Trekking rifle(s)/Long guns. Again. Savage 219 with .30WCF 26" Barrel.

[Ugly Sauce]

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!!

 

[kje54]

Tulle Fusil de Chasse. Basically a 20 gauge that can fire round ball or shot and is relatively light.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Tulle Fusil de Chasse. Basically a 20 gauge that can fire round ball or shot and relatively light.

View attachment 1131599

YES. The original trekking gun. I consider my Brown Bess "Ranger Carbine" a good trekking gun, but she's a bit heavier than the Fusils that are sometimes very light. It's 8.25 pounds, where the fusils are usually under seven, and sometimes closer to six pounds. I think that 7.5 pounds or under is ideal for a long gun carried long distances and in rough country. Beautiful guns them Fusils.

 

[Risky buisness]

Nice setup. I would have liked to find some swap in barrels for my H&R Topper, 1948 mfg but Im thinking that no body was doing that back then.

 

[AJC1]

A 30-30 like yours with a range of ammunition from powder puff 110 grain rabbit loads to max power 170s for deer is very versatile. I kinda do the same thing with 357 running light 38s for small game and smoking hot 158s or 180s for medium game. Same could be done with any magnum and special 357,41,44 with the scale sliding in favor of medium game over small game as you go up.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

A 30-30 like yours with a range of ammunition from powder puff 110 grain rabbit loads to max power 170s for deer is very versatile. I kinda do the same thing with 357 running light 38s for small game and smoking hot 158s or 180s for medium game. Same could be done with any magnum and special 357,41,44 with the scale sliding in favor of medium game over small game as you go up.

One of my favorite rifles for wandering the wilderness is a Rossi .357. On the high end I load it with a 200 grain hard cast bullet over a ton of WW296, and I think it will penetrate a bear's skull at close range, and do well on deer size game should I be that desperate for food. I carry some .38/.357 shot loads with it, but depend mostly on my .22 Revolver for small game, when I take the .357 out. Haven't got around to seeing if some powder puff .38 loads will shoot close to POA. I do have plenty of wad-cutters loaded up, I should try them.

I posted this pic in another thread recently, but here's the Rossi on a long trek I took up one of my favorite streams, up a drainage to where it begins, although I never got to the source. On that day I did come face to face with a black bear, but that bear took off like I was the devil himself, which I guess a human is, in the opinion of most wild game. !!!!

 

[AJC1]

One of my favorite rifles for wandering the wilderness is a Rossi .357. On the high end I load it with a 200 grain hard cast bullet over a ton of WW296, and I think it will penetrate a bear's skull at close range, and do well on deer size game should I be that desperate for food. I carry some .38/.357 shot loads with it, but depend mostly on my .22 Revolver for small game, when I take the .357 out. Haven't got around to seeing if some powder puff .38 loads will shoot close to POA. I do have plenty of wad-cutters loaded up, I should try them.
View attachment 1131659
I posted this pic in another thread recently, but here's the Rossi on a long trek I took up one of my favorite streams, up a drainage to where it begins, although I never got to the source. On that day I did come face to face with a black bear, but that bear took off like I was the devil himself, which I guess a human is, in the opinion of most wild game. !!!!

One could spend a few hours on a ballistics calculator finding a bullet and speed with a close trajectory. Inside 100 that's probably not terribly difficult, beyond that would get tuff. I'm still building the big list of good charges for my boy, but this sounds like a fun project.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

One could spend a few hours on a ballistics calculator finding a bullet and speed with a close trajectory. Inside 100 that's probably not terribly difficult, beyond that would get tuff. I'm still building the big list of good charges for my boy, but this sounds like a fun project.

What I've found, generally speaking, is that the light loads will print lower than full power loads. I can usually sight in so the light loads are right on, which I think is important for small game/small targets, and then the full power loads are usually not so much higher that I can't "live with it". At 25 yards the difference is only an inch or two, at fifty yards I figure a 6" high POA won't miss a deer if I forget to aim a little bit low.? That's my theory and I'm sticking to it! That has worked so far anyhow with two .30-30's, and a .303 British.

 

[MacAR]

I'm a fan of the 30-30, but I'll take mine in a 94 for woods walking. If not the 94, then my Rossi 92 in 357 mag. Either makes a good, light package for wandering the woods, and plenty of firepower for whatever I may encounter.

Mac

 

[Bwana John]

Seeing how “trek” is an Afrikaner word, I’m gonna say a bolt action, iron sighted .375 H&H.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I'm a fan of the 30-30, but I'll take mine in a 94 for woods walking. If not the 94, then my Rossi 92 in 357 mag. Either makes a good, light package for wandering the woods, and plenty of firepower for whatever I may encounter.

Mac

Never a bad choice. I have a half-magazine "trapper" 94, it is super light. With the half magazine, it still holds 4 rounds total. It is one of my "trekking" guns. But, I would not hesitate to take my 94 carbine either. Here's a pic of both. The carbine is vintage 1949, and very accurate.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Seeing how “trek” is an Afrikaner word, I’m gonna say a bolt action, iron sighted .375 H&H.

Afrikaner! I did not know that. Well, paired with a small caliber pistol for small game, I suppose the .375 would cover all other bases! A bit on the heavy side for my purposes though. !

 

[MacAR]

Never a bad choice. I have a half-magazine "trapper" 94, it is super light. With the half magazine, it still holds 4 rounds total. It is one of my "trekking" guns. But, I would not hesitate to take my 94 carbine either. Here's a pic of both. The carbine is vintage 1949, and very accurate.
View attachment 1131699

I want that trapper! Did you do that up yourself or have it done?

Mac

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I want that trapper! Did you do that up yourself or have it done?

