Modern hunting rifles

[matdoodson]

I've been lucky enough to win a DSC1 course from a prize draw (on another forum....). I'm very keen to get in to deer stalking so have been looking at suitable rifle purchase. I've never Schultz & Larsen - just Googled them, the website isn't exactly inspiring and the UK distributor link is dead. Not surprised their rifles don't feature on the popular lists.

Have you had experience of these rifles? Are they worth a looking at?

Cheers,
Mat

[ovenpaa]

We have a couple of S&Ls here and we both rate them very highly, I often shoot the Vikings 6,5-284 Sporter out to good distances. The old S&L UK importer retired and the new one does not have a significant presence here in the UK.

Matt, if you are passing call in for a cuppa and you can tale a look at ours.

[Scotsgun]

Upper end of the market is dominated by the Bavarians, especially Blaser, Merkal, Mauser where the rpreference is switch barrel and mostly straight pulls. The real driver here is those folks who can afford to pop abroad for driven boar then return for varied deer stalking. They want to keep the rifle they are used to so they opt for 1 rifle and a range of barrels to suite the situation. The lynx has recently been marketed in this group but due to lack of switch barrel and more 'functional' appearance its getting a luke-warm reception.

Mid market is Sako, Heym, Sauer, some of the more expensive factory prepared Rem 700s, Steyr, etc. Here the emphasis is a good barrel, decent trigger and sturdy stock. By far the most trusted in the group is Sako but most believe that the model 85 is definately inferior to the old 75 which was discontinued. Primarily deer driven, the scope mounting can be a pain with tapered bases and most will have the rifle re-barrelled rather than replace with a newer (usually inferior) model.
Watch this group as a couple of interesting new models are about to be released including a straight pull from Browning and another German straight pull.

Budget rifles include the 'less-fettled' Remington 700, Browning X-bolt, basic Tikka T3, Sako A7 and Sauer 101. The BDS is promoting savage but its unlikely to go anywhere as they tend to be plain and functional in appearance. Stalkers spend as much time gazing at their rifle as they do their quarry.
Good reliable guns but usually with areas were a compromise has been made due to cost constraints. Usually suspect 'tupperware' stocks or rough triggers, but perfectly good rifles and usually the starting point for custom builds. The influence for these designs is 50/50 - deer/varmint (fox to you and me).

Lastly there's a new class of guns hitting the market which is the starter rifle. Examples include the Savage Axis, Remington Model 7, etc. Less said the better - definately built to a price rather than a standard. Yes they are cheap, but those starting would be much better getting a decent used rifle as their first.

Schutz & Larsen and perfectly good rifles but stalkers have a different mind set from target shooters. They tend not to spend hours tinkering with their rifles or investing in unknown or untried technologies. They require a good solid and accurate rifle which will perform without fuss and not let them down when they are glassing the buck/stag of a lifetime. An attractive rifle is a bonus. They can't abide doubt, nor are prepared to source hard-to-get or unusual parts. If they cant walk into a dealers and handle a range of models and have common parts immediately available, they aren't interested. Many, many stalkers will source something which is commonly used by others in their stalking circles, is well regarded, has proven accurate andreliable and has a good dealer support. Hence Sako and Tikka being so popular.
Someone wishing to market Schutz & Larsen rifles to the hunting freternity would do well to build up a range of services and product with which to establish their credibility as a company and then build the rifles presence by showing at shows like the stalking show, getting reviews and coverage in publications like the BDS journal and (dare i say it) Sporting Rifle (oh god, i've actually gone and promoted Peter Carr).

Dave, what S&L and others have you got? I'm looking for something new. A mate has been tempting me with a sako M995 but im having doubts.

[Blu]

MiLisCer,

My stalking rifles need to be light enough to carry for extended periods and capable of cold barrel accuracy

Mike just out of interest how do you zero your stalking rifles to achieve cold barrel accuracy. I have my way of doing it, just wondering how you do it.

Blu

[M99]

Blu

Nothing complicated! - I simply zero as normal initially, so bore sight at 100 - adjust as need be (or not!) - then I will clean the barrel (as I always clean my rifles after shooting) - then shoot a single round - if need be I will adjust - then re-clean the barrel so it is in the state it would be at the start of the day. continue like this until it is going where I need it too - to be honest, it is usually spot on after the first clean and single round. The only exception to this was a Sako 85 in 25/06 - this took several repeats to achieve a consistent first round "hit"

I do not shoot "fouling" shots either - needs to be from a clean cold barrel.

What about you Blu?

Mike

[ovenpaa]

Someone wishing to market Schutz & Larsen rifles to the hunting freternity would do well to build up a range of services and product with which to establish their credibility as a company and then build the rifles presence by showing at shows like the stalking show, getting reviews and coverage in publications like the BDS journal and (dare i say it) Sporting Rifle (oh god, i've actually gone and promoted Peter Carr).

Dave, what S&L and others have you got? I'm looking for something new. A mate has been tempting me with a sako M995 but im having doubts.

Scotsgun, S&L have a UK importer although they are rather low key and slow to respond as well. Schultz & Larsen in DK are working flat out, these days they only build hunting rifles although there has been some talk of a biathlon type rifle at some point within the next 2-3 years. The S&L market is primarily hunting and they do produce some fine hunting rifles. They mostly export to Norway, Sweden and Italy and in these countries they score very highly. Interestingly I seldom see people shooting the S&L in Denmark even though they are produced there.

When we first started to look for a S&L for Christel here in the UK it was a serious uphill struggle to find what we wanted and it was only by lick that someone remembered one sitting on a shelf unsold and mentioned it here on the forum. Personally I found the rifle to be a superb shooter out of the box and this is what prompted me to ask why more people were not using them.

Lack of marketing would be high on my list of reasons by the sound of it. The downside is it would take a huge investment to get the name known and I suspect the S&L would always only appeal to a minority market over here.

EDIT - As an example, we have had another Sporter on order since the start of the year and still have no firm delivery date from the UK importer.

[Chapuis]

"EDIT - As an example, we have had another Sporter on order since the start of the year and still have no firm delivery date from the UK importer."

Now why does that not surprise me.

[Chapuis]

"EDIT - As an example, we have had another Sporter on order since the start of the year and still have no firm delivery date from the UK importer."

Now why does that not surprise me.

[Jockyboy]

Ruger M77 popular the world over except the UK......

[Blu]

MiLisCer, Much the same as you mate except I don't clean. As deer rifle season over here is November 15th - 30th I usually go out to zero on the 13th, fire a shot to see where it's going and let the barrel get stone cold, fire another shot if needs be and let barrel get stone cold then I usually fire a check shot and that's about it. It's normally pretty cold here in November so it doesn't take long for the barrel to get cold again.

Blu