Posted: 28 August 2009 at 16:29 | IP Logged

TasunkaWitko wrote: My choice for the best all-around big game rifle is the Remington m700 in .30/06. Able to bring down anything in North America, the .30/06 chambering combines versatility, power, shootabilty and availablity. The remington m700 is a proven, reliable and accurate rifle that can be found anywhere in america. For my own pronghorn and deer huting in north-central montana, i prefer to combine the Remington m700 in .30/06 with 150-grain Federal factory ammunition and a Sightron S1 3-9x42mm scope.

Rockydog wrote: My personal favorite rifle is my K98 Mauser still wearing it's original  stepped barrel in 8mm. This old girl has all matching serial numbers on the bolt, action, barrel, and bottom metal. Someone drilled and tapped it for a scope but the holes are so far out of line that I had to put millet windage adjustable mounts on it, as there just wasn't enough adjustment in the scope to get it to shoot well. It sports a 1960s Bishop Stock with non detachable swivels which I always forget to lube until after I'm in the woods and they are squeeking on opening day. It was a gift from my BIL who bought it for a song from his retired boss. My BIL is left handed and of smaller stature and gave up on it after trying it for one year. The stock has a 14 1/2" length of pull and fits me like a dream. It's heavy as hell but has taken it's share of Wis. Whitetails over the past 15 years or so that I've had it. I often sit in my stand looking at the Nazi markings and wonder what it has seen and where it's been prior to being sporterized. Some one once told me that 98s with all matching numbers are rare and that it might be a battlefield pick up or war trophy brought home by a GI. I sometimes wonder if someone lost a son or spouse to it, or what happened to the soldier who carried it. It also points out that a gun is a gun, subject to the whims of men. What was once an instrument of human destruction is now used for different purposes be it hunting or targets. It'll never be a tack driver but with a glass bed and a little judicious reloading it'll do 1 1/2" groups at 100. As for the cartridge it'll do anything a 30-06 or 308 will do with a bigger diameter bullet as long as you reload for it. Factory fodder is always severly underloaded. I jokingly call it my "poor mans .32 Whelen". Would this gun or cartridge be everyone's choice? Nope. Wasn't really mine either, at first, but I've come to appreciate the genius of Paul Mauser and the efficiency of the 8mm. It just reenforces the old saying, never look a gift horse in the mouth.

dakotasin wrote: my response to this topic would depend on how i'm feeling at any given moment... but i think the 3 that i can narrow it down to are fail-safe, no-regret options for me... remington 700... easy to work on, lots of aftermarket support, reliable and accurate out of the box, top it w/ a 3-9x leupold vx-2 and this is "the classic rifle" to me. it is aesthetically pleasing and what i picture in my mind when i think of "the hunter's rifle". i'll take mine in 7 rem mag, thanks. ruger 77 tang safety... the sleeper of the rifle world. generally accurate, and very ergonomic for me. love the swept back bolt of this vintage, and the stock design is only bested by the remington's walnut mountain rifle stock. the safety is quick and natural. the barrel contours of the tang-safety's quarter-bores make this rifle a natural antelope rifle. lovin' it in 25-06 w/ a 4.5-14x. just go ahead and sign me up for a winchester westerner in 264 win mag, re-stock it w/ a useful stock, and slap a 4.5-14x zeiss on it, and i'm killin' stuff whenever, wherever. there are other designs i like, and other rifles i think highly of, but those three are the ones i tend towards. i bias towards remington 700's, but would happily take either of the other two. the 700 is the only one still in current production, so it makes it easier to find and afford them. priced a winchester westerner recently? heh... not easy or cheap. the rugers have become popular in the collector's market as well in the last 2 years or so, drying that supply up a little...

what's your top pick?

more to come!

Posted: 29 August 2009 at 03:09 | IP Logged

#1, they can't have a plastic stock, it must be wood, preferably walnut, laminate is ok though.  For scopes, for all around, a four-plex of 3x9 or 4x14 is about right, for longer range, I like 6x18 or 8x32 mildot.

