A cartridge/rifle combo that really surprised / impressed you.

[Float Pilot]

Over the last half century of shooting, I have owned or shot all sorts of cartridges and rifles. Most were so-so... Some like my custom 7x57mm Target Rifle were tack drivers.

For some reason I used to not like the looks of the Swede Mausers so until about ten years ago I never shot or owned one. (I have no idea why... some sort of mental problem I guess)

Then I bought a very nice Oberndorf Made m/96 made in 1900, but with a fairly new barrel.
Suddenly I was shooting sub MOA groups with an old mil-surp rifle. Then I bought more Swedes and the same thing kept happening (except for the carbines which will do a 2 inch group at 100)

Then I bought my first CG-63 target rifle and WHAMMY....... The 6.5x55mm really shines in that rifle....

Now I have all sorts of 6.5x55 Rifles, most of which are Swedes and I wonder what the heck was my problem for the 40 years before I saw the light.

And the 6.5x55mm turned out to be a neat hunting round as well.

Anyway, that is the cartridge that surprised me... which is yours?????

 

[goon]

This is going to sound so obvious, but the lowly .22LR in just about anything that works.
As a kid I shot the family .22 rifles out to 150 yards or more with the stock open sights. On a calm day with no wind I could hit small rocks at that distance with the old Remington 512 or the 10/22. The .22LR can also shoot completely through the passenger compartment of a car if it makes a square hit and doesn't hit anything inside the door on the way through. It has surprising power and is not something I'd want to trifle with!
If I had to put it in a combo, I'd make it with the CZ-452. I love shooting mine at 100 yards with the issue sights. The experience with breathing, sight alignment, trigger squeeze, and trying to read the wind translates to other rifles and it's cheap to shoot and just plain fun.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

For me it was a 30-30 lever action. I bought one just to round out the collection. I think it took me about six or nine months to shoot it. I had more fun than a married man should be allowed to have without in the presence of his wife.

 

[caribou]

in 1987 I shot a friends "Russian rifle" , a Mosin Nagant M-91, recently imported from Finland. He paid 50$ for it and a bunch of copper washed Chinese ammo. The Musket look was cool, but I wasnt impressed untill I fired it.........I could zap cut firewood pieces at 300 yards with regualr rythem.....so I read up on Mosin( no internet, just a real library) found out about Simo Hayha and his feats in the Winter war, Olympic versions, and its astounding reliabilty, simplicity and accuracy, so I bought me an M-28/30 Finn version of the Mosin (then new imports, 85$ otd...) and put a case of Chinese through it before I showed my Biathalon coach.....who barrowed it for a couple weeks and came up with some dies, Norma brass and a load that never made me doubt a Rifle by its looks, only performance.
I did carry an M700Rem ADL in .243w for years, efficently killing every animal in the Arctic I pointed it at . 100grn corlocks did the trick out to 350 yards everytime.(we have very open country here on the ice and tundra)

I lost it in a boat flip and picked up my M-28 , as 7.62X54r was available again, but didnt want to ruin it as happens to working tools in my world, (Ok, it's sentimental) as well as I had no qualms about buying me an M-39 or two.

Today I make a liveing with my MosinNagant M-39 version and Czeck light ball, a veeeeery accurate combo. I have a spare as well.

Im still love'n them Mosin Nagants, so make mine a Mosin

 

[quietman]

My 338MX. Nice ballistics, shoots subMOA all day, and shoots a 200 gr bullet with a trajectory nearly identical to a 180 gr 30-06 out to 300 yds. All this with the recoil of a 308 Win.

This gun make everyone that shoots it bust out into a big grin. My only issue is the fact it's so addictive to shoot it's easy to burn through 2 boxes of ammo in one sitting.

 

[shiftyer1]

I'm hoping it'll be a rem 700 with a nikon scope in .308. I have set aside for myself at work.

I also really enjoy mosins but not in stock configuration. I understand they were designed with a short LOP due to heavy thick cold weather clothing. That ain't comfortable for me. I need an upgraded stock. Doing that i've shot the best ever aside from 22lr for myself.

