Help Please!

J

JamesM

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Location
Bloomfield, New Brunswick
I have a dilema on my hands I don't know what to be looking fo as a next rifle, I already have a .223, .30-06 and .32 special so I have the basics coverred but what should be next? Should I look at a stainless steel .270 or 7mm-08 or should I be heading to tradex looking for a classic mauser action in either 9.3x62 or 6.5x55 or should I be looking to a magnum, lets say a nice 7mm or .338....
Unfortunately any rifle I get will probably be slightly neglected as long as I live in NB because I bowhunt deer and prefer waterfowling and grouse hunting more then anything, maybe I need another shotgun...... but then I did say I wanted to get more serious about deer hunting this season so maybe I will take the rifles again or this could be the year I get my moose draw.....
Clearly I have a problem folks....Help!!!!
Opinions and guidance needed.
 
You have a varmint caliber .223, and a great all round caliber 30-06 which will harvest any game animal in N.A. I see a quality 22 missing for cheap plinking. I would look for a BRNO/CZ, Ruger 77/22 or any other quality rimfire rifle in .22lr. The other option is a 12G shotgun, I feel this would round out your collection. Just my Opinion, cheers!
 
To my way of thinking, neither the 6.5X55, the .270, the 7-08 or the 7 mag will do anything you can't do with the .30/06. The 9.3X62 is a good choice for heavy game, its cheap to load for compared to the .375s, especially when you use .30/06 brass, and its been getting some positive press around here lately thanks to Ted and BUM. I might have suggested a .375 Ruger Alaskan, but the rifle they make now isn't what is was a year ago. A .338 is a good choice for a medium if you want a bit more velocity than you can get with the 9.3. From your perspective a 9.3X62 Husky from Tradex would get high marks, and a M-70 in .338 would be my second choice.
 
I should have included I have a plethora of 12 guages and other shotguns and for .22's I have a spectacularly accurate savage bull barrelled target .22, a C.I.L Anschutz(sp?) single shot that can give most target rifles a run for their money and a ruger 10/22.
So bigger is probably where I'll be looking but what, big bore lever, .35 Whelan, .338, 9.3....
Either that or a nice used double barrel 12 or 20 guage field gun, and start saving towards a puppy to be my hunting companion.
 
I would go bigger as well personally, 9.3x62, 338 win mag, or a 375. My choice would be the 375 but I have dreams of Africa that you may not.

As I said, the above would be my choice, but an alternative might be a bull barrel 308 if you want to start playing the precision game, given that you said a bigger rifle may be neglected. I'm not sure what your future plans and dreams are. (Dreams alone are certainly enough to justify a rifle purchase, "just in case" :) )
 
Boomer said:
The Alaskan was dropped in favor of this . . .
http://www.ruger.com/products/guideGun/models.html
Click to expand...

Ah, I've seen that rifle but I forgot that they discontinued the Alaskan as a replacement. Looks like they made it a little heavier by adding an ugly laminate stock, and added an interesting idea for a replaceable muzzle break. What do you dislike about the new rifle, is it just the appearance?
 
IMHO, there is no place for a muzzle break on a hunting rifle, and the bigger the cartridge the more trouble that break will cause you. The logic here is that if you're using a big gun you'll be hunting something that can hunt back, so the greater the chances are that you will have to fire the rifle without enough notice to put on hearing protection. A pal of mine had a brake on his Brno 602 and fired a snap shot at a bear from along side his house. The brake not only drove the muzzle blast back towards him, but the blast bouncing off his wall, added to the effect and his ears rang for days. If recoil of a hunting rifle is such that a muzzle break is beneficial to you, you are better off to down load the cartridge or to choose a smaller cartridge in a heavier rifle.

Besides the brake, the Guide Gun is butt ugly. The other Ruger laminated stocks I've handled aren't contoured to fit any humans I've ever met, and a slab sided stock with a shortened recoil pad for less surface contact on a rifle with lively recoil will be a problem. The prospect of having to shell out additional money for a McMillan stock, is somewhat different then choosing to. The Alaskan's Hogue stock was serviceable enough, particularly in wet conditions, even though some chose to switch up to a McSwirley.
 
So here is where I've come to as far as stepping up is concerned I've narrowed it down to the .338 win mag, .35 Whelan or 9.3x62 I hope to be adding one of these to my collection over the next few months... wish me luck and lets hope I don't get side tracked by any other gun/cartidge in the mean time.
This addiction is terrible....
 
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