Tinpig
Member
I don't hunt anymore, I shoot at paper. But two of my favorite range rifles are "hunting" rifles:
Old Winchester 94:
New Savage 14:
Tinpig
Old Winchester 94:
New Savage 14:
Tinpig
Favorite hunting rifle for non-hunters
- Thread starter bushmaster1313
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Do you know when you pop got his wings? I got mine in late 1971. I'll bet he pre-dates me. While the A-4 community was pretty small there were east coast marines and west coast guys and we didn't all know oneanother. It has also been a very long time and my memory, well.....it's a bit mushy.
If your dad flew charlies, he was before me. When overseas, I flew what we called Super Echos. They were A4 E's with the larger P8 engine. The A-4 was a wonderful little combat aircraft. The Scooter. I used to call it a trans-sonic Cessna 150. Tiny inside and not much bigger out. Your dad and I must have known a lot of the same guys, but I'm not going to toss out names. It was an exciting time.
One sat in that little airplane all alone. When you closed the canopy I used to say it was like crawling back into the womb. It felt like home, an old friend, comfortable in a cramped, smelly sort of way. It was tiny, tight. No room. Miserable really, but we were accustomed to it. Comfort was never considered. The aircraft was astoundingly manuverable with a rate of roll that would bounce your head off of the canopy. No after burner. We experienced constant mechanical failures of one kind or another. Those darn CSD's. We had so many emergencies that they became commonplace. I rather enjoyed them, something different. Fire however was another matter. I never caught fire. I had friends who did. I never punched out, but I had lots of buddies who did. I never blew a tire either. I did from time to time have to take out a grease pencil and make a mark on the windscreen to use as a gunsight. I flew that aircraft in lousy weather NORDO and with spun gyros. I spun inside a thunderstorm once. Ice. Partial panel and training saved me. I trapped on SATS strips. I salvoed Zuni rockets and dropped FAE, the only weapon that I actually heard go off while in the cockpit. I was a FAC. Most of us were. What fun.
The Skyhawk was uncontrollable on a slick windswept runway. We'd land in a crosswind on a rain soaked runway, about lose it and pour the coal to it, rotate, take off and come back around. On our next landing we'd trap, which meant we'd drop the hook and take the gear, a wire stretched across the runway. If you did it at an Air Force base you'd catch a load of crap. They had fancy airplanes with anti-skid breaks and drag chutes. We just had little A-4's made simply for killing communists and not built for show.
Flying these little jets was not exactly a joy, but it was out of this world exciting. The danger made it even sweeter. However I must admit that from time to time I'd get so scared that my knees would shake. I couldn't stop them. Even if I reached down and grabbed them, they'd continue to go. It only happened a few times, but when it did I wondered why I couldn't stop them from shaking, even if I told myself to calm down. I wasn't all that scared, just concerned that I might be killed. I was never frightened when coming aboard the boat. Just busy.
You never, ever let your voice sound anything but supper cool. A slight Southern drawl, learned from Chuck Yeager, which all fighter pilots adopted, was our vernacular. Our montra was Better dead that look bad.
Could our kids today do what we did during the VN War? Sure, they are proving it today in the Mid-East. Another war that we are about to lose. Again we are about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Would I do it all over again? Absolutely. I'd just like to win the next time around.
If your dad flew charlies, he was before me. When overseas, I flew what we called Super Echos. They were A4 E's with the larger P8 engine. The A-4 was a wonderful little combat aircraft. The Scooter. I used to call it a trans-sonic Cessna 150. Tiny inside and not much bigger out. Your dad and I must have known a lot of the same guys, but I'm not going to toss out names. It was an exciting time.
One sat in that little airplane all alone. When you closed the canopy I used to say it was like crawling back into the womb. It felt like home, an old friend, comfortable in a cramped, smelly sort of way. It was tiny, tight. No room. Miserable really, but we were accustomed to it. Comfort was never considered. The aircraft was astoundingly manuverable with a rate of roll that would bounce your head off of the canopy. No after burner. We experienced constant mechanical failures of one kind or another. Those darn CSD's. We had so many emergencies that they became commonplace. I rather enjoyed them, something different. Fire however was another matter. I never caught fire. I had friends who did. I never punched out, but I had lots of buddies who did. I never blew a tire either. I did from time to time have to take out a grease pencil and make a mark on the windscreen to use as a gunsight. I flew that aircraft in lousy weather NORDO and with spun gyros. I spun inside a thunderstorm once. Ice. Partial panel and training saved me. I trapped on SATS strips. I salvoed Zuni rockets and dropped FAE, the only weapon that I actually heard go off while in the cockpit. I was a FAC. Most of us were. What fun.
The Skyhawk was uncontrollable on a slick windswept runway. We'd land in a crosswind on a rain soaked runway, about lose it and pour the coal to it, rotate, take off and come back around. On our next landing we'd trap, which meant we'd drop the hook and take the gear, a wire stretched across the runway. If you did it at an Air Force base you'd catch a load of crap. They had fancy airplanes with anti-skid breaks and drag chutes. We just had little A-4's made simply for killing communists and not built for show.
