Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Anybody hunted primarily with one rifle their entire life?

Just thinking that a Mauser or Win 70 based rifle, almost a century ago was built to last. As most people had no money for a "battery" of rifles.. and just made due with what they had.

Who here has hunted primarily with one hunting rifle their entire life?

Not me, sometimes I hunt with different rifles on the same day.

My hunting uncle used 2 rifles in the 60+/- years that he hunted deer in New England, a Remington 81 in 32 Rem and a Remington 740 in 30-06.

Certainly not me. But Ive had this discussion with a couple good gunsmiths I know. Our consensus was if there was only one rifle to be hunted with, it would be on a 98 action.....

I don't fit the description either. I'm a bit of an experimenter, so to speak. Like 260Remguy, I'm liable to change rifles on the same day.

I can respect someone who runs one rifle for all his hunting needs, and I know a guy who fits that description. He runs a Ruger Tang Safety 77, chambered in 270 WCF. Shoots nothing but 130 grain Corelokts and keeps his freezer filled.

It suits him, I guess.

I certainly have not.. I have used my old .300 most, but others have seen plenty of action too.. My best childhood pal bought a custom F.N. in .300 Wea.. That has been his rifle all of his life.. He has a few others, but they have seen little use..

Yep. The old saw about "the man with one gun" might be true, I know one and he IS good with his Ruger .30-06

But a man with one gun is boring.....

A Rem. 788 in 308 from my first deer hunt to my last. 32 years. Did shoot one deer with an '06 and two with a .358 during that time but the 788 was always near by.

Not my entire life but most of my big game hunting.

Got my first centerfire in 1982, a Ruger M77 in 7mm RM. For 20+ years it was my only bolt action big game legal rifle.

Although I've hunted with various leverguns and bolt rifles since 2002, the 7mm RM has still been in the field quite a bit since then.

i think the truth behind the old adage about the man with one gun is more often than not false in today's day and age. Everybody I know with 1 gun only has 1 gun because they are 1. Not into guns. 2. Don't shoot much 3. There ARE exceptions of course.

Back in the depression era things were probably different. My grandfather was as avid hunter having lived in Alaska for 20+ years prior to and during WW2. He had 1 rifle...a Winchster 70 in 30-06 and took everything from Walrus to Brown Bears with it. Oddly he had no attachment to it and traded it in towards a Winchester 100 in the 80s. Stupid auto loader NEVER worked...still doesn't

I used a model 70 push feed 06 for about 30 years. Once I stated reading this site I got warped and now I own too many guns.

Lol...warped. I wish I could get by with only 1 gun!

Rem 700 BDL / 30-06 for 30+ years

My dad has used a Remington 700 in 25-06 for the last 40 years across multiple states, and for all sorts of different game. At this point all he shoots is the 100gr NBT, and he's more than content.

Not me, but I know a guy who has used the same L579 Sako .308 for around 50 years. He's still using it.

Not including rimfires, I hunted with a Remington 700 ADL in 270Win with a Redfield Widefield for the first 15 years of my hunting career. But now I have more rifles than I can keep track of. My son continues killing chit with the old ADL, just as it was when I hunted it.

I'm not sure about one gun, but aside from rimfires, I do have it narrowed down to one cartridge - 7x57. I wish I could blame Ingwe for that, but I had an uncle who built both an 8x57 and 7x57 on M98 actions way back in the early 70s. I was hooked on the lighter cartridge from that point forward. It just took 30 years to clear enough of "life" to get on with using it.

But Ingwe is definitely an enabler.

Not me this year it was a 257 Bob for the timber and 280AI when I hunted the pasture.

From my first big game hunt in 1969, to about 2002 when my Dad had to stop hunting and gave me his 1966 M70 in 30-06, my only big game rifle was an H & R 300 Ultra Rifle in 270Win. The H&R was based on a Belgium FN Mauser Supreme action, Douglas barrel and Fajen stock.

With a good bullet, Nosler Partition in the early years and Barnes X,XLC or TSX since 1992, it's killed a lot of big game without any drama.

Those are still my only big game rifles. Now, if you want to talk varmint rifles...

not one RIFLE but almost all with one cartridge. 243

Since my reintroduction to hunting, I have effectively become a one rifle hunter for the last ~6 years. Not because I feel it's necessary, or I wouldn't enjoy more rifles, rather because every time I try to decide what else to get I realize I prefer the one I have. It's a Kimber 84M. I do change bullets!