I’m looking for a new pronghorn rifle and am striking out so far. This quest started after my last pronghorn hunt in 2019, so far nothing I’ve tried has been satisfactory. The rifles I have tried so far are,
1) Sauer 100 in 7mm Remington Magnum, the rifle came out of the box missing the extractors, miserable fail!
2) Savage 110, it was one of the mid range models but I don’t recall which one, another 7mm Remington Magnum, the accuracy just wasn’t there.
3) Christensen Arms Ridgeline, 6.5 PRC, I had high hopes for this one, should have known better. I fired the first round (Norma factory) and literally had to hammer the bolt open with a block of wood. I looked everything over and didn’t find anything so I sent round #2 down range, same result! I was working as a gunsmith at the time and to that point every single Christensen we sold had serious issues.
4) Weatherby Vanguard in .257 Weatherby magnum, this one was the closest yet to a winner. I was able to find a sub MOA load but just barely and it wasn’t consistent.
5) Ruger American 2 in .270 Winchester, I haven’t even fired this one yet but I had high expectations for it because I have one in .308 that is a stellar performer. The .270 is a different story, the bolt is difficult to close on a factory round and it fails to extract 30-50% of the time. It’s going back to Ruger and down the road as soon as it’s fixed.
There might have been another one or two that I forgot but I’m still looking!
My ideal gun would be 8 pounds or less ready to shoot, 20-22” barrel threaded 5/8x24. As far as cartridge goes, I’m leaning toward the .270 Winchester but that’s not set in stone. I would prefer something I’m already set up to load for. There’s a slight chance that this rifle might be pressed into service as an elk rifle too. I would prefer to keep the cost under $1000.00 for the bare rifle.
I’m sorry for the long ramble but I’m getting really frustrated! What do you pronghorn junkies like ?
Ages ago when I lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming I walked into a pawn shop. An elderly woman walked out. At the gun counter, a man who turned out to be the owner was looking at an old rifle she had just bought in to sell on consignment.
I asked to see it, picked it up and asked about it. She was a widow, was her husband's rifle, he bought it new when he came back from the Korean War, right about the time they got married. He was a working cowboy; this was his only ever rifle. They had daughters. no sons. She was moving south to live with her daughters.
I asked his price, never letting the rifle out of my hands as some other customers came in and took note of it.
The way the bluing on rifle and scope was worn off told of being taking in and out of a saddle scabbard endless times. The obvious hand checkering was almost worn smooth. The bore was shiny with crisp rifling.
It had been carried by horse and him way more than it was shot.
He named his price. I asked him if I paid more than he asked, would he give the extra to the old widow, or was he the kind of man who would just keep it himself. He assured me and shook my hand, saying he most certainly would give her what I paid over his price. She had other things in his shop to sell, and he knew she needed money. He knew her and her husband. Over the years they had bought lots of used items from him for their humble home.
That Cowboy's rifle had fed his family during periods when Wyoming residents were dealt out over the counter late season doe antelope tags like a hand of poker cards.
I paid what he asked and more, never letting that rifle out of my hands. Then I walked out with it, no waiting, no fuss.
The rifle was a 1954 made Winchester standard model 70 in .270 Winchester with a simple Weaver fixed 6x scope. The barrel is 24 inches, and it was and still is 100% totally original, about 8 pounds
This period of production was when Winchester was still at its best. Their WW2 era machinery was not worn out, and the company's excellent machinists and gunsmiths had not retired out.
I had a custom harness grade leather saddle scabbard made for it.
It has that barrel harmonics adjusting screw under the forend. It gets both incredible velocity and accuracy.
I cannot count the number of antelope I have taken with.
It is my "Plains Rifle" for all open country game, antelope, mule deer, cow elk on the prairie and desert deer as well. Of all my hunting, i loved those wilderness desert deer tracking hunts the most. They went on for days. Slept under the stars when dark came and picked up the buck's trail at first light always with that fine old rifle.
MR
