Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What type of rifle do you buy/hunt with?????

Wood/blue unless I am hunting near saltwater, than I pull out the fuglys.

I have wood/blue, stainless/synthetic and synthetic/blued. I like and use them all...

RH

When I was a kid there were no plastic stocks. Neither were there stainless rifles. And my budget was too limited to buy anything better than cheap wood and steel, the kind of steel which was barely smoothed after it was machined. It bothered me greatly that I could not own anything with proper wood: walnut. So I was quite pleased when I finally owned a Marlin in spite of the impressed "checkering". (Gawd, I'm glad that stuff is history.) But not too many years later, I began full time employment (instead of going to school) and I was able to buy what I liked. There were some nicer guns, some properly checkered - at least cut checkered if only by machine. But it wasn't long before stainless and plastic came on the scene. I thought all prayers had been answered. So I ran that way nearly exclusively for awhile. But then I realized that, often, much of the "need" for impervious guns is not a need. It often fulfills a certain desire to be machismo - or something. It allows one to believe that they need to use that stuff because they live "on the edge". Some people still hang on to such a ludicrous idea about your's truly, but I know I'm only fooling myself to think that way. Yes, there still are times when I like the utility of stainless, but for me I'm willing to accept the fact that it has little to do with how tough I live and a lot more to do with what I'm too lazy to care about or do. Now, when I feel a need to prove something, I carry, instead, one of my nicer walnut stocked, blued rifles. It probably has something to do with a desire to prove that I am still good for something; at least I can take care of a decent gun.

Pretty much anything except semi autos. After some experiences with M16's in the service, I never got turned on by the lead in the air approach.

Stainless and either a laminate, plastic, or fiberglass stock.

I hunt in the rain, it just makes life a lot easier...

My rifle collection has no theme. There's a little of both SS/snth and blues wood. Another place I'm all over the place is barrel lengths and rifle weights. Sometimes I want to use a 26" bull SS bbled 16# 22-250, others its a blued 22" light weight 7mm-08.

I have a core of 4 stainless/fibreglass rifles that I use when I think a rifle may get beat around a bit or used in nasty weather. 223AI, 25-284, 280AI and 358 Norma. Otherwise anything else, including all of my 22 rimfires, are nice walnut / blued rifles.

I have hunt with all types of guns from gloss blue metal and wood stock to stainless and synthetic. I used to be much more particular about my guns, but I have become more concerned with utility than aesthetics. My current guns of choice are either a Blaser BBF 97 combo gun or a R-93 Professional, but I will NEVER part with my Marlin 336SS and still use it on occasion.

It's blue steel and walnut for me, except for a few AR-15's and an FAL, and it's usually a leveraction. I am not opposed to owning a plastic stocked wonder, but most have sorry beading, the length of pull is usually too long, and they just look and feel cheap. Although I have been tempted by the Weatherby Mark V's in the fiberglass stock.

I've learned that good looking guns don't stay that way for long with me. After a while in the desert sheep ranges or running around in the icy slopes, they get dinged pretty good.
I've gone to custom built bolt actions for this reason. Tough McMillian or MPS Kevlar stocks on all. Tough scope mounts and fixed magnification scopes. Baked on paint finishes. Nothing shiny.
I love beautiful wood and blued metal. When I can't do the rough country or just feel like it, I'm sure the day will come when I'll hunt with a Ruger #1 or some other wood stocked classic of some sort. Hopefully it will have nice wood.
For casual hunting, I have a couple of nice shotguns, and a couple of lever actions in .22 LR and .25-20.
One exception is my new 760 Remington. But it has already lost it's wood stock, and may be refinnished with something weather proof before long. E

So what about you, good looking guns or utilitarian type guns?[/quote]

Yes!

Give me a rifle and [bleep] will die.

"I heard that"

Give me one of everything with the works.

I hunted side lock, flint lock, in-line muzzleloaders, bolt action, auto, pump, lever, stainless, blue, matte, synth, wood, laminate, and tupperware.
Love them all for different reasons. ('cept maybe the tupperware)

Some day I'll probably go after whitetails with my Dad's old 1885 38-55 High Wall. Because he said "why own a gun you can't tell a story about?"

Accurate ones is the only ones I own and hunt with. PERIOD! Nothing spells death like a surgically inserted projectile.

Everything else is just logistics. Colour and metal/wood finish means nothing if the dern thing won't shoot.

I went in a gun shop last weekend fully intending to purchase a Marlin 336 in 35 Rem to replace one I had sold in a moment of insanity. I had seen the rifle before and knew that it was a good one. Only thing was....next to the Marlin was this pre 64 Model 70 Winchester featherweight in 30/06. It was wearing a sling and a Leupold VXIII 2.8 x 8 scope. Doesn't have a scratch on it and priced less than a Remington CDL without a scope. Man did I ever get side tracked. I guess I'll have to load some slow 200gr bullets so the rifle will fit the slot in my rack that was going to be filled by the 35 Remington. I like blued steel and walnut with an action smooth as warm butter for my hunting rifles, but have been known to carry stainless and plastic on bad weather days when I just need a tool.

Well, for what its worth,,I have and use both. Stainless and syn if the weather is bad....and I keep the fancy bolt guns to impress my hunting buddies... who can pass up getting their hands on the 340 roy lazermark? they all love it, but it only go out on sunny days.

Lately I've been migrating towards stainless/synthetic, but still prefer the looks of blue/wood

Really both... I like real wood but I am looking at the overall rifle and I will get whatever is available in that rifle. Given the choice I will get real wood

My style of hunting is as physically demanding as my aging body can manage, and I am not going to pamper gear or carry something for sentimental/symbolic value. So for me, that means fiberglass stocks and sometimes stainless steel (although not always.)

If I had a "gentleman's hunt" lined up, I think taking my Ruger #1 RSI in 7x57 would be a hoot.