Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Would you chose the rifle or the cartridge?

I bought a Winchester featherweight in .243 just because I thought it was a good looking rifle.

I wanted that rifle in .257 Roberts and couldn't find one. BIG mistake. I was never happy with that rifle and ended up trading it off less than a year later.

Thank goodness, I've learned to wait for something now, instead of making bad decisions. Old age has finally helped something!

Virgil B.

This just happened to me. I wanted an A Bolt Medallion in a short action. I preferred a 7-08, but would consider a 308, 243 or even a 22-250. I figured I could always rebarrel if the cal bothered me that much. I found one in 308, drug me feet a bit because it was over my self imposed limit by $100, and it sold. 2 weeks later I lucked into a 260, $150 below my max price. I never knew they were made in 260 and am anxiously awaiting it's arrival at my FFL.

Depends on what I'm looking to do. One year I wanted a M70 to make a 35 Whelen. Found a 270 and rebarreled it. Next year I wanted a M70 in 257 Roberts. Well I ended up with a M54 Target in 257R. My 308 is a Rem 700. Only ones that are not caliber dependent are my Mausers. For those I'm really just looking at the rifle. I'll make the caliber work in that case.

The cartridge……I’ll either find a satisfactory rifle or if necessary build one! memtb

To me, it almost always the platform for the intended application first. Cartridges are very simply bullet launchers. With today's super bullets, cartridge is of lesser importance than being able to hit the target from field positions - and said rifle must be capable of functioning in all types of weather.

As had been said, a rebarrel is about $700 away.

The sad thing is you pay that much for a rebarrel, when an off the shelf Tikka will outshoot your rebarreled rifle for the same cost: In essence, you gain nothing, but lose a lot. Also, if you rebarrel a rifle like what the OP is looking for, you reduce said value of that rifle. You take all collectability away. I still don't know if he's looking for a brand new BACO or a used model 70 featherweight?? He didn't answer my question on that subject. I'd personally just look for a used XTR featherweight, pre 64 fwt, or classic fwt. I recently saw a BACO fwt that had obviously been rebarreled. They wanted $650.00 for the rifle, and the shop sat on it for quite a while.

Also, vbshootingrange makes a great point about buying and then not being happy with said purchase. Eventually that will eat on you, until you undoubtedly sell it.

I also see a lot of waste you guys do when it comes to what you do to your rifles. I will go out and buy a used rifle, at an extremely good deal, fine tune them (which costs almost nothing) and have an exceptional rifle that shoots dime sized groups. It's all in how you look at things, but that's how I'd be doing it.

Kinda. It is easier to rebarrel than try to make a rifle 'fit' my dimensions. A rifle is only as good a deal as it fits the person and needs. A great shooting rifle that doesn't fit a person, or meets the need is way more expensive after you churn 3-4-5 of them. And what if said rifle doesn't shoot well? You either sell it (see my churn comment) or you buy another and try again.

Case in point: the Kimber Montana platform fits me well, serves my purposes almost to perfection. I had a Montana in 257 Robts I acquired in a trade. Trade worked out great for the other person. The 257 was a solid 1.5" gun on its best day. After $100 in components, it became a 338 Fed which now shoots subMOA with several loads and bullets. In the end, it was way cheaper for me to rebarrel than churn through a bunch of other rifles.

In my view after a guy has been doing this for a while he knows what works for him and what doesn't. To me it's still easier to pick the platform, then cartridge, and if that won't shoot rebarrel with a quality barrel and 'Smith. You end up with the platform you prefer and a cartridge that fits the need.

For me it's a combination of both.

Platform first, I can make the cartridge work. That does not usually work the other way around.

I have bought 2 new rifles in the past 2 years and they are both now gone,everythng else is used and not made in the last 15-20 years.

