Ballistics and all that cr@p aside, what guns do you just..........LIKE :)

D

duck911

New member
In the .204 thread below someone posted:

Quote:At least its a switch from

5.56 vs. .223
17hmr vs coyotes
"what load works in my .........."
"is......fur friendly"

There is some truth to this... Over time some guns have grown on me, and others have been sold.

But I have a few I like for reasons that cannot be measured over the chrono, on paper, or by external ballistics. I can't even explain well WHY they make me smile or WHY I will never sell them, but they sit in my safe and I love them.

--I have a 20 year old plane jane Remington ADL in .270. It's not pretty. It shoots very average groups with the cheapest box of Federal blue box 130 gr power points, which despite reloading for my other guns, is all I shoot in this rifle. But the gun has killed game from California to South Carolina and a few spots in-between, and has NEVER let me down. On paper, it's a 1.5" shooter at best but in the field with any kind of reasonable rest and I have zero doubts that the bullet will find the spot. It just does. Always. It's kind of eerie, actually.

--I have a 1895 Marlin ion 45-70 as well. I don't really hunt with it, but it's a blast to reload for and shoot. If the light is just right I can see the bullet fly downrange, if it was pushed out by a light load of trailboss. I don't really have a practical use for it but [beeep] it's fun to work that lever action and send some heavy lead in a rainbow trajectory over the short grass prairie!!!!

--My 870. Need I say more? The gun has been a boat paddle, I've dug a truck out of the mud with the stock, and sadly, once I even drove away with the gun leaning against the truck only to realize it the next day - the gun was laying in the parking lot where I abandoned it. 4 coats of spay paint are showing in various layers, and the modified choke tube has been stuck in it since 1995. The gun saved my life once when I fell into a hole in Sacramento NWR while hunting ducks. I jammed the buttstock into the marsh bottom and pushed myself to shallower water. Layer, I had to strip down out of my waders and dive back in to retrieve it. That gun was made for me - we've killed a few ducks over the years
wub.gif


--My Taurus 8 shot .357. I know! A Taurus! haha! The first 3 years I owned it, I HATED the gun, Could not get it to shoot reliably without locking up after a few rounds. The cylinder gap was way too tight. I was too impatient to send it in, so never shot it. One day, I read a tip on line and took matters into my own hands. With a small, VERY fine file I took a thousandths or two off the top of the forcing cone. That gun is now my most favorite revolver. I have a more accurate gun (a little .22 I happen to have), and I have prettier revolvers (my Ruger .44 is awfully purty) but this .357 just makes me literally smile to shoot. Missouri leadcast bullets and a little 2400 will keep me shooting for HOURS. That gun fits my hand like a glove!

I have a few others but probably bored all of you already.

Anyone have a few they feel the same way about?
 
Truth or not it was me that said it.
Sometimes I just bust out my Contender carbine in 6mm 3030 imp and go shoot stuff. Nope its not a rocket, no it doesn't automatically feed the next round, its not common, I had to make my own dies, come up with my own loading data but I didn't have to post redundant questions to get redundant answers.
 
Last edited:
I have a 243 built on a Nazi Mauser action in the sexiest stock ever that my grandfather gave me a few years ago. I shot my first buck with it that season. Yea, definitely my favorite rifle.

I also just "built" my first rifle. It was a plastic stocked Savage 30-06. Now it's a wood stocked 243, but all Savage parts. It was fun piecing together my first rifle, so it ranks high on the list.

Then there's the 5" model 60 in 357 I traded a 480 SRH for on the classifieds here. It's such a perfect revolver for woods carry. It's light and trim, with enough barrel to actually hit what I'm aiming at. It's such a perfect, versatile piece it'll keep me from buying anything else in a handgun for a long time.
 
Lots of guns I like. I love my 94 trapper 30-30, LOVE my Rem 700 222, love my savage mkII-my first and has killed too many critters to count. Love my M&P9 pro. Many many more that I like lol
 
I have numerous guns but I always seem to grab:
-Contender carbine 22h with Choat Folding Stock- my truck gun for the last 21 years . It's stainless and see's more use than any gun I have . Countless Nosler 40 gr BT's have been shot through this gun.
-Savage 16fss ; 7-08 this is a stock savage with a blind magazine and I use it for everything . It is just right for varmints , yotes , tin cans , etc.
-h&R standard Handi rifle in 223 with 1-9 twist . Shoots anything into 2moa and hand loads with 65gr Sierra game kings to 1moa. I have played with this simple gun more tha any thing I have in the last 2 years . It has become the "other" truck gun . Don't tell the Hornet.
-Dad's old Smith 22a pistol . I bought it for him used back in the 90's and I never shot it because I thought it was cheaply constructed . I got it back after Dad passed and did'nt shoot it for a few years . One day my son was talking about how good it shot so I put a few rounds through it . Well cheap or not it is a shooter and I am shooting 3000 to 5000 rounds a year through it now while my more expensive guns sit in the safe.
 