My go to rifle for years(25) was Rem 700 in 300 win, with 180 gr, first corelocs, then partitions.  It's had more DRTs than anything else I've shot. 

I went to a Win 70 in 270wsm, when they came out, it shoots great and I've killed a ton of deer/antelope with it, I never have liked win's safety though.

I've had Ruger and Savage with tang safeties, they shoot good, but I have never really loved them.

My latest two are Vanguards, one in 257 WBY, other in 300 win.  I think I can get to like these, so far so good.

Posted: 29 August 2009 at 04:48 | IP Logged

I have mostly Rem 700's but I'm not sure I have a favorite. They are certainly easy to work on. I also like wood stock's but I have a comp factory stock on a 700 SA. Absolutely hate the thing and if anyone ever gives me another I'll take the barrelled action out of the stock and give them back the stock! What a piece of garbage.

I had two old L61R Sako's and an L461 and those were really nice. Also had a Harrington-Richardson on an L61R that I loved.

Choosing a cartridge would be difficult. For big game though it would be 6.5 or bigger but no bigger than 30-06. I really like the 7mm's, the 7x57 and the 280 Rem. And I like 6.5's. I'm on my third 6.5x55 and I have a 6.5-06 I love. Now after saying that, one of my favorite open country deer and antelope cartridge's is my 25-06.

I don't think I could give a straight answer on this!

Posted: 29 August 2009 at 07:32 | IP Logged

Tough to figure, when big game includes elephant, buffalo, lion, brown bears and pronghorn antelope.  Just to wide a range for one gun.  A 416 mag works just fine on elk, grizzly, moose, elk, cape buffalo, elephant and lion.  But it is over gunned for whitetail and antelope.

So if I exclude the BIG stuff and concentrate on things like whitetail, mulie, antelope, I'd pick the 260 or the 7x57.  The 338 mag is really the best all around for North American game.

Posted: 30 August 2009 at 13:05 | IP Logged

Well...My top picks would be a Rem M700 if caliber was 300 or below - Would be a Win pre-64 M70 if caliber was 338 or up.

But...I don't have to "pick" I built mine!

It's a sporterized Vz-24 with quite a bit of character:

I rebarreled it to 9,3x62 Mauser with a 24" Shilen magnum sporter contour barrel.  Had the rear action top slope milled smooth so a rear scope base could be added using 2 screws like the front base.  Then reblued the entire barrel and action.

Added a new Timney trigger with the Timney safety so the original safety could be removed.  Topped it with a Bushnell 4x scope using Weaver's quad rings.  Had the original straight bolt removed and a custom bent bolt added. Also, had the bolt jeweled:

I did the stock work:  Stripped it, steam pulled the dents, plugged the cleaning rod hole, reshaped the foreend, inleted the turned-down bolt, inleted safety, free-floated the barrel and glass bed the action.  Finished it with sanding, stain and 8 coats of satin polyurethane inside and out so its water proof.

Began my reload work-ups with 285 grain Prvi, then switched to 286 Nosler partitions.  Here's a pic of them - The Prvi is on the left and the NPT on the right:

Got both going right at 2,400 fps at the muzzle.  Sighted-in at 150 yards, its 1.5" high at 100 yards and 3.5" low at 200 yards.  Never shot anthing but paper with the Prvi, as they were only used to work up reloads at $0.20 per shot verses the $0.80 cost of the NPTs.  I've also worked up reloads using the 300 grain Swift but have not shot any game with them yet cause I haven't found the beast that can stop the 286 NPT!

Quickly became my favorite all around rifle - It's knocked over every deer and hog I've shot - And they don't get up!  That NPT goes straight through from any angle so far through taking out all hide, muscle and bone along the way.  Blood shot meat isn't a problem, however I do have to check close and clean for bone chips.  Exit holes are about 1.5" round.  Its the only 100% DRT rifle I've own or have ever owned!

