Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters General Purpose Rifle, your recipe and why

Pre 64 Winchester action, 6.5x.284 with as fine a 3x9 as I could afford . I like a G&H style wood stock .

Having actually used a 30-06 as a general purpose rifle for more than three decades I pick the one I have. Maple stocked Springfield, light contour barrel, Timney trigger topped with a old Leupold 4x M8 before they made them clickers. Been running 180 gr. Ballistic Tips, Speer Hotcors, Hornady Spire points and Partitions since 1986. I have of late put a Bushnell Elite 3200 3x9 on it. Still a solid reliable rifle.

The biggest thing I'm ever gonna shoot is a hundred pound Pennsylvania whitetail. Accordingly, a good .243 winchester will work just fine.

Kind of torn between two different rifles. A Winchester M70 push feed Youth Ranger in .308 Win. that I restocked using a Ramline I had on hand. The other is a J.C. Higgins M50 that I restocked in a Butler Creek synthetic and added a Timney trigger is in 30-06. The M50 is a good all round gun that I can run hunting loads from along with specially worked up cast bullet loads that shoot to point of aim at 25 or so yards.

The M70 .308 on the other hand can do just about everything the 30-06 can do and be a more useful piece in an SHTF situation. This includes working up cast bullet loads for small game and fun.

Either cartridge responds well to reloading, well at least the two mentioned does for me. Probably the most practical of the two would be the .308. but I like them both.

PJ

Ruger American Ranch....in 5.56

Why?
Bolt action....it will run anything I reload and off the shelf too. From .22 LR loads to full power .223 remington loads.
Short 16 inch barrel.
It is lightweight.
Easy to use.
Inexpensive to feed.
It takes AR magazines and has a good twist rate.

Recipe load is two fold..... #1 is 55 grain hornady with 23 grains of TAC........#2 is 77 grain tipped match kings with 24.2 grains of BLC2.

Scope is a Burris FF2 3x9.

Best
Heavy

Tough choice but probably this 700 mountain rifle in 30-06 . Timney , Leupold 3.5-10 in a Greyboe stock. For a do all I might switch from the 165 gr Ballistic tips it currently shoots to a 165 gr Barnes , Accubond or Partition.

For 5 decades my general purpose rifle FOR HUNTING BIG GAME, was/is a post 64 Model 70 Winchester, 300WM. I used/use it for, antelope, black bear, caribou, lots of elk and mule deer. It still shoots an inch at 100 yards. Recently I was gifted with a Kimber Alpine Lite, 280AI, of which I have killed my last three elk with. But if i am thinking anything beyond 400 yards, or an animal that will eat me I would be carrying the 300WM

If a new guy ask me that question about hunting here in Idaho I'd say buy a Tikka T3X Lite in 6.5 Creedmoor. Put a Vortex Viper 2.5-10x44 on it and you are good to go. While a little light for elk (still works) the 6.5 is a fantastic mule deer round. Super accurate, easy too shoot, and low recoil. Ammo available with lots of options or easy to reload for if you go that route. The 6.5CM has taken over for the .243Win, .308Win and even the 30-06 for a do it all caliber in my safe.

FWIW: I still own a pre 64 M70 30Govt06. That is still a classic and will do everything the 6.5CM will and more. But, the recoil is substantially more. I had it out shooting last weekend and put 40 rounds through it. Had a headache the rest of the day.......can shoot every round I have in the 6.5CM and still be grinning at the end of the day.

IF you were to hunt elk every year then the '06 would get the nod. But if you are like most in this state you draw a bull tag about ever 7-8 years, so deer hunting is much more common.

Mine is my old 7MM Remington Magnum built on a LH Model 70 action. On its third barrel and it’s definitely a favourite.

you hunting them "PA mountain deer"? back in the 'early '90s, my dad (RIP) and my best friend each got a "mountain doe" that they carried it on their shoulders. i had a chance to kill a "mountain doe" but when i seen it, i thought it was a fawn so i let it go. my dad told me that the deer in this area are small, not like "farmland deer" which go 150lbs +/-. average. we were hunting in Bedford County near the town of Woodbury. on the farmland side of the mountain, the deer would average 150lbs. on the other side of the mountain, the deer would average 70-80lbs. i forget (its been about 30 years ago) but there might be a ridgetop or two of mountain deer until they get to the other side of mountain then it is farmland deer again.

i hunt in Somerset County and the average deer is around 140-150lbs. this year i shot a big old dry doe that i guesstimate is around 200lbs. i know she is big old dry doe because every night she comes into my yard alone. until i shot her, that is.

The question is totally irrelevant if you want to encompass everything from rodents to DG.

But if you want to focus on the middle, non-dangerous BG, then there are dozens to choose from within infinite overlap from the 243 range to the 300 range.

