Well...if that's the 'standard mark'... then yes the classics are DOOMED !
Now wait a minute ! I 'LIKE" Savage 99s so don't read more into that than there is. ATST a/the Savage 99 is not the only Classic rifle out there.
MD said above this post: P 4
"Some shooters complained about this back then, which sounds very much like the complaints here. Yet the 721/722 rifles succeeded, to the point where they morphed into the highest-selling bolt-action centerfire rifle of the last half of the 20th century, the Remington 700."
Viking, I'm NOT directing this at you.
Some or many feel that THEIR pet or fav or 'classic' is the BEST or even the only one. I posted on P 12 my fav stock of all time is the Win 70 XTR Featherweight. My personal fav. However, I have seen and do see some 'GORGEOUS' stocked rifles beside those XTRs.
The theme of this thread 'seems' to be "classic wood/blue" rifles. I really like Composite (not plastic) stocks & SS metal. They can't be beat (beaten) for ruggedness and dependability BUT they AIN'T pretty or gorgeous. I have more classic wood/blue than Composite/SS so that's where I am.
Others have pointed out that the new generation is more interested in tacticool looks. Hopefully they'll mature and grow out of it.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as well as pretty is as pretty does , which pertains to womens and rifles as they both can be fickle. But enjoy the beauty of the wood in your rifle and the times your wood is in your womens. Hmmm pretty damned profound if'n I do say so.myself. mb
Last edited by Magnum_Bob; 11/20/20.
" Cheapest velocity in the world comes from a long barrel and I sure do like them. MB "
What you say makes sense, Steve. But I don't have to like it!
I have a pile of rifles, many of which are "too nice to hunt with" but there are more setting beside them which aren't- more than I need for the amount of hunting I do anymore. I take pride in ownership and that's enough of an excuse to keep buying them. They all get a turn at the range now and then but mostly they sit and look pretty.
And I agree with you. There's no need to stop buying them. You appreciate their beauty and have that sense of pride. I have a few rifles here that I only take to the range as well, but like you said, they mostly sit and look pretty. This is the fanciest stock I take hunting.
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
Ive nabbed a few classics from this forum. A Savage 99 308 win and an old antique Winchester 1895 30-40. Ive got various old leverguns like Marlins and 1886's and Winchester 71's but im on the hunt for a good left hand 270. Its hard to find but im looking.
Some of the wood and stainless rifles like the new Ruger Hawkeyes are really nice looking but ive yet to find any. Ill keep looking.
I did end up with a really nice historical classic this summer. A local find of an Springfield 1873 trapdoor and Marlin 1881 both 45-70. Pretty old classics and in the true antique catagory.
I took my Mauser 25-06, which I built myself back in 1991, and with which I killed my first antelope that year, on my AZ antelope hunt this fall. Here it sits on a nice Arizona benchrest about halfway through the 10 day hunt. It was a long, and sometimes very hot, hunt, and the rut kicked in late. Finally got my goat on the morning of the tenth and last day of the season. Stayed the whole time in my wall tent in sweet country, saw tons of elk (and almost no goats!!), and never had to look down at an ugly rifle in my hands. Don't hate on the bipod now, fellas...;o) Rex
I took my Mauser 25-06, which I built myself back in 1991, and with which I killed my first antelope that year, on my AZ antelope hunt this fall. Here it sits on a nice Arizona benchrest about halfway through the 10 day hunt. It was a long, and sometimes very hot, hunt, and the rut kicked in late. Finally got my goat on the morning of the tenth and last day of the season. Stayed the whole time in my wall tent in sweet country, saw tons of elk (and almost no goats!!), and never had to look down at an ugly rifle in my hands. Don't hate on the bipod now, fellas...;o) Rex
There's no need to stop buying them. You appreciate their beauty and have that sense of pride. I have a few rifles here that I only take to the range as well, but like you said, they mostly sit and look pretty. ![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/uCdTc28.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/AP39Jhm.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/dhsC6H1.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/AXtaxV0.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/JMEKxCN.jpg)
![[Linked Image from hosting.photobucket.com]](https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/ad223/Whitebird_43/26AF20CD-7D2F-4B55-8C15-9546DC8C717F_zpscxeeqk2h.jpg)
That's my rifle in case you forgot ! 
![[Linked Image]](https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/143326.jpg)
![[Linked Image]](https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/full/143327.jpg)
