For 28 years I lived at 5,550’ in elevation in mountains the went up to 9,000’. All national forest land and loaded with marijuana plantations supposedly funded by the Mexican Mafia.
It was a lot of fun to be on a high ridge and shoot up their back plastic irrigation pipes freeing up water that was denied to wild life.
Given that these mountains had two excellent mast crops. acorns and pinyon nuts, the black bears were some of the biggest in the country, with official weigh ins by Fish and Game recording fat old males at the 500 to 700 pound range.
On one side there was vast desert, otherwise I was surrounded at lower elevations by brushy hills and grassy plains filled with wild boar which could be hunted year round.
My quest for a light handy do it all rifle went on for decades. I was a licensed hunting guide then and was doing endless “scouting”
The rifles I carried included a model 94 in 30-30, which was fun but really did not have the power for big boar which could go to 350 to over 400 pounds weighed on the ranch scale, nor did it have the range/accuracy for the open plains.
I carried a .223 scoped mini mauser for awhile but ran right into a huge boar bear with a head the size of a dry wall bucket, up close and personal in the willows. Never brought the min--.223 again.
I carried a Ruger mine-30 but it so lacked accuracy I sold it, and I never was fond of semi-autos.
I thought a Remington model 7 in 260 was the best of the best until the trigger pull got real heavy one day. The trigger was just cheap white cast metal with a hard plating which I worn through shooting it a lot. I decided Remington's were “beer can quality”, sold it, sold all Rem’s
For some years I carried the coolest Argentine Mauser carbine with an 18 inch barrel in 7x57 with the heavy bullet twist. I had it drilled and tapped for high quality peep sights and that worked well till my eyes got old.
Back in those days all boar where just shot on site there were so many and they did so much damage.
I saw a 300 pounder across a small canyon shot him with the 7x57, took the back straps and left the rest for the scavengers and bears.
Big boars are terrible table fair.
I always just hated that front mount scope of scout rifles, ande also hated a non flush magazines that are used on some "bolt action scout rifles. They interfere with a natural carry
Finally I bought a used Sako Finnlight in .308. I had a front sight installed, found a Sako peep site, and bought two sets of original Sako optilock rings, one in low for a 2-7 scope and the other set in extra low for a straight front fixed 2.5 X scope.
I could go back and forth with all of these with no more than a ½” change in POI at 100 yards.
My Sako mags are flush and I have an extra when I think appropriate.
That light little Sako carbine is my “go to” rifle for all hunting now, even Elk unless I am in very open country. Then I will take my 280I in my Kimber hunter with a 24 inch barrel
The Sako match grade barrel in my Finnlight is 20 inches but gets better velocity that my friends 308 with a 22 inch barrel with the exact same load.
That little rifle is a winner all around. I have shot desert deer with it and loved getting into group of wild boar with it and shooting a 40 pounder that I could throw over my shoulder and bring home.
Plus with 30 caliber I can down load some cast bullets shoot a cottontail in the head.
Actually it is the only rifle I need for everything.
