Win. Model 70, Smith rings, Shepherd glass

[bullets]

I have only whitetail deer hunted until now with a shotgun but starting next year I will be going farther Up North to hunt. This means I am "forced" to buy my first very own rifle at the age of 38 - guess I am a late bloomer but at least I will now be able to attend an Appleseed event. I really, really, like my friend's new Rem. Model 700 XCR and have read a lot of good things about the 700 in these threads. However, the 700 XCR does not come in .308 which is the caliber I want. Since I also want a Stainless Steel barrel, I am now looking at the Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS as it comes in .308. I was not in the Military or LE so I can never remember how to use the Mil-Dot Reticle so am thinking of mounting a $700 Shepherd Scope (http://www.shepherdscopes.com) using $150 Smith Enterprise (http://www.smithenterprise.com) rings which are both in my price/value range and seem easy to use. I have read as many of the glass threads as I could find in this forum but have not heard any of you experienced riflemen/women mention the performace of Smith rings or if the Shepherd is any good???

[macphisto]

However, the 700 XCR does not come in .308

I couldn't believe you were right so I looked it up for myself. Fourteen calibers to choose from, and .308 is not one of them. WTF?

FYI, a bolt gun with a four-round capacity would make for a long Appleseed weekend.

[hammAR]

Shepard Varmint 556, 6-18X40 with 9" range finding circles scope on Colt AR-Match...
this is a 450yd Coyote with a single 60 Gr. Hornady V-MAX behind left ear....
I love it because it is great glass, a little above average light gathering, brainless ranging with fast target acquisition......
You are welcome to try it before you buy one.......
can't help you on the rings....

ARMatch_dog.JPG (50.59 KB) Viewed 734 times

[1911fan]

I am not here to rain on the parade but to ask if you have seen the land on which you are hunting. I only ask because if you in most of northern Minnesota you will not have a shot long enough to make use of the fancy scope. We hunt privat land the first two weeks and paper mill land the last weekend. Only in one small area is shot of more than seventy yards possible. A 92 Winchester in 45 colt with a lyman peep sight is going to be a far more usefull deer rifle than any 600 yard set up. Personally I use a 99 savage with 1.5x scope on it.

[bullets]

Nice set up & nice shot hammar.

1911 is right, I have not personally seen the hunting land but my friend who has hunted it has told me we will be setting up our stands on the edge of two large woods with a 600 yard meadow that has a small watering hole in between the two woods that the deer frequent so a shot of 300 yards is likely.

Sounds like this rifle is not the setup for an Appleseed weekend - what would be?

[hammAR]

It sounds like your set up would more than cover that hunting terrain..............
again, if you want to try the scope before you purchase, let me know....

Appleseed is a different game. You, in fact I will, start a thread for Appleseed as I am interested in shooting it for fun too................