Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles The perfect "loner" rifle????

Current loaner rifle is a 700 SPS SS in 308. Leupold 3-9x40 w/target turrets and mil-dot in a classic pattern McMillan. Borrowers get 155's loaded in LC or Fed brass. I get Lapua brass when I shoot it myself.

Same here. I wouldn't buy a rifle that I did not plan to hunt with. Apart from kids and grand kids, very few people I would ever consider loaning a firearm. And the majority of them already have a far greater selection of sticks than my meager collection...

I'd loan out any of my Kimbers

Savage 110 in 270, the cheap package deal. Received as payment on debt. Good gun, if someone were to screw it up, they own it for $250. It is the second gun on trips. When you have a spare you really can't refuse to help a friend.

"Loaner"

.....spelling nazi

My current loaner is a Marlin XL7 in 25-06 with a Nikon ProStaff 4-12x40 in Warne Maxima rings.

EDIT: For me, "loaner" is just another name for "truck gun". IOW, knockabout rifles and shotguns that I don't abuse, but I don't go out of my way to coddle either. Of course, I treat my truck guns better than some people who I've hunted with treat their only CF rifle. I've hunted with a couple of guys who showed up for a deer hunt with a thick layer of dust on the objective lenses of their rifles. Probably a year's worth of dust from where the rifles were stored, uncased in the back of the hall coat closet.

I've loaned rifles a few times, once to a guy who had traveled all the way from Ohio to Colorado for a guided high plains deer hunt and when he showed up at the motel, he realized that he'd forgotten to pack his 6.5x55 ammo. I loaned him my S&W C in 30-06 and he punched his tag.

The last time that I loaned a reasonably valuable rifle to someone, that someone happened to be the DCE at my church. He interpreted my offer of a loan as a gift and the rifle moved to Missouri when he did.

And it is for this reason that I would rarely borrow someone's rifle. And it is why I have several #1s which I still haven't hunted. But I don't mind being hard on the go-tos even though some of them hardly show it.

But this would be a must likely loaner for me:



or this:



The problem with loaning a rifle that looks ragged is that some people assume that's license to abuse it wantonly. Some guns have earned their wear honestly, and the stories aren't always apparent. I don't mind rust if it came about through no circumstance which could have readily been avoided or prevented.

Ruger all-weather 30-06 loaded with 180 gr partitions and a 3-9 Redfield revolution.

Same setup I have loaned cept mines a 358 Winchester and a 2-7 Leupold.

Ruger Mk2 stainless in zytel stock. 30-06 with Leupie 4x.

150 grain Nosler ETip seconds.

Remington 783's can be had new for under $300 and paired with a $130 Nikon and make a great inexpensive combo to loan out.

Same can be said for the leftover Marlin XS7's can be found new for under $300 also. https://www.cdnnsports.com/marlin-xs7-7mm08-synthetic.html

I think 7mm08 is about the best all around offering for mild recoil and good ballistics and would suit most everyone.
Even offers reduced recoil loads to bring it to 243 levels for the young or recoil sensitive.

If strictly was for adults Id choose a 30-06. https://www.cdnnsports.com/remington-783-3006.html?___SID=U

Interesting that the Ruger MKII Zytels got two votes.

I own three such rifles and the .338WM and .300WM will be my elk rifles this year. Guess I'm 'loaning' them to myself.

About 35 years ago, give or take, someone I know moved west and I was invited to go on a hunt with him. Up to that point the person had not been a hunter and didn't own a rifle. Instead of offering to loan one of my rifles I located a mint Remington rifle for a reasonable price which I purchased for my friend. At the end of a one week hunt his new gun was in deplorable condition. I couldn't understand how badly he had damaged the gun in a matter of a few days.
As a result of that experience I have never loaned out a gun to anyone. All of my close hunting buddies own several suitable hunting rifles and do not need to borrow. Kind of fits with the philosophy "neither a borrower or lender be".

