What is your ideal hunting rifle!

This has been my go-to rifle for the last 8-10 years. I picked it up used, found the McMillan Edge stock used and bought the scope on clearance at Cabelas so I don't all that much invested in it. The scope is the old Zeiss Conquest 3-9X40 with Cabelas badges on it. When they discontinued them at $200 I bought 2. Cartridge is 308, but I'm convinced any of about a dozen other cartridges would do as well. Weight as pictured is 7 3/8 lbs, recoil is mild even with hotter 180 gr loads. It consistently shoots well under 1 MOA with just about anything I put in the chamber.

I primarily hunt whitetails or black bear here the north GA mountains, but have hunted elk with it in Colorado. I'm confident in its ability from 40-400 yards on anything I'll ever hunt.

The ideal rifle for me would be:

- 7-8 lbs loaded and sighted
-Fast follow up shot capability but not a semi auto (and not a bolt action since that is not fast enough for me)
-Cartridge able to take all game in NA without any drama
-Lightweight and compact scope without any ranging/long range shooting gimmicks built in. (because I don’t know and don’t care how to use them)
- 1.5” groups are fine by me
- Capable of 200 yd range.
- Stainless or some high quality corrosion resistant finish like NP3.
- 3.5 lb creep free trigger
-18”-20” barrel.

The closest I have to this currently are the aforementioned Rem 7600 and my 444 Marlin.

Legionnaire said:

@Chuck R., I have another Model 7 that looks just like yours--same tan/black web stock--only mine is in .243 Ackley. It was/is my first "Remage" that I built with a McGowen barrel.

I guess one might say that my proven "favorite" is a Remington Model 7!

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I'm glad you posted that cause I'm looking at having another M7 put together. Could you please share the specifics?? especially the barrel, contour etc.

Thanks!

Custom Mauser in 30-06. Robust, reliable, accurate enough, and most importantly spare parts can be found in likely every country in the world.

LoonWulf said:

Each of us has a preferred style

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You're kidding, right?

I like 30 cal rifles, and my ideal do-all is a tikka t3 stainless synthetic 30-06 wearing a leupold 3x9x40 vx3. I live where some of the bears are big, and I have seen a few mountain lions over 200 lbs, so I like some knockdown power. My other ideal is my cz 527 in 7.62x39. This cartridge is my lucky number it seems like, other than 44 mag I have killed more stuff with the 7.62x39 than anything. The cz is very nice and compact, has great sights, and is perfectly powerful for open sight ranges on deer and smaller. So those are my two to cover almost anything I ever hunt.

Offfhand said:

You're kidding, right?

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Showoff...hehe

LoonWulf said:

Simple question, no wrong answers.

Each of us has a preferred style, or styles of hunting, and different game we pursue.

So feel free to elaborate, or not, on your what and why.

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Mine is my Tikka T3 Hunter in 6.5x55. Light, easy to carry. Shoots as well as anything else I own, and seems to be ideal for whitetail and mule deer. The wood is on the plain side, but much warmer than plastic. Something about wood and blued steel that appeal to my sense of visual pleasure. Topped with a Leupold 2-7x32 VX-II and equipped with a sling and an extra magazine in my pocket, what is not to like? Besides, every deer it has been pointed at has found its way into the freezer.

The #2 favorite is the same rifle in a .30-06 with a Leupold 3-9x40 Vx-I.

adcoch1 said:

I like 30 cal rifles, and my ideal do-all is a tikka t3 stainless synthetic 30-06 wearing a leupold 3x9x40 vx3

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Are you sure about the scope? The reason I ask is because I’m pretty sure the VX-3 never came in a 3-9.

Chuck R. said:

I'm glad you posted that cause I'm looking at having another M7 put together. Could you please share the specifics?? especially the barrel, contour etc.

Thanks!

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Sure. The barrel is a 20-inch matte blue 8-twist in .243 Ackley. McGowen #2 contour. Were I to do it again, I think I'd go 22 inches just to get a bit more out of the cartridge, and I should have gone polished blue to match the action. I had a local gun builder pull the original 18.5-inch .243 barrel and true the action--he just squared the action and bolt faces and the locking lugs; not a full blueprint. I reused the factory recoil lug. Still shoots factory ammo beautifully, and my fire forming loads have all been sub-MOA. Haven't really done much load development for it yet--got sidetracked by my 22-250 Ackley project.

25-06 with peep sights. Can't picture myself having to take a shot longer then 100 yds in Georgia woods. Might happen but rare.

The last hunting rifle I purchased was in 1998. At the time, all I had was Winchester Model 70 XTR Featherweight in .257 Roberts that had taken deer, antelope, and elk. Thought I needed something bigger, so I bought a Ruger M77 AWR in .30-06. It's got a Nikon 3x9 and I camouflaged it myself. Horrible trigger but it's reasonably accurate and it works on anything in Idaho.



