if you could only have one rifle for hunting what would it be?
- Thread starter quaticman
- Start date
Oh, yeah...good idea...let's start calculating the actual cost of hunted meat, dollars per pound. Don't forget to factor in things like time lost from work, gasoline for travel to and from hunting, all associated gear, etc.
You absolutely DO NOT want to go there!!!
hometownhero
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Toon Town, Sk
I only have one. No need and don't really want another.
Fn built M70 30-06
Fn built M70 30-06
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
If restricted to just one, it would probably be my McMillan stocked Brno 602 in .375 Ultra. Its reliable, accurate, versatile, and flat shooting, which pretty much defines a general purpose hunting rifle. Its not the choice for shooting beyond a half mile, and the bore diameter is a mite small to be the optimum professional hunters rifle in Africa or Asia, but in the role of a general purpose hunting rifle, there is no land animal on the planet that it would be undergunned for. Provided appropriate bullets were chosen, and shooting was kept within 500 yards, it would do its part. It jumps around a mite, but shooting it doesn't upset me; as for coyote shooting, I bet its easier on pelts than a 6mm loaded with varmint bullets.
Another option though is to have a custom switch barrel rifle built, with a bolt body for each family of cartridges, so you can pick the optimum cartridge, barrel length, and barrel contour for any type of hunting you might consider. If you want a .22 centerfire for coyotes, you're good to go, a .280 for deer moose and elk, is at your finger tips, a .338 Lapua will let you reach out and touch something, and your pals at the range who think a .300 magnum is a big rifle, will be highly impressed with the .585 Nyati. That's pretty versatile for a single rifle.
Another option though is to have a custom switch barrel rifle built, with a bolt body for each family of cartridges, so you can pick the optimum cartridge, barrel length, and barrel contour for any type of hunting you might consider. If you want a .22 centerfire for coyotes, you're good to go, a .280 for deer moose and elk, is at your finger tips, a .338 Lapua will let you reach out and touch something, and your pals at the range who think a .300 magnum is a big rifle, will be highly impressed with the .585 Nyati. That's pretty versatile for a single rifle.
boomer 243
New member
- Location
- Eagle Hill , Alberta
My rem 700 in 35 Whelen
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
I my younger years I would definitely have a M700 in 300WM with the finest cross-haired 3-9 glass I could find...
That was then...now it would be a vintage (Marlin 95 or Win. 86) lever gun in 45-70 or 45-90.
That was then...now it would be a vintage (Marlin 95 or Win. 86) lever gun in 45-70 or 45-90.
I guess it would be my very first rifle. A 1898 Lee Enfield Calvary carbine. Lyman rear aperature sight. It really doens't like light bullets, but is will put 180's in a 6" group. 215gn bullets are down to 3" at 100yds. I am currently throwing 200gn gas checked cast bullets out of it and I think I could sustain those for quite some time. so, yep, that'd be my rifle. BTW, it's the bottom one:
Bigfoot 870
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
Steyr Pro Hunter in .308 for me. I have no idea if they still make them but I shot one once and it was probably the most comfortable thing I've ever shot. I might consider a 6.5x55 or 7x64 as well for "Euro-ness". Nothing I hunt needs more pop than that.
