Posted on 11/24/2017 12:49:47 PM PST by w1n1
Guns are much more than guns to die-hard hunting folks. Sometimes they help define the love of a family as grandfather passes their guns from one generation to the next. And, more often than not, the gun that is cherished the most as a symbol of tradition and collective wisdom is the “humble deer rifle”. The following hunting rifles are no longer in production yet still find their way to the the hands of hunters who value both tradition and well-design sporting arms. Maybe this is what the newer generation rifle lacks.
Savage 99
Savage’s Model 99, preceded by the 1895, was the first hammerless lever-action rifle in mass production. The reliability, accuracy, and appearance of the 99 have made it both a classic and a practical gun for hunters. Well ahead of its time, the internal rotary magazine and brass round counter defined the rifle and allowed use of both higher powered rounds and also the pointed bullets that tubular lever rifles could not.
Winchester 54
Winchester’s Model 54 is regarded as the company’s first mass production civilian bolt action center fire rifle. Though the two-stage trigger pull wasn’t the greatest, its Mauser action was incredibly reliable. Produced from the mid-1920s until 1936, over 50,000 Model 54s came off the line. The Winchester 54’s particular value here is as the predecessor to the even more beloved Model 70, which would top this list were it not in current production. Because the Model 54 was made in the era of iron-sighting, its bolt throw is too high to allow for simple scope mounting. Read the rest of old school hunting rifle here.
“Although it is not a ‘hunting rifle’ the Swedish Mauser in 6.5 x 55 is a great rifle.”
Yepper, can say that 3 times over..including a very short one done special for the youngens....
I took my first three deer with a model 760 #4752. Chambered in .300 Savage. A gift from my Grandfather for painting his house one year.Great little brush gun.
Currently sitting in my blind at sunset looking at My swedeish Mauser model 38 minted in 1903.
My son is sitting about a mile away with his Winchester model 70.
M99 Savage in .250-3000
Bought a Remington 1917 30-06. I absolutely love that rifle. Bought it at a CA gun show when you could still buy a gun and walk out the same day.
My fav 5 would be something in;
375 H&H
30’06
223/556
17HMR
22lr
Have everything but the 17HMR
I bought the m38 at a gun show 20 years ago, it looked unused, just perfect...really, not a scratch or ding.
Unfortunately you cannot hunt with a rifle long term and expect it to look unused but it is still 98%.
Used that rifle for my first CMP shoot.
I cannot comprehend that statement.
Obviously we are are on different wavelengths.
All my firearms are tools, not collector items. They all look used. As they are.
That's why I purchased them. To be used. As is all the other tools I have acquired over my life.
My 1943 M38 “Calvary” rifle is one of my favorites. I had no idea what a 6.5x55 was (sounded hard to get) but a friend and I thought they might be a good truck gun for $89.00 so we ordered a couple from shotgun news. When they arrived they were so pristine the dealer almost wouldn’t give them over. Amazingly well made, and that 6.5 is hard on mule deer with mild recoil.
Had a Savage 99D chambered in 308 Winchester. (7.62mm NATO) Let it go a few years back. Kind of wish I had kept it. It was a good, reliable rifle.
If only I had started with 6.5, it sure would have saved me a whole lot of chamber hopping.
I used to have one of them years ago. I found the lock time of the enfield compared to a Remington 700 was very slow.
Still have a scoped Enfield No1 MKIII 2A. Shoots way better than it has a right to.
Love me my Ishapore. That thing rings steel at 400 yards over the original iron sights. Action is a smooth as a prom queens thighs. They knew how to build them. I should have bought ten of them when they were $100 bucks a copy.
Mine looks real purty, too. Drill stock cleaned up mighty nice. Bet it’d still pass a Sgt. Major’s inspection today.
Take care my friend.
B
I try to treat my firearms like cameras, not shovels.
That being said I have a ‘mountain rifle’, which is a Ruger 77 in 300 Win Mag that I have carried at least a couple of thousand miles in the plateau country of western Colorado.
That rifle looks like it was left in the bed of a truck for a few years.
A scary gun at <8LBS(with scope) it is wonderful to carry but will shred you on the bench.
I only bench shoot it to sight it in, sub MOA after 25 years in the field.
Too bad about the boating accident...
Springfield ‘03....Still laying them low.
I don't have a 300 Win Mag, but I've shot my son's Rem 700. He recently mounted it into an AI stock and it don't bite at all now, not that I really noticed its bite with the factory stock.
I enjoy shooting with him. I especially like shooting his SCAR-H. I know. Its only a .308, but its a fun gun to shoot.
But we haven't shot rifles in a while. Been blasting handguns instead.
It is really fun to shoot dedicated bench rifle.
I have a Remington 700 in 338 Lapua and a Tikka Sporster in 308 that i used when I was in competition.
The 338 weighed 24 LBS and the 308 was 19 Lbs with scope.
A proper bench rifle is a joy to shoot.
Competition shooting makes you a better hunter.
I have a model 99 Savage that I inherited from my grandfather. According to the s/n, it was made in 1947 and is chambered in .300 Savage. I have taken several deer with it. It is a wonderful rifle that I will give to one of my sons.
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