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Post by bigbrowndog on Oct 7, 2018 11:28:05 GMT -5
I’ll be headed up to Wyo. for antelope and mule deer, with me will be Coldtriggerfingers 9.3x64 with 21” barrel. I’m hoping it becomes my go to GP rifle as I’ve wanted a 9.3x64 for many years. It’ll be the muley rifle for walking around and spot n stalk, my last resort rifle is my LR competition rifle in 260rem, I much prefer to hunt game as opposed to simply spot and shoot, but after paying for tags, trespass fee, and supplies coming home empty handed would really suck, so if need be the 260 will get used.
My 10.5” Ruger Maximum and shorty 500L will also make the trip.
There really are far too many criteria to name a “perfect” rifle for all occasions,.........
Trapr
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Post by whiterabbit on Oct 7, 2018 19:19:20 GMT -5
There are, but we can still get pretty close.
I intentionally went against the 416 ruger for the 375, and it was absolutely agonizing. Reason I did it is because bullet selection for longer range shooting is poor. The options there are are very expensive, and the cross section means that running them, bullets cannot fit in the magazine, even after cutting to 338 lapua OAL of 3.9" long.
Everything else it does just fine of course, and DG even better.
But because the 416 SMK is discontinued, but the 375 is still in production, I finally had to opt for 375 ruger.
(Man I would prefer the 416 tho)
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Post by cas on Oct 7, 2018 19:19:57 GMT -5
There really are far too many criteria to name a “perfect” rifle for all occasions,......... That"s what I've always said was the biggest problem with the scout rifle concept, one rifle for all occasions. Gun buyers don't want one rifle for all occasions. They want one different rifle for each and every occasion, even occasions that will never occur.
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Post by 2 Dogs on Oct 8, 2018 18:01:28 GMT -5
The current AR15 glut and the resulting crazy low prices have me on a bit of a tear....
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Post by whiterabbit on Oct 9, 2018 3:40:51 GMT -5
There really are far too many criteria to name a “perfect” rifle for all occasions,......... That"s what I've always said was the biggest problem with the scout rifle concept, one rifle for all occasions. Gun buyers don't want one rifle for all occasions. They want one different rifle for each and every occasion, even occasions that will never occur. But there is no reason not to romanticize about the concept. Though truly in my case, I am willing to give it a shot and be the guy who has the one do-all. I've learned in my muzzleloading, if you have just one you learn it REALLY really well, and when you have multiples, you stretch yourself so thin that you never get the same kind of muscle-memory performance that you do with the one that always gets grabbed.... I think that alone makes it worth giving a do-all a shot.
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Post by buckelliott on Oct 20, 2018 21:16:57 GMT -5
Your "perfevt" rifle will not be perfect for me, nor will mine be so for you. My "perfect" choice would be a lever gun - either a Winchester 1886, a model 1892, or an 1873, or one of the recent clones.. No more than 22 inches of barrel, with a .45-caliber bore. High-visibility sights would be all I need.. 70 years of hunting, hiking, riding, guiding, outfitting and woods walking have helped me distill my wants and needs
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rWt
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,437
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Post by rWt on Oct 24, 2018 15:10:02 GMT -5
For the past 20 years its been a .270 built on a G33/40 action with 22" barrel. The magazine box and throat were extended to allow longer OAL's. The added powder capacity resulted in .270 Wby ballistics. It has a McMillan fiberglass Mauser stock on it.
Used to have a pre-64 Winchester in .375 H&H Improved. It would shoot a 250 grain bullet at 3125 fps, or 375 Wby ballistics.. I took it and a supply of Bitterroot bullet-based ammo to Africa in the mid-90's and used it on cape buffalo and plains game. it was also great on elk. A fire forming load that used Speer 235 grain bullets was a good, mild plinking round also. I could have used it for deer or such, but used the .270. It is just about perfect as the "one gun". Today, I'd be happy with a standard .375 H&H. Although, I will admit that the older I get the lighter I want-both in terms of weight and recoil.
I'll keep the .270.
A compact, lightweight rifle in .243 would be more than adequate for my needs today. Either a compact Ruger Hawkeye or a new short action Winchester Model 70 would suit me just fine.
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lobo
.327 Meteor
Location: SE Mississippi
Posts: 536
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Post by lobo on Oct 24, 2018 23:43:02 GMT -5
To me, the perfect factory produced rifle is an original Remington model seven. The reason I say original is that they have 18 1/2" barrels from the factory. I have one in 7mm-08 with the factory wooden stock with schnabel fore-end, 18 1/2" barrel, and a Leupold 3-9x40 scope. Light-weight, compact, accurate & hits hard enough for just about any critter especially when loaded with a Barnes TSX bullet.
