I got over my displeasure with Mule Deer over the lack of reloading data in Rifle or Handloader in his article on the 6mm Lee Navy after I bought his Gun Gack book and found the info in there. Once that was settled, I enjoyed the other articles for the most part.
What is now twisting my tail are Mule Deer's glowing accounts of the 204 Ruger. I have no need or use for one as prairie dogs are pretty rare in MN and what ground squirrels can be found are readily handled with a 22 LR or a 17 HMR if one wants to be different.My main use outside deer hunting is informal targets and coyote which I am fairly well covered with 22 High Power, 223, 219 Zipper, 22/250, 250 Savage, and 6mm Rem.Years back I had a 17 Remington which I thought great for fox but the rare coyote seen back then proved to be a bit larger than that cartridge could reliably handle. A heavier bullet and/or different construction would have probably done wonders but due to those experiences I am hesitant using something smaller than 22 caliber on coyotes. I also do not need to add another caliber to the hoarde as I have more than enough dies on the shelf. It's somewhere north of 40 if I remember correctly, and I am trying to slim down the number so I can at least fit all of them into a safe rather than in odd corners.
But the articles were intriguing enough that a pair of Savage rifles on the used rack of a local store has caught my eye. Every time I go in I am drawn to them and it is becoming harder and harder to leave one there. They have been sitting on the shelf long enough that the manager is likely to drop a few bucks off what I think is a reasonable price of $300 each. They are nothing special, both are blue/synthetic but unknown whether standard or Accu-trigger as I am afraid to hold one long enough to have the trigger lock removed for ear of buying it.
My biggest question is: If I should succumb to the impulse to buy one of these guns, should I go with the Model 25 or the Model 11? Both appear to be fired very little and I would not be surprised if they had not been fired at all.I am familiar with the 110/10 series as I have or have owned several of these models but the 25 is something I have familiarity with. I don't know if it is an Axis/Edge wannabe or something better/worse. Both have bases and rings with the 11 having a cheap 3-9x Simmons scope which would end up on some trade gun if someone insisted on having a scope included. Both have an asking price of $290 but as mentioned, they have been around a while and I should be able to get a few bucks marked off.
Any suggestions or opinions on the pros and cons of the two models would be greatly appreciated (not really if I were not falling into the looney bin) in the event one of the rifles were to latch onto my arm and not let go. Also, any experiences on largish coyotes (35+ pounds) would be helpful.I suspect the heaviest bullets would be best as I prefer 55 gr for the most part in the 22s.
