Your Favorite Rifle

Chuck R. said:
Really have to break it down into "favorite rifle for:"

Right now for "eastern KS whitetails out of blinds and stands" it's this Rem M7 in .260 Rem:

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It shot OK while doing barrel break-in:

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I missed my tgt weight by a few ounces, but it's still at 7lbs 7.8 ounces "all up" including 4rds and sling. I purposely went with the heavier profiled barrel to be able to practice longer strings.

Previously this rifle with the sporter M7 barrel and HS Precision stock weighed in at 7.9lbs "all up" and I wanted a similar weight. The weight I saved with the carbon fiber stock I put into the barrel profile. The factory barrel would open up when hot (not a problem hunting) and fouled pretty badly also not big deal, but I like to practice and cleaning it just sucked.

Details:

"Trued" Rem M7 action with Timney trigger
Pac Nor stainless super-match barrel in .260 Rem; 20" 1:8 twist, 3 groove, Bartlein 2B profile, fluted. Gives 2930 FPS with Nolser 120 BTs over H4350
Bolt fluted and handle skeletonized (cosmetic, but IMHO looks cool)
Manners MCS-EH8 carbon fiber stock in elite clear web (22 Ounces)
Talley LW 1 piece rings
Leupold VX3 HD 2.5-8x36 with CDS.
Graphite Black Cerekote

I'm working on the same treatment on another M7 in .350RM, so that will be my "favorite for doing something else", maybe "eastern KS whitetails that I want to make more deader quicker".
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Nice looking rifle! If I may ask, who did your bolt work?
 
I suppose I must give my 45-70 equal billing as my favorite rifle, since it was my first project. Made this one out of a block of 1045 that was given to me along with the challenge; "Here, make a gun out of that." So I did. Like my 06, I made everything myself except for the barrel, springs ( all coil ) and screws. I made the sights on this one. Same story as my 06, everything is bigger, thicker and stronger. Again, a weight penalty for all that beef, the gun weighs 10 pounds 9 oz. Most of that comes from the barrel, which weighed six pounds by itself. I got the barrel in trade for laying shingles on a garage. It is 32" long and has a 1-22 twist. I would have preferred faster, but Trapdoors had a 1-22 twist as well and they did OK with 500 grain bullets. Heat treated to RC40. I had no proof round for this one so I made one up. I took a 500 gr. JSP and tapped it just far enough into the barrel to chamber a Remington 45-70 case ( they are the thickest and strongest.) full of 68 grains of Reloader 7 up behind it. This is a .458 load and generates around 45,000 PSI. The gun had no trouble with it. The empty was a bit stiff to extract but the primer showed no signs of excess pressure. The gun gets mostly black powder loads today. I occasionally shoot a hot rod load , just to impress visitors. I was a lot younger in the early nineties and this one was extensively range tested. With a case full of FFG and a 500 grain cast, I get around is inch at a hundred yards. Blow tube between shots, SPG lube. It doesn't seem to really do much better with smokeless. Some guns are just born for black powder, I guess.

I have less than $100 in the gun, not counting countless hours at the milling machine.
 

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jmohme said:
The Columbian Contract FN49 were all 30.06.
There were only 1000 of these made with the Columbian crest on the receiver. Mine is serial #0076 and all serialized parts have matching numbers.
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When I looked it up there were many cartridges available, leading to my comment. It's a beauty either way.
 
Pick up just one will be very unfair, if I have it is for more than the buyer impulse. However, my CZ550 FS in 6.5x55 Swedish get me joy every time I shoulder it.
Honorable mentions for Winchester Lever actions in its variety of calibers, 8mm Mauser, K31, Garand, Argentine Mauser and FAL.
 
