Home, sick for a few days, so my mind has been wandering. I was thinking back to my first rifle, a BSA P17 that my Dad gave me as well as a Marlin 1894 .44 that I bought when I was single, and all the subsequent rifles I have owned since then, the BSA served me well for a few decades, then as my kids left home I found myself with a little more money, I started with a Ruger Hawkeye in 30-06, then shortly after a couple of Savages, 11 and 111 7-08 and 338 wm, I had a bad experience with Savage warranty never went back to Savage. For a while I was searching for a suitable two rifle combo, my thoughts were two rifles that shouldered the same, I tried T3s, Sako A7, Browning X bolts and A bolts and of course Mauser 98s, I tried various single shots Handi rifles, TC encores, Browning B78s, In levers I had a couple of BLRs, cheaper 30/30 94s, Rossi, Marlins and Henrys. I had the pleasure of having a young first time hunter join my Son and I on a deer hunt, He had visited my home prior to the season so I gave Him my thoughts on a light deer rifle as we do a lot of walking, He showed up with a brand new Ruger Precision in 6.5 Creedmoor and actually carried that rifle for many kms and got His first Mule deer on the 5th day. So that sent me on an experiment with a chassis rifle, I had a Ruger compact in 7-08 so a deal came up on a used MDT chassis and I tried that and no surprise it is not for me. In all of this buying and selling I never really went with higher or bottom end rifles, I am a blue collar worker with blue collar taste. So presently my tastes are Husqvarna 1900s, Weatherby Vanguards, Winchester 70s, Ruger MKIIs. The things I care about are a Monte Carlo style stock, hinged floor plate, bolt action, quality construction, the things that no longer matter to me are CRF, three position safety, low bolt lift, extreme light weight. So I have been laughing at myself a little, when I look back, if the BSA had a hinged floorplate or if I had put a different stock on the Ruger I could have stopped right there, but what fun would that be?
Changing tastes and preferences
- Thread starter Milt Dale
- Start date
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
Your tastes have evolved in a similar fashion to mine. CRF or 3-pos safeties are certainly no deal breakers for me, neither is the need for sub-MOA. 1-2.5 MOA with off the shelf ammo is fine for my needs, but the rifle has to be exceedingly well built and bone stock reliable. I also shifted back to quality shiney blued finishes and wood stocks. Getting too old to hunt with junky sh!t. Hinged floor plates are also nice, I agree.
My tastes change often, and I'm too lazy to sell most of the guns I don't shoot anymore so that's a problem in and of itself.
I'm not tied to a particular action type, but most of my centerfire hunting rifles are bolt action. Outside of that I have 1 BAR and 1 single shot currently. I suppose if I had to pick one action type it would be a bolt action. I like a refined, smooth feel. I appreciate shorter bolt throws but it doesn't have to be Mark V level of short. I'm indifferent to the number of locking lugs so long as there is good contact between the mating surfaces and a defined cam-over point where I can tell how far I am in the cycle. I prefer a magazine over a floorplate, but I definitely prefer metal mags over plastic. I have lots of plastic mag rifles that shoot fine, I just prefer metal. Call me picky.
As far as metal itself goes, I have stainless, gloss blued, matte blued, and cerakoted finishes. I prefer the look of gloss blue but overall prefer raw stainless for care and feeding. While I have short and long barreled rifles, I tend to prefer "the usual" 20-24" lengths in general. I also prefer plain, unfluted barrels with unthreaded muzzles. Brakes are ugly and loud, I prefer to deal with recoil through ergonomics and appropriate recoil padding if I'm shooting a lightweight magnum. I have a lot of Limbsavers and Decelerators in my safe
Stocks, I prefer the look of wood. I prefer the functionality of synthetic (not cheap injection-molded plastic as found on budget rifles), fiberglass, or carbon fiber. If I had to choose, I'd get a rifle with wood and order a replacement synthetic of some sort. Since I'm pretty average-sized (5'9", 42R jacket) most off the shelf rifles with 13.75" LOP fit me just fine. I generally need a cheekpiece to get a solid rest on a rifle stock though even with a low-mounted scope, so I'm partial to some form of raised comb. Bonus points for a rubberized coating so I don't rattle my fillings loose. Adjustable is very hit and miss for me, mostly miss. Less to futz with.
