If you had to start all over ...
10-25-2019, 12:29 PM
#21
Super Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Northern California
Posts: 18,382
Real simple:
a Browning 20 Ga over'under ultralight (for defense, small game, and upland game)
A 6mm Remington (or .243) in either a Rem 700 or M-70 Winchester (varmints and smaller big game)
An M-70 Winchester in .30-06 (big game)
A bolt action CZ in .22 LR
There would be a lot more I would want but these will take care of anything that needs to taken care of for now.
a Browning 20 Ga over'under ultralight (for defense, small game, and upland game)
A 6mm Remington (or .243) in either a Rem 700 or M-70 Winchester (varmints and smaller big game)
An M-70 Winchester in .30-06 (big game)
A bolt action CZ in .22 LR
There would be a lot more I would want but these will take care of anything that needs to taken care of for now.
11-01-2019, 02:42 PM
#22
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 454
Defense: For concealed carry, probably a Sig P365. Home defense, A Walther P99.
Big Game: Browning X-Bolt Hell's Canyon Speed in .308 Win topped with a Vortex Strike Eagle 3 3x-18x scope. Or a Savage Model 16 in .338 Federal.
Small Game: I don't do, but probably a Ruger 10/22. If bigger "small game", then a Savage Model 11 in .243 Winchester.
Varmints: Ruger 10/22.
Bonus Answers: Birds: Remington or Mossberg pump action 12 gauge.
Hunting Backup: Ruger Super Redhawk in .44 magnum.
I don't do black powder or competition.
Big Game: Browning X-Bolt Hell's Canyon Speed in .308 Win topped with a Vortex Strike Eagle 3 3x-18x scope. Or a Savage Model 16 in .338 Federal.
Small Game: I don't do, but probably a Ruger 10/22. If bigger "small game", then a Savage Model 11 in .243 Winchester.
Varmints: Ruger 10/22.
Bonus Answers: Birds: Remington or Mossberg pump action 12 gauge.
Hunting Backup: Ruger Super Redhawk in .44 magnum.
I don't do black powder or competition.
11-01-2019, 05:15 PM
#23
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Winchester, Wyoming
Posts: 35
This is my list as a dedicated hand loader!
#1- Ruger Mark Series .22 RF semi-auto ( small game, personal defense)
#2- Ruger 77/22 SS, 22 RF
#3- S&W X Frame 460 Good for big game out to 125/150 yards, and 410 equivalent shotshells ( small game, varmints at close range). Can be hand loaded with light bullets @ low velocity for plinking, self defense (human), and small game
#4- A large case capacity rifle cartridge, .358 diameter bullet or larger. With cast bullets can be used for small game up to “small” big game, or with jacketed or mono bullets capable of high velocities and flat trajectories. Summary: I’ll choose my .375 AI!
#5- Any good pump action 12 gauge shotgun, with multiple chokes and barrel not to exceed 26” (small game, waterfowl, defense)
memtb
#1- Ruger Mark Series .22 RF semi-auto ( small game, personal defense)
#2- Ruger 77/22 SS, 22 RF
#3- S&W X Frame 460 Good for big game out to 125/150 yards, and 410 equivalent shotshells ( small game, varmints at close range). Can be hand loaded with light bullets @ low velocity for plinking, self defense (human), and small game
#4- A large case capacity rifle cartridge, .358 diameter bullet or larger. With cast bullets can be used for small game up to “small” big game, or with jacketed or mono bullets capable of high velocities and flat trajectories. Summary: I’ll choose my .375 AI!
#5- Any good pump action 12 gauge shotgun, with multiple chokes and barrel not to exceed 26” (small game, waterfowl, defense)
memtb
12-14-2019, 05:33 AM
#25
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 454
All of my hunting rifles are Savage. They're good, but I bought them at a time when I wasn't sure I would continue hunting (=low cost), and also didn't know what made a good "hunting rifle".
The biggest single regret I have about these is not that they're Savage rifles, but that they're not stainless. Forced to re-arm, I would undoubtedly get at least one X-Bolt, but I'd be satisfied with Savage as long as they were stainless (i.e. Model 16s instead of Model 11s). Except perhaps my .22 plinker, I would not buy another blued rifle. I've struggled with rust prevention in the field too much. If the Savage Bear Hunter didn't have that asinine base plate, I'd grab one in .338 Federal tomorrow.