I guess I'll be the wimp in this thread, but I do love my .22s. My current favorite rifle is probably my Ruger American Rimfire, Target Model, aka "The Rat."
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My all-time favorite, though, is probably my 10/22. I got it as my Standard Issue Rifle for my 12th birthday, I think it was. I've put a threaded barrel on it, a Hogue stock and a Nikon scope. The scope is really too much the plinking I do with it, so I've got a Bushnell TR25 that's about to go on top.
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TSchwab25 said:
Just because I'm interested to hear everyone's answer, what is your favorite rifle (or rifles) for any purpose? Pictures are very welcome!
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Well I have to narrow it down, my favorite .22 is my Mossberg US 44. It’s now 79 yrs old, and shoots like a new one! The bluing is remarkable on this gun, and the stock was pretty bad, but I refinished it leaving the deeper scratches in, I still wanted it to look like an old military gun. I bought it for 25 yd match shooting(standing), and I can shoot it better with the iron sights than I could my 10/22 with a scope. B8C77121-34CA-4235-8DC4-524D5755A8D4.jpeg BA7E0C79-E2E2-4FC5-88CA-2D9990D76496.jpeg CE9808FC-C77D-409E-B140-C0C976853E8F.jpeg 91D83AC3-D989-4439-A9C4-599A6BDDDBE1.jpeg
 
Hands down my Weatherby in 300 wby mag... Using handloads it's very accurate and can take just about anything... And can be softened to a 308 if desired... You can power down with many... But there's a very short list of ctgs that I can "power up" from my venerable 300. Mine is from the late 80's and the very first rifle ctg I handloaded... that opened the rabbit hole for me... Started loading it to save my limited funds back then... opened a lifetime hobby... Thanks Roy...
 
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OlKrom said:
My favorite rifle is my Winchester model 71 .348.
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A good choice, for sure!

Of all the 'non black' guns I have, I would probably have to pick my Browning 71 carbine... I just love the stupid thing. Beautiful bank vault action, enough heft to know you are carrying and shooting something, but not so porky it's a burden, and a cartridge that is both a challenge to load for, and adequate for anything that I'm likely to poke holes in. Yes, I'd love to have an original Winchester 71... but with prices where they are, that's not likely anytime soon.

FWUHd0Gl.jpg


As far as black rifles, or military styled weapons, I would have to ponder on that. I guess my favorite would be my LRB lightweight AR carbine... the first AR I built meself. I did build it for a purpose... as light and handy as I could make an AR, and I did pretty good, given my budget. It's gone through a few incarnations, but thankfully one of the benefits of the AR is ease of adaptation. The only thing I have had a problem with is finding a good sling... I just cannot find a sling that works how I want it to work, so I've just gone back to basics and it wears an M1 carbine web sling... like everything else I have that has a sling.

That's it on the bottom, very close to it's current build state. The shorty A1 stock is gone, replaced by a more practical MagPul slider. It makes that H-Bar above it feel like a boat oar.

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If I had to have an honorable mention, it would have to be my M1 Garand, and, by extension, my M1a. Hands down, the Garand is just a fun rifle to shoot. A man's rifle for sure, it's a very physical rifle... all slam! bam! boom! ching! ...and that beautiful tall and slender .30-06, gleaming with it's 7 sisters in that en bloc. For sheer practicality, however, there is the Socom16 M1a... a 16" braked version of the standard M1a. Short, sweet, powerful, and loud...

My Garand is a piece of junk. I admit it. It is a FedOrd rebuild, and has a new barrel... but it is obviously a mix-master of parts poured into it's tired May '42 Springfield receiver. There is more putty in the stock than a 1970 F-150 from upper Michigan. But... it shoots, and it's fun, and it's mine.

My Socom16 isn't so junky, but it has it's moments. I wanted it in walnut, as it should be, but it did not like the stock I got for it, so it's back in it's USGI fiberglass stock... until I can get the wood and metal to play nice.

Here the kids are... on one of my shooting sessions out in the NV desert. 3 of my favorites, and my Savage 10TAC, which is fun, but not necessarily my favorite.

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...and the Socom after doing what it does best... burning through ammos...

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My favorite .22 is my 77/22.
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Favorite lever gun is my Chiappa .44 mag.
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Favorite milsurp is my Longbranch Lee Enfield No4 Mk1*.
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Favorite hunting rifle is my Remington 700 Classic in 7mm Mauser.
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Favorite AR is my SBR.
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Toss up between the 1893 Marlin rifle in .38-55 I bought for $25 in 1963 and my first big game rifle. It's a Winchester Model 70 in .30-06, 1960 vintage.
 
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