1) 1976 Marlin 444s, This thing is a blast to shoot, and will kill anything it is aimed at, I have a smile that will last over a week.
2) Rock River Predator Pursuit AR in 223, This gun goes with me everytime I leave the house to go out of town.
3) S&W M&P40, This also goes with anytime I leave the house.

All my guns are my favorite, but the above 3 top my list. Good Topic,----Riflemann
 
I've got an early Remmy 788 in 6mm rem, with a 70s era Leupold 3x9. Yes, the bolt handle broke off (the second time it was out). It's old, the stock looks like it was attacked by an angry screwdriver, the metal is pitted and rusty. But it's still one of the most accurate guns I own, and I'd let go of any of my other rigs before the 6mm, even the ones that are worth 5 times more.
 
I love my marlin 917 17hmr I grab it 99% the time I go out. I just love how accurate it is.

Then there is my sons marlin 15yn that was my old 22 it is itty bitty but I love it when ever I take him hunting I grab it and love shooting it even if it is way to small for me.

Then I have my great great grandfathers Winchester 69a I rebuilt when I was about 10 I think I haven't hunted with it I haven't really shot it much but im gonna take it squirrel hunting this year once I get some 22lr ammo and sight it in. I just love the heavy barrel on it and the sights it's got the factory peep sights on it. I want to re do it again it has alot of potential and it's been beat up over the years.


Then of coarse I really really really loved my M249 SAW with collapable stock and short barrel and MGO on top an a 100rnd nutsack on it. If there is ever an zombie apocalypse I'm going to my armory and getting that thing out of the arms room. It's just fun to shoot and fondle.
 
My Remmy 700 BDL in .243 Winchester. This rifle is one of those that hits when you're just sure you should have missed. The first coyote that came in while I was using this rifle was circling downwind to my right side. I was nearly laying on my side trying to get on it before it got over a little hilltop. Got my shot off as it dissappeared over the hill. Couldn't see if I'd hit it or not. Walked out and there lay the dead coyote. Took my only solo triple with this rifle when three came in together and they all died. Time after time this rifle just worked for me. I took off the shiney BDL stock and replaced it with a factory CDL stock when the CDL's came out. It's not only dead nuts accurate, it's nice to look at too.
 
Gotta be my Remington VSSFII in 220 swift topped with a 20+ year old Leupold Vari-X 3. It just plain shoots, never seen a group larger than 1 inch come out of this gun and with my handloads it shoot 3/8" groups if I do my part. Sighted in 2" high at 100 yds it hits where you aim out to 400 with little to no holdover. Sure its heavy, long, dont care for the wide palmswell and hard to get out of the pickup in a hurry but I have never shot another gun that just shoots like this one.
 
Yep a couple:'
1) NEF .410 single shot my dad bought me for Christmas when I was 7. I've killed countless squirrels, rabbits, and more opossums tha I can begin to count with that little gun. Think my dad paid 90$ new for it. I also shot my first gray fox with it when I was 10. Sometimes when I really just want to enjoy an outing in the woods (even though I prefer a rifle for small game) I'll take that little single barrel .410 and a handfull of 3" no. 5s and just start walking.
1314708863.jpg


2) m700 30-06. My dad bought me this when I was 14 for my first deer/anything I'll probably ever hunt in my life rifle. It's bone stock except for a trigger job. It's killed a pile of deer for me. It's one of those rifles that feels like magic in your hands. I don't believe I've ever missed a deer with it. Not that I can recall anyway. It shoots everything from Nosler BTs, Sierra HPBTs, to hornady SSTs into a group that always measures right under an inch...as long as its charged by IMR 4350. I'll likely be buried with it. In just another month or 2 it is getting glass bedded, and the bolt rejewled (been putting it off) I'm also changing out the rings/ based for talleys and replacing the vxII 3-9 with a 6x36 leup.
311619D5-9EB1-4165-9210-1A1F3A59BFE9-680-000000365F84D69C.jpg
 
My GF just picked me up a little Stevens 200 .223 thats also becoming a quick favorite. I wanted a beat around the woods rifle/trunk gun.

Painted it, trigger has been worked to break at a nice 2.5#, mounted a leupold M8 4x and wrapped it in talley LWs. Shoots 55g Sierra Spitzers into a nice little cluster that can be covered by a quarter. Not bad for 100 yards with a fixed 4x. Just this week it made short work of a opossum and also took care of a piegon. Thinking about trying to find a wood stock to fit it, rebarreling to .222 or 6x45, and swapping the 4x for a 2-7x33
 
Back
Top