Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles expensive lessons---what have you learned

My lessons fall in line with what a lot have already posted here:

1. I have spent WAY too much money playing musical rifle chairs...Selling one to fund another, buying the new flavor of the month, building the "ultimate rifle", ect. I bet over the last 10 years I have owned at one point or another 30 different rifles and am currently at 4 (1 is my sons, 1 is my wifes, 2 for me) I would hate to add up the total amount of money I lost in all those transactions. My son has his 6.5 creedmoor I built for him which should/could last him a lifetime if he wishes. My wife has taken permanent ownership of the 270, and I have a 280 Ackley and a 375 H&H that I both love. We are covered. (Yes we have a 22 and shotguns)

My focus has really changed, especially this year, and going forward I see myself spending less on rifles and ammo and more on hunts. With my son being able to legally chase big game this coming spring, I want to be able to spend my money on hunts with him as he grows up. I also have less than zero luck when it comes to big game draws here in Idaho, so if I want to chase Goats, Sheep, Moose, ect - I am going to have go out of state/out of country and pay for it.lol

2. Its ok to be an optics snob - on the binocular side. I have Leica Geovids HD 10X42 and would pay twice the going rate if need be to get them if I had to. To me they are the best hunting tool I own and I always try to get the best glass I can afford. My wife has Tract Toric 8x42's and my son Zeiss Terra 8x32. BUT when it comes to rifle scopes, I don't need 1-3k in a scope. I could realistically do all the hunting I am ever going to do with a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 (my favorite scope). The most expensive scope I have is a Swaro 4-12X50 BT on my 280 ackley, and while its nice and I am sure not getting rid of it - it doesn't offer that much more than a $3-400 conquest. Heck, a $200 3-9x40 leupold or burris would cover most of it to be honest... I don't really have a need for a NF, S&B, or anything equivalent - no matter what crazy idea or project pops into my head from these forums...lol

1) I cleanly killed decent sized piles of game animals with a rifle that I later learned shot like crap. I should have never started shooting paper with it.

2) In the future, If I have a rifle that doesn't shoot to my expectations I will send it down the road before I spend hundreds of dollars on load development, stock work, cryo-treating, etc.

3) I like customs and will continue to buy/build them.

4) I like used factory rifles and will continue to buy them

This is good info for some people. For those who really like optics is does not hold water. For some the scope is only a glorified sight. For others it is a very fun toy to top off a fun toy.

I think of many of the adults that I grew up around and they all had lots of guns. Maybe two of the adults had few guns.

I remember looking at an entire false wall of lever action rifles(probably more than 200) at Dean Wilson Sr.'s place. Dean was a fur buyer and travelled throughout Alaska. I believe that when he died of Parkinson's disease that he gave rifles to all of his long time customers. I think my father got one of his lever action Marlin 1893 30/30s. I own it today. I shot a lot of vermin and killed a wolf with that rifle. It has an uncanny ability to take out running or flying game.

I also remember Jim Harris's gun auction. His kids wanted to sell and liquidate his entire collection. Jim Harris hunted all over the world. Jim was a school teacher but he put together a magnificent collection of guns that collectors came from all over the nation. He had well over 250 guns yielded more than 250,000 dollars. I bought my wife one of his Jay Frazer Custom Mexican Mauser sporters in 6.5X55. It is a peach and a great rifle. Its a little heavy but it doesn't kick much either.

I never got to look at Michael Petrov's collection but it must have been magnificent. His family kept many of his more important pieces.
Phil Shoemaker purchased many of his nicer pieces. Phil must have one of the nicest collection of rifles in the world. He has also hunted throughout the entire world. He has some beautiful rifles. I think that Phil could work with APHA to create a state of Alaska Rifle Museum like Cody.

Even my father had more than 100 rifles and handguns after he had given his friends and relatives guns. His notion of never selling a gun unless you doubled your money really is something that I have doubled down on. He liked both Remingtons and Winchesters and Colts and Smiths. Many of his colts were stolen. He didn't have dementia but he had a lot of people who worked on his house and he had probably 40-80 guns stolen over the last 15 years.

The thing about these people is that you can tell from their collections that they lived well. Phil continues to live well following this course. Right now he is a model for younger generations.

Of the people who are my age, I can only think of one guy who has volume and he is a custom gun maker.

I don't think Jack O'Connor had huge numbers of guns. But he had truly valuable and wonderful guns.

