General Purpose rifle

[Willie Sutton]

"What I'm envisioning is a good solid hunting rifle that is also capable of being a decent combat rifle"


You describe a Scout Rifle.

Note that I mean a REAL Scout Rifle, not one with feature after feature after feature added untuil it becomes "Not a scout rifle but something marketed as a scout rifle by Ruger, etc".


The Ruger "Scout Rifle" isn't a scout by any stretch of the imagination.

A Savage is closer to the rifle envisioned by those of us who developed the concept.

A Steyr is pretty darned perfect... albeit... *sigh* "not aesthetically pleasing". As a tool it is superb.

Now, my choice:

A Remington Model 7 in .308 is pretty close to ideal. Add a good ghost ring rear sight and a front sight using a band-type front sight mount from NECG. Add optics of your choice, toss in a third sling swivel forward of the magazine floorplate (use Pachmeyer flush mounted ones for a Ching Sling, and you're darned close to perfection. The fastest to shoot and precise enough for your described use will be a classic scout rifle scope. If you are willing to give up a fraction of a second of speed in order to have more magnification, feel free to mount a good quality variable. 2-7x is about right. You will also lose speed in keeping the magazine topped up with a normally mounted scope. Those are tradeoffs you need to decide upon yourself.



Willie

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[Kachok]

If I could have just one rifle it would be a slender/light bolt action chambered in a mild 6.5 or 7mm. That would handle any game in North America with the right bullet, shoot flat enough for open country use, and recoil light enough for all day varmint shooting. I have long been a fan of the 6.5x55 and more recently the 7mm-08, but I think the perfect cartridge for this would be the 6.5 Creedmore, it has every advantage of the 260 and 6.5x55 all rolled into one. Unless you were hunting dangerous game inside bow range you could not ask for anything more.

 

[RainDodger]

I just bought what I'd view as nearly perfect for your use... and it surprised me until I took it to the range. .30-'06 Tikka T3. Simple, effective, highly accurate, no frills, clean looking, tough. Priced realistically.

What more could you ask?

 

[readyeddy]

A good general purpose hunting rifle should have no trouble being used for combat. It should fire a powerful cartridge, light enough to carry all day, the scope should be rugged and have a low range that will allow fast and close shots (1-4x, 2-7x), and it should be a repeater.

In addition to bolt guns, take a look at the semi-auto Benelli R1. It's as light as a bolt gun.

 

[d2wing]

Hold the phone, you want a bolt action combat rifle. We think WW 2 answered that question. Combat is not like hunting or target shooting. But you can dream whatever you want. What you really want is an AR-10 type rifle. No bolt action or cartridge less than a .308 is going to do everything you want. But again dream your dream. To me an M-14 fits the bill better than anything but for combat I would trade 600 yard range for firepower and go AR-15 which I also have with a 1-4 scope. It is really hard to do it all. Which is why I have 4 GP rifles.

 

[buzz meeks]

C-Grunt-

I have little to add but am watching this thread with interest. I'm consolidating my rifles and am seeking the same grail you're after.

I've owned a Ruger GSR before and bought it to replace a Marlin 336 and a Winchester 70 in 30-06. In the end, it was a nice rifle but failed on several counts for me:

It's not handy. Short? Yes. But neither handy nor light. A Winchester 94 or Marlin 336 remains my reference point for handy.

Mine was not truly CRF. Not in the way Herr Mauser intended. Nor did it feed with the silky smoothness of a well-worn Winchester 70.

The Winchester 70 in 30-06 is close to ideal but is overlong, overweight, and needs smithing to achieve perfection. My Marlin is darned near perfect except for the round (30-30) it fires. Like I said, the quest for my grail continues.

 

[bpl]

buzz meeks,

I think your grail may be a short action Kimber. I have one in .257 Roberts and its definitely light and handy, controlled round feed and feeding is smooth as butter. I think it compares favorably with the Winchester 94 and Marlin 336 in handiness and I have both those rifles in my safe as well.

 

[buzz meeks]

bpl-

I don't want to hijack C-Grunt's thread too badly but I have looked at the Kimbers before. Not a fan of blind magazines and Kimber's 84s have had their QC issues. Otherwise, you're right, they are a great choice and I haven't ruled them out at all. Thanks!

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Browning makes a magazine fed 308 lever action. They have a hog hunter version with an 18" barrel in a take down model. I really liked it when I handled it. Can also mount a scout scope. I wouldn't trade in what I have but if I were looking, it would be on the short list.

