"Ya gotta clean that gun of yours a little more often man!! I is in the dusty west too, ya know! Lotta dusty roads in Wyoming for certain..Montana too!"
I don't doubt that.
I've been on a couple of hunts where I had to wipe the bolt on that Remmy 700 several times during the course of a day. Too much of a PITA to suit me. it's too reliable in maintaining it's accuracy to get rid of it so usually it goes along in the case as a back up to whatever flavor of the day I'm hunting with. IIRC, I bought it in 1980 or 1981, not sure, sighted it in 3.0" high at 100 yards with 180 gr. Silvertips. i can take it to the range today and shooting off the bench with 180 gr. Silvertips, the gun will put five shots into about 1.5" exactly 3.0" high at 100 yards.
The gun is strictly stock except for the stock which I replaced when I bought the gun with an H&S Precision Fiberthane stock glass bedded with Accra-glass. Scope is just an all steel El paso Weaver K-4.
For myself, I'd rather have a rifle that shot 1.5" consistantly than one that shot .50" groups but wandered all over the place every time the humidity changed due to some bird sneezing 100 miles away.
Paul B.