The Older I Get...

[CastShooter]

I'd like to tell a tale about aging, but there are many that have a longer story than myself and I'm not exactly sure where this story will go. I just know that looking back with the lense of time shows a bit of my personality, and looking forward is still foggy.

When I was a lad of 18, my rifles consisted of the flattest shooting magnums of the time. I had a 338 RUM, 223 WSSM, 300 Weatherby Mag, 7mm STW, and 257 Weatherby Mag. I'd shoot these rifles at unsuspecting Eastern whitetails while toting the merits of hard hitting magnums. All the while ignoring the price and in most cases copious amounts of recoil.

Fast forward to my mid 20's and I found a love of shooting cast bullets. Away went the magnums and in came WW2 surplus rifles, 30-06's, and other various medium bore cartridges. I learned the in's and out's of making a rifle shoot with cast bullets. I tried my hand at lever action rifles but was never able to warm up to one. I will own a 41 mag lever to companion my revolver one day though. This is the era I learned to tinker in. Tweaking here and there until I achieved the best that a gun had to offer.

Then as the US political game got "spicy" around my late 20's with and admin change, Covid, and another admin change, my interest shifted to learning how to run the AR, AK, and semi-auto handguns. My time was filled with classes upon classes, learning the intricacies of each platform, how to do proper mag changes, transition drills, and movement skills. This got me into 2 gun, 3 gun, and other various shooting matches to keep skills sharp between classes.

Enter my early 30's to present. I still love the shooting discipline of my 20's and regularly keep my skills sharp. Now though, my time has come to make my girls more familiar with this hobby and I've shown a tendency to moderate bolt action rifles. Long gone are the rifles at home that have a "magnum" chamber. In to stay are the small compact rifles with shorter barrels, suppressors, and modern cartridges that punch above their ballistics.

If you look through my collection, you can see rifles and handguns from all phases of my shooting career as I kept my favorites through my shooting intrests. I am missing a moderate magnum though. Something like a 6.5mm or 7mm magnum, possibly a "smaller" 30 cal magnum. I'm missing a rifle that has power at that 400 yd neighborhood for large cervids. I also know that with my 30-06 and 270 I still have, there isn't much I can't take at 400 yds.

My most recent favorite style of rifle tends to be the Ruger Günsite Sćout series. It melds together short barrels, detachable mags, sensible cartridges, cast bullets, and suppressors in a package just ripe to take myself and girls to the range (and woods) with. I've got 2 Ruger rifles, a 308 and 450 Bushmaster. I've also got a similar rifle that I built in 350 Legend.

They're all amazing shooters and North American game capable. I've been reaching to these three more and more. It will be interesting to see what my 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's hold for me in this hobby. I pray that it involves many grandchildren, loving children, and tons of memories in the field.

Below is my current favorite rifle, this one being in the lowly 450 Bushmaster, being so capable of combining most of my interests into one platform (and being of goodly bore size). It may become an SBR at some point if I decide to have the barrel trimmed to 12". I guess only time will tell. Thanks for coming along on my tale of aging! I hope to make a few more chapters before penning the last page.

 

[Rare Breed]

Love your story. Like all of us we evolve with the excitement always being what will be our next revolution! Thanks for your post

 

[Mekaniks]

Thanks for sharing

 

[Red Leg]

Just so you know, those of us in our seventh decade or so find someone talking about aging in their thirties (early thirties no less) mildly humorous. As a curmudgeon, I should also admit that I hate a suppressor on a conventional bolt action. From a blind or stand they are fine - but stalking? It is like maneuvering a surf rod or revolutionary era musket through the brush. Below are my travails in Hungary very recently.

Thread 'HUNGARY: Roe Deer On The Hungarian Plain And Mouflon Of The Bakony Mountains - Or, How I Came To Despise A Bolt Action Equipped With A Suppressor'

Apr 24, 2025

Not wishing to drive off any Gen X, Z, or tacticool readers immediately, I’ll withhold my rifle evaluation until later.

I had visited Budapest twice before over the last twenty-five years, but I never had the opportunity to see anything of the country. However, thanks to the Cold War, I at least was very familiar with its terrain from map studies and exercises. We had concluded back in those days that it represented excellent tank country once our formations moved east of the Danube. It was to this area, the Great Hungarian Plain (lföld or Nagy Alföld), that a local friend, Rick, and I...