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Post by whiterabbit on Jan 4, 2019 11:59:55 GMT -5
This thread motivated me to actually make the attempt to build the perfect rifle for me. Something I can like enough to literally own just a single rifle, if that were even possible.
I wanted: long range ability to plink good for all NA game good for AK/DG up to and including elephant, because I dream of cape buffalo relatively speaking, cheap to reload for (long range bullets are expensive!). AKA, cheap to plink for.
Here's what I ended up with: Bought a mausingfield hunter. Chambered in 375 Ruger. Barrel is 20 inches long like the alaskan guide. twist rate is good to shoot 350 gr sierra match kings which have an outstanding BC and are cheap compared to other high BC 375's Bought an NOE mold to cast 280 grain 375's. Goal will be to shoot these to a few hundred yards for hunting and plinking. 5 cavity mold means I can do alot of shooting for cheap, quickly. Ordering a manners stock, looks like the EH1 gives me the best combo of PRS features and hunting features. I like the tridelta brake and so will use it, and put on a shroud to "disable" the brake for hunting situations.
Expected weight will be under 10 lb before scope. OAL about 42 inches.
Looking at a trijicon 1-8 for hunting use, and will have on QD rings to swap out a Vortex Razor Gen 1 I already have for shooting the SMK's.
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The compromises are: large powder column means reloading costs maybe 50 cents in powder per shot instead of 30 cents Rifle weight is 2 lb heavier than I'd like Shorter barrel will cost me about a 100 fps off the SMK velocity capability, which will really hurt me when shooting well past 1000 yards premium hunting bullets will not be cheap, though I expect excellent terminal performance from a 375 caliber 280 grain cast bullet. Goal would be to use this bullet for all short range use.
I'll have all of the parts by the end of February except the stock which of course takes months of lead time.
I sold my CZ550 safari and will sell my RPR 243 to fund this, and expect that if it's a total failure, that at least it will adequately replace both 550 and RPR in a single rifle.
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mooshoo
.30 Stingray
same as before except retired
Posts: 181
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Post by mooshoo on Jan 7, 2019 10:16:34 GMT -5
the one i have in my hands at the time i need it, all the rifles i have are cool to me
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Post by whiterabbit on Jan 7, 2019 19:15:36 GMT -5
Also, neat thing. LRI made the barreled action, and saved the file of my action. I can call them any time if I think I made the wrong decision and have them cut me a new barrel, and they can ship right to me.
In case I think I'm better served with a 7LRM, or a 6.5-284, or 7RSAUM, 338 lapua, etc etc etc.
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Post by MackaySagebrush on Feb 3, 2019 13:48:49 GMT -5
BUT.... can one find appropriate ammo on any continent or location like one could with the 30-06? 30-06 has taken the DG for decades before they grew armor. Plus, with a .30 cal round ball and a load of unique. .. you could easily make a rabbit/squirrel gun... ;-D And the 06 has wounded and lost LOTS of game over the years. If you can't find 375 H+H in Africa , Australia, Alaska probably even Siberia. Then you probably won't be able to find 06 either. During the last ammo scare, guess what was one of the first cartridges that became unobtainable. The 30/06 ! The 06 is either too big or too small. The 375 is a great deer round. Pokes a hole thru them and you can generally eat right up to the bullet hole. Having packed a 375 H+H a lot in dense brown bear country. Packin deer out on my back. I can tell you the 06 doesn't give much of a warm fuzzy feeling compared to the 3 and 6 bits. The 375 tends to knock down brown bear a bit better than the 338. Holds them down for a bit longer time giving more time for follow up shots. The 338 works good on brown bear. The 375 works better. The 416s and 458s work much better still. As long as a person can shoot them well. The 30-06 when loaded with the appropriate projectile will get the job done. To quote Phil Shoemaker, who is without question a subject matter expert: Anyone who claims the 30-06 is not effective has either not used one, or else is unwittingly commenting on their marksmanship.
