Aside from collector's pieces and those held on to for sentimentel reasons, is there one particular firearm you can't ever see yourself parting with?

I've gone through many guns over the years, and most have been traded away or sold to get something else I wanted at the time. But there is one particular Contender barrel I bought from a gentleman in South Dakota perhaps 8-10 years ago that I can never see myself parting with.

It's a 20 1/8th inch barrel in 7mm Bullberry, which is essentially a 7mm International Rimmed with the unnecessarily long neck trimmed back to give a case length of 1.75". It is exceptionally accurate and drives a 120 grain bullet to around 2650 fps, a 130 to a little over 2500 fps and a 140 grainer to 2450 fps.

The rig itself has a trigger that breaks cleanly at just under 2 pounds, a 1x Bellm pin and currently wears a Nikon Monarch 6x42 along with a wide, target-type forend (attached via hanger bar system) by TC Dave from the specialty pistols board.

It is easy to load for; cases rarely need trimming with these modest-pressure loads; and some of my brass has seen 24 firings and is still going strong.

Whether it's deer, hogs, coyotes, bobcats or vermin around the farm, the 7mm Bullberry has never let me down (I'm guessing I have taken at least 3 dozen hogs with the 7mm BB). And it's one of those rare rigs in which the POI never, ever varies. So it's often the first thing I grab for when the opportunity to hunt arises.

From a ballistic standpoint, it's no barn burner, but I have never felt undergunned with it, and anything around here inside 300 yards can be cleanly killed with this little 7mm.

Accuracy with it is incredible, to say the least. It's one barrel that I could never see myself getting rid of.

So let's hear what gun or barrel you could never see yourself parting with -- and tell us why.

Rem 788 308 win. or my model 57 S&W 41 mag. hard choice to make if one of themn had to go!
MM

M700BDL 270 I bought in 1972. It's on it's 2nd barrel and 3rd stock, but is still the one that goes out when confidence counts.

surprisingly, the last one I bought, from SafariKid a year ago IIRC. CZ550 Safari Magnum 458Lott barrel fit to a 416 Rigby and rechambered to 450 Dakota. It did the honors last month in Zimbabwe. My wife laughed when she asked "...you aren't going to have it mounted are you?". I laughed and said "Yeah Baby!!". I am going to drape the rifle across the horns. It truly is one rifle I could hunt the world with. I got slightly uphill of the buff and put a solid thru the brisket at about 40 yards. He reared up on his hindlegs and fell over backwards. The Hammer of Thor!!

Rich
Buffalo Killer

Kimber 30/06 My first rifle. Has taken an elk, a dall and a griz, and will accompany me to NZ if all goes according to plan.




Fox Sterlingworth 16ga. My first double, and started my love affair with two bbl guns.



My grandpa died before I was born, in 1986. His guns have been sitting in storage since then. I have tried to get them from my step grandmother, to no avail. Hopefully I will get those, and will certainly never sell any of those.

I just don't get rid of guns. They may get made into something else or go to kids or very, very good friends ... but they don't get sold.

I think other than the Ottmar Rifle, the best bolt action hunting rifle I own is a pre-64 M70 in .338 Win Mag. Has a Mag-na-Ported Krieger cut-rifled barrel, NECG irons, and a McMillan stock. Is fitted with a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 MC on Leupold QR rings and mounts. It puts 225 gr Barnes Xs into 2" at 300 yards. A joy of a rifle.

Does that mean I'll get rid of the rifles built on FN Mauser, Mark X, VZ.24 or Argie actions ... I don't think so.

weatherby lightweight in 338-06
remington mtn rifle in 7mm mauser

tough tough question
i don't sell many,thou i have given a few away to deserving interested young hunters.
right now i'm in ballistic love w/ my 7 stw
but that could change,giving as long as i think i'm going to live.....

I still have one of the first rifles I bought, couldn't afford it but..... a regular 'ol Browning A Bolt, stainless stalker, 30.06.

I grew up as a hunter with it and it just fit. Didn't matter stand hunting or getting on a moving deer, when I threw it up it was on. It fits me perfectly.

I don't use it much anymore, but it's full of memories that will never leave my safe.

My 870 20 ga. First gun and still being used...

From clays,birds,and deer.....

Used to shoot 250-500 clays a week with a friend and his 12.Still all original, a tad bit worn

Saved all the box tops from the shells that I've put through her...

26,000 +/- at this point.....

