RE: Choices poll and Why?
Browning BAR Mark II safari 30-06 with BOSS system, purchased mainly from family’s recommendation on caliber. I picked Browning mainly as my first gun, I purchased a .22 LR Silhouette due to the fact it had so much natural wood for a pistol. It shot so well, that I have stuck with the Browning brand.[/ol]
I purchased a Leupold VX-III 3.5 – 10 x 40mm, which was another recommendation from family members, and because there were many accessories that I could add.[/ol]
For ammo, I use the Federal Nosler Ballistic Tip 165 gr. This is going to be totally nuts, but I just like the little green tip at the top of the bullet.[/ol]
Accessories; Where to start I purchased the Browning horsehair sling. I bought a gun case specifically for this gun from the NRA, which is a hard-sided airline approved case. Leupold accessories: Alumina intensifier kit, Alumina raincote kit, Alumina flips back covers, and Alumina rubber eyepiece guard. I also got the Browning ultra magnum shooting rest, and a CED shooting mat on those remote excursions that I actually have to lay down and shoot, which occurs during practice at the range. [/ol]
Total cost of my hunting gun, approximately $1,700.[/ol]
This all was a spur of the moment purchase, as I have not been hunting for a good 20 years, when I gave hunting up to pursue more money and a job while in high school. Looking back, I would do it all over and not have a job, or not let the job take so much of my free time to interfere with hunting. Those years of missed opportunities, and times with my family, no amount of money can possibly replace them.