New NEF-- Laminated or Synthetic?

[405]

I own 2 Handis now, a .30-30 and a .45-70, both great guns.  Accurate, fun to  hunt with, and the .45-70 has accounted for the only venison I've brought home so far this season.

 Am looking at adding either a .280, .25-06, or .30-06 to the collection.  Still weighing the pros and cons of those v.s. the .308 Remington 788 I already have (accurate rifle, has killed dozens of deer through the years, but heavy and clunky).  I'll decide the caliber question soon, but what are the best reasons to choose either the laminated or synthetic stocks over the other in an NEF?  Both of mine are palletwood, so that's all I have to go on.  

  Thanks,

  405

[quickdtoo]

Welcome aboard, 405!!    It's pretty much cut and dried....synth are lighter and aren't affected by weather, very durable, what most shooters want for a truck gun. Laminates are heavier, look nice and if sealed well work fair in bad weather, but still can present problems. The synth forend is kinda hard to work with as far as changing forend pressure and since there is no spacer, once it's loose to the frame, it's harder to fix. I only have 3 synth stocks on my 14 frames and 2 of em are on rimfire Sportsters, so you can see what my favorites are, but that's a personal preference.

[myarmor]

Welcome to Graybeards 405, good to have ya.
The synthetics are great for all weather like quick said. And it is best to avoid as much as possibile bad wet weather from the Laminates. Though they are pretty tough too, with the right treatment.
On a hunt about a month ago I ended up taking out my Ultra with my best Laminates out in the pouring rain -NOT planed by the way :rain:  - and my rifle go absolutely drenched! :wet:
Good thing I did coat it with some Flitz wax. It still looks as good as ever. I am not advising doing this, and I would avoided it if I could have, but just saying that it held togather extremely well.
The Laminates will add some weight, so just keep it in mind. Just depends on what you intend to be a doin with it. :toast:  
-Aaron

[405]

Thanks fellas.

 I have read about it being more difficult to adjust forend pressure with the synthetics.  My .30-30 needs the rubber washer, the .45-70 doesn't care!

  Found out yesterday at a local shop that the Ultra is not made in .280.
Also have done a lot of thinking and have ruled out the .25-06.  So it looks like it's between .30-06/.270 in the Ultra with laminates, or the .280 in palletwood or synthetic.

 Here's the caliber debate for me:

  I hunt only deer, no varmints.

 On our club there are a couple of very good spots where 400 yd shots are a possiblity.  Most have been under 200 though, and I killed a nice 8 point there this past January at 130 yards.  So while long shots -may- present themselves, they're certainly not the rule.  I don't want to give up penetration on a quartering shot at 300 yds+, and that's what bothers me about the .25-06.  I've shot 190 lb bucks at 200 yds with the .308 Win/165 Speer BTSP, and they did the job with plenty of authority.  

 So what I'm looking for in an NEF is a cartridge with a greater PBR than my 18 1/2" barrelled .308 Win that will still take care of business at those ranges.  And I've been going back and forth between the numbers of the .280 in that 26" tube v.s. the .270 130 gr with 23"-- or just chucking the whole idea and getting a .30-06 and loading that same 165 gr BTSP at 2800+ and be done with it.

  All these choices....


                  405

[bladerunner]

405,WELCOME  

most here will probably tell you to go with the 280, but since I know very little about this caliber I recommend the 270 or the 25-06 (I know leaving out the 30-06 is gonna cause someone a heart attack,but I personally don't care for the recoil and both of the other choices are flatter shooting) since you yourself have ruled out the 25-06 (which is what i'm shooting at this time) I vote 270.....If you like to hunt in the rain,get the synthetic stock....if you like light weight guns also get the synthetic....the laminates are very nice lookin and,being heavier,will reduce felt recoil     just my  :money:

[Turkey Talker]

405,I know where a .280 is in the laminate stock. It's the green,gray version. It's got a scope on it,the gun is about 2 years old.It's used but in near mint condition. The shop wants 275.00 for it. Let me know and I'll get you their number. I almost bought this gun 2 weeks ago,but I have no use for a .280.

[quickdtoo]

I'm afraid I'd wanta have my cake and eat it too, get the 26" barreled .280 and buy/trade/sell swap the synthetic stock for a laminated set if you don't like it. Walmart can get this one, it's in stock at their supplier....FWIW, the .280 Handi has a spotless record for being a good shooter here, don't ever remember anyone having a problem with one. That would also give you a reason to get the camo laminated stock if you decided that was whatcha wanted.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3138441

[405]

Thanks everybody for the good info.

 I went ahead and bought a .280 palletwood today at lunch.  No .30-06s in stock, and the .280 is what I really wanted anyway.  Also, we still have 4 1/2 weeks of deer season and I'm off all next week to hunt.  I can live with the palletwood until the season's over!

  Could only find Rem 150 PSP ammo though, don't have time to get dies and work up a load, so I'll be hunting with factory loads for the first time in 25 years.

 Will mount the scope on it tonight and do the clean/polish routine.

 Can't wait to shoot this thing!


 Many thanks again,


         405

[bladerunner]

Glad ya got ya one,hope it shoots good for ya  

we'll be waiting impatiently for the range report    :-D  :-D