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drover Offline OP
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It must be an early onset of the winter blahs but I was thinking about all of the various rifles and handguns I have owned through the decades and I realized that I could have had a much simpler, and possibly, more fulfilling life if I had kept it things simpler in my choices.
I have realized that with nothing more than a rifle chambered in 22 LR, another in 223 Rem, another in 308 Win, and a handgun in 38 Special or 9mm Luger I could have done everything I did with the multitude of rifles and handguns I have owned over the decades.

Would it have been as much fun or would I have learned as much as I did - no way, but it would have been more practical. Most of those cartridges have been available even in the times of "shortages" with a little looking and besides that if one is paying attention to the political climate or dealing with only with very popular cartridges they should never be caught in a shortage.

Then there is the fact that with those four cartridges anything in North America, and most of the world, any of our common game could be hunted.

I have never been a shotgun user but for a shotgun I suppose a 12 gauge would be the most common/available and that would round out a darned good selection - IMO of course.

If I had it to do over would I do it the way I just fantasied about - likely not because like most good things in life getting here has been a glorious adventure and if I hadn't have dealt with all of the other cartridges how would I have reached the conclusion on what I could "have" gotten by with.

drover


Last edited by drover; 11/15/21. Reason: clarity

223 Rem, my favorite cartridge - you can't argue with truckloads of dead PD's and gophers.

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I pretty much agree. In fact, after hunting various kinds of big game in 14 countries, from animals weighing under 100 pounds to some around 1500, I am sure all would have been killed quite readily with a .30-06 and 180-grain Nosler Partitions, including Cape buffalo.

Same could be said about various other rounds, including the 12-gauge. Have killed everything from doves to my biggest black bear, a Vancouver island boat that squared 7 feet.

But would it have been as much fun? Or educational? Or would I have been as certain of all of this now, if that's all I'd used?

Oh, and I turn 69 in a couple of weeks!


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Sometimes “practical” is mundane. Loonyism on the other hand, is never dull. 😁

I don’t have much use for a .416 Rigby.


I am..........disturbed.

Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain


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I have had some use for a .416 Rigby over the years, but not anymore!


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John Steinbeck
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I think for gun guys it’s about an emotional connection as much as anything else. No doubt a .22 LR, 12 gauge shotgun, .223, a .308 Win (or several other comparable centerfires I’d personally go 30-06 but then again I like short actions too which is part of the never ending rabbit hole) and a 9mm pistol would pretty well cover just about all bases if push came to shove. A .308 is great in a 20” barrel and suppressed but slightly “under bore” otherwise for lack of a better term. A 7/08 seems just about right for an efficient short action 22” barreled rifle. A 30-06 is great but maybe slightly under bore for a long action rifle and a .280 Remington just right. None of this matters in real terms but has been a lifelong love and obsession.

As a young kid from the time that I was old enough to wander the local K-Mart without supervision while my parents shopped I went to the sporting goods department and stared at the rifles daydreaming about what I would hunt with them. I wanted a Remington 66 because in my mind as a young kid it looked like a big game rifle and I dreamed of hunting pest birds around the house and squirrels, tracking rabbits in the snow ect. I read cover to cover the hunting and gun magazines that were either handed down from my Uncle or bought with allowance money and dreamed of hunting all over the globe and shooting all of the rifles and cartridges that I read about. My dad wasn’t much of a hunter but I read his “The Deer Hunter’s Bible” book until it was falling apart at the binding.

Collecting guns that I dreamed about is something that I enjoy for its own sake and is fulfilling as a hobby. It never ends. The more that you own the more you get into it and want more to fill ever expanding niches. Certain guns add to the enjoyment and satisfaction of a hunt but are not about being more effective.

As long as it’s kept in a certain perspective and doesn’t get out of hand I can think of worse things. Guns are a poor investment when compared to the market but when compared to most other things it isn’t a bad place to spend your surplus income especially given the fun factor.

At some point I’ll probably sell a lot off to finance other things. My son’s 18 he likes hunting and shooting but has never really been in love or captivated by it. My daughter is five and tagged along today for a short pheasant hunt but probably won’t want to inherit safes full of guns one day either. I’ll save a few for them and likely sell a lot off but for now I’m still in the collecting phase. A divorce cost me a boat and some guns but guns, hunting, and shooting have been one of the constants and sources of enjoyment throughout most of my life. If I only owned five guns that aspect would be missing.

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Although I use my Mod. 70 in .338 Winny every year if I had to go to one rifle here in Alaska it would be my old Mod. 70 Featherweight 30-06 and a 168 grain Barnes TTSX bullet.

Next year I hope to take the peep sighted Mod.71 Win. in .348 Ackley to Hinchinbrook Island in Prince William Sound and hunt deer and brown bear on the salmon streams. It will be stuffed with 250 grain Alaska Bullet Works Bonded bullets.

If I can get with in forty yards and have a rest and it is broadside and stationary I will be happy bear hunter. What fun!

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Yet,Dan,Yet. grin

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Sounds like the same as those of us turning 70 soon...

we have plenty of things we will never get to use much more in our lives.... and reality we have plenty we haven't used in the last 10 years or so all that much.

its hard to start getting rid of the things you enjoyed most in life.

