BRUSE

MC,
I just got a browning bar in 30/06 I love it the ammo is easy to find and cost less than most. The rifle shoulders and shoots awesome. Just sharing

I am thinking of a 45/70 for still hunts and I've always wanted one. Guess I just need to decide

One more thing good binos have really helped me in picking out deer turkey and hogs. Good luck on your choice

Mickey Finn

30/06 BAR with a 1.5X5 scope. It was a little heavy but quick and easy for me to hold steady. I found a lot of times the second shot brought them down when they we're jumped. For standing shots a bolt would be just as good. But I like a heavier rifle when I don't have a rest (or a drink to steady my nerves.). I used a sling that allowed the rifle to rest like you'd carry it.

ATB

Mickey Finn

Just saw this. I think a Marlin guide gun would be excellent for still hunting. I suggest we both buy one.

archeryelk1

I beg to differ.
He referenced a "fast handling gun", which the definition is as you explained it above, but he also mentioned adding a lever or pump action to his stable.
As you know a lever action is usually a short barreled gun and is certainly what I would define in most cases as a "fast handling gun", but a pump is not necessarily. Since he mentioned having a bolt action, but then says he is considering a lever or pump, that tells me he's interested in faster chambering of rounds. A shorter barreled, open sight or low power wide field of view scoped "fast handling gun" can be had in many action types.

Oldtimr

You disagree but yet you agree with what I said regarding what a fast handling gun is. Mentioning a lever action or a pump doesn't tell anyone he is looking for faster shooting, it simply means he is thinking about maybe going to a different action for any number of reasons, probably simply because he wants a shorter barrel and compared to his rifle a 760 pump is a much shorter gun. I take his post for the words he used and do not try to read into it anything that was not there. I would have to believe if he wanted to be able to shoot faster,that is what he would have said. We will have to agree to disagree.

super_hunt54

Could be he is wanting a combination of both faster handling as well as follow-up shots. But I am inclined to agree with Oldtimer that he is simply wanting a faster handling "brush gun". Deer have a habit of "appearing" out of nowhere when still-hunting and you want something that will come to shoulder well and you feel natural with it. Some people can use a low powered scope well in these instances, myself included because my eyes just aren't anywhere near what they used to be for open sites anymore so I learned how to bring my scope to eye fast. Others that have good vision can shoot the hairs off a frog with open sites. It's whatever you feel the most comfortable with. If I am in brush country stalking/still-hunting, I either use a Marlin guide .45/70 or a Marlin .444. I kinda like the big and slow bullets in the brush. They tend to make a deer fall over a bit quicker with both shoulders broken down. Now if it's hogs I am stalking, that's a game changer. Most all of the places I hog hunt allow for semi's so I am in the brush with a .458 SOCOM hunting the beasties. Out in the open it's the 6.8spc or the 7mm/08.

alleyyooper

Many years ago my brother got a Remington 760 carbine in 308, 18 inch barrel. Can't see a lever gun being much faster to shoulder or for follow up shots than that pump of his.

Specs of the non carbine
•Calibers: .243, .270, .308, .30-06
•Magazine capacity: 4 rounds
•Barrel length: 22"
•Overall length: 42-5/8"
•Length of pull: 13-1/2"
•Drop at comb: 1-3/16"
•Drop at heel: 2-1/4"
•Barrel material: Carbon steel
•Barrel finish: Polished blue
•Sights: Fully adjustable open rear, ramp front
•Stock material: American black walnut
•Average weight: 7-1/2 pounds



A cousin had the non carbine model in 35 Remington. He loved that rifle and seemed to always have it when deer hunting.

Al

Finepoint

Since it has popped up from time to time, I'll add some definitions to help some of the newer hunters. "Still hunting" is derived from the German "stille" meaning silent, not motionless. It implies you are not after a particular animal, just slowly searching the ground. "Stalking" is seeing the animal from a distance and sneaking up on it. "Stand" hunting places the hunter in a fixed location and depends on the animal to move into position. Simply sitting in one spot is an example of "stand" hunting.
That said, because of the extreme fatigue involved in moving silently for long periods of time at two-four hours per mile, I prefer short, very light rifles for still hunting. For some reason, this has evolved into mostly single-shots or lever guns. Given the short ranges in thick cover involved, they are generally in pistol calibers, such as a Ruger 96-44 (basically a miniature Savage 99 in 44 Mag) or various clones of Winchester 92's. One exception is a Ruger No.3 rebarreled to 30-06 with a 19" barrel. Brutally loud, it is quick with a 2-7 Burris scope.

HatchieLuvr

I have many rifles of essentially every action but when slipn, stalkn & easin thru my woods & swamp is on the list then TWO RIFLES get my pick. 1). My grandfather passed down his 1968 Marlin 336RC, 35 Rem with a Leupy vxiii 2.5x8x36. If the weather is bad (or threatenin) then I'll leave the 35 in the safe & grab my "Remlin" 1895G, 45-70 with a Redfield Revo. 2x7x33.

Slipn thru, under & around brush is just SUPPOSED to occur with ol Marlin's!

Mickey Finn

Yes. But I think of following a track in the snow when I think of stalking.