aka108
Member
Check the regs on carrying a rifle into the boonies. You don't want to get picked up as a potential poacher.
For non-hunting I'd grab a Saiga or SKS.
For non-hunting I'd grab a Saiga or SKS.
Woods Rifle
- Thread starter Dynasty
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mejeepnut
member
Yes,check your local and state laws!
I live in Maine and the only way you can have a loaded gun in or on a vehicle is if its a hand gun and you have a CCW.You can't even lean a loaded rifle or shotun against any type of motor vehicle or put it on the hood or rack or any other part of the vehicle.You also don't want to be driving around in the woods with a rifle or shotgun and not have a hunting license unless the gun is taken apart and wrapped up or cased and even that does not always work on sundays!On the good side its red squirral season 6 days a week/52 weeks a year and no caliber limits!
I live in Maine and the only way you can have a loaded gun in or on a vehicle is if its a hand gun and you have a CCW.You can't even lean a loaded rifle or shotun against any type of motor vehicle or put it on the hood or rack or any other part of the vehicle.You also don't want to be driving around in the woods with a rifle or shotgun and not have a hunting license unless the gun is taken apart and wrapped up or cased and even that does not always work on sundays!On the good side its red squirral season 6 days a week/52 weeks a year and no caliber limits!
MCgunner
Member
Rossi M92 .357 magnum lever gun with a box of light 105 grain handloads (anything a .22 could kill) and a box of 158 grain magnums for stuff like hog, deer. I have 2 SKSs, but the little Rossi is pretty awesome, very versatile and as accurate and much lighter and handier to tote.
I also have a Marlin Model 60 .22LR and a Remington 870 12 ga. that I could take with me. Since I will be the only person out of the group that has experience with firearms, I think only having one on the trip is the way to go. Which one? I'm still not sure. All this talk of the .30-.30 though has gotten me wanting a new rifle!
Someone mentioned why not take a handgun instead. Well, it quite simple...I am 18 years old and in Ohio you need to be 21 years old to purchase and possess a handgun. I agree that it would be nice to have a .357 magnum that could handle anything that could potential arise and also be easier to carry. So that leaves me with some sort of long gun whether it be a rifle or shotgun.
Someone mentioned why not take a handgun instead. Well, it quite simple...I am 18 years old and in Ohio you need to be 21 years old to purchase and possess a handgun. I agree that it would be nice to have a .357 magnum that could handle anything that could potential arise and also be easier to carry. So that leaves me with some sort of long gun whether it be a rifle or shotgun.
jackdanson
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Your sks will work fine.. just admit it, you want an excuse to buy a new rifle!!
Tom Krein
Member
Here is another vote for a lever action carbine. I love lever guns! If you learn how to run them they can be VERY fast! They also pack easily and are nice a flat. They also carry GREAT in the field.
If mostly for protection I would vote for a .357mag or .44 mag lever gun. Both cartridges get a serious boost in performance out of the longer 16" + barrels and both are VERY mild out of a long gun! They also have good magazine capacity in a carbine length ( think 10 rounds).
It really is pretty hard to beat a lever gun carbine. I have them in .357mag, .44 mag, 30-30, and .45-70. I wouldn't hesitate to take any of them, but would lean towards a nice light little Marlin .357 mag for what you described. You could match it up with a nice .357 mag wheel gun also!
Tom
If mostly for protection I would vote for a .357mag or .44 mag lever gun. Both cartridges get a serious boost in performance out of the longer 16" + barrels and both are VERY mild out of a long gun! They also have good magazine capacity in a carbine length ( think 10 rounds).
It really is pretty hard to beat a lever gun carbine. I have them in .357mag, .44 mag, 30-30, and .45-70. I wouldn't hesitate to take any of them, but would lean towards a nice light little Marlin .357 mag for what you described. You could match it up with a nice .357 mag wheel gun also!
Tom
sarduy
Member
true
I have the SKS and the AK. But my little M1 Carbine is just so handy, I believe I might put it ahead of those two loaded with soft points. Still, if I'm doing something remotely strenuous (you know - like walking or something) I just think a long gun would get to be a burden pretty quick. And even if I'm riding I'm just afraid retrieving or unsholdering a rifle would take too long. Bad things just happen so fast, ya know? I believe I'd want a 6 in. 357 or 41. Or maybe a 10mm. If it's a 4 legged threat 50 yards away, you can avoid it. If it's a 2 legged threat, you certainly have it covered with one of those pistols I've named.
