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I'm 25, and started hunting N.Am big game about 5 years ago. Found a used older (1970's model) wood stocked Rem 700 in 270. Topped it with a 3-9x40 Leupold and hit the field. Brought home a lot of meat with that rifle. Since then is sits in a LSS Moutain laminante stock with a updated scope, but its still the same ol rifle.
I find this sight, and its like a kid in a a candy store. Swirlys, light weight, custom, flutes, triggers. It all looked so pretty! So I went out and bought more rifles, had them "customized" in things like "GAP Camo" McMillans and Jewell triggers.
Maybe its taken me these 5 years to realize it, but had I never dropped another dime on a rifle, and still only had that wood stocked 270, I still would have brought home as many animals, and maybe more. Wouldn't have spent so much time thinking about calibers and color choices. Instead - more time in the field practicing, glassing, and hunting.
Am I the only one who has come to this conclusion? Is this a passing fad? Part of me wants to sell all my rifles except that one 270, use the money to buy some good glass, go forth, and hunt.
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No, you're not alone.
I bagged a decent Shiras bull in BC a few weeks back with the .35 Whelen I just had to have. 1 shot, & done. Then I got to thinking, wouldn't my .338-06 have done it just as well? And probably my .30-'06? The .308 would be just about the same, too. Heck, with 175's in my 7x57, I'd have had no problems.
Spending 10 days with the guides & outfitters, I noticed that cartridges & rifles were almost an afterthought to them. They paid far more attention to boots & binocs.
I've noticed for a while now, that I get less & less happiness with each rifle purchase. I figure I'll be thinning the herd from here on out. I guess it remains to be seen which will be the last rifle standing.
FC
"Every day is a holiday, and every meal is a banquet."
- Mrs. FC
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I've had exactly that same thought many times. I'm 51 and have been a rifle nut since my teens. I've seen lots of nice rifles that I "just had to have" come and go and now I'm down to a modest stable of 6 big game rifles that cover the spectrum for what I do.
The idea of selling everything and getting one very fine 30/06 for everything I hunt in N. America is very appealing to me, I must admit. It worked just fine for my Dad and Grand Dad.
" A little solitude is a mighty precious thing "
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I keep thining the herd but then I buy a few more. My Model 700 in .30-06 is pretty much the only one I hunt with.
1st Special Operations Wing 1975-1983
919th Special Operations Wing 1983-1985 1993-1994
"Manus haec inimica tyrannis / Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" ~Algernon Sidney~
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OutdoorAg....should you do that, you`re ahead of all of us.
I have already pawned some stuff off to my son...thinking the same thing, why do I need so many.
I`ve umteen rifles, one shotgun..go figure.
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Am I the only one who has come to this conclusion? Is this a passing fad? Part of me wants to sell all my rifles except that one 270, use the money to buy some good glass, go forth, and hunt. Its a disease, We all know what you know but for some reason we can't stop. Its must be how a Druggie is, he knows that its bad for him but no matter what you do that high ( or in our case, Rifle) will be just perfect.
The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny. Under this Republic the rewards of industry belong to those who earn them. Coolidge
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I really think we should get Rick to delete this thread; it is too dangerous to have it fall into the wrong hands.
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This is the smartest post I've seen in a while OutdoorAg. I keep thinking of all the different hunts I could have paid for instead of burning it on rifles I didn't need.
I like to SAY I couldn't possibly afford a moose hunt in Alaska, but the truth is that had I kept that first .280 I bought in college, I could have probably paid for TWO trips up there by now and have killed JUST as many animals at home here in Idaho.
This thread sucks and now I'm depressed.
p.s. It's not too late for you my friend. Sell all but one rifle (your old .270 sounds like a good candidate) and use the funds from the liquidated rifles to pay for some hunt(s) you've always thought would be fun.
Last edited by iddave; 12/01/10.
If you're not burning through batteries in your headlamp,...you're doing it wrong.
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Replace the barrel on your LLS rifle with a new barrel in the 338-06 caliber and you are good to go. Shoot 180-250gr bullets.
If you want a new rifle....300WM or 300WSM with 180gr premium bullets and you are set. Maybe for big bears in Alaska, 200gr bullets.
I have all three...but sold my 300WSM to a buudy last fall.
I was the same way many years ago annd felt for me here in Alberta a 300WM was the caliber to go with. Use to shoot one and when I bought a new one..Sako m75ss 300WM back in 1997 I thought I'd be a 1-rifle guy..............THEN the rifle bug bit me in 2004.
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The idea of selling everything and getting one very fine 30/06 for everything I hunt in N. America is very appealing to me, I must admit. It worked just fine for my Dad and Grand Dad.
That's what I have done at 36yrs of age...one rifle, 30-06 for it all now. It is hard at times though and I do have that desire for a new rifle but I would rather put the money towards a hunt.
