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

Just started selling things off only because I am getting old enough that I don't want to leave my wife with the hassle of selling them when I am gone.
My plan is to get down to a 22 LR rifle, a 22 LR pistol, one 223 Rem bolt action (well maybe two), and a 243 Win for my "big gun". A good 90% + of my shooting is done with either a 22 LR rifle or one of the 223 Rem's, with the 243 only rarely being shot, and I is usually shot the same ones so it won't be too hard to do except for the idea of downsizing.

drover

For the love of God man, listen to the Poobah! He knows his schitt.

Hell No! They’re my kids. I keep them locked up and feed them sparingly. 😎

I've almost achieved it. My 45-70 is really all I need but I can't see a good reason not to keep a 30-30 around?

But I also realize I'm not keeping my inventory this low. I'm watching for the right 45-70 single shot to bore out to 50-70 Gov't. JES told me he'd do the job for $250.

It scares hell out of me to think about having only one gun. I can’t think about getting down to one 7 mag or one 264 Win mag.

Curiousity question - what is there in Texas that you need a 7 Mag or 264 Mag to kill?
Most of the old time guides in my part of the world traded in their 250/300 (usually a Savage 99 with a 4x Weaver) for a 243 Win and most swore that it killed just fine, and this was before all of the boutique bullets that we have now, the elk and deer just kept dying not knowing that they weren't shot with a magnum.

drover

I've had just a 243 for my only centerfire rifle for the past couple of years. But will be adding a 223 bolt action soon. And feel the need for another centerfire levergun.

While I have way too many and could dump several without ever missing them, I see no need to go down to one.

Jack

We have big scary rabbits down here, it takes a 7 mag to kill them!! 😉

I still have a spot I need to fill (7-8# middle chambering for all-around use), but I second these sentiments! For me, I usually spend my "new gun" money on trips/hunts. Now that I'm having to outfit two boys, I do get some buying enjoyment from getting them stuff.

I'm in Texas too. I have a matched pair of Browning Safaris in .243 and .308. I can't imagine anything that I am likely to do from here on (I'm eighty y. o.) that this pair will not do. Still, I want to hang on to my .223s and .30-06s and my small assortment of Marlin lever guns .22, .218, .219, .357, and several variants of ..30-30s. I intend for all my .22s to go to the grand and great grand children, and several of them are interested in rifles and shotguns. One daughter wants the .308, and another wants the ..243. We have three guns from my wife's father and grandfather, two of which are at or over 100 years old that stay in the family.

Perhaps I was warped as a child. We survived WWII on a farm with one single shot .22 and what ammo we could get, usually not more than ten rounds at a time. As an adult, I needed more guns. Amen.

Jack

Go for it if that is what works for you.

I plan to pass mine down to kids and grandkids. Might have to get a few more ...

I'm down to a single 30-06. Plus two spares, also in 30-06. And my uncle's early 700 in 7 RM. And a CZ 550 American in 9.3x62 because maybe Africa someday.

I've seriously considered getting rid of everything but the 7RM.


Okie John

I'm never going to Africa if I can help it.
Now Hawaii I would do. But they only got a 1200 ft.lb. minimum for big game, so I'm covered.

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.

I’m down to two 243s and two 308s. That’s a historic low for me.

And various ARs rim fires.

Yep. All of my surplus arms are for retirement supplement. That’ll be two years from now.

In CFs I’ve got an AR (everyone should have at least one), mini-Mauser 223, 6-250, 2-257 Robs, 6.5-06, 7x57, 7-08, and 30-06.

Have seriously contemplated culling down to AR, mini-Mauser 223, custom 257 Rob, and Kimber 7-08.

Be nice to put funds into tags...

Over the past 35 years I've had many, many CF rifles, but I seem to carry the same old Model 70 in 30-06 hunting while the others sat in the safe, so for the past few years I've been thinning the heard to only 2-.223/5.56, 1-.308 & 2-.30-06 rifles now. I'm thinking I could easily get by with that one Model 70 from now on out, but I still like to keep a few around just for the heck of it. My biggest thing in getting rid of a lot of my other rifles was to eliminate all of the different calibers, the three calibers that I've kept will do everything that I need now and later.