Jim

neither borrow or lend is generally my practice as well. This fall however I did loan my pre-64 .375 with .300 grn TSX that had four rounds in it out to a young man that boated his family of 5 into what I call strong grizzly country. In his boat he had it in my scabbard unzipped abit for quick use. He at some time got his boat into a sweeper which pulled his boat into the cut bank. That allowed for a deposit of dirt on the butt stock. He in short came back 5 days later and handed me my rifle and I quickly opened it and a pound or so of dirt fell out. I looked at him for a reason and so the story goes. No harm done but I quickly took it apart and cleaned it up. Hopefully he gets a real pounder down the road when he takes little ones an wife into rough country with only a aught six. His bullets were 165 grain for his rifle, should of just given him a handful of 200 grn Partitions instead.

I've let some of my scouts, I've taken out hunting ( with their parents blessings), use a few of my older Military Mausers, which I paid roughly $75 for each....

They never seemed to return the worse for wear or tear...

I normally don't loan out much of anything.... because it seems people never seem concerned about taking care of it...

Loaned my back up car to my brother once, when he had vacation time and was complaining about his truck being in the shop... he wanted to go from MN to Yosemite and Yellowstone, so I loaned him my old Volvo Wagon....

He comes back in 2 weeks with it needing $500 in parts, with me fixing it myself... and his excuse was he had no idea how any of it happened....

The grill is out of it, and he tries to tell me a Bird Flew into it...

I loan hardly anything to anyone...only closest friends who I know will take care of it, or immediately offer to pay for it or the damages....

Some of the folks I've met on the campfire tho in person, I'd would not hesitate to loan my very best to....they are the quality of folks you'd never even question.... and most of them, I'd bet I'd get it back in better shape than they left with it in...

I've had two that I used as "loaners". First was a M70 pushfeed 30-06 in a McMillan stock. Second was a stainless 700 .308 in a McMillan Classic. Both were ADL, Talley rings, and a 6x42 scope.

For a loaner I like a common caliber in a quality stock with simple/fixed power scope. I've had loaners out for 2 years before I saw them back, but I trusted the folks using it. If someone needs to use one while I'm hunting with them they are welcome to anything in my safe.

35 years ago, I used to let my little brothers use my Remington 788 in 243 for a deer rifle. They killed a pile of deer with that thing. For some reason, I sold it, and have kicked myself ever since.

Your post makes sense now. I forgot that you're a dumbass, liberal Yankee. You are the enemy, you are a Fudd. I'm certain you are voting for Clinton.

I've got a Howa .270 I loan out now and then. It came back, the last time, with the Timney trigger outa whack. I put the old trigger back in it, and it still gets loaned from time to time.

I'll gladly loan out most anything, but I want it back in the same condition I lent it.

Over the years I've loaned rifles to a co-worker (now my hunting buddy of 18 years or so) for his first hunt, daughters, nephews and a young man that is now a son-in-law. In each case I hunted with them so the rifles were never far away. If a brother wanted to borrow one, that would be fine as well. Grandkids will likely be beneficiaries of loaners as well when they come of appropriate age.

For the most part, though, my rifles don't get loaned out - not because they are particularly valuable, because they are not. No safe queens in my safe, all are working rifles. Generally speaking, though, if a person isn't interested enough to get their own rifle they aren't interested enough.

I would only loan to my sons, who are getting them someday anyway. They can borrow whatever they need. Most others I know I just don't trust not to shoot themselves or somebody else, or to take proper care of stuff.

Twenty-odd years ago, when there were very few people in our development, I answered a knock at the door and there stood a total stranger, who asked if I had a gun he could borrow(!). Turns out he had moved into the developer's model home across the way, and a sick skunk had crawled down his outside basement steps and proceeded to dump his whole load of stink. I took my Single-Six over and put the skunk down for him. It always tickled me that anyone thought they could just knock on a stranger's door with such a request.