Most overrated rifle
- Thread starter Rob
- Start date
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Although myself I am not a huge fan of the 303 LE one must admit it had more than its share of conflict in the far flung dark corners of empire and then some.
After WW2 the Brits brought the jungle carbine to Malaya.
Unfortunately our fine brave boys went to Korea with the No. 4 whilst every other UN contingent had a semi auto battle rifle of some sort standard issue.
I do not believe any free nations except maybe France and Great Britain, sent thier soldiers into harm's way with a bolt action.
Our troops held at Kapyong despite being armed with a bolt action rifle to repel human waves of Chinese troops ad nauseum.
Certainly supportive arms played a huge role and the tenacity and training of Canadians.
But they held at Kapyong without Garand rifles standard issue !!!
That's something else indeed.
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in that case it is more the will than the tool.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I don't think the 303 is over rated... in fact, despite the fact that it's killed counteless game and humans I've never really heard anyone rave about how good it is.
I find them to be like an old truck... they just get it done. Not as fast, powerful or even safe as a new unit...they are just generally useful at their intended purpose. I usually have an old truck around 'just in case' the main driver gets sidelined... and the old unit turns more heads and get more smiles than my new one. Awful thing; noisy, hot, poor mileage...boy is it fun though.
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
Kel Tec Sub 2K. Pure crap.
I read another reason for why the Swedes are dumping their older rifles, especially in calibre 6.5x55. Supposedly under pressure from the EU, Sweden is in the process of banning all lead bullets and the older rifles can't handle the new long copper alloy bullets. It can (will?) happen here...it wasn't long ago that I read some Liberal hack in Ottawa claiming that Canada, "MUST follow the lead of Holland" and ban all lead bullets.
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That is an interesting theory. I am scratching my head as to the why. Lots of military bullets that are steel core with a copper jacket IIRC...be a little tougher to compress one into the grooves I'd think.
Not salty BTW. Curious is all.
Not salty BTW. Curious is all.
The Ruger 10/22 again
I own a fair number of rifles, shotguns, and handguns.
IN MY EXPERIENCE, not my opinion on firearms I didn't own or didn't own very long, the most overrated is one of the few firearms I ever sold - a Ruger 10/22 I bought somewhere around 1974.
It took me a few years to sour on it - years in which I shot God knows how many gophers with it. It was never a tack driver, in fact grouping ability was pretty mediocre with any ammunition I felt was reasonably priced i.e. nothing like Eley or Lapua. But most gophers were shot at around 25 yards or less, standing up, and most were shot dead. It never jammed, although I now read others saying they jam like crazy: mine and my brothers' didn't.
But eventually I realized that the more and more I tried longer shots (as the easy gophers at closer range got thinned out, perhaps), the poor grouping ability and the lousy trigger pull were a problem I couldn't get around. Back then, all the current Kidd and Volquartson stuff didn't exist. So - in my mind - it became overrated as it was hyped as being about as fine a .22 as a blue collar guy could buy. A small game .22 should have at least a decent trigger and be able to group at least as good as my Cooey Model 39, which it didn't.
So I sold it and bought a Remington 541. My brothers at some point came to the same conclusion and dumped their 10/22s for the same reason: great bullet hoses for slaughtering gophers and tin cans at reasonably close range, but didn't have the trigger and grouping ability to go after gophers, starlings, and magpies further out there.
Both of them now own 10/22s again, BTW, with replacement barrels and all kinds of other drop in stuff from Kidd and others. Their new 10/22s with the replacement parts are now tackdrivers with great triggers - but they aren't the 10/22 rifles that they brought home new in the box a couple of years ago.
Nothing wrong with a 10/22 from my personal experience - just that as a stock rifle, they don't have the trigger pull and grouping ability to match the overrated reputation. Maybe some of the new ones, I don't know, but not the ones of the 70's, 80's, etc.
Other rifles can go the other way. I have a Sako Finnbear I bought around 1974. Beautiful rifle, shoots well, classic looks, great workmanship and finish, etc. Would never consider selling it. Meanwhile, looking at the latest Sako big game rifles, they may or may not be just as good or even better as far as performance goes. But the lines and styling of the new ones remind of Browning's descent into marketing gaudy shotguns with cosmetics and looks that make you think they hired a Davie Street drag queen to do the design work. I think of Sako hunting rifles as classics in lines and looks - the new ones are overrated if the claim is made they meet that standard.
They're running with the reputation that the classic Sako rifles earned, and they don't live up to it.
The hands down worst rifle I've ever owned was a Ruger M77 heavy barreled 220 Swift I bought new in the box somewhere around 1978 or so. Had a few tiny problems: you couldn't seat bullets out far enough to even get close to the lands, and when I drove a slug down the barrel, it went into free fall for about two inches around the middle of the barrel. Best group that thing ever shot, no matter what bullet and what powder, was about 2 MOA. When I brought it in as warranty defective, Ruger essentially told me it shot good enough and to go pound sand. I sold it to a guy who was drooling for a Swift, and who still wanted it despite my telling him what was wrong with it. Maybe I looked too young to be as smart as he was, but I was happy to take his money.
Said I would never buy another Ruger after that, and never have. Never will. But I wouldn't say that, based on my experiences, the Ruger M77 line of rifles are overrated.
I own a fair number of rifles, shotguns, and handguns.
IN MY EXPERIENCE, not my opinion on firearms I didn't own or didn't own very long, the most overrated is one of the few firearms I ever sold - a Ruger 10/22 I bought somewhere around 1974.
It took me a few years to sour on it - years in which I shot God knows how many gophers with it. It was never a tack driver, in fact grouping ability was pretty mediocre with any ammunition I felt was reasonably priced i.e. nothing like Eley or Lapua. But most gophers were shot at around 25 yards or less, standing up, and most were shot dead. It never jammed, although I now read others saying they jam like crazy: mine and my brothers' didn't.
