Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Hunting with Safe Queens?

How many of you would take out your safe queen to go deer hunting on opening day?

I've been contemplating if I should or shouldn't. I have a Winchester Model 70 Chambered in 300 WSM. It was a Featherweight until I swapped the stock for an Ultimate Classic stock. The stock was custom checkered (23 lines per inch) with the Featherweight design. The stock has a urethane finish and that is why it's hard for me to make that decision.

Hunt with it! Good honest dingsd and scratched do
NOT diminish a rifle. They add to it! But this is spoken from a guy with a LNIB lazermark in 257WBY residing in the safe

The way I see it is that if I have battle scars, so should the rifles that I own!!

Happy hunting..........

Hunt it if you want.Don't be afraid to take it out.

I decided a few years ago that if hunting with my safe queens caused them to lose value then that is just something my children will have to deal with when they settle my estate!

Odessa: I like that approach. They might sell 'em anyway!

This is my safe queen. Bought this for Africa...if I ever get there. Have not been there yet but she took three antelope and went on an elk hunt.


It is like new, Jap made Classicmark II and very accurate. 330gr GS Customs at 3100 fps and less than 3/4" at 100 yards. With a BC of over .500 they just rock!
It willl also shoot 300 X'x at 3150 fps with less than 1/2" groups most of the time. Here she is:













[img]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pca212c41c574959e3ed905af37587e46/e8414227.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pc961ede6c0c372ec29e9054814a97252/e84141f3.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pfff1ac36dd9a0e9571b890f8edbc8c97/e84141b9.jpg[/img]

I say go for it. I use some of my "safe queens" for hunting when the weather is nice out.

But I must say that what some people on here call safe queens is all wrong. A stainless rifle in a plastic stock is not a safe queen! They have all the romance of a hammer and should be used like any other tool.

I'm out of touch with the spiritual side of this then. The "wood" never see's the woods.... I'm there to hunt, that's the romance for me.

I have some very nice rifles but NO safe queens they all get hunted!

Ed

I don't have or never hav ehad a safe queen.

My favorite go to rifle is a pre 64 Featheweight in .06. This was my father in laws rifle. One year he left it in his camp trailer which leaked. When found it was covered with rust. I had to take a rawhide mallet to open the bolt and you could not see down the barrel. The stock had no finish left on it and and deep stains from the leathe sling. The action was serverly pitted on the outside.
I ordered a used barrel from Numrich, made a new stock in a classic design, polished the action and had it reblued.

It has taken a pile of elk and deer. I had it out last week to check the zero for the up coming elk season. It still puts 3 220 gr rn in 3/4 inch at 100 yds

I sold off all of my collector-type, safe queen rifles a number of years ago. I hunt with what I have, and none of them are safe queens.

AD

My last safe queen was the fancy mannlicher stocked Mauser I posted on the "un-checkered" thread. I put a handling scratch in it and finally asked myself , What am I saving this for? Built it over 20 yrs ago , sat in my safe that long, Now I use it.
20 yrs of enjoyment I denied myself. Never again.

I'm pretty careful with my rifles when I'm in the woods. I've hunted with a couple of guys who totally abuse there rifles while hunting. That's the way they hunt and they use their rifles as tools and that is why they bought them. They probably think that I'm far too particular with mine. I enjoy shooting everything I own, but that doesn't mean they have to come looking like I fell down the mountain, which can and does happen.

I will never understand how folks have no problems driving there $35,000 truck off-road but can imagine taking their $1500 gun hunting.

Plus we are talking about a M70 Wizzum....

Well to be fair to the original poster, I have avoided getting a NIB 100yr Anniversary 30-06 Stainless Fluted CDL. I like the look and think it would make a fine hunting rifle. But...if I ever bought it, I would have a devil of time making myself take it out. Weird thing is, if I bought a used one with even just 1 round through it, I'd likely have no issues hunting with it.

Another example from my personal life: I inheirited my great-grandfather's Marlin 30-30. It functions fine, but I'd never hunt with it, but I love owning it.

So to answer the original question: What would give you more enjoyment, having it all beautiful in your safe or hunting with it? That's not sarcasm either. I used to collect coins and enjoyed it very much. And you can't do anything with a coin collection except take it out and look at it. I know a couple guys that do that with rifles and are very happy. Just owning a pristine rifle gives them enjoyment.

Do what makes you happy! It's YOUR rifle.

I almost gave in to the collector side (kind of like the Dark Side) when I got a Winchester Limited Edition 1895. It looked so neat!

Then I sent it off to have the barrel cut to 20", replace the steel buttplate with a recoil pad and add a ramped front sight.

Now it's a shooter and I love it. However, I'm sure there are some who are cringing when they read this. (To those - sorry.)

These are some pic's of my safe queen. I found some pics on my camera and decided to post them so you could get better understanding of my situation. I forgot I had them on my camera or I would have posted them with the initial post. My camera is a cheap Kodak so I will apologize for the bad pics in advance.

Isn't that the truth? Well said Steely.

Winmodel70, that is one gorgeous stock! I would be afraid to take it out of the safe for fear someone would steal it.