Stand Up

Wake up! Make your weapons ready, climb into the Ranger and head off for action. That meant driving through the predawn brush to several deer stands and waiting for pigs to come in to corn, molasses and delicious grape Kool Aid powder at around 100 yards.

It was beautiful to be out in the field in the first light and exciting in the stand. That sounds strange, why would waiting around in a small room, some 50 feet in the air, be exciting? Consider the anticipation; would the porcuswine menace take the bait or not, will you get that shot? I tell you, it gets the adrenaline up and we knew the swine were there, no doubt about it; plenty of fresh sign and evidence of rooting. So we waited, in the still Texan dawn.

A Typical Texan Sunrise

And saw lots of deer, more deer than you could shake a Leupold scope at, which was good. It proved the bait was working and there's a satisfaction in getting your cross hairs lined up for a perfect shoulder shot, even if you don't take it.

There were turkeys, too. One minute you're glassing a deer and the next there's something gray in your peripheral vision, on the ground by the corn. Pigs! Or was it? Closer inspection revealed a tribe of turkeys, strutting and pecking at the delicious Kool Aid corn. But no pigs.

Come on, Pigs

Then it was back to the compound on the Ranger for breakfast, weapons hot and ready for random swine, who cleverly stayed out of our way. Still, it pays to be on the look out because you never know when the tusked furies will appear on their snorting path of destruction. Scope covers off, gentlemen.

On The Road

So that was the pattern for four mornings, and while we didn't see any pigs it was all a first for the kids and big adventure in itself. But that's not all.

Stay tuned,

LSP

Shoot the 700!

1970s Remington 700 ADL, 30-06

The question everyone's asking is, "How does your Remington 700 shoot, LSP?" I went down to my friend's range to find out. Would this '70s gun, complete with its old Redfield Lo-Pro scope, work, I asked myself. To be honest, I wasn't expecting the scope to be up to much after 30+ years of use, but I needn't have worried. Both scope and rifle performed flawlessly, with the former dialing in easily enough.

Nice One

I shot around 50 rounds, with the best shots falling nicely in the X Ring at 100 yards. So what's the verdict?

The Remington 700 ADL, at least in its early '70s incarnation, seems to be a handy, good looking rifle. I especially liked the action, which was fast and smooth, and I liked the feel of the gun, it felt right at the shoulder and came quickly to target. The Lo-Pro isn't bad either, and I'd be interested to see how well its Accu-Trac rangefinder/BDC functions on shots out past 200 yards. But that's for the future. 

X Ring Tomfoolery at 100 yards

In the meanwhile: Is it accurate? Accurate as you like and then some. Does it have power? Yes. Mighty 30-06 power. Would you recommend it to a friend? I most definitely would. Does your shoulder hurt? Yes it does. Maybe I will get a decelerator pad. Has the Remington 700 inspired you to take up distance shooting and hunt more? For sure. I see a lot of game stocking the freezer of the compound in the near future.

So well done, Remington, for producing a fine rifle. The old 700 ADL is a proper little blaster; get one if you can find a decent deal.

Cheers,

LSP