what is your favorite rifle/cartridge combo? - Page 2

**Mike Irwin** · July 13, 2019, 01:03 PM

Nice, Kraig.

Yours looks like it's 1970s vintage.

Mine could be your rifle's Grandfather.

My EG was made in 1936.

RaySendero · July 13, 2019, 04:40 PM

1939 M70 Winchester in:

**Mike Irwin** · July 14, 2019, 08:14 AM

Wow. I had NO idea that Winchester was still marking the chambering with WCF that late. I had thought that they largely stopped using that style by the end of WW I.

SPEMack618 · July 14, 2019, 12:02 PM

Kraig, great rifle! A Model 88 in .358 in one of the few rifles I'm upset that I let get away from me. At the time, $750 was a week's pay and I was two weeks behind on bills and the like.

My personal favorite combos are the aforementioned Model 70/ .270 Win; of which I own a FN American made Sporter versio.

And the Marlin 336 in .35 Remington.

Ben Dover · July 15, 2019, 08:11 AM

Winchester 70 XTR Featherweight in .30-06 topped with 2.5-6X42 Swarovski scope and loaded with 150 grain Speer BTSP bullets and WW 760 powder.

Taken Antelope to Bull Moose with it, and made good clean kills.

P5 Guy · July 15, 2019, 08:50 AM

M1 Garand and .30'06

ligonierbill · July 15, 2019, 01:01 PM

Boy howdy, I had to think about this one. I have a fair number of rifles and would not part with any of them. But it's a forced choice here. I love my Mausers, and I killed most of my game out west with the Remington 700 7 Mag I inherited from my dad. But I'm going to go with a Marlin 336 RC in 32 Special. I bought it on line from a shop in Butler County PA where I grew up, and it's a classic Pennsylvanian. Mounts a Weaver K 2.5 with a European-style post reticle. Handy to carry, shoots pretty good, and really comes on target quick. And it is one year older than I am (turning 70 before deer season). Not my oldest, not my prettiest, not my most powerful, and not my most accurate, but I'm thinking it will make meat this year.

1MoreFord · July 15, 2019, 02:48 PM

I'm invested in .308's. I've got two Remington 742's. One is a carbine and the other is my fathers old rifle. My first is a Remington 600 and my last is a match grade M1A. The M1A sports iron sights while the others all have variable power scopes.

For less than a full day I once owned a Winchester Model 70 .257 Roberts AI Featherweight. When I got home with it and examined it more closely I found it to be cracked through the pistol grip

and returned it the next morning.

Paul B. · July 15, 2019, 03:38 PM

"My 1980's era Winchester Featherweight in 7 X 57."

I kind of wish you hadn't said that. I'm quite fond of the one I have in 7x57 I like the 7x57 and have three rifle chambered to the cartridge but it's been a jinx for me when it comes to hunting. I've only lost two deer and both times I was using a 7x57.

The second time I not only load a deer but destroyed my right knee on the loose rock where I was hunting while trying to get to where the deer disappeared.

With that said I have several that I could consider favorites and ignoring that "one rifle" bit says I'm keeping an old Winchester M94 30-30 made in 1911 that is a family heirloom. it's strictly a safe queen these days anyway.

I'd have to choose between about four rifles for the number one only though so my choice is the custom .35 Whelen on an Oberndorf military action, 24" barrel, classic style stock, is very accurate and has taken elk most handily. A close second place would be my custom FN Mauser 30-06, 24" 1 in 12" barrel that will put three 165 gr. Accubonds under a nickel consistantly if I do my part.

What can I say? I like Mausers

Paul B.

michaelcj · July 15, 2019, 05:38 PM

My "Custom" Douglas barreled Springfield action in 7x57.

Tony Z · July 15, 2019, 05:58 PM

Paul B. - only lost one deer and that was 35 years ago with a TC Contender in .30-30. Big doe, less than twenty yards. I believe I shot clean through, found a few blood spots, walked for hours looking for it. Never hunted with that gun again, though I still have it and shoot it once in a while.

Saltydog235 · July 16, 2019, 12:14 AM

My Sako 85 Bavarian Carbine in .308win topped with a S&B Stratos 1.5-8X42 is my favorite. That rifle just feels wonderful in the hand.

