Ugly Sauce
Member
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2020
- Messages
- 6,234
Yes I'm obsessed with "trekking" rifles. What is a trekking rifle? To my mind, any rifle one would hike long distance with, in the wilderness. It should have the capability of protecting one from large critters that want to scratch and bite you, but also small-game getting ability. A type of survival rifle, or shotgun, but more than a foraging arm, like an M6, Little Badger, 410, little stuff like that. It's a compromise, a rifle with bear-stopping-dropping ability might not make a great small game rifle. A .22 Hornet might make an ideal small game rifle, but I wouldn't shoot a bear with it. But something like a .30WCF will kill Mr.Bear if the shot is placed well in the head, and with accurate sub-loads one could live off the land with it.
That covers a lot of possibilities. And of course a 20 gauge or bigger shotgun, with shot and slugs is not a bad rig. Got something you use in that role? Having said that, with my .44 Mag on my side, I sometimes trek with a light .22LR rifle. With a rifle or shotgun, I always carry a light sidearm, my .22LR AirLite or 1862 Colt for increased small game utility. But sometimes a .38 Special, M95 Nagant, something like that.
On my State Land hike the other day I took my Savage 219 with the short 20gauge barrel on it. When I got home, I got to thinking about the small game loads I made in .30-30 for my Savage 24V, .30WCF over 20 gauge. So, I slapped the 30WCF barrel on the receiver, and DANG! Minute of grouse, and minute of rabbit head! Minute of squirrel. So, I stuck a rear sight on it off one of them thar NEF Buffalo 30" .45-70 barrels, and with just a minimum of front sight filing, she shoots dead on with the small game loads, and only six inches high at 50 yards with full power .30-30 factory loads. That's a good 100 yard point blank range at least. The rear sight that was on it sat a little too low to raise POI with the sub-loads.
It's only six pounds twelve ounces with the rifle barrel, and on a single shot, one would not believe it's a 26" barrel without measuring it. When I first got it, I thought if was a 24", until...I measured it. The nice thing is that it gives me a boost in velocity over the 16.5" and 20" barrels on my other .30WCF rifles. A little extra boost is not a bad thing with the .30-30.
Anyhow, I like it in it's new role. I used it in the past as my black-bear-rifle, when I would still hunt with a modern rifle on occasion. No, never got a shot at anything with it.
Yes, many hate full buckhorns. I love them more than the haters hate them!!
That covers a lot of possibilities. And of course a 20 gauge or bigger shotgun, with shot and slugs is not a bad rig. Got something you use in that role? Having said that, with my .44 Mag on my side, I sometimes trek with a light .22LR rifle. With a rifle or shotgun, I always carry a light sidearm, my .22LR AirLite or 1862 Colt for increased small game utility. But sometimes a .38 Special, M95 Nagant, something like that.
On my State Land hike the other day I took my Savage 219 with the short 20gauge barrel on it. When I got home, I got to thinking about the small game loads I made in .30-30 for my Savage 24V, .30WCF over 20 gauge. So, I slapped the 30WCF barrel on the receiver, and DANG! Minute of grouse, and minute of rabbit head! Minute of squirrel. So, I stuck a rear sight on it off one of them thar NEF Buffalo 30" .45-70 barrels, and with just a minimum of front sight filing, she shoots dead on with the small game loads, and only six inches high at 50 yards with full power .30-30 factory loads. That's a good 100 yard point blank range at least. The rear sight that was on it sat a little too low to raise POI with the sub-loads.
It's only six pounds twelve ounces with the rifle barrel, and on a single shot, one would not believe it's a 26" barrel without measuring it. When I first got it, I thought if was a 24", until...I measured it. The nice thing is that it gives me a boost in velocity over the 16.5" and 20" barrels on my other .30WCF rifles. A little extra boost is not a bad thing with the .30-30.
Anyhow, I like it in it's new role. I used it in the past as my black-bear-rifle, when I would still hunt with a modern rifle on occasion. No, never got a shot at anything with it.
Yes, many hate full buckhorns. I love them more than the haters hate them!!
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