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Normally, about this time of year I used to start waiting for the catalogs to arrive. I don't get that many catalogs anymore, and there is not much in the ones I do get that I want or need.

Normally, about June my eye would drift to that bare spot in the gun rack and I would comment to myself that this that or the other thing needed to be acquired prior to deer season. Maybe you couldn't see the gap, but I could.

Now that all the major manufacturers have their catalogs online, there's no great thrill when one arrives in the mail. Now that I have acquired what I have sworn to bemy last 30-06, some of the thrill is gone. There just is not a reason to be getting all worked up. Maybe hormones would work; I've already tried vitamins, and they had no effect except changing the color of my urine.

So here I go into my 60th year seriously wondering what I need to acquire next.

The Ruger Hawkeye in 2014 really put me in a bind. By this past year's Opener, I had realized I was holding the one rifle that really and truly satisfied my deer rifle lust. I've now lobbed .25 to .35 cal at Whitetails with several stops on the way over 4 decades. This 30-06 has killed them as dead as I could ever want. There will be other rifles and other chamberings, but there probably won't be better in my life. The one animal on my bucket list that might require something more is a Moose, and I probably won't try for one of those for another 4 years. I say that knowing that the 35 Whelen and the 30-06 would both to a great job-- who am I kidding. See? I can't even fake it anymore.

I am slowly acquiring a large collection of 308 WIN brass. However, I have only one rifle in that chambering and it does me well enough. My Opening Day goto rifle is a Savage 99. However, I have far more brass than I ever will need. Perhaps a 308 WIN bolt action, but why a 308 when I already have a 30-06? Why buy a rifle to fit brass? See? I'm starting to ask questions. Something is wrong/

I could go big. I have thought about a bunch of options. A nice 44 Mag carbine would be nice. So would something bigger. I have toyed with the idea of acquiring a 45-70, but why should I go to all that work to lob something so big at a whitetail when the current complement does such a good job with far less lead involved? I have even downsized my 35 Whelen it now shoots cast lead 200 grainers.

Guys, I know what the problem is; I'm probably not a complete rifle looney. If I was, then I would not be asking these existential questions. If I was a true armed loon, I would be satisfied that the act of acquisition alone was sufficient reason. I need help.

Case in point: I was at my LGS on Sunday. It was my first trip in since March. I went to be tempted, but stock was low and there was nothing their that could raise my blood pressure. I did spy a sporterized Swedish Mauser that had been sitting since March with a $500 price tag. I thought about asking if they'd take $450 for it, and I'm pretty sure they would. I held back, however. New dies? New bullets? I'd better take the temperature on brass availability before committing. I walked out with my hands empty. A decade ago, I would have been perseverating for a week and then kicking myself when it got sold. Now? I didn't even lose sleep. I did something similar with a 7X57 Mauser last summer.

Something must be wrong.


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Nothing wrong. We tend to get wiser as we grow older.

As for catalogs, the only one I miss from the Olden Days is the Herter's catalog. As for the rest, I'm glad they stopped clogging my life.

The one caliber I recommend for an old fart with an itch to scratch is the .22 Hornet. Good therapy lies in that little case.


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I used to love the Herter's catalog. I also enjoyed Cabelas in the 80's before they whacked their SKU's down to the bare minimum. I also dug Gander Mountain back in the mid-90's before they went bust.

.22 Hornet? I've thought of that at times, but I look at my mountains of 223 brass and think: .223+Unique+ cast lead might be a good first step.


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Could be there's a lot of exploration with reduced loads waiting for you in a lot of stuff you already own. Opens up new vistas and makes old humdrum stuff you're tired of exciting all over again!


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I'm with you!
I've bought and sold probably 100 guns through the years....I turned 60 in March.
I still absolutely love side by side shotguns, rifles, and to a lesser extent handguns.
I mostly bought rifles for the chambering. Reloading has been a great joy for me and my hunger for wanting to "test" various cartridges I've read about, kept my safe as full as my pocketbook would allow.
There are still many rifles I long for just cause....I never owned/shot a Savage 99 for example....I know right!
But, thinking about retirement, probably moving somewhere where I CANNOT shoot in my backyard, as I do now, and eventually (long time I hope) dying, I step back and realize I have enough right now to test and last me the rest of my life, even after I sell off some, which I am planning on. For hunting, I could keep one of my three 30/06's and it would serve me well for any of my future hunts.
My son will gladly take whatever I have left, when I kick the bucket, but just won't appreciate the history and reloading aspect like I do.
I agree a 22 Hornet is good for the sole....sold mine, but kept the 218Bee smile
I still peruse gun shows and gunbroker, guns international, but keep reminding myself of what I actually own and can still play with, hunt with.
It's hell getting old (speaking for myself) and suddenly thinking I need to stop accumulating "stuff" and start thinning things out.
Maybe I'll change my mind, but for now thats my thoughts.
I'm still a rifle looney!

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Y'all bring me to a question:

What does 22 Hornet do that 22 Rem can't?

The reason I ask this is I've got a tack-driving 223 Rem Ruger American Predator that the gentle readers of this section of the Campfire put me onto a little more than a year ago. I've really enjoyed myself with it.

I've got 22 LR's and 223 Rems. Is there really any meaningful gap in function?


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It's hard to verbalize. I've owned about half of the .22CF's under the sun, or so it seems, and I keep coming back to the Hornet. Were it me, I would try a Hornet and see for myself- the frugality of the round and its quietness while filling the niche between .22RF and .223 are but a couple reasons. That is admittedly a moot point if one has the capability to download the .223 to Hornet levels of course.

I no longer feel the need to whack varmints at 2-400 yards. The occasional groundhog in the middle of a pasture is fair game for the Hornet, but truth be told mine gets more of a workout in the squirrel woods than anywhere else. With cast bullets at 1800-1900 fps or so it extends my range on squirrels farther than I'm comfy doing with a .22LR.

Going smaller is one way for an older guy (who is experiencing some angst about where his looniness should lead) to assuage his newfound good sense and feed his quest for something new at the same time. (Spoken as a 64 year old who is going through much the same introspection. smile )


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We get old too soon and smart too late. grin

At 76 , I no longer drool over the new catalogs . I still have my 1958 Herters catalog, peruse it maybe once a year or so just for fun.

I have been messing with .22 Hornet for many years, one of my favorites, I have plenty of other centerfire .22' s but always seem to grab the Hornet first, something about an almost 100 year old cartridge still scoring the prairie dogs that make it fun for me. Lil Gun powder was the best thing ever to happen to the Hornet, try it and you'll throw rocks at all other powders.


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Originally Posted by jnyork
We get old too soon and smart too late. grin

At 76 ...


I like at...


Jerry


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Some of you boys are overthinking this stuff too much.

At the reload bench, I can make a lot of different calibers fill a lot of different 'gaps' I might perceive,
when in reality, its all in our heads

I think most of the guys on the Campfire have too many guns and not enough opportunity to use them
all.

The one exception is Gee Dubya... Glenn is one of the few guys on the planet, that I know who has
way many guns yet has the opportunities to use them all on a regular basis out on his lease...

On the flip side, I got to sit down at a campfire once with a now deceased gunsmith, with some notable
fame, Chick Donnely... Chick was one of the last of the guys that trained under P.O. Ackley.

I asked Chick, as a man that could have any firearm caliber he wanted for hunting Elk, deer etc, what were his favorite
calibers and choices. His response was from a man of long ago simpler times...

