quote:

Lathrop & Sons.

I don't own any Han Wag's. But the Lathrop & Sons are friends and good people. Dr. Lathrop is a pediatrist If I could afford those boots they would be in the closet. That family does know feet!!

chronic

Between 1975 and 1995 I hunted moose, black bear and caribou in southcentral and interior Alaska--a total of about 15 separate hunts. Hunted sheep in the Chugach and Alaska ranges--took a 42 inch ram on a solo hunt in the Tok Trophy Management area. Went on one hunt on Admiralty Island and one on the Alaska Peninsula where I took a 9.5 foot brown bear.

I used Pre-64 Model 70 rifles on all these hunts, mostly 270, 300 H&H and 375 H&H calibers. All had factory original wooden stocks and blued metal. Stocks were sealed under the buttplate or recoil pad and in the inletting. I never had a problem with the wood warping resulting in change of zero, or with metal rusting despite nasty weather on some hunts. If a rifle got wet I wiped it down at night and applied a little RIG grease I brought along on a sarurated rag. If I expected nasty weather I put a thin coat of paste wax on the wood before the hunt.

I know wood can and does warp but with wood that is 30-40+ years old and properly sealed and finished, the odds are slim. With a little attention and care, blued metal won't rust under most conditions.

As for sheep calibers, you can't go wrong with a 270, in my opinion, but I used my 300 H&H on the 42 inch ram at about 400 yards.