Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rodney Dangerfield Rifle - "I get no respect"

I live in Alberta and have killed some large bodied deer. Every one of them I've used a 25-06. According to some, it's a "gopher" gun. Seems it kills deer dead.

I must admit, that if I hunted more timbered areas more, I would likely shoot a 30-06, 308 or 300WSM.

But for me, the 25-06 has been my deer/antelope killer.

Think I had my timeline off just a little. Must have been close to 10 yrs ago when I traded because son is a freshman in college now. Anyway, from the time he got it he's obviously taken pleasure in "educating" friends, etc in the particlars of the 7x57 and his "old rifle". Glad he has it. Hell, it's a 100 yr old cartridge in a rifle made 18 yrs before he was born. All younguns need a little history to hang on to.

AB: Agreed....some could not shoot the big guns...IME Alberta whitetails die just like other deer

My "Rodney" rifle is a S&W 1500 308 Win sporter. Made by Howa for S&W in the early 1980's. It now has a Boyds JRS laminate stock, and sports a B&L Scopechief VI fixed 4x scope (which is crystal clear with outstanding resolution and edge-edge crisp image). That is my Rodney Dangerfield scope, and it's on a "Rodney rifle." A perfect match.

The action is silky smooth. It shoots any bullet up to 200 grains well (200 grain Speer hotcors sub 2 moa, 150-180 grainers = ~ 0.75- 1.5 moa). Trigger is nice. Points well.

I was going to call my JC Higgins M50 30-06 with 4x Leupold a "Rodney rifle;" however, those that realize it is a commercial FN Mauser 98 action (with Timney trigger, and Bell and Carlson Medalist stock), more than make up for those who can't get past the "Sears Roebuck" barrel stamp.

Rodney rules.

Can I borrow that line when you are not using it?

Try not to surround yourself with idiots. That should take care of the problem. I own a 7mm-08 only because every 7X57 I tried to order was gone. A long throated 7X57 would be about perfect in my book. My Rodney Dangerfield rifle is a 30-06 #1 RSI. Boring 30-06 with a short barrel and too much wood blah, blah, blah. Kills like the hammer of Thor and carries like a 28 ga. bird gun. I try not to tell my secret.

Rodney (no respect) Dangerfield rifles can also apply to the more modern Rugers too. I believe that I happen to have just the rifle that qualifies in that dept, which amongst most wouldn`t get any respect and is under-estimated when it comes to sheer ballistic horsepower. As far as I know, I`m the only one on this forum that owns one,,,which is all fine, well and good with me!.....Sorry! But no pics!

A Ruger Frontier compact carbine chambered in a 300 WSM??? They say! "A 300 mag with only a 16.5" barrel?" "Why, you gotta be kiddin!" "There`s no purpose for that!" "You`re losing your azz in velocity!" "Shoulda just bought a full sized 308; same damn thing!"

And as it has occured on three elk trips now, the laughs and smirks at `lil junior always come to pass. "Little" do they know is, is that junior (aka "mighty mouse"), can provide 26" 30-06 AI ballistics!!

The problem with most, is that they quickly judge a book by its cover (1st impression), without reading the book or inquiring by asking some basic questions and reading between the lines.

The bull elk kill using this little rifle last Nov, even impressed my guide. Afterall, nobody ever shows up to elk camp with a ridiculous looking "no respect" shorty compact!!!

A one shot 328 yard kill, using a 190 gr VLD, a particular reload that chronyd at 2870 fps, made for "very short" work of Mr Elk. He might as well had been at 400 to 500 yards. No matter!

Moral? Don`t judge a book the cover alone or by a first impression. Respect should be earned by the performance and/or end final result.

Well, I would loan my truck my car, but...

I have a 7MM-08 and really like it. Alot of these "experienced dudes" don't realize you can out perform the 7-08 with a 7x57 if you roll your own.

Unfortunately, too many of todays hunters think that a magnum is needed for deer hunting. But I seem to do well each year with the 257 Roberts, 30-30, and 7-08 on the "kevlar coated" whitetails here in Missouri. I have also used my 30-06, but only after downloading the 150 gr bullets to around 2600 fps. All these rounds have taken deer, and none have gone more that a few steps. All of these rounds will take deer at ranges that are way beyond any I would feel comfortable shooting at deer. Now my next problem is deciding on what to get for the next rifle: do I go with the 7x57, or 6.5x55? I have always like the Swede, and the 7-08 covers the 7mm, but either will be all I need for anything I will ever hunt in Missouri. If I can afford to go hunt elk or moose out west, I can afford another rifle, if I need one.

