Long Ranger .308!

[ESquared]

This may not come as a huge surprise, but I took delivery of my Long Ranger .308 a couple of days ago and got it sighted in at 50 yds yesterday. Did a deal at my local range/shop, as they had one hanging on the wall (early production) that had absolutely beautiful furniture. I had a Winchester semi-auto 12 ga. that I'd shot maybe 10 times and hadn't touched in nearly a dozen years, so I worked a trade that brought my cost of the Henry to about half of retail.
Not an offer I COULDN'T refuse, but it sure was an offer I didn't want to refuse.
Had enough lead time to get a sling and scope; got a Leupold VX Freedom 4-12X40 and a set of Warne med rings. Zeroed it in with Federal Fusion 150 gr., based on feedback I got from Patrick at HRA.
My initial range report, from yesterday's scope-zeroing session, is that it's got an action that's smoother than either of my other Henrys, but that bolt is LOOooong.
Recoil isn't bad at all, but my frame of reference is that 12 ga I referenced above, which I painfully remember shooting with 3-1/2" magnum loads. Have no idea what the .308 feels like compared to the Henry .44 mags or 45/70s out there, but I'd think it's easier to take.
The high rise on the stock makes it set up for a scope, so the point and shoot aspect of it natural.
Just need more time with it, some outdoor, longer yardage range shooting and different stances/positions.
Anyway, here are some pics!

[CT_Shooter]

This may not come as a huge surprise, but I took delivery of my Long Ranger .308 a couple of days ago and got it sighted in at 50 yds yesterday. Did a deal at my local range/shop, as they had one hanging on the wall (early production) that had absolutely beautiful furniture.

Congratulations, ESquared. That stock is beautiful. I look forward to reading your range reports.

[BigAl52]

Nice wood on the stock for sure. Post some targets when you can.

[Mags]

Beautiful wood, absolutely! Did it come with the hammer extension?

[PT7]

Curious as to your "early production" time frame? The Long Ranger was released fairly recently in 2016. Do you know birth date?

Anyway, that dark steel against your beautiful wood furniture make a terrific combination. Very nice checkering on both forend and stock. Your rifle sure is dressed purty, and is a great find. Appreciated the photos.

BTW, is your Boyt piece in the photo a rifle case or a rug? Boyt makes really quality stuff. I have a large handgun Boyt case; I was disappointed my Russian revolver is a tad too long for it (6.5" barrel, OAL = 12"), and my 3" 1873 Cattleman revolver absolutely goes swimming! Even so, still use it as it protects the handgun so well.

Enjoy that new Henry! Be safe.
PT7

[ESquared]

Beautiful wood, absolutely! Did it come with the hammer extension?

Yes, Mags, comes with the hammer extension and a set of Skinner sight mounts. I believe that, in more current production, the sight mounts are installed at the factory on the "no sight" versions of the Long Ranger. These were just in the box, and I was able to get the rear mount on with no problem, but my smith had to work with some of the countersink holes to get the front mount on.

[ESquared]

Curious as to your "early production" time frame? The Long Ranger was released fairly recently in 2016. Do you know birth date?

Anyway, that dark steel against your beautiful wood furniture make a terrific combination. Very nice checkering on both forend and stock. Your rifle sure is dressed purty, and is a great find. Appreciated the photos.

BTW, is your Boyt piece in the photo a rifle case or a rug? Boyt makes really quality stuff. I have a large handgun Boyt case; I was disappointed my Russian revolver is a tad too long for it (6.5" barrel, OAL = 12"), and my 3" 1873 Cattleman revolver absolutely goes swimming! Even so, still use it as it protects the handgun so well.

Enjoy that new Henry! Be safe.
PT7

Thanks, PT. The pack date on the card shows it was put in the box in October, 2016, and I have an email into HRA to find out the exact born-on date. The S/N ends in "203," as I recall, so it would be pretty early on, if they number by model in sequence.

That Boyt piece is called a "Counter Rug," and I found it on Amazon for 25 bucks. I love the Boyt stuff, too (bought it the Heritage soft case, too), and this rug is 48" long, reversible and has stitched in "folds" every 16" so you and shorten it if you need/want to. Great $25 accessory, IMO.

Appreciate the comments on the wood, as I know you're a fan. It looks a bit light and dried out to me, so I might give it a little mineral oil and bees wax, just to show it some love!

[ESquared]

Nice wood on the stock for sure. Post some targets when you can.

This may not come as a huge surprise, but I took delivery of my Long Ranger .308 a couple of days ago and got it sighted in at 50 yds yesterday. Did a deal at my local range/shop, as they had one hanging on the wall (early production) that had absolutely beautiful furniture.