• Red Leg
• Replies: 49
• Forum: Hunting reports Europe

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• 

All that said, whatever makes you happy is absolutely OK.

 

[CastShooter]

Just so you know, those of us in our seventh decade or so find someone talking about aging in their thirties (early thirties no less) mildly humorous. As a curmudgeon, I should also admit that I hate a suppressor on a conventional bolt action. From a blind or stand they are fine - but stalking? It is like maneuvering a surf rod or revolutionary era musket through the brush. Below are my travails in Hungary very recently.

Thread 'HUNGARY: Roe Deer On The Hungarian Plain And Mouflon Of The Bakony Mountains - Or, How I Came To Despise A Bolt Action Equipped With A Suppressor'

Apr 24, 2025

Not wishing to drive off any Gen X, Z, or tacticool readers immediately, I’ll withhold my rifle evaluation until later.

I had visited Budapest twice before over the last twenty-five years, but I never had the opportunity to see anything of the country. However, thanks to the Cold War, I at least was very familiar with its terrain from map studies and exercises. We had concluded back in those days that it represented excellent tank country once our formations moved east of the Danube. It was to this area, the Great Hungarian Plain (lföld or Nagy Alföld), that a local friend, Rick, and I...

• Red Leg
• Replies: 49
• Forum: Hunting reports Europe

• 
• 

All that said, whatever makes you happy is absolutely OK.

I'm fully aware other's hunting trail is longer than mine. I'm not in my early 30's anymore, more like the mid-late 30's. Even though it seems funny to those whom have lived a longer life than mine, I'd like to point out that this is the oldest I've ever been and have no guarantee I'll make it to next week.

The rifle pictured has a 16" barrel and a 10" suppressor (in long form) it's no different in length than hunting with a regular 26" barrel rifle. In short form it carries very similar to a 1903 springfield in full military dress.

I figured someone of your age would enjoy roaming the woods with an old Kentucky long rifle for the connection to the good old days. Excellent hunting story BTW, hunting abroad is definitely on my list. If I'm going to travel the world, it'll be to hunt.

Possibly in the next few generations my rifles will start to be more weight conscious, who knows, but I'm sure it'll be an adventure.

 

[mark-hunter]

I'd like to tell a tale about aging, but there are many that have a longer story than myself and I'm not exactly sure where this story will go.

I talked to older hunters, at the end of their hunting carrier abut that. They also had their phases, and tried everything. On the end, they sold everything and sticked to one or two rifles, usually all around type.
The rest was just the temporary whim, curiosity, and fashion. I have number of rifles for this and that, but at the end, I just take one rifle and one shogun regularly for hunting, the rest of them stay in the back of safe locker.

 

[DieJager]

I talked to older hunters, at the end of their hunting carrier abut that. They also had their phases, and tried everything. On the end, they sold everything and sticked to one or two rifles, usually all around type.
The rest was just the temporary whim, curiosity, and fashion. I have number of rifles for this and that, but at the end, I just take one rifle and one shogun regularly for hunting, the rest of them stay in the back of safe locker.

I only can possess 6 guns. Currently have 5. For years I shot exclusively with my 375. That has changed recently and is now a 7x64. Have also two shotguns, one I've never used and probably will sell. The other is my workhorse. Then the almost mandatory 22lr. That one I use the most, shooting pest and pigeons.

For me that is all I need. They are tools for me and they work. Maybe in the future I will buy a prestigious double rifle or other gun but until that I spend my money rather on hunting.

 

[CastShooter]

I talked to older hunters, at the end of their hunting carrier abut that. They also had their phases, and tried everything. On the end, they sold everything and sticked to one or two rifles, usually all around type.
The rest was just the temporary whim, curiosity, and fashion. I have number of rifles for this and that, but at the end, I just take one rifle and one shogun regularly for hunting, the rest of them stay in the back of safe locker.

My grandfather who is in his late 70's is experiencing this i believe. He has a good many guns, I'd say well over 30, yet when it's time for him to go into the local woods, he's always reaching for a well worn Browning A-bolt in 25-06. I've got a good few sentimental rifles i can't sell. I'm sure they'll get pared down as I gift them to my kids and grandkids.

I'm sure there's a connection when only reaching for an "old friend" in the safe. I'm still searching for that companion.