The one that gets the most use is my Sako 85 Finnlight in .300wm soon to have a optic change to a S&B Stratos 2.5-13X56 from a 85 Finnbear 7mmRM that I don’t carry much. The Finnlight has proven to be dead on accurate with a load I worked up. The synthetic stock and SS metal makes it more suitable for our high humidity and wet season. It feels great but is by no means as sexy as the Bavarian Carbine.

I’ve been toying with the idea of a 6.5cm in a Carbonlight or Finnlight I or II but the I’s haven’t made an appearance yet. It’ll be topped with a Leica Magnus if and when I decide to get it.

ed308 · July 16, 2019, 07:44 AM

My 6.8 AR. Killed a lot of hogs with that caliber.
270AR is my next favorite but haven't hunted with it.

Reloadron · July 16, 2019, 02:02 PM

Quote:

What is your favorite rifle/cartridge combo?

Today is Tuesday so it would be a Remington 700 action which I built up maybe 25 plus years ago as part of a NRA rifle course chambered in 308 Winchester. Really though, my preference in caliber or rifle just depends on what I feel like taking to the range on any given day of the week.

I haven't gone hunting in years so the rifles like my 444 Marlin and 7mm Remington guns seldom leave the safe much like most of my hunting rifles. Heck, even my 30-06 Springfield guns just feel a bit more punishing to shoot but I do get my 03A3 Remington out to a shoot every now and then. Today's rifles for me are a few AR types in 223 Remington and my AR 10 in 308 Winchester as well as a few old 22 rimfire rifles I just enjoy shooting. I really do not have a favorite combination of rifle/cartridge as it is pretty much what strikes me to take out shooting for a day. About the same holds true fore handguns.

Ron

old roper · July 17, 2019, 09:32 AM

I've got few hunting rifles and I have few favorites. One is 270Wby on Rem action,Rock Creek fluted barrel and I had it chamber without Wby freebore, it handle Berger 170gr VLD. My other one is 284 build long action with 27" barrel and I'll use it above timberline.

Atla · July 17, 2019, 09:50 AM

Ruger Gunsite Scout in .308.

Absolutely lovely rifle, and I got it for a steal.

T. O'Heir · July 17, 2019, 12:53 PM

M1 Carbine followed closely by the M1 Rifle. Then maybe the semi'd M-14.
Commercial hunting rifles are pretty much all the same boring thing. I have 3 if you count the .22 and the 870. Don't want any more commercial stuff. Over priced and won't do anything any of 'em won't.

AgedWarrior · July 17, 2019, 05:36 PM

Used to hunt mostly handguns, but my Ruger 77 chambered in .308 has been more than adequate for the last twenty years. My CZ 527 in 6.5 Grendel is a pretty awesome rifle...might take on some hunting duties in the future.

Jack O'Conner · July 17, 2019, 05:58 PM

Winchester 94 Legacy featuring angle-eject and select walnut stocks.. 30-30 is a keeper!

Jack

9ballbilly · July 17, 2019, 08:35 PM

About three years or so ago I decided I wanted to simplify things by settling on one rifle that would fit the bill anywhere in the lower forty-eight and be done with it.

I realized that no matter what I chose it would be a compromise in some respects, over-powered on the lower end of the game animal spectrum (feral hogs, coyotes) and under-powered on the upper end (moose, big bear). Handloading allows me to mitigate this somewhat, but certainly not completely.

Anyway, I put on my big boy pants and bought a Ruger Model 77 chambered in .300RCM.

Almost went with the same rifle in .338RCM, except for the variety of thirty caliber bullets available.

Picher · July 18, 2019, 06:25 AM

I have a few "favorite" hunting rifles, but if we narrow it down to deer/moose, there is only one, a Stainless Remington 700 BDL in a Sendero stock that is my go-to, all-weather rifle. It's also free-floated, epoxy, skim-bedded, atop the aluminum bedding block. Trigger is a Timney, set at 2.5 lbs and it sports a 3-9X Leupold in Weaver Detachable mounts. It consistently delivers sub-MOA accuracy with handloaded deer rounds.

For heavier varmints, a Tikka T3 Lite, .243 Win, also with a 3-9X Leupold. It also shoots sub-MOA, but is very pleasant to carry when looking for coyotes and other varmints. It has also taken several whitetails, mostly by grandkids of both persuasions.

