Rut 2022

[Lloyd Smale]

i had my control round fed featherweight in 280 (dont know if im allowed to call it a 7 express) ready for this year myself. Its always been probably my favorite rifle caliber or at least a toss up with the good old 06. Ive had a few 280s. A rem 700 mountain rifle, a push feed featherweight a 77r 280 and the hands down most accurate one a ruger 1b that shot those same 145s into 5 shot groups near half inch. Sold that one because it was so heavy but i regret it every day. Down to only one now a controled round fed featherweight. My favorite rifle in my favorite caliber and yup i have a featherweight in 06 too. Is your 7 express a 700 marked like that??  Ive only see a couple marked experss in my days. By the way thats one fine buck you shot!!!!! It would be a buck of a lifetime for most hunters. 

Did you shoot him with a drilling?  If so share a picture of it please.

  No, I've been hunting with my 7 Express Remington, I had not used it in MANY years, and I just wanted to give it a little love.  lol  It loves Speer 145BT's, so that's what I load in it.  Over the years I've shot deer, bear, caribou and put much other meat in my freezer with it and that load.

  BUT, here's a pict. of my "most used" hunting gun,



  DM

[Lloyd Smale]

with burger at near 5 bucks a lb i dont believe you could ever say ive got enough free meat.

  I'm seeing deer out the window of my house, so I know there some around, but I haven't been out since shooting the above meat buck. 

  I already shot two bucks, we just don't need any more meat, so I guess I'm done for the year.

  DM

[Drilling Man]

  I really like a 280 and I knew long ago that it would end being the cartridge I'd like to end up with as I got older and hated recoil more and more.

  I started with a Remington LH 700 action and had a Douglas premium "featherweight" bbl. put on it.  I then stocked it in a nice piece of wood that I shaped to minimum dimensions as I actually was putting the rifle together as a "mountain" rifle before there was such a thing and was building it for an upcoming Dall sheep hunt.

  Fast forward to a couple years ago when I got the rifle out, went through my pile of Rem. stocks, changed out the mounts/rings and bought a Zeiss to put on it.  I already had several boxes of ammo around that I had loaded in the "90's", sighted it in and started hunting with it.

  I can't walk long distances anymore without hurting, so I don't care that I made the rifle heavier, and I put a magnum stock on it to get a recoil pad as I hate sitting a gun down and having the butt slip out.

 I updated the scope to get better low light transmission and to be able to see into the woods when looking "west" in the evenings as 99.5% of the deer I shoot come out of the west or north, where I sit.

  I've shot blk. tails, white tails, blk. bear and caribou with it, it's been a GREAT rifle to own and shoot.

  Lastly, I had 7 Express Remington stamped on the bbl., I guess just to have something different.

  DM

[M134 Troll]

Well, Michigan muzzleloader season (bucks and does) ended a week ago without success on my part.  Since then the trail camera caught three different bucks and several does, all in the middle of the night.  Late doe season here til 1/1/23.

Returning from Lansing yesterday on I 69 about 5:00P I stopped counting deer at 40.  All in large groups foraging in fields next to wood lots.  Couldn't see if any were bucks...failing light, distance, and keeping the truck on the road prevented a good look.

.280 is an interesting cartridge.  I have a Kimber sporterized Mexican SR M98 in .280 but gave up on wringing it out because the action and magazine are 7 x 57 length and I have to seat .280 loads really deep in order to feed rounds.  The bolt handle alteration was nice, but I don't know what the Kimber folks were thinking when they fitted a .280 barrel to a shorter Mauser small ring action.   I need two barrels....a .280 for a large ring M98 and one for a shorter cartridge for the Mexican.   Already have a Mexican .308 so maybe 7-08 or 7 x 57.