TargetTalk

Call the dealers and ask. The " heavy barrel option " may no longer be available.

Biathlon has a minimum rifle weight in the rules not a maximum. With a heavier barrel or total rifle weight it is usually is easier to shoot better scores offhand (standing). Most match rifles are in the 14 pound range. The trade-off is more to carry when skiing.

Sure. But I would not want to ski - race with my 14+ pound M1A on my back...............

The weight minimum is 3.5 kg without mags. If I recall, the Sprint barrel is all that is offered new from Anschutz. Most on the World Cup use the lighter barrel and have rifles underweight so they can ballast them up to minimum and put the weight where it has the most benefit to the athlete.

ARshooter wrote:I called Altius. He does not have any and does not know when he will get more. At this point I am looking at the Anschutz which will be available again in March

No way! I just bought a 7-3 (don't really have HUGE hands so I decided to go with a smaller stalk... starting to think that might have been a mistake but eh) from Mark at Altius. I didn't know I was buying a limited supply item! I bought a new sling, cuff, replaced the front aperture and added a rack for extra rounds for relay and the rifle was more like $1800 out the door. The supplied cuff from the factory is a pain (I tried it) but honestly have been using the original sling since I haven't made it back to West Yellowstone to get Mark to put the new sling on.

My experience with the Izmash has been nothing but awesome. Yeah, it's a little less accurate in cold weather shooting CCI standard but then again I'm not good enough to make that the limiting factor in most situations. I looked at the Anschutz but refused to even pick one up because I knew that I'd fall in love and end up spending twice as much. Some day if I'm skiing at a world cup level I'll buy a world cup level rifle.

I have been talking to a few gun smiths and small bore shooters and asking around about this cold weather problem. Most of them have been giving me the same answer, that it sounds like a finishing issue more than anything. Izmash claims the difference is strictly ammunition and that makes some sense with what my friends are telling me. Next winter I will I will do some cold weather bench testing of some different ammunition and let you all know what I find out. It sounds like the finish of the bore might be slightly less than compared to the Anschutz so when the weather gets cold enough the lube on the bullet (wax/oil) doesn't behave as it does at higher temperatures and the better finishing makes that a moot point.

Like I said above, unless you are shooting at a seriously high level I don't think that 99% of the people out there will actually gain much if anything from spending twice as much on the rifle. I say take that extra money and spend it on getting some Biathlon/skate/shooting lessons.

Craig1956 wrote:Sure. But I would not want to ski - race with my 14+ pound M1A on my back...............

honestly, most days I forget that it's there. People staring is typically the biggest difference. I've even been told that I was at at "family friendly" place and that I shouldn't have "that." I was at a loss for words.

No way! I just bought a 7-3 (don't really have HUGE hands so I decided to go with a smaller stalk... starting to think that might have been a mistake but eh) from Mark at Altius. I didn't know I was buying a limited supply item! I bought a new sling, cuff, replaced the front aperture and added a rack for extra rounds for relay and the rifle was more like $1800 out the door. The supplied cuff from the factory is a pain (I tried it) but honestly have been using the original sling since I haven't made it back to West Yellowstone to get Mark to put the new sling on.

I really like the stock feel and fit of my Izhmash, and unless you are shooting in temps below 17 F ( brrrr - that's colder ) the cold temp problem doesn't exist - especially here in California. In fact, Mark of Altius told me this last Sat. at the Mammoth biathlon that he really prefers the Izhmash stock too. I replaced the harness and cuff with Altius ( I modified the T nut to fit the existing harness mount ) and put an Anschutz adjustable front sight and adjustable rear apeture with an Altius blinder and the rifle shoots like a dream with Fiocchi M320 ( I've shot 5 round 1 hole groups ) and Federal Match !!

Hi:

I helped my son get a Izhmash 7-4 late last fall. We had the barrel changed to an Anschutz biathlon barrel. We have been shooting the barrel in and it is preforming extremely well using inexpensive ammo (Federal AutoMatch). I shot a 15 round group at 50 meters on the NRA 50yard target at about +15 degrees but little wind. The group was all within the 10 ring with about 1/2 the shots in the X ring. The barrel was dirty -- about 100 rounds down it. The barrel interior is well lapped and very smooth. It appears my son has the best of both worlds. We plan on remodeling the stock this summer.

George

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