Was digging through my safe the other day and, being a rifle looney, it occurred to me that I have many that I'll probably never hunt during the time I have left on earth. But they were uncommon, priced at a bargain or just plain cool, so I had to own 'em. The majority of my big game hunting consists of whitetail in Michigan, a "turdy turdy" would do fine, so why do I "need" the rest? Loonyism. Anyway, what's your most over the top, WTF do I have this for, rifle?

Here's mine.(I have a few more but this one tops the list)
Mountain Rifles Inc. .30-378 Weatherby 28" barrel + brake. Just perfect for that 50 yard shot at a swamp buck!

Ha! If worse came to worst, you could pole vault out of the swamp with it.

For an eastern deer hunter (mostly), I'm in the same boat... and just sold or traded my two over-the-top rifles: a 9.3x62 and a 35 Whelen. Nothing crazy about the rifles themselves, just major overkill for anything I'm likely to encounter in the woods anytime soon.

I sold all my overkill rifles, but I only ever had a few. The guiltiest of the bunch was probably a sporterized Mauser in 308 Norma Mag. I've never shot anything bigger than a deer, and never from anything over 150 yards... most have been inside 75 yards. 🤷‍♂️

Wow Tmitch., looks like a Panzer barrel.

Do you use a hunting buddy's shoulder for a rest or put a bayonet on it?


Just kidding man.

My nephew had a rifle stolen so his brother bought him one, from Gibson's, for small Tx hill country deer. A Mod 7 7mm SAUM. He put a bipod on it and I think a muzzle break because I am sure it kicked like a steroided mule. Anyway he showed it to me all proud and in my head I was thinking nothing says model 7 like a bipod and muzzle break. I stopped short of asking if he planned to carry a gold Desert Eagles 50 cal pistols along with it.

My collection is pretty conservative. I do have a 308 with a 27+ inch, #7 contour barrel.

I have a Rem Custom Shop KS Model 7 in .350 Rem mag. It is my go to Black Bear rifle but do I need it? Nope. Kicks like you would expect a 6.5 pound .350 magnum to kick!

My teenage daughter killed a Black Bear with a 6mm rem and 80gr TTSX. Nuff said

1885 Highwall with a 10 twist 28" barrel in 35 Whelen for deer hunting.

With a Gemtech Tracker

That’s cool goalie ! What caliber ?

[quote=goalie]

With a Gemtech Tracker[/quot e]


That’s an assault rifle!!!!!! You can’t fool me!!!

It is over the top for most shooters. Gets other shooters coming over to see what the hell it is.

I ended up with this free recoil heavy (45 lb) 1000 yd BR rifle. It shoots 230 gr Bergers @ 3070 fps with RL-33. 300 win mag Rogue (improved) with 32" barrel.. Uses RWS brass. Had to do some metal work to make the front rest wide enough. Was lucky the rear rest came with it. It is awkward and heavy to move around. One of these days I'll take it out to shoot some jackrabbits LR from my portable bench for grins. Not interested in the BR game.

Now we're talkin'!! : :

Mine would be a win 70 extreme sporter 300 wsm.....

Considering our small land acreage and typical shot ranges, it is entirely too much gun, a little too much recoil to mantain steadily at longer distances. My 6.5 prc easily fills the same niche.

30-30

It's a Fudd meets tactical Timmy Frankenstein abomination.

Probably a custom m700 I built. Tips the scale at just over 6lbs. Chambered in 450 Bushmaster...somewhat purpose built for straight wall states. I don't typically deer hunt where I can shoot over 100yds...it's probably my favorite rifle now. Just light and balanced nicely. Fast and handy. I'd imagine we're gunna pile up a bunch of critters.

I like heavy hitters. My other gotos are Whelens and a 358win Kimber Montana that is sub 6lb with glass. Thats my other favorite.

Seems pretty silly given I shoot deer at 40yds or so average. Lol.

As far as cartridges, I can use anything where I hunt, from 20' to as far as I can shoot is on the table.

Over the top to me would be too nice to hunt. Why own one you can't use for fear of damaging it? Here's mine but I just can't let it go. 250-3000

WOW man that 99 is Super Nice.

-----------------------------------------

As far my 'over the top' rifle, it's a Rem 700 BDL 8mm Rem Mag.
I still don't have a pic of it but if you've seen 1 BDL you've seen em all.

I hunted it some last season but the bucks RAN and HID. grin

I DO own and have it. I can furnish a pic if necessary.

Jerry

JP Sauer drilling 16ga/16ga/7x57R I bought it 20 yrs ago and then hand carved a set of claw rings for it. I always planned to head up to the north country woods with it but am so involved in coyote hunting I've never made the trip.



