Just one rifle ever

[eljefe]

Thanks for the info Krish, No I had not heard of Skennerton-Amazon is going to hear from me now.

[mehulkamdar]

Krish,

I have an 8mm sporter as I told you with folding leaf sights. Have shot several double rifles belonging to a friend and the pics are in the Photographs forum. I also shot both my friend's 450-400s, one a 3 1/4" and the other with the shorter 3" Jeffery case. I like the 450-400 because it has such mild recoil for a round that is so powerful.

The 338-06 is no longer a wildcat. Many people have understood it's virtues and it is available from almost all US manufacurers as well a Steyr and some other European ones.

Cheers!

Mehul

[Grumpy]

The .338-06 is a necked-up 30-06. Could be regarded as a semi-wildcat but was offered as a factory chambering by one of the American manufacturers - Weatherby if memory serves me right. Velocity isn`t an issue as they are necessarily lower than a .30-06 when loaded with 250 or 300 gr bullets.
Muzzle blast and recoil are similar to the 30-06. Has none of the noise problems that necked down 30-06 based cartridges such as the .25-06 and .270 Win have.......the .270 being notoriously loud. I`m trying to remember what one of the writers on Deerstalker had to say about the .270..........something along the lines of "You can always tell the .270 user by the habitual flinch !`

[mehulkamdar]

Grumpy,

At various times, Remington, Winchester, A-Square and Ruger have all offered the 338-06 and ammunition is available from several manufacturers. The round does compete in popularity with the 35 Whelen in the US though both have their fans. Weatherby and Howa have been the most consistent rifle manufacturers who have chambered the round though since both get their rifles from the same swource that is not surprising at all.

Cheers,

Mehul

[Vikram]

My one and only rifle will be a bolt action,preferably a Mauser or an MS, in 30/06.I am still researching on to decide who will build that rifle for me.I can shoot and hunt all over the world with a 30/06.

Best-
Vikram

[Grumpy]

Mehul. when I was checking earlier this year only A-Square offered .338-06 ammunition. The `source` for both Weatherbys` Vanguard and Howa IS Howa.
Yes` absolutely right. Ballistics for the .35 Whelen and .338-06 are very similar - the .338 has the better SD however because of the smaller diameter for the same bullet weight.

[Johan]

a mauser in 7X64 Brenneke or 7mm mag of some sort with 2,5-10X50 scope and irons sights etc.

Cheers
Johan

[shahid]

One Rifle, only one! In this case it has to be a .375 Magnum Holland & Holland, Winchester Model 70 Safari Express.

A calibre that with its 300 grains or the lighter 270 grains bullet can take any game from a charging elephant, tiger, leopard, rhino, bison, buffalo in a single shot to get you game like large antelopes, large deer, medium size deer.

It would be overgunning for something like Roe Deer or Springbook, but remember, only 1 rifle. The .375 H & H can place a bullet at a very flat trajectory at 200 yards dead on. Both the 270 grain and 300 grain have the same flight path, 1 inch high at 80 to 100 yards. Bang on at 150 yards and no drop till 200 yards. The heavier bullet will not be deflected by twigs or leaves, small branches if in thick foilage, and excellent products like WInchester silvertips are available in this calibre.

If 2 rifles are allowed then the 2nd choice would be 30-06 in Model 70 again.

A 3rd one is allowed then a .22 LR in BRNO model 1, or CZ variants.

4th one - .275, 7 x 57 BRNO or CZ.

5th one as well ?

.577 by Gibbs, a double.

More ? OK for the gun cabinet.

.243 WInchester. Ruger M 77 Mark II.

Enough. No more rifles are required.

[Mark]

Mark,

As one who is not constrained when it comes to making a choice and one who could use these rifles for more practical purposes, rather than just making holes in paper, can you give the reasoning behind your selection?

Any particular reason for the .22 WMR instead of a .22 Hornet?

Mack The Knife

Mack The Knife and Asif,

My apologies, I did not see your follow-ups here.

