Do you have your ideal rifle or are you still looking for it?

[chino_cba]

Remington 798 custom, 375 H&H, length barrel 21.5". apel and Leica Scope 2.5-10x42 ret 1. stock custom. ammunition hornady factory Superformance 270grs : 2770 F/s.
View attachment 736554

more pics

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Every time I tell myself I’m done… I come up with a new application and discover I have a void…

There was a great deal on a 22-250 recently… I didnt own any 22 center fires other than a handful of .223/5.56 AR’s…

I realized if I ever go prairie dog hunting that out of the 60 odd long guns that are owned between me and the wife, that we don’t have a single appropriate rifle in a proper chambering…

So I bought the 22-250..

Mind you that in 56 years I’ve never hunted p-dogs… and I have no future plans to hunt them…

But by God I’m prepared now! lol..,

I did the same thing with a shotgun a few months ago…

I’ve got a safe full of 12 and 20 ga options… but I had recently been on a dove hunt where the guy next to me was shooting a wonderful little 28 ga… so I decided my 20ga was no longer adequate… and went on the search for a nice 28…

I didn’t find one that day… but did come across a great deal on a 16ga sxs… and thought to myself “that would be a perfect pheasant gun! I don’t own a 16ga!”

So I bought it…

Been killing pheasant all my life without ever owning a 16ga before… but by God now I’ve got a 16ga pheasant gun lol..

@mdwest
Better to have all the gear and some idea than having all the gear and no idea.
It's good to see you have solutions for problems you didn't know existed.
Bob

 

[matt85]

I almost have my dream collection of large bore rifles.

What i have:
- Winchester M70 in 416RM
- W.J. Jeffery 8-bore 3.25" double rifle

What i want:
- a properly weighted and balanced double rifle in 577 NE 3"

 

[375Ruger416]

Mine is perfect for me, that means usable at home while still plausible to use in Africa. Our hunting weapons license legislation means max 4-6 rifles/shotguns so it has to be usable for domestic hunting in order to earn its place. Hence the choice of .375 H&H instead of something bigger.

View attachment 736806

Like that engraving!

 

[dogcat1]

In reality, my "next" rifle is my favorite.
However, I have several stunners that I hunt with - Matt Roberts .375 HH, he has built several guns for me and we have 3 in process.
I have a couple of Ralf Martini customs in .280 Rem, .300 WM that are true marvels.

I have had the Martini Heym - great rifle. I have had the Highland Stalker - great rifle.

Parkwest, formerly Dakota, is doing some extremely great work as well. I have a few of theirs.

So, to answer your question- my next .280 Rem, or .300 HH or .375 HH or .257 Roberts or 416 Rigby is my favorite.....

 

[SStomcat]

What i want:
- a properly weighted and balanced double rifle in 577 NE 3"

What is to you an ideal weight and barrel length for the 577 NE? I'm curious, as that is also a rifle I want, . Though ammo availability is of concern to me.

 

[Green Chile]

There are at least three .577 NE's for sale on GI that are under 12 lbs. One is by Holland, which surprises me as I think you would want 14 lbs for a practical .577 double that can be used without injury to yourself. These 11+ lb doubles weigh the same as my bolt action 416 Rigby but will have 2x the recoil.

 

[matt85]

What is to you an ideal weight and barrel length for the 577 NE? I'm curious, as that is also a rifle I want, . Though ammo availability is of concern to me.

It has been a few years since i last shot a 577 NE 3" but if memory serves, the best examples I shot were original London guns that weighed around 14lb. The best shooting example was an Army Navy double a gentleman let me shoot in AK. The gun had the perfect amount of vertical and horizontal recoil!

In my worthless opinion; many guns have their balance all wrong. Too much weight at the muzzle will drive the recoil strait into your shoulder. Too much weight in the rear and the gun will want to jump out of your hands. When its just right, an amount of energy will be burned off by allowing some muzzle rise. But not so much that it makes follow up shots too difficult. Many of the modern guns ive shot had too much weight at the muzzle. While this made for rapid follow-up shots, it made the guns unpleasant to shoot. Ive also found most modern guns to be too light. But i suppose in most cases, people walk more than they shoot... So i can understand this.

Ammo isnt too hard to make. Brass is expensive to get but not impossible. Many companies offer .585" bullets.

Sorry for my ramblings... I like large bore doubles.

