Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What spares for out of state hunt with no spare rifle

Each year I fly somewhere for a weeks hunting.Land in a small airport and head out to the wilds.

I normaly use an M700 with a Jewell, in a Mcmillan with Tallies.

I cant take a spare rifle nor can i borrow one so I generally take a spare scope, zeroed in mounts. As we are in the middle of nowhere and its always a special trip I'm wondering if I ought to take some more spare bits eg extractor (possibly a weak spot), trigger (ive had a safety spring break before), changing a firing pin is beyond me on an M700 - anything else to consider?

I'd take a spare model 70 or model 77.....
Scratch that. I'd take one of those and leave the 700 at home.

I’d make sure I had some spare TP in my pocket. Never worried about my 700 not working..

Can you carry a sidearm?

Me, too, but it would be of M77 ilk (don't have a Winnie). Original M77, MKII or Hawkeye. Don't have to worry about the extractor breaking. Hunted with a M77 and no backup or spares for 20+ years, no problem. It did have irons as a backup for the scope.

I run leupold and Talley so I bring at least 10 scopes and a couple sets of rings...

Why can't you take a second rifle?

The extractor broke on my 77 Hawkeye today. Called Ruger they are sending another for a cost of $22.96 shipped. They say I should have it in a week.

Firing pin isn’t a hard change. Watch youtube.

+1

How did it break? Like in two pieces or came off the collar? Genuinely curious.

I had a firing pin break on a 700 this year. I’ve have 9 or 10and have had 30 or more through the years. That is the first one. They say there is a first time for everything. I guess that was it!!

If I was going on a trip like that I would take a Sako!

My 700 's have given me less trouble than model 70's and Sako's.. Never had much use for a 77... $11 dollar barrels never made me to sure how the rifle would shoot..

I was told one time the barrels cost $17-$18, so I guess they "improved", ha.

I have two Rem 700. Every now & then they fail to extract a fired round. A fingernail piece of sheet metal is what Rem calls an extractor. I have Win CR feeds & Ruger from way back that have never failed me. I don't understand why you can't take an extra rifle. We always have two extra rifles in our hunting camps. Taking an extra sighted scope in quick detachable mounts is wisdom.

The lip that bits into the rim of the case broke. The bottom third broke off, enough remains to extract a spent case from the chamber, but it no longer throws the spent brass out. It just leaves the spent brass sitting on the magazine follower. The gun is a stainless/synthetic Hawkeye chambered in 358 win. I have put about 80 rounds through the gun.

Region, I had the exact instance happen on a .35 Whelen. Truthfully I was setting the rifle up to be a “bomb proof” rifle similar to what the OP is referring too...

That said, I have had my share of issues with several brands. Find the weak points as you pointed out above, and either have a smith install something more rugged or bring spare parts. And very good friend of mine used a Custom Shop 700 on his elephant several years ago and caught a terrible amount of chit for not using A CRF rifle. On that hunt, the gentleman giving him the grief had a failure(of some sort- point is, anything can happen with mechanical devices) and the PH had to shoot his Buff. a second and third time while the hunter fingered his rifle..

MK

Long story short- make necessary changes to what you feel is a better fix, sako extractor etc.- hunt more, think less

Huh, $11 -, 18.00 blls ! !

I’ve been carrying, shooting, hunting 700 s since 1975/76.
To date —- NOT one problem of any sort.

Anything ‘man made’ & mass produced can fail.

I had a Chevy S 10 that was falling apart (literally) in less than 40000 k mi.
The belt idler arm literally broke off at 37500 k mi.
That was THE last problem I had —-> gone.

I’d take a 700 sans any parts over 4 >> 30-30s. Mike.


Jerry

Slight misinformation for simplicity - Europe. Security means leaving a rifle unattended in a cabin is a PITA. Flight charges for rifles also add up

there is an incredibly simple cure for that......move out of communist Europe