He pulled out his Remington 721.... and as his story went " I bought this rifle at the PX in Japan, when I was shipping
home after the Korean War ended in 1953....this is pretty much the only rifle I've used for all of my hunting.... as a gunsmith
I can't tell ya how many barrels have been on this old 721.. but I can tell ya this.. every darn one of them was a 30/06..."

From coyotes to Big Bears. Gotta be some wisdom long ago forgotten somewhere in that answer...

Myself, I find I shoot a boat load of 223, and the 22.250 when I think I need a 223 Magnum...for distance.

The 243s and 260s also see a lot of trigger time... come deer season, I tend to reach for the 6mm Rem ( on a Long Action)
or the 7 x 57 Featherweight... I loan rifles to kids I take out hunting with me, friends of my son or some of our Boy Scouts from
our troop.

I really don't lust for something new every year and seem to prefer to rebarrel something than sell it and buy something new, any time I think I need something different.

I do enjoy pulling out some of the old military stuff, that has come my way... the 8mm Mauser, the 30/40 Krag, the old Enfield.
each usually down loaded as all I am doing is killing targets at the range or out in the woods... 80- to 100 year old rifles.
Those are a joy to shoot... that along with the old 30/30....nostalgia I gather...

But there is nothing new I really need in my world... just more opportunity like old Gee Dub has...

if the family won the lottery, the wife would go on a world tour.. myself, I'd go hunting all over the planet....minus Africa..
a place I have zero desire to go to...


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Well said. But the older I get the less I think about killing stuff and the more I think about punching holes in paper and dream of killing stuff. Big game cartridges have less appeal now than they did 10 and more years ago. Now it's about doing what I do with style and grace, not with a mad gleam in my eye. Just me.


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Mister Seafire: I have a buddy whose been deer hunting since the early 70's with the same BAR in 308 WIN since Nixon's first term, and could not conceive of shooting anything else. Me? I started off that way and got progressively more experimental, egged on by both my compatriots here and my throng of adoring fans. Over time, I began to realize that my summers were getting more complex, because I had all these different rifles and loads to maintain. I started pairing down about 3 years ago and left a few projects hanging.

The Ruger Hawkeye in 30-06 was the breaking point for me back in 2014. I found I finally had achieved the ultimate no-muss no-fuss, no messy-belts-or-pins kind of deer rifle for which I had been searching. My first trial load shot a 1 inch group. The scope could image deer in deep woods 10 minutes before legal hunting. I've had projects since, but after that kind of success it kind of puts a crimp in everything else.


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My wants and desires ebb and flow like the tide. I go through phases where I get bored and like to experiment with things. I go through other phases where I get tired of trying to juggle all the experiments and start paring down my collection. I find these "paring down" times are good, because I come back to what really works, what I really use. It helps to focus and drag the kernels of truth out from my opinions. Truth be known I could be happy with a 30-06 for killing deer, some type of 6.5 for shooting steel at distance, and a 243 for whacking coyotes. Plus a 223 for just playing around.

Or I could shoot a 25-06 for everything around here and be done.

But where is the fun in that?

Of course though, I have many more rifles than that lying around hither and yon. Somehow it seems they just appear at times. Just like that 257 Roberts that my dad's friend gave me the other day. Unexpected, unasked for, yet there it is. A fine cartridge, in a VZ-24 action, yet it doesn't do anything 3 or 4 others in the safe wouldn't do just as well. It may be a couple years before I get around to it.

I don't look at catalogs much for guns. Mostly I look at bullets and reloading gear. Check prices of components, that sort of thing. Then I throw them in the trash. I buy what I can at the LGS, or failing that search and order on the internet.

I have never had much of a claim to good sense when it came to guns. And at 48 years old I am new to the middle aged thing as well. As such my opinions are sure to be suspect and should be treated accordingly.

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Originally Posted by Seafire
Some of you boys are overthinking this stuff too much.

At the reload bench, I can make a lot of different calibers fill a lot of different 'gaps' I might perceive, when in reality, its all in our heads.


It's more that just 'some' people who overthink things here. If you were to line up every modern cartridge and eliminate 80% of them, reloading would easily fill the gaps. What that means is, there really aren't any gaps, just a misconception of need. Some of the blame for this falls squarely in the laps of ad men.

But there is more. Sluggishness and lack of knowledge. There are people here who, despite considering themselves to be 'rifle loonies', have never bothered to learn much about the firearms, cartridges and equipment they own. One of the biggest is how to load up or down as required, or changing bullet types - cast, copper, cup and core. That said, fewer people these days want to reload. They don't have the time, or don't see a need. That's a shame. Are they really loonies then?

Still, for the people who do not reload, and have a legitimate reason for not doing so, a 30-06 will do 95% of their work. These folks will find a number of different factory loads available to suit most of their needs.

Then there are the people that own magnum rifles, thinking that they will use them enough to justify the cost, but they just sit in their gun safes, slowly rusting away. That cost often includes the huge cost of factory ammunition.

Originally Posted by Seafire
I think most of the guys on the Campfire have too many guns and not enough opportunity to use them all.


I agree, and many have fallen under the spell of the ad men. Hunters and shooters are targeted, like every consumer, to buy. They cannot do without a Super Short or Compact Magnum, copper or bonded bullets. Everyone knows your odds of success increase substantially using these more expensive bullets or powerful cartridges. Premium bullets have their place, but hunters and shooters should put more thought into their purchases. Do not accept as gospel, the latest Cabelas or Barnes ad.

Originally Posted by Seafire
On the flip side, I got to sit down at a campfire once with a now deceased gunsmith, with some notable fame, Chick Donnely... Chick was one of the last of the guys that trained under P.O. Ackley.

I asked Chick, as a man that could have any firearm caliber he wanted for hunting Elk, deer etc, what were his favorite calibers and choices. His response was from a man of long ago simpler times...

He pulled out his Remington 721.... and as his story went " I bought this rifle at the PX in Japan, when I was shipping home after the Korean War ended in 1953....this is pretty much the only rifle I've used for all of my hunting.... as a gunsmith. I can't tell ya how many barrels have been on this old 721.. but I can tell ya this.. every darn one of them was a 30/06..."


Chick was a smart man. Perhaps a few of the people that read this thread will clue in. This would be the perfect opportunity to quote,

"Beware the man who only has one gun. He probably knows how to use it!".

But I won't.

A post like this is a golden opportunity to remind everyone that they should learn more about the equipment in their gun room. Pick one thing, read about it, and move on to the next topic.


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Steve Redgwell
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I have always respected "Seafire's" wisdom in applying common sense to rifle looneyism, For the mixed terrain of woods and open fields I rifle hunt a 6.5 creedmore would handle all of it. I don't own a 6.5 creed but hope to by the November Deer season. The available 6.5 bullet weights gives me a cartridge similar to the .243, a 257 Bob, a .270 and the 7-08. I want to simplify my rifle shooting life to one rifle that covers many tasks.

