I offer this this short story to someone whose thoughts on trimming down their rifle battery might mirror my own?? Here’s where I am and how I got here.
I’ve been a rifle junkie for a very long time. Grew up hunting with a .22, .222 and 35 Rem. Pretty much kept up and hunted with the new cartridges as they came along. Too many to remember all. Add to that some expensive hunts I’m very glad I took despite my moderate income. Worth every penny. Would do them again in a heartbeat!!
Now getting up in years – early 2024 – it was time to substantially reduce my rifle inventory. Plan? One rifle for Everything. Did. A beautiful 30-06 – Coyote to Big Bear. The rifle worked. With a few lighter Varmint bullets (handloaded) – not so much. Reboot! Back to the shop. Multiple times, trying to get this right. Always happy to see me come thru the door. Now had 2, then 3 rifles. Going in the wrong direction. Tried a 6.5 and a .270. Nope. Yeah, I know – sorry but no cigar. My apologies Mr. O’Connor - and the 6.5’s just aren’t my cup of tea.
Awhile back, had a .308 Win. Liked it a lot. Deer? DRT with the 168 gr TMK. Probably should have kept it. Isn’t hindsight great!! OK, let’s do this again. Which rifle? Tikka UPR, .308, 24” bbl. In my safe. A keeper. Handling 125 gr Wiley bullets well. Deer bullets? Same. Sub MOA. Coyote hunt coming soon.
Now what?
For Elk and up – just me personally now - I want a little more oomph than the 308 gives. Gave a lot of respect to another ’06. Spent a TON of hours online researching the 300 Win and 338 Win – advantages and disadvantages. Today, I picked up a High Country in 300 Win. Nice looking rifle. A good trigger and the rifle is a little heavier than most – IMHO – that’s an asset with the 300 Win. A cartridge I owned awhile back and could handle. An hour ago, used my phillips-head and got the stock to fit me really well. Thank you, Savage. Range testing tomorrow. Brake stays in the box.
Two BG rifles for everything. Wasn’t easy getting here. Gotta good feeling – mission accomplished. At least until I can afford to hunt M’bogo.
Thanks for spending some time with me.
Cheers. Be safe.
I’ve been a rifle junkie for a very long time. Grew up hunting with a .22, .222 and 35 Rem. Pretty much kept up and hunted with the new cartridges as they came along. Too many to remember all. Add to that some expensive hunts I’m very glad I took despite my moderate income. Worth every penny. Would do them again in a heartbeat!!
Now getting up in years – early 2024 – it was time to substantially reduce my rifle inventory. Plan? One rifle for Everything. Did. A beautiful 30-06 – Coyote to Big Bear. The rifle worked. With a few lighter Varmint bullets (handloaded) – not so much. Reboot! Back to the shop. Multiple times, trying to get this right. Always happy to see me come thru the door. Now had 2, then 3 rifles. Going in the wrong direction. Tried a 6.5 and a .270. Nope. Yeah, I know – sorry but no cigar. My apologies Mr. O’Connor - and the 6.5’s just aren’t my cup of tea.
Awhile back, had a .308 Win. Liked it a lot. Deer? DRT with the 168 gr TMK. Probably should have kept it. Isn’t hindsight great!! OK, let’s do this again. Which rifle? Tikka UPR, .308, 24” bbl. In my safe. A keeper. Handling 125 gr Wiley bullets well. Deer bullets? Same. Sub MOA. Coyote hunt coming soon.
Now what?
For Elk and up – just me personally now - I want a little more oomph than the 308 gives. Gave a lot of respect to another ’06. Spent a TON of hours online researching the 300 Win and 338 Win – advantages and disadvantages. Today, I picked up a High Country in 300 Win. Nice looking rifle. A good trigger and the rifle is a little heavier than most – IMHO – that’s an asset with the 300 Win. A cartridge I owned awhile back and could handle. An hour ago, used my phillips-head and got the stock to fit me really well. Thank you, Savage. Range testing tomorrow. Brake stays in the box.
Two BG rifles for everything. Wasn’t easy getting here. Gotta good feeling – mission accomplished. At least until I can afford to hunt M’bogo.
Thanks for spending some time with me.
Cheers. Be safe.
