Thanks for all the comments everyone, nice to know I'm not alone.
I have one comment about bad weather rifles. The worst conditions I ever hunted in was a week of Caribou hunting on horseback in the Logan mts. in the Yukon, about five years ago. It rained every day, and nothing we touched was dry. I was hunting with a pillar bedded and free floated Rem 700 .35 whelen in a "classic" stock. With regular care, it never rusted, and never shifted impact. It did have a severe test. On the third day my rifle was pulled from the scabbard as we led the horses down a long, brushy and steep gully to return to camp. It was dark when we hit the bottom of the valley, and I discovered the rifle was missing. We returned the next day to find the rifle laying partly in a puddle and on some wet moss. One shot to check zero, and that afternoon I went on to kill a nice bull at about 200 yds. That is typical of the wood stocked bolt action rifles I have owned (about 20) If the wood is properly sealed and the rifle is well bedded, moisture need not be a problem. I learned about maintaining blued steel during many early season moose hunts in wet conditions. I did have one rifle rust, but since then I've learned that a wipe down each evening with a good synthetic rust preventative oil is all that is normally needed to keep them from rusting. Every gun I own comes hunting, NONE are safe queens and many have very beautiful wood and fine engraving. I don't subscribe to the notion that hunting guns need to get beat up.
That said, I just bought a somewhat beat up stainless steel Ruger #1A in 7x57 that will be my "bad weather and loaner" rifle. Stainless steel certainly is not necessary, but it IS more forgiving of bad maintenance. I actually like the looks of stainless steel. Plastic stocks on the other hand just don't look as nice to my eye. I also find them noisy for stalking in the bush. Branches can use a hollow stock as a musical "sound board".
I did own a Sako Greywolf M85 in .308 that I bought new and liked a lot. For a modern CNC machine-made rifle, it was very well built, accurate and ergonomic. It even looked OK to my eye. My brother in law wanted to get back into hunting and to encourage him I sold it to him cheap or I would still be using it. There are good modern guns out there, but unfortunately most are priced at $1500 and up. That's one reason I like buying classic high quality used guns, better value.
There is something unique about hunting with a rifle or shotgun that was built by a team of craftsmen who spent years learning their trade using hand tools and a keen eye. Those guns are more than tools, they are functional art.
Right you are. Heaven forbid, but if we were only allowed to hunt one big game animal, without any hesitation, my choice would be Moose. I've been making subtle efforts to 'steer' my Granddaughter in that direction for future hunting interests. So, for her recent visit, I added a few 'Moose things' to my den and she loved them.