 

[caribou]

I felt the same way about the M700ADL.243w I was useing, shiftyer1, so I cut the comband cheek pieces and shortend the stock (thick cold weather clothing )

As well, I filed off the bead on the front sight (they roll to the side at the slightest hit), squared it, then filed my rear sight straight across and put a U in it.
My eyes are keen with a slim front sight, but the Finn sights on am M-28/30 or M-39 are just a bit wider, and much to my likeing, with older eyes.

Only accurate rifles are interesting.

 

[rskent]

For me it’s the 223 in an AR15-A2. I can’t believe how well you can make one of this poodle poppers shoot.
Steve

 

[scchokedaddy]

impressed me

Hard choice, between 25 06 and 308 marlin expres.Both rounds surprised me with their drt (dead right there) ability, but the marlin has become my meat gun. Zeroed at 200 yards and tried almost that far it is simply awesome. not to put down the 25 06, as it haqs not let me down, just like the short lever.(Marlin)

 

[Brazos]

I have been impressed with my Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70. It really fills a nitch and has become my most grabbed rifle. It is extremely accurate. The 45-70 can be loaded light or as hot as you can stand it. Fitted with some AO peep sights, scout rifle mount, & Leopold Scout Scope the Marlin GG has turned out to be an impressive combo.

 

[madcratebuilder]

I'm impressed how well all 7.62 AR platforms shoot. I've shot $1000 rifles and $3500 rifles and you did not see $2500 at the target. I'm also impressed with the 6.5 Grendel round. I've always struggled reading the wind when shooting past 800yds. The G has made it easier for me.

 

[x_wrench]

for me it was the 223 cartridge. i had looked at it on ballistics tables, and shot one a couple of times at paper. i was not terribly impressed. when my uncle died about 5 years back, my aunt gave me one of his rifles. to be honest, i was just honored to have one that my uncle had owned, and if it really did not matter what it was. when i first started shooting it, i was just trying to find a load it liked. when i did, i actually started shooting things with it. i had no idea of the actual power the round had on the other end. i had always figured that what i felt on my end would be representative of what the other end would be like. in other words, the bigger the kick on my end, the harder the hit on their end. i was just plain wrong. i am not saying i would want to hunt elephant with this, but it certainly deserves a lot more credit that i gave it.

 

[Bushpilot]

It was back in about 1985 or 86, my friend and I had both recently turned 18 which made us old enough to buy long guns. We both went down to the local gunshop where we found our M96, 6.5x55 Swedish Mausers, thanks to Sen, Bob Dole, who recently had inserted an amendment in the "Trade and Tariff Act" allowing the importation of "curio and relic" firearms into the US. We each bought one for $79, which seemed pretty cheap even then (although the Norma ammo was about $19 a box). Now I had my own 12 ga and a 22 rifle since I was 13 and had shot a few handguns along with my uncles 30-30 once or twice so I was familiar with guns. But that Mauser seemed different. Despite my brief encounters with the 30-30, this M96 seemed like a true "high power" rifle. Plus it was old, made in 1907. The first time we fired that mauser, admittedly at the ground, both our jaws dropped. There was a hole in the sod big enough to drop a cantaloupe in and dirt rained down for what seemed like several seconds! We were thrilled and were soon breaking clay targets with it routinely from a rest clear out at the 200 meter backstop of the local range. That M96 still sits in my gun safe and I don't ever plan on selling it.

 

[allaroundhunter]

My first rifle. A Savage .270 WSM.

When I first got it, the recoil got to me and I couldn't keep a group better than 4" and I thought it was the gun's fault (because what teenager blames themselves for anything
)....anyways, a limbsaver and a little marksmanship training have that gun shooting .75" groups with factory loads in my hands

 

[Lloyd Smale]

id say the 264 mag. I read horror stories for years that would make a guy think that barrel life is about a 100 rounds. Truth be told its no harder on barrels then a 7mag or 300 mag. Its flat shooting and very hard hitting at long range. Its everything the 257wby is with a slightly heavier bullet. Its become my favorite long range deer gun.

 

[BADUNAME37]

My first Daizy BB Gun.

 

[whetrock]

My favorite rifle and cartridge combo would be my Marlin 336 chambered in 30-30. While this cartridge is pretty limited in terms of it's effective range out here in the terrain I hunt it's proven to be "just enough" and a very affective woods rifle in general.

