spending big $ on hunting guns?

[Clark]

Owning an expensive gun will not make you any happier.
I've tried.
It is what you do with the gun that can bring some sense of accomplishment.
Start with cleaning the gun.
Let the bonding process begin.

 

[Slamfire]

I will pay more for performance, which for me is better triggers, better barrels, better ergonomics.



But, guns that get used get dented. The more I use my rifles the more dents and scratches they get. Pretty wood gets scratched and dented, fine finishes get scratched or worn. While these things look great they do not add to function. The basic question is, do you want to make love to your rifle or shoot it?

 

[redneck2]

I like nice stuff. I've gotten to the point in life that I can pretty much get what I want within reason. I'm not sure how high my expectations would be on a $400 rifle. A $1,500-2,000 Kimber, yes. A $400 Marlin, no.

 

[Axis II]

I just woke up and pulled it back out of the box. I'm going to call marlin and explain to them what happened. my buddy who does a lot of gun refinishing says its not black walnut so call marlin and make them fix it.

 

[BigBore44]

I just woke up and pulled it back out of the box. I'm going to call marlin and explain to them what happened. my buddy who does a lot of gun refinishing says its not black walnut so call marlin and make them fix it.

Uhh... no. It's not going to be black walnut. More like maple. I am surprised it doesn't have checkering on the grip though.

 

[Axis II]

Uhh... no. It's not going to be black walnut. More like maple. I am surprised it doesn't have checkering on the grip though.

there is checkering but you can barely feel it. if I ran my finger nail over it, it probably wouldn't grab but the front is very deep.

 

[BigBore44]

there is checkering but you can barely feel it. if I ran my finger nail over it, it probably wouldn't grab but the front is very deep.

Well... see what you can do. If you can take the gun back and get another, great. And let us know. But congrats on taking the plunge. It's worth it.

Post a couple pics of the gun to show us the differences in stock colors and grip checkering.

 

[Axis II]

Well... see what you can do. If you can take the gun back and get another, great. And let us know. But congrats on taking the plunge. It's worth it.

Post a couple pics of the gun to show us the differences in stock colors and grip checkering.

If I take it back it's probably going to be get the money back and move on. 40$+hour drive would make the gun not worth it.

 

[coloradokevin]

How many of you spend a lot of money on a hunting rifle you might use 1 week a year? I grew up piss poor and still am so I always try and review things and get the very minimal I need that will work.
for instance my hunting guns are Mossberg 500, stoeger condor 20ga, savage 22, cva optima/stalker, h&r 44mag,savage axis rifles. they are all the bare bones, cheapest but best rated rifles I could buy. I also have them all topped with vortex and Nikons budget optics. I have always done this because I only get to hunt once a week if I'm lucky so I don't spend a lot on a hunting gun.

Now I have gotten the itch for a Marlin 1895 45-70 and topping it with leupold quick release rings and base and a leupold vx1 scope. for some reason I cant seem to spend the $400 on the gun, $130 on optics, and $70 on mounts. I currently have a cva stalker 45-70 that's heavy, $200, bulky, etc but a large part of me 80% says I use it one week a year if that so just deal with it and the other 20% says buy the marlin and try and sell the cva but ive been down that road before with a shotgun and 2 rifles where I found an upgrade cheap/sale and said ill just sell the old one to fund the new one and never sell the old one cause its my "backup or someone else can barrow it"

IMO $600 is a lot of money for a gun especially when its only used 1 week a year. what do you guys think?

This isn't unlike any other activity. Some people fish from the shore using a $20 fishing rod and a worm, while others go out and buy $90,000 bass fishing boats to hook the same basic fish. People spend money on the activities they enjoy. If it's in your budget to do so, I see no harm in it. If it's something that causes you to go into debt, or spend the family's food budget for the month, that's probably a problem.

I don't hunt as much as I did when I was a kid. But, most of my hunting back then was done with a Mossberg 500 (everything from small game to deer). But, if I'm being perfectly honest here, many of my guns cost more than $600. I do tend to use my guns more often than once per year... my most expensive gun is shot weekly, and a rebarreling job on that gun alone would run me around $800.

 

[jmorris]

Don't know if it's been said, I think the problem might be quantifying "big money".

I have seen folks drop thousands of dollars on "red" at a casino before and proceed to loose it in a matter of seconds and move on to the next thing like it was nothing. In my mind I thought the guy was nuts. Upon further reflection, we likely just had different realities.

