What’s your beater rifle?

[fourfive8]

That 22, 2x4 stocked junker was given to me a long time ago- one of those old NSN things that come into gunshops as parts in boxes. Cheap original stock was broken/crushed in a couple of places. Wallowed out a piece of 2x4 and added the old scope. The penny is a 1950, my birth year. It has at least a 1/2" trigger creep but boy oh boy is it smooth! Never shot very well and actually used it for 22 "rat" shot. One day decided to put it on a lathe and turn a little off the muzzle to get past the pits and bulge. Presto- actually shoots pretty well now!

Seriously, my go to rifle from 1971 until fairly recently is a blue finish, plain Win M 70 270 and push feed no less. Certainly has a lot more "mileage" than anything I currently use. Nothing fancy at all- really a beater by all definitions. Also, never a hiccup! Put a cheap, bedded synthetic stock on it years ago. It has been taken on trips in all weather and terrain types of western US and AK. It has been frozen, dropped, soaked, sand blasted and bounced around in Super Cubs and pick ups. A friend borrowed it around 1984 for a few days and let mud sit in the muzzle. That caused about 1/2" of pitting. Cut 1/2" off and re-crowned it with no measurable change of accuracy. It's still a 1/2- 3/4" rifle @100 yds.

 

[Mekaniks]

Mekaniks I'm surprised you'd use a 338 Federal on Kodiak bears. Seems a bit light. How did it work out? Bullets? Shot placement? You might talk me into using my "beater" 358 Winchester on a Kodiak.

View attachment 331366 The 358 is the Ruger American on top. It's not so valuable that I'm afraid to use it. The 375 Ruger below is a lot more valuable but it's not "pretty " and its weather proof. I'm about to sink some money into the 375 to make it lighter. One reason I love the 358 is its lighter weight.
I'm seriously thinking of putting a front sight on the 358 with a small peep site mounted under the scope. That would make it almost perfect.

Yeah, when bear hunting bigger is usually better.
That said, I use hand loaded 210g Partiitions. The bear was about 40 yards and facing me. I placed the shot between the neck and left shoulder. I put a second shot in the neck behind the skull at about 20 yards but it was already done.
I am traveling today and don’t have all my pics on my phone but this is a pic of the finished rug.

 

[Rob404]

After some thought and only owning nothing but wood stocks (ARs don't count) I,d have to say it would be the rifle with the most Love marks on the stock and that would be my CZ550 full stock in 308 caliber.
It got those Love Marks in 2014 hunting in Limpopo SA

 

[curtism1234]

My first rifle was a Savage synthetic 7mag and I now use it for rainy hunting. I am looking at other stock options for it now as it has some deep scratches and isn't bedded right so it has trouble with accuracy sometimes. It's a nice light rifle at 7 3/4 pounds scoped so I'm hoping to keep it that way. I have a spare synthetic stock so I think I'm going to paint it and make sure it's free floated

 

[Bonk]

I don't have any hunting rifles I'm afraid to take hunting. Field scars make them more appealing IMO. As others have said damage, rust and neglect are not allowed but honest wear and tear is a good thing. Adds character.

I do have a couple of rifles that are my go to hunters when I know the weather is going to be really nasty. One is a Ruger Guide Gun 30-06 and the other is a Ruger All Weather Hawkeye 25-06. Both are all matte stainless steel. The Guide Gun has a laminate stock and the All Weather has a synthetic stock. Both have seen rain and snow and neither one missed a beat or show any worse for the wear. If I added my synthetic stocked CZ550 375H&H with an AHR upgrade package to the mix I'd have a trio of rifles to hunt anything under any weather conditions any where in the world. I could get rid of the rest of my rifles and be perfectly content but what fun would that be.

 

[Custom]

I do enjoy pretty rifles and, over the last 10 years, I have commissioned several full on customs. I do hunt with them and enjoy them but, if the weather turns to s__t, I carry my Model 70 Extreme Weather in 300 win mag.

 

[Art Lambart II]

My beater rifle is every rifle I own, I'm not afraid to hunt with any of them. If you ask whats my favorite rifle I'll tell you my Ruger #1 in 30-06, if you ask me whats my go to rifle I'll reach for my TC Encore in 35 Whelen.

 

[Wade J VanGinkel]

I guess I've never thought about a beater rifle.
Worst weather I guess I'd go for my remington 700 xcr in 7 mag.

 

[Forrest Halley]

My beater rifle is a Mossberg shotgun. I'd never treat a rifle wrong. They have always been mythical items since I was a boy.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Very interesting responses! I have changed my rifle buying since an Alaska bear hunt with a handsome Kimber Classic I had to take apart nightly to dry out, re-oil, and reassemble. Pain in the rear! Africa isn’t nearly as hard on a rifle weather wise as coastal Alaska IMO.
Most of my current rifles are stainless steel with synthetic stocks. I love them! It’s tough to scratch the synthetic stocks and the stainless holds up well.
Still, IMO, they are just another hammer or screwdriver used for a specific purpose.

Not so are my AYA #2 12ga, little Arrietta 20ga, nor my Krieghoff 12x12x30-06 drilling. Although my hunting buds cringe when we cross a barbed wire fence watching me break them and using them to push down the wire to climb over.

 

[IdaRam]

My NA beater is a Tikka 7mm Mag. One of the best shooting guns I own too. I’ve worked up loads for 139 gr GMX, 150 gr Accubond, 160 gr Accubond and 174 gr FMJ. Incredibly, they all shoot really close to the same POI at 200 yards. Topped it off with a Leupold VX-III 4.5-14 x 40mm scope with Varmint Hunter reticle.

