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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

I really think we should get Rick to delete this thread; it is too dangerous to have it fall into the wrong hands.

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.

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.

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.

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 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

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.

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

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

You might bring home as much meat with one rifle, but you'd miss half the fun...

It's your patriotic duty to buy rifles made in the USA since it supports national economy. Give yer head a shake.

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.

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...

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...

Before you divorce yourself from your harem of rifles, go see a counselor. There may still be hope for you.

If my hunting rifle was just a "tool" to use each fall, then yes one would be plenty.
But I enjoy shooting all year long and I shoot several different matches at the local club each month. So,more rifles are required.

I also like to see for myself the pros and cons of numerous hunting calibers.
That's why I like the Savage rifles, a new barrel and a set of dies and I have a new project to wring out.
Sometimes I just find a deal that I can't pass up!
All the "Ballistic Research" involved is hard work but I'll do my best!
I'm not a Wacko, just a little Loony.

The rifles become a hobby all their own.....but that doesn't mean you can't be rationale about it.....

3or 4 270's...a couple of 7 mags thrown in "just in case",a 243 or 250 AI "for those times you hunt girl deer or antelope",a 300 and 338 because the other stuff is too small for elk


....and of course a 257 Bee AND a 264 because they are ...soo ..........different ya know.

A 223AI because you need nothing bigger for deer,and a 416 something in case of Africa.

Don't forget the 30/06 which will gather dust in the back of the safe,because everyone has to have one...

And a 7/08 AND a 280AI just to piss the 270 guys off......I don't understand what's so irrational about any of this stuff....

There is no doubt that a good 270 or a 30-06 class rifle would do fine for any of us in N America, and I have had the same thought over the years. However it has recently dawned in me that thinking about rifles etc have carried me along thru many moments of worry and frustration at work etc. thru my life. So as an escape they have been very useful for me and really I doubt I have ever really lost much $$ trading around in rifles. I have thought well maybe I should have spent some of that $$ on hunting trip out west but the reality is with only a couple of weeks of vacation each year I would rather have spent them with my family so that would have never worked. Maybe when I retire I'll start trading off my guns and start financing a few trips here and there.

bob you about nailed me right on the head with those listed caliber's, but missed a few more !

Thinning my herd. Selling them is like pulling my own teeth. Their are a few that will be handed down to the kids. I'm gonna have a few more low dollar customs put together for Whitetail/Elk/Muley/Antelope/Black Bear, etc.

Redneck is almost finished with my semi-custom .308 win..... I have a custom 7 Rem Mag and 30-06. I've got most of the parts for a light wt .270 win, and a sporter wt 338 win mag and I'm done. I'll keep a back up rifle in a few calibers that will shoot the same load accurately. My .222 Rem will also stay with me til they pitch dirt over me.

That will put me at about 10 rifles for keepers. Several of them I hate to see go, but I'll be happy with my new builds. If I get unhappy I'll re-bbl to something else.

I could keep two .270's and be fully satisfied, but I'm not ready to do that yet.

..........That would kinda be like chopping off one nut..........

Life is good

The better question here may be: Does rifle lunacy wear off with age??? Is this something we all have to look forward to .

My dad figured it out in 1955 and I finally realized that his rifle, which is now mine, will just flat "get er done".

Had the same debate lately. I actually only think that I have too many big game gunss. Tags out west are so scare anymore, that I don't have the opportuniy to hunt with most of my guns. They only get range time, but that doesn't scratch the itch. I currently have a 243, 6.5x55, 280AI, 300 Sav, and a 338 Win. I came to the realization this year, that keeping just the 243 and 338 would cover anything I ever get to hunt anymore.

This thread just opened a whole new can of worms for me. S#!T!

Maybe he has been seeing a counsler: Who else would be puting these wicked thoughts into his head!!!!

Actually, everyone should have at least two comparable rifles. Just in case you fall on one etc during a hunt, you have a backup. It has happened to me before...

I don't. I would prefer 3. A .223, 30-06 and a 338.
I only have a couple of rifles I use much, an '06 and a .338.

