The DIY Hunter

EGW Picatinny Rail, Weaver 4 Hole Skeleton Rings, Browning X-Bolt Stainless Stalker

My Browning X-Bolt Stainless Stalker with a EGW 20 MOA picatinny rail, a set of low Weaver 4 Hole Skeleton Rings, and a Vortex Viper HS LR 4-16x50 rifle scope.

As you can see even with the large 50mm objective lens the low Weaver 4 Hole Skeleton rings still provide me with a good quarter inch of scope clearance.


EGW Picatinny Rail Browning X-Bolt Stainless Stalker

My new favorite rifle, scope, base, ring combo. X-Bolt 270 WSM, EGW picatinny rail, low weaver rings and a Vortex Viper HS LR rifle scope.


See Through Vortex Scope Caps

This may sound silly but I was excited to see the see-through scope caps that come with Vortex rifle scopes. This it what I like. They protect my lenses from the elements while hunting and if I need to take a really quick shot I can see through them to make the shot. If I have time to setup for a shot I can remove them and stuff them in my pocket. Flip-up caps block my vision when I am trying to watch game animals and then locate them in my rifle scope.


EGW 20 MOA Picatinny Rail Browning A-Bolt Varmint Stainless

Here's my A-Bolt 243 WSSM Varmint Stainless Laminate waiting for a Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 rifle scope that is currently on back-order.

The picatinny rail shown here is also a EGW with 20 MOA.


Vortex Viper PST with EGW 20 MOA Picatinny Rail on a Browning A-Bolt Varmint Stainless

I got my Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 second focal plane MOA rifle scope for my A-Bolt 243 WSSM. Here is a full view of this 243 WSSM rifle with an adjustable comb: My 243 WSSM Rifles

Recently I have got the hankering to change out a lot of my rifle scopes. Some of the interest has been my excitement to be shooting at Spirit Ridge's rifle golf course later this month. I have been wanting scopes that offer target turrets yet are still primarily hunting scopes and not ultra tactical scopes. In my research I have found that Vortex offers many rifle scope options that meet my needs.

Vortex Optics are of good quality at less than astronomical prices that many tactical like rifle scopes cost. I have had a couple Vortex scopes back-ordered for a couple months now. With all the political gun crap going on this year practically everything I need is out of stock. Good luck getting reloading components...

Since I started writing this post I have now received a couple of the Vortex rifle scopes I had ordered (Viper HS LR 4-16x50). They are sweat rifle scopes. I like the Dead Hold BDC reticle and the target style elevation turret. With this setup I can sight the rifle to be dead on at 100 yards. Then I can figure out the ranges of the additional hold over hashes on the reticle and have them taped to the scope for quick reference. So if I need to take a fairly quick shot within 500 or so yards I can use the hold over BDC reticle. If I have the time to plug-in all the variables into my Strelok app on my phone I can dial in the shot to hold dead on. See: Strelok Pro Ballistics Calculator Using Galaxy S4 Internal Sensors

I also tracked down a 20 MOA picatinny rail for my X-Bolt. Evolution Gun Works Inc (EGW) makes an assortment of picatinny rails for Browning X-Bolts and A-Bolt rifles. I am relatively new to the more tactical side of shooting long range with a big game hunting rifle. After preparing and now shooting at Spirit Ridge Rifle Golf I am hooked on Vortex Optics and long range shooting. I have always had rifles that I felt comfortable hitting targets out to about 600 yards. With my new Vortex rifle scopes and 20 MOA picatinny rail I have greatly extended my effective range.

For those of you like myself a few months ago who didn't know what a 20 MOA picatinny rail was here's my quick description. A 20 MOA picatinny rail has a slight angle with the front of the rail slightly lower than the back of the rail. This slight angle gives the equivalent of 20 inches at 100 yards. So when I sight in the rifle I will have to dial the elevation 20 MOA down to be sighted in at 100 yards. So instead of the crosshair being centered in the middle of the dialable elevation range it is 20 MOA downward to start. With the crosshair in this position it now gives me an extra 20 MOA of adjustment for a long shot. This allows me to use 20 more minutes of angle out of the available adjustable range of the scope.

With this scope, the 20 MOA EGW picatinny rail, and the 75 MOA of vertical adjustment (top to bottom) of my Vortex scope I should now have right around 57 1/2 MOA of upward adjustment to take the long shots. I figure that with my 140 Gr. Accubond 270 WSM hand load that shoots 3320 in this rifle I should be able to dial in a shot out to the 1700 to 1800 yard range. Now I have no plans of shooting big game at yardages like this but if I had a wounded animal out there and had no other option, I now have an option. Hmm.. sure would be fun to at least scare a coyote out past a grand and it sure is fun flinging lead long ranges at a range like Spirit Ridge Rifle Golf course.

Now it's time to make a cheek piece to raise the comb height, as even with the low rings, the scope is mounted almost a half inch higher that it was with the one piece aluminum Browning rings.

This X-Bolt setup works great in the field.

Cheek Piece to raise comb height on X-Bolt Rifle

I cut a 6 x 1 x 1 1/4 inch piece of oak and using a router and sander I shaped it to fit the top of my X-Bolt. I then drilled two holes through it and epoxied in nails that protrude out the bottom.


Cheek Piece to raise comb height on X-Bolt Rifle

Cheek piece mounted on my X-Bolt stock. Wish I had some matte black paint... gloss will have to do for now. Shown also are my length of pull spacers between the recoil pad and stock extending the pull length an extra half and inch. See: Easily Adjust the Length of Pull on a Browning X-Bolt Rifle


Cheek Piece to raise comb height on X-Bolt Rifle

I  drilled two corresponding holes in the top of the X-Bolt stock allowing the cheek piece to slide on and off the stock.


On the range with my X-Bolt and Cheek Piece

Finally I use a buttstock cartridge shell holder strapped around the stock and cheek piece to securely hold it in place.