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....with every post seem to lean more toward race cars to use an analogy. Not down in the dirt sprint cars, but more towards Formula racers. Same with scopes.

So lets say all of a sudden you have to live off a rifle on a daily basis or you have to guide for a living. You don't have time for frequent maintenance. You don't sit at the bench and pound out little groups for 40 weeks a year and hunt for the remaining two to eight. You do have to have a dependable rifle that will take the mud, rain and snow as part of its check off sheet. You shoot mainly plus sized animals and not 1in squares. You only have one or two rifles and they must work when you call on them. Sometimes the only choice you have is to wipe off your scope lens with your shirt or handkerchief or your opportunity is lost. Big time Euro or Weaver/Leupold/Bushnell.

Proven factory offering that will sprint or slog to the finish, or unknown test dummy that has no longterm down and dirty track record?

Addition: Most will never fit the mould, so I guess it is a foolish question. If problems occur, we drive back home and pull out another. Not much lost.

Same thing that I sued today, a Highwall, Ballard, Sharps singleshot with iron sights. Which one, doesn't really matter.

I'd feel comfortable with most current Mauser based factory bolt actions being able to take a beating and keeping on ticking.

M70 or Mauser 98.A pre 4 M70 or SS Classic would work for me.....Scope would likely be a 3x,4x or 6x Leupold or equal,but would not scoff at a fixed S&B or similar.

Would I "shirtsleeve" them? If I had to, you bet

I read recently of a CZ carbine, synthetic stock,20" barrel chambered 30/06 or 9.3x62....merits consideration.

One of my stainless SUCKS in a McMillan sporting some flavor of Leupold, likely a 6x42 or 2-7x33.

That's what I miss about Alaska, I carried a rifle damn near daily. Miles upon miles strapped on an ATV, in a skiff, backpack or hands. Lots of coastal crap and 15 feet of rain a year. Fishing, running a trap line, fugging around.

For me it pretty much boils down to the trigger. The trend seems to be more springs and adjustment capability. Simple, functional and reliable would be were I would be placing my bet.

Old Style Ruger 77 Stainless boat paddle stock 30-06 w/open sights Leupold 1.75-6x32 Heavy Duplex

M98, maybe a Savage 99 too, but definitely M98, Keep it simple on optics, durable fixed 4x or 6x.

Ruger M77 may not win any beauty or lightweight contests, but the M77 action with integral scope mounts it is about as bomb-proof a rig as there is out there....

Yep. Ruger 77 Stainless. .30-06 Done deal. Meese to moose.

Like your thinking. I went with the .308 and boat paddle stock.

Sako 75 .338wm, leupold vx3, mcmillan stock, coated metal. Nothing that cant be done.

Mr. Battue,

You did say two so here goes.

Kimber Montana in a WSM chambering other than 270 WSM. That's gay.

A stainless Rem700 with the old trigger, tuned, in a good 'glass stock. Chambering, you ask? Gosh golly....... well, given the existance of the rifle above I guess I'd say .358. If not that, then '06, 7-08, .308, .338 WM, 338-06, .280.....

With a WSM Montana and a .358 I could hunt anything I want to hunt, any weather.

Scope. Hmmm. Going to go Conquests on both as a first choice and just eat the weight.... Leup as a second choice. No need to go any fancier. It has been 10 years since a shirt tail touched a lens of mine-- I literally remember the last time-- and it pains me to remember even now.

Pretty much how my rifles are all already set up. Stainless, synthetic stocks of some flavor, Leup or Conquest scopes. The exception is the Swaro AV on my Kimber. I keep it there just to annoy Bob.

"Shirtsleeve em": I think we should credit Bob with originating a new fire colloquialism. Done it myself more than once and will probably do it again.

As a matter a fact the son of a Bud just recently shot a Doe in Ohio with an older M8 4x that was once mine. It had been "shirtsleeved" many times and still seemed to be able to get the job done.

However, I do try to avoid the buttons. You have to draw a line somewhere.

I'd go with the 6.5 RM on the Stainless 700 with 3.5-10 Leupold and the .350 RM with 2.5-8 Leupold and hunt it all.

If I had to choose based on what's in my safe now.....Ruger Hawkeye (.338 Federal) or the R700/McMillan MR (.300wsm). If the current .260 Montana was either a .308 or .338 Federal that would win over either of the above.

George

George, how's feeding on that WSM M700?

I know you are with me in wishing Kimber would do a .358! I'd make a wee little poo poo in my pantaloons if I heard they were doing that.....

Feeding if great.....until the last round. Even then, the issue only "exists" at the bench when I'm looking to not throw brass. When a guy is actually in field positions and working it aggressively, everything feeds and chambers just fine.

Yeah a Little Sky in .358, 84L in Whelen or Big Sky in .358wsm would be just fine with me. I'm always watching for donors....

George

I chuckle every time I see Scott write it, but if I had to do it all over again I'd stay 223 and 308. In fact, I talked my dad into that very theory about 5 years ago. We trimmed down to a couple of rifles apiece in said chamberings and stocked up on supplies. It didn't last long.....we couldn't "live" without adding 243's, 260's, 7-08's, etc.

I'd use the same platform for the 223 and 308. They'd both be stainless. In all honesty, I'd have a hard time choosing between Remington and Ruger. IMO, the Ruger is a little more rugged, but it's hard to compete with the feel of a 700 in a McMillian Mountain Rifle Stock -- at least in my hands.

Scope would be VX2 2-7x33.

If Kimber would make a couple of small changes my choice of platform would have Montana written all over it.....

"If I knew then what I know now".....

I picked up the .260 Montana early on because I figured it would serve as a whitetail/coyote rig (several of my winter spots require a long hike in and weight savings is nice) and I wanted something "different" (ie, not the .243).

If I knew Kimber would release the .223 Montana, I would have stuck with the .308. .223 for general/cheap shooting as well as 'yotes and the .308 for everything else that I'm likely to do. It's hard to justify the .223/.260 combo. Hard, but I get by.....

George