Thanks guys... Yeah, Retrieverman, I LOVE my ol' .30-30 and will never get rid of it. It's got the historical and traditional "vibe"going for it. I know what you say about scoping it. I originally had an old Glenfield 4x32 scope on it. But I got a wild hair and took it off along with the weaver base too. Popped in a few filler screws and said, "Yeah, now we're talking..." Most people scope their 30-30's. I wentthe other direction and went back to plain open sights. Honest, my Marlin 30-30 is the only rifle where I can sit there, close my eyes, shoulder the rifle, open my eyes, and I'm looking right down the open sights - each and every time. It just works... So, I want to keep the 30-30 as is, but get something scoped that will be better than the 30-30, but still be in that family of quick, snappy, short action, type of caliber.
Anyway.... I have picked up and held these rifles, so far:
Ruger 77 --- Very nice. Excellent quality. But it just didn't feel right. It was nice, but it didn't spark my interest.
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An old used Winchester model 70 in a .270 --- OMG... I died and went to heaven. This rifle was sweet. It just felt right. There was a magical spark there, you know? But, sadly, this rifle was beat to sh**. It was dinged and scratched all to hell, and it had raised up scope rings but no scope.
Later on today, I willget out there and look at the various gun stores and see what I see and what feels right. To me, it's like how I am with a guitar in a music store... You just know it when you pick it up. You can feel it. It "speaks" to you... Something happens that you can't control, and it comes home with you...
[8D]
Butch A.[/align][/align]