Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Seriously considering getting down to one centerfire.

I took a different approach to “ thinning the herd” of firearms. I eliminated “calibers.”

Sold off : .257 ( 250 Savage and 257 Roberts), 270 Win ( 1953 Win m70), 7mm ( two 7x57 rifles), .358 rifle ( 358 Win Miroko BLR , Marlin 35 Rem (2)),, 9.3 ( CZ 550 9.3x62), 22 mag Marlin 783., and most 20 gauge shotguns.

Kept: rifles: 308 cal ( 308 Win, 30-06, 30-30: Marlin 336a 1976 vintage- my first centerfire,
; and a JCHiggins m50 FN m98 30-06, howa 1500/ sw1500 308 bolt), a 222 Rem, , 44 mag Marlin 1894, 45-70 Marlin 1895/ Ballard ( but sold a W&H 45-70 Buffalo classic, Browning Bpcr 45-70 and 40-65), sold off 30-06 Garland and 308 Win Springfield Armory NM M1a).

Shotguns : kept 12 g Rem 870 , 2, ; and 12 ga Mossberg 500;
Sold ( Browning Citori 20 and 12 gauges, 3 combined, Marlin m55 Goose gun in 12 and 20 ga)

Pistols : Selling off my 357 mags ( S&W 586, 686 - all “dash 4” or lower, 3 Security Sixes), will be selling 2 S&W k38/m14 6” 38 specials. Will keep a Ruger GP100 4” stainless- for now. Will sell a couple of 22 LR semi-auto target pistols SW 41, Hammerli/Sig Trailside). Keeping a 44 mag SW 629-3, will likely sell Ruge Flattop Bisley 44 special. Keeping two Springfield Armory 1911 45acp ( range officer and milspec)).

Rimfire rifles: keeping a handful of them to play with for now, but sold off several in last decade.

Sold a couple Flintlock rifles- will keep 1 to compete in local matches/ hunt. ( .50 cal Yorktown fainter by Brad Emig).

Just not shooting firearms/ hunting much. Was shooting Traditional recurve/ longbow 3D competition pretty seriously for last 5 years, until I torn my rotator cuff/ supraspinatus at the Maine 3D Trad Championship this past fall ( won it), but had shoulder surgery 2 weeks ago.

All that being written, I did purchase a couple of firearms this past year: used Win m70 FN/Baco 30-06 featherweight and an anib Win m70 FN/BACO 30-06 sporter- just because the seller offered them to me for a “can’t refuse price”- and they are AMAZINGLY well-made rifles; also picked up a hardly-used, dirt-cheap 10 year old Mossberg 500 20 gauge as an “ utility gun”. Love that tang safety, and it points great for me. A high-value shotgun and design for sure.

So, I will keep thinning the herd, by caliber first, then by desire for what to keep within each caliber group, but in no hurry. I enjoy oiling them.

Someone in the Winchester collectors section wrote something like “ I get more fun oiling in my guns, than compared to just looking at the balance in my bank account making no return if I sold them/never bought them. “. There’s something to that statement I agree with.