Your heavily used hunting rifle

[Balderdash]

My primary rifle since the 90s, Ruger M77, 7mmRM. Bought it in HS for $350

Original barrel was shot out by me, wood stock replaced to a McMillan (stock only cost me $200) new Timney trigger when factory stopped working. Had a 24” Benchmark barrel put on it. The metal was Ceracoated after the original blueing was all splotchy.

I finally took the Zeiss conquest 3-9x40 off of it after years of use and just placed it with a new NF NXS 3.5-15x50. She’s got a lot more critters to add in the upcoming years.

It’s killed pig, deer, antelope, elk.

Not too often you see antelope pics with a woods in the background and leaves on the ground.

The places I've hunted them had a desolate vacuity of trees.

 

[JasonWi]

Not too often you see antelope pics with a woods in the background and leaves on the ground.

The places I've hunted them had a desolate vacuity of trees.

I did kill her up on a wide open flat, but the winds were ripping that day, so loaded her up and cleaned her in this timber patch to get out of the winds.

 

[Te Hopo]

My Howa Mini .223 with Weaver Classic 3-9x38, bought in 2018 and since then it's culled hundreds of wild deer, goats, hogs and rabbits on farms, all recovered animals butchered for us or pet food.

It's by far the handiest rifle I've had, it's at the smith at the mo getting a barrel chop to 18" to make it even handier.

 

[Wrongside]

LH M7o FW clone I had put together around 2010-2011. 3o/o6 Springfield Shilen SM barrel. ~6 pounds bare.

One of my all time favorites. Hunted with it a lot up until 4ish years ago. It’s had a few different scopes- VX3 2.5-8, FXII 6x LRD. Mounted a 3-12 LRHS on it last winter, so it’ll go back in the regular rotation now.

https://imgur.com/LUcXbWT

 

[gerry35]

@Wrongside I remember that gun, very nice! Lots to love with that set up. Is that a McMillan edge stock? What loads are you running?

 

[gerry35]

Built this in 2012 I believe, had the stock already on another rifle and it made a permanent move to this gun,
Rem 700 LH
Benchmark #4 1 in 12 ss barrel
Mcmillan Edge
Weaver 3-10x40 scope with whatever they call their hash mark reticle
35 Whelen
7.5 lbs as pictured

This is my "heavy" rifle now. I run 4 bullets depending on what I want at the time. the 200 and 225 gr Accubond, 200 gr TTSX, 225 gr Sierra.




[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jkhZUk]

 

[Balderdash]

Built this in 2012 I believe, had the stock already on another rifle and it made a permanent move to this gun,
Rem 700 LH
Benchmark #4 1 in 12 ss barrel
Mcmillan Edge
Weaver 3-10x40 scope with whatever they call their hash mark reticle
35 Whelen
7.5 lbs as pictured

This is my "heavy" rifle now. I run 4 bullets depending on what I want at the time. the 200 and 225 gr Accubond, 200 gr TTSX, 225 gr Sierra.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jkhZUk]

Gerry:

Great pics. I've taken a lot of game with a couple if 35 Whelens. Probably my favorite round for anything out to 450. I've been running 225 Sierra's for most things. Been very happy. Used to run NP and Barnes, but haven't ran either in some time.

 

[gerry35]

Gerry:

Great pics. I've taken a lot of game with a couple if 35 Whelens. Probably my favorite round for anything out to 450. I've been running 225 Sierra's for most things. Been very happy. Used to run NP and Barnes, but haven't ran either in some time.

I have been liking those 225 gr Sierra's more and more, accurate and fast expanding. Only used it on black bear so far but I'm going to try it on bigger game. The 35 Whelen can reach out better than people think. I took the moose in the picture at over 300 yards and a friend has used his out to 500. I found there was no difference in killing power between it and the 375 Ruger I had, it was a lot lighter and kicked less. Like many here I have been using smaller rounds and finding them effective on large animals but this one will stick and gets used in grizzly country where having a larger bullet is a good idea.

 

[tstith]

Little bit different take on a rifle but this one is one of my prized possessions. Model 514 Remington bolt action 22. This one was built in 1950. I got the gun used as a gift when I was ten years old. It's had thousands of rounds fired through it. I used it mainly on rabbits and squirrels growing up. It's been a trapline gun, a boat gun, a tractor gun, and ridden in a lot of pickups I've owned over the years. I think the stock has been refinished at least three times. It has no bluing left, just what you could call a rusty patina.
View attachment 528456

I love that line of rifle! I have an "heirloom" 511 Scoremaster that has seen tens of thousands of rounds. Its always been a great shooting, accurate rifle. They sell cheap nowadays so I have gotten two more should I ever get into the heirloom passing down stage. Saw your picture and instantly got nostalgic.

