Practical, affordable, 'do-it-all' rifles

[savage sam]

I've been thinking, reading about and shooting rifles lately and have come to the conclusion that my personal rifle battery, as I build it up (I'm 24 and in college), needs to be "efficient". Affordable for me, yet reliable and simple. I think an AR-15 or AK47 is a neat choice for a fun gun with a 'social' type utility, though well outside my gun budget. But I don't think it's difficult by any stretch in the USA to be well-armed on a tight budget. Currently the rifles that I own 'on paper' are:

1943 Russian M91/30. Original bayonet, sling, and cleaning kit. The rifle, 1000 rounds of Albanian surplus FMJ and 2 WWII ammo pouches for $175 OTD.

1955 Winchester 70 in .243 with a Flaig Ace barrel and Weaver steel-tube V7. I just need to pick up a bunch of $15/a box Core-Lokts, and with my Lee Loader and the components I have on hand, I am good out to 350+ yards.

The rifles I have in my dad's name:

'95 10/22 with close to 15,000 rounds through it and still going strong. Had a few different scopes on it over the years (Lyman all-American, steel tube Weaver, an old Leupold M8 4x that had gone purple from exposure to sunlight when I found it on eBay for $125. The Ruger feeds very well with Winchester, Eley, and Federal ammunition. I generally avoid Remington .22LR ammo as in my rifle it has occasional feeding problems. Several misfires as well.

Remington 722 .300 Sav steel tube Weaver V9
Savage 99E .300 Sav Weaver K4
then I have an old NEF Pardner 12 gauge. $110 OTD. Do anything I need a shotgun to do.

Now obviously I need a defensive handgun. And a semiauto military type rifle would be nice. I've pseudo-picked out a Springfield XD9 and an SKS for those roles. But I think I've got most of it covered. Even in this era of space-age materials and uber-ballistic technology, there's still something very strong to be said for a good solid American rifle, made out of wood and steel, accurate, powerful and strong. Timeless rifles like the M1 Garand. Simple rifles like Springfield, Remington, Winchester, Weatherby, and Savage bolt-action rifles. marlin and Winchester lever actions. Rifles like that remind me of what I believe riflery is about.

I dunno, what do you guys think?

 

[C-grunt]

I agree 100 percent. I bet that Winnie M70 with good ammunition will easily walk out well past 350 yards.

 

[WVMountainBoy]

I agree. I actually like bolt, slide, and lever guns more than semi-autos. A good old 30.06 boltgun, 30.06 pump, or 30/30 lever is quite effective at social work in the right hands not to mention putting dinner on the table. As for the handgun I think you'll like the XD9, I like my XD's very well.

I've been known to step outside to investigate bumps in the night with my savage 7mm Mag in hand.

 

[Dookie]

Good list.
I personally really like the AR platform for a do it all. You can use it for plinking 22lr and replace the upper with multiple short magnum calibers, great for plinking, personal defense, and hunting small to large game. The AR10 you can use for the 308 size all you want. Great reliability, relatively cheap to build for accuracy and comfort, compact and light. Plus you can hang whatever gadget you want off the front of it.

I believe the person not the firearm is what makes a rifleman. No matter what the rifle is made of, no matter how many rounds and how fast it can fire, the person pulling the trigger is what riflery is about. You think Jim Browning would not have used a M4 if he had the chance? He would have wet himself at the awesomeness of it.

 

[savage sam]

Yeah the Stoner platform really is one of the most ergonomic and modular platforms available out there. I'd honestly love to have the chance to get one someday. I'd probably assemble my own, so I could pick out the internals and everything without forking out for a real Colt or LMT.

 

[Murphys Law]

Your Dad's old rifles will do everything today as well as they did in their prime as long as you can find ammo for the 300 Savage. You can always take up reloading if it becomes an issue for you. A lot of older rifles are being kept alive by handloading. I would think about upgrading the optics though. I just upgraded an old (mid 1950's) .270 by taking off the Lyman fixed 6x scope and replacing it with a gloss finished 3x9 Bushnell Elite 3200.

 

[Barker45]

Every American man needs a Marlin 336 in 30-30, a Remington 870 12ga, a Marlin 22lr, and a bolt action 30.06 or .308. I'd later add a quality AR and AK just becaue I'm a free man!

 

[Dookie]

Every American man needs a Marlin 336 in 30-30, a Remington 870 12ga, a Marlin 22lr, and a bolt action 30.06 or .308. I'd later add a quality AR and AK just becaue I'm a free man!

I will use an AR in 6.5 instead of a lever any day, Mossberg 835 over the Remington (it's what I have, and unlike all of my friends 870's actually ejects the shells ) , my Ruger 77 will NEVER be replaced by a Marlin, that is insulting I prefer the 300WM over either the 308 and -06, I can load down, but can you load UP?

