Too Pretty to shoot? Collect it or hunt it....need your opinion!

DTM5

DTM5

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OK, the folks at Prophet river have made me very happy. I managed to obtain a Ruger m77 hawkeye with gorgeous walnut - With old school basketweave checkering - in the awesome .358 Winchester caliber.....One of only 150 made. Every bit of this beauty wants to hunt. But I have a stainless / synthetic M77 .358 that I use in the field.

So....I'm not a collector. I like to shoot what I own. But this one has me flummoxed. Do I take her out and risk a scratch or two, or do I wipe her down, gun sock her and put her away for many years in the future.

What say you?

Here are some pics, that do not do her justice.

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Nice rifle... I have one too... of course you are going to hunt with it... that's what guns are for... if it is a pretty rifle, it deserves to be posed over a nice whitetail buck.
 
Get it set up and shoot it. Buy a nice case and look after it when your in the field. Likely not you first choice to take up a mountain and I would avoid quadding with it.

Nice rifle.
 
hoytcanon said:
Nice rifle... I have one too... of course you are going to hunt with it... that's what guns are for.
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If I scratch that wood I might have a heart attack. Plastic or even laminate I don't care. This is my first wood rifle stock aside from a used lever and some old carbines that were already beaten up.
 
The first cut is the deepest.......

I say get out there with the pretty lady.......it's better than sitting around just stroking yer gun.


That said,
I wouldn't be content with myself taking that beauty where I hunt. That why I have no more wood/blued rifles. I want to want them.... but I hate stuff just sitting in the safe.
 
DTM5 said:
If I scratch that wood I might have a heart attack. Plastic or even laminate I don't care. This is my first wood rifle stock aside from a used lever and some old carbines that were already beaten up.
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Scars are stories... and memories... worth the risk, because dust and dark safe interiors are sad.
 
GMC403 said:
The first cut is the deepest.......

I say get out there with the pretty lady.......it's better than sitting around just stroking yer gun.


That said,
I wouldn't be content with myself taking that beauty where I hunt. That why I have no more wood/blued rifles. I want to want them.... but I hate stuff just sitting in the safe.
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Walnut and blued guns don't melt like butter in a skillet. I have both walnut/blued and synthetic/stainless... if the weather or conditions are REALLY bad, I take the stainless... on all other days, I prefer the look and feel of wood.
 
hoytcanon said:
Walnut and blued guns don't melt like butter in a skillet. I have both walnut/blued and synthetic/stainless... if the weather or conditions are REALLY bad, I take the stainless... on all other days, I prefer the look and feel of wood.
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I love the feel of walnut and polished bluing, but my OCD prohibits me from enjoying it like one should while trudging through the bush/rain. I've tried numerous times and just simply can't do it.
 
GMC403 said:
I love the feel of walnut and polished bluing, but my OCD prohibits me from enjoying it like one should while trudging through the bush/rain. I've tried numerous times and just simply can't do it.
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Doubt that your OCD is worse than mine... you just have to organize a rationale that makes the process harmonious with your sensibilities...
 
Some rifles are solid performers that you don't mind taking hunting and, sure, the odd scratch or blemish usually brings back a fond memory or two. I've owned rifles that seem just too pretty to take hunting. They are outside my comfort zone and I think would detract from the joy of hunting. Those get moved on to collectors.

There's nothing more satisfying that hunting with a rifle that has been on previous hunts. Sort of like a comfortable pair of boots.

If you can see yourself hunting with your new acquisition, go for it. Take it out and make some memories with it. Sounds like that's what you got it for.
 
Unless you're the type who keeps the plastic on your lampshades, covers all the furniture with sheets, and puts seat covers on the leather interior of your car, use the rifle for what it was intended.

I've never understood why anyone would buy something and then never get the joy of using it.
 
Are you really that much of a klutz that you can't use a rifle without damaging the stock? One of my hunting buddies has hunted his prize 77 Ruger for many, many years... the stock still looks great.
 
Immaculate rifles make me yawn. The ones I find most interesting have the blueing worn off and the wood dinged up. If they could only talk! Imagine how boring their story is from inside a safe? Jim Corbett's 7x57s and 450/400 come to mind when I think of the most interesting rifles....and they're beat to piss!
 
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