Hello all. Here's one that I've been scratching my head over for a few weeks. This fall, I'm hunting with a muzzleloader. I've been searching for years for that perfect rifle. I prefer to have only one, as I like having a relationship with that one rifle. I have owned just about everthing. My list includes .243 Win, .270 Win, .30-30 Win, .308 Win, ..30-06 Spfd, .300 Win Mag, .338 Win Mag. .303 British, 8mm Mauser and various .50 Calibre frontstuffers. I cant find the right gun. All the rifles were bolt action except fo the .30-30 and .308's. They were either all too heavy to carry, to long, not powerful enough, or ill fitting. My delima comes from this; I want to move. Here on the prairies, a long range cartridge like the .270 is perfect. But I hunt almost exclusivly in the mountains. Long range shots that I hear about sound challenging, but most places I can see past one hundred yards are few and far between. And having a long, heavy rifle is cumbersome. I carried a .300 around for one season, and quickly got rid of it because it was too long and heavy there. I used to keep a .30-30 Marlin with me for the thick stuff, but there are alot of Grizzly bears there. The little .30 left me feeling a little uncomfortable. The .338 was great for power, but then size and weight became an issue. Down to a couple lever action .308's. Good size and power, but the accuracy stank, even for my minute-of-Bambi theory. It is true that I prefer a lever action, so the 45-70 comes to mind. Never owned one, and would like to. And for where I want to move, it could be perfect.

As you can see, there it's pretty thick too. A power house like a 45-70 or similar rifle would be great. There's bears there too, and long shots won't be that likely. Talking to a fellow in the local sporting goods shop, he said guys talk about shots as long as 200 maybe even 300 yards in clearings! I told him I was from the praries, and right away he figured I was shooting an Ultramag! But this rifle must also be called upon to hunt the prairies, where long shots are required at times. My fear is that the 45-70 won't give me that flat tragectory that I have become acustomed to shooting my other rifles. On the plains, I won't shoot past 300 yards, except on coyotes and other vermin. So, the Ultramag thing isn't necessary, as far as I'm concerned. I'm running out of options. I know the #1's are shorter than most rifles, but I wan't a repeater. Bolt, lever even semi's are an option. I will be forced to look for a used rifle, since due to other engagments, I cannot afford to buy new, nor can I continue buying rifles looking for that perfect one. This next decision will have to be it for a while, as I cannot affordto make another mistake. What should I look for? One last consideration is ammo availability. I do reload, but if I am in a pinch, I have been known to purchase factory ammo. In fact, I prefer it. An odd-ball like .35 whelen, while is available in loaded ammo, isn't available at the only store for a few hours. He keeps the mainstay stuff. BLR's out out, I do not like the accuracy, though they are available in magnum calibres. The key here is flexability. Power, compactness and cost. Any opinions will be much appreciated. Plus as a bonus: This should be interesting.