Tell them it's a 275 Rigby and it's been used to slay elephants in Africa. Maybe that will impress them in the deer camp.

Put your quote with Model70man and I have a:

A poor mans Griffin and Howe 275 Rigby elephant slayer...perfect, sounds respectable to me.

I have one of those Rejected and Disrespected 7 x 57s... mine is a Model 70 Featherweight...

Paid $300.00 for it, because the original owner sold it because he couldn't find ammo for it..

everyone at the gunshop passed it by because they didn't have a clue what a 7 x 57 was....

so I guess if mine had to have a descriptive name, it would be Little Orphan Annie..but I don't call it that..

I call it a 7mm Mauser, as that is what the barrel is stamped..

it isn't a bad caliber, even for elk..

mine will throw a 175 grain bullet at 2650 fps from the Muzzle..

considering mine looked like it was new out of the box when I got it.. and had had a Pachmyer recoil pad installed on it, and came with Leupold Rings and basis installed. for $300.00, I did pretty well on that transaction..

topped it with a 3 x 9 Leupold with a heavy duplex reticle, and a nylon sling.. and we are ready to go hunting..

and despite what I paid for it, I wouldn't sell it for 3 or 4 times the price I paid for it..

the only way I'd ever sell it was if I decided to quit hunting..
and hopefully that isn't happening anytime soon..

yea i get razzed everytime i come to deer camp sporting two major flaws, (three if you count myself) a Ruger rifle (M77 Mark II All Weather) and in .243 win to boot. folks keep telling me it wont drop deer but everyone of them i've shot or my kids has shot forgot to wear thier kevlar fur that day and took it on the chin big time. yep hands down the Ruger M77 rifles get the least respect from anyone who's never shot one.

Here's my "no respect" rifle. About 35 years ago I paid $30 for it sans scope, paint job, sling and 4" of barrel. It's a 1923 Oviedo M93 Mauser in 7x57. Before hacksaw and with the scope shown it was a 4 to 6 MOA shooter. After hacksaw and with a new Burris 2x20 scope it's a 3/4 to 1 1/4 MOA shooter.

It has two big problems you can't see in the photo: (1) the previous (previous previous?) owner evidently lost the front action screw and replaced it with a cross-threaded 1/4" NC bolt; and (2) I've shot it so much the stock behind the tang is splitting, probably due to something with the 1/4" bolt. My warm weather project is to fix both problems. This old Mauser has been my favorite rifle for many years. It will be my daughter's someday. Respect or not, $1,000 cash wouldn't buy it from me.

The Savage 340 ...or better yet a Springfield 840 is the ultimate Rodney Dangerfield rifle.



Not my rifle...but just a flashback to those that haven't seen one in a while. I used to laugh at these rifles when I was a kid. I bought one cheap to turn into a youth rifle and was shocked how an ugly pile of crap could shoot 1" groups with what ever you fed it. It still gets no respect.

Dan

In 1985 I bought a custom 7 X 57 built on an FN Mauser action with a Sukalle barrel from a friend for $250 (with a very large Redfield scope), which was what he'd paid for it at a pawn shop in West Palm Beach, Florida. The pawn shop didn't know what it was, my friend didn't know what it was, and I didn't know what it was, either. I was just getting into deer hunting, and I wanted the leasy expensive gun I could get. After I moved further north, I took it to a gunsmith in Jacksonville to ask if I could shoot handloads through it (factory ammunition was seriously downloaded to prevent accidents in someone used a 92-97 model of Mauser), and he didn't know what it was, either. He was all into wildcats and had contempt for any factory round. All I wanted was a .270 until the internet arrived and then I found out that I had a prize in this little Mauser. I still have it, and it's poison on Georgia whitetails using 140-grain handloads at 2,900 FPS. I have other rifles now, including more customs, but I'm still partial to the 7 X 57, and killed my largest-ever deer with it a few seasons back. But I 've given up explaining what it is to my hunting buddies. I just say "7 MM" and let it go at that. The most anyone has ever said about the gun? "Nice scope" (old Leupold VX II that I had camo-coated).

Most pushfeed post-64s get sneered at by the elite; meanwhile, they shoot with the best of the customs.

I would take a PF M70 over a R700 ANY DAY.

And I've loved the 7x57 since I got one. I was 14.

GA: You gotta have some years(and be well-read) to know who Bill Sukalle was....

......and you gotta have no brains in your skull if you don't like the 7x57.