What is the most important for your rifle?

[dave-t.]

I hear you on the lucky rifle Bushman. My 300wm is not the ideal deer rifle, but darn if it doesn't act like it. It is not my most accurate, it can't be described as handy, maneuverable, or a joy to carry. It is big, heavy, has a stock trigger that could use improvement, the scope isn't anything to brag about, and it kicks like hell. But my god does it point well and kill deer. I've used it so long that there aren't any surprises or fumbling movements with it. Everything goes right when I am shooting that rifle, eventhough it wouldn't make any top ten lists, or score well on paper for the job at hand.

[pepaw]

Accuracy makes me confident and confidence makes me a better shot.
I don't like recoil and prefer the "lower to middle" calibers. Resale, looks and fast follow-up shots are issues when it comes to my deer hunting rifles.
Lower cost means I can buy more guns!

pepaw

[Herne]

Well first I suppose it has to be accurate - nowadays good rifles are shooting to 1/2MOA without modification from new, which means a decent barrel and trigger. (with decent but not ridiculously carefully loaded handloads). if it won't shoot comfortably inside the inch, I don't want to own it or describe it as a rifle . An example of the blacksmiths art, but not a rifle.

Next it has to feel right and be set up right.

It mustn't rattle

Then it has to function reliably - hold zero rain or shine, which means decent wood, and it has to feed and eject relialby smoothly and fast. That means a straight line feed and a decent ejector, which doesn't depend on the force of the bolt being pulled back.(you may need to clear the breech quietly when climbing though a hedge etc.)

And then it has to be lucky.

I had a Sauer 200 in 270. That was a $2000 rifle. Beautiful wood, beautiful blue, smooth bolt, came up on line adequately. I knew it was NVG in the shop, but I was persuaded. (It was a Sauer after all) **** trigger (unrecoverable because of the design of the cross bolt safety), and one day it failed to eject. It also wasn't lucky - welllyou wouldn't be if you'd shot one, were swinging onto the next and there is an empty on the tray.

POS - it went inside a week.

[pepaw]

That should read

Resale, looks and fast follow-up shots are NOT issues when it comes to my deer hunting rifles.

pepaw

[southtexas]

It has to be accurate, and it really needs to be a M70!

[Bushman]

Pepaw, what happened to pride in ownership? You could buy a golf bag full of military surplus rifles for the cost of one M70. Did you watch Top Shot last night and watch the guys try to hit something with the Springfield?

Dave & Herne, a friend of mine tells the story about going to a gun show and trying to bargain with a guy who had a used rifle for sale for near retail. The guy countered with, "Yeah, but it's a proven rifle." That lucky rifle thing is always in the back of my mind when I think that I don't use that 7 Mag. much anymore and it deserves better.

[venado]

First shot out of a cold barrel going where it is supposed to go. After that I like "pretty"..!

[Silvertip]

Needs to perform well on moving targets in thick woods at close range while leaving as little meat damage as possible.Also light to carry all day while climbing mountains or traversing swamps.
Silvertip

[ColoYooper]

I can totally relate to Herne's lucky comment. I only have 1 deer rifle and 1 target rifle. The deer rifle I custom built with a stock I love to shoot with, a custom trigger, awesome scope. Its a light weight 30-06. I was going to replace the barrel with a more exotic calibre and match grade barrel, but after I initially bought the action and barrel used, put it together and went to the range, the darn thing put 5 shots into 1 hole at 100yards. DONE. I took it on the next 5 hunting trips and never saw an animal. I placed the hunting rifle back in the gun safe and took my 1000yrd target rifle on the next 5 hunts...a custom 300winMag Sendero with a VERY heavy match grade barrel and Jewel trigger. I dropped an animal in each of those hunts. Then I moved to Colorado, and took up elk hunting...Lucky or not, there was no way I was humping a target rifle up these hills, so the un-lucky hunting rifle came back out. Well I'm happy to report that luck has a way of changing and that hunting rifle has now bagged 3 elk on 3 shots.

Beware the man with only (2) lucky rifles...

[pepaw]

I am proud of my cheapo Stevens .270 that has killed a pile of deer, pigs and coyotes in only a few years. My wife, son and I have all been very "lucky" with it. So much I bought a second recently.
Accurate and dependable. Like a hammer.
I am proud of my ownership of a Sako .222 and an old Ruger Red Label, but for day to day hunting I like my "tools".

stumpy