Bartkowski
Member
The 35 rem beats the 30-30 untill I go to buy ammo. Then once I find some I can wish I would have bought a 30-30 to save money. But perfomance wise, yes the 35 rem is better.
W.E.G.
Member
I can't think of a much better choice than an SKS for a knock-around gun.
High Planes Drifter
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Marlin 336 .30-30. the original Homeland Defense/Homeland Assault Rifle.
woad_yurt
Member
SKS!
An SKS should drive off or bring down anything you encounter. Unless you want to eat small stuff. Then, maybe a .22LR or .22WMR for squirrels and stuff.
An SKS should drive off or bring down anything you encounter. Unless you want to eat small stuff. Then, maybe a .22LR or .22WMR for squirrels and stuff.
wnycollector
Member
I'm a big fan of pistol caliber rifle's. A .357 revolver on the hip and a .357 leveraction in a gun scabbard is pretty tough to beat.
If you are an auto person, I have the Keltec sub2k in .40. It is very sweet and very reliable. It also folds down into a 16x7" package. My CZ40B with 2 extra mags (34 rounds total) and the sub2k with 2 extra mags (40 rounds) weighs less than 10lbs!
If you are an auto person, I have the Keltec sub2k in .40. It is very sweet and very reliable. It also folds down into a 16x7" package. My CZ40B with 2 extra mags (34 rounds total) and the sub2k with 2 extra mags (40 rounds) weighs less than 10lbs!
This is too simplified and isolated to ask what should you (alone) carry. My primary concern wouldn't be the natural animals. I would be more concerned about the unsocial "animals" such as back-woods dope-harvesters. If I were going with 2 additional buddies, I would be sure to have radios for communications with each other. Break-downs happen. The radios also would help if you encountered any unfriendly type, and ended up separated.
I'd be sure we all had pistols or revolvers with same caliber if at all possible (even if it meant the friends had to borrow my handguns). I would have 3 long gun abilities, with 3-rings of defense. One rider should carry a scoped Model 7 (or other similar) rifle for precise application at those 100+ yards distances. One rider should have an SKS (or other similar) rifle. One rider should carry a pump-action shotgun for close-in work. Who carries which? Simple, who shoots which the best?
Plan as a team or fail as a collective of individuals if the time ever comes that you stumble into a group of unfriendly type such as a dope-growers.
Edit to add, you could have stickers made up for your ORVs:
or an alternate:
Doc2005
I'd be sure we all had pistols or revolvers with same caliber if at all possible (even if it meant the friends had to borrow my handguns). I would have 3 long gun abilities, with 3-rings of defense. One rider should carry a scoped Model 7 (or other similar) rifle for precise application at those 100+ yards distances. One rider should have an SKS (or other similar) rifle. One rider should carry a pump-action shotgun for close-in work. Who carries which? Simple, who shoots which the best?
Plan as a team or fail as a collective of individuals if the time ever comes that you stumble into a group of unfriendly type such as a dope-growers.
Edit to add, you could have stickers made up for your ORVs:
B.W.R.P.
Back Woods Rat Patrol
or an alternate:
R.R.P.
Redneck Rat Patrol
Doc2005
Your sks will work fine for the purposes you've stated, but if you'd like to buy another another rifle an ak with a folding stock makes for a compact gun that you can sling on your shoulder. As an added plus you can use the same ammo as your sks. When I'm wanting a compact rifle to tote I carry my ak underfolder and one of the short 20rnd Hungarian mags in it.
bubbaturbo
Member
OMG
MCgunner
Member
I'm stayin' out of the woods in that neiborhood until the national guard clears the threat...
George Hill
Member
A Remington Model Seven CDL in .243 is perhaps one of the finest light rifles ever made. Even loaded up, scoped up, it is light as a feather... carries well on a sling. Points quickly and is quite accurate in a way an SKS or .30-30 isn't. With those rifles, you can hit your target. But with a scoped 7, you can place your shots on the target where you want them.
