The Eternal Struggle

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d4dave1

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So I don't need another rifle as I have a "few" gun safes full. But I "want" a couple of different calibers and I have been floating around hoping to catch up to one on the Buy and Sell. It's just a personal thing but I have a real struggle with the idea of paying 3/4 of the price of a brand new rifle for a used rifle...even if it is in "mint" condition. But my problem is that I have not been able to find any manufacturer of the caliber I want at prices that I can afford. Then, due to a life change, I decided to hell with it I am buying the caliber I want in the rifle I want and price be damned.

Long story longer, I thought when needing expert advice....go to the experts. So I contacted the fine folks at Prophet River and in jig time they had me looking at Kimber rifles in the elusive .257 Roberts that I have been seeking. And the prices are not all that bad, everything considered. I have been giving myself hell for not buying a Browning that I looked at 2 years ago for $1250. Well I can buy a brand new Kimber Hunter for just a wee bit more and either a Kimber Classic Select or Montana for ~ $2K.

And here is where the Eternal Struggle part kicks in. I purchased a Browning X-Bolt a few years ago with a Tupperware stock and fell madly in love with the rifle. I deliberately bought the plastic stock because this rifle goes everywhere with me...tractors/quads/trucks/hikes/hunting... and it has worked flawlessly. And the rifle has sold me on the drop mags, they are SO convenient.

But I am enough of an old fudd to really like quality wood on a rifle and the Classic Select stock is beautiful. But...only available with a blind mag. But the Hunter has a drop mag...and only available with a Tupperware stock. Augh...Decisions, Decisions Decisions !!!

To make matters worse I envision handing the rifle over to one of my grandchildren some day and in my mind's eye it is the gorgeous wood of the Classic Select. But a young person will likely hunt with the rifle and use it, so a modern stock makes sense.
And NO...one of each is NOT an option...LOL

So we, as fellow enthusiasts, carry the collective burden of living with the Eternal Struggle. Do I need/want another rifle? What rifle? What caliber? What stock? What mag? The struggle is real....
Dave​
 
I think if you have $2K to spend on a rifle, I want the kind of struggles you have to contend with. :) I get it though, when a bit of $ in the pocket and a desire to try a new caliber coincide...you want to make the perfect choice. Problem is, I think the "perfect" gun is something very elusive. For me, I don't think it exists...just too many different actions/calibers/finishes I want to own and a budget that basically dictates that I'll only own a small number of them. I sometimes ask myself "what will hurt more to leave at the store"...that sometimes helps push me in the direction I should probably be going.
 
.257 Roberts? Who doesn't need one?! Elegant little cartridge, that.

Go with the wood! Quality hardwoods are becoming increasingly scarce. As an heirloom, call me sentimental, but the wood stock is one of a kind. It's unique, it has personality.

Don't get me wrong, our canadian gun laws make it hard NOT to be a fan of the magazine, especially if one uses a vehicle to hunt with AT ALL!

That being said, my favourite rifles to hunt with do not have detachable magazines. I have never felt limited by that. I carry a few shells in my coat pocket just like my grandfather did. When it comes time to load the rifle I open the action, take two cartridges in my hand, push them in from the top, and close the bolt. Practically speaking, I don't think it's any slower than loading a mag from the bottom. Heck, I know some old timers who just put one in the chamber, and they know how to make it count.

If I inherited a rifle like that, I would take it out with me a few times a year for the sole purpose of hunting. Not the kind of gun that bounces around every day in the truck. The detatchable mag is great for the truck gun, on 'normal' days when I don't want to keep track of loose shells in my pocket, when I may have an army of skunks or coyotes to take care of... If that's the goal, maybe a more common chambering (.243?) could be considered along with the detachable mag and generic stock - it's easy to shoot a lot when the gun looks like a tool and you got the ammo to do it.

Just the thoughts of someone lucky enough to inherit a pre '64 model 70 .270 from his grandpa.
 
Maybe consider purchasing exactly what you want (cartridge & wood stock) and if possible purchase a good synthetic stock as well. Leave the synthetic on it for taking out in the field but down the road when you want to pass it on put on that beautiful wood stock.

Don't think I'd went to do that for every rifle I own but if a really nice one was destined to be an heirloom might be the way to go.
 
As you state, it's a mental thang.
Just a note though, no matter whut...............the decision you make will be the wrong one.
I can'ear it now...........shuddah gawt t'uther uno.
 
If you where in the market for a new tractor would it be the green one or the red one (new to you and insert brand where color is mentioned).
Do you shop for this implement based on price alone or are you considering who you are going to give it to down the road?
As the chap from loogey lake says it will be ''I shoulda bawt the udder one''.
Tight Groups,
Rob
 
I don't care for removable mags on my hunting rifles, preferring hinged floorplates... so my M77 MKII Roberts is just right for my tastes... it is super accurate with 115 NBT's and RL-19. The Roberts is a nice cartridge and you should definitely pick one up.
 
hoytcanon said:
I don't care for removable mags on my hunting rifles, preferring hinged floorplates... so my M77 MKII Roberts is just right for my tastes... it is super accurate with 115 NBT's and RL-19. The Roberts is a nice cartridge and you should definitely pick one up.
Click to expand...

