new spoon indecision

[upsscott]

The hardest and most painful kicking gun I ever bought was a Savage Ultralight 30.06. I bought it for a mule deer hunt in Idaho that required a ton of hiking so I wanted lightweight gear. That gun sucked so bad to sight in that I put it in the safe and it has stayed there till this day. I think I’ll gift it to my son. Lol.

[Jeff Higgins]

I have a tradition of giving my two sons firearms on significant birthdays. Both received Chipmunk .22 rimfire single shot bolt guns at six years old. At 12 years old, the oldest received a Model 70 Featherweight in 6.5 Swede. The younger received a Ruger #1 Light Sporter in .30-'06. The rifle weighs about six pounds, so I would imagine it's pretty close to that Savage.

I started him with the 100 grain Speer "plinkers" at about 2,000 fps. We worked up to shooting .30-30 level loads, a 150 grain Sierra at about 2,200 fps. He shot his first deer at 12 years old with that load.

As he grew older, we went to full power .30-'06 level loads. It really likes 200 grain Nosler Partitions over a stiff load of Reloder 22, for just under 2,700 fps. Fairly stout load for the old '06, but that #1 is about the strongest commercial action ever made. We get great case life, with over a dozen reloads at that power level, indicating pressures are very acceptable. He's been shooting those loads since he was about 15-16 years old.

While recoil might be a bit "stiff", neither one of us finds those loads in that little rifle objectionable in the least. Probably a matter of perspective and familiarity. If we only shoot these kinds of rifles and loads enough to sight them in once a year prior to hunting then, well, yes, I can see where it might be a little unnerving to do so. Shoot them year round, practice all the time, and pretty soon it takes a really stout .45-70, or .375 H&H, or .458 Win Mag to get our attention. Practice, practice, practice, and eventually it gets far less intimidating.

[upsscott]

Exactly, this gun was only purchased for one purpose, this particular hunt and any hunts like it in the future. That Savage is a smidge over 6lbs if I remember right and the recoil, while not the hit by a truck feeling like my lever action 45-70, was a knife edge kick to the shoulder. Enough that I found myself thinking about the next shot. I don’t like that in a gun. I don’t want to think about it. My 7mag Ruger is that gun. It’s a joy to shoot.

[302340]

Stupid, stupid question. What's a 450 Bushmaster? Is that a size of bullet or an actual gun?


Lee

[tabs]

Stay with recognized brands and mainstream calibers...where there is plenty of ammo available at a reasonable price.

Names like Colt, sw, Winchester, Remington, browning, walther, sig, ruger all have better resale potential on the back end. and that is real important. Pay a little more now get more on the back end.

[id10t]

Originally Posted by 302340

Stupid, stupid question. What's a 450 Bushmaster? Is that a size of bullet or an actual gun?


Lee

The name of the cartridge. Straight wall, rimless, fits in an AR magazine and launches a 225-300 grain bullet at 2200fps (7000 grains per pound or 15.4 per gram)

[id10t]

Originally Posted by tabs

Stay with recognized brands and mainstream calibers...where there is plenty of ammo available at a reasonable price.

Names like Colt, sw, Winchester, Remington, browning, walther, sig, ruger all have better resale potential on the back end. and that is real important. Pay a little more now get more on the back end.

Colt has never made a bolt action rifle, other than the Colt-Sauer one, and then even that was made by Howa/Husquavarna. Same with S&W.

Winchester and Reminton both lost quality a few decades ago, and Remington doesn't even exist - various parts of it were purchased last year in bankruptcy sales.

Browning - over priced for what it is. Would rather pay half the price for a Howa or Weatherby Vanguard, made in the same factory.

Walther and Sig make great pistols, not aware of any (currently importable) rifles, or especially bolt guns.

Ruger is Ruger, and I prefer not to buy Ruger stuff due to Bill Ruger's politics and policies. Even though he is long dead and gone. My three Ruger firearms were all made before 1990.

[302340]

Thank you, id10t! ...


Lee