I like using the other one as a backup depending on what I feel like carrying.

I have other rifles I fool with but don't spend a bunch on them. In my case I always wanted certain rifles when I was a kid and I bought some just to play with. They are mostly Mausers FWIW. The 250-3000, .243, 35 Whelen and .308 Norma come to mind.

Sicko

For several years I've been considering a .223, a .30-06, and a .375H&H. Along with my 870 pump and my Remington .22, I'd be good for anything.

OA,
Do what you already typed and don't read anything else here! It will screw you up and make you a candidate for loonyism. Quit while you are ahead!

Sure, incourage the boys lunacy! It's like...like..driving everywhere in one gear or something!

I am 42 and have 26 right now. I am sure that that is far behind many. That means I have to work on getting at least two per year till I get caught up. I really believe that you shouldn't sell a gun either trade up or give them to somebody who would really appreciate them.

I am slowing down a bit but I still need to get busy on mausers.
I only have three.

Sincerely,
Thomas

Its funny because I am a click over 40 and have been thinking the same thing. This year I had 5 rifles ready to go, a 243, 270, 7mm-08, 30-30 and 338-06, every day I hunted it was with the 7mm-08. I agree you always need a backup and that would be my 30-30, a rifle I will always keep for sentimental reasons. I actually laid out all the guns today and began thinking about selling many off to keep one or two or build a one gun type rifle for the vast majority of my hunting..but here is the problem, i've been a looney since I was 12 yrs old and enjoy shooting rifles too much, problem is I don't get the time anymore with two young boys involved in sports year round.

I have friends that are loonies like me and friends who have a 270, 308 or 30-06 as their only rifle but kill deer every year.

What's the right answer, I dont know, everyone has to choose for themselves

Whoa, who'd thought this thread would lead to MORE rifles for me?

can you say .50 bmg barrett !

OK, let me add a little to my previous post, When I go bush I have at least 4 rifles & 2 shotguns with me but the truth is I just don't get time to use them all. My hunting trips just aren't long enough, My business is as a retailer and I work stupid hours. The last 2 trips away were washed out and I didn't get to fire a single shot in anger, in fact in just testing I managed to shoot the farmers fence (wire) twice! - not best pleased as you can imagine. While I enjoy whiling away the hours planning something new / different especially on long drives I just can't see getting to use them any time soon. So for the time being I think I'll go into a holding pattern for the moment and spend some dollars on a guided hunt in Northern Australia where the pigs are plentiful, the company is great and the beer is cold. As an aside I find it frustrating to create something new and then struggle to get the time to use it. There is a matter of our gun ownership laws here is Australia... They are quite strict and owning a lot of guns is difficult, so there is a degree of introspection about just filling up your gun safe

A friend DOWN UNDER

Posted in a mechanics forum:

I'm 25, and started fixing N.Am big trucks about 5 years ago. Found a used older Crescent 12 inch adjustable wrench. Oiled it with a drop of 10W-30 and hit the garage. Brought home a lot of money with that wrench. Since then it sits in a fancy stainless steel 25 drawer tool chest, but its still the same ol wrench.

Maybe its taken me these 5 years to realize it, but had I never dropped another dime on wrench and sockets, and still only had that 12 inch Crescent, I still would have tightened as many bolts, and maybe more. Wouldn't have spent so much time thinking about sockets and end wrenches. Instead - more time under the hood tightening, loosening, and knuckle busting.

Am I the only one who has come to this conclusion? Is this a passing fad? Part of me wants to sell all my wrenches except that one Crescent, use the money to buy some good hand cleaner, go forth, and fix trucks.

My opinion is that if you don't hunt in Alaska for the big stuff, the .270 is about as good as you can do for one rifle for North America. If you are hunting AK, then the .300WBY will take anything from fox/bobcats to AK brown bear/moose. Good luck.

I'm in a mode where I'm not adding guns, but rather thinning and refining what I have towards some sort of mythical perfection. My battery of hunting rifles is essentially four rifles. One, a .358 M7, was built for very specific conditions and it delivers big time so it's sacred. My '06 killed my first deer and is on it's 2nd tube, and is about the perfect all-arounder and so it's also essentially sacred.