I've shot both cartridges a lot, and reloaded quite a bit for the Hornet. Unless you opt for a custom barrel, most 22 hornet barrels use a 1-14" twist, and a few may use a 1-12" twist. This limits you to bullets of 40-45 grains maximum or they will tumble in flight. 22 WMR usually have 35 gr bullets. If I reloaded the Hornet gets the nod, but Hornet ammo here in the states is hard to find, whereas everyone carries 22 magnum. If you don't reload, you'd have a hard time finding ammo easily, which means a taking a trip somewhere. I've never shot them this far, but I'd be comfortable shooting a coyote at 175 yards if I was confident of making a good shot with a 22 mag. I would not shoot one at any distance with a 22 LR unless there was an animal of mine being threatened or attacked.

[Mack The Knife]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply. I had forgotten about this thread.

Very surprised to hear that .22 Hornet is difficult to find in the U.S.. Wasn't this one of the first wildcat rounds to come from the U.S.?

Mack The Knife

[Mark]

It wasn't the first wildcat round, you are thinking it was the first varmint cartridge.

Unfortunately, it is not nearly as versatile as the 222, 223, or 22-250 to name a few. For what it does though, it is a fine little cartridge but it just doesn't do as much as others.

[Satpal_S]

Hi Rustom:

.22 Hornet costs almost 50 cents a round versus 15 cents a round for .22 WMR where I live.

It is an almost obsolete round superseded by much better modern calibers.

When I come to this forum it seems time has stood still, and I am going back 60 years in time.

That is the best part of coming to this forum.

A visit to the glorious past, though shrunk and mummufied by the babu policies!

SP

[penpusher]

Satpal,

Which modern and better calibers are you talking about.Lets look at the most popular calibers in rifles in US.30-06 very modern at 100 years old ,30-30 even older,270(1923),7x57(1892),.308(1950's),7.92x57(1905),.375H&H Mag(1912),.22LR(1888),.243 Win (1955).Should I say more.Most of the new cartridges that have been introduced claim to better the performance of older cartridges(a claim made by gun writers who earn their living by selling magazines that would not sell if they claimed that all that a hunter wanted could be done with a 100 years old cartridge).The new cartridges are more aimed towards bench rest and varmint shooters.

Now let me load my matchlock.

penpusher

[Young Tiger]

Hey Guys!

It has to be a .375 Mag for me

cheers!

[Grumpy]

I like the .22 Hornet as it makes more than double the ME of the .22 rimfire mag without appreciably more noise/blast. It`s a real shame that Federal have recently discontinued production of their very pokey .22 Hornet ammunition. The .222 Rem is more of the same - more energy, flatter shooting and inherently accurate. The .223 is little `hotter` again but can only be regarded as more versatile if one has a rifle with a 1 in 8" rate of twist to allow the use of bullets up to 80gr. The .22-250 is a hot rod in comparison - legal for Roe Deer in Scotland ( but not in England/Wales. ) - but at the cost of plenty of noise and blast. The .22-250 has never been considered particularly accurate and for .22 class benchrest the .22 PPC is the `way to go`.
I have a .222 for short range ( up to about 250 yards ) Fox shooting. The rifle is an `el cheapo` Baikal but it shoots sub 3/4" groups @ 100 yards. With a decent moderator the noise level is about the same as an unmoderated .22 lr. I`m seriously considering the purchase of a .22 Hornet because I`ve found a lovely Anschutz 1430-1434 at a very good price.
Both calibres are considered near obsolete nowadays but that doesn`t mean that they don`t have real application - faster/more powerful/( noisier ) isn`t always the required route. It should be pointed out that the .22 Hornet is the Innuit and Eskimo peoples calibre of choice for all hunting including Polar Bear, Seal and Walrus because of its low cost and low meat damage. Obviously they use head shots exclusively.......and open sights. That doesn`t mean that it can be recommended for general use on such large - and dangerous - animals......Don`t even consider it !
I`ve just shortened and rechambered to .22 rimfire mag a BSA Martini International barrel - now all I have to do is to is fit it to a 12/15 action.....which is proving to be a bit of a `har de har` project.
If one could only have one rifle the `expert` view is that it should be a .22 and the choice is limited to .22lr, .22 rimfire mag and .22 Hornet with the latter two being considered the most versatile nowadays. You can take anything from birds/Rabbits to small deer ( at a push ) with them. Anything more powerful just mashes small game - and small game is what is most available. Not glamourous but the practical survivalists logical point of view.