AZHunter
Iowa Boy At Heart
I thought I'd share a little bit about my years-long rebuild of my favorite hunting rifle and the story behind it. Many years ago when I was 14, after a summer of detasseling corn, I decided I was ready to buy myself a good rifle (Remington 700 like my dad's). My dad didn't give me many (any) options and told me I was getting a .30-06 because of its versatility. Back then, I didn't know much about them and I really wanted a .308. So, begrudgingly, dad took me and my hard-earned money to the local Wal-Mart and we bought me a Remington 700 ADL in .30-06. I put a good enough scope on it for what I could afford in junior high. Well, as time went on and I got more into shooting, I realized exactly what I had in the .30-06, especially after reading up on its history and what it was actually designed for prior to WWI. A friend of my dad's hand-loaded a bunch of Hornady 165 gr soft point bullets and it shot them pretty well.
After I moved to Arizona 11 years ago and got more into western hunting and shooting in general, I envisioned a complete rebuild on my beloved .30-06 to get the most out of it I possibly could. I took that rifle to my local gunsmith and had a Pachmayr recoil pad put on it, the action glass bedded, the barrel floated, the factory trigger set to 2.75 lbs and put a decent Simmons Aetec scope on it (again, what I could afford at the time). With those same hand loads, I was capable of 1/2-inch 3-shot groups on occaision.
I took it on 2 elk hunts in 2003 and 2004 and got rained on during both hunts so I decided it was time for a synthetic stock. My gunsmith in Tucson is a fabulous custom rifle maker (Harry Lawon Company; Randy Lawson runs it now) and he had factory Remington 700 ADL synthetic stocks laying around that he uses for blanks for his wood stocks. He made me a great deal on one and bedded the action, floated the barrel and put on a Sims (Remington R3) Limbsaver recoil pad. What a difference in felt recoil! After a couple of hunts and a couple of whitetails, I finally got the money and upgraded the scope after finding a good deal on a Zeiss. I ran out of the hand loads and switched to Hornady Custom factory loads that closely matched the hand loads (same bullet) and consistently printed sub 1-inch groups. 2 years ago, I got into reloading myself and switched over to Barnes triple-shock copper bullets. I fine tuned the loads to my rifle and it consistently shoots 3-shot groups at 0.46" and is devestating on what it hits.
Shortly after putting that factory synthetic stock on, I realized why most people refer to them as recycled coke bottles. It felt great and shot amazing, but it always bothered me that it was hollow and, therefore, not absorbing the recoil as it should be. About 2-3 years ago, I started researching custom synthetic stocks and all roads lead me straight to McMillan and their 100% solid fiberglass stocks. I have a Remington 11-87 Thumbhole turkey gun and love that ergonomic feeling, so I set my sights on the McMillan Lazzeroni Thumbhole Sporter stock (modeled after the original Harry Lawson thumbhole stocks). So, with my wife's permission
, I saved every penny I could and last December, I called up McMillan and ordered my new stock, complete with a Sims Limbsaver recoil pad. I had it colored in their custom marble camoflage pattern with black, olive green, and grey. I didn't like the exact look of what they showed on their website and asked if I could get it more black than green and they liked the idea. Yesterday (19 March), I drove down to Phoenix and picked up my new stock and they installed it for me. I don't think I've ever been more in love with a rifle than I was all day yesterday and I've been pretty infatuated with this rifle for several years. The fit is perfect, and so much more comfortable. And the marble camo pattern is exactly what I was hoping for! I still have to get down to Tucson so my gunsmith can glass bed the action (barrel is all ready floated by their design). Yesterday, I got to have a very long-standing dream come true in continuing the rebuild of my beloved rifle that, amazingly, I begrudgingly let my dad talk me into getting. I just wish he was here to see it all and let me thank him in person, but I know he's watching down over me smiling with that "I told your dumb arse" look he was famous for! :drink1:
Thanks for indulging my story and here are the pics of the finished product. I'm hoping to get it out this fall/winter to break it in...again. I absolutely love my bow since I've gotten into archery the last few years and I'm very addicted to that, but this has been my life-long infatuation!
And here is a close-up of the thumbhole grip and the marble camo pattern.
Thanks again for the indulgence!
After I moved to Arizona 11 years ago and got more into western hunting and shooting in general, I envisioned a complete rebuild on my beloved .30-06 to get the most out of it I possibly could. I took that rifle to my local gunsmith and had a Pachmayr recoil pad put on it, the action glass bedded, the barrel floated, the factory trigger set to 2.75 lbs and put a decent Simmons Aetec scope on it (again, what I could afford at the time). With those same hand loads, I was capable of 1/2-inch 3-shot groups on occaision.
I took it on 2 elk hunts in 2003 and 2004 and got rained on during both hunts so I decided it was time for a synthetic stock. My gunsmith in Tucson is a fabulous custom rifle maker (Harry Lawon Company; Randy Lawson runs it now) and he had factory Remington 700 ADL synthetic stocks laying around that he uses for blanks for his wood stocks. He made me a great deal on one and bedded the action, floated the barrel and put on a Sims (Remington R3) Limbsaver recoil pad. What a difference in felt recoil! After a couple of hunts and a couple of whitetails, I finally got the money and upgraded the scope after finding a good deal on a Zeiss. I ran out of the hand loads and switched to Hornady Custom factory loads that closely matched the hand loads (same bullet) and consistently printed sub 1-inch groups. 2 years ago, I got into reloading myself and switched over to Barnes triple-shock copper bullets. I fine tuned the loads to my rifle and it consistently shoots 3-shot groups at 0.46" and is devestating on what it hits.
Shortly after putting that factory synthetic stock on, I realized why most people refer to them as recycled coke bottles. It felt great and shot amazing, but it always bothered me that it was hollow and, therefore, not absorbing the recoil as it should be. About 2-3 years ago, I started researching custom synthetic stocks and all roads lead me straight to McMillan and their 100% solid fiberglass stocks. I have a Remington 11-87 Thumbhole turkey gun and love that ergonomic feeling, so I set my sights on the McMillan Lazzeroni Thumbhole Sporter stock (modeled after the original Harry Lawson thumbhole stocks). So, with my wife's permission
, I saved every penny I could and last December, I called up McMillan and ordered my new stock, complete with a Sims Limbsaver recoil pad. I had it colored in their custom marble camoflage pattern with black, olive green, and grey. I didn't like the exact look of what they showed on their website and asked if I could get it more black than green and they liked the idea. Yesterday (19 March), I drove down to Phoenix and picked up my new stock and they installed it for me. I don't think I've ever been more in love with a rifle than I was all day yesterday and I've been pretty infatuated with this rifle for several years. The fit is perfect, and so much more comfortable. And the marble camo pattern is exactly what I was hoping for! I still have to get down to Tucson so my gunsmith can glass bed the action (barrel is all ready floated by their design). Yesterday, I got to have a very long-standing dream come true in continuing the rebuild of my beloved rifle that, amazingly, I begrudgingly let my dad talk me into getting. I just wish he was here to see it all and let me thank him in person, but I know he's watching down over me smiling with that "I told your dumb arse" look he was famous for! :drink1:Thanks for indulging my story and here are the pics of the finished product. I'm hoping to get it out this fall/winter to break it in...again. I absolutely love my bow since I've gotten into archery the last few years and I'm very addicted to that, but this has been my life-long infatuation!
And here is a close-up of the thumbhole grip and the marble camo pattern.
Thanks again for the indulgence!
