I mainly buy my big game guns on "want" at this point and every now and then if a "need" manufactures itself. For example, I might be getting some chances to do some high volume varmit hunting this year so will "need" a varmit rig (woohoo!). Of course, to me, my "wants" are really varying degrees of need

-Lou

Is your gun/calibre based on "need" or "want/like"



I was having some discussions the other day with one of this site's esteemed members about the reasons for choosing different guns but in particular the choice of calibre. Among other things we were making some comparisons between America and Australia.



In my own case choice of calibre is what I want or am interested in using.



Also and along the same lines if you owned a 30/06 and big banger from 375 H&H and up, would you take the 30/06 deer shooting or the big banger.



Lastly, if you were having a very expensive custom rifle made or buying a very expensive factory gun....on what basis would you choose the calibre.



I am attempting to expand my knowledge on American culture



Mike

Actually, I think I may be like many Americans ... on one side, I want what I'd like to need. Therefore the 9.3x74R Chapuis, the .375 H&H, the .416 Rigby, and the .470 NE Searcy intended to go to Africa.

One the other hand, the last time I built a rifle it was for a specific purpose ... medium weight rifle for mountain use on larger North American game (an 8 lb pre-64 M70 in .338 Win Mag w Krieger bbl, McMillan stock, and teflon finish).

Have used the bigger bores on whitetails getting ready for elsewhere ... what has turned out to be very interesting is that the larger calibers with appropriate bullets have been great on smaller game. That is, they destroy less meat than small high velicity projectiles (150 gr in .300 Mags for example).

I have a .243 in a stainless-synthetic Remington Model 7. Where I live (eastern USA) I don't "need" anything else, but it hasn't stopped me!!

I like guns. So I tried to get a gun that would be best suited to whatever I was hunting. Sure there's overlap and I could probably do just as well with one or two rather than five. But what fun would that be?



I live in Arizona but hunt out of the state. My primary animals I hunt are javalina, antelope, deer and elk. Hopefully I'll expand that to beer, moose and sheep someday. I went for "classic" calibers that I liked and ones that fit what I hunted. .275 Wby, .300 H&H, .338 Win and .416 Rem (this is for the dream hunt to Africa ).



And would the expensive gun be my only one? If so, then I'd get something that I could use in the most situations. Something very versital. If I was adding it to my current battery, I would probably get a caliber that was matched to the gun that I didn't have. For example, if the gun was a Model 70, I'd get a O'Conner .270. If it was a Weatherby, I'd get a .340 (I've got a .257). If it was a Remington I'd get a...well, I wouldn't get a Remington

Well Mike, I don't know if I'm typical but I am American. I buy rifles based on what I want to fill a particular need. I'm doing a lot of varmint hunting now, so my next two rifles will be varmint rigs (22.250AI and another 223). Since I'm left handed a lot of the guns I buy are custom or seriously modified. My next full blown custom rig will probably be a 416 Taylor because I don't have a Dangerous Game rifle yet. I may never hunt DG but you have to be prepared!

Actually, after one buys a 30-06 his "needs" are addressed for all practical purposes. After that its pretty much a "want synthesized into a need". Right now, I have a plethora of "deer" rifles -.260 thru 8x57. I killed my first elk with a 30-06 and, truth be told, it was very dead. But, of course, I had to get a real elk gun. So now, in addition to the 30-06, I have a 7mag, a .300WM and a .338WM. I did own a 8mm Rem Mag but that was too much of a good thing for me, being philosphoically against brakes. Of course, one "needs" a dedicated varmint rifle or two or three or so on. Out west, shooting sage rats, you need a reacher, heavy barrel and all. Here East of the big river, you need a sporter weight 'cause you do more walking than shooting.
Once bought, my rifles can rest easy for, as a rule, they are not trade goods but have found a home. One time, while I was considering which new rifle to buy, my wife suggested I trade one of my seldom used rifles. I told her it would be easy for me to sell one of the kids.

Mike, I choose standard factory cartridges that are widely available commercially, are a straight-forward proposition to work with in terms of handloading, and produce the level of ballistic performance that I'm looking for - usually for a wide range of hunting tasks. Wildcats and oddball commercial cartridges are not considered.

"Like" enters into the mix as well. I "like" and don't want to do without a .22LR, .223 Rem., .44-40 Win., .30-30 Win., .270 Win., .300 Win. .338 Win., .375 H&H, and .416 Remington.

From a practical standpoint, I could trim the battery to the .22LR, .223 Rem., .30-30, .300 Win. and .416 Rem. and have all of my bases covered. OR I could eliminate the .300, .338, and .416, substitute the .375 H&H, and keep the rest.

Not likely!

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MIKE -

Its not entirely different from cars here in America. Most will get you where you want to go, but then there is style, aesthetics, power, speed, handling, etc. These same attributes influence the interest in and desire for guns.