Flying these little jets was not exactly a joy, but it was out of this world exciting. The danger made it even sweeter. However I must admit that from time to time I'd get so scared that my knees would shake. I couldn't stop them. Even if I reached down and grabbed them, they'd continue to go. It only happened a few times, but when it did I wondered why I couldn't stop them from shaking, even if I told myself to calm down. I wasn't all that scared, just concerned that I might be killed. I was never frightened when coming aboard the boat. Just busy.
You never, ever let your voice sound anything but supper cool. A slight Southern drawl, learned from Chuck Yeager, which all fighter pilots adopted, was our vernacular. Our montra was Better dead that look bad.
Could our kids today do what we did during the VN War? Sure, they are proving it today in the Mid-East. Another war that we are about to lose. Again we are about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Would I do it all over again? Absolutely. I'd just like to win the next time around.
*NOVA*
Member
Dad got his wings somewhere in the mid 1950's.
His book is full of stories, even though he is no literary giant - in fact, I think your style of narrative is just as good if not better!
To make this hunting related - he tells one story where he and his wingman saw two Viet Cong hiding behind a tree on a hill. Dad dropped all his bombs and emptied his machine gun trying to take them out, but every time they just hunkered down behind that tree - no matter what direction the attack came from they were on the other side.
Afterwards my dad and his wingman lowered the flaps and did a slow fly by at tree top level and gave their brave enemy a salute to show their respect.
It proves that the prey can survive the hunt if they have the right survival skills and a desire to live, along with a little luck.
His book is full of stories, even though he is no literary giant - in fact, I think your style of narrative is just as good if not better!
To make this hunting related - he tells one story where he and his wingman saw two Viet Cong hiding behind a tree on a hill. Dad dropped all his bombs and emptied his machine gun trying to take them out, but every time they just hunkered down behind that tree - no matter what direction the attack came from they were on the other side.
Afterwards my dad and his wingman lowered the flaps and did a slow fly by at tree top level and gave their brave enemy a salute to show their respect.
It proves that the prey can survive the hunt if they have the right survival skills and a desire to live, along with a little luck.
Owen Sparks
member
- Joined
- May 27, 2007
- Messages
- 4,523
6.5 Swedish Mauser.
If you're not going to hunt, you'd be much better off with a .223 Rem in a good scoped, bolt-action rifle. Winchester mod 70, Savage, Tikka, Ruger, Weatherby are all pretty good.
The newer Brownings are very nice range queens, though triggers aren't quite as nice as the Savage Accu-Trigger.
Don't beat yourself up with a heavy hunting caliber that heats barrels heat quickly and accuracy suffers if shot more often than one per minute. A .223 Rem is inexpensive to shoot, doesn't heat barrels much, and is extremely accurate. I have a wood-stocked Tikka 595 that's pure joy to shoot.
The newer Brownings are very nice range queens, though triggers aren't quite as nice as the Savage Accu-Trigger.
Don't beat yourself up with a heavy hunting caliber that heats barrels heat quickly and accuracy suffers if shot more often than one per minute. A .223 Rem is inexpensive to shoot, doesn't heat barrels much, and is extremely accurate. I have a wood-stocked Tikka 595 that's pure joy to shoot.
Those little 6.5 Swedes are some of my favorite rifles and a great bullet. Long and skinny. Just wonderful killing bullet. Also the rifles are well made. Very light recoil and great energy retention.
depending on what kind of money you have would be a big decision point for me... Ammo is getting expensive and will most likely only get more so. For hunting I sight in my rifle periodically to make sure it's still holding zero and other than that I don't shoot it much except for when it's going to put food in my freezer, so the cost of a bullet compared to 50-60 lbs of meat is not a big factor.
However, when I take my rifle to the range, it's nothing to go through 40-60 rounds if I'm having fun. "cheap" bullets for my 30-06 are about a dollar each, so that's at least 40 bucks in shells plus gas and range fees... can easily turn into a hundred dollar day if you stay a while and really burn up some ammo.
The point I'm getting to (about time huh?) is if you're going to enjoy shooting at a range alot, and you don't have alot of disposable income, then get something that's affordable to shoot and capable of taking down a deer if need be. That's why I like mausers, I've got an old 8mm mauser, and you can still get big cans of surplus ammo very cheap for them, as well as some high dollar hunting ammo.... They're very tough and a time proven rifle...
Now if you do have some money aside and cost isn't as much of a factor, then all my advice is garbage
If that's the case, get what you like and shoot to your heart's content. Lighter recoil makes a BIG difference after 20 rounds or so!
However, when I take my rifle to the range, it's nothing to go through 40-60 rounds if I'm having fun. "cheap" bullets for my 30-06 are about a dollar each, so that's at least 40 bucks in shells plus gas and range fees... can easily turn into a hundred dollar day if you stay a while and really burn up some ammo.