My other rifles are for my son to inherit and shoot long after I'm gone. I have loaded enough ammo for each rifle that my son can hunt and shoot each rifle for many many years

Doc

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At 65+, I still lust after rifles and cartridges, but I've gotten more selective. Something really has to strike my interest, and even then, I don't impulse by any more. (Except the day after the last election, when I celebrated with an $80 bottle of Scotch and a T3 lite in 6.5x55. Dies and brass were ordered, a 2-7 Leupold was found in the classifieds here, and all is well. Have I shot it yet? No, but it's ready to roll. Will it do anything the 6.5 CMs or the 6.5x257AI can't do, or the three 7x57s, or the .25/06, or the .270s, or the Bobs? No, but it's here, and I'm happy knowing that. Looneyism doesn't necessarily involve rational thought, but that doesn't mean such thought can't be applied periodically.



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Originally Posted by shootinurse
Looneyism doesn't necessarily involve rational thought, but that doesn't mean such thought can't be applied periodically.


Truer words never spoken. That's the reason why I've held onto the rattle and headdress all these years. Very little of this is rational. It was not particularly rational when I started acquiring rifles, and it sure isn't now.


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all I have to say is its WAY to LATE in the year to contemplate a new rifle for this years season... thats done in my household during the current season and gives one a year bascially to work the kinks out and get it right. After all finding this or that and playing with it can take some time.

OTOH I did scope a gun once and grab a load and shoot it, middle of season and have never changed the load or zero since then, but that was a fluke.


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Well guys I'm in the boat with some of you. I'm 67 now and over the years I managed (somehow) to get 'nearly' every rifle/handgun and cartridge I wanted. I too have more than I can hunt in 2 yrs in a row. There were a couple of Rifles I sure would like to have had - a Kleingunther, & J P Saur & Sohn. BUT for too many years they were above my pay grade.

That doesn't mean I'm getting rid of any. My son and G son have already inherited a few. What I've found is serenity in contentment.

Sure there are a few things I would not mind having but none of them would accomplish anything that I can't already ,so there's no need to spend more money. I'm very happy, tickled even, to own the arsenal I have and enjoy hunting them on a rotational basis. I have 2 magnum rifles in cartridges that I don't get to hunt as much as I have in the past. Both of them are no longer available EXCEPT pre owned so I still enjoy having them.

I don't share the same interest as some of you - NO criticism - in shooting cast bullets. It just doesn't interest me. We are NOT all alike and I think that is a good thing.

I'm concentrating on more hunting opportunities with what I have.

Good Luck Guys

Jerry


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This really is like sitting around a campfire, late at night with the flames dying down; waxing nostalgic and philosophical.


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I am 73.So many guns,so little time.The fun part for me is load development.When I get a rifle shooting good,I move on to the next quest.Selling and trading is all part of the fun.I still hunt Michigan,Wisconsin and Montana.I would rather eat venison than just about any other type of meat and shoot all I am allowed.I found "Time" is much easier on you if you have a daily regimen of walking and exercise.I also weight lift every third day.My days are pretty busy and I have a hard time cramming in everything I want to do.


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Quote

Why buy a rifle to fit brass?


I'm in that same position. I've been sitting on 264 mag brass and dies for a couple years waiting for the right rifle to appear... And yes, I have NO need for one, but have always wanted to try it.

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KUDOS to you Huntz ! ! I never thot about you being a little older than I am.

I appreciate the things you said and are doing. Keep it up man. Good on ya.

Jerry


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Originally Posted by Steve Redgwell

It's more that just 'some' people who overthink things here. If you were to line up every modern cartridge and eliminate 80% of them, reloading would easily fill the gaps. What that means is, there really aren't any gaps, just a misconception of need.


To some extent I can agree with this. However, it isn't just gaps caused by the chambering, and often having another rifle in the same chambering can make a lot of good sense. For instance, I have 8 30-06 rifles and they are currently loaded with 3 different loads. However, they have different stocks and different scopes.

Since I'm primarily a whitetail hunter, my collection is geared towards that. I have different rifles for different venues and conditions.

I have my treestand rifles. They are for short range work in dense woods. I primarily use a lever or a pump. The loads I pick usually are downloaded considerably.
I have my ground blind guns. These have the longest barrels and the best scopes. I'm usually firing off a sandbag from a seat.
I have rifles that I won't purposefully take out in the rain. I have rifles that are stocked for warm weather and cold.
There are rifles that I would not pick for stalking and those that I would.

Overthinking? Who? Me?


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There haven't been gaps for many years.

With respect to having more than one rifle chambered in the same cartridge, that practice has been observed for many years. It eliminates the need for owning multiple die sets and reduces cost. It also makes things easier, should a rifle fail.

I'm not sure where you're going with your last statement about having a number of rifles of the same calibre. Efficiency would be the thing there, not good sense. Good sense tells me that eight rifles is excessive. Two or three would suffice and the money saved put toward outstanding glass or a good trigger.

At any rate, you fellows have fun. I'm out the door.


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A shooter with only 4 rifles is like a mechanic with only 4 wrenches.

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Apples and oranges.


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Originally Posted by shaman



Since I'm primarily a whitetail hunter, my collection is geared towards that. I have different rifles for different venues and conditions.


And that makes perfect sense to me. This year will be a .250 Savage year, with three .250s and a .250AI getting the nod. Last year was .30 cal., with two '06s, a .300 Savage, and a .303 Savage. I'm on a five year rotation now. whistle



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Originally Posted by gnoahhh
It's hard to verbalize. I've owned about half of the .22CF's under the sun, or so it seems, and I keep coming back to the Hornet. Were it me, I would try a Hornet and see for myself- the frugality of the round and its quietness while filling the niche between .22RF and .223 are but a couple reasons. That is admittedly a moot point if one has the capability to download the .223 to Hornet levels of course.

I no longer feel the need to whack varmints at 2-400 yards. The occasional groundhog in the middle of a pasture is fair game for the Hornet, but truth be told mine gets more of a workout in the squirrel woods than anywhere else. With cast bullets at 1800-1900 fps or so it extends my range on squirrels farther than I'm comfy doing with a .22LR.

Going smaller is one way for an older guy (who is experiencing some angst about where his looniness should lead) to assuage his newfound good sense and feed his quest for something new at the same time. (Spoken as a 64 year old who is going through much the same introspection. smile )


With you all the way on the Hornet. I just got back from a groundhog expedition. I was carrying my .223, but the rangefinder showed that 95% of the ground I was watching was in range of my Hornet. Going back this weekend with my son. He'll be carrying the .223, while I'll have my pretty little Browning Low Wall. If you're going to get skunked, you might as well do it in style.

The .223 is very flexible and also cheap to feed; even shares some of the same nice platforms as the Hornet, but there's just something sbout those tiny cartridges.....


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Originally Posted by Seafire:
I think most of the guys on the Campfire have too many guns and not enough opportunity to use them all.

Then Steve Redgwell added:
I agree, and many have fallen under the spell of the ad men.


A man named Greg Henderson just published an editorial in "Drovers" magazine regarding the incredible confusion around food labeling on today's grocery store products.
A line from his writing was very relevant to our consumer society. Mr Henderson said:

"...marketing professionals polish labeling phrases to elicit consumer emotion".

This phrase applies to guns about as well as it does to the products at the supermarket.


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It does indeed. Marketing generates revenue. I've got no problem with that at all. For my personal situation however, I look at magazine or TV ads with a critical eye. Is what they are offering of any value? And please, don't tell me that people are not influenced by the hype. I see evidence of it when I walk into gun shops, go to the range and spend time at some hunting camps. Someone is buying "useless, but cool stuff", so there is a market.

