Your favorite hunting rifle of all time

[Donnachaidh]

Apologies if this has been done before.
It's a tough question to answer when you start thinking about it, particularly if you've hunted for a few years and owned a few rifles.
I:ve had some fine wood / blued classic hunting rifles including Sako, Heym and Varberger. But for me, it's my Winchester M70 Extreme Weather 30-06; an uncommon rifle in the UK, but I love the reliability, accuracy, balance and smooth action. Another major bonus is it's ruggedness, whether I'm in the heat and dust of Africa or on a Scottish mountain in the snow and rain.

 

[BeeMaa]

For me it's my CZ550 375H&H Aramid stock with AHR #2 upgrade.
Capable of hunting anything in the world.
However, I would probably up the caliber if Elephant or Hippo were on the menu.

Waterbuck at Sandveld Nature Reserve

• BeeMaa
• Jun 8, 2019

Waterbuck at Sandveld Nature Reserve

 

[TTundra]

Mine is a Remington 700 in 300 Win. Over the years its been rebarreled and trued, had a few different stocks on it, different optics and mounts, triggers, and even finishes. Its traveled the country and world with me and one that will never be parted with.

 

[Hillbilly Marine]

I had a Ruger M77 in 270 Win that was an extension of me.it Was The original version with the tang safety (I may be the only person on earth who preferred the old push-feed action over the upgrade mkII)

 

[nksmfamjp]

I have a Ruger Hawkeye African in 6.5x55 that is a real gem. Built in the classic hunting pattern for a rifle. Easy to carry and shoot. Accuracy is good enough and it will take most of the thin skinned NA game.

I also have a sporterized P17 in 30’06. Recoil is a bit more and it is heavy.

 

[Hearties]

Mine is a Remington 700 in 300 Win. Over the years its been rebarreled and trued, had a few different stocks on it, different optics and mounts, triggers, and even finishes. Its traveled the country and world with me and one that will never be parted with.

View attachment 297301

Off topic but are you happy with your Tract scope?

My favorite BTW is my M70 30-06.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Winchester Model 1894 30-30

 

[hammz]

Winchester Model 70 Alaskan in 300 Winchester Magnum

 

[Hoss Delgado]

My FAVORITE hunting rifle of ALL time is the BRNO ZKK-602 . Hands down . I own a custom piece built on a ZKK-602 action barrelled in .350 Rigby Magnum. Who built this beautiful rifle is a mystery to me. But they did a very , very skilled job. It holds 5 In the Magazine and 1 in the chamber. It shoots sub MOA at 100 yards and is regulated for the Kynoch .350 Rigby Magnum 225 grain soft point spitzer or FMJ round nose bullet . I have already " bloodied my rifle " with Elk , deer , pronghorn , Coyote , moose and Caribou . It's going to be my plains game rifle in Africa for 2020.
I have a spare ZKK-602 action lying around for building an 11.2 × 72 mm Schuler rifle some day in the future ( l wanna revive this caliber , as l think it deserves a spot amongst us brother sportsmen ).
The best ZKK-602 actions are the ones made before 1978. They have a little peep sight that folds. Very classy.
ZKK-602 rifles were originally made in .375 HH Magnum , .358 Norma Magnum and .458 Winchester Magnum. I have had good fortune to see the .375 model and fire a .458 model. You seriously can't get better than this.
Unlike Many seasoned hunters who like the Mauser 98 action above all , l prefer the ZKK-602 . It's the ONLY action where l have NEVER seen a Magazine floor plate pop open due to recoil even once.
My second rifle is a Winchester Model 70 pre war model in .375 HH Magnum . It's a great tool and a good rifle , but not as accurate as the BRNO ( it gives 3 inch groups at 100 yards ) . Also the stock split and the feed ramp needed to be customized to reliably feed 300 grain soft nose bullets.
I am also fond of the old Mannlicher Shoenauer rotary Magazine rifle in .458 Winchester Magnum and have always wanted to shoot one , but the only big game caliber they used to come in , was .458 Winchester Magnum . And unlike the ZKK-602 , you can't rechamber it for a larger , better caliber like .500 Jeffery or .505 Gibbs.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

For me it's my CZ550 375H&H Aramid stock with AHR #2 upgrade.
Capable of hunting anything in the world.
However, I would probably up the caliber if Elephant or Hippo were on the menu.

Waterbuck at Sandveld Nature Reserve

• BeeMaa
• Jun 8, 2019

Waterbuck at Sandveld Nature Reserve

Nice one , Bee Maa. What load did you use to being down that bad boy ?

 

[IvW]

For plains game, leopard, lioness and lion on bait, my Brno ZK K602 375 H&H's with pop up peep sights in rear receivers(I have two of these) one is 24 inch barrel with which I use 350 gr Rhino bullets in the thicker stuff and the other one with original 25.5 inch barrel and loaded with 300 gr Rhino bullets for all the other plains game. For wounded leopard follow u I switch to my Brno SxS poor mans double or 9.3x74R/12ga Combination.

