Ok, a kind of rare* target rifle has wandered into my path, so I might have to add it to my arsenal beside me other two new ones: Remington 700PSS .308win, pss means police sniper system, rare occurance that civilians can get ahold of one, let alone a NEW one.

I had a couple other options going already though:

To finish a pair for CAS, a 5.5" .44mag Ruger vaquero. $450
For CAS, a Marlin 1894 .44mag stainless, I have one blued, and older than heck. $450
For CAS long range .45-70 Wesson and harrington 1871 (what the H&R buffalo classic is now). $300
and add in the Remington 700PSS for more BR fun. $800

I can spend a grand on this purchase, it' ll probably be either of the .44mags + the .45-70, or the 308, which would be your choice, and why?

Oh, PLEASE don' t fill this post with " this would be better than your options.." replies, It' s between these guns and ONLY THESE GUNS!

My self I would go with the 700PSS and the 45-70 classic . That would be the ones I would use the most .

Hi Guy, From our " talks" I would think you would think you would have alot more fun with the 45/70 and the 700 Rem. By the way what type of .416 Rigby do you have? What do you think of the 7mm STW?

Off topic but why would you use a 44 Rem Mag for CAS? Seems to me you are defeating the purpose since the 44 Mag is a recent cartridge when compared to the 45 Colt or 44-40. Just my thoughts on the matter but if you are going to shoot CAS it should be with a cartridge that was around in that time period.

the way you wrote it , you can get 2 of the guns listed above , or just the 700 in .308
but , if it wasn' t meant that way


i' de choose the 45/70 wesson and harrington , and your 700 pss

Hey frizz, yeah, I know the mag wasn' t around back in the 1850-1899 period, but the .44spcl was, and as I' m sure you' re aware, a .44mag is fully capable of chambering and firing the sissy little spcl rounds. I also use my CAS guns for hunting, so limiting myself to a round that doesn' t have to be downloaded for CAS isn' t my cup of tea.

Pretty much here' s the deal, I can either get the 700PSS or two of the others, since the PSS is $800, and a decent glass will be $200, putting me at my grand limit. I could cut this in half by getting the Savage and the W&H, but I' m not too tickled about that combination, and the 1894 and the Vaquero together would push my limit close since he won' t give the a discount on both at once, so I figure it' s one of these options:

1894+W&H or savage
Vaquero+W&H or Savage
700PSS

Judson, If someone GAVE me a 7mm stw I' d accept it, but I won' t ever buy another 7mm unless it' s an amazing deal I could profit from, or a 7-30 waters or 7-08. Long story, but it doesn' t involve me getting ' burned' if that' s what you' re wondering! I have a couple .416Rigby' s, a CZ550, winchester 70, custom bbled Ruger 77, and a custom single shot by someone, it' s worth more than I' d care to shoot, even handle more than to maintain it, was my granddad' s, I' ve only fired it twice, once on his 65th b-day=the day he retired, and the day of his funeral.

ive shot the 700pss in 308....it was a pretty sweet rifle..only my friend had cheap glass on it and never cleaned it and shot it non stop when hed shot it and i think he blew out the bore....when he first got it it was a tack driver....the farthest i shot it was 80yds because thats the farthest we could make our range at his camp....but we could put 3rds in a quarter easy when it was new....i really liked it...almost bought one.....but figured if im going to spend that much on a rifle i will customize a mauser.....hope this helps a little if you never shot a pss...for hte money they are a pretty decint rifle i think....but then again ive never shot any real target rifles...good luck.....dont you hate having money to buy guns with and so many great options?!?!

Nomercy,
By the looks of your post, its an " either/or deal. Tough choices!
Either the 700PSS by itself or any two of the others.
I' d probably take the Vaquero and the 45/70, but thats because I already have a good .308 rifle. If I didn' t though, it would be very hard to pass on the 700PSS.
Decisions, decisions!!! Good luck!

If you do not mind me asking here, how do you like the CZ 550? One of my customers is intrested in one and I have never seen the 550 in the Rigby.

Go with the rifles and try the 45/70 at 500+ yards. I built a 45/70 for a guy who shot those distances at steel deer, you know the game. He said you shot, got up, got a cup of coffee, then went back to the spoting scope and watched the bullet hit. He was kidding alittle but man could he shoot with that old cartridge, and with open sights. Spirit front sight and Tang rear. He puts alot of the scope guys around here to shame. It was neat to watch him shoot.