Sendero top choice for long-range shooting
Gun Talk with Harold Harton

Right after World War II, there was a group of long-range shooters in the Telluride area of Colorado whose primary target was rock chucks. Among those shooters were a fine gunsmith by the name of P.O. Ackley and a bullet maker by the name of Fred Barnes. Both were among the early-day experimenters of shooting who produced a lot of good things we have available today.

Shooting across those canyons with the changing wind currents demanded use of long, heavy bullets for whatever caliber was in use. Calibers at that time were everything from the .22-250, which was a wildcat then, to the .300 Magnums with blown-out shoulders. All had fast twist rifling so the longer, heavier bullets could be used. For instance, the .22-250 used up to 70- grain bullets, and the big Magnums used 200 grain and heavier.

One of Fred Barnes' creations was a 7X57 case necked down to .226 diameter with the blown-out shoulder, shooting a 125-grain bullet that required one turn in five and a half inches of twist.

Out of all this experimenting came a .300 Magnum case shortened, with blown-out shoulders, a fast twist, shooting a 200-grain .263 diameter bullet. That case design is almost the duplicate of our modern .264 Remington Magnum.

Hal Harton displays the large wild hog he took recently with the Remington Stainless Sendero rifle.

The .264 Remington Magnum is one of today's finest long-range calibers, and in the new Remington Model 700 Stainless Sendero rifle it is just about the top choice for long-range shooting. The twist is one turn in nine inches of barrel, and it will stabilize the Sierra 142- grain match bullet for longrange flat shooting.

When I go on my next pronghorn hunt, I will take my new .264 Stainless Sendero along.

Recently, I sent it down to grandson Scott Harton to field-test it on wild hogs, coyotes and Nilgai antelope -- a large import from India that can weigh up to 800 pounds on the hoof. He was doing some control shooting on a large ranch in South Texas. Scott even let his dad, Hal, try it on a wild hog. I got rave reviews and empty brass back.

I highly recommend this fine rifle and caliber for anything you might want to hunt between here and Alaska.

Harold Harton is a veteran outdoorsman and photographer and a longtime contibuter to the Dispatch Record.