I haven't carried it in the field since my exile to Washington state a few years ago, though. When I eventually return, I may be tempted to get something a little lighter and little more refined in a smaller caliber.

Probably a .308 with a 20" barrel at around 7lbs.

It depends on what I am going to be doing. If I don’t know that answer I grab one of my Savage 24’s, the best “jack of all trades” rifle/shotguns I have.

Remingon CDL Stainless .270 Win, in a Stocky's Deluxe stock with carbon fibre sandwich down the middle. (Extra SENDERO stock for bad weather.)

Glass Bedded and free-floated. Shoots 1/2 MOA with hunting handload.


Shot a moose with 140 grain Nosler Accubond last year, sitting on stool, no artificial rest. One shot kill about 270 yards...dropped about 10 yards from the woods road.

My Rem 700 BDL Stainless .270 is usually in the Sendero stock for deer season. It shoots as well as the CDL.

Well I’ll let someone who reads my posts answer for me. Let’s see how well they’ve paid attention and how sure they are of their answer.

I don't deer "hunt" anymore. I quit years ago but I still go out with an old friend who hasn't given it up yet. There is something about the deer woods during season that I have grown to love. I see a lot of deer but never pull the trigger on one. I still have a few rifles that are capable like a Ruger 77 in .280 Rem. and my tried and true Marlin 336 in 30-30. Its been years since the Ruger has been out of the safe, I always grab the Marlin. The Marlin is my old friend. Its not the first one I ever owned, there have been a few through the years and every deer I ever killed was with a 30-30 Marlin 336.
I'm familiar with the 336 setting there as the morning sun reflects off of its barrel. I feel it was designed for just that purpose.

The Ruger 77


The Marlin

I have been through several ideal hunting rifles. My preferences have evolved over time, usually leaning toward bolt actions or single shots. My hunting is a mix of woods and red willow sloughs with our best spots being the densest cover with visibility of 50 yards or less. Last year I came to appreciate my AR15 very much as a deer rifle. I never in a million years would have thought I would ever think that but here we are. I hunted with this 7.62x39 in the rain and snow and came to appreciate its compact handling, the fact that its completely weather proof, and the easy to operate controls with gloves on. My only complaint is I really wanted a bigger caliber, so I invested in a 358 yeti upper for this year, which is due to arrive tomorrow. In the mean time here is the old one.



If I needed longer range or was going out west my answer would change to my Tikka in 30-06.

BigBore44 said:

Well I’ll let someone who reads my posts answer for me. Let’s see how well they’ve paid attention and how sure they are of their answer.

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It's stainless and has a dot sight?

I haven't hunted since I moved to Texas over 20 years ago.
If I did I'd probably use my old .270 Savage 110 in a Boyd stock and topped with a Nikon Buckmaster.
It suits me.

My go to rifle for over 20 years was a Ruger 77 270. It started out with a 1.5X4.5 bushnell but later upgraded to a 3X9. It traveled to Colorado, Wyoming, Missouri and Arkansas and took 2 mulies, 2 pronghorn, 22 whitetails and bobcat. The closest thing that I have found for a whitetail gun for 90% of my style of hunting was a Ruger Compact 77 260 with a 2X7 Nikon. I could live with it as a Ozark deer gun, but alas it is gone. I have 5 rifles now that I can use but my all-around goto rifle when things get tough is a Savage Model 10 in 300WSM. It wears a 2X7 Leupold VX-II and will take anything that I will ever hunt. Shoots 1/2 MOA off of the bench and weighs 7 1/4 lbs.

MCMXI said:

I only have one hunting rifle set up the way I like it and it's a Kimber Talkeetna chambered in .375 H&H. As far as I'm concerned, the only limitations of that rifle are the effective range and to a lesser extent the lack of an adjustable cheek piece. I do have a couple of other hunting rifles that are works in progress.

My list of what I want in the "ideal" hunting rifle includes the following:

• No heavier than 9lb but ideally under 8lb with scope, rings, sling and loaded to capacity
• Stainless steel barrel & action - push feed or CRF is fine
• 22" to 24" barrel
• Some form of coating on the metal i.e. paint or dip
• Locking bolt handle (this is a big one for me)
• Synthetic stock with a durable finish
• Adjustable cheek piece or properly fitted stock
• Detachable magazine or blind box magazine
• Good adjustable trigger with zero creep set at 3lb
• Close to 1/2 moa precision and accuracy for a 5-shot group off the bench under ideal conditions and from a cold/clean bore
• Effective range to 800 yards
• Variable power quality optic with reticle capable of providing accurate holdovers out to 800 yards
• 1" scope tube and 40mm to 44mm objective
• No bulky turrets
• Good scope covers

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Offfhand said:

You're kidding, right?

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I have great respect for a man that knows exactly what he likes.

Bfh_auto said:

It's stainless and has a dot sight?

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Lol!! Well there’s the first “F” of the day. If this were a game of Marco Polo, I couldn’t even hear you to reply.