Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats RETIREMANT RIFLE....HELP...!!!!!!!

HI ALL...OK...I REALLY need help on this one.....after 30 years as a NYC Police SGT., I am finally officially retired as of Jan 10, 2012....haven't had toooo much time to hunt as much as I like these last 30yrs....now its a new ballgame...
time for a new rifle....I want a 30/06...most of my hunting is here on the east coast for deer and black bear...out to maybe 300yds....BUT...BUT...everything is on the table now...the WORLD is within reach !!!!...$$$$$$$$$$$ IS NOT A CONSIDERATION....
Am about to to pick up the phone and order a NULA in 30/06...
am just wondering if there is anything out there that ya'll would consider as an alternate...maybe NULA is not the "be all to end all"...????? What would you buy..???? OR ALTERNATELY....what would you build and who would build it for you..?????? AND DO NOT FORGET ABOUT OPTICS EITHER....!!!!!
C'mon...let it rip....
What say ye learned gentlemen..??????
THANKS TO ALL....
Pete

Pete first I'd like to say thanks to the service you provided to all of us for 30 years! Just like Military, you guys are our first line of defense and rarely ever have pleasant situations to deal with. Thanks again.

Oh boy a new 30-06. First off that is a fantastic chambering for what you will be using it for and for just about most any upcoming hunts you could ever dream of. With a 165 or 180 gr Partition or Accubond it will handle most everything you want to hunt. Another good one would be a 280 Remington. I love that cartridge also and it's a sweetheart on game.

Rifles: You said you have a few dollars that you could spend to spoil yourself, and you should! How about a new Winchester Model 70 Supergrade 30-06? That is one beautiful rifle! Here in Montana we have a couple of firearms makers that do custom work and build pretty darn nice rifles also. You might check Cooper Arms out of Stevensville Montana and Montana Rifle Company in Kalispell on the internet.

We need lots of pictures when you get her home to pappa so keep us updated.

If you have money you don't care about a NULA is a fine rifle, but for East Coast hunting (where rifles are legal) a 308 would be a better choice and a Cooper would be a very, very nice rifle. You didn't mention it, but top quality optics (Zeiss, Kahles, Schmidt& Bender) are the place to spend money as well especially for older eyes.

With 30 years behind the badge, you are still young enough to consider serious guided hunts here and abroad. Just my opinion, but I'd rather go to Alaska/Africa/out West etc with a $1500 rifle and scope rather than stay back East with a 5 grand rig.

Thanks for your service in America's premier police Department !

Get the Forbes Rifle in 30/06. Your instincts a great and it will save some $'s. Go hunting.

A light 30-06 is not the most easy gun to shoot--the recoil is severe enough that technique becomes important, or your groups get bigger that you expect with a $3k gun. I would find a decent used 30-06 and spend a year with it. That will give some time for the Forbes rifle to hit the street (a $1500 version of the $3500 NULA). If it pans out, and you still want to go lighter than a standard weight rifle, then switch. But I think it is going to be hard to justify a NULA in one of the same chamberings that the Forbes rifle is going to be offered in.

A Rem 700 mtn rifle would be about perfect for this interim role.

Another thought would be to have your retirement gun be something you are likely to shoot more like a really nice .22lr or .223. Something like a Cooper comes to mind.

The new Kimber 84L in 30-06 ought to be on your list as well, since it is available in the 30-06.

after 30 years get what you want as you can see you will get all kinds of answers from the folks on this board.


gene

Congratulations on your retirement!!

Go ahead and spend some cash on a rifle you truly dream of. You deserve it.

It would be hard to beat the NULA, but you can place an order after the Shot Show for the less expensive Forbes Rifle.

In my opinion the NULA is much more expensive than the other rifles mentioned above, and the extra bucks are worth it.

In regards to the NULA being difficult to shoot, I would have to disagree. I have found mine very easy to shoot. It's not that a lightweight rifle is difficult to shoot, but a poor balancing rifle is difficult to shoot. The NULA has a lightweight stock which allows a lightweight barrel to balance and shoot quite well. My NULAs are my best shooting rifles.

I shot this group last weekend with my NULA 30-06 during load development.

Pick up the phone on Monday and get that NULA ordered! Top it off with a 3x9 Swarovski and you will be good to go. I sold off my Kimbers to buy mine and have no regrets. A NULA in 30-06 will even serve you well up here in Alaska.

You could pick up a Kimber Montana while you are waiting for your NULA, then peddle it. I know Kimber has taken some lumps, but I have two that shoot great.

donsm70

PS Congrats on your retirement. I'm going on seven years and loving every minute of it.

Get the NULA, you've earned it! I got (2) ULA's after I retired & don't regret it one bit. The older you get, the better that lightweight feels! Totally agree with herschel34 & skilakjim posts above. GO DO IT.