 

[Robert]

Though not my rifle I was thoroughly impressed with a friend's Searcy double rifle in 470NE. The recoil was not abusive and the rifle was very accurate. And every time you pull the trigger it makes cash register sounds

 

[303tom]

Over the last half century of shooting, I have owned or shot all sorts of cartridges and rifles. Most were so-so... Some like my custom 7x57mm Target Rifle were tack drivers.

For some reason I used to not like the looks of the Swede Mausers so until about ten years ago I never shot or owned one. (I have no idea why... some sort of mental problem I guess)

Then I bought a very nice Oberndorf Made m/96 made in 1900, but with a fairly new barrel.
Suddenly I was shooting sub MOA groups with an old mil-surp rifle. Then I bought more Swedes and the same thing kept happening (except for the carbines which will do a 2 inch group at 100)

Then I bought my first CG-63 target rifle and WHAMMY....... The 6.5x55mm really shines in that rifle....

Now I have all sorts of 6.5x55 Rifles, most of which are Swedes and I wonder what the heck was my problem for the 40 years before I saw the light.

And the 6.5x55mm turned out to be a neat hunting round as well.

Anyway, that is the cartridge that surprised me... which is yours?????

Every time I shoot something different Im impressed...........No matter what it is !

 

[MCMXI]

A cartridge/rifle combo that really surprised / impressed you.

My coworker has three of the nicest rifles I've ever seen. They're all built by Biesen and the quality of the wood and metal work is nothing short of spectacular. I've shot all three including the .270 Win and .375 H&H but the .450 Dakota really surprised/impressed me. Recoil was stout to put it mildly. There's no free lunch with a 450gr bullet moving at 2,400 fps!!

 

[hang fire]

A prebubbarized Mosin Nagant carbine I picked up for 25 bucks, accuracy was good with milsurp ammo, but the muzzle blast was horrible and the recoil was very unpleasant. I tried some HC GC heavy boolits sized 0.002'” over groove diameter in it and and was amazed at the accuracy the little short barrel was capable of. It is now my dedicated truck gun.

 

[steveo452]

That would be my CZ 527 carbine in 7.63x39mm. I've had It about a year and a half. It just keeps getting better the more rds. I put down It. At first the set trigger would go out of ajustment, After 200 rds. It started to stay were I set It. Now It works great. Will shoot 1.5 moa consistently with $4.50 a box steel case ammo. Short, light, fast handling And locks up like a bank vault. Whats not to like.

 

[LoonWulf]

Im spoiled, Ive never had a gun that didnt shoot as well as ive needed it too. My most accurate is my 6x47, and it has been impressive both in terms of accuracy, and velocity for such a small case.

The only rifle i own that has surprised me is my Nagant. Its got a worn, but not trashed barrel and holds bout 1.5 with every handload ive tried, and shoots 180SSTs much better.

 

[Bobson]

My first Daizy BB Gun.

Same here, except it wasn't mine, it was a friend's.

It surprised me because I had been shooting Crosman BB/pellet guns for around a year at the time I shot the Daisy - and it would be a lie to say I was anything less than surprised at what a complete piece of garbage that Daisy "gun" was. I swear there were times we shot at birds and watched the BB soar through the air, connect with the bird, and bounce off - leaving the bird to fly away, laughing at us. In all fairness though, it didn't happen often. Most times, the Daisy couldn't launch a BB anywhere near accurately enough to hit a bird any farther than 10 yards away. And yes, it was the gun's fault.

I still frown every time I walk through a store and see Daisy BB guns for sale. Gross injustice; and a cruel parent I would have to be to buy one for my own son.

 

[Happypuppy]

The most interesting firearm that was a favorite of mine was a Remington 660 in 350 magnum. The gun had exceptional balance and the ballistics were very close to that of the 35 Whalen a very popular wildcat load at the time. Excellent for deer to Elk and everything between. Loaded with a 200 -250 grain bullet , it had a great trajectory to 250 yards. The short dog leg bolt action made for a very powerful, compact package for carry at less them 7 pounds with scope.


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