Be picky about what you need. Be critical of yourself and your requirements. Spend smart. Do not buy junk that you saw on a commercial just because it looks cool. The ad guys are attempting to work 'your stupid side'. And they appear to be winning. Educate yourself. Buy what your situation demands. Spit in their eye.

We have all seen the 'tactical take overs'. Picatinny mounts. Funky scope rings with 6 or 8 screws per. Flashlight and bipod attachments that once were the exclusive domain of real tactical people are now showing up on odd looking 30-30 "tactical" levers, shotguns and others. Everyone wants to be a cool, tactical ops guy! And of course, there's the camo clothing, covers and cases. Mildot scopes. etc. How many people know how to use this stuff properly? How many need it? The answer is, not many, and they do not know how to use it, but they cannot live without it. Marketing makes it embarrassing to go to the range or deer camp without something cool.

This made me howl with laughter, the first time I saw it.

When enemy deer are trying to infiltrate your perimeter, be prepared. Dad's old 30-30 just doesn't cut it anymore.
Tactical is strong. Tactical demands respect. Tactical wins the day. Be tactical. Live tactical. You deserve it!


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Successful hunters buy the things that will increase their odds of success, not what the commercials tell them are needed. That means knowing your quarry, the land where you hunt and the cartridge needed.

Know your rifle. If your trigger sucks, replace it. Make sure your stock fits. Get a good scope, but not necessarily a model that costs $1000s. Buy something with a good reputation and a power that fits your situation. Research your needs. Read. Engage your brain. If you are going on a trip, take along a spare rifle of the same calibre. That eliminates the problem of not having the correct cartridge when you arrive at your destination.

And practice shooting in the off season!


Safe Shooting!
Steve Redgwell
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The basic reason riflemen beat themselves up over having too many rifles, usually falls into one of two reasons, they have buyers remorse because they know deep from within they can't afford the expense of a new scope and reloading dies or ammo that follows the new purchase. Or, they are worried about peace with the wife.

So, after some honest reasoning we come to the answer, then we can apply a successful strategy of coping with a goal toward our happiness.

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Pretty good stuff there Steve R, I enjoyed seeing the tacticool 30-30!

I've actually thinned my rifle herd over the past 10 yrs, going from about 20 hunting rifles to currently owning 7. My weakness is optics.....I love good binocs.


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Originally Posted by jwall
KUDOS to you Huntz ! ! I never thot about you being a little older than I am.

I appreciate the things you said and are doing. Keep it up man. Good on ya.

Jerry


Thanks for the kind words Jerry,Huntz


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.22lr + .223 + .30/06 + 12ga = all the calibers someone needs to cover everything in America.

Other combos will do it, but not any better.

You can even toss the .223 out if you aren't a high volume target/tactical/p-dog hunter and just do everything from woodchucks to moose with the .30/06.

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This is about the transition from guns as a principal component of the entertainment, to guns as a tool integral to the hunt as entertainment.


Originally Posted by 16penny
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Originally Posted by JGRaider
Pretty good stuff there Steve R, I enjoyed seeing the tacticool 30-30!

I've actually thinned my rifle herd over the past 10 yrs, going from about 20 hunting rifles to currently owning 7. My weakness is optics.....I love good binocs.


I've rid myself of a few rifles too. I was watching a show about hoarders a few yrs back. The therapist said that anything you haven't used in 3 yrs should go. That applies to rifles as well, I think.

If I was still looking to thin things out, I would look at buying a better spotting scope. The one I have came over on the Mayflower and the glass isn't the best.


Safe Shooting!
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Originally Posted by Steve Redgwell

. . . . .And practice shooting in the off season!


^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ This ^ ^ ^ the people i see in my region never practice enough to gain any kind of familiarity of their firearms.
i also see too many posts online of folks asking " where do i sight in at 25 yards to shoot a deer at 500 yards ?"

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I first ran into the old saw about sighting in at 25 to be 3" high at 100 in one of my old Jack O'Connor books. The implication was that you'd verify it at 100 (and hopefully farther), but I'll bet fewer than half ever did. That 3" high business has probably saved the lives of a good many deer.

When I was still working, one guy in my crew was a captain in the National Guard. His unit did a tour in Iraq. We were taking about his M4 one night and he told me that they were instructed to sight in their AimPoints at 25 yards. I said, "You check them at 100 to be sure, right?". He said, "Nope. If they're on at 25, they're good." I tried to make the case that any error at 25 would be multiplied by 4 at 100, but he was having none of it. Still not clear whether that method was his or Army doctrine. During his unit's tour in Iraq, they only fired one round, that a single .50 cal fired at the place where they thought an enemy had fired from.


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Originally Posted by Steve Redgwell

This made me howl with laughter, the first time I saw it.

When enemy deer are trying to infiltrate your perimeter, be prepared. Dad's old 30-30 just doesn't cut it anymore.
Tactical is strong. Tactical demands respect. Tactical wins the day. Be tactical. Live tactical. You deserve it!


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O M G. ! ! ! !

I have NOT owned a 30-30 since 1974 A D. It's hard for me to find words that adequately express my
DISGUST at that application. All the words that come close are not fit for public publication.
G A G reflex.

Mr Steve I didn't know that anybody would be that stupid --not aiming at you.

Jerry


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I've not seen any of the tacticool 30-30's in the wild yet. 30-30 seems to be dying out in general around here. The old farts are dying off and the sons are generally not carrying them anymore.

I did see a Sixties version of the same idea: a Mare's Leg 30-30 that stayed in the LGS' case for about a year. It was the first time I'd had a chance to heft one: downright goofy. Back when Steve McQueen was cool, the Mare's Leg was supposed to be IT. I watched Wanted: Dead or Alive all the way through last year on the cable. That thing looked goofy, and unweildy.
[Linked Image]

I suppose a good part of my angst might be marketing-driven. I noticed after age 45, there was no longer any TV commercials and nothing in the stores that appealed to me anymore. Then I realized: I've fallen out of the primary demographic! Of course!

On the other hand, in addressing my rifle loonyism or lack there-of, I have to admit that I was never attracted to hunting arms until I was an adult, then it was from direct contact in the LGS or from reading the books I amassed.

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i have been a collector of military from around the world, and here, plus a real addiction to old firearms.
It's probably not possible to own all the garands floating around, but you sure could try.
I have known a few people that owned several thousand japanese rifles, same in krags for another guy,
same for mausers.
There are a LOT of mausers out there made at various times for various countries.
I won't even get into the handgun area. Wouldn't it be great to own a speciman of every model smith and wesson ever made?


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No way in Hades am I dropping back to my 375, one 30-06, a 22 RF, and a 12 guage shotgun ! ! ! !
While they will cover all bases, I have too much fun with other calibers, and handguns.
Typically, in my ranch truck you will find a 204 Ruger - but, during hunting seasons, a Savage 99 in 243 lives there.
One of the 06's will come out for elk, 223 or 22 K-Hornet for prairie dogs (maybe even the 17 Rem) - the others are mostly for fun, and to let the g-kids experiment.
Four 06 military rifles, and four g-kids to shake it out!

I just hope they will all let me play, too!


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Originally Posted by kingston
This is about the transition from guns as a principal component of the entertainment, to guns as a tool integral to the hunt as entertainment.



I'm editing this.

It's about transitioning from the gear being a principal part of the entertainment, to the gear being something integral to an activity, which is the entertainment.