Then I have two dedicated elk hammers, which is one too many for a poor man <grin> so in the spirit of refinement towards an ideal without adding guns, I'm rebarreling one of them to a flat-shooting fast 7mm.

With those four rifles I can hunt anything i want to hunt, and take an excellent backup too.

Then of course an AR15 or the like. That should be a given for any patriotic American.

Then I have a few more rifles that are much harder to justify.... hobby guns I guess.

For me part of paring down and refining is simple, my discretionary income has been hammered these last few years. But I think even if I had a fat checking account right now I'd still be inclined to refine what I have. I don't want guns around that don't work right, so buying a new one is like getting a dog... not to be done casually. It opens vast expanses of expense and obsession getting it set up just right, shooting well, scoped properly, etc.

Then again I'm probably full of [bleep], and would be buying new guns like a nut if I had the scratch.......... Lol

Even at 56, every so often I get to thinking I really need me one of those wonderful lightweight and slick Sako A7s or Tikka T3s, ideally in .270 WSM.

Then hunting season comes along, first elk, then on to muleys, and finish with whitetails...

And I head out the door for all of 'em with my (somewhat moderately customized) Vanguard .300 WM, whereupon it does everything I ask of it...and does it very well! Shoots half inch groups at the range, never misses picking up the next cartridge from the magazine, and hasn't cost me a penny in repairs due to quality/failure issues over the dozen or so years/seasons I've had it.

Yeah, I replaced the wood stock with a synthetic...because I just like 'em better. I had the trigger tuned, that's just standard procedure with most rifles. And I had it reblued 'cause the original finish was starting to look a tad faded from use...but mostly 'cause I prefer a good lookin' gun when I go out in public.

And when season's finally over...as it was yesterday...and I'm doing an end of season clean up on it, I'm forced to conclude that there's no REAL reason on earth to buy another rifle, as this puppy is doin' it all just about as good as it ever needs to get.

I think the problem is mostly that it tends to be far tooooooo long between huntin' seasons, you know! Way too much down time to start dreamin' up stuff, eh?

Splatter: You ain't alone.....

atta boy !

I have rid myself of all but my 7x57 Brno.....works for me.

Ayup!

My gun buying and trading is as much fun as hunting itself. I like to try different bullet and calibers. That said until this year I mostly big game hunted with one rifle the last ten years.

If your gun buying is getting in the way of buying good glass or tags then you need to find out whats important to you. I have good glass and money for my tags so I have nothing else to do in the off season but to try new guns/calibers.

I have said this before but you show me a guy with only one rifle and most of the times I will show you a very bad shot. The guys I know that only own one rifle shoot it about three times a year at a paper plate at 100 yards.

I too thin the herd on occassion to make more room for other guns. I now have a rule that if I buy a new gun I have to sell a gun. It helps keep the number of guns down to a reasonable number.

Dink

Supprot the US economy.
We don't make many things here anymore, but we do make guns,ammo, scopes and such.
Think of the jobs you'll help save.

To each his own wants. I enjoy thinking about guns, particularly rifles, quite a bit. While I go hunting a few times a week and could do most of it with one rifle I know thats not enough for me.

I go around to gun shops every week and look at the guns.

What interests me are the nicer guns. I had the less expensive guns. Some day I may not be able to hunt or want to. My freezer is full now. In about an hour I am going hunting though. I will bring the new 7mm WSM and another rifle. It's sunny out so it will be a fine rifle.

This is an example of what I think about.

Bought a 7mm RM in 1982. It was my only big game bolt gun for 20+ years. Lots of other choices now, but what can I do now that I couldn't do as well with the 7mm RM?

Nothing.


But that isn't the point of having the others...

Could have bought a number of quality used rifles and even some new ones for what I spent on my last (and also my first) custom, an Interarms Mark X 6.5-06AI. Swore I wouldn't do that again.

