Favorite Rifle

This one's easy.

I have an Ed Brown Bushveld in .300 Weatherby. It shoots 180 gr TSX in one hole quite regularly. If I could only keep only one from the collection, that would be it.

CK

This is a topic that never gets old.

I currently have 3 favorite calibers....30-06, 270 Win., and 35 Whelen. My favorite rifle, however, is my '06. It is built on a Husqvarna 1640 action with a Krieger barrel and French walnut stock. It was my first big game rifle and still my favorite.

I would say it would be my well worn 22 mag.

I got this not as a Christmas gift, not as a birthday gift, but as a present from my mom and dad because I really wanted it. It still stands to this day as one of my favorite memories/and my first really nice rifle.

I grew up on a ranch in North West Texas. I had gotten a Marlin model 60 when I was 8, and a Rem 870 20ga on my 9th birthday to shoot dove and quail with my family (we have some excellent birdhunting on our ranch). I was an avid reader, but did not like what they "fed" me in school, so my mother and Dad got me two subscriptions--one to Guns & Ammo, and the other to Outdoor Life. One of the ads that caught my eye was this one:



I thought it was one of the coolest guns I'd ever laid my eyes on. Well one day while riding around with my Dad we had to stop in to the Western Auto store ( They carried everything from paint, to lumber, to guns). I went over to the glass spin case--and low and behold there it was the HK 300. I ask Mr hays is I could handle it, and like a good store owner he did. I coonfingered that gun everytime we went in. I haggled and tried to trade everyting from my sister to work on the weekends at his store for that thing.

This went one for about 6-8 months. Well we went in and it was gone! I asked Mr Hays who bought it? he said the guy did not look familiar. How could that be I know everyone in a 35 mi radius (Our county has only 2 towns in it one with about 1200 folks, the other with a little under 3000--very rural). I then ask if he was going to order another--he said heck no--he order this one for a guy and he did not want it when it came in--the next one would have to be paid in full, and any way that thing was expensive--$585 dollars. That was alot of coin in 1986/in small town USA.

2 weeks later I loaded up in my dads lo truck-- riding between the seats was a brand new HK 300. My dad said I'd done alot of good things this year and I deserved it. He also told me to take care of it and it would last me a life time (I knew this was a strech for my mom and dad--money was always tight on a farm and ranch), well I've shot just darn near anyting and everyting with that 22 mag. The 22 mag in West Texas is the 375 of Africa. We have foxes, barn rats, skunks, badgers, Coyotes, hogs, bobcats, Jackrabbits...ect. My Dad was right--I'm now 35 and the gun still serves me well--I've changed scopes (had a leupold 3x) now has a Zeiss 6x. I wish I'd have kept it in better shape (good condition ones bring $1200 to $1500 US now), but I will never sell!!!

Here she is!



Ed

Like most I have had many favourites over the years. Some I have even sold in early times when money and raising a family were at odds. I kick my ass over a few of them. Jaustin started this post and by chance saw my present favourite when we ran into each other in the caprivi a few years ago hunting elephant. I will pick three:

1. 500 N.E Searcy double, its just fun to shoot water jugs at 50yds and elephant at 23 yards with it.

2. Win model 70 Classic Custom in .264 this rifle is out of the old custom shop and it is the only rifle I have ever consistantly been able to shoot groups under 2" with at 300 yards.

3. Custom .284 win Sheep rifle. Built light even the action is shaved down. Shoots good, and you really apreciate it at the end of a hard day walking back to the horses.

Honerable Mention. Model 70 feather weight in 270 WSM. I just bought this rifle on a whim when they were getting hard to find after production stopped. It seems like when I walk out the door with a rifle lately it is in my hands.

I too have let a few go that I wish I had not, but, I have 2 that I will never get rid of (unless they go to the boys when I die) #1 all time favorite is my Remington 700 chambered in 35 Whelen, this is one of the original classic rifles, not the CDL and #2 is also a Remington 700 chambered in 375 H&H. Both are factory rifles, both shoot MOA with factory ammo,and both have collected more than their share of game. Scott

My favorite rifle is a Christensen, modifid blaser R93 in carbon, with 4 diferents barrels depending wath I go for. 22 lr for trining, 270wsm for mediunm game, 300 wm for large game and 375 hh for big and dangerous game.
for elephant I like to use a double zanardini 470 NE.