Posted: 02 September 2009 at 14:40 | IP Logged

Fella's;

I don't seem to really get hung up "favorite" guns.  My favorite cartridge is the .30-06, but that may change.  There's a 6.5 Swede in my future.  On a left handed action too, and that's a rare beast.

The most accurate centerfire rifle I own may just be my 6mm Remington.  But, I don't think the gun itself is occupying a niche in my heart.  I've got a reasonably rare Winchester USRAC LHB, stainless, with BOSS and BOSS CR, in a McMillan stock that's probably the most tempermental gun I've ever owned.  But, it's also the easiest to clean.  I'm absolutely conflicted with that one.  My LHB .338 Tikka is a sweetheart, that loves to slug your shoulder every time you take it to the bench.

Maybe I just need to borrow some of these other favs, just to compare.  Nah, the cost of converting them to LHB would probably irritate some of the borrowees.

So, I guess in essance, I like 'em but I haven't found a true love yet.  In big game centerfire's that is.  My CZ452 LHB .22 is a keeper.

900F

Posted: 08 September 2009 at 06:29 | IP Logged

Sako 995 300 win mag Loupold 4X16X50

Or my trusty old Rem 788 308 Winnie 4 power Redfield (old)

MM

Posted: 10 September 2009 at 06:30 | IP Logged

 "Top Big Game Rifle Picks of BSB Members"

My current line-up is:

.243Winchester

30-06Springfield

.375H&H

.505Gibbs

  The average whitetail deer here in Texas are not very big and maybe average 150 lbs on the hoof, so the 7mm rifles are very popular in the central and Western parts of the state. Here in East Texas near where I live is an area known as the "big thicket" and it is just that. Shorter range brush guns and shotguns are handy here. With one of my favorites being a pre-64 model 94 in 30-30.

Rodney.

Posted: 10 September 2009 at 10:23 | IP Logged

I changed my mind, I can give a better answer I think. In the first place when something like this come's up, we seem to get hung up on cartridges. OK to a point I geuss but the difference between many cartridge's is more imagined than real. So what about the rifle?

I've had three that really have preformed really well for me, better than all the rest. My first that really stood head and shoulders above the rest was an early tang safty Ruger M77. It had a 22" barrel, was a 7x57 and wore a 4X Redfield widefield. That rifle was a part of me like none befor it.

The next one my son has now. It was a Rem 660. It had a 20" barrel, was a 308Win and wore a 2 3/4X Redfield Widefield. It was another rifle that just worked really really well in every situation I found myself in.

The last one I still have. Actually it's fairly new. It's a Winchester featherweight, 22" barrel, is a 6.5x55 and wears a very old Redfield 1-4X scope I bought new in about 1972.

With each of these rifle's I find that they handle well above all the other's I've ever owned, like they were made to hunt with! With the exception of the Rem 660, they could have been in different cartridge's and I suspect they would still have been favorite's. The secret for me is the way they handle. It's amazing just how much difference a couple inches of barrel makes and a smaller scope that get's the job done without looking like it's wearing the rifle. The idea of seeing better with some of the scope's being used today, in particular those above the 2-7X's is lost on me. How well do you need to see and elk, even a deer, to be able to place a shot properly? We're talking about a target the size of the bottom of a larget bucket! I have 3-9X on my 25-06 and have never had the need for anything over 4x! The most I've used on it is 6x. Same thing for my 6.5x06 when I hunted with it. Now it is used for long range target's and wear's a 4 1/2-14X with target turret's, terrible hunting rifle!

Posted: 28 September 2009 at 15:48 | IP Logged

Springfield Armory, M1-A in 308.

This rifle shoots fantastic with iron sights and factory stock.  Ammo is Winchester 150gr soft point. 

Number two is a Remington 700 in 7 Mag with a Leupold scope.