 

[Balderdash]

I have been liking those 225 gr Sierra's more and more, accurate and fast expanding. Only used it on black bear so far but I'm going to try it on bigger game. The 35 Whelen can reach out better than people think. I took the moose in the picture at over 300 yards and a friend has used his out to 500. I found there was no difference in killing power between it and the 375 Ruger I had, it was a lot lighter and kicked less. Like many here I have been using smaller rounds and finding them effective on large animals but this one will stick and gets used in grizzly country where having a larger bullet is a good idea.

In the past few years I put a NF 3-10 SHV, MOAR on a very accurate 35 Whelen. Helps squeeze the most distance out of it.

Certainly, one doesn't need the extra diameter of a 35 Whelen, but I don't find the recoil to be that onerous, and it puts game down with authority.

 

[Wrongside]

@Wrongside I remember that gun, very nice! Lots to love with that set up. Is that a McMillan edge stock? What loads are you running?

Thank you Sir! It wasn’t very old in that pic and has seen a lot of country since.

Yes, it’s the McM Hunters Edge. Honestly, I don’t love the ergos, mainly comb height and geometry. But it’s very light, very stiff, and we southpaws only have so many options. Especially when it comes to LH M70s.

Mostly just the 168TSX. The rifle shoots it very well and it’s killed just fine. With the scope upgrade I’ll probably experiment with some ELDs and Scenars.

I love your 35! Clean, no nonsense build. This 3o/o6 is my big gun now.

 

[gerry35]

In the past few years I put a NF 3-10 SHV, MOAR on a very accurate 35 Whelen. Helps squeeze the most distance out of it.

Certainly, one doesn't need the extra diameter of a 35 Whelen, but I don't find the recoil to be that onerous, and it puts game down with authority.

I really would like to put a Forceplex illuminated 3-10x42 on mine eventually. The Weaver Grand Slam has been fine though. This gun is at the upper end of something I can shoot well with normal weight bullets. Tried some Woodleigh 275's that were noticeably harder kicking once lol.

Yep, it has never let me down either, puts a good hole through without as much bloodshot meat as a faster round. Would love to see pics of yours on the thread if you are able to!

Thank you Sir! It wasn’t very old in that pic and has seen a lot of country since.

Yes, it’s the McM Hunters Edge. Honestly, I don’t love the ergos, mainly comb height and geometry. But it’s very light, very stiff, and we southpaws only have so many options. Especially when it comes to LH M70s.

Mostly just the 168TSX. The rifle shoots it very well and it’s killed just fine. With the scope upgrade I’ll probably experiment with some ELDs and Scenars.

I love your 35! Clean, no nonsense build. This 3o/o6 is my big gun now.

I really love the looks of that rig, those lefty M 70's aren't cheap anymore. Funny thing about stock fit and each individual, for me the Mcmillan Edge fits really well.

With some of the new powders and those sleek bullets the 30-06 is the best it has ever been. Pretty hard to justify some of the bigger rounds these days.

Those 375's we used to own were accurate and dependable, mine gave me the best group I ever had, just one slightly bigger 375 hole. Too heavy though, that light 30-06 would carry like a dream and still be a good bear stopper. 220 gr Partitions would be my choice for that purpose.

 

[SC HUNTER]

I'll have to get pictures of them later on as we're moving into our new house and my guns are at my parents house in their safe. I have 2 rifles that I have used heavily since I bought them and have never been let down. Both are cheap guns with cheap glass on them and they get beat up and abused but always kill what I'm shooting at.

I bought a Stevens model 200 in 223 in January 2008 at I believe it was an Academy in Columbus, Ga. I was young and broke back then so I topped it with a Simmons 2.5-10x50 scope. I have used that same rifle scope combo since then on crop depredation permits, pigs, deer hunting, varmints, targets, you name it I've probably shot it with that gun. I don't have a clue how many rounds its had through it but it is a bunch. We spray painted the stock in the back yard one day with leaves and pine straw layed across the stock about a month after I bought it and some of the paint is still on it. That is one rifle I won't ever sell just because of all the memories it holds. My good buddy shot one of his best deer with it, a 145 inch 10 point on a picked peanut field one afternoon with a 64 grain partition from 50 yards through the shoulder. He pushed his face across the ground for 30 yards or so before piling up with both of us smiling and giggling like school girls while shaking like a dog passing a peach seed. I've got alot more memories with that rifle than I have time to type.

My other one is a Marlin bolt action heavy barrel .17 hmr that I bought from Bo Barrows in Butler 8 years ago. If you've never been to Barrows in Butler, Georgia you really need to go.

I have a Nikon 4-12 scope on it and it rides in my truck every day and spends the night every night between the console and my passenger seat whether my truck is sitting at work or I'm messing around on the farm or hunting lease. I bought 2000 rounds of hornady 17 grain vmax for it and i'm down to 500 or so now. That little gun has killed everything from snakes in the yard to a 300 pound boar hog standing in a beaver pond one morning last summer to gators on a line point blank gun barrel touching his head. I shoot it occasionally off my mirror to check zero and its always where I want it. That gun is the epitome of a truck gun and one of my favorites.