My go-to walk-about varminter is my CZ 455 with .17 HMR fluted heavy barrel. Ammo isn't so expensive that I can't touch off a few at gongs placed in our secluded blueberry fields. The other day, I fired a few shots at a target with the .17 in the field and a doe came out on the right side of the field, less than 200 yards away and walked toward my position; eventually going between me and my target.

So much for deer avoiding gunshots. (I stopped firing at my target when it was in the field...content to watch her, and she approached to about 60 yards before exiting the field to my left.)

tdoyka · July 18, 2019, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Picher

So much for deer avoiding gunshots. (I stopped firing at my target when it was in the field...content to watch her, and she approached to about 60 yards before exiting the field to my left.)

last year, i was shooting my 20vt at a target. i had to stop because the deer(5 of them) walked about my range.

Terrierman · July 27, 2019, 08:44 AM

M77 RL in .270 Win. It carries and shoots really well. I like the way it looks too - classic styling.

jackstrawIII · July 29, 2019, 01:23 PM

CZ 550 Lux in 6.5x55 shooting 125 grain Nosler Partitions. Beautiful rifle, great shooter, and about as perfectly suited to whitetail deer as any cartridge could be.

ThomasT · July 29, 2019, 09:14 PM

I'm all over the map when it comes to deer rifles. Most of my deer kills have been with a 98 mauser custom built by my grand dad in 7x57. But the last few years I have used a Remington model 7 in 7-08. Its a deer killer for sure.

I used a Winchester model 94 made in 1981 this year to make my first ever 30-30 kill. As expected it did the job.

I guess if I had to pick the best all around deer/elk rifle I own it would be the Ruger MKII 30-06 blue and walnut.

But my most favorite gun of all I own is my Marlin lever in 357 mag. I could have killed ever deer I have ever killed except one deer at 250 yards with that gun.

July 13, 2019, 01:03 PM	#26
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,380	Nice, Kraig. Yours looks like it's 1970s vintage. Mine could be your rifle's Grandfather. My EG was made in 1936. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

July 13, 2019, 04:40 PM	#27
RaySendero Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2010 Location: US South Posts: 857	1939 M70 Winchester in: __________________ *Ray* Last edited by RaySendero; August 25, 2019 at 11:16 AM.

July 14, 2019, 08:14 AM	#28
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,380	Wow. I had NO idea that Winchester was still marking the chambering with WCF that late. I had thought that they largely stopped using that style by the end of WW I. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

July 14, 2019, 12:02 PM	#29
SPEMack618 Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2010 Location: Central Georgia Posts: 1,863	Kraig, great rifle! A Model 88 in .358 in one of the few rifles I'm upset that I let get away from me. At the time, $750 was a week's pay and I was two weeks behind on bills and the like. My personal favorite combos are the aforementioned Model 70/ .270 Win; of which I own a FN American made Sporter versio. And the Marlin 336 in .35 Remington. __________________ NRA Life Member Read my blog! "The answer to any caliber debate is going to be .38 Super, 10mm, .357 Sig or .41 Magnum!"

July 15, 2019, 08:11 AM	#30
Ben Dover Senior Member Join Date: April 11, 2013 Location: High up in the Rocky Moun Posts: 665	Winchester 70 XTR Featherweight in .30-06 topped with 2.5-6X42 Swarovski scope and loaded with 150 grain Speer BTSP bullets and WW 760 powder. Taken Antelope to Bull Moose with it, and made good clean kills. __________________ The soldier's pack is not so heavy a burden as the prisoner's chains. Dwight Eisenhower It is very important what a man stands for. But it is far more important what a man refuses to stand for.

July 15, 2019, 08:50 AM	#31
P5 Guy Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2005 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 1,804	M1 Garand and .30'06

July 15, 2019, 01:01 PM	#32
ligonierbill Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2007 Posts: 2,448	Boy howdy, I had to think about this one. I have a fair number of rifles and would not part with any of them. But it's a forced choice here. I love my Mausers, and I killed most of my game out west with the Remington 700 7 Mag I inherited from my dad. But I'm going to go with a Marlin 336 RC in 32 Special. I bought it on line from a shop in Butler County PA where I grew up, and it's a classic Pennsylvanian. Mounts a Weaver K 2.5 with a European-style post reticle. Handy to carry, shoots pretty good, and really comes on target quick. And it is one year older than I am (turning 70 before deer season). Not my oldest, not my prettiest, not my most powerful, and not my most accurate, but I'm thinking it will make meat this year.

