Ditching modern rifles?

[BsChoy]

Has anyone ditched shooting scoped, synthetic, modern rifles while hunting and gone to Milsurps or something more basic and tradtional? I am wondering cuz I have the Milsurp bug and my buddy who doesn't like scopes has got me liking my mauser and M1 Garand sights better. Now I'm thinking of getting rid of my remmy PSS and buying the rest of my WWII collection and using them all for hunting. What are your opinons?

 

[Deer Hunter]

All of my hunting is done with an FAL or an M44 Mosin. I may pull out the 30-30 Marlin occasionaly, but I enjoy the FAL and M44 too much.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

I;m sure alot of people have gone the milsurp route due to the low prices and the fact they have alot of character(ex:historical value), plus alot of people want the added challenge of hunting with iron sights.

Do what feels good to you-dont let other people influence your decisions based on their preferences.

 

[Vaarok]

First deer ever, using a one-hundred-and-one-year-old Gew-98. Hundred fifty yards, iron sights, blew the little bugger over with a perfect heart shot. The old warhorse still has it in her.

Surps work, and often people who use 'surps get better results than people who try to buy skill with a synthetic-stock WinChesterTonSuperMagnum and a giant scope but don't practice with it.

Besides, the Lange Vizier battle-sight on a Gew-98 beats the pants off any other iron sights I've ever used.

 

[GD]

That is exactly what I did. I got tired of my modern rifles breaking and frequent trips to the gunsmith. I now use milsurps to hunt with and I like the challenge of open sights. Haven't missed since the changeover. The cheap ammo means I get lots of practice before hunting season.

 

[dispatch55126]

My two hunting rifles are my Hawkins rifle (a tradional muzzleloader using patched ball) and my 91/30. A modern with all of its bells and whistles is fine and functional for those who cannot shoot regularly and/or can only hunt one or two days a year. For me, its the unknown and nostaglia. There are a half dozen steps that must be done correctly to have a tradional muzzleloader operate and even then it may not fire. As far as the Mosin, until last year, the last living thing it may have dropped could've been a german. I don't look down on any type of rifle...except "modern" muzzleloaders. Outside of an extended season, why bother?!?

 

[Nhsport]

I am not a hunter but I own piles of different guns. Last year I happened to be at my club range when a couple of hunter only types showed up with their newest wiz bang modern hunting rifles.I happened to be messing with a bubaized 03 Springfield. It has a chopped stocK and barrel but a good bore and super smooth action.I put a new recoil pad on and installed a new lyman micrometer peep and a aftermarket trigger.
After these gentleman sighted in off the bench they were seeing what they could do offhand at 100yds and they were upset to find that their $1000 guns with $600 scopes couldn't do any beter or as good as my $300 beater. This was mostly due to the beter ballance of my springfield,stock shape that really worked beter offhand and a $42 timmey trigger that was half the weight of the nasty factory liability specials.
These factory guns (3 different mfgs) shot like a dream off the bench but with the high comb stocks (to enable a tall ring giant lens scope mount) they were just plain clumsy to try and shoot offhand. My springfield just seemed to settle in .
Yes-I could to see myself useing this gun for hunting. Keep in mind I live in CT and most deer are taken at 40 to 60 yards with the odd couple out at 100 or 120 yards. This gun is just a honest simple old school rifle but that in my book is a good thing

 

[browningguy]

I hunt with everything from an 1891 Argentine Mauser in 7.65x53, with peep sights, to an HK SLB 2000 with a 3-9x50 scope. I don't really see a big deal with using any of them, just pick the right tool for the job. Personally, with my old eyes I can't shoot well at all with leaf type or buckhorn sights so I would never use those.

 

[mustanger98]

Has anyone ditched shooting scoped, synthetic, modern rifles while hunting and gone to Milsurps or something more basic and tradtional?

I never bothered to buy a synthetic stocked rifle. I just flat don't like 'em. I think I'm fixing to mount a Williams Foolproof w/ target knobs on my M11GL Savage... I know I've been talking about it for a good while. The two times I took shots on deer with scopes, I missed. Me and scopes don't get along that well except across the bench and that depends on how well I get along with the rifle's other characteristics. I usually hunt with my tang-sighted Winchester .30-30, but I have a No.4Mk2, a K98k, and a Nat'l Ordnance '03A3 I'd also like to hunt with.

