Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Just ONE Good Rifle - anyone down to just 1 ??

I'll likely never get down to one rifle. I don't see a need to and I have no desire to. Others milage may vary. I could have made every shot I have ever taken in 50 years of hunting from Alaska to Georgia with either a 22 LR or 30/06. I like hunting with different rifles varying the calibers and actions. I like buying an older rifle and getting it back in good hunting shape. I like taking a new rifle and changing it to suit my needs. It is not about whether or not I could have done the job with one rifle. It is more whether I enjoy carrying and shooting a particular rifle. Some days I feel like a single shot, some days an automatic and on other days it might be a bolt action.

While I have reduced the count in my gun safe in the last few years and will continue to do so by giving them to my sons, there are some firearms that I just like hunting with. I plan on keeping them until I can't hunt any more and then I'll pass them on to my sons.

Agreed

65 -

NO - I haven't been down to just one rifle since 1975. Don't plan to either. (or is it neither?)

I have always been a one-at-a-time rifle owner and after I started hunting African plains game that one rifle became a .300 Win. Mag. If I am hunting whitetail at less than 100 yards, I use the Remington Managed Recoil loads which duplicate the .300 Savage.

I think another good choice for someone who wants one rifle for all non-dangerous big game would be the 7mm RM and the Remington MR loads for whitetail. At 2710 fps for the 140 grain, I think these MR loads fall between the 7x57 and the 7mm-08.

I will never be hunting dangerous game, but if I started, I'd probably add a .375 H&H.

Thanks, I like it

I have:
22lr : BRNO #1 : Lightweight hungting rifle
22lr : CZ 453 : Heavy varmint, bench / plinking rifle
222 : Sako L461 : Varmint rifle
308 : Sako L579 : Larger Varmint rifle
30-06: BRNO ZG-47: Main hunting rifle
30-06: BRNO ZG-47: Secondary hunting rifle, building them as a matched pair. Just in case something goes wrong with the other.


But, I would love to have only one rifle.. but, it cant do everything.

I was but just bought a Vanguard

1tnhunter -

IMO every serious hunter should have a 'minimum' of 1 XTRA rifle as a backup or alternate.......

"stuff happens"

yep

I think these days, most outfitters will provide a rifle for you for a small fee.

Owning only 1 rifle is tantamount to a mortal sin!!

[spoiler][/spoiler]

That's why I bought the VG

Don't interpret anything as smart or critical.

I would not feel comfortable, used to, nor confident using someone else's rifle, trigger, scope, and maybe ammo.

Maybe just me but that's me.

I have not read the entire thread so my apologies if I repeat other comments

One rifle? One wife sure that works for me, one rifle why???? Just because I have a .223, .243, .25-06, .260, 6.5x55, .270, 7-08, .280ai, .303, 7.62x54r, 8x57, ,325wsm and .45-70 in the house (multiples of some of the aforementioned) doesn't mean there are not massive holes in my arsenal! I am actively looking at either a 9.3 or a .375 to start to plug the gaps.

Hope y'all hVe great weekends.

GRF

Re: Borrowing a rifle from an outfitter...

IF I were to pay an outfitter, I would HOPE he would have a properly equipped and appropriate rifle sighted in with a good optic. If not, I would say I had the wrong outfitter.....JS.

ANY rifle should have been proven properly zeroed before going after game.

So it is with the Beware of the Man with One Rifle slogan....as he should know where his only rifle is hitting

65 -

That is true but it doesn't change the fact.......

STUFF happens.

BTW - 65

If you can afford an outfitter.... you can afford 1 more rifle.

I've never HIRED an outfitter and over the years there have been a FEW times I needed to use a backup, or 1 of my xtra rifles, in a pinch.

One example:
Last year near the end of my deer season I tripped and took a hard fall, I & the RIFLE hit the ground hard.

I simply picked up another rifle and continued hunting. When I checked the first one, sure enuff the scope was off several inches. I know some who would have continued hunting w/o even checking their sighting. ( I know 2 guys that have done that) IF I had done that AT LEAST I would have wounded/made a bad shot or better yet, missed altogether.

Maybe just me but 1 good rifle AINT enuff.

Sweet mother of God!

Nice bunch of No. 1s.

One day hopefully I have a wall of them. You were at two once upon a time too.

I have Leupold QD's on my primary for a quick scope back-up. If the rifle fails, then I hope that my wife will hand me her .338 Win. for my shot. It would be too short in the stock,but I can adjust to that!!!! memtb

I tell my wife that I only have one rifle and only keep the safe door open long enough to get that "one" rifle out, when its time to go hunting.