I do have another in a lesser caliber that does get out coyote hunting. 16ga/16ga/6.5x58R 2 1/2" chambers with 1 oz of NP BB's for coyotes up close and 90gr TNT's for reaching out for the hung up ones

All my rifles have a purpose. I guess my P64 375H&H is closest since at this point I will probably never go to Africa again but you never know...

Mauser and Fireball, cool rifles. That Savage is some nice.

That 700 450 BM is pretty slick too. Bet it’ll be a sweetheart in the thick stuff.

I guess my top contender would be my 6.5-300.

Bowning B71 in .50-110, converted to controlled feed. 520gr A-Frame (a 530gr with the nose flattened) at 2000+ FT/s. It's a big rifle, but comforting when predator calling bears.

Cool rifle. Pretty similar to the 50 Alaskan?

Very similar - sort of a .45-70 vs .45-90 type relationship. I run my softs in .50AK cases and my solids which have short noses in .50-110 cases. Some .50AKs probably can't feed or chamber as along a round, but what they can do is ??? given the lack of standardization.

Makes sense. Sounds like a hammer either way. That’s a lot of power in that 71! I bet you appreciate that pad on it.

Yup - it's got a mercury cylinder too. Doesn't kick horrible given what it is. It's softer shooting than any .470 NE I've ever shot certainly, and serves much the same role. Faster on the 3rd shot too

Very cool. That’s a helluva make over. I’ve got one in a 348 and love it. The 50 would be something else.

It's maybe not over the top for some of you but I have 3 M1 Garands. They are the all time bruisers in my very small book.

kwg

Don't think it's over the TOP, but fun gun to shoot and hunt with, Remington Hepburn, 38-55, Don't see many of the around.
Rio7

Some cool and interesting rifles here! Rio7's Hepburn and FB2's 99 are beauty's as is LlamaBob's Browning (a 50-110 is one of my OTT rifles as well). Azshooter's bench gun is definitely OTT in most peoples book!

beautiful rifle!

I think GW’s plain Jane is fancier than anything I have.
Wonder what his over the top is?

Someone did some amazing work on the Savage. Pretty over the top for me.

What barrel contour is that?

My .460 Wby, it makes a wonderful varmint gun.

McGowen #3 Contour (approximately .705" at muzzle), Recessed crown, 18" Long


I emailed them and asked what the lightest contour would be for a 450 bushmaster. That's what they told me to order. In the order notes I specified I wanted the lightest 450 contour they could come up I with.


It looks like a heavier barrel...but a .45" hole through it doesn't leave much.

My Browning Low Wall .260 is probably my most “over the top” which in my case means too pretty and rare to drag around hunting.... it’s got two cow elk to it’s credit though. Wears a Leupold 3.5x10 now - loves 120gr BT’s.


Reading Wooters, as a youngster I just had to have a SAKO carbine... this rebore to .358 from a .243 has been on a lot of successful elk hunts. It gets little use these day because there’s always a new guy in the safe that needs to have a turn.....

That 99 of Fireballs is a dream rifle. If it has an even halfway decent trigger, I’d have to hunt her......

Some say it is over the top for Whitetails. Shiloh Sharps Business Rifle in .50-90

Probably this one.
Started with a brand new model 70 in 308. Shipped it to JES to rebore to 338 Federal. Then had to add the custom ordered McSwirly and that wasn’t enough. Had to add a banded front sight and removable peep that attaches to scope base. Then shipped off to be matte blued. All in all it turned out very nice but way too much money in just another rifle.

Works great though.

TJ

That’s a DANDY !!!!

Jerry

[quote=elkhunternm]My .460 Wby, it makes a wonderful varmint gun.


SMARTY !!!!!



Jerry

My Sharps 50-90 loaded with a 720 grain cast bullet.

!!!!

So almost powerful enough to kill an elk according to some of the folks around here? 😇😂

I guess the the three Sendero type 700’s I have, 26 Nosler, 7mm ultra mag, 300 Win mag. I don’t really need them.

After my first elk hunt, I was wanting something with a lot of power and that was light weight to haul up and down the mountains. To answer this, I built a light weight 300 Ultra Mag. It was a Remington 700 action that was "lightened" with a #4 Hart fluted barrel in a Brown Pounder stock, with light weight rings and bases. Scope put it was right at 7.5 lbs . and shot great with 180 gr factory loaded ammo. It did not not take but 2 range trips to decide that I was not that pissed off at anything and I sold it. Man it sounded good on paper but it kicked like a rented mule.

Hold on to them tightly boys, unless you need the money to live. You'll never be able to price them accordingly to keep up with this hyperinflation.

My over the tops? Just the number of guns I've accrued, and can't find time to shoot. Or haven't shot..or even scoped. If Yellowstone were to blow, most would be buried under lava...then again, i likely would be too.

Ok, my 1939 Winchester model 70 carbine in 30govt06. Probably my most valuable gun, hasn't been out of the safe in 7 years.

