'back up' rifle when hunting

There's always a spare between my father, and myself, when we hunt. Between my Tikka 6.5 Swede, and his 7mm Mag... We have a .338 federal. Sometimes, I have an additional - only if it's 'new,' or as a trial, during a first day's hike for familiarization.
 
If I recall from the Youtubes the chamber is reamed by hand 4 times. Didnt mean much to me cuz its the chamber. So what? As long as its inline with the rifling that should really be all that matters. I would have to disagree about the fit and finish. Miroku fabs are notorious for tight fit and attention to detail and to me are superior to American versions. Have a look at the new Winchester 94. Yup Miroku and they are purdy.The Xboles look really nice sitting beside my 2 CZs. For what I paid they are a helluva bargain. With all the extras on them and the reall pretty stock I would not hesitate to buy another if I had some cash left. Aside from that its a hunting rifle. I am not shooting comp so already it has more going than a lot of other choices. Then again comparing a $700 rifle against a $2000 or $3000 rifle is senseless to begin with. Its close enough that some would not tell the diff. And Browning is the ONLY manuf that makes a crapload of cals and several styles of rifles for us lefties. You righties have absolutely no idea how much trouble we sometimes have to go to find a rifle in a cal we want. Problem solved. I love my Xbolts and if you had a problem with one I am sure it would have been fixed to your satisfaction. Its not the rifles fault it left the country. I would have sent the barrel back to get replaced. I have been shooting since 1965 and have owned a LOT of guns.These are a real pleasure to shoot and accurate. Not too hard on the eye too.
 
I always take extra rifles when hunting. Not back ups, as I generally hunt going ahead. :p Seriously, I like to switch rifles during the hunt, and use certain rifles for the different areas I may go to on a particular day. Some rifles I use as foul weather rifles etc. In general I will take three with me, which three is a battle I have with myself all year long preparing for the hunt. But you can almost guarantee a 94 Winchester will be one. Not always, but I do feel a tad naked without one.
 
It's all dependent on which trip I'm on. When we're out hunting and camping I often take a couple, usually a medium to big game rifle - my T3 Lite Stainless 9.3x62 or the M98 8x57 I owned until last September - and a small game/varmint rifle - my Martini Cadets, either the .22Hornet or 25-20. At times I've taken both the 9.3 & 8x57 but often, especially when I'm unsure exactly the setup or if I'm only deer hunting, I'll just take one rifle. I do foresee both the 9.3 & my new T3 Lite Stainless 7mm-08 both going out in future. I'm also resurrecting a 303/25 so it'll get some "double outings" too. But I've rarely viewed them as backups per se. More as a plinker or alternative.
 
The purpose of having more than one rifle comes down to redundancy and versatility. To my way of thinking, the part of the rifle most prone to failure is the scope sight and for that reason I prefer to have a second scope available or irons mounted on the rifle. A second scope is much lighter than a second rifle. Now it is possible for a rifle to suffer a broken stock through some misadventure. A horse might step on it, it might get dropped off the side of a mountain, or the hunter on a snowmobile might try to sneak between trees which are spaced to closely for the slung rifle to pass, and break off at the wrist. If the rifle is a kicker that has seen few rounds, it is possible that a recoil crack might appear during a hunt. The moose hunter traveling by canoe might tip and loose his rifle in a lake or river, and that is where a back up rifle back at camp would be a nice thing to have. If wilderness ATCs were less restrictive and easier to acquire, the redundancy issue could be simply answered.

Versatility however can usually be covered with a selection of ammunition, and a box of ammo is lighter than a second rifle. But this is where the quality of your scope comes into play. If your rifle doesn't print different loads to the same POA, the scope must have repeatable adjustments if it is to be trusted.

So while there might be some logic to having a backup in camp, for redundancy, it makes less sense for versatility. If your hunt is a fly in gig, weight is a serious issue. If your camp is at the end of a long snowmobile ride, weight is less of a concern, but room might be. The more expensive your hunt, the more restrictive weight is likely to be, but if your cabin or camp is only a couple of hours away by truck, sure take as many guns as you can manage.
 
