Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Which is your least favorite hunting rifle you own?

This fall has to be my Marlin 336-A in .35 Remington, It's a
a one inch shooter for 2 shots....the third shot just drives me crazy. Heck..this gun has a cut rifled barrel..pre-1955.

Doc

A Ruger 17 hornet. Came with a large bulge at the rear of the chamber at 4 o clock, a bad crown, tool marks in the muzzle and shot 3.5" groups with factory ammo.

$600 later, it'll shoot MOA over flags to 300. For a $1400 total investment, I could have had something much nicer. But.... It was a Christmas gift from my old lady so I had to make it loveable.

^^^^^^ This ^^^^^^

Had a Rem 700 BDL in .308 Win that was wicked accurate (possibly the most accurate rifle I've owned) but very hard on cases.

Had a Handi-Rifle in .308 Win that would pop open on firing.

Had a Ruger American .30-06 that I couldn't get to shoot with factory ammo.

Had a Ruger #1 in .280 Rem that was a .5MOA shooter with multiple loads but much too pretty to elk hunt with.

In each case, "Had" is the operative word.

The Rem M700 and Handi-Rifle funded my first AR-15 with uppers in .300 Blackout and .223/5.56 Wylde. The Ruger American and Ruger #1 funded a Ruger Scout in .308 Win and a Ruger All-Weather Hawkeye in .280 Rem.

I agree. If my rifles don't ooze quality and shoot extremely well, I won't keep them. I tend to put all new rifles through a qualification of stay when I first get them. Then see if I get emotionally attached to them in some way. I have to have a "X" factor connection with all my rifles. If a rifle is a great shooter but too sterile for me to love, it won't be around long.

AMEN! I am too.

Remington799. Purchased a 22-250 to use as a donner action for a 260Rem, then I found out it was built on the 223 sized action not the 308 making that an impossible build. Without putting 1 round down range I sold it to a family member. Found out the bolt is loose so the fining pin doesn't make contact on every round. I offered to buy it back or replace it with an Axis. Nope, he said he would look for a smith to fix it.

Oh well. The thing that really made me mad was Remington wouldn't fix it. They told me to "call EAA as they were the importers" for that rifle. "It says Remington the side does that not mean anything to you folks any more?"

I own an 870 and love it. I'm sure there are a lot of good 700's out there but there are a lot of other good rifle manufactures with great customer service.

Savage Axis in 223. It has the worst stock I have ever used and as a result it will hit a barn wall if I am standing inside. I just don't think the rest of the quality is worth an aftermarket stock so it just takes up space in the safe.

Never met a rifle I did not like!

Same here. If I haven't killed it's intended quary with it within a year of purchase, I figure I didn't need it as badly as I thought and it goes down the road. But....

Remington 742 Carbine, chambered in .30-06. Currently has an ancient Weaver 4x on it. My Dad bought it for me when I became old enough to hunt (age 14 here in ND). By that time I was already shooting a 12ga (capably), so he thought he'd get me the same rifle that he was using (742 BDL, 30-06). He opted for the carbine, though, as he thought it would be lighter and easier for a kid to lug around.

And that is where his reasoning went off the rails. I was already lugging around a 8lbs Remington M11 shotgun, so weight wasn't an issue. Basically, he got me a gun that was LOUD, kicked like a mule and shot flames out the end of the barrel. All while delivering mediocre to poor accuracy. I DID kill my first deer with it, and much later, a couple others. But I never did like that gun. But, since it was a gift from Dad, I hold on to it. Dad is gone now, and I have his 742 as a complement to mine. Once it a while I think about taking his out (it's much more accurate than mine) and putting an animal on the ground with it. Unfortunately, I am in the depths of a loony binge and there's always something around that needs to be blooded first.

Kaiser Norton

Mine would have to be my compact TC Venture in 243. The only reason I keep it around is to save for my boys when they are old enough to hunt. It shoots well enough but it's a little heavy for a compact rifle. I'm not crazy about the trigger weight after adjustment and the bolt is a little short. I got it for a song, $180 out the door after rebate so I can't complain too much.

Is this a "trick question? I only have "one" hunting rifle! I have several that I play around with, but "only" one hunting rifle. memtb

Rem 700 in 243. A good 3 shot 100 gr. group out of it goes 1.5. Most go up to 2". I've had it about 40 years now, and it's killed sheep, moose, caribou and black bears.

Still, it ought to get better groups than that. One of these years I should try it with other bullet weights, especially some of the premiums. Maybe I will learn to like it better. Or I could try some hand loads.

One of these years....

Besides, it has a real pretty stock on it now - the first I ever built from a blank, back in 1979. I should maybe checker that thing sometime....It's out on loan for the winter right now, somewhere up the Noatak. I may even get it back come spring.

I love them all...I just love a couple more than the rest!!!