The biggest single regret I have about these is not that they're Savage rifles, but that they're not stainless. Forced to re-arm, I would undoubtedly get at least one X-Bolt, but I'd be satisfied with Savage as long as they were stainless (i.e. Model 16s instead of Model 11s). Except perhaps my .22 plinker, I would not buy another blued rifle. I've struggled with rust prevention in the field too much. If the Savage Bear Hunter didn't have that asinine base plate, I'd grab one in .338 Federal tomorrow.
12-15-2019, 04:08 AM
#27
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 454
The baseplate? No, I kinda think the bear pawprint is cool. I just prefer magazines. To be fair though, Savage magazines are one of the weakest aspects of Savage rifles (X-bolt magazines are much nicer), so replacing the Savage magazine with a baseplate is not as much of a sin as it would be on other rifles.
Also, a gun store near me has two Bear Hunters, and one of them has a broken baseplate latch. Not something I'd want to see fail while hunting bears.
Also, a gun store near me has two Bear Hunters, and one of them has a broken baseplate latch. Not something I'd want to see fail while hunting bears.
12-15-2019, 07:29 AM
#28
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: WY
Posts: 2,056
When you say "baseplate," I'm thinking you have a mortar. Do you mean "floorplate"?
I have every game animal in the world covered, times at least two in most cases. As well, I own at least one of most makes, and there are things I like and dislike about all of them. But for starters:
Small Game/Plinking: Everyone should have a .22 LR. I like the BL-22, but also fond of a nice, hand-me-down heirloom Winchester M61A
Varmints: Tough between .22-250 and .223, but over the years, I've found the .223 far more versatile. Not too much, not too little. I like MSRs, but I think my favorite .223 is a CZ 527 Varmint Laminated
Deer/Antelope: .243, hands-down. I've a few to choose from, but I think my favorite is a Ruger No 1-B
Deer/Elk/Moose: This is a hard one. Where I'm just hunting elk and moose, a .30-06 is fine and not overkill for deer. Where other critters might hunt back, I'm more prone to carry a .300 Magnum or .338 Win. This might be a place where I'd have to pick two, likely the .30-06 and the .338. Most of my bolt guns are M700s. I'm not a big fan of the Brownings here, I do like something with a different extractor setup (i.e. Howa/Weatherby, Bergara,...), but If I had to pick, I'd stay with M700s. They've always done me well. I'm not a huge fan of synthetics, nor of stainless. Maybe just my sense of aesthetics?
Bigger stuff: 375 H&H. Probably another M700 or possibly a CRF M70.
Birds: When I hunted geese, I preferred the Browning BPS. Now that most of my bird hunting is upland, a Beretta O/U, 12 ga.
Defensive: Classified.
I have every game animal in the world covered, times at least two in most cases. As well, I own at least one of most makes, and there are things I like and dislike about all of them. But for starters:
Small Game/Plinking: Everyone should have a .22 LR. I like the BL-22, but also fond of a nice, hand-me-down heirloom Winchester M61A
Varmints: Tough between .22-250 and .223, but over the years, I've found the .223 far more versatile. Not too much, not too little. I like MSRs, but I think my favorite .223 is a CZ 527 Varmint Laminated
Deer/Antelope: .243, hands-down. I've a few to choose from, but I think my favorite is a Ruger No 1-B
Deer/Elk/Moose: This is a hard one. Where I'm just hunting elk and moose, a .30-06 is fine and not overkill for deer. Where other critters might hunt back, I'm more prone to carry a .300 Magnum or .338 Win. This might be a place where I'd have to pick two, likely the .30-06 and the .338. Most of my bolt guns are M700s. I'm not a big fan of the Brownings here, I do like something with a different extractor setup (i.e. Howa/Weatherby, Bergara,...), but If I had to pick, I'd stay with M700s. They've always done me well. I'm not a huge fan of synthetics, nor of stainless. Maybe just my sense of aesthetics?
Bigger stuff: 375 H&H. Probably another M700 or possibly a CRF M70.
Birds: When I hunted geese, I preferred the Browning BPS. Now that most of my bird hunting is upland, a Beretta O/U, 12 ga.
Defensive: Classified.
12-16-2019, 03:26 AM
#30
Super Moderator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,520