Ain't having choices grand?

 

[Ignition Override]

A Russian SKS, or for less cash, a Norinco or (longer) Yugo.
For those who must one day face the threats of floating "insurgent fruit", even insurgent squealing feral pigs, they work well with jhp rounds.
One cheap recoil pad really helps the short stock.

For $45, you can buy a rear peep sight from 'Tech Sights', mount on the rear of the bolt cover on an SKS (or AK clone).

 

[Snakum]

I have bolt guns, semi-autos, shotties across all sorts of calibers and brands. And I have to say, if I could only have one weapon for deer hunting in the brush and in the bean fields, and for home defense, and for target shooting/plinking ... it would most definitely be a Remington 7600 in .308. I can't see how anything else comes close as a do-it-all weapon for hunting in any conditions, self-protection, and for inexpensive plinking and practice. They are surprisingly accurate (MOA gun with good ammo), very reliable, light and easy to shoulder, and the .308 is a perfect one-stop-shopping caliber.

If you had a synthetic stocked 7600 in .308 with a Nikon or Bushnell 2-7x scope you would be set. For anything. You know the old saying ... "Beware the man with only one rifle" and all that.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Good turnbolt in 7mm-08 or .260 rem - do it all! One alternative - a little more expensive and heavy - a semi-auto in 7mm-08 or .260 rem.

 

[Ford]

A Do it all rifle. Im not sure there is such a thing but here is my take.
For me Do it all would mean I could take game with it and also use it for self defense.
The largest game I take in my neck of the woods is a white tail. Smallest game would be squirrel and rabbit.
I would go with a AR. The .223 can take a deer. I have seen it done. I have never used one for deer. If you a careful you can still have enough left of a squirrel or rabbit to eat.
I dont think I need to go into the AR for self defense.
Basically a Do it all rife for me would be one that has a large enough caliber to take medium sized game but small enough as to leave some meat on small game. (If you need to eat, there is a lot more small game around than medium and large) Also it would need to be something that had a decent magazine capacity and was able to be fired fast and accurate.
About the least expensive .223 I can think of is one of the Kel-Tec's. You can pick one up for $450 - $500 new. I have never even handled one of these rifles though so i dont know anymore about them than you. For another $100 or so I always just grab another AR. Someday if I see one I will prob buy one though. lol

 

[JeffsJeep04]

I think you are more then set with rifles. A good pistol is always nice to have. I spent $440 on an RIA 1911 tactical and that thing is a BLAST. If I ever need it, I know I can count on it too. The GI models are a little cheaper, but for the extra $40 for the tactical you get a lot of nice extras...like usable sights!

I had a winchester 94 that I traded for a guitar a while back. I kinda wish I had the gun, but honestly, I did better on the trade so I'm not too bent out of shape over it. If I had to have a home defense rifle though, I'd go grab one of those in a heartbeat. They are so quick and sweet handling and they can put out plenty of fire if need be. I live out in the country, so a rifle like that could be very usable in certain situations.

If I could get down to a very basic set of guns it would be this: A good bolt gun in 30-06 for hunting, a utility grade lever gun in 30-30 for outside the house bumps in the night, and a 1911 for close range bumps in the night.

edit: cripes! I almost forgot my original gun addiction! Gotta have my 10/22 for putting squirrels and wabbits on the table!

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

You know, to elaborate a bit on the above, if you got a Stevens 200 in 7mm-08, put a better stock on it, and slap a Nikon Omega 3-9x40 in high quality mounts & rings (Leupold, etc.), you are in business for just about any hunting or self-defense situation on earth you'd ever encounter, for less than $750 out of pocket!!

Another *really* cheap and good way to get into a cover-all-hunting-bases (but not self-defense) setup, is the Rossi Triple play, a reciever and 3 barrels - pick any three of these (depending on what's available and what suits your fancy):

-12 ga or 20 ga
-.270, .30-06, .25-06, or .243
-.50 Cal muzzleloader
-.22lr or .17 HMR

THIS:

if I could only have one weapon for deer hunting in the brush and in the bean fields, and for home defense, and for target shooting/plinking ... it would most definitely be a Remington 7600 in .308. I can't see how anything else comes close as a do-it-all weapon for hunting in any conditions, self-protection, and for inexpensive plinking and practice. They are surprisingly accurate (MOA gun with good ammo), very reliable, light and easy to shoulder, and the .308 is a perfect one-stop-shopping caliber.

Ain't a half bad l'il plan either. Only drawback I could see is lack of super-positive extraction, if hunting in high heat with hot loads, and/or in with dirt/mud in the action, etc. But a pump like that is very fast and you can keep your sights mostly on target while cycling.