FURMAN
WKR
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2012
- Messages
- 1,793
What are your top 5 attributes to a sheep rifle?
accurate, accurate, accurate, accurate, and finally accurate.What are your top 5 attributes to a sheep rifle?
I’ll do that. Lol! I do need to know what “sheep rifle” buyers are looking for when them decide to spend cash.1. Light to Moderate weight, 6.5 - 7.5 lbs scoped.
2. No more than moderate recoil for more forgiving shooting from awkward positions. ~ 60 gr of powder or less.
3. Trim form factor for ease to strapping to a pack. (i.e small to moderate scopes, no long magazines, extended bolt handles, adjustable cheekpeice, etc
4. Highly reliable. Blind mag or a reliable detachable with spare. No fragile triggers. Not a big fan of improved or aggressively short/fat rounds either when it comes to feeding. Scope mounts that stay put when dropped. Rifle should be well tested.... and weak points fixed. (looking at you Kimber).
5. Scope with a hold over or dial capability to increase 400 yd precision for those rare longer shots.
If this thread goes like most, you will have quite a few opinions from people with little or no sheep hunting experience. Always interesting.
Somebody needs to start a thread on what experienced sheep hunters DON'T want it a sheep rifle. That might be more instructive!
Light and accurate, but not necessarily in that order, weather resistant (stainless/synthetic), somewhat compact, and lastly, if at all possible, sexy, because really, who wants to go sheep hunting with a rifle that looks like a POS.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
While I currently use a 30-06, but that is my general purpose backcountry rifle and not a dedicated "sheep rifle". If I have a dedicated sheep gun someday, it will shoot high BC bullets 7mm or smaller from a non-magnum case. It will have a sporter stock with a slightly more vertical grip and higher comb for shooting prone or rested as is more common in the mountains, but will NOT be a dedicated prone stock. It will be short and trim enough not to be an awkward load on the pack (<24" barrel) And it largely be will be selected around MY ability to shoot it well rather than a specific precision standard or target weight.
Neither 270 or 25 calibers have high bc bullets available. What he’s describing is a 264 or 284 but I’m not interested I discussing caliber as an attribute to a sheep rifle. If we want to say minimal recoil with good velocity energy and ballistics that’s fine but any caliber is capable of providing that within reason. The focus of the question is on the rifle. Caliber itself has little effect on the rifle.This paragraph describes a .270 or .25-06 as good sheep gun.