Originally Posted by 16penny
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I'm at the age where I think I want to simplify and consolidate, but I achieved a measure of affluence later in life (I chose to travel light and far my first four decades) and have been making up for lost time the last 20 years. I could give up several dozen firearms and still be very well-equipped and prepared, but I'm just not ready to do that. I am having too much fun!


Don't be the darkness.

America will perish while those who should be standing guard are satisfying their lusts.


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Originally Posted by gnoahhh
Nothing wrong. We tend to get wiser as we grow older.

As for catalogs, the only one I miss from the Olden Days is the Herter's catalog. As for the rest, I'm glad they stopped clogging my life.

The one caliber I recommend for an old fart with an itch to scratch is the .22 Hornet. Good therapy lies in that little case.


Good post......Herters and the Hornet.....yes indeed.

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Originally Posted by jwall
I have 2 magnum rifles in cartridges that I don't get to hunt as much as I have in the past. Both of them are no longer available EXCEPT pre owned so I still enjoy having them.

I'm concentrating on more hunting opportunities with what I have.

Good Luck Guys

Jerry


Well...this thread has prompted me to put a scope on my 8 mm RM AND rescope my Black Shadow 300 WM. It has been over 5 years since I shot/hunted the 8mm. I have been dis satisified with the el cheapo scope on my Black Shadow (it came that way)... SO today I have mounted 1 different scope on the 8 and a new 4-12X40 on the 300.

I don't need either one where I'm hunting now but it doesn't mean I CAN'T hunt them. I plan to enjoy them the next couple of years.

River Rider said,..... " I could give up several dozen firearms and still be very well-equipped and prepared, but I'm just not ready to do that. I am having too much fun!"

See what Y'ALL have done. grin

Jerry


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For me its just "weird" gettin "old" and thinkin about this stuff...who'd of thought!
A group of us were talking outside of church a while back, and all the conversation was all about what meds we're on, prostates, and stuff like that...damn!
I am gonna have a "safe sale", probably most of my military rifles and Trapdoors, just cause with my eyes and those tiny sights I can't enjoy them like I used to.
That will still leave me with ten or more scoped "hunting" rifles in an assortment of calibers from 22LR to 300H&H. Then I can decide what to do from there.
But, knowing my "loonieness" having some cash in my hand, (hopefully), from selling some rifles, may lead to additional purchases.
I surely enjoyed reloading and tweaking each and every rifle I've owned, to see what they could do. But, as stated before, I tend to put them in safe and move to the next one.
Time will tell I guess.
I never fell prey to marketing, although Ken Waters, Townsend Whalen, and a few have influenced my want list a bit. Out of 100 or so guns I've owned, I would say less than 10 were new.
Sorry for rambling.

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Originally Posted by K1500
.22lr + .223 + .30/06 + 12ga = all the calibers someone needs to cover everything in America.

Other combos will do it, but not any better.

You can even toss the .223 out if you aren't a high volume target/tactical/p-dog hunter and just do everything from woodchucks to moose with the .30/06.



When I was a kid almost everyone I knew that hunted to feed their family only had 3 guns. A loaded 12 Guage that stayed behind the bedroom door when it wasn't being used. A 22 rifle and a "deer rifle". 90% of the time the that deer rifle would be either a 30/30, 243 or 30/06. I agree, with modern times a 223 needs to be in that mix.


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Know the feeling - I just have zero desire to own a black plastic semi auto AR anything. I have no desire to play rambo and spray bullets. More of a one shot one kill type myself. I do own a 30-06(Pre-War M70) 12ga (Ruger Red Label) and a .22 (CZ 455) Instead of the .223 I have another CZ in .17HMR that makes a fantastic semi urban rock chuck slayer. All I have left to round out my battery is a S&W.38special Airweight that i carry bowhunting and a .22 cal Beman R-9 Pellet rifle that slays the chucks closer to subdivisions. The only real hankering I have for a new rifle is a Win Model 70 Featherweight in .308 Win. Not sexy by modern standards but classy in my book.


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Originally Posted by jwall
Originally Posted by jwall
I have 2 magnum rifles in cartridges that I don't get to hunt as much as I have in the past. Both of them are no longer available EXCEPT pre owned so I still enjoy having them.

I'm concentrating on more hunting opportunities with what I have.

Good Luck Guys

Jerry


Well...this thread has prompted me to put a scope on my 8 mm RM AND rescope my Black Shadow 300 WM. It has been over 5 years since I shot/hunted the 8mm. I have been dis satisified with the el cheapo scope on my Black Shadow (it came that way)... SO today I have mounted 1 different scope on the 8 and a new 4-12X40 on the 300.

I don't need either one where I'm hunting now but it doesn't mean I CAN'T hunt them. I plan to enjoy them the next couple of years.

River Rider said,..... " I could give up several dozen firearms and still be very well-equipped and prepared, but I'm just not ready to do that. I am having too much fun!"

See what Y'ALL have done. grin

Jerry




Always glad to help, Jerry! Sometimes we all need just a little bit of help, but...



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R R -

You know what they say about Friends Like That ? whistle
grin grin

Jerry


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Yes indeed I do! whistle


Don't be the darkness.

America will perish while those who should be standing guard are satisfying their lusts.


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Originally Posted by nick
For me its just "weird" gettin "old" and thinkin about this stuff...who'd of thought!
A group of us were talking outside of church a while back, and all the conversation was all about what meds we're on, prostates, and stuff like that...damn!
While I occasionally talk about meds and stuff, I don't have any "old" friends. We've all aged, which is unavoidable, but "old" is strictly between the ears. Huge difference between maturity and growing up. Although, if you talk to my friends and family, I haven't matured yet, either. whistle I know I'll never get old, or grow up. Hope none of you guys and gals do.



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My buddy, Bob, is stuck in a home at the moment. This is the retired gun editor. He has one of the best collections of old Rugers on the planet. He broke his femur stumbling in his back hall. Bob is a past president of Ohio Gun Collectors, and once counted among his friends Elmer Keith and Bill Ruger. I go visiting him whenever I can-- usually once a week. He's stuck in a wheelchair right now and trying to get rehabbed back to possibly needing only a walker.

Bob frequently looks up at me and says, ". . .and the crazy thing is there is still a 17 year old trapped in this body!" He's been saying that to me for close to 40 years.

This was my sponsor in Rifles Anonymous 30 years ago. This was also the fellow that, with the aid of Jerry the ex-marine armourer, convinced me for a time that a 22LR, a 12 GA shotgun a 223 Rem and a 30-06 were all you needed. The problem was all three of us were constantly falling off the wagon. It didn't help that Jerry owned a gun store and a reloading operation. I soon realized that the 22/12/223/30-06 was just an addict's mantra.


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Don't have a .30-06. -sniff-

Or a .223. -PTL-

Prefer the 20 to a 12.

Nobody can graduate from Stunt Shooters High School without a Hornet.

D


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Originally Posted by DigitalDan

Nobody can graduate from Stunt Shooters High School without a Hornet.

D


Now Dang it !! You didn't just say that, did ya? shocked

You just knocked me OFF the wagon. cry

I don't like you now. wink
grin grin









Mom, I 'needs' some money. laugh

Jerry

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ROTF, you're welcome.

Gramps had an old Win Hornet he lugged about everywhere, model 43 as I recall. He took a crack one day at a flying turkey out about 200 yards. Didn't hit it, but startled the bird sufficiently that it flew into a cypress tree. Point, set, match.

