How do you own just one hunting rifle
 

Seems like the last while many members are downsizing the number of rifles they have or cut back to just one main hunting rifle. I realize that some may only be able to afford one hunting rifle but several can own whatever they want.

Just have to ask why? There must have been some allure when you first purchased it or you wouldn’t have bought it, so why get rid of it.

I don’t really like getting rid of rifles unless I have no intention of shooting it anymore. I recently sold a 243win, not that it wasn’t a great rifle. I just didn’t think I would use it anymore now that I have a 257 wby.

Yes I could probably kill anything I wanted with just one of my rifles. But I enjoy going in my gun room and looking them over, kind of like a kid with toy trucks.

Takes up space that can be replaced by other non-overlapping rifles/firearms. Interests change. I used to have a 243 and still have a 30-06.. I just found myself wasting time being familar and using 2 different hunting rifles. I can shoot everything with a 30-06 but a 243 get a little small on larger game. So i sold and got a nice O/U as I dont have one of those, dont regret downsizing as long as im upsizing in someother way.

It's tough to get down to only one gun. I could have 4 308s and none of them would overlap each other as far as usage goes.
1 long range set up. 6-24 scope, heavy barrel, heavy stock or chassie
1 scout set up. short barrel 2-7 long eye relief scope
I standard hunting rifle. Standard length weight barrel 3-9 scope
1 mountain hunting rifle. Light weight stock, pencil thin barrel 2-7 power scope
1 lever action for horse back hunts. Slab side for scabard open sights.......

Ooops that's 5 already and all could be 308 and I wouldn't even care

Not to mention adding in different calibers to the mix

My hunting styles vary so much that none of these guns can be the best for all situations.

I own different hunting rifles in different calibers ( some calibers over lap) that all fill a specific style or need.

can one do it all? Possibly, but it won't do everything perfectly

Take for instance a light weight mountain gun. It will never be a great long range prone gun neither will a heavy target rifle be a great close quarters bush rifle.

It's possible to do it all with one gun but why would you want to??

It's possible to do it all with one gun but why would you want to??[/QUOTE]

exactly. A golfer uses more than one club.:)

I used to have several big game rifles, and over 40 firearms in total. However over the past few years, I have downsized to 15 firearms, and my only big game rifle is my 7mmstw. There is no big game animal in Alberta that the 7mmstw isn't suitable for.

I dont disagree with the caliber selection. But the set up of the rifle could be improved upon when doing different hunts

I have a few, some of the calibers over lap but I have each gun for a specific task. 1 for the truck, varmint hunting, a deer rifle, bear hunting, elk and moose hunting, mountain hunting, long range target shooting, and one waiting to get picked up at the post office for bison and our Africa hunt.

Shotguns I have less of big ones for coyote and pigeon hunting (varmint) that i also lend out for Goose hunting. Another pump that was my first shotgun and an over under for skeet shooting.

All my scopes except 2 are Leupold with the same reticle and similar power except the long range rifle, all are bolt actions except two are pumps, they are all the same make and feel comfortable to me and fit the similar. I shoot them all often and started to reload for all of them.

I enjoy shooting and reloading as a hobby so I know how they all shoot. That’s how I look at my tool list and how I feel it works great for me, plus always an extra to lend out if needed.

I just enjoy them, holding, shooting them, hunting, looking at them in the safe. Many different calibers, few overlapping, mebbe a nice blued walnut & a SS that takes a little rougher days.

At this stage never plan to downsize, maybe acquire slower, but the kids will appreciate the conundrum. Lol

I had a spread out run of 200+ rifles and about 50 pistols from 1980 to 2000,,, about 14 on the go at 1 time or the other.

I jumped into archery full time from 2000 to 2014,,, ok,,, I still use 2 bows today, 1 for plinking and the other for hunting.

In 2016 I set my sights on 1 Harvesting rifle,,, so far so good as it crosses over as a predator control unit as well.

It was about this time that I encountered this long distance shooting thing,,, "for targets only."

So I had my friend build me a specific rifle for this hobby in the shooting sports world.

One thing that works for me, "me only."

I get a chance to learn the traits of 1 caliber and how it performs over all,,, 1 rifle, 1 bullet, and a choosen ft-per seconds.

Both of my rifles are set up at the same ft-per seconds using the same bullets in the off season from Harvesting,,, that way I benefit from the ballistic trajectory less the ever changing exterior conditions.

It was fun owning lots of firearms back then,,, it is just as fun owning less of them as its pretty easy packing both of them every where I go.

Ontario and BC trips are underway.