It is interesting though, I used to remember ABSOLUTELY NEEDING the lightest and most powerful rifle *just in case* instead of figuring out which tasks I wanted to accomplish and getting the right tool for each - I suppose that's the biggest difference in how my tastes have "matured". It's not about having a fluted 28" light sporter contoured 375 RUM in a helium-filled stock with a ridiculous scope clamped on top, then buying the same in a 300 Weatherby, then the same in a 7 STW, then the same in a 257 Wby, then the same in a 264 Win Mag, then the same in 338 Lapua, but more thinking about how and where I hunt and how I've been successful in the past.
I hate to admit I could meet all of my preferences AND requirements with a Sako 85 Hunter Stainless in .30-06 with a spare Finnlight stock, but I can. It's not even "probably", I just can. But that's boring!
I'm not tied to a particular action type, but most of my centerfire hunting rifles are bolt action. Outside of that I have 1 BAR and 1 single shot currently. I suppose if I had to pick one action type it would be a bolt action. I like a refined, smooth feel. I appreciate shorter bolt throws but it doesn't have to be Mark V level of short. I'm indifferent to the number of locking lugs so long as there is good contact between the mating surfaces and a defined cam-over point where I can tell how far I am in the cycle. I prefer a magazine over a floorplate, but I definitely prefer metal mags over plastic. I have lots of plastic mag rifles that shoot fine, I just prefer metal. Call me picky.
As far as metal itself goes, I have stainless, gloss blued, matte blued, and cerakoted finishes. I prefer the look of gloss blue but overall prefer raw stainless for care and feeding. While I have short and long barreled rifles, I tend to prefer "the usual" 20-24" lengths in general. I also prefer plain, unfluted barrels with unthreaded muzzles. Brakes are ugly and loud, I prefer to deal with recoil through ergonomics and appropriate recoil padding if I'm shooting a lightweight magnum. I have a lot of Limbsavers and Decelerators in my safe
Stocks, I prefer the look of wood. I prefer the functionality of synthetic (not cheap injection-molded plastic as found on budget rifles), fiberglass, or carbon fiber. If I had to choose, I'd get a rifle with wood and order a replacement synthetic of some sort. Since I'm pretty average-sized (5'9", 42R jacket) most off the shelf rifles with 13.75" LOP fit me just fine. I generally need a cheekpiece to get a solid rest on a rifle stock though even with a low-mounted scope, so I'm partial to some form of raised comb. Bonus points for a rubberized coating so I don't rattle my fillings loose. Adjustable is very hit and miss for me, mostly miss. Less to futz with.
It is interesting though, I used to remember ABSOLUTELY NEEDING the lightest and most powerful rifle *just in case* instead of figuring out which tasks I wanted to accomplish and getting the right tool for each - I suppose that's the biggest difference in how my tastes have "matured". It's not about having a fluted 28" light sporter contoured 375 RUM in a helium-filled stock with a ridiculous scope clamped on top, then buying the same in a 300 Weatherby, then the same in a 7 STW, then the same in a 257 Wby, then the same in a 264 Win Mag, then the same in 338 Lapua, but more thinking about how and where I hunt and how I've been successful in the past.
I hate to admit I could meet all of my preferences AND requirements with a Sako 85 Hunter Stainless in .30-06 with a spare Finnlight stock, but I can. It's not even "probably", I just can. But that's boring!
blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
I think my tastes change, and then I try something new but inevitably when I have to pull out one rifle I go always go back to my Ruger tang safety M77 in 308Win. When a gun feels like an extension on your arm and you have 100% confidence in it, it's hard to force change
- Location
- Steel Town and The Peg
I am really growing fond of my M77 tang safety too though I wish it had sights. It seems to shoot well (especially for a 7x57) and the Boyds stock I got for it feels and looks great. It's a rifle I like to tinker with. However, my CZ 557's in 8x57, 30-06 and 243 (wood and synthetic) are the rifles I could ever need and I usually grab. Solid, dependable and accurate, and the option to use their excellent iron sights is important for me. I also am growing quite fond of Henry levers, again for the same reasons.
