[Jeff Higgins]

The most readily available ammo in the world is .30-'06. It also comes in the greatest variety as far as bullet weights and applications. You can get everything from dirt cheap surplus ammo for plinking to premium ammo loaded with the very best bullets, suitable for hunting anything that walks the North American continent.

I demand all of my hunting rifles have open sights, even if I plan to scope it. Scopes fail, even the best of modern scopes. Back up iron sights can save the hunt. Just make sure they are zeroed with your hunting ammo of choice. It simply astouns me how many bolt action hunting rifles are supplied without iron sights these days. Very, very bad idea in my book.

Most guys will tell you that modern materials are best for hunting rifles intended for use in bad weather. Stainless barrels and actions seem to be prefered these days. I will say, however, that all of my rifles are traditional blued steel and walnut. Properly taken care of, this has never been a problem in over 30 years of hunting what some would consider the very harshest test or climate - the soggy Pacific Northwest, from Oregon to my native Washington to Alaska. I've never had a problem. In addition to being somewhat of a romantic, or a traditionalist, another factor driving this choice is that I've not seen modern stainless / synthetic bolt guns with iron sights on them. It's that important to me - I won't buy a big game rifle without them (varmint guns are excused).

Another factor that comes into play for me is the trigger group. I'm not looking for a match trigger, I'm looking for a trigger that is reliable under all conditions. Many modern triggers are housed in pretty enclosed little boxes, and have many intricate parts. Guess what - water gets in there. It can freeze. It can rust those parts (even stainless actions have, for the most part, carbon steel parts in the trigger groups). Dirt and grime can get lodged in there. No thanks - any of this will ruin a hunt. I prefer a simple, open trigger assembly, like on Mausers and original Model 70's (the rebirth of the M70 now has a boxed trigger group - a major shortcoming in my book). These will never freeze, accumulate dirt, and are very easy to clean and keep lubricated.

Lastly, there is the safety. In my book, unless it locks the firing pin, it's really not a safety at all. Most modern safeties merely block the sear, leaving the firing pin to its own devices. No thanks. I want to know that pin is locked, thank you very much.

Much is made of controled round feed vs. push feed. I've personally never seen any difference in feeding reliability. Hell, the legendary Harry Selby (Robart Ruark's PH on many African trips), when his prized .416 Rigby (on a magnum Mauser action) had to be sent to Rigby for repairs, bought an off the shelf - horror of horrors - post '64 M70 in .458 Winchester Magnum. Push feed and all. One of the most experienced PH's of all time. And he used it for the rest of his career (he sold the Rigby when it finally came back, something like four years later) with nary a problem. Anyway, on this point, I can go either way.

So, in summary: .30-'06, equiped with open sights, "hunting" vs. target trigger, and a real safety that blocks the firing pin. That short list of requirements narrows the field considerably. It essentially leaves us with M98 Mausers, '03 A3 Springfields, and Model 70 Winchesters (prior to this reintroduction). Fortunately, all are readily available and inexpensive to boot.