He wore out an L.C. Smith SxS 16 shootin' quail in central Florida, bought another and was well on the road to wearing that one out as well. Everything I learned about stunt shooting quail, I learned from him. He considered it unsporting to take more than 8 shells on a hunt with the limit 10 back then. Sometimes he got more than the legal limit. I'm good with a dozen shells in the vest/gun.


I am..........disturbed.

Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain


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A couple of memorably fine days were spent in the grouse woods and quail fields on those rare occasions I forgot to take any shells. A walkabout without carrying a gun can sometimes be a refreshing experience, without the "personal pressure" to produce some dead birds.

Ye God's and Little Fishes! You gotta do a lot of shooting to wear out a Smith!


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He did a lot of shooting and that's a natural fact. He wore out more pointers than guns over the span of about 60 years chasin' quail birds. Wore out some of his boys and grandkids too. I have his first piece, a Win 1890 in .22 WRF. It shoots fine as my old eyes can manage. And if you don't have a WRF shooter you might be entirely too normal.


I am..........disturbed.

Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain


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I'm not sure which is more of a stunt:

1) Shooting a .22 Hornet
2) Shooting a .223 Rem downloaded to shoot .22 Hornet velocities.

Help he out here. I'm just an apprentice looney.


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Shaman, my humble opinion is that #2 is the larger stunt, if precision is the objective.

Let me know when you beat 1/2" @ 100 with the .223 mousefart.

I kneel before the load density gods,

Dan

PS: I know that's off topic, sorry.


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Originally Posted by shaman


Bob frequently looks up at me and says, ". . .and the crazy thing is there is still a 17 year old trapped in this body!" He's been saying that to me for close to 40 years.
There you have it.



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Originally Posted by RoninPhx
i have been a collector of military from around the world, and here, plus a real addiction to old firearms.
It's probably not possible to own all the garands floating around, but you sure could try.
I have known a few people that owned several thousand japanese rifles, same in krags for another guy,
same for mausers.
There are a LOT of mausers out there made at various times for various countries.
I won't even get into the handgun area. Wouldn't it be great to own a speciman of every model smith and wesson ever made?


Ron,

Thinking like that and expressing those thoughts in a public forum certainly qualifies you as "loony".

Accomplishing those ideas would put you front and center of the dais at the "Loony of the Century" banquet!

Geno

PS My looniness for revolvers might ONLY include every barrel length of S&W 27's.

PPS well, maybe a few more crazy


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In it is death and all you seek
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Funny I look back and while I've owned some really nice rifles and had a lot of fun . Like most when starting out as a newly. We'd I didn't have the. $$ to buy nice guns or really many guns at all so horse trading was the order of the day. I've owned sone nice rifles such as Browning safaris, a really nice Ruger #1 bbs version that I later read there were only 12 or so made in that caliber as well as various savage 110, 700s Ruger. 77 . If I had to start over again today I'd find myself nice all round rifle in something like a 308 or 7-08 maybe a delux kimber or maybe a classic Mauser sporter. Then I'd buy a really nice 20 sidelock sxs along with a good 12 ga semi maybe something along the lines of a Beretta390. That would serve as backup , turkey, waterfowler. A nice 22 rimfire a pistol or two and that would be it. But basically a really nice hunting rifle and really nice bird gun along with a couple of supporting chapters and hunt the crap out of them.

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In retrospect I surely could have done ALL my hunting & made all the shots I have with 1 (ONE) 270 Win on deer.
I would have been happy long before I was with a Ruger 10-22. (It took me a while before I got my first one).
1 good 22 Mag.
1 Ruger Mk II 22, target model w/adjustable sight.
& 1 good 12 ga. I've always been an 870 shooter, likely why I love the Model Sixes.
& 1 S-W 6906 - 9mm.

That's a total of 6 guns. That's only a fraction of what I've had......

Oh well, I would have probably spent the money on whiskey & women and wasted the rest. laugh laugh

Jerry



That last line isn't originally mine ! Don't remember where I heard it first . smile


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I used to be a rifle looney, but now the ardor has waned somewhat. I still love them, but how many (and new calibers) do I need?

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This topic is so true for me. I started downsizing my rifles about 2012. That was the last year I went deer hunting and shot my last deer. Just felt like sticking to upland birds instead. I mean, a few shot quail or grouse are a hell of a lot lighter than any damn dead deer. So, a few rifles went down the road to buy new shotguns, a few went to my older son. I simply enjoy going to the trap range and after upland birds in the season. Still trying to get even with those Chukar tho. Rifles left: Ruger No.1 in .30-'06, Sako Finnbear in .270 Win. and Mod 94 30-30. A couple of .22RF rifles and four shotguns. .38/.357 and .45 Auto. The wanting and buying are done. I can't believe how much I enjoy those shotguns once I retired.

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R Tom

I could thoroughly enjoy rabbit & quail hunting w/o any rifles BUT things have changed so much in property usage.
Small farms have virtually disappeared--subdivisions are covering thousands of acres HERE where I used to hunt.
I haven't seen 1 covey of quail in over 6 yrs.

I'm deer hunting on 70 acres of family 'private' property so.......

Back in 74-76, a cousin said to me, "you are a rifle freak", he was a handgun freak.

For whatever reason rifles are in my blood. I can't help it. grin

Jerry


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Know the feeling - I just have zero desire to own a black plastic semi auto AR anything.


I was the same until my Government started acting like they did not want me to own one. Now I have one. miles


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Originally Posted by bangeye
Funny I look back and while I've owned some really nice rifles and had a lot of fun . Like most when starting out as a newly. We'd I didn't have the. $$ to buy nice guns or really many guns at all so horse trading was the order of the day. I've owned sone nice rifles such as Browning safaris, a really nice Ruger #1 bbs version that I later read there were only 12 or so made in that caliber as well as various savage 110, 700s Ruger. 77 . If I had to start over again today I'd find myself nice all round rifle in something like a 308 or 7-08 maybe a delux kimber or maybe a classic Mauser sporter. Then I'd buy a really nice 20 sidelock sxs along with a good 12 ga semi maybe something along the lines of a Beretta390. That would serve as backup , turkey, waterfowler. A nice 22 rimfire a pistol or two and that would be it. But basically a really nice hunting rifle and really nice bird gun along with a couple of supporting chapters and hunt the crap out of them.
Whole lot of wisdom in those last few sentences. That's the direction I'm heading.

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Don't buy new guns here...

invest in powders and components...

also been upgrading scopes from time to time...
as my eyes seem to be more picky on what they will focus on...


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Originally Posted by jwall

Well...this thread has prompted me to put a scope on my 8 mm RM AND rescope my Black Shadow 300 WM. It has been over 5 years since I shot/hunted the 8mm. I have been dis satisified with the el cheapo scope on my Black Shadow (it came that way)... SO today I have mounted 1 different scope on the 8 and a new 4-12X40 on the 300.


*!*! River Rider said/b] " I could give up several dozen firearms and still be very well-equipped and prepared, but I'm just not ready to do that. I am having too much fun!"

See what Y'ALL have done. grin
Jerry


This AM I got my 8 RM and 300 WM sighted in and ready to go this Fall. I did a little shooting a few days ago but it was Sunny and [b]HOT, so I quit. This AM we are still cloudy and even now the temp is 74*. I do shoot in hot WX but only if I can get in the shade. I'm glad to be getting ready for this yr season.

I still have some work to do on my 284 W. I'll get it ready and wait till another cool AM.

