Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Best money you ever spent on a rifle?

I don't remember how much money was involved, but the year after I got out of college I traded a Remington 700 classic in .270 for my first left-handed rifle. It wasn't a real bargain, but a fair price. It is a LH Ruger Mk II. I chose a .30/06 because I figured I could use it for whatever opportunities arose. Well, the opportunities at bigger game haven't come around yet, and I have some other rifles to choose from now, but that old /06 has had a good run. I don't know how much meat it has put in the freezer but with a few antelope thrown in with a bunch of deer, it has to be getting close to 50 big game animals. It is one of those rifles that will shoot most anything you put in it into around 1.5" or with proper handloads, you can often cut that in half.

I'm sure part of what makes the rifle so special is that about 10 years ago, my Dad started hunting again and he used the rifle to take his first several deer. One of my cousins who also shoots left handed took his first 2 deer with it as well.

I have been shooting some other rifles, so for the past couple of years I haven't hunted with the old .30/06, although my Dad pick it back up this year and took another buck with it. I realized the other day I was kind of missing the old girl. There is just something about the familiar and the memories and knowing from experience that if you point it right and squeeze the trigger you have meat.

That story brings another one to mind...

I was a kid and saved up and my Dad and I bought a 270 Rem 700 BDL years ago - late 70's, early 80's maybe - with a 3-9x40 Leupy for $400 and a nice aluminum 2 gun case. A fellow won it in a raffle, didn't hunt and sold it cheap.

It was my first really nice rifle that was new to me. I hunted with it for years, and killed lots of critters with it, and then my Dad had a 7 Mag that was misbehaving and borrowed it from me to go on a hunt.

I never got it back, and it's his first string rifle to this day - running 130 TTSX's. He's had it for at least 15 years.

He killed this buck with it a few years back....His all time best whitetail.



It's worth more to me the longer I don't get it back...

DJ

Sweet thread DJ.

You guys get any moisture?

Sam,

I'm enjoying this thread a bunch.

Had no idea it would strike such a chord with folks, but glad it has.

We've had precious little moisture, Sam. It's better than the last few years, but we're still in serious drought and a long way from out of the woods.

Fewest cows we've had that I can remember, and still probably too many.

How are things up your way?

DJ

DJ, hope you guys get a good rain soon.


It's okay here, can't complain, we are right on the edge.


That is a great pic of your dad.

270's rule....grin

Hard to say.

The Browning semi-auto .22 I bought new when I got out of the service in '74? Cost me $125 and I've put thousands of rounds through it. Best .22 rifle design ever IMHO, but 'm a bit biased. Grew up shooting Granddad's Remington version that he paid ~$25 for during the depression. Figured I'd never live long enough to inherit it. Granddad died last year at age 100 and Dad has the rifle now. I'd still be waiting.

The Ruger 7mm RM that served as my only bolt-action big game rifle for 20+ years and took everything from prairie dogs to coyotes to antelope to deer to elk? Maybe the used Ruger #1 in .20 Rem I stumbled into at the LGS that scratched a long-standing itch?


Maybe the Marlin levers? $250 for a 336CS in .3030, $350 for the Model 375 in .375 Win or $249.95 for a 1895 in .45-70, all used but in excellent condition?


How about the Ithaca Model 49 for $105 to replace the one I got as a pre-teen but later foolishly sold?


One of these .30-06's? Got the Ruger M77 on the left, used, while my wife was receiving leukemia treatment at MD Anderson in Houston. Thought I'd go pig hunting but it didn't work out. Two years later came the Remington M700, a bargain at Dicks. Then in 2010 the used stainless Ruger MKII.


Nope. This is the one. A 1989 Ruger M77 in .257 Roberts, my favorite rifle. Literally bumped into a guy carrying it at a gun show in 2004. He claimed it had less than a box of ammo through it and the lack of scratches in the bluing under the slide safety, something I 'fixed' in the first couple trips to the range, attested to its lack of use.

Best $300 rifle I've picked up... Brother has mastered it

A Winchester model 67 .22 single shot that a co worker sold to me for $50 for my boys to start shooting with. Fun little rifle!

For me it's a tossup between my Kimber Hunter .22 or the Montana 223AI I bought from a feller here on the fire!

Husqvarna 8000/9000 series bolt rifles.

Buy/sell/trade:
Model 12 in a tattered box, little use. In, $250 - out $900 LGS would not give 250.
Model 70 Super Gd .270. In $325 cleaned it -out $850. Not pristine.
Model 70 .300 HH nice, in $500 - out $950 + a 2-7 Leupold.bought these last two from dealers. Once in a while I gave too much, but not often. Once, I walked into a LGS, bought a Walther PPK .22 from the patriarch at a very reasonable price. His son saw me with the pistol, a few minutes later and told me that it was not for sale. I told him that he was correct, I had already bought it from his dad and intended to keep it. Apparently he had called one of his collector customers and sold it on the phone. I left the store with a minty cased Browning Medalist, no boot.

