MVRK28
Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2018
- Messages
- 98
Picked up my new setup yesterday! This is my first hunting set up of my own, have always just used the guns left to my brothers and I by my father or a loaner from my father in law. I was pretty excited to finally purchase my own rifle, that I may pass down some day to my children.
The search began with electing a caliber. I wanted accuracy above all else, as well as a lightweight packable setup with medium knock down power. It came down to three options, the .308, 7mm Mag and the 6.5 Creedmoor. I have a pipe dream of hunting Elk in the near future, but California has a pretty weak herd and trying to get a hunting buddy to pay the money for a non-res tag in other states has been a challenge. With this in mind and knowing I won't be hunting very large deer (we have mostly medium sized black tails in my area) I opted for the 6.5 Creedmoor. The other calibers seemed to be too much for my primary purpose of this rifle. Also, knowing I was using a round with low recoil, I could opt for a pretty lightweight rifle.
I did a lot of research and all of it kept leading me back to the Browning X-Bolt Hells Canyon Speed. I wanted a rugged gun that could handle the abuse of the back country while maintaining a backpack friendly weight that would allow me to run a slightly heavier/rugged optic. The synthetic stock and cerakote were definite pluses in the rugged category.
For the optic, I opted to run Nightforce, the SHV to be exact. I went with the 4-14x50mm model with First Focal Plane MOAR reticle. I stuck with Nightforce for the rings, selecting the Xtreme Duty Ultra Light rings. I am running a Warne 2 piece rail.
I added a Butler Creek sling for when I am not using my pack, I don't know why but it was incredibly hard to select a sling!
I will get it zero'd in on Saturday at my local range and see how far out I can take it. Planning to sight it in with Hornady 143 Grain Precision Hunter ammunition.
The search began with electing a caliber. I wanted accuracy above all else, as well as a lightweight packable setup with medium knock down power. It came down to three options, the .308, 7mm Mag and the 6.5 Creedmoor. I have a pipe dream of hunting Elk in the near future, but California has a pretty weak herd and trying to get a hunting buddy to pay the money for a non-res tag in other states has been a challenge. With this in mind and knowing I won't be hunting very large deer (we have mostly medium sized black tails in my area) I opted for the 6.5 Creedmoor. The other calibers seemed to be too much for my primary purpose of this rifle. Also, knowing I was using a round with low recoil, I could opt for a pretty lightweight rifle.
I did a lot of research and all of it kept leading me back to the Browning X-Bolt Hells Canyon Speed. I wanted a rugged gun that could handle the abuse of the back country while maintaining a backpack friendly weight that would allow me to run a slightly heavier/rugged optic. The synthetic stock and cerakote were definite pluses in the rugged category.
For the optic, I opted to run Nightforce, the SHV to be exact. I went with the 4-14x50mm model with First Focal Plane MOAR reticle. I stuck with Nightforce for the rings, selecting the Xtreme Duty Ultra Light rings. I am running a Warne 2 piece rail.
I added a Butler Creek sling for when I am not using my pack, I don't know why but it was incredibly hard to select a sling!
I will get it zero'd in on Saturday at my local range and see how far out I can take it. Planning to sight it in with Hornady 143 Grain Precision Hunter ammunition.
