What’s your beater rifle?

[Tanks]

I'd say ALL of them, as nothing would deter me from taking any of my rifles on a hunt if it is called for.

That being said my McMillan rifles in .375 H&H and .308 are the most weather proof rifles I own due to them having synthetic stocks. Rest of them have either Turkish or Bastogne walnut stocks.

 

[CBH Australia]

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.

Then those should be the dedicated hunting bullets. You cant replace them but if they hit the mark and you get clean kills then that is what they are for. When you have hunted that batch out there will still be a projectile that works.
Im not opposed to buying a good projectile for hunting albeit most of mine is pest eradication i just want results and opportunity to shoot more.
An expensive projectile is still a cheap part of the hunt and it's the most important component of all whatever your preference.

 

[Standard Velocity]

Some guys here are awfully cavalier about how there ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough nor river wide enough to keep ‘em from using their Holland and Holland as a boat paddle. Well bully for you all but a week in the driving rain of Alaska is likely to turn blued steel and walnut into a twisted mass of rusty boat anchor.

The point that a rifle is a tool is a bit simplistic. I have chisels; cold chisels, framing chisels, chisels for joinery and speciality chisels for making spoons. Should you ever see me using a razor sharp, ultra fine, back-beveled 1/4” joinery chisel in place of a cold chisel to bust up concrete overflow around a post hole, please, take away my chisels.

Maybe I’ll be alone in choosing a cruder rifle when rain is a certainty.

 

[Tanks]

Some guys here are awfully cavalier about how there ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough nor river wide enough to keep ‘em from using their Holland and Holland as a boat paddle. Well bully for you all but a week in the driving rain of Alaska is likely to turn blued steel and walnut into a twisted mass of rusty boat anchor...

Well, in my case I have been solely hunting in Africa and it has never rained.

I don't foresee an Alaskan hunt in my future, for the cost of a Kodiak hunt I'll go hunt another elephant or cape buffalos.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Some guys here are awfully cavalier about how there ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough nor river wide enough to keep ‘em from using their Holland and Holland as a boat paddle. Well bully for you all but a week in the driving rain of Alaska is likely to turn blued steel and walnut into a twisted mass of rusty boat anchor.

The point that a rifle is a tool is a bit simplistic. I have chisels; cold chisels, framing chisels, chisels for joinery and speciality chisels for making spoons. Should you ever see me using a razor sharp, ultra fine, back-beveled 1/4” joinery chisel in place of a cold chisel to bust up concrete overflow around a post hole, please, take away my chisels.

Maybe I’ll be alone in choosing a cruder rifle when rain is a certainty.

Standard Velocity
If'n I ever see you using a bevel back fine 1/4 inch chisel to break up concrete I would take you to see a doctor about your mental health. If you would commit such a heinous act you might use a,500nitro double with bird shot instead of a,12 gauge on ducks.
Haha
Cheers mate Bob

 

[tunatoy76]

Mostly use a MRC 30/06 when it's raining non stop. I live in rain forest, it's hot and humid 8 months of the year and your dick will rust. Saw everyone putting tape on there barrels and tried it, ended up full of water

 

[Dr Ray]

No snow and no sleet to deal with but humidity we have. I carry my Sako s/s synthetic stock in 270 caliber.

 

[bruce moulds]

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.

bitterroot and silvertip in the same sentence!!!!!
wash your mouth out with soap.
bruce.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I develop some form of attachment to every rifle I buy... otherwise I would not have purchased it. It was something that was thought out ahead of time before I ever put down cash to make it my own. That said, I'm not a safe queen sort. I also don't buy anything without a plan to use it at some point. A case in point: a new to me Remington Model 141 in fabulous shape. I'd really like to kill a caribou with it some fall.

I get the direction of this thread however. If I'm facing a week of better than average chances for rain when I plan to hunt caribou, I won't be taking that 141. My fallback, go-to rifle for the past nine years has been my Marlin XLR in .338 Marlin Express. It's stainless with a laminated stock. It's done really well standing up to some really crappy weather here in Alaska. I do not baby it and I know it'll always perform.