Phil Shoemaker - Alaska Master Guide NRA Benefactor Alaska Hunter Education Instructor www.grizzlyskinsofalaska.com
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Post by MackaySagebrush on Feb 3, 2019 14:30:19 GMT -5
I built an all around "practical rifle" years back. It was actually before the configuration (20" bbl) was offered by the factory. I took a standard stainless Tikka T3 in .308, had the barrel trimmed back to 20"s, and a muzzle brake installed. This allowed me to see my hits at extended distances when hunting alone or target shooting, confirming zeroes, etc. It also allows more precise shooting in my experience. Eventually the factory stock was replaced with a McMillan Edge. This was purely because I wanted one "Just Right" rifle. Lots of times guys have a 1/2 dozen rifles that are almost right, or pretty close to what they want, but never really achieving that "just right stage of satisfaction. Personally I would rather have one rifle that is exactly what I want, than 5 that are sort of close. BTW, comparing the factory stock to the McMillan in regards to accuracy, I did not gain anything and the weight savings was negligible. It was simply because I wanted one "Just right, no compromise" rifle Back to the rifle. It wears a Nightforce 2.5-10x24 compact in Talley lightweights. The sling is a Vickers 2-point that is the same that I have used on my M4s for work, and allow me to cinch it up and be totally hands free when needed. It can be cinched across my chest to bend over or deal with a pack frame, climb terrain, use hiking sticks, etc and I don't have to worry about it sliding off my shoulders all the time. This particular rifle has been used on everything from elk to ground squirrels, coyotes to jackrabbits. This last December I filled my freezer with a cow elk using this rifle, shot from 615 yards away. It is light, compact and has enough punch to do everything I need to do, and if I was going to grab just one bolt action, there is no doubt which one it would be.
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Post by coldtriggerfinger on Feb 3, 2019 19:40:26 GMT -5
And the 06 has wounded and lost LOTS of game over the years. If you can't find 375 H+H in Africa , Australia, Alaska probably even Siberia. Then you probably won't be able to find 06 either. During the last ammo scare, guess what was one of the first cartridges that became unobtainable. The 30/06 ! The 06 is either too big or too small. The 375 is a great deer round. Pokes a hole thru them and you can generally eat right up to the bullet hole. Having packed a 375 H+H a lot in dense brown bear country. Packin deer out on my back. I can tell you the 06 doesn't give much of a warm fuzzy feeling compared to the 3 and 6 bits. The 375 tends to knock down brown bear a bit better than the 338. Holds them down for a bit longer time giving more time for follow up shots. The 338 works good on brown bear. The 375 works better. The 416s and 458s work much better still. As long as a person can shoot them well. The 30-06 when loaded with the appropriate projectile will get the job done. To quote Phil Shoemaker, who is without question a subject matter expert: Anyone who claims the 30-06 is not effective has either not used one, or else is unwittingly commenting on their marksmanship.
Phil Shoemaker - Alaska Master Guide NRA Benefactor Alaska Hunter Education Instructor www.grizzlyskinsofalaska.com It will get the job done if you have plenty of time, plenty of ammo and nice open country like the alder patches that surround the open areas where Phil guides. The very fact that his preferred back up rifle is a 458 Win mag says VOLUMES about his choice of a cartridges ability to stop a brown bear. And he has pretty much perfected the spine shot on Brown bear. From what he has published, he averages 4 shot with his 06s to end a bear. If he were in the thick conifer brush of southeast Alaska. He wouldn't be advocating the 06 as a bear cartridge.
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Post by coldtriggerfinger on Feb 3, 2019 19:47:43 GMT -5
The 350 TSX is what I also use in my 416 Ruger. I really like the Ruger 416 & 375 cartridges. I have also grown fond of the 20" barrels of the Alaskan versions. Very handy for off/on ATVs, in/out of off-road vehicles, tight confines of ground blinds, etc. I appreciate them when navigating through thick timber and brush. For the area that I usually hunt, they are my "near perfect" rifles in 416 and 375 Ruger. Of course, they join a few other "near perfect" rifle ideas in the safe. I can get near perfect for me, with a few, for few specific terrain / animals but not all. I suppose the closest to perfect for me in North America is my favorite 338 Winchester. It would work for me, on coyotes and up. If I hunted a wide variety of game and terrain with one rifle, that would be my solution. I'm taking that 416 and 350gr Barnes TSX's out this week after blacktail, so hopefully I'll have a field report. But.... I'm also taking my 336 Cowboy 30-30 and my Ruger 77 tang safety 358Win, so the decision will be made each morning as to what I walk out the door with. I'll also be packing my Clements '72 custom Blackhawk loaded with 345gr Beartooth WLNGC or my stainless Ruger NMFT loaded with Matt's 250gr full wadcutters. So much for narrowing down my perfect rifle. LD; every time I think I got past the 416 Ruger bug. I see a post by you and it comes roaring back ! Thanks Buddy ;-)
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