Help me decide .243

[mick miller]

Folks who shoot deer and fox, your advice please.

 

I'm in the market for a .243 Browning X-Bolt, it's my price range and the reviews (independent and otherwise) seem to rate it.

 

My choice is between the Compo Stalker (not screw-cut, blued barrel, compo stock) and the stainless compo stalker (screw-cut from factory, stainless barrel, compo stock). I can't decide whether the stainless, which adds to the price, is going to make me stand out like a bad man with a shiny stick when deer stalking, probably not too much of an issue when in a high seat. Or whether the blued barrel is going to cause issues when its been peeing down and stainless is a more weather resistant option. Sage opinions appreciated - Personally I don't mind either from a cosmetic perspective.

 

Next, T8 moderator or Wildcat? Is the Wildcat worth the extra? Does the T8 ever rust (my mates T8's have been fine, they take them off, give them a squirt of WD40 and leave them to dry in a warm place, no not there, in an airing cupboard or similar).

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Mick.

[Devon Fox]

You will not suffer with glare, my 243 tikka is stainless, has a dullish

powder coat finish so it's kind of matt, so will be fine.

 

Is worth extra for stainless, if you are a fair weather shooter, maybe

not. If your a double hard bloke out in all weathers then it

is in my opinion.

 

I have a t8 - do the same cleaning routine as your mates and haven't

left it to rot - it's fine. Can't advise on the effectiveness of

the wild cat as all my pals (4/5 of them) all use t8s as well

and they are all fine.

 

Hope that helps a little!

[John_R]

I reckon the stainless version is the better of the two. I was very keen on buying just that very gun, but in the end I stretched to Sako. I liked the X-Bolt very much, but a couple of negative threads about them plus saving up some more dosh made the decision for me.

 

Moderator in my case was the ASE Ultra, but it does seem their are many differing views on mods!

[JRDS]

Pesonally I don't bother with a Mod on a Stalking rifle, for the very few shots you fire they are not worth the extra weight or length. Tried one but it unbalanced the rifle and added unwanted length.

[Redgum]

Wild fowlers shoot in howling salty blizzards and you don't see them wandering off to the foreshore with stainless steel guns. Stainless barrels are very much 'in' at the moment but a blued gun looked after will handle most you can throw at it.

I very nearly bought the X bolt but changed to a Remington 700 in the end, I can't remember why, just one of those things you do in the shop and the 700's reputation is wide spread.

I bought a Predator 8 mod to go on it as its slightly lighter than the T8 and its completly strippable and spares can be bought for it. Heard stories of the T8's rotting,being steel, if you don't look after them, word of warning, make sure that the fumes from WD40 are completly vented from the mod before shooting. WD40 is very flamable and the mod could blow causing serious injury.

Really happy with the pred 8 but I must say that when I was doing my DSC1 we shot in pairs, two chaps who shot together had T8 and Pred 8 and the T8 did sound quieter but it could have been the ammo I suppose.

 

I got my pred 8 for £200, cheaper than the T8

Edited August 11, 2010 by Redgum

[mick miller]

Thanks for your replies, I'm out all weathers, I distinctly remember spending 5 hours in a high seat last year in the rain with the mentors rifle in a slip waiting, wood and blued don't like getting sopping wet. I haven't read a bad review on the X Bolt yet, I guess a matter of horses for courses with rifles, but I don't think I can add the extra £600 for a Sako (I need that and some to stick a zeiss on top). I opted for the stainless with the T8 mod (although I may stretch to a Jet-Z), I just have to wait for the rifle to arrive from Belgium now as they're none left at the wholesalers, they can't be that bad!

 

Cheers very much for the advice. If you can PM me the negative comments link I'd appreciate it (so I can panic about my choice).

[John_R]

Mick, there was a thread about the x-bolt in this very forum, where decroyffe was not happy with the trigger.

 

I have shot an A-Bolt and liked it, I'll be interested to hear how your X-Bolt goes. By the way, I have seen stock of the X-Bolt in a few stores.

Edited August 11, 2010 by john_r

[Dekers]

I have a mix of stainless and blued, frankly for deer stalking I don't think it makes a lot of odds, neither frankly do I feel the difference is significant weather wise, I clean and dry my stainless just as I do with my blued.

 

I rather suspect synthetic/wood stock could be a bigger general issue! :blink:

[mick miller]

Hmm, I'll take a look and find that topic, from what I hear the trigger isn't half bad. But...

[Scully]

I'm with JRDS regarding moerators.I like the look of my 700 BDL as it is.A mate has a mod' on his 700 and it totally unbalances the rifle,but each to their own.