This time it's a stainless Ruger MKII long action, magnum bolt face, chambered for a cartridge that uses the .375 Ruger case as a starting point - caliber to be decided, but something I really "need" to fill a �gap�. What will I be able to do once I get it completed that I couldn't do now?

Nothing...

There are only a couple I could sell without trepidatio simply because of the associated memories. I have only hunted them a couple times.

Some have been promised to my kids because their memories have prompted them to ask for them, some are family heirlooms. Perhaps when I cannot shoot any longer, the remaining will be sold so that Grandma and Grandpa can do something nice with the family.

In the meantime my loonyism brings much joy and hours of reflective thinking.

A couple of weeks ago I took the whole lot out to clean up and check for any possibility of corrosion. Always a problem in the mid atlantic this close to the bay. Mostly, just to relive memories, work actions, and look at the wood and finishes. Thought for a moment about thinning them out to make the "ultimate", but just as quickly seemed to come up for a reason that each one had to stay. About that time my son came down to the room and he began to look at each of them and asked who made them, what I had shot with them, and wanted to work the actions, look at the wood and finishes. See, it IS in our DNA. We cannot help it. Maybe it is about time to build him his first rifle? Now what caliber....stock....scope.....

Below is all I need to hunt anything in North America..

The .375 H&H isn't really necessary, even for the big stuff that bites, but I've owned .375's for so long I couldn't imagine being without one..

The folks citing "Dad & Grandpa" are right, of course. In my case, 'twas Dad, Grandpa, & Great Grandpa, all with the same 7x57.

FC

I've been pondering this same dilemma for a couple of years now and I might try to get it down to 3 rifles that will do anything I need to do now and in the future.

I'd take three actions I like and start from scratch. Get the actions worked, new tube, McMillans, high end trigger, Tally's or similar. I already have good glass so I'm good there.

Sell everything else to accomplish this goal and go from there.

I can still reload and shoot plenty and toss in 20ga slug gun and good .22lr and live happily ever after.

NOW, as long as I can keep my azz out of the classified section, all will be golden! Someone right now has a killer Rem Classic in .300 savage listed and it's messing with my brain!

CLB

I am in the same boat with others here and am slowly thinning the herd. I came to the conclusion a few weeks ago that I will never leave WI to hunt. Although I would like to head south and go pig hunting and I would like to go to AntiCosti Island just once. Based on what I do, I could be just fine with a 243 and plain old 100g Remmy Core-Lokts. I love my Roberts, but I don't hand-load, so 243 ammo would be much easier to find in the middle of nowhere. I just don't have a need for alot of rifles. I used to have a bunch, but most of that was because I believed what the writers said about needing a rifle for this, that, and everything else. It was to the point that I didn't shoot alot and I had a bunch of rifles that would need to be sighted in when season came around. Once the season was here, I'd be switching guns all the time. It turned into one big hassle carrying so many around. Now when I hunt I grab for either my 257 Roberts or my 35 Remington, both chambered in Remington 7600's. The 35 is a carbine though. I know a ton of people that shoot 243's for deer, for most it is their only rifle, and none complain about loosing deer, so that is what my decision is based on.

Dale

Hey
I finally got in to my original account

Randy

I believe I will put a gun in the classifieds tonight...

Dude, guns are a hobby. Get yourself a nice club or rock or something, but don't go public with this kind of rational thought, it's dangerous for the rest of us lol!!

Love your sig line, Dave. A lot of people think theirs don't stink.

The "I just want 1 big game rifle for N.Am. you came to the wrong place my friend!

"I just want 1 big game rifle for N.Am"

We all probably seek this Holly Grail, but for most, this quest ends up being a moving goal post with us leaving a carnage of rifles in our wake.

Best:)

Well said, GaryVA!

Thanks for this story fyshbum. Reminded me about where I got the rifle bug from, and my Ol' Gramps that came before him... OT

what are you guys going to be selling? i might be buying

Ruger 30 stainless wood for Canada only.

Agreed...

99% of my hunting has been in SD or MN and the vast majority of that anymore is with a bow, but I have enough deer rifles to pick a different each day for a couple weeks. Are they needed, NO... But there's always the dilemma on which one to take along?

