Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles The perfect big game hunting rifle?

Is Larry Root your photographer? That pic has a certain Root characteristic. And heck you could be neighbors.....

Hate to quote myself, but I figured out the picture thing.




Okie John

I've hunted with lever action, Winchester and Marlin .30-30's, and .35 Remington. Hunted semi auto rifles like the old Remington 740, the Browning in 7mm Rem Mag, and lately the Springfield Armory M1A Squad Scout. I've built, etc. five custom bolt action rifles using Remington, Winchester, Ruger and even Sako actions. Have I found the "perfect" big game rifle ? Well, I think I'm close.
What characteristics does it or must it have ? After lots of thought, money and some 61 yrs. of big game hunting, I've decided it must have only two characteristics. One, it must be reliable under the conditions where I hunt. The Remington and Browning semi autos don't meet this requirement. Why ? Because they gum up too easily. I hunt for weeks under very dusty conditions. They are also too ammo sensitive. The M1A is not.
Two, above all, it needs to have whatever it takes to help me make the shot. Where I hunt these days the rifle needs to settle down quickly, and have a very predictable trigger. All of my rifles wear shooting slings while in the field. All of them wear scopes with lots of eye box.
Accuracy ? Jeff Cooper once said that 2 MOA, even 2.5 MOA is plenty for a big game rifle out to 400 meters. I didn't believe him until I tried both 1 MOA and 2 MOA plus ammo out of the same rifle from my usual field positions. Several groups later, I realized he did know what he was talking about. E

This summer, I spent a very enjoyable afternoon with a Tikka 30-06, some CMP match ammo that averaged a little over 1.25 MOA in that rifle, and an 8" gong at 400 yards. Ringing that steel was a lot easier than I expected.


Okie John

It has to be one of these...

I built mine years ago.. No 22" barrels, I prefer a heavier rifle.. But each has his requirements..

Had a similar revelation at 300, not 400, when the local range re-opened their longer-range section after a safety reboot. Smacked my plastic paddle with ease with a couple of loads that only grouped so-so. Regrettably they can't permit position fire any more, but it's still fun from the bench. A least I can verify POI at hunting ranges instead of wishing and hoping.

Remington Model 7 in 300 Savage bedded in an ADL Edge McMillan

DMc : )


PS: But had the criteria included all round favorite..., (just because)



Remington 788, 44 Magnum.

I see what you did there.


Okie John

These three come pretty close to my 'perfect' rifle.


The .338 is perhaps the least 'perfect' as it was a custom build that cost over double what either of the others cost. The .300WM in the center was $375 on closeout at Sportsman's in 2004. The .30-06 was $480 used in 2010. The .338 or .300 both get points deducted for not having quick detach slings. If the .30-06 sported a fixed 4x or 3-9x instead of the 4.5-14x it would be very, very close to perfect.

Here is another that I think is very close to 'perfect'. This one is a .280 Rem but the cartridge isn't important. You can still pick one of these up in a variety of chamberings (and in blue rather than stainless) for $449-$499 from cdnnsports.com.


This ,308 Win Ruger GSR is pretty close to perfect too, and is the only one with sights I can easily use at 200 yards. Using a heavy-as-a-big-rock UTG scope it does very well against clay pigeons at 300 yards.


None of the above are going to win any beauty contests and the .308 Scout probably won't go hunting until I find a suitable, lightweight LER scope for it. The others are increasingly my choice for taking to the field. This year it was the .338WM and .300WM for elk, because I thought I would be shooting as backup, but if by myself the .30-06 or .280 Rem would have been my choice. My walnut-stocked rifles seem to stay at home more and more often.

FWIW, here is the .308 Scout with the UTG scope and UTG rings. While the scope works well at the range - and would be OK for hunting from a blind - it really is heavy-as-a-big-rock. Lighter QD rings and scope are high on my to-get list.

No, 32-20 fan, I don't even know who Larry Root is

I have two that I consider perfect depending upon where I am at the time. !. Ruger M77 Hawkeye in 35 Whelen, 24"barrel, 1:12 twist, wood stock with ceracote on the metal. 2. Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle, 308 Win 18.7" barrel, stainless with laminated stock, 1:10 twist.

Those are awesome.


DMc

I want an 03a3. I got a sporterized one, that is now a 257 Roberts.

If I was devoid of rifles and just wanted the perfect rifle for me I would get a Marlin model 444.

Sako 264 or 7 mag

CZ 550 Premium in .270 Win topped with Leupold VXII 3x9x40. Had it since '03 and shoot it quite a bit...pretty darn accurate too!

Why do people remove the rear iron sights? Wish people would leave them on.

And btw, the perfect big game rifle needs to have iron sights and quick detachable rings.