Pick what you like, use bullets appropriate to the game & rock on.

Or take up more bandwidth will silly, banal questions.

MM

Bolt Action, SS, .30-06, Classic synthetic stock, iron sights, sling,buttcuff, Weaver bases and rings, 2.5-8x36mm Leupold. Spare scope already sighted in in rings

I have a M70 Classic All-Terrain FW and a Kimber Montana that fit this description. I would like to add a Ruger Hawkeye SS LW to my safe when I find one.

My one golf club 6 iron

Early Sako TRG22 308, 3.5x15 NX , NF rings, 4 x10 rd ACIS mags 1000 Sierra 175 gr TMK

That concept has lead to a several rifles and cartridges for me. Though, for my-do-all North America type game above coyote size, my cartridge choice would still be 338 Winchester. Stainless barrel and action, and synthetic stock. Action type, Ruger, M70 Classic, or Kimber would work for me. A low to mid range variable scope. I would add iron sights to make it closer to my-near-perfect. My only added accessory would be a sling. It would spend most of its time in the pack.

Type of game, terrain, hunting conditions, personal preferences vary so much; I do not think the universal do-all exists. I could substitute substitute a few different cartridges for the 338 Winchester and adapt. I have rifles in 8mm through .375 that I acquired for a do-all. Since I don't hunt-all, several only see range time.

Edit: Including my 338's to the mostly range time.

Current production Winchester M70 Featherweight Compact in 308, add aftermarket open sights, Leupold 1.5X4 LPVO, Vickers Adjustable Tactical sling with quick release sling mount adapter on the right upper rear side of the butt stock satisfies my needs.

Requested: 1) action 2) caliber 3) stock style 4) accessories.

1) CZ 550 or Ruger Hawkeye.

2) 9.3x62 or 9.3x66

3) American straight stock

4) 2.5-8x Leupold VX3i, Talley low rings, Decelerator recoil pad, open sights, barrel band sling swivel, straightened bolt handle.

I achieve these last accessories through my custom rifles made by Wayne at AHR rifles, which also includes gorgeous walnut stocks with a black fore end tip. Lipsey’s specials in Ruger Africans also.

I hunt America and Africa, so given one rifle to do it all, it must be DG capable chambered. My last Buffalo in Zambia last year was a 46” trophy taken with my AHR 9.3x66 and a 286 gr. NP. If I were to hunt only America, it would be a 30-06 to cover everything from Pronghorn to Bears. It would be with either my AHR custom 30-06 or my Ruger Express rifle in 30-06.

A single shot like the Blaser 95, synthetic 30/06
Or
A customized Browning B78, synthetic, skeletonized
30/06. 22" barrel
A high quality, 2x7x40 scope / sleek with out any extra dials or knobs
Simple

You have good taste; W70 in 30-06, McMillan

Start with a Winchester pre64 M70 featherweight like ctw has in the classifieds RIGHT NOW (30-06) and throw an older Leupy 3-9x or "fixed" 4x or 6x and go conquer the world! A .270 would be just as good! You will never lose a dime and stand as good a chance at making a few bucks as with ANY other rifle out there.

"Honorable mention" would include .243 or .308 calibers, newer Weaver or Burris scopes, and a ~$500 McMillan synthetic stock if you must have one for weather reasons. If SS is a "must" for the same reasons, go Tikka for the same general price or $1500-$2000 for a 700KS or maybe a little less for a "classic" M70 CF "stainless".

Can't hardly miss on the first option though!

One man - one rifle, got to go with the NULA 28 style Colt Light Rifle action made by Saco Defense, #2 Douglas 24-inch, stainless barrel in 7PRC put together with their NULA spec stock, trigger, etc. by Outkast Arms. Bare rifle weighs 5.98lbs. Might go with the Burris FF2 2-7 ballistic plex in low weaver tip-offs instead of the 2-7 illuminated Sig in low Warn Vapors. And, the sling would have to be a leather Whelen by Hunter. Homemade rain/snow hood for the ocular and flip up for the objective. She's off getting a new paint job and Outkast's "Super CLR" 3.7 inch mag box conversion. Why is this my choice? Because it's one of the best close-range woods guns I've ever shot. The weight, balance, stock fit, scope ergos, etc. are magical. Shoots the factory 160gr CX monos into little bitty groups. And, I have to confirm (I've to date been a strictly short-range guy) but, thinking she'll be pretty good way out there (450 yds is my goal ). Just so happens according to Strelock that the 160gr CX factory load sighted 2 inches high at 100yds puts it on the first hash mark of a Burris ballistic plex at 285, 2nd hash mark 400, 3rd hash mark at 500yds. "Ain't too many problems a man need flee with seven hundred dollars and 7PRC!"