Camp rifle ideas

Turkeyslayer 1300

Turkeyslayer 1300

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I am, looking for a good camp gun that would be used for general plinking and maybe emergency use around a camp site or in the bush. I was looking at a Marlin Camp carbine but am unsure as to their status. What do you use or what are your ideas?
 
Turkeyslayer 1300 said:
I am, looking for a good camp gun that would be used for general plinking and maybe emergency use around a camp site or in the bush. I was looking at a Marlin Camp carbine but am unsure as to their status. What do you use or what are your ideas?
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IMO for an ideal hiking/camp gun you want something handy, reasonably light, with some stopping power and potentially something that can be packed away out of sight if your route takes you through a town or city.

consider the BLR takedown for a more expensive option (~$800), in a suitable caliber like .308:
BrowningTakedown.jpg


or a 12.5" 12G 870 clone from CanAm:
photo-details-870grizzly-lg.jpg

as a cheaper $300 option, including tax and shipping.

my beater 'camp gun' is currently an old Mossberg 500 with a 20" barrel, 8+1 shells. its a bit on the heavy/unqieldy side though so right now im considering one of the above to replace it with - probably the 12.5" 12G. an 18" Remington with a top-folding stock would also fit the bill.
 
Like manbearpig said

The Blr is a good "camp gun".

Only mine would be a 358 Winchester with 3 different loads. The first would be a low velocity 1000 fps (and low recoil for kids) cast bullet load for grouse and general plinking, the second would be 158 grain pistol bullets loaded fast for varmints (and more serious plinking). The last would have 225gr TSX's for everything else.
 
i had a Savage 24-F in .223/12G which i thought would be the ideal all-purpose gun. i am sure the rimfres are fine since it doesnt take much to extract a .22LR, but i was having severe isses with the extractor on a .223 version. with some modification i improved it a little bit but its just too small/poorly designed to extract them reliably. IMO stay away from the centrefire rifle combos. the .22LR/20G sounds pretty darned good though.

but its a single shot... so god help you if something like a bear attacks and you have a load of birdshot in the 20G chamber and have already dropped the hammer on a .22 round. its 8lbs unscoped so you are probably better off clubbing it with the thing then :)

youd be hard pressed to find a better survival gun but i think you could do better for a carryaround 'camp gun'. 12g can also fire distress flares and bear bangers.
 
I like the Savage 24's as well. I bought one on the exchange last year, 30-30 over 20 gauge. Pretty well ideal for grouse and deer at close range.

Added this: extracting hte 30-30 is no problem, of course it has a rim...

Troutseeker
 
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manbearpig said:
i had a Savage 24-F in .223/12G which i thought would be the ideal all-purpose gun. i am sure the rimfres are fine since it doesnt take much to extract a .22LR, but i was having severe isses with the extractor on a .223 version. with some modification i improved it a little bit but its just too small/poorly designed to extract them reliably. IMO stay away from the centrefire rifle combos. the .22LR/20G sounds pretty darned good though.
QUOTE]

do you want to sell it?
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long gone :)
traded it in on a Ruger M77.
trust me, stay away from the centrefire rifle barreled ones they utilize a pitiful extractor setup. perhaps the earlier/later models (i had the .24-F) had less issues but the particular model i had had a microscopic little extractor claw. the other half of the problem is the pin that pushes the ejector assembly out when you break the action open - when it encounters too much tension it has a tendency to just slip out of alignment rather than force the round out of the chamber.
when i got the gun i was absolutely ecstatic thinking id found the perfect general purpose gun (cant beat .223/12G) but i was so happy to get rid of it. the 12G part functioned flawlessly so i suspect you would encounter none of these issues with rimfire over 12G/20G.


BTW i cant believe i forgot to mention the ultimate camp gun/plinker - the SKS :)
cheap, reliable, and you can beat the living #%@$ out of it and not feel sorry for it.
 
I had not heard of the extraction problems I wonder if it is more reliable with rimmed cartridges .Then again i have not known many folks that have had these combo guns .

As for a camp gun i can think of a couple that i would really like and it is the remington 7600P it is a 16.5 inch 308 pump gun with ghost sights but for 3 to 400 less you can get a syntetic 7600 carbine with an 18.5 barrel .
for shotguns nothing beats the tried and true 870
 
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What about the good old Lee Enfield No 1, 4 or 5? There are plenty of sporterized ones around, they're cheap and tough. If you handload you can use light loads or load pistol bullets for plinking, use it full power for backup uhnting rifle or defence gun.
Cheers
 
X2 on the Enfield. They are so inexpensive to buy and shoot, you can use the money you saved to buy a .410 for grouse hunting!
If your camp is in strictly deer country and moose aren't on the menu, a cheap used .30-30 lever is a great camp gun....fun to shoot for plinking, great to hunt with as a spare or primary rifle, enough gun for black bears.....and ammo is cheap for that one too. Plus the rifles are light enough and low enough recoil for younger/smaller folks to shoot.
 
I already have a Winchester Camp Defender so I'm looking for something lighter to accompany it i probably should have mentioned that. I notice no-one mentioned the Marlin camp carbine and I am leaning towards one if they are non-restricted thanks for your input,again any info on the marlin would be appreciated.
 
I notice no-one mentioned the Marlin camp carbine and I am leaning towards one if they are non-restricted
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They are restricted in stock form but you can get a longer barrel put on and sometimes they show up on the EE with the longer barrels.
 
have you considered a mini-14? theres a world of difference between .223 and 9mm, its a totally reliable design and a really fun gun thats widely available. or if you have your heart set on a pistol caliber carbine look around for a used deerfield carbine.

a cheaper similar alternative would be an SKS for ~$150-200. an SKS would make an ideal camp gun since you really dont care if it gets dropped, beaten up, scuffed up, etc. theyre durable and built to be abused and easily replaceable.
 
A freind of mine has an old, and I mean old model 24. I have used personally to hunt a nuber of times and it has never failed. It is chambered in 222 and 20g. As far as an all out survival\camp gun Ill take a 303 Enfeild or an SKS any day.
 
Id keep an 870 and maybe a 22 or 30-30. Always nice to have the 12ga if life turns nasty. Push comes to shove I want to be able to push back. Besides if the Zombies ever decide to go camping...
 
My camp gun was a Win Trapper in 45LC. Light loads used 200gr SWC and were like a hot 45ACP.

For bear defense, I had 325gr FN hard cast slugs going 1550fps. The penetration and destruction of water filled milk jugs was very impressive. Never had to use it on a boo boo but I am sure it would do the job.

Similar loads have been used to take Cape Buffalo. Brave souls.

Total length isn't much more then 3ft. 9rds of fun that can be delivered in a hurry.

Jerry
 
grnhawg said:
Savage 24C! 22RF over 20. Quiet with subsonics but deadly with a slug and a scatter gun to boot. This one wears Colonial Slimline choke tubes.
6x96vcz.jpg
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that gun looks good those savages look better and better i might have to get one of those 24c now that i have seen one cammed up all nice like that
 
MMmmmm Savage o/u combi. I have wanted one of those since I was a teen and that goes back some. Crap-back to the ee. I do have a 410 o/u and am now wondering if the pistol bullet convertors might be a good idea. Hmmm have to go back and find that chat line. That might be fun.:)
 
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