Today are you more likely to buy an older rifle or brand new one ?

I dont know what it is but I just cant get into the new rifles .I guess hunting 40 years with a Ruger 77 tang safety 338 win mag thst shoots clover leafs as long as I clean it once a year .Its smooth as slik and I can shoot it so fast with the tang safety its not funny .I AM supose to get the new recall screws from ruger for the trigger .I can cycle this thing faster than any other bolt action I ever had or tried .I still want to convert the one I have in 7 mm rem mag to 416 Ruger and put a muzzkebreak on it
IT kills me that except for special runs ruger abanded this classic rifle except for special runs for the ruger american which I cant stand .I have noticed there are very few of these new bolt guns that are smooth to bolt and getting the safety off in a hurry is a chore on alot of them and they jam alot even crf ones .I think its for cost they made the cheaper rifles that I dont see lasting nearly as long as classic ones .I didbt like when ruger changed the safety on the mark II 77 .I have lost alot of game from a loud slow clicking safety .I can take the safey off and go boom on my old Ruger 77 tang safey .I also llike a strong floor plate on my rifle not a plastic mag that will fall out by accident and those plastic mag release will break with time and there is no way to fix it .
I think the new generation of shooters have used these guns and found them to be flawed .I called Ruger about thaf recall screw and asked about how many compaints they had on Ruger Americans they said all day long the people working there even hate them.They told everyone they wanted to see the Ruger 77 back into full production again not just limited runs .
I found the same thing with Weatherby I love how smooth a mark V is but dont like that 307 model they are pushing now .I guess this is kinda like when winchester changed the model 70 in 1964 and made it cheaper .
I keeo finding awesone classic rifles and as long as they are accurate I will take them for my new old gun every time .

I grew up shooting rang safety guns, Ruger 77’s, savage 99’s and 110’s. I still love the placement of those safeties. I remember being envious of my best friend and his camouflage Kevlar stocked 7mm Express model 700. Now I have a pile of those rifles that I wanted so badly, but I find myself in the woods with a wood stocked 77 or a Pre-64 Winchester Model 70 or even a Model 54 that is almost 100 years old. I still occasionally buy a new rifle what wears composite stocks because they do have their place in the world but I will more often then not buy a rifle that has wood on it and is older than me.

Have an old m77mk2 from the late 80s currently redoing the stock on.
I dont think your avg mass produced rifle is of very good quality these days compared to days gone by. Cz still makes decent stuff.
But your going to have to pay alot of $$ new for the quality of a 40yr old rifle.

Older.

I think there was a change in a value system when the old guys died off [Bill Ruger] and the sons ,ect took over. IE ,CUT COST, and sell more,= $$$$$$. Instead of make a product that will last and become a legend.
There is nothing inherently wrong with composite stocks but they arent wood. plastic trigger guards =trash !

New for me

All guns are interesting.

New rifles and old rifles.

Here are two most recent purchases.

A new FBT stock for my Blaser R8 and a 1960's era Steyr in 5,6x50 Magnum (kind of a 222 Rem Magnum-Magnum)

New for me because of better metallurgy and more sccurate CNC machining. But add to that they need to be offerings above base level.

Older. Most of the guns in my stable are older. Most of the ones on my remaining bucket list are older.

Older

For a dangerous game rifle, I’m likely buying a quality used rifle. Most don’t see too much use and are owned by people who know how to take care of their guns.

For standard hunting calibers, I’m probably buying new as first choice. My last two purchases have been a used model 70 in 223 rem from the early 90s and a Remington 798 in 243 with custom stock from 2000’s. Both are beautiful rifles but both needed some gunsmithing work. The 223 had a weak firing pin spring and unfortunately only shoots a few factory ammos well (lighter bullets only). The 243 had some feeding and ejection issues. It’s still temperamental with certain brass manufacturers with ejection. Standard hunting calibers get a lot more use and not everyone takes good care of their rifles.