But eventually I realized that the more and more I tried longer shots (as the easy gophers at closer range got thinned out, perhaps), the poor grouping ability and the lousy trigger pull were a problem I couldn't get around. Back then, all the current Kidd and Volquartson stuff didn't exist. So - in my mind - it became overrated as it was hyped as being about as fine a .22 as a blue collar guy could buy. A small game .22 should have at least a decent trigger and be able to group at least as good as my Cooey Model 39, which it didn't.
So I sold it and bought a Remington 541. My brothers at some point came to the same conclusion and dumped their 10/22s for the same reason: great bullet hoses for slaughtering gophers and tin cans at reasonably close range, but didn't have the trigger and grouping ability to go after gophers, starlings, and magpies further out there.
Both of them now own 10/22s again, BTW, with replacement barrels and all kinds of other drop in stuff from Kidd and others. Their new 10/22s with the replacement parts are now tackdrivers with great triggers - but they aren't the 10/22 rifles that they brought home new in the box a couple of years ago.
Nothing wrong with a 10/22 from my personal experience - just that as a stock rifle, they don't have the trigger pull and grouping ability to match the overrated reputation. Maybe some of the new ones, I don't know, but not the ones of the 70's, 80's, etc.
Other rifles can go the other way. I have a Sako Finnbear I bought around 1974. Beautiful rifle, shoots well, classic looks, great workmanship and finish, etc. Would never consider selling it. Meanwhile, looking at the latest Sako big game rifles, they may or may not be just as good or even better as far as performance goes. But the lines and styling of the new ones remind of Browning's descent into marketing gaudy shotguns with cosmetics and looks that make you think they hired a Davie Street drag queen to do the design work. I think of Sako hunting rifles as classics in lines and looks - the new ones are overrated if the claim is made they meet that standard.
They're running with the reputation that the classic Sako rifles earned, and they don't live up to it.
The hands down worst rifle I've ever owned was a Ruger M77 heavy barreled 220 Swift I bought new in the box somewhere around 1978 or so. Had a few tiny problems: you couldn't seat bullets out far enough to even get close to the lands, and when I drove a slug down the barrel, it went into free fall for about two inches around the middle of the barrel. Best group that thing ever shot, no matter what bullet and what powder, was about 2 MOA. When I brought it in as warranty defective, Ruger essentially told me it shot good enough and to go pound sand. I sold it to a guy who was drooling for a Swift, and who still wanted it despite my telling him what was wrong with it. Maybe I looked too young to be as smart as he was, but I was happy to take his money.
Said I would never buy another Ruger after that, and never have. Never will. But I wouldn't say that, based on my experiences, the Ruger M77 line of rifles are overrated.
If we’re throwing gas on the flames I nominate the Baikal double rifle.
The love fests I always see accompanying it are either from people with only academic experience or the truly deranged ( and I say this with respect and possibly envy).
Only gun I’ve ever owned that I let someone shoot at the range and had to tell them the safety wasn’t on they just had to pull the trigger harder
The love fests I always see accompanying it are either from people with only academic experience or the truly deranged ( and I say this with respect and possibly envy).
Only gun I’ve ever owned that I let someone shoot at the range and had to tell them the safety wasn’t on they just had to pull the trigger harder
ALBERTA BOY
Regular
- Location
- Edmonton, AB
I can’t agree with you on the howa actions. Solid flat bottom receiver and a one piece bolt body (yes, even the handle) make for an extremely high quality of manufacture. The sako style extractor is better than many push feeds (better than any with ball and detent) and the twist apart bolt is a dream to maintain. They’re one of the highest quality actions available and certainly the highest at its price point.
Now there's some really funny poo, right there. Probably the funniest I'll read this week (other than your fellow traveler in this thread who said "anything 30-06"; maybe that tops you).
The four Husqvarnas in my gun safes have been here since I bought the first ones new out of a gun shop in the early 70's; the remainder also moved in during the 70's. They've been chasing everything from grizzlies to antelope, with moose, elk and deer in the middle ever since. And the reason I and others went looking for Huskies back then is that the older guys we knew who also chased bighorns, elk, moose, grizzlies, etc in the mountains thought so highly of them - but they were no longer being imported so you had to scramble to find one for sale. Every year, still my automatic for big game while a very nice Sako Finnbear and Winchester don't get out much during hunting season.
But apparently - even though used ones have been a quick seller here on Gunputz long before Tradex started bringing Husqvarnas here from Sweden - Husqvarnas only got here because Swedes didn't want them anymore. Fascinating bit of your firearms expertise you're passing on to us!
Nearly 50 years of personal experience with four different Husqvarnas, four different calibers. As reliable as the day I brought them home and took the hang tags off.
It would be fascinated to read the length of time and depth of experience with various Husqvarnas (and which ones) led you to that definitive opinion based on your experience.
and sakos are way overrated
I have a Swedish friend who told me that nobody wants the older Huskys in Sweden, but I think he was speaking more of the 8mm"s and such.
You can buy a used Huskvarna in 8mm over there for under $100 Canadian.
Cat
I didn’t care much for me Marlin 336. But it was a Remlin. Maybe a older JM is up to my standards
Factory 1022s are cheap. I like the design but the quality is lacking for the reputation they have.
Luckily you can have your choice of quality upgrades or build a full custom 1022 style rifle with nothing but a ruger mag in it.
Factory 1022s are cheap. I like the design but the quality is lacking for the reputation they have.
Luckily you can have your choice of quality upgrades or build a full custom 1022 style rifle with nothing but a ruger mag in it.