 

[Balderdash]

I really would like to put a Forceplex illuminated 3-10x42 on mine eventually. The Weaver Grand Slam has been fine though. This gun is at the upper end of something I can shoot well with normal weight bullets. Tried some Woodleigh 275's that were noticeably harder kicking once lol.

Yep, it has never let me down either, puts a good hole through without as much bloodshot meat as a faster round. Would love to see pics of yours on the thread if you are able to!





I really love the looks of that rig, those lefty M 70's aren't cheap anymore. Funny thing about stock fit and each individual, for me the Mcmillan Edge fits really well.

With some of the new powders and those sleek bullets the 30-06 is the best it has ever been. Pretty hard to justify some of the bigger rounds these days.

Those 375's we used to own were accurate and dependable, mine gave me the best group I ever had, just one slightly bigger 375 hole. Too heavy though, that light 30-06 would carry like a dream and still be a good bear stopper. 220 gr Partitions would be my choice for that purpose.

Gerry:

It's an early Savage 110 LH with the C clip extractor. Someone before me had a shouldered Douglas barrel screwed on. It's 1:12 twist. It's proven to be exceedingly accurate with a number of loads.

Took a chance on it on GB 15+ years ago. Barreled action only. Got it for cheap and ordered a Boyds stock for it, which required a fair bit of fitting around the trigger. Was able to track down a new magazine box and ejector hardware through various places. Been hunting with it regularly for years and have taken a fair bit of game with it. I am worried about parts availability in the long run, so I keep meaning to build a 35 Whelen on a LH Tikka, but the old "Salvage" keeps on ticking.

Had a RH 700 classic in 35W that was a real shooter, but traded it off when I got the Savage in reference up and running. Also have a 7600 carbine in 35W. I use it for snow tracking. Awesome little rig that wields a lot of power.

 

[gerry35]

Looks awesome, and the bolt's on the proper side! My first one was a 7600 that I wish I still had. The guy who had it died and I don't know where it went after that.

 

[Balderdash]

Looks awesome, and the bolt's on the proper side! My first one was a 7600 that I wish I still had. The guy who had it died and I don't know where it went after that.

I wasn't all that interested in 7600's, but picked the 35W carbine up due to rarity. Was one of 250 made on a special run for Grice.

Scoped it with a 1.5-5 Leupold and took it to the range. I'll be darned if it didn't cut tiny little clover leafs with some 200 grn Barnes I had sitting around. I particularly like pulling it out at the range and getting some looks from guys with serious looking long range set ups and then proceeding to drill out a couple of tiny groups of big holes.
.

 

[MallardSX2]

My 150$ yardsale gun.

Prior owner had stripped out the receiver so I re-drilled and tapped the receiver with a dewalt screw gun and then put jb weld on the screws when I ran them into the receiver. The scope base is off of a BB gun and had to be cut in half with a hacksaw to make the holes line up…I of course took a black sharpie to the rough edges so it doesn’t scare the deers…I removed the front sight because it was broken and I filled those holes with jb weld and used a fingernail file to smooth it out then I took that black o to make it match the barrel.

I got nice guns, but I like to hunt with this one..

Shoots inch groups at 100. Good enough for this guy.

Hope I never have to take the base off…lol

 

[BAKPAKR]

Built this in 2012 I believe, had the stock already on another rifle and it made a permanent move to this gun,
Rem 700 LH
Benchmark #4 1 in 12 ss barrel
Mcmillan Edge
Weaver 3-10x40 scope with whatever they call their hash mark reticle
35 Whelen
7.5 lbs as pictured

This is my "heavy" rifle now. I run 4 bullets depending on what I want at the time. the 200 and 225 gr Accubond, 200 gr TTSX, 225 gr Sierra.



[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jkhZUk]

I like what you have done to your 700.

 

[gerry35]

I like what you have done to your 700.

Thanks, I really like how it handles. A goal in the next year or so is learning how to do Cerakote on it. Doesn't look too hard to do.

 

[Forestryguy]

My 150$ yardsale gun.

Prior owner had stripped out the receiver so I re-drilled and tapped the receiver with a dewalt screw gun and then put jb weld on the screws when I ran them into the receiver. The scope base is off of a BB gun and had to be cut in half with a hacksaw to make the holes line up…I of course took a black sharpie to the rough edges so it doesn’t scare the deers…I removed the front sight because it was broken and I filled those holes with jb weld and used a fingernail file to smooth it out then I took that black o to make it match the barrel.

I got nice guns, but I like to hunt with this one..

Shoots inch groups at 100. Good enough for this guy.

Hope I never have to take the base off…lol

View attachment 538763

The more I look at these 7600 I want to get one. They are well liked by most of the trackers in the NE and I am wanting to do more of that style hunting in WI. To me Remington from back in the day had some of the most reliable firearms for hunting. An 870 and 7600 could cover about everything.