There are certain combinations of rifle and cartridge that appeal to some hunters, especially "mature" guys, such as:

Mannlicher-Schoenauer Model 1903 in 6.5x54 M-S.
Mauser Werke Model B in 7x57.
Remington 722 .257 Roberts, or even .244 Remington, or the 721 in .300 H&H.
Savage 99 ("pre-mil")in either .250 or .300--or for the real "mature" loonies, .22 High Power or .303 Savage.
Springfield 1903 sporters in .30-06, whether Griffin & Howe, Sedgley, or Springfield Armory.
Winchester Model 1894 or 94 in .25-35, .30-30 (or .30 WCF), or .32 Special.
Winchester Model 1895s in .30-40, or .30-06.
Winchester pre-'64 Model 70 Featherweight in .270, or "magnum" .300 or .375H&H. Or a .264 Westerner.
Winchester Model 71

The list could go on and on--and on, including such stuff as .35 Whelens by various manufacturers back when the cartridge was a wildcat,
or pre-'64 Model 70s in .22 Hornet or .220 Swift, or British double rifles in any Nitro-Express round from .450/400 on up, or whatever "classic combination you can some up with.

There are also some "classic" combinations of more recent rifles and cartridges, such as a Remington 700 in .280 or 7mm Express, an Ultra Light Arms Model 20, or one of the dozens of cutting-edge 21st century rifles in 6.5 PRC or whatever cartridge du jour.

Have owned most of these at one time or another, and have found they all kill stuff if you shoot 'em straight.

If it’s not exactly what I want, I will never be happy with it.

….even if it is exactly what I want I’m always able to add something or subtract something from “perfection” and then “forced” to commence my search once again. 😀

I really kick myself for getting rid of a couple of Kimber Montanas I owned. I’d like to find a stainless 338wm. 😀

Then I’d be done for good…..😂

For the longest time, I’d not consider a 270 in a Remington rifle, nor a 280 in a Model 70. Just didn’t seem the right match. Sometimes people are funny. Me, at least. 🤔

Here's one of my latest rifles, a New Ultra Light Arms Model 20 6.5-.284. It belonged to my late friend Tom McIntyre, the well-known outoodr writer who passed away a few months ago. I helped his wife with the gun collection, and bought several of Tom's guns.

Among his eclectic collection, I bought several guns. He had three NULAs, and this one appeared to be unfired. He also had a collection of about as many scopes, and one I kept was the one he was given when he was given the Zeiss Writer of the Year Award in 2012. Its a Conquest, which they apparently no longer offer, a 1.4-5.5x "slug gun model," with his name on it. I suspect Zeiss called it a 5.5x on the top end because it would appeal more to shotgun hunters, but it is definitely at least 6x, or a little more.

Anyway, I wanted both the rifle and scope because they were Tom's, and am working up handloads to take black bear hunting this spring. This is partly because we're getting a little low on black bear meat--but mostly because it was Tom's rifle, and scope.

Which is of course why many of us hunt with rifles that belonged to friends and family, even though they may not be the combination we might consider "perfect" for some supposed "job. And I am quite certain it will work, even though the cartridge might not meet somebody else's definition of a perfect bear cartridge....

Save some time and money and wait for what you want.

Big game cartridges are more alike than most will admit but you won't be happy if you hurry to buy the wrong one, for you.

Most any rifle will do the job but the Right one will be with you for a while.

We live in a time of plenty and instant gratification.... wait a bit for the right one.

Edit. Mule Deer, I'm sorry to hear you lost a friend. I'm sure he'd have been glad you are putting one of his rifle/scope combinations to work and remembering him.

Some of you also might be amused by going to the "Home Page" of 24hour, and clicking on my article "The Pursuit of Perfection."

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/the-pursuit-of-perfection/

Apologies. As I replied to HotSoup, I'm not really looking. This was just a random though I had and wondered what others would do in the same situation.

I could have as easily stated a Kimber classic in 7-08 or a Sako in 6.5x55.

I'm usually a 1) caliber then 2) rifle kinda guy.
Right now, I'm on a .22 Hornet kick, except NO H&R Handi!
I had one and loved it, but it was a real butt pain!
It would shoot a fly off an apple at 100 yards for 5 or 6 rounds. The next one may not be in the same county.
I killed a wider variety of game with that rifle than any other firearm I've ever owned!

I also love Ruger No.1 rifles, but don't want just "any" caliber.

I like 16 gauge shotguns, but will take a Win M12 in any gauge except twelve....unless it's to resell.

Oh well, that's just me!

I’ll play. What are you going to do with a 308 that you couldn’t do with a 6.5 Creed?

I probably wouldn’t go from short action to long. But unless there is some other motivation for having a 308 that we aren’t aware of, what’s the difference?

It's nice that you could help his wife with offloading the guns. I've done the same thing a couple times and it was always a thankless job.

I look forward to hearing more about this project & your hunt.