For buffalo, hippo, rhino and elephant my Brno ZKK 602 in 500 Jeff, no finer bolt action for the job.

 

[BigSteve57]

It's my Blaser R8 Kilombero by a mile or 1.609344 KM for the rest of the world.

I've said it before: I love our Browning BBR (the one with the 9 lugs on the bolt) and A bolt rifles. We took the BBR to Africa as my wife's rifle, after all. Compared to the R8 they are all primitive relics IMHO.

If it weren't for the sentimental value and memories associated with my traditional bolt action rifles I'd sell/trade them all for Blasers.

Blaser -- What is all the excitement about?
https://www.africahunting.com/threads/blaser-what-is-all-the-excitement-about.50352/

 

[cls]

Browning BBR IN 7MM Rem Mag, bought it when I was a relative youngster. It has never let me down on anyything North America has to offer other than Griz and Brown bear. Also did well on most plains game on my first trip to Africa. I have safes full of rifles but this one, It just plain works.

 

[crs]

My fave is my first center fire rifle, which by pure luck and the counsel of a gunsmith friend turned out to be this Pre '64 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in .308 Winchester. It has been accurized by the book; Arkansas stone on trigger, free floated barrel, and MagnaPorted to reduce muzzle jump.
Early on, I tried for extreme accuracy, but my best was 5 shots in 5/8 inch.
More good advice from a competitive bench rest shooter was "5/8 ths is great for a hunting rifle - stop wasting ammo and take it hunting!"

Glad I did as he said.

 

[meigsbucks]

I had a Ruger M77 in 270 Win that was an extension of me.it Was The original version with the tang safety (I may be the only person on earth who preferred the old push-feed action over the upgrade mkII)

My favorite rifle is an old tang safety Ruger 77 (you’re not alone Hillbilly Marine) in .338 Win mag. It is on it’s third stock and the barrel, scope and rings have scratches, dings and scuffs all over them. It has been on a lot of tough hunts since I bought it new in the 1980’s. When I get back to Africa, it will be one of my rifles.

 

[Patton63]

This is actually an easy one. Out of all of my rifles, my all time favorite is a .300 Win Mag built on a Borden Rimrock action, Bartlien #5 barrel, Jewel trigger, McMillan Gamescout stock and topped with a Swarovski 3.5-18.

 

[mdwest]

you guys are going to think Im crazy.... but.. I've got a cheap little ruger american compact in .308.. with a cheap vortex crossfire 3-9x40 scope on it.. that I absolutely love..

Its literally the cheapest centerfire rifle in the safe.. but its awesome.. I did a little "work" to it.. I got rid of the terrible plastic stock they come with and dropped it into a boyds laminate.. put a hornady bolt ball on it.. and replaced all of the plastic parts with aftermarket aluminum or steel parts.. which brought the cost up to about what a NIB ruger m77 could have cost me.. but what I've ended up with is super compact package.. that is incredibly easy to carry and shoot, has a very fast swing, is well balanced, etc..etc.. that I can take anything in NA with shy of a large bear.. that is also a tack driver with barnes TTSX..

I cant tell you how many times when I've been selecting a rifle for a hunt I have passed over my custom mauser in 7x57 (although I love that rifle also), my Win 70 in 7mm Mag, my ruger m77 in 308, and a host of other rifles that are also perfectly suited for deer or hogs (all have better optics on them, better triggers on them, etc..).. and picked up the ruger american...

not sure why.. but I prefer shooting it and hunting with it over everything else in the safe..

 

[gizmo]

Wow, I don’t know if I can answer this. That’s like asking which kid is your favorite.
For a general North American hunting rifle it would be my customized Remington 700 in 30-06 or my 300 WM I built on a Savage Action but then again I have a 270 that I used for years and took to Africa which has some special memories and a Model 70 Supergrade Win 308 that was my cousins before he died. My daughter shot her first 3 animals with it.
I can’t really answer that either in my big bores as the all are special to me in one way or another.
Just glad I don’t have to include my antique and collector guns.

 

[BeeMaa]

Nice one , Bee Maa. What load did you use to being down that bad boy ?

300 grain Swift A-Frames loaded by Swift.
25 yard shot as it ran from my left to right and hit in the shoulder, plowing the Waterbuck into the ground.
Another shot to the spine to finish.
Had the scope dialed back to 1.5x because we were in thick brush at the time.

Love this rifle.
Big thanks to Wayne at AHR!

 

[Art Lambart II]

My Ruger #1 in 30-06 is my all time favorite hunting rifle, it's light, short, easy to carry and above all accurate.