Dan

I have many more than I need. I never part with them.

my Ruger #1 in 375 H&H!

quote:

Originally posted by buckeyeshooter:
I have many more than I need. I never part with them.

+1!!
I have been approached numerous times to trade or sell one of my pieces, and to be honest I have never thought about it for more than a few seconds before remembering-I don't get rid of guns. Just a sickness I guess.

My 7mm Rem Mag my stepfather bought me this gun back when I turned fourteen years of age. I lost my stepfather seven years ago at Christmas so this rifle is one of many things he gave me as a child. And I will never get rid of it except maybe to my daughter when she get older.
Plus the Model 700 and 7mm Rem Mag and I were all born the same year. I replaced the berrel with a 26" Shilen, it's a tack driver. atriot

Steve

www.skymountainoutfitters.com

quote:

Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:
Aside from collector's pieces and those held on to for sentimentel (sic) reasons, is there one particular firearm you can't ever see yourself parting with?

I had to look up what Webster's had to say about sentiment before I answered:
"a complex combination of feelings and opinions as a basis for action or judgment; general emotionalized attitude."

Bobby, I'm emotional about every pistol, shotgun, muzzleloader and rifle I own. I've never sold any rifle I bought. I've had them stolen, I gave one to a neighbor's son, but only sold one which I had no use for that was given to me. So I can't in all honesty comply with your guideline. But I've come this far so I might as well continue.

The first thing I did when I was discharged from the Navy in '71 was not to get a job, buy a car or get drunk for a week. I bought a deer rifle even though deer season was 11 months away. A rifle that I could call my own, not a hand-me-down or somebody else's idea of what was ideal. I chose a Remington 700 BDL in 25-06 caliber. And I also bought all the required reloading equipment and supplies at the same time.

I used it until '82 to shoot red foxes, groundhogs, crows and whitetailed deer. Hell, I even used the 87gr bullets to shoot starlings off the apple trees in spring! I'd call that versatile. Then, while I was away from home attending my senior year at Penn State, some thieves stole my whole gun cabinet and all its contents. 12 years later, the Philly cops informed me that my rifle was recovered. It took me another year to jump through all the legal hoops to recover my own personal property, even with help from my state senator.

I liked the 25-06 chambering and bought another rifle in the interim. So, what to do with the old Remington with a stock that looked like it had clubbed a hundred sheep, missing the scope and sling, but most important...the bolt. (Thanks, Philadelphia police evidence room personnel.) I sent it back to Ilion, NY for the factory to fit and proof a new bolt. Problem was, it couldn't hit the broad side of my barn thereafter.

So I decided to salvage the action and scrap the rest. I didn't need 2 bolt rifles in the same caliber. (Why some other folks own multiple caliber guns in basically the same configuration is beyond my reasoning. But hey, that's just me.) I already had the smaller bases covered with 22-250, 25-06 and 30-06. The obvious choice was to go bigger. And so I decided on 338-06.

I chose the gunsmith, RW Hart; the barrel, Hart stainless 24"; a muzzlebrake with thread cap; and a H-S Precision stock, skim bedded with Bisonite. Since the choice of an Ackley Improved chambering reamer was a no cost option, I went with that to improve case life. I had Hart bead blast the exterior of the barreled action and I painted it flat black with Brownells Aluma-Hyde II. Topped with a Simmons Atec 2.8-10x.

Talk about accurate. My very first 5 shot group with 250gr Sierra bullets at 100 yards could be completely covered with a dime. Was I thrilled the way this semi-custom turned out? You bet! And when I decided to take it to Namibia for plains game, it shot the 225gr Barnes flatbase bullets just as well.

It certainly did a number on this 36" gemsbok as well as 2 kudu, zebra, hartebeest and warthog.



This rifle has been through a lot. So many memories. Although not practical for dangerous game or varmints, this is the last gun I'll ever part with. I might even request that I be entombed with it. Nah, that's just dumb. Someone else should enjoy it as much as I have. And I'm not done yet.

BTW, that's my Oehler 43 ballistics chart taped to the butt stock. I'm not used to shooting game animals much over 100 yards here in Penn's Woods. Namibia was much wider open spaces.