Rob
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SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! They will take away your loony card.  I blame Guns and Ammo and Shooting Times for this madness. I don't think an elk gives a rip whether you shoot him with a deer rifle or an elk rifle. Now I am reading that a .223 with Barnes bullets is a deer rifle. What am I to do with all my other rifles now?  whelennut
I like to do my hunting BEFORE I pull the trigger!
There is only one kind of dead, but there are many different kinds of wounded.
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I have gone through the "better to do than have" phase many times. It seems to be a pendulium for me. I am now entering the "I need to sell some stuff" phase again and will probably post something in the classifieds tonight.  OutdoorAg - I agree with you 100% the problem is site like this that make us think we need the newest gear. I won't be able to shoot a deer without a McMillan stock and a Ballistic reticle. ddj
Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau
The best part of hunting and fishing was the thinking about going and the talking about it after you got back. - Robert Ruark
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I just turned 40 and have been collecting guns since I was 14. I've recently been considering thinning the herd and converting the cash into a couple of really nice customs. It's hard to actually do it because most of the rifles that have stayed in my collection are 3/4 moa shooters or better. It would suck to sell a couple of those to pay for a custom and find that it doesn't shoot nearly as well.
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I will be the first to say--my firearm collection doesn't hold a dime to some of the people here..and I look up to those people for that.
However--In the process of recieving my first custom, and saving for my first hunt, I have thought that I am going to buy a couple more rifles, and start saving my fun money for hunts and such. I enjoy the hunt, as much, if not more then purchasing firearms, and I tend to take more from a good hunt then a rifle I "had to have".
Call me crazy!...Grin!
FMP
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I have a confession to make:... My 2 favourite rifles are some 30+ years old, One is an old S.M.L.E. (bought for $40.00) fitted with a .308 barrel but still using the 303 case, the other is a 257 Rob Improved built on a shot out 243 M55 Tikka.(bought for $90.00) The Old SMLE is just the ducks guts on pigs especially when you run into a big mob and my BOB is unsurpassed as a goat rifle. Whenever I go bush these are the first 2 to go into my car regardless of any others I might take
Now I have played around with a wildcat 6mm and created a dinky little 22 CF based on the 357 MAXIMUM case, turned my REM 17 (M55 Tikka) into a 223 IMP and I'm experimenting with a wildcat 7mm & a W/cat 17 but have actually come to a stop, because I'm asking myself WHY? I don't actually need either, just like to experiment. Will finish both projects (slowly) but that will do I think. As said here - spend the money on hunting
A friend DOWN UNDER
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You might bring home as much meat with one rifle, but you'd miss half the fun...
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
A good .30-06 is a 99% solution.
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It's your patriotic duty to buy rifles made in the USA since it supports national economy. Give yer head a shake.
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Prov 4:23)
Brother Keith
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I'm 25, and started hunting N.Am big game about 5 years ago. Found a used older (1970's model) wood stocked Rem 700 in 270. Topped it with a 3-9x40 Leupold and hit the field. Brought home a lot of meat with that rifle. Since then is sits in a LSS Moutain laminante stock with a updated scope, but its still the same ol rifle.
I find this sight, and its like a kid in a a candy store. Swirlys, light weight, custom, flutes, triggers. It all looked so pretty! So I went out and bought more rifles, had them "customized" in things like "GAP Camo" McMillans and Jewell triggers.
Maybe its taken me these 5 years to realize it, but had I never dropped another dime on a rifle, and still only had that wood stocked 270, I still would have brought home as many animals, and maybe more. Wouldn't have spent so much time thinking about calibers and color choices. Instead - more time in the field practicing, glassing, and hunting.
Am I the only one who has come to this conclusion? Is this a passing fad? Part of me wants to sell all my rifles except that one 270, use the money to buy some good glass, go forth, and hunt. The fact that you've come to this epiphany at 25, tells me you're a very intelligent, pragmatic young lad. Some of us haven't been so lucky. It's taken me a click past 40 to catch on. Of course, now if I buy/build something, something has to go - it keep the looniness alive without getting out of hand. 
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/X0n16mr.png) WWP53D
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The time I spend being a looney doesn't take one second from being in the field. It is done when I am in hotels, airports and other places when I'd rather be in the field.
That is when I am worrying about the weight of my next build or the color of my next stock.
The day this website keeps me out of the field for a second is the day I will reclassify myself from being a looney to a loser.
I am typing this from a hotel in manhattan after my flight home this afternoon was cancelled...
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your missing the fun of being a loony.
when i have 4 antelope doe tags in my pocket i take 4 rifles to fill em.
least i can say all rifles have killed.
i do have a favorite or 2, but the others are for that special situation. you know thick stuff, wide open places, steep mountains, deer, elk, antelope, aliens or space crafts, etc...
Last edited by splattermatic; 12/01/10.
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