THANKS ALOT River Rider grin

Jerry


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I am at the age now that I am selectively selling/giving away a few guns to special people I know. My son or grandson does not hunt or shoot and I think their wives are a little anti gun anyway. I will pass a few family heirlooms down to them .

I don't want to kick off and have my firearms end up in an auction or sold for pennies on the dollar like you here guys buying them from old widows.

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Same here Saddlesore, from 40+ down to six now and have selected two more to pass on.

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Originally Posted by saddlesore
I am at the age now that I am selectively selling/giving away a few guns to special people I know. My son or grandson does not hunt or shoot and I think their wives are a little anti gun anyway. I I will pass a few family heirlooms down to them .

I don't want to kick of and have my firearms end up in a an auction or sold for pennies on the dollar like you here guys buying them from old widows.


fwiw,
That says a lot... I had a friend whose father collected guns and reloaded ammunition as his sole source of income in his later years. Aside from Social Security I suppose. Small home with a big basement and three safes. Two belonged to the father and one belonged to my friend... Strange family component would not begin to describe these people. Knew him for 12 years before I found out he had a sister here in Virginia, right in town 15 minutes away, that he did not speak to, which struck me as strange as the rest of the family was in Ohio. At any rate the older man passed and my friend showed about as much grief as someone who lost their car in the Walmart Parking Lot. He made zero plans to go home to visit or spend time with his mother, his sisters, or his brother Rob who has Down Syndrome. My brother, may he RIP, went to their home back in about 2000 to put in a new set of steps to the basement as a favor. He typically did free standing curved stairways in multi-million dollar homes, however, at the time we were all close. He made a friend of Rob who was elated to be able to help...

At any rate when said "friend" decided to go home to clean "his safe" out and to pick up a few items for his boys, always a BS excuse to pick up what HE wanted, there was a slight snag. I should mention this fellow has had access to more military antiques than you could shake a stick at during his time in the service and boy did he ever help himself. He was not alone in that. He walked in, spoke briefly, did not hug his mother, and went straight to the basement... It just so happens that the "girls", his sisters, came across three combinations in his father's paperwork. You can guess the rest... A lifetime of theft and collecting, with a great deal of overlap between the two, were wiped out in a flash by his father's "friends" who paid pennies, a damned few of them, on the dollar at a Saturday Sale that began at 9 AM and was over by 9:45... One of the few times in his life that he has gotten the raw end of the stick when it came to a gun deal... When I asked him about a year later how his mother and Rob were doing I got a shrug that spoke volumes... I later found later his mother is now living here in Virginia with one of his sisters and Rob lives with them...

It was about that time that I got a bit pickier about with whom I hunt Bobwhite... I have found that there is NO HONOR amongst the VAST MAJORITY of these "friends" and it truly does tarnish the "collecting" spirit. Collect money so that you can spend it wisely and "collect memories" with those you love. All of these possessions that we mistake for assets are largely an illusion and can be taken away in a heart beat. In a literal heart beat.

The experiences you have with those you hold dear cannot... Hence I have slowly begun to simplify.

I have seen homes cleared of people's lifetimes acquisitions and you know about 95% of what MOST folks "Collect" goes in a 30 yard dumpster. NOT ALL for certain, however, the VAST majority.

I have fallen for all of this myself. Buy, buy, buy or it won't be available tomorrow. Here we are and it is tomorrow. The zombies are at bay(for the moment), suppressors are still legal (I bought 6 last year), Powder is still legal and being made(200 pounds last year), primers are still available, and guns have NEVER been more available. I am not saying I am against that in any way. It is just that having fallen for it on several occaisions you start to become somewhat of a curmudgeon. I am beginning to think Colonel Cooper was REALLY was on to something...

The difficulty is finding the right young person, I feel old at 42;-), who is worthy of what I have to give them. I wonder if they had to work for it if it would mean more. Honest to God I believe there is a sizable crowd who would take a high end gaming system to an Echol's Classic... If unaware of sales value and threatened with death via contract killer FOR SELLING IT, I really don't know how many of them would choose a Classic, not a Legend as black rifles are clearly for sale at Walmart, over a video game. Society is changing. My hunting partners are growing old and dying off.

I was talking to CSMC about their new Model 21 O/U, specifically when the 28 gauge model would be introduced, about six or seven months ago. The young man sighed and said it likely would not be introduced. He said that if they had known then what they know now they would have never invested in the 20 gauge 21 O/U... I asked why as I was truly perplexed. He said that they "We lose 10 and maybe get 1 back...". In short upon further conversation he said the "older guys" who used to really patronize us are dying off and they lose ten and get maybe one young man in return... It is fiscally untenable.

Hence, I plan to make some on the spot gifts for the worthy, as dealing with most, not all, dealers leave the faint smell that I've stepped in processed Alpo in the air. Not worth the sales process...

The rest? I hope to die with burnt out barrels, nicked and dinged wood, and few to no pristine PROJECTS... To be left to a huckster, like some who haunt these very boards, to sell for a quick buck? That bothers me... It also bothers me I see too few young men or women of merit who are INTERESTED in owning such a rifle, shotgun, or pistol... I am done buying for a good while unless it is spectacular and I can't deny my desire to own it and USE IT...

Sorry for the disjointed book...

Regards, Matt.


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SAD events for sure !!

Some family are NOT! KWIM ?

It's better to redistribute what you want rather than others that don't give a FLIP.

Jerry


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My problem is I don't have any NEW guns except for two muzzle loaders. I sold a Ruger SBH and Marlin 94 last week to a fellow on here. Everything else is from the 70's at the latest. I gave a nice Fox Sterlingworth SxS ( 1936 production) to my godson and and 1911( 1912 production) to the son of a very good friend of mine.

Trying to figure out what to do with a 1906 Colt SAA and Marlin 94, both about 1906 production


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Honestly I'm NOT asking to buy the SAA (aka Peacemaker). I would love to own one but it'd just be
a matter of having it. I love EM.

Good luck in your quest.

Jerry


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Originally Posted by jwall
s s

Honestly I'm NOT asking to buy the SAA (aka Peacemaker). I would love to own one but it'd just be
a matter of having it. I love EM.

Good luck in your quest.

Jerry


They are both in 38-40. I came by this one from my brother who gave it to me.Seems he has one of those Buckeye Special Rugers in38-40 and liked it better.I can't give it back to him as he is older than I and in the same boat. No one to pass it on to


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Well... with no one to give or inherit, I 'think' I'd probably sell it and do something else 'in it's place'.

Jerry


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I've got an old friend and former hunting partner of 35-40+ years who has told me of his Stage 4 Prostate Cancer couple months ago. He hasn't hunted in years and his 2 sons are not, or ever were much interested. He has a church buddy who occasionally borrows one of his 2 R77's that will get one of them I'm sure ....but I'm at a quandry on how to tell him who to trust of the LGS'sI use on selling his remaining guns guns on consignment, and WILL NOT get involved in selling them for him unless his wife asks after he pass'es. Most if not all of his guns came from me originally when I was working in the Industry, at my cost.

It's not an immediate problem with my friend, but has been grinding on me on how to approach him soon without sounding like a greedy dog.