I really don't have a huge list of guns that I would want to acquire. But I do have a list. I could live perfectly for the rest of my life with what I presently have.

Expensive lessons I've tried to learn from:
Be careful what you buy off the internet. I have a couple of rifles that are great now that I have worked on them but were not quite what the seller represented.
Get a rifle in an action that you like in a caliber that you like and have the stock fitted to you. Unless your body is "average" it will become your favorite and you will never regret it.
Don't ever go to Africa on a safari. It will become an obsession and you will want to sell everything you have to go back.

def.of a woman = greatest money reducing agent known to mankind.

one might lose a chunk of money on a rifle they sell, but it won't then have lawyers
keep trying to get money out of ya!..

Ringman,

I agree with you. Someday when I have a bigger budget I'm going to spend several thousand on a nice scope. On my current budget that is soon to change my quote holds true for myself


Trystan

It took a lot of experimentation to figure out what I like/wanted/works, and that was money well spent. Keeps a guy out of trouble and for the most part, it isn't too much money actually "lost."

A new $2000 Benelli shotgun won't kill a dove any deader than that old Remington 11-48 will.

Dakota, I'm not being obtuse -- on purpose < grin.

I have done a LOT of experimenting and spent a LOT of money on diff rifles and cartridges to find out that the new stuff
doesn't do better OR as well as what I liked 35 years ago.

I'd of been $$$$$ ahead by staying with my 6mm Rem, 270 W, & 7 mm RM.

However I'd agree that ALL THAT kept me busy, occupied, and out of trouble.

Jerry

I'm not a huge ruger guy myself... but that could be for any rifle, instead of spending 3K on reworking a remington or custom action into something you want, find the closest thing that remington makes (probably not too far off spec wise) and buy as many of them as you can afford and shoot them all and sell the ones that don't shoot.

Instead of getting a Weatherby Mk V, buy a half dozen vanguards and do the same...

heck... you could buy 3-4 real cheap models of anything, and your flavor of McMillan edge stock and shoot them all and then bed the one that shoots the best and still come out ahead... in both money and accuracy!!!

Agreed. I tend to lean toward Howa/Vanguards and Tikkas regarding cheaper rifles and think buying three would probably be enough to find a really good one. For that matter, one may be enough, particularly one Tikka.

Coyote Hunter,

I was under the impression that we were commenting on what proved to be expensive for ourselves individually not what we feel would be a waist of money for others. My comment was directed only at myself just to be clear ☺ Regardless of that you make some very good points and there's nothing wrong with that. ☺☺☺



Trystan

Now that is profound. Never heard that line before. At my age, I'd rather pour money into rifles that shoot well. Age does that to some.

1. Never, I mean NEVER, ask a hunting forum for the best XXX on the market. After 15 pages, the OP has gone on to something else and you'll have 75 different people arguing about this item or that item when all it takes is to find what works for YOU.
2. Magnum anything never killed an animal any deader or any farther than a person that knows how THEIR rifle shoots. (Practice, in other words)
3. Going after the current fad is a losing proposition from the start.
4. Pick 4 calibers/cartridges and stick with those.
5. Scopes matter, the price of the scope not so much. Pick the scope for the cartridge and hunting conditions and learn to use it and the rifle.
6. If you're collecting, pick ONE or TWO types and collect just those. The person that dies with the most firearms is still dead.

I know there are others.

That if I'd of stayed and never strayed from the 7 mm Rem Mag I bought when 15 years old and my old 870 I'd have a hell of a lot more money to spend on liquor, women and going hunting but to be fair the money spent on women still was wasted. MB

Most expensive lesson I learned: Not ducking out the back door instead of saying "I do."

Most expensive gun lesson: "Oh, it won't take much to make this old rifle as good as new."

Trade if for a Featherweight, you won't need no stinkin' gun bearer.

26" IC and 28" FC that shoots shot like a rifle. Have made quail turn into a fluff of spray and feathers with that one and now you know why I have the IC. The FC barrel is also a master of the Forster slug out to about 75 yds or so.

Thanks for the offer Dan.
I read this earlier today and have taken some time to consider it.

I suppose I'll keep this one for sentimental reasons. I & my Dad had M 50s in the 60s - 70s when
we bird hunted. This one was his, so......

Thanks again and I believe you'll understand.

Jerry