 

[Ray B]

I'm not sure that Stainless is that much of an advantage- at least how I treat them, which may be wrong. The only rifle that I've had a rust issue with was a Sako Stainless 85-S. As I recall the problem was that not all of the parts were stainless and access was not available short of dismantling the rifle. Blued/wood rifles that I've used were properly prepared for those times of extended foul weather. since it wasn't going to be freezing in the rain I found that liberal use of RIG was a great help. If the weather did turn cold, I could pull the stock off and leave only a very thin layer of RIG on the parts.

 

[Fastrig]

Some guys here are awfully cavalier about how there ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough nor river wide enough to keep ‘em from using their Holland and Holland as a boat paddle. Well bully for you all but a week in the driving rain of Alaska is likely to turn blued steel and walnut into a twisted mass of rusty boat anchor.

The point that a rifle is a tool is a bit simplistic. I have chisels; cold chisels, framing chisels, chisels for joinery and speciality chisels for making spoons. Should you ever see me using a razor sharp, ultra fine, back-beveled 1/4” joinery chisel in place of a cold chisel to bust up concrete overflow around a post hole, please, take away my chisels.

Maybe I’ll be alone in choosing a cruder rifle when rain is a certainty.

Laminate or synthetic stock is the only thing I’d take to Alaska. For the metal, you have to be diligent with it just like you do here with all the humidity. Have been to Alaska twice, never had an issue but took care of my rifle each night religiously. Do that pretty much anywhere but probably went a little overboard while in Alaska, the weather wasn’t great.

Oh, be good to your ultra fine chisels, they are like a good woman, hard to find and worth their weight in gold

 

[raimanparoni]

Tikka T3 Lite stainless in 30-06 cal. Usually I use Nosler Accubond 165gr. I have customized it with Limb saver recoil pad and lighter trigger spring. Original Harris bibods and three scopes: 1-4 and 4.5-14 Leupolds and Zeiss 7x50 with red dot covers all of my needs

 

[MISportsman]

My beater rifle is a mosin nagant m44 sprayed with duracoat in an ati stock topped with a vortex scout scope. Not a beauty queen and kicks as much as my lightweight savage .300 win mag, but it just plain gets the job done every time no matter what.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Some of us have nice rifles and some of us have utilitarian rifles. Many scoff at “safe queens” and deride those who are overly concerned by the odd scratch on their shooting tools.

I don’t mind scuffs and scrapes from honest hunting but rust is just neglect as far as I’m concerned. I like my finer rifles to look cared for and keeping blueing blue can be a challenge in the field.

My “beater” Remington Model Seven is inexpensive, compact and handy. I don’t mind hunting in the rain and find it to be pretty productive. This rifle is, however, blued and the first fleck of rust was off putting. The fact that it’s an inexpensive rifle is really beside the point; you have to take care of your stuff.

So this year I have bought a plastic stocked, stainless steel Tikka to serve as my beater. A Leupold 2.5-8 tops it off and the 22” barrel may get trimmed to 20”. No emotional attachment and reasonably impervious to the environment.

What do you all trudge through rain, snow and sleet with?

 

[Doug Hamilton]

After moving to Western Washington. I found that my nice walnut and blued steel rifles were taking a bigger beating than I was happy with. I bought SS Rem. Model 7 with a synthetic stock in 7-08. In the always thick, wet and steep country, it's a great little deer rifle.

 

[Boomstick!]

A 1950s commercial FN 30-06 with a Weaver K4F

 

[Ray B]

A 1950s commercial FN 30-06 with a Weaver K4F

JC Higgins?

 

[Doug Hamilton]

A 1950s commercial FN 30-06 with a Weaver K4F

That out to work for most animals anywhere in the world, as long as it's still accurate.

 

[Boomstick!]

JC Higgins?

No it’s a FN barreled action in a Bishop stock. Its a custom job done sometime in the 50s or 60s. I wish I still had my custom JC Higgins 270. Ebony forend tip and grip cap slimed down stock packmyer rubber butt plate timiny trigger. Shot 1 inch groups all day with anything I gave it. Like a dumbass I sold it to help pay for my Caprivi 375.

 

[Divernhunter]

All of my hunting rifles/pistols are tools. I do not worry about nicks and scrapes. I do not want rust on any firearm I have. Hunting firearms do not get any special care. I do have a few pristine mil surplus firearms I am careful with.