The man with one gun

+1 "there are guns for having and guns for shooting" I have guns that were my dad's that I never shoot i.e. Ithaca pump 12gauge and cil .22.
I have several centerfire , rimfire, shotguns. I like to fiddle with handloads, go to the range a lot. I think any kind of regular shooting will improve your hunting performance.
Every year, I run into idiots that " had the rifle sighted in at the store " these guys have had the same box of shells for 5 years and think that a rifle bore sighted by a store clerk is ok to hunt with.

however, if I was forced down to one rifle here in the east, it would be my Savage 24F in .223/12gauge
 
I had one hunting gun for a few years so this one is easy for me.
If you took all my guns away?
I'd go back to the 340Wby

I shot everything from grouse (cast bullets) to Grizz with that gun.
It's the only gun I have ever regretted selling.
 
I have been through a lot of guns over the years and don't know if I could settle on just one. Jack O'conner said that all a hunter really needs is a .22,a .30-06 and a 12 guage to do 99% of his hunting. He was probably correct but I can't say that I have followed that advice.

I have cut my guns back to guns and calibers that interest me and I think that the secret here is to find your own balance and keep the number of guns that you can use regularly.Unless you a collector.

rb
 
I have several different old Winchesters and one old Springfield Trapdoor, that cover a variety of models and calibers because I really like them. However, I spent one summer and fall using my 32-20 a lot (about every second day) and by the end of the summer, I was very good with it. Different types of guns are different in various ways ..... slight differences in their iron sights and sight-notches, slight differences in the shape of the buttstock, or the forearm, or the weight. Using the same rifle over and over again gets a fellow trained to that particular rifle so that it just automatically and quickly points to exactly where you want to hit. I had the same experience with my first rifle, a Winchester Model 68 single shot .22, which I used almost daily for a few years.
 
I "churn" rifles like crazy and have never found it difficult to master any firearm. Quickly.

I have a friend that churns a few rifles as well, but hunts with basically one customized rifle and uses it allot. He goes through the barrel on it every couple of years so it apparently gets shot a bit as well.
 
crazy_davey said:
Sorry, I misunderstood what you were saying...





So I guess to answer your last statement if I understand it correctly, I myself would rather be "extremely experienced" with many rifles over just one. I shouldn't have to explain the advantages :)
Click to expand...

I don't have a whole lot of oppinion on it,... I just like to see guys using guns they're competent with on animals, and whatever on paper.

What I think, or it seems to me you are getting at, is that an experienced shooter is just that, whether the gun he used this year, he has had for 3 months or 12 years, does not make a lot of difference. It depends on how often he shoots it.

So I guess the real question that was in my "discussion topic" was...

If you shoot 12 different rifles for 4 years.
Each time you go to the range, your friend who has chosen one rifle, also goes and you both practice the same.

Does he have an advantage when it comes time to use his rifle, and you have to pick one of yours?

also, If you are to be quite comepetent with many calibres or models, do you need to spend more time at the range then the guy who has just one?

or is shooting experience cumulative , no matter the calibre and model, and is transferred to whatever gun is in your hand at the time.
 
There have been periods, albeit shot periods, of my life when I owned but a single centerfire rifle either a .303 or a .30/06. Did this make a better shot than had I owned a variety of rifles? I doubt it. Rifle cranks get joy form shooting, the more shooting you do, the better you get, and I don't think it makes much difference if the rounds you fire come from one rifle or from several. Having said that, shooting my 20 pound target rifle doesn't make me a better snap shot, and shooting my .375 Ultra with 380 gr bullets doesn't make me a better 1000 yard shot either. Looking through a scope doesn't help with focusing on the front sight when shooting with irons. Shooting with irons doesn't help me solve the problem of mirage. Shooting from a bench or from a bipod doesn't make learning to sling up quickly and fall into a good field position quickly and naturally. Shooting bullseye targets is only marginally beneficial to prepare one for a shot at game. Firing long strings single shot does not train you to fire a fast follow up shots without taking the rifle off your shoulder to manipulate the action. But when all of the elements of rifle shooting can be practiced, over time one does acquire a level of competence. You must learn to avoid the trap of only shooting from the single position that produces the best scores and strive to shoot good scores from all positions.

If I am ever again forced to choose a single rifle it will again be a .30/06 bolt action sporter, probably my Brno ZG-47. I learned long ago that there is just no practical job that can be required of a centerfire rifle that cannot be accomplished with the '06 bolt gun with handloads. Certainly the same can be said of other rounds, and my .375 is a close second, but while the .375 is a better do it all big game rifle, the '06 is a better rifle for all occasions.
 
Finally, if experince is experience, and you have shot lots..

Is there really a need to go to the range...?

If rifles and shooting is not all that complicated as I think was said earlier, is there really a need to go to the range a lot after you have experience?

That fella with the rifle in his closet, and that box of bulletes that he has had for 5 years,... does he need to do much more than get out and ensure that his sights are still on?

and when he sees his animals, put the sights on and pull the trigger?
 
If shooting was as simple as the correct position of the sights and the right amount of pressure on the trigger when the time was right, then playing a piano is simply a matter of hitting the right notes at the right time. The hunter who doesn't practice or checks the zero of his rifle might very well take his moose, but then again he might miss. But while we can all miss, who is more likely to solve the problem? When conditions are ideal, shooting is quite easy, even for a tyro, but in my experience conditions are seldom ideal. Late in the season the wind blows, the game drifts in and out of sight through fog banks or snow squalls. Earlier in the season the game appears to be standing on a shimmering lake of mirage and the ever present bugs make concentration a challenge. Still, the marksmanship problems encountered by the majority of hunters, who tend to hunt in less demanding conditions and who often choose to stay in camp during poor weather, are not complex. The range tends to be short, the target large, and time generous. The man who can hit the engine compartment of a pick-up at 50 yards can probably shoot well enough to kill his moose. But I prefer to see a hunter who is also a competent marksman, and who takes quiet pride in his ability to shoot his rifle well.
 
well its better to have one good quallity gunt than 25 other rifles cheap made, i saw guy going into deer capmp bringing 15 rifles,what for?i would never trade my double rifle for any other modern plastic remington or winchester rifle
 
I shoot a 338 win Mag. It has a Boone and Crockett scope. I have 2 different loads - 210 TTSX and 250 TSX. I can switch between loads with a few well tested clicks of the dials. I use it for everything including coyotes.
 
I think it was venturino that said "beware of the man with one gun, he might lack the interest required to be competent"
 
Or maybe, just maybe, he is a crack shot with that one rifle!

Most serious, highly successful hunters that I know only have one or two rifles.
 
My dad was a one gun sort for ever, out of neccessity. He would shoot 5 rounds before season at a target and 2 or 3 during season @ as many deer. Not many chancy shots, usually just does or small bucks under 100 yds if possible, strictly utilitarian hunting.

When my mother bought him a 4X tasco, he thought he was setup. He hunted to feed 6 kids, after things picked up(this was in the 80's) and we didn't live on deer meat, he lost interest in hunting. He'd ride along with me and that was about it. He sold his old M88 winchester in 90 something and didn't own a centerfire until coming west to Alberta in 2001, seems moose hunting can still get him out of the house.

I enjoy shooting, but when I need cash I'm not afraid to sell some of the unused stuff in my vault.

JT.
 
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