NULAs are hard to beat.
Dealing with Mr. Forbes will be something you will enjoy.
Id run a 25-06 or a 270 WCF just to get a tad less recoil,, but thats just me.
Carry on.

dave

A NULA in 257 Roberts would be an easy carrying, soft-shooting choice.

I like my NULA, but I would be hard put to figure out why to spend the extra $2k over the price of the Forbes IF you were going for a RH gun in one of the chamberings they are going to be offered in. I would rather put the $2 to a hunt (what better way to start retirement?) But we will know in a few months how the Forbes Rifle turns out. I do hope it is a more successful enterprise for Melvin than the Colt project.

Mine is a LH .257 Wby, so I don't have to worry about the Forbes version being de facto competition for it anytime soon.

I still stand by my statement that a NULA is a demanding rifle to shoot from the bench, from a technique perspective.

Congratulations on your years of service! If it were me, I would recommend that you call George at GA Precision and discuss your wants, he can set up up with a great custom well suited for the task. Pricing is very competitive as well.

I have to agree; I'm going to buy a Forbes rifle when they're available, in 30-06. Got a few planned to go in the classifieds to fund it. I hope the venture works and am willing to get in on the ground floor. However, for a "retirement rifle" I think a made-to-order NULA wouldn't be a bad choice.

I think for a retirement present I'd do something like this if I wanted something special, meets your requirements.

http://www.gunsinternational.com/BR...COMBO-20GA-30-06CAL.cfm?gun_id=100211545

I gave myself a very nice French Darne shotgun for a retirement gift. It works very well too, it's not a safe queen.

Mmmm....a retirement rifle...I would be giving it quite a bit of thought.

What follows is my own personal view;not intended to depracate anyone else's view on the issue.

I'll qualify my comments by saying there is no bigger fan of LW synthetic stocked rifles than me,and have been using them to hunt since before it was in "vogue".(I have had a pile of them, and still have a few around that I use a lot)....clear back to the 70's.I love them........I love their reliability, field worthiness,accuracy and "never quit" construction.I hunt them every year,and have had some great ones.

But they all have one glaring deficiency.....they have the soul of a lug wrench...every single one of them, regardless who makes them.They are common,undistinguished,hardly unique,and while I consider them "nice",none of them are show stoppers.....and while the quality of construction,the components, and skills of the makers sets some apart from the others (the NULA definately occupying that upper echelon niche),to my eye,they are not the pinnacle of the gunmakers' art. Functional? Yes....something to eveoke strong emotional attachment and satisfaction? Uuhh.....no. Not for me. YMMV.

My personal choice would be a "classic" rifle,along classic lines, in a classic chambering, and it would be impossible to top a 30/06 for general usefulness, and go anywhere, do anything versatility.Others qualify,and caliber choice is up to the guy spending the money.

I would send a Krieger,Brux,Bartlein,or other top quality cut rifle tube along with a pre 64 M70,top end 98 Mauser,M70 Classic,Dakota, or other action of choice to someone like Al or Roger Biesen, Gene Simillion, Darcy Echols,Jim Anderson, Chic Worthing,Mark Penrod,Heilman,......the list goes on;you get my drift (hey the OP said money was no object! I'd have the action and metal extensively reworked,and have it stocked in killer wood...a full blown custom in the classic tradition.An heirloom quality rifle that will withstand time in the fields,acquire some nicks and scratches,(and still look like a Brazilian Super Model with a dirty face.....she would clean up pretty good .Rather that than some plastic creation that has the looks and qualities of an ax or hammer. Besides anyone contemplating such a custom has plenty of other "functional" rifles.

Too "nice" to hunt? Too "fragile"? Maybe not as "tough" as a synthetic, but gimme a break.....the worlds top trophies,from the Himalaya's to Africa,most of the Grand Slams,and about anything in North America,has been taken by the world's top trophy hunters with similar rifles....guys like Page, JOC,Elgin Gates, Bob Lee, Herb Klein, Elmer Keith to name a few.....so managing a few North Ammerican hunts for deer, elk,bear, whatever, would be like falling off a log for such a rifle.

If she gets dinged up, like the Brazilian Super model, we send her back to the maker for a coiffe and a bath (refinishing job) and she's good as new.It'll take years anyway....

At least I could look at the thing without wanting to puke now and then.... and my heirs at law would have something with some character.

JMHO and of course, YMMV.

Agree with Bob. I'd build it from the ground up and decide if I want walnut or synthetic to start.

Two roads diverged in a wood...

You worked for the last 30 years and did not have the time to buy a rifle, hunt or join a club?

I wonder at that.

May I suggest that you go to some gunshops, ask for their advice and also ask where to find a club and where to hunt.

Rifles can come and go. Buy something reasonable, like a Winchester and try it out.

Retirement.

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