 

[skydiver386]

For the sake of this discussion, I will focus on a practical working African rifle in .375 caliber. I've got a great .300 win mag for PG that is my Blaser R8. It's killed a lot of stuff and I'm very comfortable with it. It needs no changes at all. I've got bigger calibers than .416 for DG but I've really settled on my Dakota African model in 416 Rigby. It too has killed a lot of DG. Between me and the previous owner it has several rounds of Big 5 accounted for. It really is perfect and needs nothing. Here it is...

View attachment 736227

The thing that stirs me up is that I've owned and sold at least 2 perfect 375s...past tense. I still have an older Sako 375 and a 375 barrel for my Blaser R8 but I just don't think they are everything I'm looking for. They are great mechanically and I can't even hold the accuracy of the R8 barrels in the field...but I still miss what I think were the ideal working 375 rifles that I used to have. One was a Champlin Arms custom build and the other was actually sold to another forum member and is being used in Africa...a custom Zkk-602 in .375 that is pictured here on what was a perfect one gun safari a few years ago...
View attachment 736229

How many of you have that rifle that really covers you well or are you still looking? It feels like I'm still looking for the perfect .375 and remembering fondly the TWO that I sold and are being enjoyed by others. By the way, I've got the perfect scopes for the .375 but that's another subject!

Having owned well over 100 firearms, my favorite rifle will always be my CZ 550 .375. Simple, basic and cheap, but at 6'3" and 220lbs, they just fit.

I just wish it had wood as pretty as yours.

 

[SStomcat]

It has been a few years since i last shot a 577 NE 3" but if memory serves, the best examples I shot were original London guns that weighed around 14lb. The best shooting example was an Army Navy double a gentleman let me shoot in AK. The gun had the perfect amount of vertical and horizontal recoil!

In my worthless opinion; many guns have their balance all wrong. Too much weight at the muzzle will drive the recoil strait into your shoulder. Too much weight in the rear and the gun will want to jump out of your hands. When its just right, an amount of energy will be burned off by allowing some muzzle rise. But not so much that it makes follow up shots too difficult. Many of the modern guns ive shot had too much weight at the muzzle. While this made for rapid follow-up shots, it made the guns unpleasant to shoot. Ive also found most modern guns to be too light. But i suppose in most cases, people walk more than they shoot... So i can understand this.

Ammo isnt too hard to make. Brass is expensive to get but not impossible. Many companies offer .585" bullets.

Sorry for my ramblings... I like large bore doubles.

Good thoughts. I’ve never shot a .577—maybe someday. I did handle a .600 NE at Gordy’s a few months back, purely out of curiosity, and that was without firing it. If memory serves, it was in the ~16 lb range. I thanked it politely and set it back down.

I realize a well-balanced .577 won’t be much lighter, and at that point, the rifle starts making decisions for me. That alone may be reason enough to admire it from a respectful distance. But I really don't know

 

[MS 9x56]

My favorite rifle is always the one I am carrying.

 

[matt85]

Good thoughts. I’ve never shot a .577—maybe someday. I did handle a .600 NE at Gordy’s a few months back, purely out of curiosity, and that was without firing it. If memory serves, it was in the ~16 lb range. I thanked it politely and set it back down.

I realize a well-balanced .577 won’t be much lighter, and at that point, the rifle starts making decisions for me. That alone may be reason enough to admire it from a respectful distance. But I really don't know

In my opinion, 16lb is much too light for a 600! The last 600 i shot was around 19lb and it would still loosen your teeth. 900gr at 2000fps is no joke and makes my 8-bore feel tame!

 

[SStomcat]

In my opinion, 16lb is much too light for a 600! The last 600 i shot was around 19lb and it would still loosen your teeth. 900gr at 2000fps is no joke and makes my 8-bore feel tame!

Believe you, but at that weight, maneuverability for a quick follow-up shot at a close range, and also the ability to haul it for days while elephant hunting must be given some serious thought. IMO, of course, never hunted elephant, so what do I know

 

[matt85]

Believe you, but at that weight, maneuverability for a quick follow-up shot at a close range, and also the ability to haul it for days while elephant hunting must be given some serious thought. IMO, of course, never hunted elephant, so what do I know

This is why i dont have any real interest in the 600 and 700 NE cartridges. The guns need to be too heavy for my wimpy arms.

My 8-bore is probably the heaviest rifle i can reliably shoot off-hand at around 16.5lb. Carrying it for long periods of time... I would likely hire a porter.

 

[Rare Breed]

They are truly wonderful and yet sadly under appreciated rifles. I think it is because they are in useful chamberings, don't weigh as much as a light machine gun, and don't look like a "proper" SxS double to those into reenacting short clips of a 30's era safari in seven - to - ten days with a rifle they may fire a dozen times during ownership.

Lovely buck to go with that rifle.