Don

What is your settled upon bullet choice and muzzle velocity nowadays? I agree. Knowing one trajectory and its habits is extremely relaxing.

And after all that experience with different rifles, what action did you decide to go "all-in" on.

I’ve got several rifles that over lap and could be used on moose or elk but if I’m specifically hunting moose or elk I always take the 300 wm. I know the 6.5-284, 6.5x55, 257wby 270 win or 270wsm all will kill larger game like moose but I have the most confidence shooting the big animals with the 300wm. The 45/70 is just kept for shooting bear now.

exactly. A golfer uses more than one club.:)[/QUOTE]

The golfer carries all his clubs at once. A hunter does not.

I have basically been carrying one big game rifle since about 2012, I have others but they do not get shot ( family heirlooms)
However I do have a dedicated varmint rifle as well.
Shotguns? Well , that's a different kettle of fish- I like shooting too many different styles!:sHa_sarcasticlol:
Cat

I need two. Two is one and one is none.

They are completely different rifles, but I’m comfortable hunting anywhere with either of them.

The rest of the collection is for hobby interest or projects, and can come or go as needed.


"Shuuuuuuussssshhhhh.

You can't post stuff like that, too many heads will explode."
Hillbillyreefer

I have a 30-06, a 260 Rem, 250 Sav, and a 25-06, all for deer and moose. Twice now, my buddy from Calgary came down to hunt, brought his daughter with him. First year she borrowed my 260, got her first deer, last year she had her own rifle but her scope malfunctioned. Lent her my 260 and she bagged her second deer. It's rewarding just to have a spare to lend out.

The golfer carries all his clubs at once. A hunter does not.[/QUOTE]

Ahhh some do, a 22 for birds or a shotty, a rifle for big game too or all three or some carry a shotty,or a rifle and then there bow...been there....should invest in a golf bag...imagine the look on the fish cops face when you ask if he minds being your caddy for a hunt:)


I would like to downsize....but a deal pops up....

The plan from the get go was the 30/06 to shoot 150gr bullets @ 3100 ft-per seconds,,, I was getting a work over done on it when I found out about the F Class shooting thing at Calgary.

My friend invited me to the fun shoot day down there,,, LOL,,, that's all it took to get me on board.
I really wanted to bring the 30/06 into this FTR, but that caliber would of put me in the F-Open class.
"Nothing wrong for a person to go down that path of shooting the wild-cat cartrage class,,, but it would be challenging for a beginner like me to compete at that level." At least for me that is.

The options I had was pick a 223 or 308 Winchester to work with the 2 categories of F Class... F Class stock or FTR F Class,,, so the closest cartrage to my 30/06 was a 308.

After a couple of matches I soon realized that the folks down there like shooting heavy bullets out of the 308's.
168gr, a few in the 180gr category, some folks choose the 200gr,,, so I thought I'd give the 178gr Hornady ELD-X bullets a run,,, ok,,, ELD-M for target and the X for hunting.

I started shooting the 178gr at 2775 ft-per seconds, then some I found a tight vertical line at 2675 ft-per seconds out of the 30/06,,, be dammed if this custom long bull barrel 308 liked this change as well.

So I use the 2675 ft-per seconds out of both rifles in the summer time,,, then the 30/06 sees the extra charge for hunting season. I'm pretty sure that this lower ft-per seconds is going to remain the same across the board for this year in both bolt action rifles.

My task is remembering the MOA of Elevation and Windage,,, this is a full time job for me to keep it sorted.
I'm doing my ballistic calculations the manual way this year so it forces me to be part of the workings.

Yes, I could get the easy ballistic app that calculates this info, but I think it's good to learn both systems, at least for me that is.

Sorry for the long post on this thread idea of choosing 1 firearm,,, it is no easy task going this route.
There are times that I think I should own a few different rifles and a wall full of recurve and compound bows,,, but I ask my self this.

If I had a massive collection of stuff, would I get a chance to use all of them in the year.
This works for some people, not so much for others.

Find what works and let the good times role.

Don

After school and in my mortgage days I only had one killing machine in .270 win killed everything from gophers to moose.

There are hunters...and their are gun people.
It's the same with everything. I used to have an Alfa sports car, a 3/4 ton GMC and a Pontiac 4 door sedan. I considered myself a car guy.
Along came kids and a mortgage and I didn't have time to play in the garage...I now have an SUV that does everything I need.
I'm a gun guy and have a safe full...but if all I wanted to do was put a deer in the freezer once a year...yeah, I'd have one gun.

