Save $100 on the Leupold VX-3HD

You won !!!!

Gunner46

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OK, so it Feb, cold as hell outside and the only game left to hunt is bunnies, 4 degree weather, in 3 ft of snow.

Here's the scenario: Congradulations !! You have just won the Grand Prize from Zillionaire Hunt Sweepstakes. 5 hunts, all expenses paid,....but there are some restrictions. You can only hunt with one rifle for all the hunts, which they will pay for. You can buy any new outfit you want (rifle /scope/cartridge), but they are only going to give you $1000 and you are not allowed to supplement anything over that with your own money. Ammo has to be available OTC.

The Hunts:

~ Pronghorn, near Gillette Wyoming

~ Black Bear, North Carolina laurel mountains, dog hunt

~ Boar, Central Florida, Palmetto swampy area, baited

~ Coes Deer, Sierra Vista, Arizona

~ Moose, Newfoundland,Canada

Pick your weapon/scope/cartridge and tell us why. Be ready to defend. :D
 
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Give me a Savage 116 in a 30-06 with a Leupold Vx-3 on it. Should squeeze in right under $1000 and I'll be able to find ammo anywhere under the sun!
 
Give me a Savage 116 in a 30-06 with a Leupold Vx-3 on it. Should squeeze in right under $1000 and I'll be able to find ammo anywhere under the sun!

I don't think you could get any more versatile than this. I have thought about other calibers but don't know that this could be beaten.
 
Howa Barreled Action chambered in 6.5 x 55 Swede or .30-06 $460

Boyds Laminated Stock in Coyote $150

Leupold VX-2 3x9 $240

Leupold Scope Rings and Bases $100

Caldwell XLA Bipod $40

$990 when said and done.
 
How bout this for a smart A$$ answer. A used winchester featherwieght with a leupold vx2 3-9. If we can't do used, I like the tika combo previously mentioned. Just to be different I would pick .270 or .280.
 
My first thought was the Tikka T3 with a 2.5-8x VX-3 scope in 270 WSM with Barnes 130 grain ttsx bullets. I'm not sure that you can pull that off for under $1,000.00, though. So, I'd stick with the same caliber, scope, and bullet and try to find an accurate gun with whatever money I have left over.
 
I've got no problems with my Ruger American in 30-06, but now they make a magnum series in 300 win mag, so that's what I would go with. MSRP is $699, but I'm sure I can find them out in town for way less, and I would top it with a Leupold VX2 scope and be well under my $1000 limit. Or, I could buy the 30-06/redfield scope combo for $550 and have a crap ton left for more ammo of different sized calibers for the different game. Decisions decisions..... But I do have the 30-06 with the Redfield scope combo and plenty of ammo, so just give me the $1000 :D
 
For hunts:
1. I would do an adventure like Buck Nelson in 700 miles alone. Sheep, Caribou, moose, bears, and fishing. Is that 1 hunt for 4 species or 4 hunts?
2. Follow the waterfowl migration. Start as far north in Canada and follow the migration to the Louisiana.
3. A hunt with Natives of the Arctic region in a traditional style.
4. Far East Russia
5. A Boundary Waters Canoe Area Moose hunt. I love the BWCA and if a moose hunt were to happen it would mean that the population has rebounded and they allow hunting again!
 
Tikka T3 set up in 270. Why.. Jack O Connor

You could also go with the .257 Roberts, 7×57mm Mauser, or .30-06 using the Jack O'Connor reason.

Or the .416 Rigby if you are getting into dangerous game.

O'Connor also said (paraphrase) if we lost all loads except a 130 gr .270 and a 180 gr .30-06 we would not be greatly inconvenienced.

Shot placement and the right caliber for the job is the main O'Connor belief. The .270 satisfied all both of the beliefs, however O'Connor liked a lot of calibers and is only responsible for popularizing the .270.
 
Geller: You don't get to pick the hunts, just the weapon/scope/cartridge.

And you guys, so far, are showing your 'Western" skills/experience far more than these quest demands entail.

You're going to try to swing a 22-24" barrel inside a tangle of brush that you can barely see 15 yds, or do an instant turn about in water and mud up to your thighs, and blast at a beast 10-20 yds away with a 270WSM ?

Yeah, a couple of situations give you the grace to plan a careful shot, but a couple also Don't !!

Be creative, think.......Nothing was ever said about having to buy a standard cartridge..........
 
Geller: You don't get to pick the hunts, just the weapon/scope/cartridge.

And you guys, so far, are showing your 'Western" skills/experience far more than these quest demands entail.

You're going to try to swing a 22-24" barrel inside a tangle of brush that you can barely see 15 yds, or do an instant turn about in water and mud up to your thighs, and blast at a beast 10-20 yds away with a 270WSM ?

Yeah, a couple of situations give you the grace to plan a careful shot, but a couple also Don't !!

Be creative, think.......Nothing was ever said about having to buy a standard cartridge..........


With that line of thinking, I would say my 30-30, but I don't know if that would suffice for a moose to my satisfaction of 'big gun' syndrome, and it would really test my stalking and woodsmanship since I would keep the iron sights and all of my shots would be within 100 yards and I think I would have to stalk close for the couse deer. Maybe a .35 Remington....
 
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Gunner, what about a .338 federal on a remington 600 platform? Do you think I'll get that done for less than a $1000? Ha!

Maybe a some sort of marlin shooting leverevolution loads. I've always liked the .444 but the .35 or 45-70 would probably come in a shorter barrel.....got it! How bout a marlin 308mx in .308 marlin. Found one on gunbroker at 650 with scope. Switch it out for a vx2 3-9 and shoot 160 grain leverevolutions so I'm good to 300 for the pronghorn and coues. It will be great for bear and boar with an 18 in barrel. It will be a little light for moose but will need to be selective with range and shot angle due to bullet choices. That should get pretty close. May want to switch to quick tatch mounts on the scope to use open sighta for the boar or bear hunt.
 
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How about a Thompson Contender with a Leupold 1-4 power scope in 7 mm BR? Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement.....
 
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