One gun hunter

[brnsvllyjohn]

For you guys that own a few guns do you find yourself taking the same gun most if not all of the time when you go hunting? I have a few choices for big game but I usually take the gun that I feel the most comfortable with. I shoot the others at the range every year but almost never carry them. Some are older ones that I did take a lot of animals with but for one reason or another I now carry something else. My go to rifle is now (and has been for 30 years) a 7mm mag. When I plan a hunt I see no reason to not take the gun I have the most confidence in.
I tell myself every year that I should carry one of the other rifles but I rarely do. I have taken a few deer with every rifle I own I just use one far more than the others.

 

[Rzrbck918]

I do. I carry a nearly 10 year old Browning 270 WSM. The stock is beat all to pieces but it has good glass and it shoots really well. I keep thinking about taking something else but it works extraordinarily well. I’m the same way with shotguns. I duck hunt with a 30 year old Remington 1100 synthetic and I have a half dozen better and nicer guns in the safe.

 

[stillkickin]

I’m on year 40 using my old trusty Remington 870. Between hunting and shooting clays, thousands of rounds through the old gal. Been restocked twice and replaced the bead. Otherwise been old reliable.

I have a safe full of prettier shotguns also

 

[ntodwild]

Yep.

My experience is that rifles all have a purpose in my safe (Big Game, Small Game/Predetor & plinker/squirrel guns and target/practice rifle). Typically the same rifle for each activity. I have cleared plenty of rifles from my inventory over the years and am down to 4. All get used regularly throughout the year.

For ME personally the fire arms I have for fun, target and collection are all hand guns. I have several 380's, several 9mm's, Several .22LR's and revolvers of many types. "Handgun affliction"

For many others it's the opposite and rifles seem to be the affliction.

 

[rwc101]

I'd love to horde guns but my Model 70 in 270WSM does everything I need it to. Still scouring the web for a 6.5x55 for reasons I don't understand though.

 

[std7mag]

Shhhhhhh!!!!
Don't even start that one gun crap around my wife!!!

I have 8 rifles, not counting my wife's, and the Mauser i'm building for my daughter.
And during season i take them out about equally.
The Stevens 200 in 250 Savage goes with me during the warmer months while scouting. Light weight.
Though i should take the Forbes 24B in 280 Rem out more.

 

[PAGOAT]

Yes I have a Weatherby in 300 WSM and a Remington SP10 that are my go to guns. I keep getting new rifles and will hunt in doe season with one here or there but those 2 are my go to guns.

 

[Frazier]

I’m a one man gun for wing shooting. it’s my super black eagle I, black synthetic stock. Bought it 15 years ago. Been used as a boat paddle, push pole, walking stick, you name it. I bought a SBE II and have never really used it. It was too light and just didn’t feel right. So whether it’s ducks, dove, quail, turkey, or geese ol black Betty aka the “OG” as I call it is right there with me.

 

[Panda Bear]

yes, a 30-06 for everything for a few years, currently a 348, except sheep and goat ( 275 H & H ) so I guess a two gun battery, but the times we go south for sheep and goat is like once a year or sometimes once every two years.

 

[BucksnDucks]

To answer the question, no I mix it up. Not because I have to but because I enjoy it. For many years I did everything with one rifle and one shotgun. When it came to big game, the rem 700 30-06 was all I had. For any bird it was a 12 gauge Browning pump. When I could afford it I started trying new scatter guns, an over/under then autoloaders for ducks. Rifles came later when I became interested in improving my skills and reloading. I have my current favorite now but will sometimes take my kid's lightweight rifle for a hike. It also seems like I'm always looking for one to add to the safe. I went through the same thing with flyrods. The simplicity of one rod or one rifle was perfect at that time of my life. Not better or worse than now but sometimes I admit I miss those times.

 

[Brian in Montana]

I wind up using a .308 more than anything. My current go to is a T3x in that caliber.

 

[Nick87]

My safe is full of guns yet I use the same shotgun and rifle 99% of the time.

 

[noharleyyet]

When the rut hits and I think a certain buck will pattern, I reach for the Mashburn...this year it'll be the 25 Roy. The Mash will be primary for the elk hills tho...I should find better homes for those two's safe mates.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I have two rifles; one that I use 80% of the time and one that I only use for snowy/rainy weather in thick woods (peep sighted).

 

[Ben Lamb]

Blind reflex when I open the safe has me grabbing the Model 70 featherweight in 30-06.

Lately though, that's been usurped by the Ruger in 30-06.

I love hunting with various guns, but if I'm going out for a few days, one of those 06's are close at hand, just in case. There's a lot of comfort in having those friends next to you.

 

[belshawelk]

I carry different guns for different species. To me that’s part of the enjoyment. Like having a car or motorcycle sit in the garage and not driving. I do have many safe queens but I use 3-4 different rifles every year. Also depends where I hunt.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Can one gun do it all? Yes. But so can one brand of beer, one fishing rod, one women (please disregard ), one pocket knife. . . . . Variety is the spice of life. I am with belshaelk, setting up different rifles for different types of hunts is part of the hobby. So, while I do have a tendency to pick favorites, I very much enjoy having a stable of ready to go choices in the safe.

 

[tzone]

I do find myself taking one more than the rest. I'm very confident with it, it feels good in my hands, and I have 1 shot kills on the critters I've shot with it.

That said, it's not even close to the most accurate gun I have and it shoots factory ammo better than I load for the finicky SOB. but...we've been through a lot together.

The rifle by the way is a Wichester M70 XTR (push-feed) Featherweight, in 7x57. I'd love for it to shoot my loads but It likes Federal factory 140gr bullets.

 

[buffybr]

My first centerfire rifle was a Herter's Model U9 in .30-06. I used it for about 10 years for everything from prairie dogs to elk. I then had it re-chambered to .30 Gibbs, and for the next 20+ years it was my go to elk rifle along with caribou, a couple of Shiras moose, and a mountain goat.

When I made my .30 Gibbs for elk, I also built a .257 Ackley for deer size critters. For the past 40 years this has been my go to rifle for deer, pronghorn antelope, all of my mountain sheep, my 2nd best 6x6 bull elk, and a pile of prairie dogs.

In 2004 I built a .375 RUM for a Cape Buffalo hunt in Zimbabwe, and I have taken it to Africa twice for a variety if animals from 20 pound Springboks to 1500 pound Buffalo. I don't see the need for that much power for anything here in North America except the biggest bears, so it's become a safe queen.

My favorite rifle now is a .300 Weatherby Vanguard that I stocked in AA Fancy walnut, and it's my go to elk rifle and I've taken it on a number of international hunts, but I don't like to take it out in wet weather.

The rifle that I'll most likely grab if I think I'll be hunting in wet weather is a SS, plastic stocked Rem 700 in 7 mm Rem mag.

So for the hunts that I'm planning this fall, I'll use my .257 Ackley for Montana deer and antelope, my .300 Wby for Montana elk, and my 7mm RM for caribou/moose in Newfoundland in September, and also for Sitka blackmail on Kodiak Island in December.

 

[GlockZ]

I have 2 rifles I reach for, usually my Savage in 270Win is the one I reach for the most, second is my X-bolt in 30-06. As for shotguns, it's my 870 that's my go to.