Keepers:
I have a small group of what I think are nice pieces, some I gave a good price for and some I should have had license to steal, but I never took advantage of the elderly and widows. A few are:

Three Browning Safaris, a bunch more came and went,
Browning Pigeon Grade 20 Ic/M from 1963 - my heirs can fight over this one,
Grade III and Grade IV BARs,
NICE pre war S&W unregistered (much rarer than registered) .357, also a nice 60s Model 28, and a nice M&P. A .32-20 from 1919 that we inherited from wife's grandad.
An A-5 that I skipped lunch to save for in 1963. I took a pickup load of quail with that one when younger.
A nice old pre war M70 that is used smooooothe.
A Colt 1911 from 1948 and a .380 pocket pistol from the thirties.
First edition S&W 37, 42, and 60.
Speaking of 42, a Winchester 42 almost new bought at a gun show 6-7 yrs ago
Several older Marlin lever guns. My favorites are a Mountie and a Glenfield 30.

And others. I have way too many guns, but the bride of my youth has told me that they are better than money in the bank. Most of what I have kept either keeps up with inflation, or appreciates in value.

Tom Burgess/Monty Kennedy G33/40. Jerry Fisher built rifles, any one of the five I have owned. Echols Legend 7RM.

It always saves money to get the very best first time around.

sako 243with 3x9 busnell $169 +$40 new in box . a long time ago . 2 deer last and one this past fall.

My money...




Only gun I have bought... yet.

Years ago in the 80's the CMP had a limited amount of M1D rifles with all accessories that they were selling by means of a drawing. I put my name in and lo and behold - my name got drawn! I was traveling and when i got back it was past the deadline but i sent the 650 bucks in anyway and the gun came a short time later. It is complete with scope, mount, cone flashhider, etc. Many of the accessories were in the wrap - unopened. Gun is a SA in very good to Exc condition. 650$ is the most I have every spend on a gun in my entire life... I have no regrets.

Probably the best is $35 for a Brazilian mauser in 7x57. It was in very good to excellent condition and like an idiot I used it as a donor action for a 308 target build. I still have the 308 still kick myself over that move. I sold the barrel, or rather traded it and the stock to the gunsmith for the price I paid for it. He sold the barrel for $100 to a friend of mine and everyone was happy.

I bought a model 38 husqvarna 6.5x55 for $75 that I still own and shoot. The cock on closing seems odd at first but it became familiar very quickly

My 375 CZ550 was for a time my most expensive rifle but I got a sweet deal on it drastically reduced in price from the $1100 original. I didn`t steal it but I kept expecting the police to show up.

Nice buck and pic!

Sporterized 1939 Berliner-Lubeck Mauser 98 with nice wood, a gorgeous bluing job, and a long-chamberred 30-06 barrel someone installed with excessive headspace for $125. I put on a stainless .308 Win barrel I picked up for $50, fitted a new recoil pad, and mounted a Burris 4x scope I got for $35. And I love the way it shoots.

I bought a new Marlin Glenfield semi-auto.22 for $39 when was in High School at K-MART. We actually bought three (3) that day. They came with a little "toy" scope. We all refinished our stocks and rescoped them.
I have used and abused that poor gun and I am still using it.
Only 40 years worth.

stumpy

Bought some nice rifles over the years. As a young man enjoyed reading O'Connor and Wootters all the time. Wootters stimulated me into searching for and finding a 1964 Sako L579 Mannlicher .308 later in life when I could afford it. Topped it with a USA made Burris Signature in 2x8. Probably my favorite rifle. An absolute joy to carry.

However the best money spent was last year. Found a FN Browning Safari in .257 Roberts at of all places a local Cabelas. Wasn't initially that interested but after getting home and doing some research, I literally could find nothing about that gun in that caliber. Found enough however to realize it was somewhat rare.

Interesting thing was as I searched the gun library most Safari's in the same shape were priced much higher than this one and they were not even rare...i.e. 270's, 30-06's, etc starting at $1500-$1700. Those on the rarer side (i.e. .284)were 4-5K. Usually Cabelas is on the high side. The Cabelas gun shop person obviously didn't know what he had in hand when he priced it. Funny thing is it had been on display for almost three weeks before I saw it.

Went back to the store when it opened the next morning hoping it was there, it was, and I bought it. Had it verified by letter from Browning. Apparently estimates vary, but it appears only about 25 were made in that caliber.

One report in Eastman's guide indicates more on one specific order with some in 25-06, but I feel that is suspect because it the 25-06 which was a wildcat then. According to another report FN would not make that gun in that caliber for that reason. As far as the Bob, that offering wasn't even listed in any of the Browning catalogs at the time.

Sometimes even a blind squirrel can find a nut.

First is the Sako Mannlicher .308. Next two are the Browning Safari .257 Roberts. I added a vintage Browning 2x7x33 (Burris made) scope.

Add the pic.

Also, you can't really see the detail but my pond is 'running over'. 3 good rains in 1 week. Too wet to shoot into the dam.