tped

338 is a great round - capable of anything in North America. You can use 180 & 200 grain bullets for deer and then use 200 or 225 grain for elk.. The 338 is a super elk round and capable of taking elk at long range providing the shooter has the capability of doing so. The Savage should be an accurate gun as that is their reputation and for $300 he should grab it up.

Very nice indeed. Best of luck with it. That is almost too pretty to use.

I don't know if I would go Mossberg for a rifle. I have never been the biggest fan. Look at the Savages which are equally affordable and they defintely are accurate. The Weatherby Vanguard at 399 would be another good low price choice which is allot better quality than Mossberg in my opinion.

I was in a local shop this afternoon actually shopping for a 6.5 caliber and some shotgun slugs and there on the rack was this A-bolt in 325WSM with a $500 price tag. I picked it up and it looks like new and sure felt good. Only thing was that it had a brown spider weave stock which I cannot find as anything Browning would have done. The shop owners were busy with other customers so I never got a chance to ask and was only half interested at the time but the more I think about it could this thing be semi-custom and would the price be a steal and something not to pass?

I have the CZ 527 Varmint in 204 ruger and just love that thing. Shoots 10 shots in about 3/4" right from the box. I love the set trigger which is nice on the range. I also have the 550 Safari in 458 Lott. As some say not the greatest for esthetics but is functional, accurate and a great value in a big bore rifle. I have been thinking of a 550 American in 6.5x55 for some time but just haven't decided I needed it bad enough just yet.

TC all the way. I started with the Encore and love it but couldn't resist that Omega thumbhole laminated stainless when it came out and find myself using that now for all my MZ hunting. Advantage of the Encore is the ability to buy barrels and make it something else which can be very attractive also.

Good luck with. One always needs just 1 or 2 or 3 more

I think the other difference from eye relief is the parallax adjustment being at 75 yards rather than the standard 100 yards on regular rifle scopes. I have a Nikon Monarch on my Omega and a Leupold VX-2 on my Encore and both have been flawless. I wouldn't hesitate to put a standard scope on a muzzleloader especially something of quality

Hard to beat the old RCBS Rockchukar press for starters and it will last a lifetime. I would suggest getting one of the kits as it will have everything short of dies to get you started. Second choice would be the Lyman expert kit with the turret press which also gives you just about all you need to get started and the turret lets you set up all the dies and leave them that way if you load one caliber on a regular basis. If you are going to load large magnums stick with the Rockchukar though.

I know a couple guys that have had some work done by him and have been very satisfied. I recently saw his brochure and looked at the website and my heart almost stopped at the prices he is asking. I agree with Strut- can't see spending all that money for just a little bit better and since I couldn't care less about a name-his name adds little value to me. Check out Hart Rifles http://www.rwhart.com/. I know allot of guys have had them build top notch guns and aren't paying the money Basner wants.

Nice collection - obviously you must really like the Brownings.

I will second the 160 Partition - will work on anything from deer to elk

Sounds like a good deal on a real good gun. Good luck with it and hope your wife had many years of success with it

I have an Encore and also an Omega and hunt primarily with the Omega. Mine is the stainless thumbhole and shoots moa all day - everyday. I load with 120 grains of loose 777 behind the Barnes 250 grain expander bullet - 2215 fps. Love the gun - easy to handle, clean & shoot. Don't sell the Triumph short also as I have checked them out also and everything looks great there. Should I decide I need 3 muzzy's the Triumph will be added.

Tikka is a great rifle - good quality and known for accuracy and I would also expect slightly cheaper than the Browning. 7-08 would be a great light recoiling caliber for your wife also. That is the way I would go. Buy the 44 for yourself oneday but treat your wife to the Tikka-she will love you more for it in the long run.