Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What is your go to rifle ????

For the last few years, Tikka T3 superlite 7mm-08 with SWFA 3-9. I've done alot of backpack hunting lately and it's light and compact.

I don't believe I have ever shot two animals with the same rifle.

I’ve used my 300 bar for many years. Now I’m looking to drop to the new 350 legend. Getting older and needing less kick to the old body. Like to have a single shot breech action for primitive hunt all in one.

That's the problem I'm trying to have..
dave

LMAO! I’m slowly getting there. What a challenge.

My fave are a Marlin Guide Gun 45/70 and an Encore with a 280 barrel on it. Like most of us there are a few more available.

i do it a little different> hanging in the garage for smaller critters 22 LR Marlin bolt with a clip, also hanging in garage medium size critters 22 Hornet Ruger bolt rifle with a clip , for big critters a 30-06 Browning BLR with a clip that`s in my house. deer hunting a Ruger #1 custom barrel 257 Weatherby mag. , elk mostly a custom barrel Weatherby Mark 5 - 338 Lapua or my 30-06 Browning BLR when i am walking around or scouting.

I have become enamored with the .250 Savage shooting the heavier 117 gr bullets. After many years here on the campfire reading hundreds of posts during every hunting season every cartridge and bullet works.....the little .250 Savage just works for me.

Montana
7-08
162 Amax tho I have a pile of AB and TTSX's sitting here too

The .243 A.I. is my every day go to rifle, works great for everything little to big. Rio7

Yeah, I was wondering when you’d smell this thread!

22" #2 6.5 CM Fieldcraft, cerakoted, PMII 6x42, custom stainless steel/cerakoted xlow rings from chris84. I hunt/shoot a lot of rifles but I can't find anything I like as a package more than this one.

Since 1972 the answer was a 30-06. First a 760 Rem. Then two decades of Ruger Mark II Skeleton stainless. Since then, the old .458 WM goes out a lot. I have a Ruger FTW 260 Rem that is supposed to be my future Go To as the effects of age chase me down but since the old .458 has been filling my deer tags, it doesn't get out much yet.
For going out and doing Horse chores in the morning and night it is a 98 Polish Mauser with a 30-06 barrel on it sitting in a Butler Creek synthetic stock.
Going full circle, I have a plan of hunting the Big North woods in 2023 and the old 760 will be making that trip.

Kimber Montana .308 Winchester with Leupold VX3 3.5-10 , Varget, and 168 NBT (elk, deer, bears, whatever)

My .257 Wby shooting 100 gr monos at 3600 fps is hard to beat. 2" high at 100 yds puts it 7" low at 400 yards. Drops 'em near or far.

What do you guide for that you feel the need to carry a 375 H&H to back up your hunters?

Unfortunately ; I am the exact opposite.. I want to change that.. I killed my 1st deer in 1977 with a 16ga featherweight.. Then years of tag soup.. Then killed one with a 257wby.. Sold it.. The only gun I developed a flinch.. Some DING~DING mag~n~ported it.. Anyhow I got a used m77 270 in 1980.. I killed a deer with it till this year when I took my Rem700 CDL 06,.. The 270 needed new eyes.. I was using the Redfield that came with the rifle.. Tonight I am going to put a New Vortex 4x14 44 on it..

Ruger No. 1A, 6.5x55.

I have a pile of rifles to cover the full spectrum of things that I might want to hunt and pick the one that seemed the best match for the specific job at hand.

If I'm hunting in tight cover, I'd want a different rifle than the one that I'd pick to over-watch large open areas, matching the tool to the task. For example, if I was hunting whitetails in tight cover I'd likely be carrying a Ruger 44 International or a Winchester 100 Carbine in 308 WIN. If I was hunting whitetails in open country, I'd likely be carrying a bolt action in 25-284, 25-06, 6.5 CM, 260 REM, 6.5-284, or 270 WIN.

Steyr-Mannlicher M Professional.30-06