It has been a couple of weeks since I read the obituary on the .308 Winchester round as a silhouette cartridge. Deeply saddened and not wanting to be ridiculed and scoffed at for using an obsolete round, I pulled the stock .308 barrel off of my 700 Classic.

I had a brand new 24" M700 stainless 7-08 factory take off barrel I got at a good price (free) and promptly put it on. At first I used the blue .187 thick recoil lug but the bolt would not close on the "GO" head space gage. I had a stainless one that measured at .190 and this set up allowed the bolt to close with a nice .002 air gap fit. Perfect. The barrel marking ended up hidden inside at the bottom of the barrel channel. No problem, better there than upside down on the right. The channel was opened a bit for a complete free float condition.

I have a few bolt shrouds that I nickle plated some time ago and put one on for an added touch of elegance.

I will be taking it out for a test drive tommorrow at our HP practice session at CRC.

I will not post here with a comment, rather I will ask a question. McAlice do you have a cell phone yet?

More or less did the same thing. Bought a Rem700 7-08 stainless, bought a 7-08 take off barrel from a friend who wanted to go the 6.5 route. Have a brand new spare barrel for when the current barrel goes south. Also put a Shilen trigger in the rifle.

Guh... 2am. I'll see you and your "new" rifle in five hours Bob. She sure looks purty. It really is a good thing that you took that antiquated .308 barrel off. You know, everything goes up in value after it has died. Maybe it is worth something now.

Bed time.

Bob, I have a 7-08 hunter rifle that is an mirror image of yours. After I saw your pictures I went and looked to see if mine was still in the safe. It was still there sitting snug and warm surrounded by four .260's. Al

Beckley, no cellphone..not ever.

I fired the rifle today. Not the best conditions for testing or getting zeros with a cold south east wind blowing across the range. It took only 3 shots to get it centered on our 200 M chicken gong. I was using 120gr. flat base Sierras with 37.0 grs. of Varget to get it roughed in. This load shot real good at about an inch and a quarter. Switching to a 130 MK with same powder charge printed even better. Starting on the freshly painted gong holding center off the bench, shot one was a little high and left of center, shot two landed a 1/4" away and shot three went an inch wide possibly from a wind gust but the group was still about an inch. This barrel is a shooter. I fired the remaining box of 50 120's at the targets. C,P& T's were falling regular to the 120's, it was one of those days I was not missing to often. I hit a ram with a 120 but it stood. Five chickens in a row sealed it for me, this rifle is a keeper.

Al, if you ever want to sell your 7-08 give me first refusal.

Caseyboy, I bought a half dozen 24" blue 700 7-08 takeoffs from SportsmanSafari in Georgia a few years ago for $30. each. Three have been installed on a Ruger 77, Win M70 and a Rem.788. All shoot fantastic. I still have three for future replacements. Six great shooting barrels for half the cost of a custom tube. Hard to beat that.

In this economy you have to save a buck where and when you can! For important things like a 6.5 barrel and a cell phone. McAlice, when it gets closer to a match ie the Az HP match and St. Louis, should I call Druckers General Store and hope you are there or should I just call Bonner on his cell and get the info?

Beckley, I put that rifle on the bench again today. Firing 154 gr. Hornady flat base spire points with 39.0 grs. Varget printed a nice 5 shot one inch group at chickens. Four of the same load landed in a base ball size group on the ram gong. Not too shabby for a...free...factory take off barrel, eh? Maybe I will bring only that one down to beat your ass with next month.

I call that bold talk from a 7mm guy, with no cell phone.