July 15, 2019, 02:48 PM	#33
1MoreFord Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2014 Location: Arkansas Posts: 244	I'm invested in .308's. I've got two Remington 742's. One is a carbine and the other is my fathers old rifle. My first is a Remington 600 and my last is a match grade M1A. The M1A sports iron sights while the others all have variable power scopes. For less than a full day I once owned a Winchester Model 70 .257 Roberts AI Featherweight. When I got home with it and examined it more closely I found it to be cracked through the pistol grip and returned it the next morning.

July 15, 2019, 03:38 PM	#34
Paul B. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 1999 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,801	"My 1980's era Winchester Featherweight in 7 X 57." I kind of wish you hadn't said that. I'm quite fond of the one I have in 7x57 I like the 7x57 and have three rifle chambered to the cartridge but it's been a jinx for me when it comes to hunting. I've only lost two deer and both times I was using a 7x57. The second time I not only load a deer but destroyed my right knee on the loose rock where I was hunting while trying to get to where the deer disappeared. With that said I have several that I could consider favorites and ignoring that "one rifle" bit says I'm keeping an old Winchester M94 30-30 made in 1911 that is a family heirloom. it's strictly a safe queen these days anyway. I'd have to choose between about four rifles for the number one only though so my choice is the custom .35 Whelen on an Oberndorf military action, 24" barrel, classic style stock, is very accurate and has taken elk most handily. A close second place would be my custom FN Mauser 30-06, 24" 1 in 12" barrel that will put three 165 gr. Accubonds under a nickel consistantly if I do my part. What can I say? I like Mausers Paul B. __________________ COMPROMISE IS NOT AN OPTION!

July 15, 2019, 05:38 PM	#35
michaelcj Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2011 Location: Lopez Island, WA Posts: 279	My "Custom" Douglas barreled Springfield action in 7x57.

July 15, 2019, 05:58 PM	#36
Tony Z Senior Member Join Date: September 29, 2013 Location: North Central Pennsyltucky Posts: 749	Paul B. - only lost one deer and that was 35 years ago with a TC Contender in .30-30. Big doe, less than twenty yards. I believe I shot clean through, found a few blood spots, walked for hours looking for it. Never hunted with that gun again, though I still have it and shoot it once in a while.

July 16, 2019, 12:14 AM	#37
Saltydog235 Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2010 Location: Pawleys Island Posts: 1,563	My Sako 85 Bavarian Carbine in .308win topped with a S&B Stratos 1.5-8X42 is my favorite. That rifle just feels wonderful in the hand. The one that gets the most use is my Sako 85 Finnlight in .300wm soon to have a optic change to a S&B Stratos 2.5-13X56 from a 85 Finnbear 7mmRM that I don’t carry much. The Finnlight has proven to be dead on accurate with a load I worked up. The synthetic stock and SS metal makes it more suitable for our high humidity and wet season. It feels great but is by no means as sexy as the Bavarian Carbine. I’ve been toying with the idea of a 6.5cm in a Carbonlight or Finnlight I or II but the I’s haven’t made an appearance yet. It’ll be topped with a Leica Magnus if and when I decide to get it.

July 16, 2019, 07:44 AM	#38
ed308 Senior Member Join Date: November 5, 2016 Location: DFW, TX Posts: 1,147	My 6.8 AR. Killed a lot of hogs with that caliber. 270AR is my next favorite but haven't hunted with it.

