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The ideal rifle: 20-40-7

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Newtosavage

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Maybe it's my lifelong relationship with my pre-64 Winchester 30-30. Maybe it's just that I like light, handy, well balanced and quick pointing hunting rifles. Either way, I've come to the conclusion over the past 35 years that the ideal walking hunting rifle has a 20" barrel, is 40" overall length and weighs 7 lbs.

Anytime I drift away from those numbers, I seem to always eventually come back home.

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Newtosavage said:
That's pretty close to my Tikka T3 7mm-08. It's 23-42-7
Click to expand...
that's what my browning A-bolt in 7wsm is, that's a good gun for walking and shoulders nice to. i like my early german 98 sportster done in germany. there 24-43-6.5

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Those look like good numbers!

Tho not really my numbers lol.
I dont care for barrels shorter than 22", and really dislike short stocks, so most of my rifle are longer.

I grew up brush and mangrove hunting with a 700bdl in 06, then a savage 110 in 7mag. Thats probably why i like (or at least am more comfortable with) longer guns.

Ive got a couple guns with 20" tubes, and even tho they are handier, i still usually take a longer heavier gun.

I really want a 336 with a short magazine and 22" barrel....perferably in .338 marlin.
Edit: i guess those would actually be 1895s
 
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Perhaps my favorite rifle, a Remington Model 7, in 7mm08 fits those parameters.
It has a 20”bbl, is approximately 40”long, and weighs 7lbs with a Leupold VariX III 2.5-8x scope. For the lower 48, it’ll do everything.
Though it’s not a “tack driver”, it’s a very “LUCKY” rifle, accounting for far more than it’s fair share of big game.
 
Horses for Courses.

For a hunting AR, I like a 20” barrel which ends up something like 40” overall with the brake and stock extended. More than 7lbs, for sure, as I like extra barrel weight to steady my muzzle on target. I usually buy “National Match” or DCM type profiles - heavy under the handguard, but .750” gas block and muzzles, nominal, naturally.

For a deer hunting bolt gun, I generally pick something in 243win to 7-08 in a short action, or 30-06 or 7 Rem mag in a long action, as I might be shooting 50 or 500yrds... so I typically then haul out a 24” barrel. Really, the same for elk, favoring the long action, heavier hitters, naturally. Also not weighing 7lbs, usually 9lbs+ with the optic.

For colony varmints, I like a 24-26” tube, which I carry very little, and typically tops 15lbs.

For shorter range deer, I prefer a handgun, but for a rifle, I put together a 10.5” 6.8SPC SBR-15. Whole thing is about 37” long, suppressed, suppose it’s around 9lbs, but would have to weigh it to be sure.
 
GooseGestapo said:
Perhaps my favorite rifle, a Remington Model 7, in 7mm08 fits those parameters.
It has a 20”bbl, is approximately 40”long, and weighs 7lbs with a Leupold VariX III 2.5-8x scope. For the lower 48, it’ll do everything.
Though it’s not a “tack driver”, it’s a very “LUCKY” rifle, accounting for far more than it’s fair share of big game.
Click to expand...
I'll take lucky over accurate any day! Same could be said for my old Winchester - offering 1.5-2" groups at the range but it has literally hundreds of pigs and deer to it's credit in the field over the past 35 years.

I try to remember that whenever I'm setting up a hunting rifle. Who doesn't want to see tiny little groups at the range? Especially if you hand load. But for all practical purposes, once a hunting rifle is in the 1.5 MOA or better range (some would even say 2 MOA), then other features become just as important if not moreso. How quickly a hunting rifle comes to point, and how the sights/optics align at that moment, are of high value to me.

Case in point - I've never owned a more capable overall hunting rifle, or a more accurate one, than my stainless Tikka T3 7mm-08. It's capable of shooting 162-grain bullets launched at over 2650 fps. into tiny little groups as far as I can see. But it's not a rifle I would take into the brush or try to shoot from awkward positions like I would the one above, or my beloved Winchester. Given the right rest and a little bit of time though, and I'll take the Tikka. Like was said, horses for courses.
 
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That's not a bad place to be. I can be just as happy with a 22" barrel and up to 7.5 lbs if it balances right. But much lighter than 7 lbs and much shorter than 20" is too much of a good thing in my opinion. Much over 7.5 lbs and the negatives offset the positives for me.
 
It might be easier to carry, but you'll shoot a heavier rifle better. Some gun rag did a study and found shooters shot (offhand, in real life hunting situations) 35% better with a heavier rifle. I know of people who do walk miles in their hunts but still carry a heavier rifle for that reason. My perfect rifle is a Sako Finnbear '69 .30-'06 with 24" barrel, but then I don't walk much hunting.
 
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