What qualities do you want in a hunting rifle?

[AK-49]

For me... accurate 1 MOA or better, compact, lightweight 7 lbs with scope and rings, rust proof (must be stainless steel both inside and out), rugged, reliable, smooth feeding, manageable recoil.

[southtexas]

Can't argue with your criteria! For me, it would be the qualities of a pre64
M70 Featherweight.:)

[Bill Gunn]

I agree with everything but the stainless. I still like good wood, and blue steel.

I've got a Win. 30.06 Mod 70 Carbine with a barrel date of 1936, and a Savage 99EG in 308 that are my favorites, But my Marlin .444S is a close 2nd or 3rd.

[LampLighter]

I am a woods hunter. I have yet to find what I want. I want semi auto. Me, I am as disciplined as it gets with one shot-one kill hopefully. I just always shot more accurate and just felt better with a semi auto. Though I rarely shoot deer any more with a firearm, if I do go a few days and if I saw a taxidermy buck, I would shoot. If I were low on sausage I would shoot a doe. So, I guess I can participate somewhat here.

Back to the rifle, semi auto, accurate (that leaves out the Mini) and short. Carbine length. I have now a Ruger 44 Magnum carbine, and have taken several deer with it, it's range is limited. Where I go, sometimes I may have to "thread the needle" along a swamp edge deep in the big woods, and up to 125 yards. That is not a situation for the 44 magnum. A BAR is too heavy. That Remington AR looking rifle looks interesting. I want a caliber like 250 Savage, 270 Win, something in the velocity range of 2900 to 3000, but NOT a 308.

[howdydoit]

Any rifle right now. We just moved into our hew home after the tragic and fire end of our old one. The wife has the purse strings closed until further notice.lol

Soon (I hope) I can pick up something that shoots MOA or better. So accuracy is the key for me.

Howdy.

[Bushman]

It has changed for me. For a lot of years I used a semi-auto and shot a lot of deer with them thinking that there was nothing like a fast follow up shot if I got brush deflection. This last year was the first one in recent memory when the M742 carbine .308 did not come to deer camp with me. It didn't shoot well at the range and at 8.5 pounds it was pushing my weight limit given the hills that I knew I would be walking this year. A camo Kevlar M77 in 7mm-08 that I built up back in the 1980's reads just like AK-49's recipe. If I don't get meat with that first well aimed shot, the deer wins. What a change from my limiting out days.

[LampLighter]

I could accomplish that by buying a barrel for my Encore.

[AK-49]

I agree with everything but the stainless. I still like good wood, and blue steel.

I've got a Win. 30.06 Mod 70 Carbine with a barrel date of 1936, and a Savage 99EG in 308 that are my favorites, But my Marlin .444S is a close 2nd or 3rd.

add to that telfon coated stainless steel inside and out... synthetic kevlar stock allows me to take it outside for 2 weeks in wet weather... wood and chome molly would be take a beating

[LampLighter]

chome molly would be take


Ebonics ? :D ah. I had to pic at you on that. :D Seriously, good point. That makes me think of the many chrome things I see spot rusting on vehicle accessories.

[purple heart]

I'll agree with AK-49 as long as it's a bolt action.:)

[dave-t.]

Wood, blue, scoped, and hitting 2700-2950fps with 1.25" and under accuracy.

I also have a ruger deerfield .44 semi auto that is a hoot. It doesn't see a lot of hunting, but it does fill a niche. It'll do anything a 30-30 will out to 100-125yrds.

I like guns that have aged well. I seem to prefer checking out 20+yr old rifles than new stuff.

[Altjaeger]

For me... accurate 1 MOA or better, compact, lightweight 7 lbs with scope and rings, rust proof (must be stainless steel both inside and out), rugged, reliable, smooth feeding, manageable recoil.

What you have described may be except for weight the perfect all around "tool". In that sense it would be "ideal".

It is beyond requirements and totally lacks romance. Maybe thats worth a seperate thread.:)

[Altjaeger]

Wood, blue, scoped, and hitting 2700-2950fps with 1.25" and under accuracy.

I like guns that have aged well. I seem to prefer checking out 20+yr old rifles than new stuff.

I am much of the same school but would go a bit further for my ideal. Weight about 8lbs, scoped at about 2x7 or even 1x5, speeds 2,600-2,900 fps and accuracy of 1 1/2" is fine. Bored 7mm-8mm stoked with medium weight bullets. Age? Make mine 40 plus years. That is my "all around" but not only rifle.

[Indy]

Qualities for what?

For all-around, mine shoots a 180 grain Nosler Partition at 3100 from a 26" barrel. Stainless barrel and synthetic stock. 3-9x scope. It has smack-down power and point blank range to 300 yards.