Going on my first guided hunt this coming spring, Black Bears in B.C., maybe a wolf and the possibility of a grizzly? Have a .338 I'll bring, but I'm debating about what else to bring? Thinking about also bringing my bow?

What was the point of the post again?

There is something to be said for one wicked accurate shoot anything and everything rifle. You'll get really good with it. I'm using the same .270 that I use to shoot marmots out past 700 yards for elk. I sold 4 guns last winter to fund another Cooper and this is what I got. It has beautiful upgraded AAA+ Claro walnut, inlayed swivels, checkered bolt, deep, rich blueing. It's the rifle I've dreamed of since I was a kid. I love a beautiful rifle that shoots sub 1/2 MOA. For months I was as happy as a man could be who now owns the perfect rifle, but just this week I read Cooper is going to come out with a model 56 chambered in magnum calibers. Crap, just when I thought I had found rifle happiness and gotten over an 18 year magnum habit. I NEED one of those! Yes! Oh God HELP ME! Rifle madness has come upon me again! I NEED another Cooper, a .338, or maybe it will be a 7 mag either way it has to be a Excalibur because my other 3 are custom and western classics. Oh, Oh, and I NEED a NULA, a .243 because I sold my Kimber to buy the last Cooper... I'm sick I tell you! I can't help myself, and I don't seem to be outgrowing it. I'm 51 years old for heavens sake! I need help, but... that would cost... about what it would take to buy another rifle... ya that's what I need... another rifle... I swear... this will be the last one....

Beware the man who only has one rifle - he probably knows how to use it.

I found a way to have my cake and eat it too on this one. It's called a Blaser R93.

Whether I'm shooting .22LR, .270 Win, .338 WM, or .416, I have the same stock fit, same trigger, same action feel, same scope height. As many specialized calibers as I want, but always the same familiar rifle.

Good advice and very true.....

For anything less than dangerous game I prefer to use the same rifle, cartridge and load for everything..

That would be my old Win M70 30-06 with 180 GR Nosler Partitions.

Might be 'too much' for smaller varmints, and some might consider it a little 'too light' for game such as large moose, but within realistic ranges it will do the job on just about anything.

When you use the same rifle and load for everything you learn it's trajectory and wind drift under various conditions and ranges without having to memorize trajectory figures for different cartridges and loads.

I have never found this to be true. Most of the guys I know with only one rifle shoot very bad and shoot thier deer rifles 3 or 4 shots per year.

Dink

Interesting how many people like the Blaser, a funny looking rifle with interchangeable barrels, and how many don't like the Encore, a funny looking rifle with interchangeable barrels.

Bruce

The Blaser looks like a real rifle, the Encore is just ugly.

I was (and still am) a certified rifle looney. Have a couple of problems though. One is that I'm a southpaw, so there's not a lot out there to choose from. Over the course of about 15 years I went through a lot of rifle trading. Ended up with a very, very nice collection of factory lefthand rifles.

One day, I woke up and decided that I would sell off all the rifles in my collection that had no sentimental value (save 2).

I sold several Remington's 700's, Winchesters 70's, Ruger 77's, and Savage's.

My plan was to take the money from my sales and fund a custom rifle (which would become my goto whitetail rifle) and a nice sxs shotgun.

I ended up with a NULA in 260 Remington and a Weatherby Athena 20 ga.

Problem is, I've now decided that I'll hunt with the NULA and use the two rifles I didn't sell (A Tikka T3 in 270 and a Ruger 77 in 30-06) as needed....PLUS (here's the kicker) I've started collecting Ruger #1's, 16 ga. shotguns, and sxs shotguns....LOLOL

I can't win for losing!

It is indeed an affliction: this rifle looney thing.

Treat it for what it is, have a gun that is your "goto" gun and partake in the insanity....LOL

Ken

and kill 4-5 deer with those 3-4 shots.....

IME two kinds of people own and shoot one rifle....the weekend warrior types who leave the rifle in the corner of the closet until 5 hours before opening day for a "range check" for zero(no spotting scope,no rests,mixed lots of different factory ammo,you get the picture.....)