Congratulations, ESquared. That stock is beautiful. I look forward to reading your range reports.

Range reports and targets to come. Forecast is for rain next week, but I'll try to dodge the raindrops and get some rounds downrange!

[Ojaileveraction]

Totally awesome dude!
Really looking forward to your reports!

[JEBar]

Range reports and targets to come. Forecast is for rain next week, but I'll try to dodge the raindrops and get some rounds downrange!

as with the others, I'm really looking forward to your coming reports .... based on our Browning BLR 308, the best I can come up with in response to the felt recoil is, a bit more than our Henry 44 Mag (which ain't bad at all) and much, much, much less than our 45-70 .... not surprised at hearing Henry spoke highly of 150 gr bullets .... while we haven't found a bullet weight ours doesn't like, our 150 gr Nosler Accubond bullets pushed by 47 gr of IMR4320 seems to be in its sweet spot

[TNman]

Very nice looking rifle and the buttstock wood is beautiful. Hopefully she is a shooter.

[ESquared]

Range reports and targets to come. Forecast is for rain next week, but I'll try to dodge the raindrops and get some rounds downrange!

as with the others, I'm really looking forward to your coming reports .... based on our Browning BLR 308, the best I can come up with in response to the felt recoil is, a bit more than our Henry 44 Mag (which ain't bad at all) and much, much, much less than our 45-70 .... not surprised at hearing Henry spoke highly of 150 gr bullets .... while we haven't found a bullet weight ours doesn't like, our 150 gr Nosler Accubond bullets pushed by 47 gr of IMR4320 seems to be in its sweet spot

Thanks, JEB, for the insights. With all this talk on the other thread about the 44 Mag, I wondered where it might fall on the felt recoil spectrum. I picked up on Federal Fusion in a comment Anthony Imperato made to a reviewer back at the time of the launch of the model, and Patrick at HRA passed along that "under 160 grain" seemed to do the best. 150 gr seemed to be a safe bet. As I get some range time in, I'll give some other brands a try, just to see how they perform.
Handloading is not in my future, so factory ammo will be on the menu, but, just in my handful of shots with the Fed Fusion, I had a "figure 8" and generally a <2" 5-shot group, so I'm encouraged.
Thanks for the post!

[JEBar]

Handloading is not in my future, so factory ammo will be on the menu,

the good news is, today we have a wide range of really good ammo available in 30 caliber (more specifically in 308 Winchester) ammunition to choose from .... in many cases, its a Chevy vs Ford type issue .... both will get you to the grocery store and back but many folks are total commuted to one and can't stand the other .... my feeling is, when you find a brand, within a price range, that your rifle likes, stick with it .... if we didn't load our own ammo, I would deer hunt with Winchester 150 Grain Ballistic Silvertips

[tractortad]

Really nice looking 308 rig, E^2. Are you going to hunt deer with it?

[ESquared]

Really nice looking 308 rig, E^2. Are you going to hunt deer with it?

Thanks, Tad, appreciate it. Yes, the plan is to take it out for deer season this fall. Need to cram in some range time between now and then!

[Frank V]

Pretty rifle, congratulations. I'd try federal ammo & if it were me I'd try 165grs.

[Ozarkridgerunner]

Congratulations and what a beauty ! Great wood. To me there's nothing like a pretty piece of Walnut for a gun stock. Sounds like a really good deal you made as well. Good luck and good hunting.

[ESquared]

Congratulations and what a beauty ! Great wood. To me there's nothing like a pretty piece of Walnut for a gun stock. Sounds like a really good deal you made as well. Good luck and good hunting.

Thank you, sir! Very happy with it all the way around. I don't know what Henry does to these finishes, but a little mineral/wood oil did nothing but make it a bit shinier. No change to the coloration whatsoever. There's some tough stuff on there! It's got some good character, though.

[Rifletom]

The wood on that is really something. Very nice! Are you going to handload for it? Being as I was once a long time bolt guy, I really like the .308. Only center fire bolt I have now is my Sako Finnbear in .270. Think you're going to like that "Long Ranger".

[ESquared]

The wood on that is really something. Very nice! Are you going to handload for it? Being as I was once a long time bolt guy, I really like the .308. Only center fire bolt I have now is my Sako Finnbear in .270. Think you're going to like that "Long Ranger".

Nope, Tom, not a handloader, so I'm sampling different factory loads. Federal Fusion 150 gr is what I sighted it in with, and it seems to live up to the recommendation that Henry passed along to me. My first true "rifle round" rifle and it's a blast, to say the least. Reminds me of shooting .357 Sig out of a pistol the first time!