I agree removable mags are just one more thing to forget at home or lose.
Can't bet the look of a classic rifle in a select wood stock.
 
I've bought and sold more than a couple Winchester featherweights in the past because they fit me so well and I like shooting them and they are a really attractive rifle to my eye but I always end up selling them because they don't have a detachable mag! I have Rem 700's that came with a drop hinge mag and have installed the Kwik Klip conversion kit on them.
 
Thanks for the input guys, even you “chap from loogie lake”…lol. The reason I am risking an OCD breakdown is to try and avoid “I shoulda bawt the udder one”.

The goal is the .257 Bob as I have a couple of .243’s already. I did not see that Ruger had an offering of the .257 Roberts, but me not seeing something is really no surprise. I have owned a M77 in .270 Win since 1974 and have used and enjoyed the rifle very much. I have not enjoyed the flap door on the bottom as much.

We have been farming for ~ 40 years and virtually everything we own is green and yellow. That being said, I am not blind to the merits of other brands and lately have become a tad cynical about paying green and yellow prices on machinery that accomplishes no more than any other colour. Price is not a complete consideration but at the same time I am not about to drop 3 or 4 K on a rifle. The $$ is there, just the desire to own a rifle that expensive is not.

To be sure, the term “drop” mag did not come about completely by accident and I am sure the forest floor of North America is littered with lost and lonely magazines, loaded and empty. I mitigate this risk by purchasing two spare mags when I buy the rifle. One stays locked up in the safe while two go into service. One goes in the rifle and one is carried in a mag pouch on my belt. That should get the rifle through one lifetime I figure, after that it is up to the next generation to deal with the issue imho. Not long ago I purchased a Browning slide rifle in .243 and was able to purchase a spare mag at WGP so they can be had, albeit at a cost. Now if a fella was to buy an exotic off shore brand of rifle that may not be true.

Right now I have been considering buying the Hunter with the Tupperware stock and getting a custom made wood stock to compliment it. That should heat up the old Visa card and burn through some inheritance money. Double bonus, it might even get She Who Is In Charge smokin’ hot! LOL

Thanks again guys, keep on struggling’ !!​
 
That hoytcannon sure knows how to make a guys eyes water , dont he !
The issue I have with those Green and Yellow Tractors is how they now have proprietary software when it comes to trouble shootin and maintaining the farming equipment.
There is nothing wrong with those tupperwasre stocks for fit form and function when it comes to a hunting gun, but when it comes to a Saturday Night Dance then thats where the Fancy Wood shines best.

I think your on the right track when it comes to a stock of wood for those Saturday Night Dance...contact Kimber and see what a replacement stock would be worth for the gun should you choose to go that brands route, they might have some useful information.
Rob
 
woodlotowner said:
Hoyt,

Please stop posting photos of your Rugers. :)

Regards,

Woodlot
Click to expand...

Sorry, buddy... I've been scaling it back. ;)

It would have been more painful if I had listed the chamberings... so here you go;

1) 6mm
2) .257 Roberts
3) 6.5X55
4) 7X57
5) .350 Rem Mag
 
hoytcanon said:
Sorry, buddy... I've been scaling it back. ;)

It would have been more painful if I had listed the chamberings... so here you go;

1) 6mm
2) .257 Roberts
3) 6.5X55
4) 7X57
5) .350 Rem Mag
Click to expand...

You may have scaled back, but that’s a very nice balanced matched set....

As for the bob, that m77 ultralight I picked up from you isn’t going anywhere..... in fact, I am saving up the coin for a very nice
piece of glass to top it with....
 
"I think your on the right track when it comes to a stock of wood for those Saturday Night Dance...contact Kimber and see what a replacement stock would be worth for the gun should you choose to go that brands route, they might have some useful information.
Rob "

Good point! Will do.

1. I have .243 = 6mm... or tomatoe - tomato imho.
2. Currently trying to purchase a .257 Roberts
3. Had a Mauser 7x57 and sold it. Looking for a different one in a modern rifle. One the same as Eleanor's would be awesome.
4. I have no interest in calibers over .270 anymore.
5. Have a 6.5x55. Assembled 3 others gave them away to family.
6. .250-3000 would be interesting to own in a modern rifle
7. At one time talked about a wildcat chambering in .234 with a fella on here but I guess the wheels fell off that bus.
 
hoytcanon said:
Sorry, buddy... I've been scaling it back. ;)

It would have been more painful if I had listed the chamberings... so here you go;

1) 6mm
2) .257 Roberts
3) 6.5X55
4) 7X57
5) .350 Rem Mag
Click to expand...

I had a beautiful walnut/blued MK II in .257 Roberts, which I foolishly sold many years ago. I also had a superb MK II stainless/synthetic in 270 WSM, that I took a couple of deer with, and foolishly sold that one too. I would definitely like to replace the 270 WSM. The only Rugers I have now are the Gunsite Scout rifle in .308 Win with the 16.1" barrel and the MK II walnut/blued in 450 Bushmaster. You don't want to know what I paid for the 450 BM...
 
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