Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Of the big game cartridges, your bench warmers

When I hunt for myself I never carry a back-up to camp, but I always do when I take others out. It's come in very handy 5 times too.

I never had the idea cross my mind until I started seeing hunters show up with rifles that gave them problems, and sometime in my late 20s or early 30s I started to put in an extra rifle when I took out other hunters.
I am a gunsmith so most times I am able to fix those problems in the field and get them out after their deer, sheep or elk with the rifle they brought, but in all the years I have been doing this there were 5 that were beyond the ability to repair in the field and in those cases I loaned them what I had in camp. One time it was an AR15 in 6.8. 2 times it was a Mossberg MVP in 308. One time it was a Mauser in 25-06 and one time it was a 338 Mag on a Mauser.
The failures I could not fix on the spot were 3 broken extractors, (one Marlin M7 and 2 Remington M700s) one BLR in 308 that had bad rust in the chamber and one rifle that had the bolt handle come off the bolt, also a 700.

As to my personal viewpoint, I was a US Marine and also I did work for the DOD for some years, and did independent military training for several jobs and in every one of those times I never had a "back-up" rifle. In that kind of work, the stakes of what you're gambling are much higher then what you'd loose on a deer hunt if your weapon fails you. For myself I have a tendency to choose rifles that have very low rates of failure for my personal collection.

Not everyone is so dedicated to reliability however, and it is noteworthy how many hunters are really not "gun-guys". Many times don't even know they have a problem until hunting season. That's why I always throw in a gun or two more then I'll need if I am guiding.

Any rifle that I think is likely to need a "back-up" is a rifle I'd sell off or trade off very quickly.

One tip that I like to follow myself is simply to have a new Weaver K4 scope in the box, packed in the gear. In my years of hunting and guiding I have found that scope failures are far more common then gun failures,and if the hunter has some extra ammo to re-zero, having a "one-size-fits-all scope" along is a hunt saver. Swapping out their scope for a K4 takes minutes only ,and the times I have done that made a hero out of me in the eyes of the hunters, especially those that came from many states away to have a dream hunt.

At the end of those hunts I remove the scope if they don't want to keep it and if the do want to keep it, (most have) they simply pay me the cost of it's replacement, and I order another one the day I get back.

I have a Montana in .270 that I think of as my primary rifle but now that I think about it, I never hunted it last year. I have pre-64's in .243, .264 and .300 Magnum that get to go hunting fairly often. I've got some other rifles that don't see a lot of time but I'm working on it.

Memtb - I think you misunderstood - I almost always carry an extra rifle to camp, sometimes more than one! What I meant was that I don't really have a "primary" hunting rifle. All of mine are "primary", its just that many factors play a part into which ones go with me on a hunt (as I stated above). None of them are classified as a "backup".

My wife doesn't hunt with me, but my 2 daughters do, and each of them have a "primary" rifle, mainly because my dad built them each a great rifle. Both are Mausers, one is a VZ-24 in 6.5x55 and one is a 1909 Argentine in 257 Bob. You ought to see the boys faces when they ask if either of them hunt, then they tell them what they hunt with! Most have no clue :-)

Browning Safari in 3006 w 2.5X8X36 Leupold.

GunLoony88, I was just “mess’n “ with you! You being a “GunLoony”, and us being “one gun hunters”....I couldn’t resist! We are the “anomaly” in the hunting/shooting world!

Those sound like nice rifles, practical calibers, and built by your Dad.....it just get better than that! memtb

Mr Redgwell,

A fine how do you do to you today. I hope you're well and that your Canadian brethren and sistren are not too upset that there are no Canuckian teams left in the chase for Mr Stanley's prize. Such a shame and surprise, but such is the world of sticks and pucks.

Interesting in that you posited the question of "bench warmers", as I have an out of state hunt coming up in October. I've been in a quandary since receiving the news I had drawn the tag. I have several suitable rifles for taking a cow elk, but which ones do I want to bring with me? When I'm fortunate to have a hunt "out the back door", I'm of the grab one and go class. That would include traditional bow, caplock rifle, or all original surplus military units.

So, what I'm thinking, and this was partially influenced by someone asking about our friend John's 9.3x62 loads recently, is that it's likely to be:

The CZ 9.3 for the main rig, as I have a load that was graciously provided to me by the 'fire member who sold me the rifle (Thanks again BSA, it will likely get out after game again, after such a long unplanned pause). Shots where I'll be hunting will likely be less than 250 yards or so, with suitable terrain for stalking closer.

Backup(s) will likely be:

Sig SHR970 with the 6.5x55 barrel installed, and perhaps I bring along the 30-06 barrel (add to your total Steve ) for backup to the back up. There are Leupold QD bases/rings installed and each barrel has a scope dedicated so in the event of damaged scope or barrel, I'll be good to go.

Ruger #1 in .303 Brit. It'll be easy enough for me to bring this along with the SHR as my brother lives near the unit I'll be hunting and I can leave the backups in his care while I'm out at camp. Summer will hopefully provide me with time to experiment more with JB's .303 loads for the #1 he wrote about a few years back.

.50 cal "Hawken" , just because I like to get close? Mmmmn, that could be fun, seeing as how I've been within BP range while archery hunting in that unit, under an archery tag, with traditional equipment. That extra 20-30 yards between the 25 I allow myself for bow shots vs those for the smokepole are a huge difference. I've experienced the same on a pronghorn archery hunt, sure wished it was a muzzleloader tag!

55lb Stickbow?? Depends on how much practice I get this summer. I intend to put in for deer around my place, and if lucky I can just walk out the back yard and start hunting here. The backup for that bow is a 45lb version of the same bow.

