Ruger M77 MKII 30-06, Leopold Rifleman 40x(9-3), Timney Trigger

Synthetic stock, stainless barrel/receiver, Leopold Rifleman scope. This is a tough combination that can hunt in wind, rain, mud, ice, sleet, or snow. This is the kind of rifle you drag to hell and back with no worries.

Mossberg 835 12 gauge and Winchester Supreme Turkey Load

Mossberg 835 12 gauge and Winchester Supreme 3 1/2", 2 oz., #4 shot.

The Gun: I've had this Mossberg 835 for a while now, and it's taken plenty of gobblers in its time. The 835 has a short 20" barrel that is ported. It has a multi-choke system that allows the shooter to change out the choke. I have full and modified chokes so I can shoot 00 buck for deer hunting. The choke that comes with it is a dedicated extra full turkey choke that will throw an extremely tight pattern with turkey loads. Shooting 3 1/2" magnums will put a thump on your shoulder and I try not too shoot this gun more than twice per year. "One shot...one kill." In my honest opinion, this is a truly dedicated turkey weapon. It has a synthetic stock and fore grip. It is heavy and has shoulder straps. It can kill turkeys out to 45 yards...maybe 50 yards.

The new guns have camo stocks and grips. I just took some camo tape and did my gun up myself.

The Load: I've always used the Winchester Supreme high velocity 3 1/2" magnums. I prefer to throw a full 2 oz. load of # 4 pellets. I don't get as many pellets when compared to using #5 or #6, but the pellets I throw hit harder. I'm looking for penetration into the neck and this round has ALWAYS worked for me. I have confidence in this round. I'm recommending it.

Marlin 336RC Lever Action 30-30, Nikon 40x(9-3) ProStaff BDC scope.

Nice buck taken with a 1952 Marlin 336RC lever-action in 30-30 Winchester. This gun is matched with a Nikon 40x(9-3) ProStaff BDC scope.

I mainly hunt in the woods and my shots are typically less than 100 yards. I've found the Marlin lever-action is ideally suited for this type of hunting. This gun is light, quick handling, and has the power to put down big game. I also like the fact that I'm shooting at $00.70/shot as oppose to $1/shot. This is a common round and can be found almost anywhere. Typical bullet weight is 150 to 180 grain. It has the lightest of recoil and is a pleasure to shoot.

I did my own trigger job on this rifle and it improved the accuracy significantly. Original trigger pull was around 6-7 lb. It's currently shooting at a 2-2.5 lb. trigger pull. It took quite a long time to get enough metal off, little by little to do this. The gun had to be taken completely apart and put back together for every adjustment. I am talking about hours upon hours of work to get the original parts to work right.

I had no choice because this is an older model 336 and that is why I had to work with original parts. If you have a newer Marlin lever-gun, there are plenty of after market drop in triggers that will reduce the trigger pull. Not all Marlin 336 parts are compatible. I had ordered a new hammer for mine, and a slight difference in angle was all that it took to make it nonfunctional in my rifle. I had to send the part back. This can be frustrating when dealing with mail order down time.

What did I get for all of this work? Well I took it out to the range and got nearly bullet on bullet results when shooting off the bench at 100 yards. The Nikon bullet drop compensated scope was a nice touch.
This scope retailed for $140 and Nikon had a $30 mail in rebate last year. So I picked this up for just a little over $110 with shipping and handling. Not a bad deal at all.

BDC stand for bullet drop compensation. It is a tool for hold over. If the target range is known, the reticle has multiple circles under the cross hairs. The first circle is for 200 yards, 2nd circle is for 300 yard, etc. This gives you a degree of confidence and will help adjust for the bullet drop at longer range shooting. That's the theory in a nutshell. Like I said, I shoot 99% of my deer at less than 100 yards.

The Glass on the Nikon is clear, and you can hunt near darkness with it. Now I will not say that it is clearer than my Leopold in low light, but then I'm not going to complain at $110. It's still better than most scope out there priced $50-$75 more. Thumbs up and "Big Bang for the Buck" on that Nikon.

Tip: When it starts to get dark, about 5-minutes before it gets completely dark, that's when the deer like to move. If you have your scope zoomed up on 9 power it might be hard to see the target. If I see movement, I will use the 9 power to see the deer, and then I will back out the zoom to 6 or 5 for the shot. I get a large field of view and can see which way the deer ran. Just a thought.