July 17, 2019, 09:32 AM	#40
old roper Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2007 Posts: 2,155	I've got few hunting rifles and I have few favorites. One is 270Wby on Rem action,Rock Creek fluted barrel and I had it chamber without Wby freebore, it handle Berger 170gr VLD. My other one is 284 build long action with 27" barrel and I'll use it above timberline. __________________ Semper Fi Vietnam 1965 VFW Life member NRA Life Member

July 17, 2019, 09:50 AM	#41
Atla Member Join Date: January 7, 2007 Posts: 28	Ruger Gunsite Scout in .308. Absolutely lovely rifle, and I got it for a steal. __________________ ~Atla. Gunpowder And Ink

July 17, 2019, 12:53 PM	#42
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	M1 Carbine followed closely by the M1 Rifle. Then maybe the semi'd M-14. Commercial hunting rifles are pretty much all the same boring thing. I have 3 if you count the .22 and the 870. Don't want any more commercial stuff. Over priced and won't do anything any of 'em won't. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

July 17, 2019, 05:36 PM	#43
AgedWarrior Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2019 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 210	Used to hunt mostly handguns, but my Ruger 77 chambered in .308 has been more than adequate for the last twenty years. My CZ 527 in 6.5 Grendel is a pretty awesome rifle...might take on some hunting duties in the future.

July 17, 2019, 05:58 PM	#44
Jack O'Conner Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2005 Location: Manatee County, Florida Posts: 1,976	Winchester 94 Legacy featuring angle-eject and select walnut stocks.. 30-30 is a keeper! Jack __________________ Fire up the grill! Deer hunting IS NOT catch and release.

July 17, 2019, 08:35 PM	#45
9ballbilly Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2008 Location: northeast Florida Posts: 611	About three years or so ago I decided I wanted to simplify things by settling on one rifle that would fit the bill anywhere in the lower forty-eight and be done with it. I realized that no matter what I chose it would be a compromise in some respects, over-powered on the lower end of the game animal spectrum (feral hogs, coyotes) and under-powered on the upper end (moose, big bear). Handloading allows me to mitigate this somewhat, but certainly not completely. Anyway, I put on my big boy pants and bought a Ruger Model 77 chambered in .300RCM. Almost went with the same rifle in .338RCM, except for the variety of thirty caliber bullets available. __________________ may God eternally bless the American Rifleman--- as long as one stands, resolute, liberty shall not perish.

July 18, 2019, 06:25 AM	#46
Picher Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Maine Posts: 3,694	I have a few "favorite" hunting rifles, but if we narrow it down to deer/moose, there is only one, a Stainless Remington 700 BDL in a Sendero stock that is my go-to, all-weather rifle. It's also free-floated, epoxy, skim-bedded, atop the aluminum bedding block. Trigger is a Timney, set at 2.5 lbs and it sports a 3-9X Leupold in Weaver Detachable mounts. It consistently delivers sub-MOA accuracy with handloaded deer rounds. For heavier varmints, a Tikka T3 Lite, .243 Win, also with a 3-9X Leupold. It also shoots sub-MOA, but is very pleasant to carry when looking for coyotes and other varmints. It has also taken several whitetails, mostly by grandkids of both persuasions. My go-to walk-about varminter is my CZ 455 with .17 HMR fluted heavy barrel. Ammo isn't so expensive that I can't touch off a few at gongs placed in our secluded blueberry fields. The other day, I fired a few shots at a target with the .17 in the field and a doe came out on the right side of the field, less than 200 yards away and walked toward my position; eventually going between me and my target. So much for deer avoiding gunshots. (I stopped firing at my target when it was in the field...content to watch her, and she approached to about 60 yards before exiting the field to my left.)

July 27, 2019, 08:44 AM	#48
Terrierman Member Join Date: October 1, 2005 Posts: 65	M77 RL in .270 Win. It carries and shoots really well. I like the way it looks too - classic styling.

July 29, 2019, 01:23 PM	#49
jackstrawIII Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2016 Location: Upstate NY. Posts: 901	CZ 550 Lux in 6.5x55 shooting 125 grain Nosler Partitions. Beautiful rifle, great shooter, and about as perfectly suited to whitetail deer as any cartridge could be. __________________ In God we trust.

July 29, 2019, 09:14 PM	#50
ThomasT Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 2,753	I'm all over the map when it comes to deer rifles. Most of my deer kills have been with a 98 mauser custom built by my grand dad in 7x57. But the last few years I have used a Remington model 7 in 7-08. Its a deer killer for sure. I used a Winchester model 94 made in 1981 this year to make my first ever 30-30 kill. As expected it did the job. I guess if I had to pick the best all around deer/elk rifle I own it would be the Ruger MKII 30-06 blue and walnut. But my most favorite gun of all I own is my Marlin lever in 357 mag. I could have killed ever deer I have ever killed except one deer at 250 yards with that gun.