It's likely the full battle equipped Swedish Mauser, (sans bayonet, of course ) 1918 version will stay home. It hasn't been hunted in years, and likely won't make an out of state trip this year. If I get my stuff together, I have a Remington M700 in '06 that needs scoped and shot in. Although I got a recall notice from Remington that the new trigger they installed a few years back is a liability too, so I may end up looking for a Timney or such before using it.

So many options...............................it's fun living in Rifle Loony land, eh?

I hope spring has sprung there. Here in my part of sunny warm California, we're still dealing with freezing temps, snow on the last day of April, and then we get days over 70F.

I enjoy your posts, thanks. Good hunting when the time comes, too.

Geno

I always have a backup rifle when heading to camp, on a hunting trip, or even just a day in the local woods. Thinking back over 50 years of that attitude I can't remember once ever needing it. Never. I'll continue to do so though- I'm not a complete idiot.

As for a benchwarmer, my whole collection are potential benchwarmers. I have nothing designated as such, as I have no designated "go-to" rifle either. If you called me tonight to go along on an expedition for yaks, tigers, or groundhogs I could pretty much be comfy with closing my eyes and reaching in and picking a rifle and heading out the door. Same goes for the backup gun.

That's a smart plam, noahhh. I learned about carrying a back up rifle years ago. I drove 6-700 miles on a moose hunt without the proper rifle. I had to go to the local hardware store and buy a rifle.

I bought a M94 lever for $240 (oh, darn! Cause I already had one...at home). That year's meat was expensive. I took a calf (350 lb?) with an archaic 170 gr. CIL FP factory load.

I don't really think of the 2nd gun as a 'back-up'.

When I go out with my 25-06, my second rifle is a 25-06.
with the 6.5x55 as a primary, either one of the 25-06's or the 264 WM
With my 358 win primary, then the 1906-made 30 Win Model 94 w/ the 22" octagonal barrel and the Williams tang peep sight.

For Elk it's the 264 WM with the 308 as a second choice.

My 30-06 doesn't even have a scope on it.

My primary deer rifle is a .35 Whelen and back up is a .30-06.

See the one on the right? It's 900 grains and the plinker bullet for the gun in back built by a fellow named Perry IIRC. Weighs a bit over 40# and uses a 250 grain charge of powder.






It will do several things if used properly:
1. Warm the bench
2. Keep your powder supply fresh
3. Keep your lead supply scarce
4. Loosen up your shoulder
5. Keep your back strong
6. Give strangers one of those 'come to Jesus' moments when you touch it off.

PS: I do have a foul weather gun of plastic'n stainless though I don't admit it in public very often.



And a fella can do a lot worse than a Model 94 with a Williams receiver sight.

As all I hunt anymore are elk, my primary is a 338 WM. Back up is a 375 H&H. Magnums. Because I can.

My primary hunting rifle is my push feed Model 70 Featherweight 7X57 with 1980's vintage Burris 4X scope. After that, probably my Mauser action 30-06, also with a vintage Burris 4x. #3 in the line-up is a very old Remington 700 BDL in 25-06 with a Leupold 3-9X40 scope.

My 270 IS the bench warmer ready to go in at a moments notice. Im also putting together a 7mm Rem for heavier game back up. Its my array off oddballs that get the first at-bat. In my mind, the 270 makes the perfect back up

have sold some sexy-for-the-month-cartridge rifles lately. Back to the old reliable 6.5x55 (140 at 2800) and all-day-always-in-the-truck-everyday pre-64 94 30-30.
30-30 wont shoot "bug holes" but it is RELIABLE! From sitting with iron sights with variety of off the shelf OR handloads it will soot MOA @ 50 and 2 inches at 100....RELIABLY!

My starter tends to be whatever excites me at the moment and is usually somewhat niche in purpose. At present I am playing with my .257 AI and just fired my latest 6.5x280 AI for the first time today.

However, when something simply needs to die, my Ruger Boat Paddle .300 Win Mag with a 180 TTSX gets the nod. My meat and potatoes gun used to be a .30-06 (since rebarreled to .257 AI) and I kinda miss having one in the safe that is always ready to roll. Playing with a Ruger No. 1 in .30-06 that may very well fill that role.

This is a great post by someone who knows what's up and has given it some real thought, or at least listened to what experience was telling him.
I'd be interested to hear what your "low rates of failure" rifle choices are.
For such a well thought out plan, I'm a little surprised you trust a NIB Weaver K4 as opposed to a "tested" Weaver K4.

szihn, you must hunt out your back door.

When I travel 100s or 1,000s of miles to hunt, I take a second rifle. This was a lesson learned when I was younger, as mentioned above. That hunt also taught me to triple check everything that I was taking. Two rifles go with me for every hunt, and when I go to moose camp, I usually take a rimfire and a 20 ga. to fill the stew pot.

I was an armourer, both in and out of uniform for 34 yrs. What is instilled into you is the need for preparation, and what to do when the wheels fall off. The military has a supply chain, and people to repair equipment that breaks. Hunting trips do not have a supply chain or people that repair equipment that breaks. While it is nice that you have used your trng, a civilian hunt is vastly different from being in an operational theatre.

These two pictures are from a hunt several years ago. The first two days were cloudless and sunny. Then it started snowing, and it didn't stop for several days. Even though it rarely snows much where we go for moose, I made sure to bring extra gas and propane, tucked into the bed of my pickup - just in case. As a result, the six of us stayed warm and ate well. One individual on that hunt dropped his rifle and damaged the scope. It was because of the snow. He slipped and his rifle fell on a rock. Lucky for him that I had a 30-06 - a backup - so that he could continue the hunt. Lucky for me too. I got 100 lb of meat as a gift, when he filled his tag.

Three moose went home with us. It would only have been two had Jim been forced to stay in camp.

...

6.5X55 in a Tikka or 308 in a Tikka.