My manual calculations for windage is as follows for quick shooting. Works great for 308 win. Faster cartridges dont work with these calculations.

Windage in inches = (wind speed mph/10) x (distance/100)^2

10mph cross at 200 yards = 4 inches
20mph at 100 yards = 2 inches
10mph at 500 yards = 25 inches
20mph at 500 yards = 50 inches

Check these on a calculator and they are darn close. If you have fantastic bc bullets the windage might he a bit reduced. You could interchange meters and the results eill still be close.

Get a passion for archery and it aint so hard to let a few guns go...

Elk moose bear rifle in open country, I have a Remington 300 Ultra Mag, if I go for a walk and its tight trees, I have a 7600 Pump in 35 Whelen, if its strictly deer hunting I have a nice 25-06 and its very light and doubles as a coyote gun. One rifle is OK but 3 seems to fill the gap quite nicely.:medium-smiley-035:

My X father in law bought a Savage 99 in .303 with 100 rounds in 1964 shot a pile of deer over the years when he quit hunting at 86 he gave the rifle to the oldest grandson with 8 rounds left.
He was a practical guy that thought we were wasting ammunition shooting paper targets.

I have 2 big game rifles, that I use most time. They are interchangeable they are identical rifles, one 6.5 and one 7mm. but I kind of have one set up for open land vs the thick stuff. Both have iron and removable glass.
Then I have a couple for loaners and for my kids to learn on, (4 kids) a mannlicher stocked 308 i kind of like looking at and a varmint rifle. I could easily go down to one center fire rifle. Well 2, I could easily go Down to 2 center fire rifles. 8-)
Brad

If I was only to have one gun it would be a 870 wingmaster 12G/3" with several barrels

That said, here is my basic load out. My goal is to continue to upgrade the ones I have and get the best of each to leave for my son.

I tried to factor in ammo availability/overall versatility/reliability.

Calibres are not set in stone and are examples only

Training/gophers - .22/.17HMR (bolt - iron sights)
Varmint - .223/.243 (bolt - scoped)
Bush carry/Truck gun - 30-30 or 7.62x39 (lever or bolt - iron sights)
NA Big Game - 30-06/308 (SA or bolt - scoped)
Bird - 12G (pump)

Additional adds I consider as options are:

Big 5 gun
SHTF gun
Blackpowder/Primitive

Just my 2 cents

One rifle for big game hunting is easy. One rifle period... That is another story. I hunt with 2 rifles; a Winchester extreme weather .308 that I use 90% of the time and a Ruger m77 compact 7-08 because I like it in dense bush. Could easily use the Winchester only.

But I do more than big game hunt. For dogs I have a 25-06 (dont care about fur for most part and I target wolves so stepped up from 22s), have a.22 bolt for rabbit and chickens, a O/U for over dogs, and an A5 for ducks/geese. Those are just my hunting guns but each serves a purpose and don't think I would get rid of any and not replace them with similar.

I also have a few "fun guns" like a 10/22 that serve no purpose but enjoyment. A person can use one gun for everything (except birds) and do well. But there is a reason each style was invented and a place for each.

It's a sign of the consumerism that has consumed modern society. I'm guilty of it too, vault full of rifles and shotguns I haven't fired in years because I habitually use my Model 70 and use the same shotgun my Father bought me for my birthday 26 years ago.

Just one rifle? Yep, previous generations lived that. My grandfather only ever owned one rifle and one shotgun. That's all he needed, today it's more, more, more.

I think its more to do with the way hunting is now. Some people drive 10 hours each way for a very limited number of days opportunity to try and get their hunting done. Are you gonna abandon your valuable hunt because your "one rifle" had murphy come along and mess something up? Back in the day when hunting opportunities were not so few and far between it wouldnt have been as detrimental if you had to shut it down due to equipment failure. They could come out again next time. Plus maybe its a little bit of "they dont make them like they used to". Some if these manufacturers cutting corners results in things breaking. So i totally get it why people have multiple rifles. They are tools to do your hobby. Dont put all your hobby eggs in one basket. Multiple exact same rifles have their place.

For me its kinda like my ball cap collection. Hmm what cap do I want to wear today cutting firewood? Which cap do I want to wear today checking trail cams? Which cap is the wife gonna let me wear for date night? LOL. Its usually the least sweat stained one. Ive almost got all the calibers in my gun safe that I could possibly want except for a buffalo/bison rifle. And after I get confident with my old savage 99 in 38-55 maybe i'll only need a buffalo gun.

If you could only own
 

7mm Rem. Mag.