I've been selling/trading downsizing all my own stuff already, and my own sons are also not involved, but my BH knows of and has been in the LGS shops I use and how the consignment drill works. I just hope she keeps the late '70s highly tuned S&W M60 pin barrel for her house gun, that is always with me on the nite stand on my side of the bed wherever I sleep...it's got lots of miles of business travelling for 35+ years under my pillow, and I'm as familiar with it's custom grips that were fitted to my hand from a clay mold, as I am with the 50 years of sound, smell & feel of her sleeping that we've been together.
Ron

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My time has come and I am reluctant to admit it. Lord willing, I will be eighty in a few weeks. Health is so so, meaning I can live several more years, but with diminished physical capacity. I have way too many guns, especially rifles. I have three daughters, two SILs, and three granddaughters, one grandson, and two great grandchildren. Daughters all have handgun and shotgun. Rifles are next. I have .22 rifles for all. Granddaughters all need a twenty gauge. I may have excess rifles to trade for those. Sell a few high dollar rifles, but in my past experience, that can take a while to find a well funded buyer who wants your stuff.

Jack


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Congrats on having a long life & still hunting & shooting. Many, many guys don't get to participate this long. Here's hoping you're
able to continue a while longer.

One of my long time friends/gun nuts/hunting pards IS having health issues now at 68. IF he lives many more yrs. he won't be able to
hunt much more. It hurts me to see him deteriorating.

Good Luck

Jerry


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Well, I had another test of my good sense/middle age dilemma. I got sent to Mansfield, OH last week for Special High-Intensity Training at my new employer. As soon as I could get away, I made it up the road to Fin Feather Fur Outfitters in Ashland. It was my first pilgrimage to this place in 4 years. Sadly, I have to admit no major acquisitions.

The reloading section in the basement held the most of my attentions. It is one of the few places left I know that has it all. I could have easily spent $1000 on bits and pieces. However, good sense prevailed and I left with less than $90 in merchandise.

One thing I did grab was a pound of Blue Dot pursuant to working up some ersatz 22 Hornet loads.


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Originally Posted by Huntz
I am 73.So many guns,so little time.The fun part for me is load development.When I get a rifle shooting good,I move on to the next quest.Selling and trading is all part of the fun.I still hunt Michigan,Wisconsin and Montana.I would rather eat venison than just about any other type of meat and shoot all I am allowed.I found "Time" is much easier on you if you have a daily regimen of walking and exercise.I also weight lift every third day.My days are pretty busy and I have a hard time cramming in everything I want to do.


My type of man... except for eating all that venison!

At closing in on 82, I've already "pared" down to two big game rifles, a couple 22RFs and a 12ga. And, oh yeah, I just shot a bunny in the head this a.m. with my "target" .17 cal. pellet pistol - at about 7 yards... he'd been eating my wife's flowers and veggies as they appear above ground! A one-shot kill!

But really, "two big game rifles" can be made into target, varmint and deer rifles, and they have been, even though they were mostly chosen for black bear. Both are "oldies" in design, but very modern in construction, and I have "mild" downloads for each (as well as Max loads for each). One or both will see action come September, God willing. The latest has now been with me for six years, and has taken three bears. It's a Tikka T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62. It has replaced all magnums and mediums, including .375 H&H, .340 Wby, .338 Win Mag, .35 Whelan and .300 Win Mag. It can do anything they could do... if needed or wanted. Plus, with downloads, it makes an ideal rifle for big whitetails in woods hunting. My other BG rifle has been with me for quite a long time: a Ruger No.1 in .45-70 with an improved throat (lengthened) for the long monos. I can shoot cast bullets at 1200 or the 500 Hornady at 2200. And all else can fit somewhere between those extremes.

I enjoy experimenting with loads, and have a few hundred .458" bullets lying around of various shapes, weights and construction. Really, I could get by with the Ruger No.1 as my only hunting/target shooting/practising rifle for all the days remaining that God has ordained for me. Same could be said for the 9.3 x 62.

Don't cry over ageing! As Huntz said, and I agree, ".... I have a hard time cramming in everything I want to do."

Bob

www.bigbores.ca


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Lately I've been thinking of a 6.5X55 should fit nicely in the line up and a Ruger #1 pops up in 6.5 Creedmoor. I still think I need the Swede...don't you?

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IMO picking up a Swede is never a bad idea at any age...but lots more bettah for someone old enough to appreciate the calibers history and functionality and able put it to good use...Thank You Darrik for the T3 Superlite Swede on that last closeout...it fits me like a pair of many years old bluejeans...
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I am 67 and have been f-ing around with rifles since 13. I still think of myself as a GUN-NUT and prefer that moniker to rifle looney.

I have owned more really fine rifles than necessary. Most were commercial pre-war Mausers worked on by Thos Burgess and stocked in fine European walnut by Fisher, Kennedy, Milliron, Biesen etc.

Today I am much more interested in going and doing rather than owning. I have slots for 4 CF rifles. When one comes in then one goes out. I have been very fortunate to hunt a lot and have taken a lot of BG. I could have done all of it, except the dangerous African animals, with a 270 Win. I have not observed any consistent difference on game with most of the stuff guys talks about. From the 6.5x55 to the big 30's and 33's there isn't much difference except in rifle weight and recoil. If you need something bigger then get a 416 or a 458 Win. There is some appeal with the 375's and the 9.3-62 but I am a timid soul when I see something big and dangerous up close.

Besides my 4 CF's I have a Glock 19, an 870 20ga, and two 22lrs.

I am still building the ultimate 270 Win and have decided the best bet is a Rem 700 action worked over properly with a well installed good barrel, a great trigger, and a synthetic stock. Have owned pretty much every custom action and none were better for a hunting rifle than a Rem 700 that has been given some love. If I had learned this long ago I would have saved myself the money equivalent of two grand slams plus a full bag 21 day African trip.

Am about to start on a 458 Win and will likely use a 700 for that too. No worry.

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Originally Posted by RinB
I am 67 and have been f-ing around with rifles since 13. I still think of myself as a GUN-NUT and prefer that moniker to rifle looney.

I have owned more really fine rifles than necessary. Most were commercial pre-war Mausers worked on by Thos Burgess and stocked in fine European walnut by Fisher, Kennedy, Milliron, Biesen etc.

I could have done all of it, except the dangerous African animals, with a 270 Win.

*** I am still building the ultimate 270 Win and have decided the best bet is a Rem 700 action worked over properly with a well installed good barrel, a great trigger, and a synthetic stock. ***


Have owned pretty much every custom action and

***none were better for a hunting rifle than a Rem 700 that has been given some love.***

If I had learned this long ago I would have saved myself the money...


First I wished I'd had Milliron and OR Biesen do a couple stocks for me.

I made the statement recently that I could have killed all the WT I have with the FIRST 700, 270 W !!


Also if it were possible I could get 6-8 guys I've hunted & shot with and THEY would tell everybody that WE ALL
had tremendous service from Rem 700s ----- and NO failures at all.

Jerry


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I have thought many times of selling off some stuff. I really don't need most of what I have as my hunting is mostly confined to deer hunting here in Michigan and a trip to Wyoming every other year. I have a surplus of Pre64 M70's and Parker shotguns that haven't seen the light of day in many years. I'm not sure this is the time to try to sell a rifle as I put a nice Ruger #1 International on GI and hadn't even had a response! I have no family that would be interested in anything other than how much can I get for it and no knowledge of how much there worth. So I sometimes think sell them take the cash and go to Alaska or Africa and sometimes I think the hell with it I like em I'll keep them and when I'm gone I won't care.

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