Help me select a rifle for ptarmigan hunting.
Goals/considerations: Assume I can manage the exterior ballistics calculations (elevation/temperature/humidity/etc) which are somewhat minimized in the goal. I want a rifle that will hit a 1" circle (ptarmigan head) to 250 yards or beyond, day-to-day, month-to-month. I'm thinking a laminated or synthetic stock is necessary to get that long-term stability.
While flat shooting is required, range estimating is a lesser issue than wind drift so good velocity and ballistic coeficient are important. I'm thinking one of the .20's, probably, the .204 Ruger for simplicity, is a good caliber - better than a 22-250, and a 6 mm is over-kill. I'm anticipating the 39 grain BK will be the bullet of choice. Hunting will mostly be between 4-8,000 feet, 40 grain VMAX probably works well ( I'm assuming 1:12 twist, 1:11 perhaps, if available, but is not a big factor in choosing the rifle). Load devlopment will be done at about 700' altitude. I've got a selection of other bullets on hand for load development - whatever shoots best.
I don't need to shoot in the extremes of early/late day light. I've already purchased a Zeiss HD5 5-25 x 50 scope for it.
The rifle itself though... When I first got the idea of a bird head rifle, I was reading/thinking about a Savage Model 12 (VLP), but at 10 pounds bare, I'm greatly deterred - roughly 13 pounds all up, plus everything else for a 5-10 mile walking hunt is more weight than I want for this (I might as well hunt sheep with that load). A bare rifle closer to or less than 8 pounds would be much better.
I'd like to have the rifle in-hand by early April, and load development finished by early May.
So, If I increased the budget from the cost of a Mod 12 VLP to $2,000, what are the top 3-4 rifles, or action/barrel/stock, that I should be considering?
Goals/considerations: Assume I can manage the exterior ballistics calculations (elevation/temperature/humidity/etc) which are somewhat minimized in the goal. I want a rifle that will hit a 1" circle (ptarmigan head) to 250 yards or beyond, day-to-day, month-to-month. I'm thinking a laminated or synthetic stock is necessary to get that long-term stability.
While flat shooting is required, range estimating is a lesser issue than wind drift so good velocity and ballistic coeficient are important. I'm thinking one of the .20's, probably, the .204 Ruger for simplicity, is a good caliber - better than a 22-250, and a 6 mm is over-kill. I'm anticipating the 39 grain BK will be the bullet of choice. Hunting will mostly be between 4-8,000 feet, 40 grain VMAX probably works well ( I'm assuming 1:12 twist, 1:11 perhaps, if available, but is not a big factor in choosing the rifle). Load devlopment will be done at about 700' altitude. I've got a selection of other bullets on hand for load development - whatever shoots best.
I don't need to shoot in the extremes of early/late day light. I've already purchased a Zeiss HD5 5-25 x 50 scope for it.
The rifle itself though... When I first got the idea of a bird head rifle, I was reading/thinking about a Savage Model 12 (VLP), but at 10 pounds bare, I'm greatly deterred - roughly 13 pounds all up, plus everything else for a 5-10 mile walking hunt is more weight than I want for this (I might as well hunt sheep with that load). A bare rifle closer to or less than 8 pounds would be much better.
I'd like to have the rifle in-hand by early April, and load development finished by early May.
So, If I increased the budget from the cost of a Mod 12 VLP to $2,000, what are the top 3-4 rifles, or action/barrel/stock, that I should be considering?