I have two both Rem. The original model 7 with the 18 1/2" barrel and the 700 BDL Both in any cal. A model 7 in 223 was my first rifle, she and I killed many fox, coyotes, and all kinds of small animals. Over the years I have shot many rifles but I always come back to the wood stocked Rem. I just feel at home.

I have a Ruger No.1S in .218Bee to which I grafted a 1B forend for bipod use. It is no longer 'pretty' but I have shot my heaviest Boar and largest goat with this rifle.

Being on a No.1 action it absorbs high pressure loads with ease and I can safely and quietly get 3,000fps with the WW-46HP projectile.

I would confidently cull almost any soft skinned animal in the world with this rifle and Norma 50grain FMJ's useing head shots.

After twenty years of ownership I am still looking for the perfect scope to put on it ! Go figure.

Its tough to nail down the favorites as there are so many. For hunting: my Whitworth Express .375 which was my only gun on my first 3 safaris and performed perfectly. My CZ 550 9.3x62 going for its 2nd trip this June. I have 3 Ruger No. 1A's in .257 Roberts, 7x57 and the new .303 British. All excellent shooters. For target work, an M1A Super Match, and a copy of the USMC M40, custom built by me mostly. For blasting fun, my PSL-54C "Dragunov" copy in 7.62x54R is great, Swiss K-31, and Yugo 98K 8x57 which shoots MOA. Have quite a few others but these come to mind first. Oh almost forgot. I found on the net recently an Frankonia Mauser 98 sporter in 7X64 with markings on the barrel:Specially made for the B.E.A. Corp which most will know as the British East Africa Corp. The late great Finn Aagaard had the same exact rifle and wrote about it in Rifle Magazine some time back. It shoots good and looks great and if all goes well you should see an article about in the near future in Gun World magazine where I have been a semi-regular contributor for several years.

For me is a Sako TRG chambered for the Lazzeroni Warbird, ever since it came to be printed on the shooters bible ballistic tables I was amazed at the trajectory and speed of this load, but it was only ofered in Lazzeroni rifles and the price was out of reach for me but then l saw that lazzeroni ofered their firebird version on a ruger rifle, and also other lazzeroni in a savage rifle, and the price was now much better, and finaly they together with sako ofered the warbird,, I had to have it, with just a very few modifications it became my true love, it shoots 168 grains bullets in a 8" group of 5 shots,,,,,,,, firing one shot a 100 yards, 2nd shot at 200, 3rd at 300, 4th at 400 and fifth at 450, all to the same target, all released aiming at the dead center from the bench, so much for hold over,

My favorite rifle is a Ruger M77 MKII in .270 Winchester. It is a little on the heavy side, but I'd rather have a heavy Ruger than a light Savage ANYTHING.

Originally Posted by Calhoun

My favorite rifle is my model 70 in 30-06. This rifle has killed all of my African animals ( biggest being a Kudu) several Elk & numerous Deer. I have a dozen rifles but when it comes to hunting its always my first choice.

+1- except for hunting Africa game

Mine is a Win 1895 Gr. 1- LA in .30-06 with open sights. For long range I prefer my Win M70 in .30-06 with Weaver scope.

Back in 2009 I posted a reply to this thread that I had just completed putting together a rifle that I had dreamed about for almost 40 years, a .300 Weatherby. When I made that post, I had only shot paper with my new .300 Wby, but I stated that it had the potential of being my new all around favorite rifle.

Well, 2010 was a pretty good year for me. In January, a couple of friends and I went to West Texas for several exotic animals that we had long wanted to hunt. Since I hadn't hunted with my new .300 Wby, I took it for this hunt even though it was way more gun than I needed for these animals.

The bullets that I chose for this trip were 168 gr Barnes TSXs that I had handloaded to 3290 fps and they shot a little under MOA in my rifle.

I ended up shooting a Blackbuck, a Scimitar Horned Oryx, and an Aoudad ram. All animals were shot at ranges of 100-120 yds, and all were quick one shot kills with complete bullet pass throughs.

One of my friends brought his son's video camera and filmed our hunt for his son's outdoor TV show, Powderhorn Montana, but evidently our videoing skills were not up to his son's standards and our hunts did not air.

In November, 2010, I finally used my new .300 Wby for the animal that I got it for, a bull elk. I again used my 168 gr TSX handloads and after a stalk to within about 100 yds, a broadside shot just behind his front shoulder immediately put him on the ground. Again the TSX bullet completely passed through the animal with a 1 1/2" exit hole.

My .300 Weatherby is now truely my favorite all around big game rifle.