OR, wily old veterans who have been through the mill, have hunted widely,know rifles and know precisely what they are doing with it.

They have long since shaken the loonyism, stopped "guessing" about what a 260 does that a 7/08 doesn't;know the capabilities of their rifle and its' load intimately......these guys no longer ask silly questions like....."which is better, the 270 or the 280?",............or give an indifferent shrug and politely change the subject......they know such questions come from rookies.....

I have known a few people of great experience who drained down to one rifle(or maybe one spare in the same caliber).

They were outstanding field shots,and simply did not miss on any hunt I watched them go on.....stuff from Maine whitetails to grizzly and moose fell to the same 270 or 30/06 or 7 Rem Mag,etc....toss in sheep, caribou,elk, mule deer, etc.....and a pile of African plains game from eland on down as well.....


They learned a long time ago that the secret to success is in good shooting with great bullets,and not in a bunch of paper bullistic tables,minor differences in bore,diameter,energy quotients,wind drift tables,and TKO formulae...their eyes glaze over when confronted with such stuff.....they don't have to look at bullistic tables because they already "know" what the rifle will do.....and when some savant comes at them in a lather, telling them that a 300RUM is meant for "extra insurance" with sloppy and indifferent hits,and their 30/06 or 7x57 is an inadequate elk rifle,meant just for deer,they just go hunting....laffin'

That is the logical thing to do. That said a lot of us suffer from a severe case of RADD

Rifle Addiction Deficit Disorder

Thus we keep on buying!

I have only hunted NA...my pre-64 270 has accounted for 19 of NA 29 species and with my pre-64 M70 in 30-06 I have taken 26 of NA 29 species...but for the big bears I opt for my 375 H&H...

Having just one rifle I think is not a good idea. What happens if you break one during the hunting season ? Or if it malfunctions ? I'd do at least two in similar, but not necessarily the same chamberings. E

A thought provoking post. I'd like to have a second rifle as a back-up in the same caliber and brand as my primary hunting rifle.

Then instead of buying different rifles in different calibers, I'd rather spend the money and get into reloading.

After hanging our here for awhile I thought everyone reloaded and I was quite surprised to learn that many of the hunters I've talked to in my neck of the woods don't reload!!!

2 rifles in the same chambering is sensible, to the point where I have often considered it. My thoughts were an identical pair only 1 is Blue and Walnut andh the other SS and plastic. The weather forcast or locality being the deciding factor.

Re: Handloading, it is another hobby that enables you to learn more about your cartridge choices and be able to make subtle changes where advantageous, such as moving to a premium bullet when you know you already have enough power for the task.

JW

Don't you know, you can't kill a whitetailed deer in Texas with a 270! Come on man, what are you thinking?

AussieGunWriter,

There's also another factor when considering limiting the number of rifles/firearms purchase. With few rifles, I'd be able to buy better quality vs quantity. For example, I know alot of guys with several dozen rifles but they all wear cheap tasco scopes.

Me, I'd rather put my few rifles in mcmillan stocks and leupold scopes, and get other quality gear. Rather limited options and not as much fun.

Unfortunately, I'm learning this via the divorce factor

Divorce is very educational. You will become more pleased at your progress continues.

JW

You know,some men aren't satisfied with one woman,so they get a girlfriend on the side or constantly spend their money on whores.Some guys aren't satisfied with just one particular brand of whiskey sitting under the sink to tap every now and then,so they stock a big liquor cabinet.Some folks go to the same old vacation spot year after year,and others travel the world hopping place to place.More than one rifle,pistol,shotgun is right in there with everything else.Its not that people NEED,its that they want.Nothing wrong with that as long as those bills are paid and BABY has a new pair of shoes.I always figured I could be like a lot of guys that laid up drunk and doped up,too sorry to work and pay bills,while at the same time they're running down every whore they can.So what if I got a variety of guns,I never came down with dose from a good Pre-64 Winchester.

Fotis: RADD is a disorder that comes and goes,peaks and wanes.....there is no doubt it exists because buying rifles is a fun thing to do!