Thinking of guys hunting with Mosin Nagant, I remember this one time I was in a store I never recommend any more (long story for another thread). This one guy was buying a M44 and my voiced thought was if somebody comes after me with a bayonet they're not getting that close. The buyer agreed, but said that was going to be his deer rifle. He asked me "have you ever tried to hunt with a purty rifle?" and started going through the motions of trying to get through a briar patch without scarring his gun. I can relate too. And plenty of times I've deer hunted with a No.1Mk3 knowing the 100yd trajectory.

 

[Sunray]

"...getting rid of my remmy PSS..." Depends on the chambering and what you hunt. You'll need to work up a hunting load for whatever you use for hunting. Milsurp ammo isn't legal for hunting nor is it accurate enough. However, nearly all W.W. II and earlier chamberings are just dandy for hunting deer, bear, moose and elk. You can load down for varmints. Although, a .30-06 220 Silvertip out of an M-1 does truly amazing things to a ground hog. Didn't bother the rifle either.

 

[mightyoakwildlife]

Progress/Regress

I once decided to shun the "too easy"" style modern rifles, and hunted with strictly handguns, for all except wing shooting. Even took my turkeys & rabbits that way. Decided that was too pedestrian, so went strictly with flintlocks. Even worked with wing shots. Very proficient. Made it as far as the number three gun on the New York State Flintlock Team. Gotta disagree with the post by dispatch55126, above. If the flinter didn't go off, you DIDN'T do everything right (charge behind ball, clean touch-hole, clean & sharpen flint, check hardness & alignment of frizzen, maintain proper mainspring on lock, fly, connector, etc., charge pan, keep all moisture, including gun cleaners & lubes away from main & priming charges, etc., etc.). Ended up with archery, regressing from my compound through to finally my very simple but effective long bow, shooting instinctive only.

I loved each step in this "backward regression," but realized that I enjoyed them all equally, in their own way and at their right time. I have finally accepted all this, and I now actively stay involved with all of these disciplines (except compound bows, the technology is just too quick & costly for me to keep up). I no longer compete in any formal way, and rarely participate in an organized match or shoot. If I were to concentrate on a given style of shooting, I would likely improve to the point of needing competition with others, just to feel challenged. No that's not a bad thing at all. It's just not what I want, right now.

Go ahead and build your martial-arms collection, and have fun using them. Just try to hang on to the modern ones you don't expect to be using for a while. Remember all the different philosophies that agree on things in life traveling "Full Circle?" You may again, one day, find an interest in all these "scoped, synthetic, modern rifles." If not, keep me in mind; I'm looking for a good used LTR or PSS, in .308!

 

[MinScout]

I bought a plastic-stocked Tikka 30-06 a year ago and put a big honkin Leupold scope on it. Thing is, I don't much care for it and have yet to even fire it. Maybe I'll trade it for one those new Cimmaron Arms Winchester 92 replicas. The old leverguns seemed to do the trick for these fellows.

 

[armoredman]

My milsurps aren't fancy, weren't expensive, but do the job well. If I was to go hunting again, I would not feel bad about using my 1920 Mosin 91/30 - it's favorite load just happens to be a 150gr Hornaday Soft Point over H-4895. The Enfield loves a FMJ/BT, so experimenting with a soft point bullet would be neccesary first, but that 64 year old battle rifle will do close to MOA with at least two of my loads.

And they were darn cheap!

 

[MCgunner]

I prefer modern rifles, but own a Hawkin Hunter Carbine in .50 caliber. I hunt with handguns for the challenge, yet to use the Hawkin on game. I got it because I thought I was going to go on a BP season trip to NM, didn't happen. Would still like to do that, though.

I took a deer with an SKS once, only military gun I ever shot game with and it has a scope on it. Some folks like to hunt with merely a stick and a string. Some say compounds are too modern, prefer recurves or long bows. To each his own, but I do like eating venison, ya know. I wanna KILL something once in a while. Handguns are big enough challenge to me. I can't shoot a bow, anyway, right handed and left eyed. I shoot left handed, but I don't know if I could coordinate a bow that way and don't really wanna try. I'm a rifleman at heart.

Everyone knows what gets 'em off. I ain't a milsurp kinda guy, though I have a few in my possession. I have ONE rifle I really like a lot and 90 percent of my rifle hunting is done with that rifle now days, a M7 Remington with a 2x10 Weaver. If I ain't using that, I usually have my scoped .30-30 Contender or sometimes an iron sighted .357 Ruger Blackhawk.

I guess as primitive as I ever got was killing a 250 lb wild boar with a knife while the dogs held it for me. That's a pretty exciting way of hunting, but I don't own dogs and would really rather shoot 'em than stab 'em in the throat.

 

[ROCKSHUND]

Well, I've carried all of the following at different times when deerhunting...