Not really a beater but definitely showing some wear, for Africa my go-to is a Ruger RSM .375 H&H. I love that rifle and cartridge.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I moved the shoulder forward by .05 and load long so I get 2700fps with the 123gn sst or 2950 with the 100gn ttsx so a good improvement over the standard Grendel and so much so that a friend who is in pest animal control bought the reamer and has chambered three barrels for his work.
The extra length of the cartridge was why the mini mauser needed some modification to the magazine to get the 2.405 length cartridge fitting in. I lengthened the magazine for an internal length of 2.470. This is the standard Grendel with 123gn a Max compared to my Grendel-Max with the same bullet although I have changed over to the SST with the same results.
View attachment 331451
This was the reamer print I sent to Dave Manson.
View attachment 331456

This was load testing at 200 yds so it is a very good little rifle
View attachment 331457

Von Gruff
A man after my own heart take a good cartridge and make it better.

My old beater is one not mentioned yet.
An old No1 mk111 303. You can't beat it to death with a big stick and a plug of gelignite, it still works no matter what you do to it. It's my fun gun when the weather is absolutely crap. My other guns show signs of honest hard work but get loving care after use. The old 303 gets a dust off, oil and put away. The old 30 was good enough to stand the triggers of the Korean war with my father ( not the one I own), if it can handle Korea for three years in battle it can handle the crap I throw at it.
Cheers mate Bob

 

[Fastrig]

My beater rifle is every rifle I own, I'm not afraid to hunt with any of them. If you ask whats my favorite rifle I'll tell you my Ruger #1 in 30-06, if you ask me whats my go to rifle I'll reach for my TC Encore in 35 Whelen.

This! Don’t own a case queen, not sure why anyone would to be honest. Grabbing the Mauser M12 Max 9.3x62 mostly. Laminate thumb hole stock soaks up anything you can throw at it, its lite, and extremely accurate with the Norma ammo I’ve been been using. For longer stuff, or just to mix it up a little, the Merkel RX Helix 300 win mag. A Blaser R8 or Sauer 404 is in my sites for this year, but neither would be a case queen no matter how pretty they are when they come out of the box. Good rifles are meant to be used, not looked at.

 

[Peter Larsson]

My beater is a Merkel drilling in 12-12-7x57R
Use it for about 90% of my hunting.
Mostly roe deer and small game hunting with dogs.

 

[BeeMaa]

Man have I been out of the loop for a bit.
Working my ass off and I wake up on Saturday morning to find this thread.
I love it.

Have to say I've never owned a "beater" rifle, but never had a "safe queen" either.
They are all tools to me, tools with a purpose.
They can look nice or look like crap as long as they accomplish the task to my standards, I'm happy.
All my firearms are treated with care but are expected to perform as well.
And I'm not afraid of putting any of them through the ringer on a hunt.
After the hunt, a good cleaning is in order.

My current go to is a Blaser R8 PH and my wife has an Intuition.
Probably not your typical beater rifles, but they certainly get the job done for us.

 

[Timbo]

For me it's my Ruger M77 .30/06 (tang safety model!). It was my first high-powered rifle that I licensed when I was 18. It accompanied me on all my African PG hunts as a very young man, and since then I've shot most of the game I wanted in various countries I've been too. In the UK they were amazed a 19yr-old was licensed to have a .30/06!! I've also shot countless pigs, goats, foxes, and 'roos with it! Hell! I've even shot sharks with it!! I love my dear old .30/06!! It's got dings and scratches that are now proud badges of honour. But my best memory of ALL was when I watched my 20yr-old daughter roll her 100-pt NT buffalo with it!!

I'm a very proud Dad!!

 

[Philip Glass]

Ruger American Ranch .223 & Tikka T3 7Mag

 

[mdwest]

Ruger American Compact in .308... topped with a cheap vortex crossfire scope..

I've done a few mods to it.. I added a hornady bolt ball ($5).. a boyds laminate stock ($139).. and then an aluminum trigger guard (the boyds comes with a plastic trigger guard that sucks) $20...

I've barely got $500 invested.. and its a nearly perfect "truck gun" for deer, hogs, etc here in TX..

Keeps a 1" or better group with everything I feed it.. OAL is barely 38".. so its super easy to shoot from tight places like a deer blind or out the truck window at a coyote, etc..

I actually prefer it most of the time to most of my much nicer rifles..

 

[CBH Australia]

The founder of the Terminal Ballistics website(New Zealand) Used the term “Hack” his, a Howa .308

I have friends that are Professional Roo shooters and they use the term Work rifle, being shooters they still have something nice to use on a hunt or some shooting with friends.

I bought a Tikka T3 CTR for regular use in 7mm-08 as I wanted one and it was on clearance being 7mm-08 , suited me I wanted one. I deemed it to be “Ugly Betty” before I set eyes on it. I went with a Meopta Meopro wanting low light performance on a budget. I have done some good shooting with it. Americans might see it as a Truck rifle being compact etc but the Ruger American etc are cheaper and serve the purpose.

In Australia I think Howa still get a share of the budget market and are proven themselves over 30 odd years.
My wife has a Weatherby Girls Hunt 2 in .243 same action with a Bell and Carlson stock

My Go-To rifle is Ugly Betty, she’s light enough to carry walking and bought to use. Honestly I get more precious about the shells shooting from the car than the rifle but if thee is a mob of pigs cross my path and I’ve got a full mag I have been known to lose a shell focussing on shooting as many as possible. Doesn’t matter they are still making them.

 

[Ray B]

I have been known to lose a shell focussing on shooting as many as possible. Doesn’t matter they are still making them.

Therein lies the problem with some of my bullets- They aren't making Bitterroots and SilverTips anymore and some of the others are while not extinct are on the endangered list. So I'm quite judicious about sending them out the barrel.