Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Suggestions on reducing number of hunting rifles

Boating accident helps reduce inventory, as mentioned.

A more expensive option is divorce.

That's the one I'd keep.

Those would be my choices for keepers.

Keep the 243 because its your most accurate, or sell it if you need the money.
Keep the 30-06 because its your most sentimental.

Buy an all-weather 30-06 in a platform that you really like, and hunt that till you die. Use your original 30-06 when you want a little nostalgia. You should always have a matching redundant backup hunting rifle ready to go in the same main chambering that you run. You can't beat a couple 30-06 for that purpose.

The 06 is fine.. But if that is all I had, I would have quit hunting 35 years ago..

get robbed

I'm of the opposite mind set. If all I ever had was the 30-06 I had 35 years ago and never bought another rifle, I would have been able to hunt with much better equipment earlier than I did. Live and learn. Instead, I was an idiot and accumulated firearms like there was no tomorrow to the exclusion of "better other gear". Hey, I've enjoyed it; but, it wasn't the smarter way to go. To the younger guys, in my opinion, you are better off utilizing two or three calibers for as many years as you can all the while accumulating as good of gear as you can afford. There will be time to accumulate plenty of rifles later on. To each their own, that's just my take. If I knew then what I know now, I would buy a 30-06 and a 223 and start acquiring other top tier gear that will last a lifetime. I would probably end up exactly where I am now, it would just be done in a different order.

Big Sky, I agree wholeheartedly.

Id add however, if a guy would have quit hunting 35 years ago because all he had was a 30-06, he was never a hunter to begin with!

Only change I’d make to your 223/30-06 duo is I’d make mine a 243/270 combo.

I’m coming full circle myself as well. I don’t really regret anything, as I learned a lot by going thru the rifle roulette.

So, what rifles would you choose? Understand the caliber choices, but let’s drill down another level. Any specific details that you’d like to share?

Keep everything, even duplicates, and take them to ones grave.

Really? They could ban guns entirely and I'd go on hunting with a bow.

If it were me by my rules the '06 would be the first to go. I would keep the .300 WSM and punt the rest. The reason is I like stainless / synthetic for the area I hunt. Cartridge-wise, I like the 7mm-08 but I don't like Tikka and I don't like Sako, so those would have to go.

However, since you are not getting rid of the '06, I'd upgrade it from ADL to BDL with a stable, light, synthetic stock. Might be different where you're at, but where I live it rains a bit sometimes in hunting season and I've had wood stocks warp moving point of impact as much as 12 MOA .. and slowly return to original point of impact over months as the stock dried back out. .. essentially the reasons I'd prefer the Win 70 Extreme .300 WSM in the first place.

Anyway, I'd keep 1, sell the others, and get either a small caliber centerfire or possibly a .17 HMR.

Tom

Agreed! Thats exactly my first thought when i read that statement.....Hell id even hunt with a 6.5 Creedmoor if thats the only cartridge there was 😁😁......Hb

I keep thinking I am going to cut back and sell some of mine but its like they keep multiplying. Why just today another Kimber classic 308 followed me home. I really didn’t intend to buy another one. It just Happened!
Les

Heck, sell all of them and get one rifle that addresses you needs and wants.

Only you know how to rate the tangible and intangible variables for the decision.

And here I am thinking he needs to add a 257 Roberts.