M1 Carbine, Savage 340 .222 Rem, Mini14, HK91, M1A Supermatch, Swedish Model 96, FAL, Savage M10FPLE, Remington Sendero .300WinMag...

I've always had 5 round mags for the M1A's and FAL's to hunt with, btw.

Really, what I carry nowadays just simply depends on what tickles my fancy when selecting a rifle for the next day's hunt.

Actually, what sits in the corner ready for the "opportunistic" shot nowadays, is that old Swedish Mauser. But, I've got a certain old No.4MkI that needs to be (re-)blooded. -FNR.

 

[Old Time Hunter]

This is all you really need to hunt anything in north America:



MinScout, GREAT PICTURE! Looks to be '76 in that bunch, along with a couple of '92's.

 

[dispatch55126]

Thats my point. Like all tools, there are multiple tolls to do a job. I use cordless drills as much as possible, and curse myself when the batteries run low and have to use hand tools. There are those out there that feel the more basic you can get, the better and shun all power tools. I like having my 10/22 and Mosin. I know all I need to do is load a round in the chamber and pull the trigger. With BP, there are many more variables like MightOakWildlife stated. If something is done incorrectly, it won't fire. I like the "old school" way but also like the "newer" milsurp. A current year rifle has all of the engineering and computers to make it a great shooter and in 30-50 years people will be calling these rifles classics but for now I'll take my "classics" that my grandfather used.

 

[smokemaker]

I've hunted with traditional ML's, my rolling block, an 1886 SRC, and a 1903m springfield.

Stainless/synthetic isn't really my bag, though I own and love a S/S Omega. The older I get (a whopping 33) the more I understand my father's love of blued steel and oiled walnut.

I've stated in the past that "bolt actions are boring", but thats not true.
I think I just like different or unique guns. I like being the guy with iron sights on a Remmy 722 in .257 Roberts, or the '03, or the No. 1 in .45-70. I could bring a scoped bolt gun in 7 mag or 300 WM, but I'd be like everyone else in hunting camp.

I own 5 scopes. Only one is mounted... on my wife's 10-22. I figure I have ten or so years before I'll need glasses, and until then, I'm going with irons whenever I can.

 

[Essex County]

Last deer season I usually hunted with a 7-08 A Bolt, but a few days I used a K31 with handloads and a Weaver scope in a St. Marie clamp on mount. For some reason I'd like to start loading for my Styer 95. I know it doesn't make any sense with a safefull of modern sporters, but I may give it a whirl.. Essex

 

[Titan6]

SMLE .303

The wife took her first white tail deer a big 160lb 8 pointer with her Lee-Enfield in .303 with open sites at 100 yards. It is the only things she will ever use on anything bigger than rabbits now. Absolutely nothing wrong with old milsurps. Most are centerfire .30 or larger with good accuaracy and able to deliver KE out to at least 300 yards with good ballistics.
The .30 M1 carbine might be too light at long range though, it depends upon what you are hunting, it would probably make an outstanding coyote gun.

 

[davera]

Milsurps

A milsurp in good condition will still do everything it ever would do that is, put an effective round down range to the limit of the shooters ability.

 

[DReicht]

I'm in love with both, thats all I have to say

 

[redneckdan]

I use my m1 garand

 

[Slamfire]

Shot a deer with a M27 Finnish Mosin Nagant. It was getting dark, could not see the post but I could center the front using the front sight protector "ears". First shot hit low, recoil unlatched the floorplate and all the rounds except one spilt on the ground. Of course I did not know as I worked the bolt fast enough that a bud thought someone was shooting a semiauto. A peculiarity of the Mosin mechanism kept the next round in line with the chamber. Second shot went up the butt and that was it. Looked down and there were cartridges on the ground. The situation did not compute and it took a while to figure out what happened.

Personnally, in low light conditions, you are better off with a scoped rifle. But in the thick woods, if you can see, and it usually is less than 100 yards, these rifles will put them down, just like they always did. Always wondered how many Soviets were put paid by my M27. I swear the rifle is haunted.

 

[_N4Z_]

Milsurp ammo isn't legal for hunting nor is it accurate enough.

Gotta disagree on that one.

My Finn M39 will do 1.5" @ 100 yards using Hungarian steel core heavyball surplus.

It has done sub 5" @ 300 yards with the same ammunition.

That's iron sights, no glass. Ladies, that is PLENTY accurate for hunting IMHO.


Legal wise, there are several manufacturers of new commercial SP rounds. Unfortunately though in my rifles case, it shoots the milsurp with better accuracy.