 

[back40]

c-grunt, i'm on the same path as you and just ordered the m70 extreme weather in .308. same line of thinking, a good general purpose bolt gun in a very versatile caliber.

i was leaning .30-06 for classic appeal, but already load for .308 and have some ammo put away. the -06 was around during the shortage, but in very limited loadings and quantities. my thinking is that i can load for .308 and buy enough bulk and milsurp to keep on hand that a shortage won't affect me.

i'm struggling with glass too. i'm almost sold on the zeiss conquest hd5 2-10x42. i like the low end and 10x is more than enough to get out to the limits of effective range with .308. now to decide on rings/bases and the plex or z600 reticle.

i have a 1-4x on my ruger GSR (which will likely go up for sale next week), and hunted with it last year. for the m70, i think i'll go with higher mag, just to have. a 2-7, or 3-9 would work just fine also.

 

[Andrew Leigh]

Given that the OP was mentioning the larger animals and the longer distance.

How about this;



CZ550 30-06 in FS with Classic Mannlichter lines. Shorter barrel, as sexy as hell, accurate out of the box. Great cartridge for the larger antelope and falling plates out to 600yds. And awesome eye candy.

Would recommend at least a 9X magnification if you want to reach to 500yds though.

Slightly longer and heavier than Cooper's Scout definition, but ever so slightly.

 

[C-grunt]

I had totally forgot about CZ and I LOVE the look of Manlicher stocks.

 

[shadow9]

^ On the CZ's - I got a 550 recently, and the latest ('13) models are NOT 7.2 lbs - I have the handgrip with the extra "horn" and "curve" to it, and the palm-swell on the right hand side..and rest assured it's as heavy as a Marlin 336 with old-1.5-5x scope on see-through steel mounts - which comes in around 8lbs according to the scale (held both and stood on the scale - both added 8lbs to my weight).

Also, my old Ruger No 1A in 6.5 was 7.1 lbs, and the new CZ is definitely heavier.

(Same stock as the one in this post)

http://www.armslist.com/posts/12989...vania-rifles-for-sale--cz-550-fs-9-3x62-rifle

 

[buzz meeks]

I've had two CZ550s. One was the Lux in 9.3x62, the other, a full-stock version as pictured above in 6.5x55. It was darned close to ideal and I kick myself weekly for parting with it.

Double check me on this, but I believe the CZs in .308 are still based on the long action and so you might lose some of the short action attributes - mainly compactness and lighter weight.

 

[fragout]

Now that's a nice lookin rifle Andrew.

 

[mr.trooper]

I would go for 270 winchester.

It is stupid common, but it doesnt share cartridges with any military or "scary type" rifles, so there are not the same kind of rushes on it that you see with 308 and 30-06. It is well insulated durring times of ammo panic buys, and was one of the few cartridges that weathered out the ammo crysis.

 

[shadow9]

Buzz- Yes, CZ 550 actions are ALL long action. Part of why the short action calibers are detatch-mag fed I assume.

 

[Kachok]

I've had two CZ550s. One was the Lux in 9.3x62, the other, a full-stock version as pictured above in 6.5x55. It was darned close to ideal and I kick myself weekly for parting with it.

Double check me on this, but I believe the CZs in .308 are still based on the long action and so you might lose some of the short action attributes - mainly compactness and lighter weight.

Of all the rifles I own and have owned there is only one I won't put a price tag on, that is my 6.5x55, I would be kicking myself for the rest of my life if I ever parted with it.

 

[goon]

Man, that CZ 550 is a sweet looking rifle!

For the life of me I can't figure out why CZ won't try getting in on the scout rifle craze. They're one of a few making old Mauser style actions and the guns I've owned of theirs were very high quality. The only thing I don't like about the 550 FS is that they're so pretty I'd feel guilty about hunting with it. They also make a synthetic stocked version with more "American" lines, but they're more expensive and don't look nearly as cool.

As much as I've got a thing for AR's these days, I do need a hunting rifle. Haven't had a proper one in years. And the '06 is a great round. And CZ's are great rifles.

 

[sirgilligan]

I have an idea, go out this weekend and see which cartridge you can find at least 200 rounds of ammo in the weight/type you want. Buy the ammo and then go get the rifle.

I have the .30-06. If I had an AR-10 or SCAR 17 or such, then I might lean towards a .308, but since I don't, I didn't.

 

[hatt]

A Winchester 94 or Marlin 336 remains my reference point for handy.
My Marlin is darned near perfect except for the round (30-30) it fires. Like I said, the quest for my grail continues.

What's really wrong with the .30-30? It's a 250 yard round easy. Just how much shooting are you doing past 200 yards. I wouldn't discount a platform you love because the round isn't suited to stuff you rarely if ever will do. If you're hunting big game at long range that calls for a hunting rifle IMO. A general purpose purpose rifle is just that. Does a lot of things well.

 

[ECVMatt]

I have never understood why CZ does not come out with a true short action. I am kind of a rifle nut and that immediately takes it off the table for me. Maybe at the next shot show....