Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Extreme -Hard use factory rifle

For me, it's the Ruger MKII stainless series. The newer Hawkeyes with smooth stainless are nice also. I would go either 308, 30-06, or 300WM, depending on what kind of length/weight/balance I preferred. For ultimate durability, run a boat paddle stock. For better ergos, run either a Bansner or Mickey stock.

Another option not mentioned, that I think is just as reliable, is the old Savage 99 pre-mil versions. A 308 "F" featherweight version would be about bombproof.

Finally, a pre-64 Winchester 94 in 30-30 will also run come hell or high water.

Heavy gun or light?

Heavy go with a SAKO TRG.

Light go with Tikka T3.



If it is incredibly cold I suppose you could go with a laminate stock.

I have one but I swapped it out for a McMillan to save weight. I regularly hunt well below zero and I have had no issues whatsoever with the rifles.

I use Nightforce and SWFA optics.

This dog froze solid in about 20 minutes.

Shot with my old 8 twist .223 T3 Lite that a fellow Campfire member now owns. That thing was an amazing shooting rifle.


















Typical -20 morning elk hunting:

I have a Ruger M77 MkII in 300 win mag with the polished stainless finish. I’ve had it over 15 years and hunted quite a bit in the wet coastal areas in western WA and the high desert of eastern WA. The stock shows a little wear, but the metal shows NONE.

Ruger All Weather has worked for me.....But I'm old and a pus sy when it comes to "Extreme weather", don't do it if I don't have to..

Formi,

Thanks for sharing the info on .mil trials.

Does the T3x Artic address the failure of the bolt stop pin, inherent to the Tikkler design? I realize that reliability/robustness due to environmental conditions (dust, freezing) is an important factor, but how much evaluation is done for durability? The bolt stop pin gets hammered on a standard Tikkler and is a failure point.

I realize that failure of a bolt stop does not shut down a rifle, but makes operation... less than convenient. I'd imagine there is a .mil ranking process for these evals?

Thanks,

Jason

My first thought was a 98 Mauser with original trigger tuned by a good smith. Have the metal coated, and put it in a good synthetic stock.

A JC Higgins M50 would be hard to beat.

The information and knowledge from you guys on this thread is priceless. Great stuff. Keep it coming.

If Manners or McMillan would put out a composite stock that accommodated the AI action....I'd debond one in a heartbeat. There was a pretty good push on Tom awhile back to offer a limited run, but it didn't get anywhere...

Closest you can get is a MPA chassis. I'm not sure if they inlet for the AI in the Ultra Lite.The ones I have been around in the Comp chassis have been NICE, but just not enough juice for the squeeze there IMO.

Maybe you should reconsider the auto thing and look hard at an M1a.

I guess my boat paddle 300WM would qualify.
Never used it. We will see if in can withstand the rigors of a Texas pig hunt in March 😜

Real hard?
Like abusive level?
I'd do a 03A3 build.

Yeah. It’s crossed my mind

I’m looking real hard now at those older Ruger MKII boatpaddle stainless rifles.

Seems like Sako is getting mentioned here - I wonder if anyone could compare how the Sako A7 would hold up in tough conditions. Does it share the same features that make a Tikka a good choice in abusive conditions?

You can get whatever you buy hard chromed for $200, so it need not be stainless right out of the gate.

When I first read the title of this thread I had two thoughts. For more modern designs, my guess would have been the AI and MRAD. I've heard that even the AI is not immune to dust.

The other thought was the rifles used during and around WWI. When many soldiers were peasants, and not literate in the ways of the rifle? Built to take abuse, from the environment and operators?

I find it interesting that the Sirius Patrol used the M1917 for quite some time. And the Canadian Rangers kept using the Lee-Enfield No.4 until just recently. I honestly don't know how hard the Canadian Rangers are on their gear, but the Sirius Patrol assignments are supposedly for months in remote areas. I don't think either rifle is bomb-proof, and suspect that there were other factors that contributed to those choices such as surplus/supply.

Still, when comparing those types of rifles to modern sporting/hunting rifles they appear very robust to operator use/abuse.

Jason

Not sure how up-to-date this info is, but it mentions the M1917 use by Sirius Patrol.



GLOCKS & M1917S: THE REDOUBTABLE ARMS OF THE GREENLAND PATROL

Another auto would be the M1 Garand as you can get 5 round clips for hunting and use the original 8 round clips for other pursuits.

Thanks

358win

My choice for your requirements is always the Ruger Mk II over the Hawkeye (poor finish) or any other rifle. Well made, extremely durable, and mine (with a bit of tinkering) are as accurate as any others in my safe.

I think Mausers, Springfields and Enfields have BTDT.