So here is what I'm thinking . . . been watching a few videos of the big name guys (Duley's, The Hunters Club guys etc.) and thinking about some of the places I'd like to poke into. They nearly always involve climbing up through bush with a full pack, and a "bust out" through the monkey scrub at some point. Seeing the aforementioned guys (all pretty young) battling along with bloody great long cannons on thick stuff got me thinking there must be a better way - I've been there and done it and is never actually much fun. I hauled "our" ( @nor-west ) 7x64 along on several such trips, and while it was nice to have a "big hammer" once you got up in the open where ranges get a bit longer, even with a 23 1/2" barrel it was tiresome in the bush and thick stuff - like when you are coming down in the dark and strike a matagouri belt 150M above the riverbed. Managing a rifle and a hill stick or walking poles on big descents with the rifle still slung is a pain, get into some thick stuff and thats when the "fuse blows" and you end up doing something that can lead to a wreck.
So - a 30-06 (or 280, or even 270) with a nice long barrel (26" at least eh?) would be even better it it would go in your pack when you need it too.
I've been offered a TC Encore in 308 with a 28" barrel, but of-course I got sprung by Nor-west (who I swear sometimes reads my mind) and if it got a 30-06 AI reamer poked up it then it might be "just the ticket" - it'd do 3000 fps with 180's with RL-26. Put a brake on it - the Encore's are around 7 lbs so recoil would be starting to get up there. So - who has the 30-06 AI reamer now?
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