With this I have killed caribou, elk, a bunch of African antelopes, a 1000 pound crocodile, and a 5500 pound hippo that had been wounded with a .458. All with one shot if I hit right.

[pepaw]

Matte finish and wood, 23 inch, crisp trigger, detachable mag, tang safety
lefty bolt. Detachable swivel and pachmayer pad.

I have all those options, but not all on the same gun!

stumpy

[AK-49]

Yes a bolt action. I wouldn't have any other type of hunting rifle.

[StringJumper]

I am much of the same school but would go a bit further for my ideal. Weight about 8lbs, scoped at about 2x7 or even 1x5, speeds 2,600-2,900 fps and accuracy of 1 1/2" is fine. Bored 7mm-8mm stoked with medium weight bullets. Age? Make mine 40 plus years. That is my "all around" but not only rifle.

I am with you on the velocity...I find myself trying to load almost everything I have to 2,800 fps, plus or minus 100 fps. Even my 300 WM load is only 2,900 fps. 2,800 FPS seems to be a magical number for me and I get wonderful accuracy from most of my guns at that velocity.

My ideal? Wood, blued steel, bolt action, 8-9 pounds, and MOA accurate. I like a 1.25" leather sling...Boyt makes a good, simple, tough sling in that size. I prefer controlled feed because, and this is kind of a silly reason, I like the sound and feel of a controlled feed action. It has nothing to do with reliability and I don't hunt anything more dangerous than a rutting whitetail. And I do have several M700's so CF is not a requirement, especially since I only need one shot anyway. :rolleyes:

Caliber? I favor the older ones. I seem to be drawn to 7x57, the 270, 264 WM, 300WM, 338 WM, the 257 Bob and calibers like those. I have no desire to own any short magnums or ultra magnum, I still believe there is a great deal of duplicity in those calibers. And oddly enough I am not particularly crazy about one one the finest catridges ever invented - the 30.06. I don't have a single rifle in that caliber. Nor do I want one....unless a pretty little pre-64 in '06 happens to show up one day on my doorstep...

[LampLighter]

after the tragic and fire end of our old one


I had to back up there. You saying all your guns burned up ? Also, you didn't list any bio. Are you new here ?

[SeniorCoot]

I want it to feel like an old friend so I am going back to my original AK big game rifle with which I took almost everything there (all with various wt Rem.CoreLokts) before getting a few bucks and more guns in cal from 223- 416 Rem--I live in USA now so don't need gun for dangerous stuff--Had my old Browning LH medallion Arctic Coated in Fai and am putting a new scope(Leupold VX-111 3.5X 10 40mm B7C reticle on it--it fits me shoots bullets from 130- 220 gr and is all I need for anything where i hunt in Wisc or any place out west. For giggles and fun i do keep my three varmit guns- one 338-one 300Win mag-2- 270's,a 45/70 Marlin and one 243 around for play and future needs.

[Smokey]

Accuracy = 1.25 to 1.5, real wood, blued action. Prefer bolt or lever actions. Highly grained wood is a real plus.

[StringJumper]

I had to back up there. You saying all your guns burned up ? Also, you didn't list any bio. Are you new here ?

Yes, Howdydoit can confirm and add more details but just a few months before the old board went down he suffered a catastrophic loss due to a fire. I forgot his name on the old boards but as I recall he lost nearly everything, including a lot of things more irrreplaceable than his firearm collection.

Howdy, if that was you. what did you end up doing with the actions and barrels that survived the fire?

[Herne]

First it has to fit and handle well. Oil finish wood and flattish blue for no reflections or flashes in the sun/reflections in cover. Good trigger, of course, not too heavy, sensible calibre, not too thin a barrel so its easy to zero. all of those or it doesn't get bought.


Then it has shoot sub MOA out of the box, or it gets sold.

And it has to be dead reliable, never lose zero, and never mis-feed or it gets sold.

Something like a Tikka M695. I can't be doing with short actions, from prejudice.


After that it has to be a lucky gun. ;)

[Rich]

MeyrickG-J

Light and accurate with plenty of magnification in a good scope. Different is fun.

[LampLighter]

Quote:
Originally Posted by LampLighter
I had to back up there. You saying all your guns burned up ? Also, you didn't list any bio. Are you new here ?

Yes, Howdydoit can confirm and add more details but just a few months before the old board went down he suffered a catastrophic loss due to a fire. I forgot his name on the old boards but as I recall he lost nearly everything, including a lot of things more irrreplaceable than his firearm collection.

Howdy, if that was you. what did you end up doing with the actions and barrels that survived

I shot with a guy at the range pre-Katrina. He had a tremondous collection of firearms, many of them NIB. His house was 8 feet underwater for a week. He and his friends did what they could. They bought 3 cases of WD 40. But they were really all ruined.