What’s your beater rifle?

[Inline6]

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen - I get what you are saying. What we have done is consolidate to what we really need with a focus on quality over quantity. Our "beater" firearms are the same as our beautiful firearms...wood and synthetic alike get used for hunting like any other firearm.

I have done the same thing before, I rather have 1 nice dependable rig than 5-8 of some so so rifles. It reminds of that quote that goes something along the lines of. "Beware the man who only has one gun. He probably knows how to use it!"

Nothing wrong with either way at the end of the day if it puts a smile on your face so be it.

It is nice to only know one rifle, trigger, and scope.

 

[CBH Australia]

I'm a .35 nut as well but my addiction is on the .35rem side of town , although I'd like to add a whelen to my stable but,,,,, I just haven't had the proper chance!!

I'm sure it will come. I'm not sure if the .35rem is easy to come by in Australia. I know of it but don't know much about it.

There must be tons of .30-06 rifles in the states that would be suitable for a re-barrel to .35Whelen. I'm not sure if it's cost effective but set up by a good gunsmith it might be more accurate than a factory rifle..

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

beater? my mostly go to rifle started out as a pre 64 win. 30-06 re barreled as a 35 whelen A I pacific research black stock mat finish blueing shoots under a minute of angle at 200 yds 225 gr. swift do well on most anything

@wolfhunter
Those 225s can be made to realy hum in the Whelen. Up to 2,900fps
What load are you using
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen look, another .35 nut.

@CBH Australia
No Chris, another enlightened hunter that know class when it comes to rifles and cartridges.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I'm a .35 nut as well but my addiction is on the .35rem side of town , although I'd like to add a whelen to my stable but,,,,, I just haven't had the proper chance!!

@AHughes
We are not 35 nuts or lunys or whatever, we are enlightened to real hunting cartridges.
Bob

 

[steve white]

Keep that argument away from our wives.

Great choice in cartridge/rifle/optic. Sounds like mine but I went with the hole in the stock.
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They had several thumbhole versions at the cinematic shooting range near Bass Pro Grapevine before it closed...those were actually sweet handling firearms which several of us had the opportunity to borrow temporarily. I can see how one could get spoiled. They were easy to get on the running boars with, and fast operation to boot. I had forgotten.

 

[steve white]

1948 Brno 7x57mm Mod 21

My God THAT'S not a beater!

 

[BeeMaa]

"Beware the man who only has one gun. He probably knows how to use it!"

My wife and I have embraced this philosophy along with a more minimalistic lifestyle.

Goes hand-in-hand with “I don’t fear the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, I fear the man who has practiced 1 kick 10,000 times.” Bruce Lee.

We strive to be the Bruce Lee of rifleman.

 

[MS 9x56]

Rem 700 is a perfect beater rifle imo. Always performs well, no matter what. At this point I'm certain it's going to take a nuclear warfare for it to stop working.

My bet is it would still work when found several millennia hence.

 

[RTG]

They had several thumbhole versions at the cinematic shooting range near Bass Pro Grapevine before it closed...those were actually sweet handling firearms which several of us had the opportunity to borrow temporarily. I can see how one could get spoiled. They were easy to get on the running boars with, and fast operation to boot. I had forgotten.

The thumbhole is great to carry on-the-ready too! I always expect game to pop up like Wack-A-Mole. It never does, but I carry on-the-ready anyway.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Factory configured Ruger M77 Mrk II in 30-'06. Light, short, powerful.

 

[colorado]

Rem XCR II in 375 Weatherby, cost $800 new (plus $300 in gunsmith work), pretty weather proof TriNyte finish. Ugly but works (300g A-Frame at 2800 fps), 7 1/2 lbs with scope and rings.

 

[Joker12]

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?

Yours is a good choice, what I call a rain rifle.

 

[MS 9x56]

Rem XCR II in 375 Weatherby, cost $800 new (plus $300 in gunsmith work), pretty weather proof TriNyte finish. Ugly but works (300g A-Frame at 2800 fps), 7 1/2 lbs with scope and rings.

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I'd guess if your shooting at something like that bear you wouldn't notice the recoil but at 7.5 pounds, I'll bet off the bench that rig will rock your world a bit.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

My beater for riding around in the truck, throwing on the side by side while filling feeders, chasing pigs at night, calling coyotes, shooting does, etc is a 14.5" barreled Noveske topped with a 1-4 S&B Short Dot in a Larue 1.93. I run an offset RMR as well as a PEQ up front, and a Dead Air Sandman on it. The Short Dot is likely about to get replaced with a Mark 6, 1-6 in favor of moving the S&B to some sort of big bore.

If I'm Hunting something bigger, I tend to grab a Rem 700 XCR II in .257wby, in a HS Precision Stock with a Leupold VX6 3-18 on top.

 

[robtattoo]

I don't really have a beater, as such, but my 'behind the truck seat' gun is an abbreviated Marlin 336 in .44 magnum. I bought it as a dirt cheap project, as it had been through 3 other owners none of whom could get it to feed. So, I cut it down to 16" cut the magazine down to 6 rounds, stripped the old, worn bluing & browned it all. I have no idea what I did, putting it all back together, but it's worked flawlessly ever since. I've killed a LOT of feral pigs with it. It weighs just over 6lb & kicks like you owe it money.

 

[IvW]

My God THAT'S not a beater!

It is mearly a hunting tool that gets used a lot...

 

[colorado]

I'd guess if your shooting at something like that bear you wouldn't notice the recoil but at 7.5 pounds, I'll bet off the bench that rig will rock your world a bit.

It's not bad, the soft stock soaks up a lot of recoil, kicks less than my 9lb CZ550 in 375 H&H did. Of course I shoot it after my 500 Jeffery at the range which makes a big difference

 

[BeeMaa]

I'd guess if your shooting at something like that bear you wouldn't notice the recoil but at 7.5 pounds, I'll bet off the bench that rig will rock your world a bit.

Try shooting 3.5" 2 1/4 oz Turkey loads from a shotgun that weighs 7#...kicks worse than my 416RM ever did.

However, I will concede that I've never noticed recoil when actually hunting. It's only been a factor for me from the bench or at the range.

 

[Forrest Halley]

Try shooting 3.5" 2 1/4 oz Turkey loads from a shotgun that weighs 7#...kicks worse than my 416RM ever did.

However, I will concede that I've never noticed recoil when actually hunting. It's only been a factor for me from the bench or at the range.

Especially through your fine SBE³...which recoils like a semi auto single shot.