The Model Seven Predator with it's fluted barrel is one of my favorites.
The CZ 527 Carbine is also a great little woods rifle and offers more accuracy than the SKS. It is also one of my favorite light rifles. In fact, it is my favorite. I love it.
A Ruger Hawkeye would also do well... Kimber Montana... lots of options out there other than .30-30 or an SKS. That being said, .30-30 is a FANTASTIC all around cartridge and packs more punch than 7.62x39mm, especially with those lovely LEVERevolution cartridges. In a Marlin 336, brilliant.
.35 Remington got a nod earlier in this thread. Absolutely. Ammo availability is nothing as universal as .30-30. You can't say a gun store is a gun store of they don't have at least one box of .30-30 for sale. (wink at FBMG) Yeah, you can get .35 Remington in lots of places... but that's a cartridge you will want to stock up on and bring plenty of it with you because when you get out into the middle of nowhere for Gas and Gatoraide, they are most likely not going to have .35 Remington.
Which is tragic. I love the round. One of the best, under rated rounds ever.
John hit a good point on the H&R Topper. H&R's barrel accessory program is the best kept secret in the industry.
The Model Seven Predator with it's fluted barrel is one of my favorites.
The CZ 527 Carbine is also a great little woods rifle and offers more accuracy than the SKS. It is also one of my favorite light rifles. In fact, it is my favorite. I love it.
A Ruger Hawkeye would also do well... Kimber Montana... lots of options out there other than .30-30 or an SKS. That being said, .30-30 is a FANTASTIC all around cartridge and packs more punch than 7.62x39mm, especially with those lovely LEVERevolution cartridges. In a Marlin 336, brilliant.
.35 Remington got a nod earlier in this thread. Absolutely. Ammo availability is nothing as universal as .30-30. You can't say a gun store is a gun store of they don't have at least one box of .30-30 for sale. (wink at FBMG) Yeah, you can get .35 Remington in lots of places... but that's a cartridge you will want to stock up on and bring plenty of it with you because when you get out into the middle of nowhere for Gas and Gatoraide, they are most likely not going to have .35 Remington.
Which is tragic. I love the round. One of the best, under rated rounds ever.
John hit a good point on the H&R Topper. H&R's barrel accessory program is the best kept secret in the industry.
MCgunner
Member
I've got one of them, too, only it's in .308. For bummin' around, though, I like the little .357 lever gun. No optics and the ability to go squirrel hunting with .38 special loads. Of course, you could always go shotgun. I LOVE my Spartan Coach gun as a woods/survival gun, slug for big game, shot for anything else. Either is very handy. .38 and .357 ammo is lighter if that matters. The M7, well, it's my favorite all around big game rifle....period. VERY accurate and hogs HATE it.
Hmmmm,
Original post said something about ATV's and Off Roading...
Guess for the 2-300 dollar range price ~ I'd go with a Marlin 336. It will get used hard under those conditions, so forget getting a scope. They can take a beating, and go to work the moment you need them....Plus, if you ding it up a bit, you'll still get most of your money back on trade
Giz
Original post said something about ATV's and Off Roading...
Guess for the 2-300 dollar range price ~ I'd go with a Marlin 336. It will get used hard under those conditions, so forget getting a scope. They can take a beating, and go to work the moment you need them....Plus, if you ding it up a bit, you'll still get most of your money back on trade
Giz
Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow
member
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- Nov 14, 2007
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- 13,146
Yes. 'XactlywhatI'msayin. Or what George Hill said about a lightweight turnbolt. Or the venerable .30-30 levergun. Any/all of above. The SKS is ok, but heavier, and as someone mentioned, a bit politically incorrect (if you care about this sort of thing, if you meet someone). I know heavier doesn't matter much if you're on 4-wheelers, but the weight of all your items adds up and can bog you down, espec. when you get off the 4-wheeler and go on a track in the woods to hunt or whathaveyou.
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
My favorite hunt camp is some fifteen miles from the nearest house, and I used to commonly walking-hunt about a twelve-mile circle. I never worried about anything or anybody. Still don't. Bolt-action '06 was plenty-nuff. Still is...
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