Old School vs. New Tech: What’s Your Go-To Rifle for the Veld?

[Ontario Hunter]

I'm split I guess. Big game hunting started in 1964 with the 30-06 WWII 03A3 Springfield my Dad dolled up for me. It's been overhauled and tricked out several times since but still doing the job sixty years later.

But for birds and clays I had to give up on wood, although I cling to my 1960s Browning A5 "Magnum Twelve." After wearing out two sets of wood I switched to plastic. I can shoot the lights out with that ugly old beast whether at the range or in the field.

However, it may be sitting on the bench for a while at the range. My 11 year-old grandson went skeet shooting with me yesterday, his second attempt. Brought along the used 12 gauge Citori I bought for a steal a few years back and cleaned up. I don't shoot it nearly as well as the A5 (it has slightly shorter and thicker stock) but I will take it out occasionally for a change. Grandson was struggling with the Black Monster bird killer so I asked him if he'd like to try something different. The Citori doubled his score! Now he's hooked. Regulations require that I have to stand behind him while shooting and he cannot carry the gun, even to the station. So until he turns 12 and gets his federal license, it will be one gun only at the range. Guess you know what gun I will be shooting. Back to classic.

Two years ago I built a sorta classic 404J on Czech 98 Mauser. Finished it in time (barely) for my fourth safari but didn't shoot anything. Oh well. I built the gun for the fun of it. Very challenging project.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Old school, all the way. It's not just a tool but an extension of who I am. It's lever actions for me. That may not be a classical African approach but it is very much who I am and how I roll.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Hey all — just got back from a trip where I brought my granddad’s old .375 — it’s heavy, loud, and smells like oil and nostalgia. But damn, it gets the job done. Some of the younger guys were rocking modern short-actions with optics and suppressors. So… are we still romantics about bolt-action classics or is everyone upgrading to the future? Looking for real talk, not just brochures. Let’s hear your favorite rifle, why you trust it, and if it’s got more stories than misses.

I've never taken a rifle to Africa that wasn't built with walnut and blued steel. My two favorites are on Mauser actions in .300 and .458 Winchester Magnums.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I like pretty things. Bolts and doubles and shotguns should wear wood. ARs should be synthetic.

The only exception to this general rule for me is gear that is for wet environments. A duck gun can be synthetic. A rifle for Alaska can be synthetic.

I agree. AR in synthetic. Hunting guns in blue and walnut. Western Washington also calls for synthetic and stainless.

 

[MS 9x56]

CZ 550 FS in 9.3x62 because everything I shoot with it falls down and lays still.

 

[CoElkHunter]

When men were men! And life expectancy was 29.... ;-)

And sheep were nervous.

 

[ftrovato]

And sheep were nervous.

Sheep are still nervous in many areas around the Northeaster United States, and I'm sure many other areas too! ;-)

 

[cajunchefray]

Cajunchefray, I purchased a Rigby style bolt mounted Peep sight from McLaughlin Metal Works. John McLaughlin told me that he currently makes these sights for Rigby. I might add that he is a great guy to do business with.

Thank you for the heads up.

 

[crackerman]

While ignoring the dating advice above lol,

I think its possible to walk both worlds.

I took a new CZ600 Lux to Africa for the old school vibe and because it matched my wannabe Hemmingway vibes along with the clothes and hat.

I also loved taking my Q Fix because its my modern scout rifle I use at home for hunting and general use. A perfect modern day ranch/eastcoast hunting/defense rifle and I like generalist things.

When I go back the Lux will go with me because my version of Africa demands Turkish Walnut and blued steel.

 

[Doug3006]

I went old school on

my Namibia safari last month. A Ruger #1 falling block single shot in 300 H&H. I took 5 animals with Nosler 200 grain Partitions. Never needed a second shot.

 

[odonata]

As an IT person, I spend all of my work day on the cutting edge of new technology.

In my personal time, it's all old school: Film cameras, stereo tube amps, wooden sailboats & walnut with blued steel single-shot falling-blocks. I have eight No. 1's & 1885's in 6.5x55, 275 Rigby, 303 British, 9.3x74r, 375 H&H, 44 Mag & 405 Win so I'm covered for everything I'm currently pointing a rifle at. I enjoy hunting with everything I own so I don't have any safe queens. They're all setup differently so I just grab the one that's ideal for the area & game I'm after.

 

[BryceM]

I've probably taken the most game with my walnut-stocked Wby MkV in .300 Wby. It's roughly 10-15 years older than I am, and I've owned it since the 1980s. It's been re-stocked once and re-barreled and re-blued once. It's been to Africa 2 or 3 times and all over the Western US. More recently I've been using suppressed, plastic-stock custom Rem 700s in .300 WM and .260 AI. Man do they shoot! All of the above will do 1/4 MOA some of the time and 1/2 MOA all of the time.

As for shotguns, I'm packing a CZ Bobwhite side-by-side 20 ga these days. I own an ancient Browning Safari in .375 H&H that is itching to go to Africa. For DG, I've been using a plain CZ550 in .416 Rigby.

Maybe someday if I have more money than restraint I'll get a nice bolt-action Rigby PG rifle. There's something rather tempting about that.

 

[mdwest]

I don’t know that I’ve got a favorite… I try to mate the right tool to the task at hand.. and I also love a bargain and tend to buy things (whether antique blue and walnut or modern stainless and synthetic) when I find good deals on them..

My primary DG rifle is a blued and walnut 416…

My primary PG rifle is a stainless and synthetic 308..

I’ve got several dozen rifles in the safe(s).. they range from a 1890 octagon barreled, blued and walnut .22 long (not long rifle), to a synthetic Ruger 10/22 with a red dot on top and a threaded barrel for a suppressor, to numerous ARs in different configurations, to bolt actions made in the 1950’s, to modern bolt guns with all the latest features, etc etc… shotguns range from very nice European o/u’s to “tactical” American 12 gauges, to cerakoted “duck” guns with synthetic stocks…

What I pick up or prefer really depends on the quarry and the mood more than anything else..

It is just as likely I’ll take a 50+ year old blued and walnut rifle in a traditional caliber like 30-06 on my next PG hunt as it is that I’ll take a synthetic 300PRC… I’m an equal opportunity lover of all firearms…

 

[Mauser78]

All of my rifles are classics, with wood stocks, I just went over to the dark side with a 6.5 creed in a Tupperware stock, but that is for a specific use, and will be used mainly for a specific purpose, and it will be scratched a lot, and i feel sorry for my other rifles, so this is a practical choice.