Im not trying to beat a flogged horse here but I'm looking to put a twist on it. If one was going north to hunt, adirondacks, maine, canada or alaska, which is a more reliable, solid tool,....remington 700 or winchester 70. Now, some things must be assumed, caliber is not in question; weather is typically bad, snow, sleet, ice, rain and fog, etc.; figure on being in the field for a week minimum. I'm also conceding that out of the box the rem 700 may be more accurate and the winnie may feed/extract/eject better? I am a remington man but I am interested in a winchester if this could be a more reliable option. I'm more interested in comparing 'tools' than doing a 'ford v. chevy' type comparison.
__________________
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself. -D.H. Lawrence
__________________
Silence is Acceptance. "To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men." ~ Abraham Lincoln ~ Stand Up and Be Counted !
im a northern hunter, ive hunted most the places you listed and to be honest the idea of a extreme conditions rifle is somewhat laughable now that i i think of it. ive used hunted with remington 700's, rem 7's, winchester 70's and 94's, savege 110's and 99's, ruger m77's and no.1's, and weatherby vangaurds and mk.5's. ive never had a jam or freeze up that was at fault of the rifle while hunting. infact any problems ive had with a majority of my gear could probably be drawn to user error. the only thing that i might want on a rifle is a weather proof stock of some sort but all other so called "extreme condition" rifles are only named that to sell you more features which will probably wont be needed. my biggest advice is to learn how to deal with the extreme conditions (winterizing a rifle, optics and so on) rather then trying to buy preparedness.
__________________
they say god put everyone on this earth for a reason, i think im just here to enjoy the great view
innovation isnt building the most fuel effecient car, innovation is finding out that the belt clip on your knife doubles as a beer bottle cap opener
The very best extreme weather gun one can own is a Savage....it can get rained on....it can rust, it can sit out all night, it can freeze with water standing on every part of it, you can scratch the stock badly, you can even drop it off a horse or down a mountain and.....NO ONE CARES
I was taught the best stocks are laminates or fiberglass, to let the rifle outside while hunting instead of bringing it inside or setting it by the fire and not to use excessive oil, thinking that will keep the firing assembly from freezing up. And I will definately take advice of anyone who routinely hunts in those conditions, such as dylan b. Thank you. I guess ultimately the brand of the tool doesn't matter if it gets the job done. Although I believe stainless is preferred to blued.
__________________
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself. -D.H. Lawrence
And also, I did hunt with a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless for two years and that was a very handy little piece.
__________________
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself. -D.H. Lawrence
The very best extreme weather gun one can own is a Savage....it can get rained on....it can rust, it can sit out all night, it can freeze with water standing on every part of it, you can scratch the stock badly, you can even drop it off a horse or down a mountain and.....NO ONE CARES
Nah I'd rather take someone else's $2500 custom super duper Mauser, Pre-64 Winchester, etc. that way I can get it rusty, crack the stock, and all I have to do is return it to the owner at the end of the hunt
Anyway, aside from the post I quoted, good advice has been given in this thread, any of the rifles mentioned will get the job done, the main concern is making sure that the rifle receives proper maintenance while in the field, keep moisture out of the barrel, keep the firing pin assembly dry.
Last edited by CommonSense; 12-05-2010 at 08:06 PM.
I've got a stainless all-weather Ruger M77 but don't really need it. If you're hunting in Canada, and (like me) Wisconsin where it gets really cold you aren't going to be standing outside. You're going to be in a warm, blind with maybe even a propane heater.
There aren't clothes made that will keep you warm in some of the weather we get here so you'll be inside something and so will your gun.
I also have the Ruger AW and an old M77 wood stocked version.While the AW is a great gun you don't really need it.I've been living/hunting inside the Adirondack park for the last 24 years and all I had for 21 of those years was the M77.Never once had any problem in some seriously nasty weather's.
Extreme Weather Rifle
I am a remington man but I am interested in a winchester if this could be a more reliable option. I'm more interested in comparing 'tools' than doing a 'ford v. chevy' type comparison.
