Too nice to hunt with...

Mark Dube said:
I don't quite get the concept:

- Could a steak taste too good to eat?

- Could a woman be too beautiful to kiss?

- Could a beverage be too refreshing to drink?

I have some very nice (in my opinion) guns and I consider them all too nice NOT to hunt with.

Mark
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A gouge shows up on a nice gun and you feel compelled to repair it, on a Savage-who cares?
 
I have to admit, I get pretty attatched to my rifles, this does cause me to sometimes not use nicer rifles when I probably should.

As an admitted "too nice to hunt with" rifle owner, it just bothers me when every moose trip means a few more scratches and dings on a nice rifle. And I never use my rifles as oars, or prybars or whatever; I care for them. That's half the problem, I care too much for them. The fact is that, classic wood/blue rifles at least, mark up pretty darn easy, and a week of honest hunting wears on these rifles.

So...I can totally understand why someone might sell a minty rifle that they have routinely left in the safe while they actually took out their old truck gun to get the job done. At some point the owner came to realize the thing would likely never be used, and decided to turn it over for something more practical.

I dont think there's any consipracy there...
 
Well I have a minty unfired Sako deluxe in 25-06 with fiddleback from one end to the other, mid 70's vintage. I bought this rifle sight unseen, so i had no idea how pretty it was going to be. If it was my only rifle, forsure I would have taken it out and used it by now, but it ain't my only rifle. Just about sold to a fellow that wanted the action but the deal never came together. I pull it out of its protective cover every now and then to admire it, give a rub with some G96 and put it back. I'm sure there are a few of us with fine pieces that have yet to see any activity. FS
 
If I can't hunt it, I don't own it. I have a tendency to change my opinion of "shooters". I once thought that anyone who would spend 1K on rifle when less expensive were available was an idiot. I now know that the 3K rifle will be better than the 1K rifle just as the 1K rifle is better than the sported milsurp I started with. However, doesn't change the fact that I pull out the rifle to do the job. Thick bush, quick follow-up, any weather ... SKS. Follow up not so critical, sported milsurp, Rem 799 in 7.62x39mm. Longer shots (>300yds), open country, any weather .308 Mossberg ATR, any .303, P-14, Nagant 91/30. Long Shots (3-500yds) P-14 (Ackley Improved) (sported), one .303, K-98 Gewahr Mauser in .30-06. Extreme long range ANY weather, Mossberg ATR in .30-06.
 
blargon said:
I see this in the EE quite often. If a regular production rifle is too nice to hunt with, then why would someone want to buy it? Honestly, unless its a limited number, handcrafted work of art, why wouldn't you hunt it?

Its like buying a new harley, but saying its too nice to ride, so I'll leave it in the garage for 20 years...

People would rather sell it off and take a loss, then to carry a rifle they enjoy??
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there are a lot of things I don;t really understand about people.

thinking a rifle is too nice to hunt with is a little odd, but to me, not as odd as wearing expensive camo while driving down the road in a bright red F350, or for that matter, thinking its ok to pay $800/month for said F350 but thinking a $400 Leupold scope that will outlast your grandkids is overpriced.
 
blasted_saber said:
I get the comment (from members of this site, actually) that my 870 Wingmaster is too nice to hunt with. WTF? its a gun that screams for use. And I use it. It sits in the canoe on those soggy October mornings when the rain just wont go away, it gets dragged through the thick swamps in deer season. It was built to use, and so i use it.

You know what? Maintenance isnt hard!
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I don't get it, either. The Wingmaster 870s are good guns for the most part, but it's not like they're even a really high-end gun like a Winchester Model 21 or a Parker; they're still a mass-produced current production gun.
 
tjhaile said:
I don't get it, either. The Wingmaster 870s are good guns for the most part, but it's not like they're even a really high-end gun like a Winchester Model 21 or a Parker; they're still a mass-produced current production gun.
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Its because people see something shiny and they want to covet it...:p

gollum.jpg
 
casterpollox said:
Back in the 60's and 70's I'm sure there were a few people that shared your opinion when it comes to vehicles. They made fun of the guys that bought a Mustang, TransAm or StingRay and then parked them in a garage. All production vehicles but now, they are worth so much money it's not even funny. At some of the auctions, these production, run of the mill vehicles.... just like the rifles that you mentioned.... are now worth 10 times what they where when they were first sold. Some even more.

Another example is the Lee Enfield. They were sold by the pound at one time. You could get one from Sears for $8. Guys were buying them and chopping them to make hunting rifles.... now guys are whining that they can't find a nice original or the price for a good original is too high.

Everyone collects different things.... be it rifles, cars, baseball cards, comic books or movie posters. Who knows what is going to be collectible in the future. Did you ever think an old Superman lunch box would sell for hundreds of dollars after you cleaned out the basement? That off the shelf, Ruger #1 in .303 Brit could be the thing that pays for your retirement one day.
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Yes the Mustang you bought for $2500 in 1966 will easily fetch $25000 or so today in mint condition. But the same $2500 invested in anything with a reasonable rate of interest will have compounded to far more than $25000 in 44 years.
I tell my wife the guns are an investment too but there is no point in lying to ourselves
 
Well like gatehouse said I choose which rifles to use when considering the type of hunting at hand. Like any good gunnut I have way too many rifles so I made the desiscion two years ago to own a plastic and a wood rifle in each of my favorite calibers. That way I can hunt worry free either way. Glutonous I know but fun as hell! BTW I don't worry about resale of my firearms I just have pride of ownership and treat accordingly.
 
I understand as well and am having some of the same thoughts. Bought a Browning BPS last year and when I got the new unfired been in a closet for 5 years gun for half what it was worth, I nearly crapped myself. Swapped the 20in barrel for a 30in vent rib and am now proud owner of a BPS Trap Model sellint for nearly a grand. Looks real good out at the range with the Citoris etc so I too am disinclined to bush it. Still there are lots of Wingmasters out there I would think nothing of bushing. I know from long years of use they are tough and reliable regardless of what others seem to think. Guess I will just have to have 2 shotguns. Awwwwww. I will find a beater and fix it up so it is nice enough then shoot it. If it falls in the muck just find a ditch to swish some of the mud out and get back to it.
 
Longwalker said:
(Location: Saskatchewan)I don't understand people who can't hunt without putting dents, gouges, cracks and scrapes on their guns or without letting them rust. In the EE you see "has been hunted" like some sort of excuse for abuse.
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Some of us here in the rest of Canada actually have topography to their hunting terrain...you might want to Google mountains, trees, rocks and such. :D

Besides which many "hunted with features" I have seen over the years on other peoples rifles have been from safe kisses. :D
 
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