Even if I think it's still nuts...I'd have bought something useful with it like a machinegun

 

[benzy2]

Budgets are drastically different. What may be expensive to some is pocket change to others. While I don't categorize myself as poor, I also don't fit the rich category either. I can see both sides. A bottom priced rifle or shotgun made today is going to put food on the table. At the same time, if you are going on exotic, expensive hunts there is value in purchasing gear that's of a higher quality (and more reliability) than the cheapest option possible. I would be frustrated if my $50 scope died and I missed a trophy of a lifetime. Also, I know people who spend my monthly pay in a casual afternoon. Their budget is in a different world than mine and to them a $5,000 hunting rifle setup goes unnoticed in the bank account.

The important part is to be happy. If that means buying the least expensive gear knowing you didn't over pay, great. If it's buying the most expensive gear knowing you have the best, great. And if it's somewhere in the middle, great. The goal isn't to worry about what others think of your purchases but instead to buy them for yourself, enjoy them yourself, and be happy with how you spend your free time.

 

[BigBore44]

If I take it back it's probably going to be get the money back and move on. 40$+hour drive would make the gun not worth it.

I'll admit that I see a difference. But to me it's not enough to justify sending it back. Especially if that means the $40 and hour drive makes the gun not worth it. You have your 1895 sitting on your rack right now. And you got a good deal on it. Why get rid of it? Call marlin and tell them the issue. If they won't fix it, then the ball is in your court.

 

[TIMC]

I'm not rich by any means but do appreciate a nice firearm. I have several rifles that I have several thousand dollars invested in, I can afford them without disrupting the household budget so why not. This wasn't always the case, when I was young and had kids at home I had inexpensive firearms that brought home just as much game. It was all I could afford then and it was good enough. Just like when I was young and had kids to think about I bought used vehicles and settled for less than i really wanted. I guess it is all where you are at in life and what your priorities are. Today I drive a top of the line truck and haven nice guns but I no longer have bills and responsibilities that require my funds.

 

[CraigC]

I just woke up and pulled it back out of the box. I'm going to call marlin and explain to them what happened. my buddy who does a lot of gun refinishing says its not black walnut so call marlin and make them fix it.

Your buddy is wrong, it's black walnut.

Methinks you're making a mountain out of a molehill and it's largely due to your attitude about money and lack of experience. That said, your new Marlin cost $100 less than my used 1895. I wouldn't complain much or expect it to be perfect.

 

[stoky]

That's the problem with stretching the budget to buy something, you expect it to be perfect. It never is.
Only God is perfect.

 

[Jackal]

If I take it back it's probably going to be get the money back and move on. 40$+hour drive would make the gun not worth it.

These lever actions are considered "budget rifles". Your walnut looks great, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary for a factory lever gun. Its not a finely tuned race car, its a hunting rifle.

 

[redneck2]

Methinks you're making a mountain out of a molehill and it's largely due to your attitude about money and lack of experience

Uhhhh....yeah. We just walked out of a steak house. Lunch was $160 for four of us. You're setting the bar awful high for a $400 rifle. I sold a used one for $575

If you try to take it back, the gun shop guy will most likely look at you like you are crazy. For a justifiable reason.

 

[Offfhand]

Owning an expensive gun will not make you any happier.
I've tried.

Wow! How depressing, as it seems to indicate the poster doesn't know much about guns and has never had a good one. As for myself, I get considerable pleasure out of owning every new gun I get. Why would I buy it otherwise? But having said that, I add that obtaining a fine (Call it expensive) gun is much like investing in fine art, you have to know what you're doing and bold enough to invest according to your instinct and whim. Which results in the pleasure of owning a fine, perhaps unique, example of exquisite craftsmanship and artistry. A pleasure made all the more sublime by the knowledge that the investment may also yield a substantial profit.

 

[RPZ]

About 10 years ago I bought my "holy grail" hunting rifle; a 1953 Steyr Mannlicher-Schoenauer .257 Roberts carbine for $1,200. I managed to get out hunting exactly twice in about five years. So I gave it up, sold the rifle. Hunting should be a cheap way to eat. Well, it's not. Unless you own your own good size piece of rural land. Otherwise it is too expensive, too much hassle, and with some of the most idiotic hunting regs - too much a legal liability.

 

[Llama Bob]

The economics of specialization has a weird way of playing havoc with the value of things. I'm fortunate enough to get a good price for work and to have flexibility in how much I work. One of the impacts is that it does not make economic sense for me to hunt. If I wanted game meat, I could get it quicker and easier by working more and paying to have it shipped to my door. The only reason it makes sense to hunt is for recreation.