Boomer said:
The purpose of having more than one rifle comes down to redundancy and versatility. To my way of thinking, the part of the rifle most prone to failure is the scope sight and for that reason I prefer to have a second scope available or irons mounted on the rifle. A second scope is much lighter than a second rifle. Now it is possible for a rifle to suffer a broken stock through some misadventure. A horse might step on it, it might get dropped off the side of a mountain, or the hunter on a snowmobile might try to sneak between trees which are spaced to closely for the slung rifle to pass, and break off at the wrist. If the rifle is a kicker that has seen few rounds, it is possible that a recoil crack might appear during a hunt. The moose hunter traveling by canoe might tip and loose his rifle in a lake or river, and that is where a back up rifle back at camp would be a nice thing to have. If wilderness ATCs were less restrictive and easier to acquire, the redundancy issue could be simply answered.

Versatility however can usually be covered with a selection of ammunition, and a box of ammo is lighter than a second rifle. But this is where the quality of your scope comes into play. If your rifle doesn't print different loads to the same POA, the scope must have repeatable adjustments if it is to be trusted.

So while there might be some logic to having a backup in camp, for redundancy, it makes less sense for versatility. If your hunt is a fly in gig, weight is a serious issue. If your camp is at the end of a long snowmobile ride, weight is less of a concern, but room might be. The more expensive your hunt, the more restrictive weight is likely to be, but if your cabin or camp is only a couple of hours away by truck, sure take as many guns as you can manage.
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Mmmmm, clever. Never thought about bringing a second scope. But what about zero? I'm assuming if your changing a busted scope in the middle of nowhere and finally spot a prize Bull moose, you wouldn't have time to sight the rifle in before the kill shot. Or am I missing something?
 
Hunter on a Budget said:
Mmmmm, clever. Never thought about bringing a second scope. But what about zero? I'm assuming if your changing a busted scope in the middle of nowhere and finally spot a prize Bull moose, you wouldn't have time to sight the rifle in before the kill shot. Or am I missing something?
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Provided you used quality QD mounts that return to zero, or close to it, a pre-sighted scope would certainly provide hunting accuracy with respect to the coincidence of the line of sight with the trajectory of the bullet. For the sake of argument lets call it within a half minute . . . at least that has been my experience.
 
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Boomer said:
Provided you used quality QD mounts that return to zero, or close to it, a pre-sighted scope would certainly provide hunting accuracy with respect to the coincidence of the line of sight with the trajectory of the bullet. For the sake of argument lets call it within a half minute . . . at least that has been my experience.
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Cool, thanks. I'll keep that in mind next time.
 
In some ways a good set of irons would be better than a second scope simply because you're not pulling them off the rifle at all.
But it's all depends on what you're hunting.
If you're using a big bore and short to moderate distance irons are fine but further out a second scope would be far more useful.
 
Bring 2 rifles... both in .308 so carrying different caliber shells is not an issue and back up is a bolt with iron sights and scope so not only most reliable mechanically but should the scope get damaged I have iron sights I can still use.
 
I always bring the sks along, for when it's my turn to push bush. No problem pushing through bushes and scrub with the old war machine, plus with the soft tips, and the open sights, it's great for the 100 yd shots you get in the bush.
 
cdncowboy said:
Bring 2 rifles... both in .308 so carrying different caliber shells is not an issue and back up is a bolt with iron sights and scope so not only most reliable mechanically but should the scope get damaged I have iron sights I can still use.
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That's a smart plan. One of the H&R/NEF Handi-rifles in 308 would be ideal. Inexpensive, strip down to nothing and can be very accurate. While the 308 doesn't come with iron sights a red dot or the like could keep the package small.
 
my main hunting rifle is a ruger m77 all weather in 338 win mag. just got the rifle this year an cant wait to try it on some deer and moose. I also have a zastava in 308 win I us but the ruger is quickly taking its place. then my back up is always a trusty Winchester 94 in 30-30 loaded with 170 gr bullets or the Barnes bullets.
 
It depends. Almost always there is a single backup rifle, but sometimes I will bring 3 or 4 guns depending on the situation, terrain, who I'm hunting with, what I'm hunting, how I'm hunting. I bought an Axis .308 just for a backup as I have a friend with perpetual "oops forgot my ammo" syndrome (he's probably fired it more than me) and I needed a gun that wasn't going to roll afield on a red carpet. If my main gun/scope tanks I have a beater backup gun that I know works, also I'm always prepared for the inevitable "why won't my bolt close on this round?" or "what do you mean Matchkings suck for elk?". Federal 180gr blue box in the glove compartment, Redfield Revolution sighted for 200 yard zero, sub-2 MOA@100 yards, done deal.
 
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