I went from a 15$ 303 to a 308 to 300 WM and other large rifles back to a 30-30 when I moved to a place that only has deer. Trying to get my 243 or 7mm-08 ready now. I never ever had a desire to own a 270 but now have a couple of them too. My only desire is to shoot a moose before my times up in life now.
My tastes changed from bone stock factory rifles to semi or full custom rifles a long time ago. I don't think I've hunted with a factory, as is rifle in 20 years, other than killing a deer with a Tavor. Plenty of people chase that perfect factory rifle and for many that's all they want or need. But all my hunting rifles have at the very least an aftermarket stock like a McMillan. Some rifles are complete custom made, some I've put together myself and others just have a stock upgrade and maybe some bolt on add ons.
Many guys have half a dozen hunting rifles that they like but don't love but when I suggest they sell them all and get one nice ($$$) rifle and optic set up they say they don't want to spend that much on a rifle.
I have plenty of factory rifles but they are mostly range fun guns.
Many guys have half a dozen hunting rifles that they like but don't love but when I suggest they sell them all and get one nice ($$$) rifle and optic set up they say they don't want to spend that much on a rifle.
I have plenty of factory rifles but they are mostly range fun guns.
My tastes have changed several times. I still prefer wood and blued steel but a fair number of my rifles sit in a chassis system. However more and more I'm drawn to another double rifle. As mentioned earlier it's easy to say you can sell a dozen rifles and buy one nice one but it can hard to do with each rifle holding certain memories hunting has changed to. It's not about tagging out anymore. It's about enjoying being out and taking someone new along. I also prefer a greater challenge so that I'm forced to get closer to the game as I do with archery gear.
My next rifle will likely be a custom combo or double rifle but I just put a big downpayment on a lil puppy that will rapidly eat thru a paycheck for the next couple years lol
My next rifle will likely be a custom combo or double rifle but I just put a big downpayment on a lil puppy that will rapidly eat thru a paycheck for the next couple years lol
Changing flavors is what keeps us going.
I started chasing higher end factory rifles a while ago with the purchase of a Magnum Research 10/22. My draw to carbon barrels started there. I ended up building several different types of 10/22's in all sorts of stocks, but the chassis type stock just had a nice feel. That is when I got this crazy idea I wanted to put together a rifle, and started researching things that I wanted it to have. Bought a magnesium chassis stock for it first, before any of the other parts. Then they had to go and let out their version 4 chassis, with built in level and acra rail. So then I had 2 magnesium chassis stocks, and no rifle. Go figure.
1 1/2 years later I finally had a custom 6.5PRC, running a defiance action, sitting in an XLR magnesium chassis, sporting a carbon barrel. The bonus of this, is I can order a new barrel, and have a different caliber to shoot within a few minutes of a barrel swap. That got me thinking, and I had a 2nd chassis already, so I decided to build a 22LR trainer, based on the rifle I had. It is still cheaper shooting 22 ammo at the range out to 200-300 yards for training, then any center fire. The RimX gives me the flavor of a barrel, and bolt head upgrade to change to 22mag, 17HMR, or 17WSM. To bad the 17wsm ammo is so scarce right now, or I would have the barrel and bolt to be able to shoot that caliber as well.
My rifles get the top tier optics. Just me, but I hate the excuse of an optic messing up my shooting. This also spoiled me, and it is now hard to shoot anything with sub par optics on it. The rifles for the teens, get budget optics, that work for them, as they grow into better stuff, and learn to appreciate the little things.