I may have just had an epiphany.

700 Ti 300 SAUM for whitetail's here in the Northeast is over the top,although it's only doing 3000fps with 150gr interlocks.

Sounds pretty close to the rifle I started the thread with 'cept mine weighs about a quarter pound more. No doubt the long magnum Dakota 76 action contributed to that. Not sure I'm that pissed at anything either!

.Tmitch - my friends Benelli 12 gauge with 3.5inch shells. I said something along the same lines after the second pull of the trigger. There was nothing tasty enough for me to use that thing on.

How many ways could a guy go with this>>>



Probably my most "Over the Top" DR would be this Connecticut Shotgun RBL Professional double chambered for 20 Ga. Sabots.






If one is considers outlay of Benjamins......




This Blaser R93 Grand Luxe Stutzen, two barrel set (9.3 x 62, 30-06) would fiill that bil





Small Caliber......



It would have to be this Custom Remington 600" Stutzen in 17 Mach IV



Grande Caliber.....


Ruger#1.

Either one of these two 475 Turnbull's


Nonneman Custom Winchester M71.

Ya!

GWB

What.In.The.Bloody.Hell.Is.Wrong.With.You?

Oh don't worry I couldn't stand it and already have a replacement in the works. AKA the same thing that's wrong with most of the people here

The Whelen financed a couple other rifles, so I'm not sorry about it. The 9.3 I'm sure I'll regret, but it was a project gun, so hardly irreplaceable.

I have the same affliction. Most of them, I can rationalize / mentally justify most of them, at least to a feeble extent.

The exceptions are 2ea 458 Winchesters & 2ea 458 Lotts. But, they were somewhat “good deals”. I do enjoy shooting them, so all is not lost.

Pre-Garcia 338.
Bought it around 94. Never put a scope on it.
Bought brass, bullets, dies, loaded 5, shot them to feel the kick.
Not bad really. Never fired since.

Or the similar 264. Same story, except never fired it.

My 9.3 is going out Saturday morning in peep sight form only. It puts nice holes in deer and never fails to feed or function. It is a "hunter's rifle" and is showing a little wear. I need to name her. The Pine Queen is in the running.

I've got a call in to JES to see if a Husqvarna Imperial 7000 in 243 has the barrel beef to become a 358.

Sweet!

Ruger #1 , 450-400 3” Nitro Express. No earthly need just always fascinated by the old British nitro express stuff. The Ruger made it affordable for me. Planned to try and put together a S. Texas hunt for Nilgai with it , things never worked out. Get a lot of “looks” at the range shooting offhand hundred yards with the Aimpoint on it . No need but tons of fun !

I guess the only over the top rifles I currently have are two 35 Whelens. The Louisiana Dept of Wildlife and Fisheries decided that anything 35 cal and larger is fine for our primitive weapons part of deer season as long as it is in a single shot with an exposed hammer. So I got one. Then I decided I wanted a rifle like my very first deer rifle (which was stolen.) It was a Remington 7600 pump in 30/06. But since I have a .35 caliber addiction I found one of the early 35 Whelen 7600s with the white line spacers like my old '06 and bought it instead. While I enjoy all my 35 cal rifles only one chambering is not overkill on the smallish deer I hunt and that would be either of my two 35 Remington caliber rifles whether my "primitive weapon" CVA or my Marlin 336. All of the rest are really over the top!

Not a huge fan of chassis guns, but this was purpose built for ringing steel. 30" barrel, 6.5-284. Weighs a ton, but shoots tiny groups.

Very true! I bought another 1000’ of leaded crab line for $75 today because it’s stupid cheap. I’ll sell it next year and repurchase the Johnson I sold. 😂

I got rid of the over the top rifles that I’ve owned. Probably the coolest or one of the coolest was a Johnson Automatic or a couple of Spencers but they were too valuable to stick in the safe only to be shot once in awhile.

ETA….very nice rifles gentlemen!

Ruger 77 Mk II in .338 WM with 24" bbl, factory irons and NECG peep, McMillan Ruger Classic Hunter stock. It also has the boat paddle stock. A tougher, simpler, and more sensible alternative to a Marlin Guide Gun or an 870 12 gauge. Only a little heavier and a little longer than the 1895.

I wanted something that would be hard to lose if I set it down with the pack for a bit to do some other things.

Edit: not sure how to get the pic to show:

[Linked Image]

My over-the-top rifle is my custom 6.5-.284 that one of my client's built for me.
Built on a Remington long action
Krieger 26" barrel
Timmy Calvin Elite trigger
Grayboe Stock
Night Force scope

weighs 10 lbs. 10oz.


I take it out and kill a deer or two with it every year.

I hunt in Alabama and prefer my Model Seven 7mm-08.