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How many of you are a one gun hunter? It seems these days most hunters including myself hunt primarily one main species like deer or elk and have a mulititude of different guns we carry when one would suffice. For me it's the fun of trying different stuff. That being said there is something neat about seeing an old timer that has used the same rifle every season for the past 40 years. So are you a one gun hunter or user of many? I'm not talking one to hunt every animal but one to hunt whatever species YOU hunt like deer, elk, waterfowl, upland or small game. Share any special stories about the gun also.
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I was a one gun hunter for the first 10 years or so. Then I started adding for various reasons as funds permitted. In my lifetime I have owned over 125 guns and enjoyed most of them for hunting or just plain target shooting. I hunt deer and black bear.
My Sister, on the other hand, has a Remington 721 in 30-06 that she has gotten a deer every year for over 50 years. One gun Jane. -
As soon as I could afford to, I started getting more guns---a new one every few years. Just like knives, I keep looking for the perfect rifle, but, again, just like knives, I keep buying similar ones. Right now, I have two rifles in 7mm-08 because I like the cartridge---the older one in Savage Model 11 and the latest, the Ruger American, which I think I like better for handling and it tends to shoot better groups. My next gun will probably be in .243 since my aging shoulder is increasingly sensitive to recoil and I've only been exposed first hand to how good a deer cartridge it is---kills 'em deader than integrity in politics. I don't consider myself a gun collector---just a gun accumulator.Comment
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Whut jhjimbo said, mostly, cept Ah've only owned 50 gunz and don't havva sister.
Mah most prized gun wuza Browning Citori XS Sporting .410 with 30" barrels and fancy would and gold inlaid nitrided receivr..
Ah'll git another just like it!
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I hunted most of my big game career with the sporterized Springfield 30-06 my dad built for me. It has taken a ton of deer, elk, and moose. Late in the game he gave me the 760 Remington 30-06 he received from my grandpa when I was born. I used it for the last couple of moose shot in Canada. I now exclusively hunt birds. I have used the same 870 3" magnum since 1968. For four years prior I had shot ducks with the 16 gauge Model 12 Dad gave me on my 12th birthday. Gave that gun to my daughter on her 21st b-day last year. The bluing is getting pretty sparse on that old 870! Never was a great gun but very effective in my hands. For pheasants I now use the Browning Light 12 I bought new in 1973 and gave to my dad shortly afterwards. You can see a photo of it over in the Gun Nuts blog. Look for last week's "Gunfight Friday." That's it. A lifetime of hunting (half a century this coming season) with just four guns.Comment
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I hunted deer for more than 30 years with a custom-built Mannlicher-Schoenauer carbine in 7x57mm Mauser. It was destroyed in a house fire several years ago, and I have hunted with three different rifles since then.Comment
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Sorry, I never was any good at math: "... with just FIVE guns."Comment
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I collect books, firearms, and hunting adventures, therefore could never be a one gun person. I use all my collections fiercely, and cherish memories in the same fashion.Comment
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I used to be a one-rifle hunter back in the day, but no more. I like taking several rifles on each hunting adventure to suit my mood and fit anticipated shooting distances. If I never shot beyond 250 yards I could be a one-rifle hunter, maybe.Comment
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I spent most of my life hunting with one rifle for everything. It became my favorite because it was highly accurate, very fast, flattened everything very mercifully, and seemed to get more game at every level than any other I had shot. It had very low recoil and was a joy to shoot even by the hundreds at p-dogs and targets. Most importantly, I was so familiar with it that shooting it became a conditioned reflex rather than something I had to think about.
I used it for everything from mice to deer at ranges out to about 500 yards; however my main target was coyotes, antelope and deer. In the last 15 years or so I hunt less and spend more time tinkering with rifles. As such, I've enjoyed shooting other cartridges and experimenting. Every cartridge has its sweet spot and is fun to shoot but few could cover everything as well as the rifle I shot. I will say that using the same rifle for everything makes you a much better hunter. Being able to shoot prairie deer and antelope with the same rifle you shoot p-dogs with makes you better too. Using the same rifle for decades reduces mistakes and your leads and holdovers tend to be perfect every time because it comes from a high level of understanding.
Now I sometimes feel like I'm lucky if I find the safety within a second or two let alone get off a good shot in that time. Unless I use my trusty old rifle, I have to paste ballistics on the stock, think about how much powder to drop in the case, how far to lead a screaming antelope or what a 30 mph wind means as it flies across the prairie.Comment
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Jack O'Conner once said a person could get by in life with a .30/06, .22 LR, and a 12 ga. shotgun. As boring that would be, it is true. I do own a lot of guns (which I enjoy shooting) but invariably, when I am in serious quest of game, I seem to pick up the same rifle or shotgun, everytime. I guess that makes me a one gun shooter. "Beware the man who has one gun." Don't know who said it first, but have found it to be true,,,,Comment
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My first rifle was a .270 and I could have stopped there as it killed everything I shot. Over the last ten years, I have been experimenting with different calibers and accumulating rifles in an effort to answer some questions for myself. And because rifles are fascinating.
I do like using different rifles but I acknowledge that at the ranges I shoot they are all perfectly adequate for deer. I shade towards heavier calibers for bear and elk but everything from .243 to 45/70 has flattened deer.Comment
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I have owned hundreds of guns and own several now but ever since I got my Sako A7 300WSM it is the only gun I use for any big game that I hunt. I just tailor the bullet to what I am hunting. The next best thing to shooting is reloading and crafting loads to the different type of animals.Comment
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I take at least three guns to the range. Shoot one and two are cooling.
For hunting, I take a primary and a back up. So far I have not HAD to use the back up.
I have several guns but not so many I don't fire each one at least once a year.Comment
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