On Rifle Selection

There was a time in my life when one deer rifle was all it took. Now I have a safe full of them, and I cannot seem to ever be totally satisfied. Do I need another deer rifle? No. Do I want another? Always.

What I’ve found that I really enjoy is the adventure of putting a new rifle into action. I like the process of acquiring a long gun, mounting a scope, building a good load and then proving it in the field. That has turned my deer hunting into an expensive hobby, where it should not have been.

There is a hidden price I have to pay for each deer rifle I own. Each rifle is a system. Rifle, scope, sling—those are easy. Then comes the ammunition. If I did not reload, it would be a fairly simple choice—maybe among a couple to a couple dozen. However, I reload, so now I have a choice in bullet, powder, brass, primer. The deeper it goes, the more varied the choices. In the end, a hundred or more variables enter into it.

I freely admit I made a mistake this past year. I put two of my best favorite deer rifles up at the end of November and did not think about them until last weekend. Both gave me questionable results at the range, and now I am faced with the choice of trying to come up with a solution to the erratic results or just putting them up for the year and moving on with what I have.

For every rifle system I own, it is like a houseplant that requires regular watering or a house pet that requires regular feeding. It needs to be taken out on a fairly regular basis and used, so that the most complex and variable part of any rifle system does not get rusty—me. All this eats up time, the most precious commodity of all. If it ends up eating into time I could be scouting, then you’re really talking expensive.

I’ll probably put the old batch of ammo for the 308 aside and just load up some new. The 30-30 will probably take a bit of doing, but it’s a necessary part of my son’s battery. I’ll load up some with a bit less powder and see if slightly reduced velocity cures the problem—it usually does.

In the end, I want 3 deer rifles ready for me to use during the season. The rest will stay buried in the safe until I get bored, or something breaks. That gives me a brush gun, a longer-range gun, and something in-between for a spare. That is a goal that is about right for a dedicated deer hunter with a day job and a family. However, that requires an investment throughout the year—not dragging guns out at Labor Day and putting them away at the end of season. If that is all you can devote to it, I’d limit myself to just a couple of rifles and factory loads.

If time allows, I’d like to pull a day with the Remington 1100 just for old time’s sake. That one is the only no-brainer I have. There is nothing to adjust and nothing else to do. It puts cheap Remington sluggers into a pie plate at 50 yards, and has been doing so since Reagan’s first term.

Then there's the Remington 742, I didn't have it out last year. Maybe I can get that out to the range. . . Oh drat! There I go again.