If I started selling things I should, my wife sure would love all the money she could get from me for it. nothing means much to most women except money. my wife is no different.


"Minus the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the Country" Marion Barry, Mayor of Wash DC

“Owning guns is not a right. If it were a right, it would be in the Constitution.” ~Alexandria Ocasio Cortez

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Originally Posted by Seafire
Sounds like the same as those of us turning 70 soon...

we have plenty of things we will never get to use much more in our lives.... and reality we have plenty we haven't used in the last 10 years or so all that much.

its hard to start getting rid of the things you enjoyed most in life.

If I started selling things I should, my wife sure would love all the money she could get from me for it. nothing means much to most women except money. my wife is no different.

Sounds like my wife “why do you want to accumulate all of this stuff?” “Because it isn’t just stuff to me.” It’s memories of great times and dreams of others. When and if I sell it it will be to finance some dream hunts not to finance a new kitchen and other trivial things that go in and out of fashion or that she seldom uses anyway and mean squat in the long run.

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In the same boat - have often thought if I only would have kept that Remington 700 ADL in .270 I got just before my eleventh birthday and used the money I spent on guns since going on hunts I sure could have had some nice ones. But the thing is I enjoy guns - big guns, little guns, broken, custom, old ones and new ones - and shooting them. I can’t for the life of me justify selling them to get the cash and buy other, much less interesting “stuff”, as it would mean nothing to me. So here I am still accumulating - someone else can sell my stuff I’m going to enjoy it while I can.

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For hunting, I'd trade the 223 for a 12 gauge.

Often thought that I've only made a few big game shots that
couldn't have been done with my 30-30. Including a couple elk.

Carried a 7mm or 300 to Colorado. Never killed past 200.


Longest shots were here, with a 660 in 308.
Go figure.


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Most here are serious cranks. Our ages vary. But we've loved this stuff lifelong. Suspect there was a period of time over which writers cast the greatest influence on each of us. For me it was O'Connor, Keith, Page, Ackley.....and those Weatherby catalogs.

Mentors matter, too. Guy I hunted with despised the '06. Had to have a .300. To shut him up got one. .300 Roy of course, if a M700. Never looked back, threw lightning bolts at animals. Well, it is a great round.

Not all change is bad. Tend toward cartridge sobriety nowadays, but think the .375R is just a heckuva well-balanced cartridge. But yeah, what couldn't a guy do with an '06?

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I think I could get by with my 7x57 and 9.3x62. Everywhere.


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I am 70 and will be 71 in January and no way do I want to have few firearms/cartridges.
I was never interested in 35 Whelen until last year when I decided to get a "Primitive Weapon" for Der hunting in Louisiana. The law requires an exposed hammer single shot in 35 caliber or larger. The season starts a week earlier and runs 2 weeks longer if you have a "Primitive Weapon"

With Power Pro Varmint and CFE223 or 2000MR the velocities in a 28" barreled Highwall is impressive and eye opening.

I never tire of of new horizons

I may not need a 416 Rigby but I have one as well as a 416 Remington



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I agree with Mule Deer the 30-06 and a 12 gauge would do it all, but how boring would that be? I have bought, used and sold several hundred rifles, shotguns and handguns over the years and learned something from each one. Someone asked me once why I needed another gun and I asked what need had to do with anything. I am building my ultimate, for now, deer rifle, a Remington 721 action in 257 Roberts. I have a safe full of rifles that will kill deer, but the 257 seems ideal for a 68 year old who is starting to feel the years a bit. Next year I am sure something else might turn my head.

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It’s fun to have different rifles to hunt with. I enjoy gathering up new dies and components to load for a new rifle. I like mounting a scope on a new rifle, sighting it in. I’ll be 69 in early March, New Year’s Eve is my last day of employment. I’ll have more time to do the things I like.

I keep going back to a 30-06, it’s hard to beat.

Last edited by hanco; 11/15/21.
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My Dad set me up with Remingtons in 30-06 and 20 gauge. On the big game front I was set for life. Only problem was what I really wanted was a 30-30 lever action. So a 30-30 Marlin was the first gun I ever bought at 15 or 16 years old. Then within a year the LGS had a Marlin 32 Special for $215. It was the Sporting Carbine and I thought it would go great with my regular Carbine. At the time I didn't realize what I had started. 150+ guns later I'm wondering if there's a cure for this?

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Originally Posted by plainsman456
Yet,Dan,Yet. grin


I said I didn't have much use for it, never said I didn't know how to use them.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]


I am..........disturbed.

Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain


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Dying usually cures it MM just enjoy it long as you can.


" Cheapest velocity in the world comes from a long barrel and I sure do like them. MB "
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I sort of went the opposite way. I used to be an accumulator, but about 10 years ago I pared the collection down to 10-12, and that's about where I keep it now. If a gun doesn't hit me with the "wow" factor after using it a few times, I deal it off on something else that catches my eye.

Being able to fit everything in a couple small safes is a plus, since my house isn't that big. It also makes keeping sufficient reloading supplies on hand a lot simpler and less space consuming, too, so that's a bonus.

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