The point I'm getting to (about time huh?) is if you're going to enjoy shooting at a range alot, and you don't have alot of disposable income, then get something that's affordable to shoot and capable of taking down a deer if need be. That's why I like mausers, I've got an old 8mm mauser, and you can still get big cans of surplus ammo very cheap for them, as well as some high dollar hunting ammo.... They're very tough and a time proven rifle...
Now if you do have some money aside and cost isn't as much of a factor, then all my advice is garbage
If that's the case, get what you like and shoot to your heart's content. Lighter recoil makes a BIG difference after 20 rounds or so!
CGRifleman
Member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2010
- Messages
- 221
Seeing as my only confirmed kill after three years in Alaska was a muskrat, I don't consider myself a hunter either. I have a Remington 700 XCRII in 7mm Rem Mag that I bought with the intention of moose hunting, but never got the chance to use it. Makes no difference to me... I love the rifle, and I hope someday to return to Alaska and put it to proper use.
2ndtimer
Member
I just got back from my first deer hunt in Montana, and wow! You aren't kidding. I saw more bucks in the first 3 hours in north central Montana than I have ever seen in my home state of Washington. Of course, hunting on private posted land vs. public land makes a huge difference, but there is certainly no comparison. I agree with the posters touting the .223 Remington for the hunting rifle for the non-hunter. Cheap to shoot, not as noisy, no recoil to speak of, yet very lethal for varmints and coyotes. Some states (like Montana) even allow them for deer, although they seem a little light for me if the deer are the larger variety. If I was a non-hunter, I would try to find one of those limited run Ruger Hawkeye Safari models in .223. Looks just like their "big gun" .375 Ruger with the express iron sights, barrel sling swivel and wood stock. Pricey, but I sure would like to have one.
bushmaster1313
Member
From the O.P.:
I got this 1958/59 .270 FWT. I will shoot it with reduced recoil loads.
I know the full size would be better as a range rifle but the wood on this rifle called out to me.
I got this 1958/59 .270 FWT. I will shoot it with reduced recoil loads.
I know the full size would be better as a range rifle but the wood on this rifle called out to me.
BrocLuno
Member
Not much hunting now, but more range time. Will be shooting some John C Garand matches this spring. Maybe some service rifle later. Enjoy tinkering on old military rifles some. Like tinkering on ones that have been bubba'd before me more. A well done conversion from military to hunting/plinking is a always fun
BCRider
Member
For me the big fun with rifles at the range is having a variety of action types. So I've got a variety of levers, bolts, pumps and some single shots both break action and some .22 pivoting "falling" block styles.
The need to actually work something on the gun to achieve my next shot is where much of the fun is for me. Of course I like it that much better if I'm having a "good markmanship day" at the same time....
As far as the guns themselves go I'm more than happy to do most of my plinking with some .22 rifles. I've got a Henry lever, an old Remington 12 pump, a Remington and Stevens single shot "boy's" rifles and a Cooey bolt action. A couple have scopes and the rest are basic iron sights awaiting time to convert them to target peep rear sights. For the bigger stuff I really like my Marlin 336 in .30-30 which I reload for. And I've got a TC Encore with the short barrel chambered in .500S&W when I find my shoulder needs some "chiropractic work"... Recently I've added a Mosin Nagant rifle for a taste of what it was like on the Eastern Front. The availability of fairly cheap ammo makes this one a keeper for now.
The need to actually work something on the gun to achieve my next shot is where much of the fun is for me. Of course I like it that much better if I'm having a "good markmanship day" at the same time....
As far as the guns themselves go I'm more than happy to do most of my plinking with some .22 rifles. I've got a Henry lever, an old Remington 12 pump, a Remington and Stevens single shot "boy's" rifles and a Cooey bolt action. A couple have scopes and the rest are basic iron sights awaiting time to convert them to target peep rear sights. For the bigger stuff I really like my Marlin 336 in .30-30 which I reload for. And I've got a TC Encore with the short barrel chambered in .500S&W when I find my shoulder needs some "chiropractic work"...
Recently I've added a Mosin Nagant rifle for a taste of what it was like on the Eastern Front. The availability of fairly cheap ammo makes this one a keeper for now.
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bushmaster1313
Member
Just looked up the Tikka Battue.
That is one sexy looking rifle and it looks very well made
The rear sight looks a bit unusual
That is one sexy looking rifle and it looks very well made
The rear sight looks a bit unusual
76shuvlinoff
Member
I don't hunt but have been hung up on levers for as long as I can remember.
Marlin 39A
Marlin 1894c in .357
Ted Williams 30-30
There's a Marlin model 60 in there with the levers too.
I have pistols and shotguns for SD- HD but someday when I have too much money I want either an 18-20" .223/5.56 or something in 308 just to have one that will reach out there and touch something.
Marlin 39A
Marlin 1894c in .357
Ted Williams 30-30
There's a Marlin model 60 in there with the levers too.
I have pistols and shotguns for SD- HD but someday when I have too much money I want either an 18-20" .223/5.56 or something in 308 just to have one that will reach out there and touch something.
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