Wearing out a HUNTING rifle?

None of those guys ever talk about all of the gut/leg/jaw shooting they have done... or how many sketchy blood trails they gave up on...

Excellent advice.

Not these two. If it wasn't a head shot you wasted meat. They never would go boiler room in those days
I don't ever remember them losing one but we don't take long shots here either. Most would be under 40 yards
Cheers
 
My main hunting rifle came to me from my dad and it was the only one he ever owned. It's a sporter 93 Mauser in 7x57 and it's still very accurate. When I am done with hunting I am hoping that it goes to my son. It should also last him his lifetime.
 
God yes! A hunting rifle, if properly taken care of, should last for multiple generations. This is how a lot of us end up with great-Grampy's 'ol hunting rifle in most cases. I tend to look for vintage rifles when looking to buy.
 
If the gun is just used for hunting yes it will last a lifetime. But you are going to need a second gun for practice then. I have a 300 RUM that the barrel is going out. But I shot it a lot at long range steel.
 
A good Model 70 will outlive most of their owners.

I hunt with an old M70 Win Featherweight in 30-06. Made in '62. I shoot a box or so of ammo through it every fall. Not that I need to shoot that much. I just enjoy poking holes in paper and smacking the 250 yard gong at the range.
It sees a lot of field time every fall. I expect that if this one is properly cared for by my grandson when I give it to him, that he will pass it on to his grandkids.

I also have a couple Ross M10's that are over 100 years old. Still perfectly useable hunting rifles.
 
Not these two. If it wasn't a head shot you wasted meat. They never would go boiler room in those days
I don't ever remember them losing one but we don't take long shots here either. Most would be under 40 yards
Cheers

Amazing, isn't it? Today, we all know...and correctly so...that being an accomplished marksman takes three things: practice, practice...and practice. Yet back in the day, the flinty-eyed nerves-of-steel outdoorsmen of yore never practiced (a waste of ammo) and yet never missed (ditto).

3macs1, I truly mean no dis-respect here, but the only way you would remember them losing one would be if they told you about it. Isn't it remotely possible that they just kept their mouths shut? These were flesh-and-blood mortals, not supermen. They got excited, they got winded, they grew shaky after a long chase or a hard climb or a tough slog through a swamp, they were probably shooting open sights in often poor light...and they missed, or made poor hits. Common sense tells you that it was inevitable.

I've hunted with some of those types of guys, who never practiced and yet never missed...if you doubted it, just ask them and they would tell you. To a man, the only thing accurate about their boasts was the fact that they never practiced. The rest of it...not so much...
 
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