Then I ran into a want that came up. An old 1895 lever, 303 brit. This is ending up to be a great hoot to shoot with open sights out to 300 yards. Nice hearing that gong sound with a 150gr round. That put me into a spin of levers, and a desire to have a 44 mag. Just bought a 2nd lever in 44 mag, and should see it late this week. Nice to have several other rifles to take to the range and shoot in between barrel cooling when shooting for new loads, and who doesn't enjoy shooting levers. Then to sit for a while with the 22 and shoot some nice tight 10 rounds groups at 50 yards, and 100 yards to finish off the range day.
Filled another bucket list this year as well. Shooting out to 1000m. Having a capable rifle, and then learning how to reload for it, and then taking it out to the range and working it up to 1000m is just icing on the cake.
Now I'm stuck dreaming on a 6.5 creed bench rifle. Brass should arrive this week, as my first parts of this dream start coming together. Go figure, buying brass as the first step to a rifle build.
Help, I have an addiction!!!!
I started chasing higher end factory rifles a while ago with the purchase of a Magnum Research 10/22. My draw to carbon barrels started there. I ended up building several different types of 10/22's in all sorts of stocks, but the chassis type stock just had a nice feel. That is when I got this crazy idea I wanted to put together a rifle, and started researching things that I wanted it to have. Bought a magnesium chassis stock for it first, before any of the other parts. Then they had to go and let out their version 4 chassis, with built in level and acra rail. So then I had 2 magnesium chassis stocks, and no rifle. Go figure.
1 1/2 years later I finally had a custom 6.5PRC, running a defiance action, sitting in an XLR magnesium chassis, sporting a carbon barrel. The bonus of this, is I can order a new barrel, and have a different caliber to shoot within a few minutes of a barrel swap. That got me thinking, and I had a 2nd chassis already, so I decided to build a 22LR trainer, based on the rifle I had. It is still cheaper shooting 22 ammo at the range out to 200-300 yards for training, then any center fire. The RimX gives me the flavor of a barrel, and bolt head upgrade to change to 22mag, 17HMR, or 17WSM. To bad the 17wsm ammo is so scarce right now, or I would have the barrel and bolt to be able to shoot that caliber as well.
My rifles get the top tier optics. Just me, but I hate the excuse of an optic messing up my shooting. This also spoiled me, and it is now hard to shoot anything with sub par optics on it. The rifles for the teens, get budget optics, that work for them, as they grow into better stuff, and learn to appreciate the little things.
Then I ran into a want that came up. An old 1895 lever, 303 brit. This is ending up to be a great hoot to shoot with open sights out to 300 yards. Nice hearing that gong sound with a 150gr round. That put me into a spin of levers, and a desire to have a 44 mag. Just bought a 2nd lever in 44 mag, and should see it late this week. Nice to have several other rifles to take to the range and shoot in between barrel cooling when shooting for new loads, and who doesn't enjoy shooting levers. Then to sit for a while with the 22 and shoot some nice tight 10 rounds groups at 50 yards, and 100 yards to finish off the range day.
Filled another bucket list this year as well. Shooting out to 1000m. Having a capable rifle, and then learning how to reload for it, and then taking it out to the range and working it up to 1000m is just icing on the cake.
Now I'm stuck dreaming on a 6.5 creed bench rifle. Brass should arrive this week, as my first parts of this dream start coming together. Go figure, buying brass as the first step to a rifle build.
Help, I have an addiction!!!!
Still prefer singleshots or break actions overall as far as esthetics go, find bolt actions boring, and a PITA to change cartridges in. Never had much use for lever actions or pumps. Unfortunately the last few yrs the singleshots are harder to come by, and even actions or donor guns are a bit overpriced. I still like a cartridge that has a bit of power for hunting big game, no real need for anything bigger than a 7-08, but, still have a couple in 300H&H size cartridges and a 30-06 sized one. Don't see a need for me, to launch big heavy bullets to gain distance or killing power, been there done that, not very comfortable to shoot without a heavy gun, and expensive on components.