Now hunting is fabulous recreation, don't get me wrong. And like most recreation it costs rather than makes money. But the primary cost is not the cost of the guns & ammo. It's the opportunity cost of the time. Since the cost of the guns is a relatively small part of the total cost, I don't get too excited about the cost of the guns. I just get guns that I like. Are they expensive? It depends on how you look at it...

 

[Captcurt]

I feel about cheap reels about like I do cheap optics. I've had both crap out on me and learned my lesson the hard way. You can get by with a cheap rod like you can a cheap rifle but optics and reels are a different story. I've worn out cheap reels in one sitting. We used to fish a spring fed river in Florida where it took all day to paddle and fish about 8 miles of water. On a good day we'd catch 50-60 fish. The first time was the last time with a cheap reel as it was in several pieces by the end of it. Same for scopes. Cheap scopes are nothing but a roll of the dice and a waste of money. If you don't have $150 to spend on a decent scope, you sure as hell don't have $50 to waste on junk. Some folks manage to convince themselves that cheap is "just as good", to the point of actually looking down on something better but they're really deluding themselves.

Same here on the scopes. I have run test with inexpensive guns such as the Patriot and the American and am amazed at the the boom for the buck, but I refuse to put a crap scope on anything. Although I don't buy high dollar top-of-the-line scopes, I do buy quality. My American had a Vortex Diamondback, My 300 WSM Savage has a Leupold Vari-X ll and I have (4) VX-ll's coming in this week for some other toys.

As for the reels, try a $15 Granite Spinning reel from Walmart. It is an exception.

 

[dh1633pm]

I grew up poor as poor could get. Had a single shot 22. A Montgomery Ward's 20 Ga, and that was that. Didn't set any hunting records, but more than a few ground hogs, rabbits, and deer met their fate with those two rifles. Now I can afford anything I want, but when I was in my 20's I had a Swedish Mauser and a M39 Nagant. Hunted deer with those in their military form. Both worked well and we plenty cheap.

 

[Atla]

Last season I took my recently deceased Grandpa's 1953 Winchester Model 94 out to the woods for the first time and bagged a nice buck.

He had slain 62 years worth of deer with it, in Michigan and North Carolina. Had owned it since it was brand new, and it was in 99% condition.

A beautiful family heirloom that I'll pass on to my children, but not before I slaughter a few dozen more tasty woodland critters first.

I know it's a valuable rifle, especially being a pre-64 in such fantastic shape. But to me it's the history of hunting with what my grandfather and father 's weapons that makes it super cool to me..

An aside to that, I also plan on using a FAL this year also. Pew pew pew!

 

[dh1633pm]

Sorry but in my younger years a scope was hard to come by and also a rifle. So I can understand. There are plenty of used firearms on the market with scopes that will shoot really nice. Just keep your eyes open and one will land in your lap. I have an 1895 Marlin in 45-70 that I got for 350 when I got back from Iraqi Freedom in 2003. The guy bought it and then didn't like the recoil. Wasn't in demand then, so his loss was my gain. It had a Simmons Shotgun scope on top. Still does. The glass for that 4x isn't the best, but it is clear enough and shoots really well. Expensive scopes are better, but we all can't afford scopes that cost more than our rifles.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I'm an over the road truck driver (company driver) living week to week like most everybody else...not rich by any means.

I've always been a gun guy and have spent a lot of money on hundreds of gun in my 44 years on this earth...then one day I decided why have so many, can't afford to shoot them all....so I sold a bunch of rifles (52) mostly Rem 700's in various calibers and got down to just a few guns...only what I needed...a shotgun, a rifle, a home defense rifle (AR15), a concealed carry pistol, a hunting pistol....and a few 22's.

In summary:
The expensive one is a Nosler M48 Custom in 280 Ackley Improved...almost $5,000 in that one including the scope, mounts, sling and all...it is the most consistently accurate rifle I've ever owned, shoots any decent ammo you feed it into .75 moa or less....not fussy at all.



Next is the Sig 516 Gen 1 (unaltered, still has the LWRC copied bolt carrier in it hat Sig got sued over)...darn fine defensive weapon...about $2,000 into that one including optics, soon to be more (suppressor).


And the latest one...the Glock 40 MOS...Yes, I have $1,600 in a Glock, including optics, holster, and a 7" KKM barrel..., and I'm happy about it....this is a genuine 100 yard pistol, I love it...it'll likely be the only thing I hunt with this coming season.



I guess the Winchester 101 deserves honorable mention at "only" $1,100...mostly a play toy for recreational trap and skeet...I like it, does good as a rabbit, grouse, quail, dove, turkey gun too.