Do you ever retire a hunting rifle?

i am 22 and this is common.

It is quite common Jim. Where do you think all the good guns go? We keep them!

I had a "go-to" rifle I used for years. Never let me down. It was the perfect weapon, for me anyway.
Then I had an opportunity to get a Savage 99. I`ve wanted one of those babies for years! That was about 15 years ago and to this day my old "go-to"
rifle sits in it`s case. Only coming out for a good cleaning, then back it goes. Hate to say it but it`s retired or put another way, it`s on in-active duty.

I have an original Winchester Model 63 that I retired and bought a Japanese Winchester 63 to replace it with.

I have an early Winchester Model 70 in .243 that I am going to retire and replace with a Remington SPS 700 in same caliber.

I guess I have too many hunting rifles. Because I can only hunt with one at a time, the rest are "retired" until their "turn" comes. Think golf clubs-each one of many has a particular forte for a particular assignment.

Many times it is not a conscious decision to "retire" a rifle, but when you get the itch to get something new, the old one often sits unshot. Sometimes the owner may not feel it is as safe as it should be or has trouble buying ammunition for it. So the rifle sits unused until one day you get a new itch. That's why I don't sell them.

I have another name for 'retired' firearms.
Safequeen.

I dont think I could bear NOT to hunt with my favorite deer rifle.
(Rem 700 in 7mm Mauser topped with a Luey 4X M8)

And every year it gets a little more banged up.

I've retired a few, primarily for the reason someone else mentioned: I might have too many deer rifles.

Retired a 1920s vintage M94SRC some years ago, which was my first deer rifle and purchased used back in 1964, for $40. Replaced it with a M336SC in 35 Rem, that dates from 1951 and a much older M92 Winchester in 38WCF.

Also put up a very minty US Rem 1903 that had been a farmer uncle's deer rifle for over 45 years. I killed a deer with it, once it finally became mine and now it's retired to a place of honor. Right there with the M94 and my dad's VZ 24 that he sent home from the war, that I took one doe with, after his passing.

All that sentiment might go by the wayside, if I ever get the urge to dig one, or all three out and take them along to camp? They might've been retired, but so far, I ain't.

I retired a 1920's vintage Drilling in 16 ga. over 9.3x72R a few years ago. This was handed down to me by my dad and the action is finally shot loose. It has a reserved spot in my gun cabinet even though it will never get shot again.

Jim in Anchorage,

To put aside an old trusted rifle is common. Perhaps my first 99F in .358 has reached that status.

I would not use a Rem. 700 however as I don't favor the design for many reasons and the differences between your M70 and the 700 are why.

Here is a nice Mauser sporter that I picked up this spring. Its potential safe queen material of course but I have to try it in good weather.



Alaska is a fabulous place. Our trip there was so good.

I don't know Jim... the old rifles we have hunted with over the years tend to become as dear to us as old friends.

More than once have I slipped the safety off the 'new' rifle and for a split second felt a bit of quilt because my beloved, dear old friend was tucked away in the safe.

I think it is normal as I have heard this from more than a few other hunters/shooters. " I feel bad I didn't shoot this deer with ol' Bertha" echoes the remark of a close hunting buddy as we muse over the days hunt.

My brother is a 1 gun type guy, as I have been in the firearms business for years, he has had every opportunity to acquire many firearms at the right price, to say, but is loyal to his circa 1971 BDL 7mm Mag.

The blue is worn off the bolt knob, the stock has battle scares all over it and the old girl is starting to show her age as far as accuracy goes. But, he won't put her away.

Me on the other hand, I seem to hunt with a different rifle every two or three years... but I do have one I hold dear to my heart, good ol' Alice, together we have pulled off some pretty miracles shots over the years... and missed some pretty close and easy shoots also... but that wasn't Alice's fault!

I suppose I have a few to choose from. I dont call them retired, I dont ever shoot some anymore. Not really a collector but I have a few that have never been fired, just havent gotten around to em yet. I can tell the mrs that I am buying investments for the future that way

I haven't retired any of mine yet, but i might get there one day. Just not any time soon.

I am to young to have retired a firearm but old ones have made way for new ones. I sold my Rossi single shot 12 GA to buy a an 870 and so on. Certain guns I will "retire" because there is always something better out there and I love to collect them. A retired gun is never truly retired unless it is destroyed. When I replace my Tikka T3 with something cooler, I will retire my Tikka to the back of the safe but I won't get rid of it. I never get enough money when I sell them and I always regret it later. Besides, it can't hurt to have a back up!

I have a couple of guns I got from my grandfathers when they passed away (Remington 742 in .30-06 and a Browning Sweet Sixteen) that have become "safe queens" - may shoot them one day - but would rather see them preserved...

Hmmm - now that I read what I just typed, wonder if granddaddy would have liked his favorite deer rifle (742) staying in the safe... ???

I have several but two more so than others. First is a Model 1897 Winchester. Second is a Winchester Model 1912. Both are completely functional solid hunting guns. They belonged to long deceased uncles from the 1920s-1930s era of hunt for food or catch catfish otherwise there would be no meat. I wouldn't say they are retired as much as delegated to a backup role. Third is a Belgian 1900ish double barrel. I'll still use it to wack a squirrel or unfriendly skunk or such but it also is delegated to a backup role.

I still break out Grandpa's old 722 Remington now and then even though I love that little Stainless/polymer Remington M7 .308 as a tool. The old 722 will shoot with anything, but I don't have the rough conditions to hunt in down here that I would in Alaska. Guys down here drive to a spot, park, walk to an elevated blind (box stand), and even have heaters to stay warm and their coffee thermos. ROFL. It ain't like being out on the tundra in the snow. A pretty wood stock can go many years without a scratch if the owner isn't clumsy with it.

That stainless/polymer M7 is one tough little rifle, though. I've taken it along on water born adventures across bays in boats hunting in salt environments where I wouldn't wanna take an heirloom like the old 722 even though the M7 is probably a more expensive gun on the used market.

I mean, it's not so much that I NEED, but one rifle, but some rifles deserve a little more reverence in my collection. They're all tools, but I only inherited one from my grandpa. I also killed my first deer with it at age 11. I have emotion tied up in that thing.

I have this Savage in 7 mag, blue with a polymer stock that's semi retired only because it's a little more rifle than I need for what I'm doing now. Great rifle for shooting across canyons at big mulies, though. Not a lot of canyons and mulies on the Texas coast, so it's sort of like my driver when I'm putting on the green. It just hardly ever comes out of the bag.

I have never had a rifle that ment so much to me that I couldn't retire it or sell it....I have had some wonderful rifles, some pretty rifles, some accurate rifles and some junk rifles, they are mostly tools that sometimes need to be replaced or put away.

Yes, I like some particular rifles and even have one that I have had rechambered twice but I don't sleep with it and I don't owe it anything.

Sported a 1936 vintage M70 06 at a gun show. Receiver a little rough finish wise,but not to bad. Some idiot had sanded all the checkering off. The price was right[$400] so I bought it. Only when I got it home did I discover the barrel was a replacement from a 1960 unit. Perfect! No collectors value-I can drag it though the devils club all day without guilt.

Click to expand...

The bolt may be a replacement, too. Many pre-War Model '70s had their bolts replaced because of the old "dolls head" safety.

I semi retired two. A Savage 99 .250 that has been in my family since the late '20s, and my first deer rifle, a 336 .35 Rem. Semi-retired means I get them out maybe once every 5 or 6 years and deer hunt with them.