I lost three BC bucks fooling with a new gun safety .They heard the model 70 safety on a brand new model 70 and took off .All they hear when my ruger 77 safety goes off is boom like a double barrel shotgun .I looked at a styer bolt gun it had a weird wheel safety that was very goofy to take off .
Yes Ruger when to crap after Bill Ruger got gone .They are also pushing these new calibers which might not last 3 years and not chambering classic calibers any more then the new calibers go out in 3 to 5 years.The short mags , ultra mags , super short mags that all did the same job .Then came the one that tried to replace everything the 6.5 cm which is ok for game under 140 pounds but its no elk rifle .I was kinda shocked to see so many being sold in Alaska.A friend guided a guy with a 6.5 cm and told him bring a bigger gun .The guy jammed the new rifle many times and had to shoot the moose 10 times .The last shot the guide said shoot it in the head .There are some really awesome old csrtridges being buried with new rounds that are not as good as old ones .Its a trick to buy new stuff making people think those old rifles are no good .I watched tons of rounds try to replace the 338 win mag and they fsiled now they are not chambeting 338 win mag at all and Weatherby is trying to push the 338 rpm but they are not selling like hotcakes either .Yes we need new guns but not junky ones that will break and wont last .I dont think the people that develop guns hunt anymore excpt Weatherby .

Old. Very few new hunting rifles appeal to me at all. I did purchase a new Ruger No 1 within the past year but they are one of the few exceptions.

Older the better. I think the younger generation (myself included) somehow lost our way and replaced simplicity with technology and think if the rifle doesn’t have dope cards on the side, range finders, windage tools, etc that it can not hit the board side of a barn or that if a rifle isn’t sub-MOA then it automatically means it’s not capable of minute of animal. It’s a shame. I’ve gone entirely back to bolt action, wood stocked, iron sight sporting rifles. I prefer the Ruger Hawkeye and 77 rifles but would take an older Model 70 any day. Things being as they are, I can afford the Ruger rifles.

That being said, Kurt at Highland Custom is building a 20” .270 and 9,3x62 on NOS Cz Mod 98 actions so that should fill the gap in “old rifles”.


V/r
Jake

MeatballMedic said:

Older the better. I think the younger generation (myself included) somehow lost our way and replaced simplicity with technology and think if the rifle doesn’t have dope cards, range finders, windage tools, etc that it can not hit the board side of a barn or that if a rifle isn’t sub-MOA then it automatically means it’s not capable of minute of animal. It’s a shame. I’ve gone entirely back to bolt action, wood stocked, iron sight sporting rifles. I prefer the Ruger Hawkeye and 77 rifles but would take an older Model 70 any day. Things being as they are, I can afford the Ruger rifles.

That being said, Kurt at Highland Custom is building a 20” .270 and 9,3x62 on NOS Cz Mod 98 actions so that should fill the gap in “old rifles”.
V/r
Jake

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Lol dope cards you gotta make. But I feel your sentiment. Folks trying to replace fieldcraft and skill with tech

Example of perfectly capable minute of animal “poor mans” Ruger-

Older, but only opportunistically when it's a deal i can't refuse (or what I sometimes refer to as "widow guns").

One shouldnt have a rifle than yourself, nor a caliber younger than your father.

Im 61 and use a Webley and Scott SbS double, Husqvarna and Mauser rifles, calibers from 6,5x55 to .505 Gibbs

I'm a mix --- I like a lot of space gun modern stuff as well as older classics. My first 375 was a 1917 conversion, my oldest is a 1889 made Trapdoor Carbine. But on the other side of those, for instance, I have two 375's whose date starts with a '2' and I just got a single shot CVA hunter in 45/70. A good chunk of my collection is polymer pistols and evil black metal which obviously don't go back that far in years, but the ones "featured" in the vault are usually older.

I understand and appreciate the appeal and practicality of synthetic stocks and stainless steel for certain hunting applications. But I love the feel and look of old classic rifles.