Sold all my old guns, What "Gun Battery" to buy?

[dom1104]

Ok friends, I have recently liquidated my old guns, in order to get married, and moved to a new state to boot.


Now I am slowly building up cash again and want to plan out my "Personal Collection".

Now I kinda wanted some opinions of you experts out there, here are my requirements.

1. Going to reload.
2. Going to go to Africa for several years, about 5 years from now.
3. Live in Indiana, shotgun only deer season, also pistol caliber rifles.
4. Hunt Turkey, Deer, Coyote, Fox, and birds.

I have a .22 plinker, so thats not included in this list.

The deer hunting is hedgerows, so I stalk along a line of trees, and either get a very quick shot at a deer I scared up, or more likely it will run out into the fields on either side, for a long shot when it turns to look back.

My cousin hunts with a .357 taurus revolver, and a CVA Optima muzzleloader across the back for the long shots..

Here is what I am thinkin of.


Savage 10 ML II, smokeless powder muzzleloader for deer, hunting etc. (will this splatter the coyotes if I try to use it for them? is there some sort of download that wont totally 100% destroy the pelts?)

Revolver of some sort, for a car gun, defense gun in Africa, and hunting for the short shots here in Indiana. .44 Mag? .45 Colt... to use the same diameter bullets at the ML?

Shotgun of course for birds, turkey etc, 870 most likely.


I think.. that should cover it.

Any suggestions as far as any of this?

What is the practicality of a Dan Wesson revolver.. with a long barrel for hunting and a 2 incher for defense?


Now, to throw a HUGE nut in the butter, I will be going to South Africa for 10+ years.

They dont allow double action revolvers, pump shotguns, or semi-auto anything. Levers are OK.



So here I sit.

Confused.

Money in my pocket but no idea how to spend it wisely.

Thoughts?

 

[akodo]

the ruger blackhawk in 357 is a wonderfully sized and balanced gun. It seems that most of the 45 colt single actions that are newer are built on frames designed for the 44 magnum. Makes sense, as the 45 colt nowadays can be loaded even hotter than over-the-counter 44 mags....but back in the day it was tamer. That's why the Ruger Vanquero is bigger than the actual colt SAA, etc. The blackhawk in 357, to me it seems just like a colt SAA size wise. This makes it much handier to carry and to shoot. Of course, 357, 44, 45 colt would all be wonderful coming out of a levergun, but if you are restricted to a single action and use it as your carry gun, the 357 blackhawk is the choice, then match it with a 357 lever gun and you will have no problems

 

[TCB in TN]

I would start out with the 870 or Mossy 500 with a 28' barrel and then buy you a scoped rifled slug barrel for deer hunting. This should only run you $350 to $400.

Next I would look at any solid name brand 357 or 44 mag wheel gun, Smith, Ruger, and Tauus are great starting places. And a little later you might be inclined to add a Marlin lever rifle to match.

As for your trip to Africa, if you want to stay with the lever theme, getting a Marlin Guide gun in 45-70 or bigger would be an obvious choice, or go with a big Magnum Bolt guns (Ruger, Remmy, Tika, or any of the other solid name brands) with a good pc of glass would make sense.

 

[Lewis Wetzel]

Ok friends, I have recently liquidated my old guns, in order to get married, and moved to a new state to boot.

I'm a newcomer here and all, and I know you folks are kind of ..er....'high brow' and everything..., but I think the first line of th post deserves more than just a superficial glossing over....liquidated my guns in order to get married? Geez, fella, we need to talk.....

Or is it just me? I know this may get me banned, as folks on another board have mentioned that they were banned for essentially just raising an eyebrow to one or another moderator here, but the question still stands:

Ok friends, I have recently liquidated my old guns, in order to get married....

 

[dom1104]

Hah well I had better explain.

I needed money to afford a honeymoon for my wife, and also we moved to a new state.

There have been a few break ins on our country road, including shots taken at grain silos on her parents place! large diameter holes... shotgun slugs maybe.

She worked at a AIDS hospital for orphan children in S. Africa, and is temporarily back in the states.

She has had a lot of "run ins" with mostly large monkeys stealing food, harassing the children etc. But she has just thrown chairs at them <one of them threw it right back and hissed> and such like that.

Well I prefer a little more insurance against raging baboons than a folding chair.


I like the idea of a .357 blackhawk, I am sure it would be enough for monkeys, and .38s would be fun for ... fun.

I wonder if the .454 puma levergun has enough power to do the job of the 45/70?

in which case, maybe a matched pair of .454 lever + .45 colt pistol sounds fantastic.

I guess I will end up looking like a cowboy lol. levergun, 45, double barrel coach gun... I might as well get into CAS.

Thanks for the thoughts guys.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Gun laws in South Africa change faster than the winds these days, don't they? I would contact some gun owners there (I know you have time yet) and find out some general info. Along with the law, I'd try to find out what calibers are common. I have a friend from SA who spoke about the monkey problem (his folks have fruit trees). Believe he used .303 Brit (Enfield) and .38spl quite a bit. Hard to imagine!

 

[doc2rn]

Beat me to it but I also was thinking .303 Brit or .375 H&H

 

[Roswell 1847]

Ruger .357 with auxillary 9mm cylinder would allow use of three cartridges which shouldn't be hard to find in SA.
The .357/,38 Special cartridges are exceptionally easy to reload and cases last for many loadings.
A good lever action .357 carbine would handle a lot of threats short of Lion, and should thin out a pack of Babboons pretty effectively.
Light handloads would do for small game.

.303 British is a fine game load and good for all but the largest game and predators. Should be plenty of .303 in Africa even today.
I'd avoid the Enfields No 1 and no 4 unless you can get a number 3 bolthead for a number four. Otherwise reloading is not very productive.
My No 4 with No 3 bolthead has less than .004 headspace and I have yet to wear out a case in reloading, but looser headspace of mil spec doesn't allow more than a few reloadings if any before cracks appear.
A good sporter on the P14 action would be better.

7.62 Nato or .308 should be easy enough to find unless there are restrictions on military calibers.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Companions in .357

My first inclination is to suggest a Ruger Blackhawk Convertible (.357, .38, 9mm) and a Marlin 1894C in .357/.38 as a companion set.

I would conjecture that .38 & .357 ammo would be more readily available and at a substantially better cost than .454 & .45 Colt.

If you're looking at spending any serious amount of time at the range, ammo cost will be a factor.

I take it your plinker is not semi-auto? Is it a bolt or lever?

I don't know enough about the conditions there to advise for that context, but unless big game is the object, most defensive and varmint needs will be suited with one .357 load or another (medium game has been taken at 150 yards with a .357 revolver, and larger game inside of 100 yards) and the .38 should be cheap enough to plink.

Our long-time member, Odd Job, is currently in UK but is from SA, and knows the ropes. If this thread doesn't get his attention, send him a PM.

 

[dom1104]

Thanks I will look him up! I have a LOT to think about after listening to you guys, hmmm.

 

[paintballdude902]

1st for me i would get an 870 with both the ribbed smoothbore and the rifled barrels

2nd would be either a marlin/winchester lever action in .357 or .44

3rd 1911 in .45 acp

4th ruger bolt action in .375 h&h

 

[fireflyfather]

no pump shotguns? How about lever action? Bolt action?