I sold my nice stainless hunting rifle / Leupold scope last year to fund rifles for the kids. I replaced it with a very basic Winchester Model 70 in the caliber I like (.300 wm) that I thought would be temporary. I mounted a Burris Fullfield II 3.5-10X50 on Burris Z-rings, tightened up the action screws and dialed it in at the range. Wow, this thing can shoot (holes nearly touching from the bench at 100 yards with cheap ammo). That brings me to my dilema.
I don't take great care of my hunting rifles. I mean, I handle them carefully when possible, but they end up going in the safe damp quite often. I never clean them during the season due to my belief in a "fouling shot" (unless they get dirt in the barrel or action while hunting). I just wipe them with a cloth and put them away, which was fine for the rusty old '06 that I started with and for the stainless rifles I've had since then. Based on this shortcoming of mine, I fully intended to trade back into a stainless .300 in a year or two.
Since the Model 70 shoots so well as it is, I'm starting to consider modifying it to make it my primary gun long-term. I'm sure I'd never get my money back if I do this, so I'm trying to determine if I'll be happy with it before spending the money.
The base rifle is an early '90s Black Shadow (Walmart package gun with synthetic stock and blind mag box). Besides the blind magazine (which really doesn't bother me; it only takes a few extra seconds to unload after a day of hunting, can't get bumped open like a hinged floorplate, and doesn't allow any dirt to enter from the bottom, so it's a very minor annoyance to me even though it reduces the value of the rifle), and the corrosion issue described above, the main drawback of this rifle is the weight. With its long barrel (28" if I remember right), it felt a little unwieldy on its first hunt yesterday - not horrible, but heavier than I like. The extra weight helps with recoil, but I'd rather have a lighter rifle for field use since I only plan to pull the trigger a couple of times per season.
My thoughts for customizing it would be:
Boyd's Prairie Hunter stock (primarily for looks)
Trigger adjustment (not bad now, but super easy to do on M70)
Cerakote or similar (corrosion resistance since I live / hunt in Oregon)
Possibly fluting the bolt / barrel for weight
What would you do? Should I start tinkering and hope I'll be happy since I'll be upside-down in it, or am I just putting lipstick on a pig? Should I look for a shorter-barreled stainless base rifle and build what I really want?
I'm primarily looking for experienced advice on the durability and corrosion resistance of Cerakote and on advantages / disadvantages of fluting. I can probably live with the weight of the rifle if fluting isn't a good option for a field gun.
I don't take great care of my hunting rifles. I mean, I handle them carefully when possible, but they end up going in the safe damp quite often. I never clean them during the season due to my belief in a "fouling shot" (unless they get dirt in the barrel or action while hunting). I just wipe them with a cloth and put them away, which was fine for the rusty old '06 that I started with and for the stainless rifles I've had since then. Based on this shortcoming of mine, I fully intended to trade back into a stainless .300 in a year or two.
Since the Model 70 shoots so well as it is, I'm starting to consider modifying it to make it my primary gun long-term. I'm sure I'd never get my money back if I do this, so I'm trying to determine if I'll be happy with it before spending the money.
The base rifle is an early '90s Black Shadow (Walmart package gun with synthetic stock and blind mag box). Besides the blind magazine (which really doesn't bother me; it only takes a few extra seconds to unload after a day of hunting, can't get bumped open like a hinged floorplate, and doesn't allow any dirt to enter from the bottom, so it's a very minor annoyance to me even though it reduces the value of the rifle), and the corrosion issue described above, the main drawback of this rifle is the weight. With its long barrel (28" if I remember right), it felt a little unwieldy on its first hunt yesterday - not horrible, but heavier than I like. The extra weight helps with recoil, but I'd rather have a lighter rifle for field use since I only plan to pull the trigger a couple of times per season.
My thoughts for customizing it would be:
Boyd's Prairie Hunter stock (primarily for looks)
Trigger adjustment (not bad now, but super easy to do on M70)
Cerakote or similar (corrosion resistance since I live / hunt in Oregon)
Possibly fluting the bolt / barrel for weight
What would you do? Should I start tinkering and hope I'll be happy since I'll be upside-down in it, or am I just putting lipstick on a pig? Should I look for a shorter-barreled stainless base rifle and build what I really want?
I'm primarily looking for experienced advice on the durability and corrosion resistance of Cerakote and on advantages / disadvantages of fluting. I can probably live with the weight of the rifle if fluting isn't a good option for a field gun.