland or goose gun exists.....because they're ergonomically disgusting to flow into on the fly, and nobody has time to set up a tripod to shoot a passing bird.

Ooh, I don't know about that. Look at a TSK trap gun stock and then tell me about the ergonomics of a vertical grip. Maybe you'll say "a trap gun starts in the mounted position"...I'm just saying vertical grips exist on shotguns, especially at the highest levels of competition.

 

[wind gypsy]

There is a reason that no vertical grip upland or goose gun exists.....because they're ergonomically disgusting to flow into on the fly, and nobody has time to set up a tripod to shoot a passing bird.

Time to set up a tripod.. that’s kind of dramatic considering the offhand competitive shooters use vertical grips too. I agree that a classic sporter grip just feels better when you’re shouldering it quick but still don’t think it provides a tangible benefit to actually shooting game.

 

[buildyourown]

Why the long action if you're going to use lightweight bergers? Even if you have a SAAMI throat, something like the 200.20x would probably work great.

Short term plan is a fall hunt out west, after that I will likely at the very least, have the throat reamed to allow me to get into the heavy game with it. It may require rebarreling at that point, but I have options.

 

[wind gypsy]

Short term plan is a fall hunt out west, after that I will likely at the very least, have the throat reamed to allow me to get into the heavy game with it. It may require rebarreling at that point, but I have options.

You should be able to accommodate a little heavier bullets with your existing throat unless your COAL to jam is actually less than the zero freebore SAAMI spec. This is where a 200.20x sits at the lands in my factory browning xbolt.

Pretty dang good, about 3.080” COAL but my throat probably has some erosion too. I’d run the hell out of that if it fit but my mag only allows about 2.9”. You don’t have that problem.

The 180 EH is a pretty slick bullet too but I’d give the 200.20x a look.

 

[Wrench]

The 20x has the making of a fine meat maker. I milled this one back to see what makes em' tick.

 

[buildyourown]

I'll take a look for sure. I do like the fact that I'm not limited by other than a standard saami throat (to start with) and my 24" bbl length. I am going to spend some time with it this summer coming up with a hunting load and I will learn a lot about it as I go. That will likely open up the throat a bit along the way and after my hunt I will look more into long range shooting, competitive or not and it seems that many are shooting the longer and heavier Bergers for that with good success.

 

[buildyourown]

View attachment 287001

The 20x has the making of a fine meat maker. I milled this one back to see what makes em' tick.

Interesting.. be curious if anyone has tried it on game.

 

[buildyourown]

Just a little follow up since I started this thread...this is what I submitted as a build sheet to the gunsmith for my medium weight (sub 9) /medium range (sub 1000) 280AI. Once I get it done, I’ll follow up with some pics.
Stock - AG Composites Alpine Hunter with a Hawkins precision bdl bottom metal.
Trigger - Trigger Tech Primary set at 2 pounds
Defiance Anti Action
Proof - 24” 1/8 twist with seamless muzzle brake
Hawkins Hybrid Rings
Leupold VX-5 HD

Hope it turns out as well in person as it does in my mind. Thanks again to everybody for their opinions, feedback, and thoughts!!

I think you will be elated, I certainly hope so!

 

[passinggas33]

So I figured since I started this thread I should at least give an update. I followed quite a bit of the advice you guys offered, took some advice from my gunsmith, and also accepted the effects of covid and limited inventory/crazy demand. So this is what I was left with. Let me know what you think, and give me some feedback.
So I took my Kimber Mtn Ascent 280AI and worked it over a little to lighten it up. This will be my future “backpacking/sheep gun”. I will be shooting both 140 and 155 grain bullets out of this, and be mainly used for deer, antelope, sheep, and the very rare elk. Range will be 500 yards max.


With the advice from all of you I continued my build of my custom 280AI. And this is how it turned out!


I was able to come in under 8 pounds. It wasn’t my original goal of 7.5 but I’m pretty pleased with the weight and what it is. My plan is for this to be my “max” 750 yard gun and be shooting either 168 ABLR or 175 ELDX. Mainly my elk gun, but would be happy to use it on smaller game as needed. I good portion of my hunting is done from a truck or atv with minimal (less than 2 miles) hiking so the weight isn’t huge.

Anyway, this is what I got. Thanks for your help getting here. Let the roasting begin!!