Some bullets drift 4 inches in a one mile per hour wind at 600 yards, while some drift that much at 700 yards. The lessons are the same – learning how to read the wind and hitting a small target at 600 yards with a .308 Win. will provide you the skill to do the same thing at 700 yards with a .300 RUM. I chose the RUM for comparison
because, while I love the cartridge, it shoots the same bullet as the .308 Win. The only difference is velocity. The .308 Win. can shoot a 180-grain bullet 2,650 fps while a .300 RUM can shoot the same bullet 3,200 fps. What does that 550 fps speed difference give us? Only 80 yards of effective range! Let me explain. Suppose we are
shooting a bullet with a BC of .509. At 3,200 fps, its wind defl ection at 700 yards in a one mile per hour wind is 3.16 inches. That same bullet, when launched at 2,650 fps, drifts 3.19 inches at 620 yards! The .300 RUM will consume about 95 grains of powder to launch that bullet 3,200 fps, while the .308 Win. will use only about 45 grains, or less than half! That means signifi cantly less bar- rel wear and signifi cantly less powder cost (granted, the cost of primers and bullets will be the same). So the natural question becomes: Why not shoot a .308 Win.? It makes sense not only for long- range target work but for long-range varmints like ’chucks as well. The past few years I have been
invited by the Browning/Winchester folks on various varmint hunts. As a sponsor, they pick up the tab (along with other hunt sponsors). Without this sponsorship, I probably would not have tried various products they offer. And to be honest, I can say I have not been highly impressed with the accuracy of various Winchester rifl es the past few years. (My comment is aimed at rifl es out of the box; I have a Model 70 Safari in .416 that is a tack driver, but it has had extensive work by Gordy Gritters.) To be fair, plenty of shooters have a different opinion, including my friend Johnny Miller, former African PH and all around killer. However, when it comes to the Browning brand, I have been very impressed. So I recently asked Paul Thompson at Browning if I might get an X-Bolt Varmint Stalker to try in .308 Win. The rifl e also comes in .243 Win. as well as .223 Rem. and .22-250 Rem. But alas, the last two are not fi tted
with fast twist barrels, and consequently can’t hold a candle to either the .243 Win. or the .308 Win. when it comes to long-range performance. I chose the .308 instead of the .243 because of its reputa- tion for accuracy. The Browning Varmint Stalker
comes with a 24-inch barrel in all cali- bers except the .22-250, which comes supplied with a 26-inch barrel. Weight is 8 lbs, 1 ounce in the .308 Win. and .243 Win. models, while the .223 Rem. is 2 ounces lighter and the .22-250 one ounce heavier. Overall length is 43.75 inches for the two larger calibers. Since the action for the .223 and .22-250 is a half inch shorter, knock off ½ inch for the .223 and add 1.5 inches for the .22- 250 (because of the longer barrel length). The barrel on the varmint stalker
is about a 5½ contour; it measures 0.765 inch at the muzzle and has a matte fi n- ish. The stock is composite black and has Dura-Touch Armor Coating. The trigger is a new three lever design called the Feather trigger; it is adjustable from 3 to 5 pounds and comes preset from the factory at 3.5 lbs. I found it to be very crisp shooting from a bench rest, but in the fi eld I would prefer a lighter trigger.
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Case Prep Third page 4/7/11 10:07 AM Page 1
The rifl e comes with a detachable box magazine. I would prefer an integral box magazine for a couple of reasons. In many rifl es, optimum accuracy is obtained with a very specifi c bullet seat- ing depth, often so long that one must compromise or the cartridge will not fi t in the magazine. Detachable magazines sometimes necessitate shorter cartridge lengths than the same rifl e with an inte- gral box magazine. But this concern is
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www.varminthunter.org Page 75
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