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

Lawdwaz,

This was far from a thankless job. It was not only appreciated very much, but helped her considerably--partly by eliminating some "friends" who were hounding her about Tom's rifles soon after he passed away.

Will be writing about the rifle in one of my upcoming rifle columns in Sports Afield, but also in Rifle Loony News, our on-line quaterly magazine available through www.riflesandrecipes.com.

Will also definitely be using it this fall for antelope, deer or elk.

Each cartridge is just another shade of grey. What one can do well, a dozen others can do as well.

That said, most of my rifles were purchased only because they were the first I found available in the cartridge I was interested in at the time. My primary interest has been experimentation and developing load data.

I can work up load data as well in a Ruger, as in Winchester, as in a Remington, or a Browning, or a Kimber, or an old Mauser for that matter.

Although my last purchase of a Winchester 70 Classic was strictly for the rifle. I did not wish to pay the prices for that rifle in 264, so I bought a 7mm RM and Pac Nor will rebarrel it.

I chose caliber.

30 years ago I developed a burning itch for a 308 in a 788.
The elusive, good for everything, beater, IDGAD about.

Nothing at the gunshot, but there was a decent 660 at an OK price.
A little Hook Nosed Haggling, and it came home.
Dropped in a Brown stock, I have no regrets.

I have always wanted a rifle in 7-08. I don't have a need for one and I can't use it for deer where I live. But, I always thought the 7-08 was a great cartridge. In this case, the rifle is secondary. For some reason the 7-08 is calling my name even though I already have a .243 and a .308.

kwg

You all must be right handed. These are not issues a left handed shooter has to deal with. When younger the options were few and far between and mostly long action at that.

Drawn in by Brand, model, wood, then caliber. Caliber has final say.

Just bought a rifle not the cartridge, I had been looking for a Cooper 270 win. with really nice wood for awhile and stumbled into a 280 rem. with the wood I wanted, never had a 7mm of any kind before but this rifle really turned my crank, it shoots fantastic.

As a left-handed shooter, I've had to get used to making compromises & acknowledge the fact that my options aren't as expansive. To answer the OP's original question, for me it really depends on what I'm trying to acquire & then I have to settle for limited (or no) availability. Sometimes I have a strong desire to acquire a particular rifle model (e.g. a LH Winchester Model 70) so I then have to decide what calibers do I want to add to my collection that are available for that particular model. Sometimes that decision gets flipped around when I want to acquire a particular caliber (I have a fondness for some of the classics) and then I try to figure out what rifle models were ever chambered in that round. Trying to locate a left-handed .257 Roberts or a .35 Whelen can be a bit like looking for a unicorn sometimes. Often I have to hope that an affordable custom just falls into my lap. It's fun to treat it like a scavenger hunt since I really have everything I need & I'm just browsing around to see if I'm lucky enough stumble across something cool that I want. Fortunately I'm fond of single shots so ambidextrous Ruger #1's & Winchester 1885's can sometimes solve this problem.

Ha I love this. I'm the same way. Its like dropping a Chevy small block in a Ford. Just wrong.

I bought the rifle not the cartridge...I already had a couple of 30/06's that were fine rifles. One was an FN and another was a Husqvarna. Neither had very good wood in the stock. I saw this rifle for sale and had to have it. I'm a sucker for a good piece of fiddleback walnut. Sold a couple of rifles once this one was in the safe. It's not going anywhere...

I would buy the rifle I wanted in the chambering I want.

I'm more of a cartridge person for practical purposes. For instance I find myself being far more interested in utility rather than nostalgia nowdays. My two main rifles have evolved to the 6.5 creedmoor and 223. The reason why is I can use Varget in both and CCI 450 primers I also use in both! With shortages and the pure BS of continually trying to supply different combo's I'm pretty much over. Meat in my freezer is the only thing I give two schitts about anymore. The platform is of importance to me as well but again utility is all I look for in platforms nowdays as well. The tikka t3 is my go to

The fiddleback in that wood does not get any better. Treasure this rifle.

If you practice enough to demonstrate competency, the right cartridge doesn't matter as much as the right rifle.
The right rifle will entice you to practice.

If I'm looking for a 358 I'm not settling for a 243. If I'm shopping for a Savage 99, I'm not settling for a Marlin 336.

My last 2 purchases were because I liked the rifle and the price. The first was a Winchester Model 70 XTR Featherweight 1983 vintage. The second, a Remington 7600 1981 vintage. Both chambered in 270 Win which, oddly enough, was a cartridge that was currently absent from my collection. The 7600 would have been more appealing to me had it been 30-06. I still jumped on it though given the excellent condition of the rifle. Chambering was irrelevant.

I agree with DD.

We all have our favorites, sometimes due to “rifle fit”, failed ammo or maybe because that’s what we grew up with.
I’m picky on rifles more than cartridges. But cartridges must be able to handle the game being hunted.

I’ve been looking off and on for a certain manufacturer’s model with a certain cartridge chamber for a long time. I don’t need it but I had one many years ago and was desperate for $’s when I was in school. I have similar chamberings in said rifle, but “not the same”.
In this case only one exact combination would work.

Rifles are stories. What kind of story are you interested in? What kind of story do you want to tell about yourself? Are you boasting before a boxing match? Entertaining around the campfire? Passing on something meaningful?

I think, our rifles say a great deal about us. I'll obsess about the details with the best of loonies - "It has to be this." But, I also think, that all the info and prejudices between our ears are better when tempered by a little serendipity. Recognize when the Seven Mad Gods of Loonyism are trying to tell you something. OP, get the 6.5cm and learn something, let the rifle have some influence on you and not just the other way around.

Fun thread, thanks!

Fun thread indeed. My last gun purchase was an unexpected sweet coincidence of me looking at CVA Scout V2 single shot takedown rifles that I've been admiring and discovering that they offer a 444 Marlin chambering in them. Which is why I bought one; so I chose both the rifle and the cartridge and couldn't be happier. Outside of lever guns the only 444 Marlin chamberings I've ever seen were in T/C Contender barrels. I've always admired the 444 as a woods thumper on whitetails and I reload 444 for my buddies Marlin lever gun. The 444 has been overshadowed by the resurgence of the .45-70, which had one foot in the grave back in 1964 when Marlin introduced their own 44 cal. version of a big bore, straight wall cartridge which I consider to be sort of a "kinder, gentler" .45-70. Or perhaps a "45-70 light". I don't need the extra oomph that's available with a .45-70 and now I have what's become a semi-obscure cartridge chambered in a nice break open single shot with a 25" barrel and a muzzle brake that still gives me great power for woods deer without getting to .45-70 levels. How's that for rifle looney rationale in regard to rifle and cartridge selection? I suppose it was the cartridge that pushed me over the edge, now that I think about it. ( Still not gonna send my Marlin .30-30 down the road, though).

Many years ago I bought the cartridge, and then the gun, about 35 yrs ago, that switched around. I've bought a few guns and changed them to a suitable cartridge, bought a few even though the cartridge wasn't really what I wanted, but, it'd work OK for the purpose, mostly because I'd be nuts not to grab it at that price, so to speak.