Mac

Oh I done it. It was kind of a junker I found in a pawn shop near Fort Lenard Wood Missouri. Priced cheap, and they let me have it for less than it was priced. Turned out it didn't feed so well....(at all) which they did not mention. (still a good deal) So, had to fix that, then while I was at it....!! Just kind of "evolved". The Williams Peep was already on it.

 

[Barbaroja]

Nice single shot. I had the opportunity to get a 210 in 30-30 but it sold before I made up my mind. Still kicking myself about it. I really enjoy a good single shot rifle or shotgun. Just shot a big doe two days ago with my H&R handi rifle in 444marlin. Fun stuff, keep it up.

 

[Charlie Martinez]

From what I own it would be either a Mossberg 20 gauge bolt action with buckshot and/or slugs and No 71/2 shot loads or a Marlin 1894/44 Mag. with 240 grain factory loads and shot loads. The shotgun might be a better for survival but for "trekking" the little Marlin is lighter, more accurate, larger mag capacity and faster cycling. The Marlin would probably end up the winner.

 

[Turkeytider]

Oh I done it. It was kind of a junker I found in a pawn shop near Fort Lenard Wood Missouri. Priced cheap, and they let me have it for less than it was priced. Turned out it didn't feed so well....(at all) which they did not mention. (still a good deal) So, had to fix that, then while I was at it....!! Just kind of "evolved". The Williams Peep was already on it.

Ah yes! Ft. Leonard Wood. Stationed at the hospital there in the mid-70s. Never seen so many quail and turkeys in my life. Lots of great memories of those woods.

 

[Archie]

What you suggest is very similar to my idea of a 'stalking rifle'. Made to be carried a lot and shot but rarely.
I am hampered I confess by a lack of desire to go walking or living in the wild. However, should I adventure off to find a fully grown Bambi (Bambi was a male, you all understand) or similar game animal, I am sure I do NOT want to lug a fully stocked, heavy bull barrel bench rifle.

My current nominee for the job is a slim stocked .257 Roberts. Where I live - Nebraska - the largest common animals to be encountered are bovine. Very few moose and fewer bears. One would expect, in Alaska' this to change.


But I do like the idea.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I have a 54 caliber smooth bore flint lock with a 24 inch barrel that weighs next to nothing. Kind of a "mini" fowler in it's style.It patterns well with shot out to 20-25 yards. With a round ball I'm good to about 50 yards.

 

[MacAR]

Oh I done it. It was kind of a junker I found in a pawn shop near Fort Lenard Wood Missouri. Priced cheap, and they let me have it for less than it was priced. Turned out it didn't feed so well....(at all) which they did not mention. (still a good deal) So, had to fix that, then while I was at it....!! Just kind of "evolved". The Williams Peep was already on it.

It's certainly interesting; I may have to find a similar junker and do it up like that. I had an original 1892 in 32-20 that was very similar and it was a mighty handy gun.

Mac

 

[Ugly Sauce]

It's certainly interesting; I may have to find a similar junker and do it up like that. I had an original 1892 in 32-20 that was very similar and it was a mighty handy gun.

Mac

It certainly turned out to be light weight. 6.2 pounds fully loaded, which makes for a rifle that can go the distance, those long hikes where it's dark before you can get back to camp or the truck/Jeep/Dirt bike/whatever. And good for an over-night hike, where one is packing some extras and weight (or lack of) is important. Absolutely "handy". !!

 

[Ugly Sauce]

From what I own it would be either a Mossberg 20 gauge bolt action with buckshot and/or slugs and No 71/2 shot loads or a Marlin 1894/44 Mag. with 240 grain factory loads and shot loads. The shotgun might be a better for survival but for "trekking" the little Marlin is lighter, more accurate, larger mag capacity and faster cycling. The Marlin would probably end up the winner.

Yep weight is important. I think 7.5 pounds would be the heaviest long gun I'd take on a long "trek", although I have taken my Brown Bess on occasion just due to the cool-factor. It weighs 8.25 pounds, which is in my comfort zone for hunting, but kind of heavy for long-long hikes where the idea is to have a long gun and not need it, instead of needing one and not having it. !!!

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I have a 54 caliber smooth bore flint lock with a 24 inch barrel that weighs next to nothing. Kind of a "mini" fowler in it's style.It patterns well with shot out to 20-25 yards. With a round ball I'm good to about 50 yards.

Yep, don't get better than that.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

What you suggest is very similar to my idea of a 'stalking rifle'. Made to be carried a lot and shot but rarely.
I am hampered I confess by a lack of desire to go walking or living in the wild. However, should I adventure off to find a fully grown Bambi (Bambi was a male, you all understand) or similar game animal, I am sure I do NOT want to lug a fully stocked, heavy bull barrel bench rifle.

My current nominee for the job is a slim stocked .257 Roberts. Where I live - Nebraska - the largest common animals to be encountered are bovine. Very few moose and fewer bears. One would expect, in Alaska' this to change.


But I do like the idea.

The stalking rifle is a good choice, although I think it's important that it also shoot sub-loads for small game. I have a SMLE that is, yes, another of my "trekking" rifles, although I call it my "stalking rifle" as it follows the lines of a classic stalking rifle. At 7.8 pounds it's a tad over my "self-imposed-trekking-rifle-weight-limit" of 7.5 pounds, but I took it on a hike (actually a couple) when hiking last summer, and it was a winner. Carries nice and feels much lighter than it is. Lots of faith in the cartridge for defense, and she shoots cast bullet sub loads with precision.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Ah yes! Ft. Leonard Wood. Stationed at the hospital there in the mid-70s. Never seen so many quail and turkeys in my life. Lots of great memories of those woods.

Oh that's funny, my grandson was born in that hospital, but long after the 1970's! Nine years ago.