I would love to have the highland stalker in the 404 J caliber versus the Big Game

 

[Old3Toe]

20 years ago, I got my ideal rifle. Although i maybe didn't fully realize or appreciate it at the time. Turns out that it's been an ideal for me, my tastes, and yielded fully satisfying results on everything I hunt.

It is a 98 Mauser, long throated, fast twist, 7x57 mauser. More specifically she's a 20" full stocked Interarms 98 Mauser, 162gr cup-core bullets, ultralight 2-8x scope, simple 2-position safety. Tuned trigger, speed lock, pillar bedded and generously free floated in a lovely piece of figured walnut.

This one rifle/cartridge/load alone covers the vast majority of my hunting and my ambitions abroad. Both large and small, near and far it has earned my loyalty and my respect over the past 20 years.

Now what is impossible to tell from the picture is just how slender and svelt the stock is. It's dainty by any comparison. Nimble and well balanced this combo becomes lively in hand-- which simply makes it a joy to carry. More so as @matt85 noted, weight distribution correlates with recoil perception. This stock/barrel/scope paired with the mild Mauser cartridge, makes this light rifle a surreal delight to shoot. And if all that weren't enough, accuracy and repeatability leaves nothing to be desired.

Anyway that's my idea of ideal.

 

[Green Chile]

Very nice 7x57. That cartridge covers almost everything but DG. My examples have been very accurate and mild to shoot. That gun and a 9.3 or .375 would cover everything.

 

[MS 9x56]

20 years ago, I got my ideal rifle. Although i maybe didn't fully realize or appreciate it at the time. Turns out that it's been an ideal for me, my tastes, and yielded fully satisfying results on everything I hunt.

It is a 98 Mauser, long throated, fast twist, 7x57 mauser. More specifically she's a 20" full stocked Interarms 98 Mauser, 162gr cup-core bullets, ultralight 2-8x scope, simple 2-position safety. Tuned trigger, speed lock, pillar bedded and generously free floated in a lovely piece of figured walnut.

This one rifle/cartridge/load alone covers the vast majority of my hunting and my ambitions abroad. Both large and small, near and far it has earned my loyalty and my respect over the past 20 years.

Now what is impossible to tell from the picture is just how slender and svelt the stock is. It's dainty by any comparison. Nimble and well balanced this combo becomes lively in hand-- which simply makes it a joy to carry. More so as @matt85 noted, weight distribution correlates with recoil perception. This stock/barrel/scope paired with the mild Mauser cartridge, makes this light rifle a surreal delight to shoot. And if all that weren't enough, accuracy and repeatability leaves nothing to be desired.

Anyway that's my idea of ideal.

That is lovely. As a Mannlicher stock lover I have 3, a Ruger RSi in 250 savage, an original model 1905 Mannlicher Schoenauer in 9x56 and a CZ 550 FS in 9.3x62. All are easy to carry and fit me very well. The CZ is about the largest caliber I think I would want in a Mannlicher stock. I am glad you have found your match. Have you ever seen another Mannlicher stocked rifle in the woods?

 

[Tex .416]

I have several nice rifles, some on the pricey side, but this Montana Rifle Company 1999 .308 Win is the old reliable, utilitarian work horse. It is comfortable, accurate, and I have confidence it will send the bullet were intended. It also seems to have some good luck.

 

[Rimshot]

I’m still looking for the perfect squirrel gun. Any old 22 LR will work, but I want something that’s not junk but heirloom quality.

Kimber of America's K22 SuperAmerica. (They also made a plainer, cheaper "hunter" version for a lot less money, a SVT varmint/target, and a HS silhouette.)

Production stopped about 20 years ago, but this is one of the best sporters ever designed. Mini mauser action, pillar bedded, match chamber, flush metal magazine, offset bolt with center firing pin, m70 style safety, fully adjustable match grade trigger. Stock is figured AAA walnut, 24 lpi wrap around checkering, ebony tip, deep+high polish blue.

Gun didn't ship unless 5 shot group was <0.4" @ 50 yd, and came with factory test target often in the 0.2s. And these things shoot. I have 5 counting all variations and with good ammo they're all bug holes at 50 and under 1" at 100.

The only thing made these days that comes close in looks and performance is probably Parkwest Arms' SD22, which starts at $6k with no options (no checkering, matte blue, etc). Probably more like 8 or 9k by the time you make it equal.

Kimber made a decent number and they show up on auction sites now and then. A plain hunter version goes for about 1k and superamerica maybe 2500. A steal for what you get. Note this is a completely different gun than the Kimber of Oregon from the 1980s.