I never bought myself a rifle until year 2000. Always hunted ducks and small game or if I hunted deer, I used friends rifles. After some discussion and research I settled on a Ruger 77 in .280.

It was accurate enough to kill deer and that's about it. I had a trigger job done that helped, started handloading and that helped, floated the barrel myself and that helped some more. Most recently and finally a crown job which helped a whole lot. With that extra work, the "must have been built on Friday" 3 MOA rifle turned into a .5 MOA rifle. Was advised to buy Savage or tikka but liked the looks and fit of the Ruger best.

I have Savage, Tikka, and a few other rifles now that are close 2nd but always reach for the .280 when I want to seriously kill something. I guess I need to sell about a dozen that I seldom use. Merg

quote:

Originally posted by merganser1:
I never bought myself a rifle until year 2000. Always hunted ducks and small game or if I hunted deer, I used friends rifles. After some discussion and research I settled on a Ruger 77 in .280.

It was accurate enough to kill deer and that's about it. I had a trigger job done that helped, started handloading and that helped, floated the barrel myself and that helped some more. Most recently and finally a crown job which helped a whole lot. With that extra work, the "must have been built on Friday" 3 MOA rifle turned into a .5 MOA rifle. Was advised to buy Savage or tikka but liked the looks and fit of the Ruger best.

I have Savage, Tikka, and a few other rifles now that are close 2nd but always reach for the .280 when I want to seriously kill something. I guess I need to sell about a dozen that I seldom use. Merg

Good choice on the rifle and calibre.

Good rifle, great caliber choice. My goto rifle for most deer size game & up in NA is my Ruger M77 in 338-06. It just gets it done year after year. My fav. high country, pack all day rig is a custom M70 in 280. It's 1moa out to 400yds & weighs just 7.25# ready to hunt, love that rifle.

That sounds like a prety sensible rig to me.
I have tried the 280 a few times and the .270 a few more.
never yet found one I was real happy with.
But they are both excelent rounds.
I have had mich better luck with the 30,06 and the .308,
I would have to say my favorite rifle is my Kimber 84 in .308. its topped with a Dandy ziess conquest 2.5X8 and shoots very well with a variety of bullets , as long as i use IMR-4064.
Other powders work prety well in it but my go to load is a 165 grain hornay at 2750 FPS,and well under MOA.
Inside 300 yards there is not a deer elk or black bear that will know i am not shooting a magnum.
Cartridge wise I feel the same way about the 7X57.
I have a ruger #1 light weigt that is a tack driver with 140 grain bullets and H-414.
I get about 2900 with it .
i have a custom bolt in the works being built built on a mill surp VZ-24 action. If I can get anywhere near the performance from it I get from my Ruger, it may suplant my Kimber as my favorite..tj3006
...tj3006

I have an old 700ADL in .30-06 that I just love. It shoots 1/2 MOA with its preferred load and fits me like a good glove. Not sure I need much else and have been thinking of selling some things I don't use. It's too much for some and not enough for others, but it works for me like an old pair of boots fit.

LWD

Gee, if you'd bought a 700, you could have started out with an accurate rifle without all the tweeking. Good choice of calibre, however.

Stillbeeman,

You are right! I have bought 3 700's since and all very accurate; 243,260 Mtn rifle, and .300 savage classic, no tweeking needed.

IMO, the best no tweek rifle in moderate price range is Tikka. I have a 7-08 Lite and a T-3 Hunter in 243. Every factory & handload I,ve tried is close to MOA or less.

But winning the accuracy battle with that
Ruger was an accomplishment that gave me great satisfaction.

I have seen good rugers and bad rugers, but it seems there is somewhat of a renaissance in Ruger manufacturing right now, it seems their newest offerings need less tweaking than those of old. Right now the only ruger I have is an RSM in 416 Rigby. My go-to hunting rifles are a Sako 75 in 30-06 or a Sako 75 in 375 H&H, or a Wby mkV in 340 wby. All are synthetics with longer than average length of pull which is good for an ape like me.

Never be ashamed of owning a good ruger, there is nothing like the satisfaction of filling the freezer with meat while your friends go home empty handed with their "better" rifles!

John

I picked up a Husqvarna M 46 in 9.3x57 last year. No scope just open sights that look like express sights. Something about the classic pre war european lines appeal to me and I find I have as much or more fun shooting this one than more modern, more accurate guns. Next would be a little Ruger #1a in 7.57.

quote:

Originally posted by jkingrph:
I Something about the classic pre war european lines appeal to me and I find I have as much or more fun shooting this one than more modern, more accurate guns.

Amen on the Pre War European rifle lines.

quote:

I have an old 700ADL in .30-06 that I just love. It shoots 1/2 MOA with its preferred load and fits me like a good glove. Not sure I need much else and have been thinking of selling some things I don't use. It's too much for some and not enough for others, but it works for me like an old pair of boots fit.

I recently bought a 700 ADL in 30-06 in these classifieds,and let a friend talk me out of it. I tried to sell him my brand new 77 Ruger in .257, as I can't seem to warm up to it (blame is on my Savage Classic). I should have kept that one, I loved it as an open sight rifle.

Without a doubt, it would be my Remington 700 Mountain Rifle in 270. I bought mine blued with wood and a detachable magazine. I don't believe this combination can be purchased today so I feel blessed. This was my first firearm purchase after a near death vehicle accident prompting me to continue with life's pleasures. It's topped with a Leupold 4.5x14x40 VX3 and is getting it's 130gr Barnes TSX load fine tuned.

Besides the caliber's history and nostalgia, this rifle has the distiction of being my partner when I took the best shot of my life: A 340 yd shot at an Antelope in the Beatty's Butte Unit in Oregon in '04. Being curious to a fault, the buck stood still, watching me as he stood quartering towards with his left shoulder. I was able to lay down on the ground and use my belt pack as a rest. I over dialed my scope to 14x so I could chase his image around until I settled down enough to put the crosshairs on the top of his back and pull the trigger (a little excitement going on here). After the shot went off, the buck was nowhere to be seen. I missed!, or so I thought. After roughly 340 paces to where I thought he was standing (yes, I counted) I found him at the same angle as I saw him through the scope, just lying on the ground. At that time, I was shooting 140gr Accubonds and this one went in 7" below point of aim, through left shoulder, broke three ribs, and settled just under the hide of the right rear quarter, anchoring him on the spot. The bullet weighed 99.4grs, that's 71% retention. I'm rambling, but with work, kids, and the general lack of being able to hunt as much as I would like, this was truly a lifetime shot for me. The icing to this tale is that my uncle and I put in for our tags on a whim with our deer tag application. We were in the 1-2% succesful for first time applicants (takes six years on average to get a tag). We spotted and shot this buck on the second day of our hunt. Planets don't align any better than that.

Being a favorite rifle takes more than just ballistics, stopping power, and good looks. Without memories to go with it, it's just another tool.