My last custom rifle

[Harry Collins]

I have a little Ruger 77 RSI in 6.5X55. I've been working up loads with Hornady ELD X 143 grain bullets. My other Swed likes the 129, 140, and 160 grain bullets and shoots all three in under a minute of angle. What a great looking rifle you have Rich. What is your choice of bullet?

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Harry Collins

I have a little Ruger 77 RSI in 6.5X55. I've been working up loads with Hornady ELD X 143 grain bullets. My other Swed likes the 129, 140, and 160 grain bullets and shoots all three in under a minute of angle. What a great looking rifle you have Rich. What is your choice of bullet?

Had a couple of the older tang safety 77RSI's but sadly they were both in 308 . Would rather they had been a 7-08 or some such , I'm not much of a 308 fan . Only problem I had with them was trigger consistency , one time it would break at 2 1/2 pounds the next time it was 4 pounds . I eventually put RifleBasix replacement sears in both and they then broke at a consistent 2 pounds give or take 4 ounces .

[Tom Flanigan]

Originally Posted by CraigThompson

Had a couple of the older tang safety 77RSI's but sadly they were both in 308 . Would rather they had been a 7-08 or some such , I'm not much of a 308 fan . Only problem I had with them was trigger consistency , one time it would break at 2 1/2 pounds the next time it was 4 pounds . I eventually put RifleBasix replacement sears in both and they then broke at a consistent 2 pounds give or take 4 ounces .

Just curious about why you are not a 308 fan. I've never owned one or loaded for one but the ballistics are very similar to a 30-06. Does it have something to do with getting decent reloadability from 308 cases?

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Tom Flanigan

Just curious about why you are not a 308 fan. I've never owned one or loaded for one but the ballistics are very similar to a 30-06. Does it have something to do with getting decent reloadability from 308 cases?

I’m not a 223 , 308 or 06 fan . And I own Mannlicher Schoenauer carbines in 308 and 06 . As to case life I’ve never had an issue with case life or reliability in any cartridge I’ve messed with . I like the 243 , 260 , 7mm-08 and 338 Federal all based on the 308 case . I like the 25-06 , 6.5-06 , 270 , 280 and 338-06 all based on the 06 .

[Tom Flanigan]

Originally Posted by CraigThompson

I’m not a 223 , 308 or 06 fan . And I own Mannlicher Schoenauer carbines in 308 and 06 . As to case life I’ve never had an issue with case life or reliability in any cartridge I’ve messed with . I like the 243 , 260 , 7mm-08 and 338 Federal all based on the 308 case . I like the 25-06 , 6.5-06 , 270 , 280 and 338-06 all based on the 06 .

Got it. I like most of the old calibers like the 257 Roberts and 7 x 57. My two favorites are the 270 and 243. I use the 243 with 85 grain handloads for deer much of the time. The 270 comes into play in Saskatchewan for moose and bear and also deer up there. I would have no problem using the 243 on bear at reasonable range but I’ve always used the 270 for them.

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Tom Flanigan

Got it. I like most of the old calibers like the 257 Roberts and 7 x 57. My two favorites are the 270 and 243. I use the 243 with 85 grain handloads for deer much of the time. The 270 comes into play in Saskatchewan for moose and bear and also deer up there. I would have no problem using the 243 on bear at reasonable range but I’ve always used the 270 for them.

Back about 2002-2003 I was bear hunting in Wayne/Monroe counties in PA . We dropped by the bear check station one evening to see what they had gotten in 500 pound plus size . Seems a 13 year old boy was sitting there on a kind of cliff maybe 30-40 feet above the forest floor when this bear wandered by . The kid had a Remington shuckamatic (760) in 243 WIN shooting handloaded 90 grain bullets . So at about thirty yards he puts one behind the shoulder , said bear screams snarls whatever and proceeded to run around in a circle . Young man sat there and watched said he didn’t want to shoot again because he didn’t want to make the bear mad LOL’s . Anyway after a minute or less Mr Bear falls over and is dead when he gets to him . At the check station with innards out Mr Bear weighed 664 pounds .

[Tom Flanigan]

Originally Posted by CraigThompson

Back about 2002-2003 I was bear hunting in Wayne/Monroe counties in PA . We dropped by the bear check station one evening to see what they had gotten in 500 pound plus size . Seems a 13 year old boy was sitting there on a kind of cliff maybe 30-40 feet above the forest floor when this bear wandered by . The kid had a Remington shuckamatic (760) in 243 WIN shooting handloaded 90 grain bullets . So at about thirty yards he puts one behind the shoulder , said bear screams snarls whatever and proceeded to run around in a circle . Young man sat there and watched said he didn’t want to shoot again because he didn’t want to make the bear mad LOL’s . Anyway after a minute or less Mr Bear falls over and is dead when he gets to him . At the check station with innards out Mr Bear weighed 664 pounds .

Great story. I've never shot a bear with a 243 since I only take one rifle to Saskatchewan, the 270. Bears are now legal in Pawling, NY and so I might get a chance at one with the 243. But I’m not sure I would shoot it. After I got all three color phases, cinnamon, brown and black I decided to quit shooting them. But I didn’t stop like I thought I would since my Saskatchewan farmer friend Snuffy wanted them shot. They do a lot of damage to his oat fields in September. They roll on the oats for some reason while feeding and those areas can’t be combined. They don’t touch canola or any other grains but they raise havoc with the oats when they ripen. But I’d probably let a Pawling bear walk. I really don’t need any more skins and I like venison better than bear meat.