The one gun I will never part with is my go to rifle for everything except Cape Buffalo. A Winchester Custom Shop Model 70, in .358 STA. It will put 225, 250, and 270 grain North Forks in one hole, when I do my part. I call it "Big Red" because it has a georgous red walnut stock that pulses red streaks in the bright sunshine. I have taken it to Alaska, Alberta, Colorado, and Africa for excellent results. I mounted a 4.5 X 14 Leupold Vari-X lll that is also sweet. Although it is an expensive piece, it has many hunting personality marks and will have plenty more in the future. Good shooting.

My Weatherby 30-378 Accumark. I just got another whitetail with it 3hrs ago. So far every deer has dropped in its tracks ,like struck by lighting. 1/2" groups at 200 yrds. Reason growing up I remember reading about that Caliber in the 60s' and it was my "dream cartridge , espescialy after reading Roukes "Use Enuff Gun

PS. Funny you should bring this topic up . This morning while sitting in stand I was thinking about guns I should never sold. Do you still have that Contender? Thats one of them.LOL

My very first deer rifle, which was given to me at age 5. It's a Ruger .250 Savage with original manlicher stock. Love that gun, even though I haven't shot it in probably 7 or 8 years.

My InterArms Mark X 375 H&H.

I could never part with my Winchester M52. My Dad purchased it from a friend. I used it to compete as a Jr. Member on our local National Guard four position indoor rifle team in High School. I took first at the Governors Cup Trophy match that first year. On the drive home from the match my Dad gave me the rifle. It is my number one squirrel rifle now. Head shots all day. I hope my son will cherish this rifle as much as I do someday.
[URL=

I've only sold one gun in my life and I still regret that one. That said....
My Winchester Model 12 16ga. Mod. Choke made in 1954. From the first time I saw it on a rack and shouldered it in the gun store, to the first shot I fired with it ( turned a clay to dust ), to several dove hunts here and it went with me to Africa.
Robert

My USRAC Winchester 1895 in .405 Winchester.

My Blaser R93 7mmMag. I shot a B&C whitetail at 200 yards with only the neck visible. The good trigger and excellent accuracy made the difference.

I have only ever sold one of my guns and regretted it. It was a S&W 686 and I ended up replacing it. My current favorites are my 300WM, 375 H&H and 450 Ackley probably because they are true left handed rifles. I do have a few of my rifles out on loan to my father to take care of pests.

The one gun I would never part with is an old tang safety Ruger M77 in .338 Winchester Magnum. It was my first rifle given to me by my dad when I was 16. It took my first blacktail and mule deer. It also worked great in Africa in 2008 taking 6 animals.

Greg

Never is a long time and almost everything has a price. Offer me $50K for any one of my rifles and it's gone!

The one rifle I don't plan to part with (unless one of you offers $50 - 60K) is a late 1960s-early 1970s Husqvarna .270 that I picked up in Germany in 1971. I took a large number of big game animals in Europe and most of my North American game with it. It's formed the core of so much of my hunting and is too much a part of my history and experience to give away easily.

Mine's a Ruger M77 in a .270. It's the first gun I bought myself. I know I can always count on it. I've been luck enough to drag it all over the world, and it's never let me down.

Mine would be my 21F 7x57.

ddj

My Browning T- Bolt Deluxe made in 1970.I bought it new and still have the Box and everything that came with it includeing the sales receipt.

Mine is a Remmy 700 I bought when I was 14 years old. In '92 I had it rebuilt as a full custom using only the trigger and action. It was a .300 Jarrett until I shot that barrel out. Now it's a .358 STA. It was my idea of the perfect elk rifle, and still is.

i have on occasion sold a gun or two and have always regretted the experience. the one rifle that i will not part with is a relative newcomer to my safe. it is a semi custom sears model 50 with 3 pos safety and a stock that i did and was my first checkering job. the thing shoots day in and day out under an in. with the barnes tsx 180 at a little over 2700 i have killed a large alberta bull moose and a small bull elk. both reqd no follow up . the gun just fits and is the only 30 06 that i own that shoots this well.

I have two that will never be sold. A M70 416 Rem Mag and a Krieghoff 470NE. A few others have to be thought about, and a Remington VLS in 243 that is on the block.

I don't get rid of guns. I just don't. But if I had to get rid of them all but one.........I'd keep Whomper........my A-Bolt Stainless Stalker in .375 Weatherby. Took my only B&C ever animal with this gun. It could do anything I ever want to do with a gun. It has to stay.

I move guns around pretty frequently. In fact, I just went and sold my Browning A-Bolt 7mm, just couldn't "feel" it anymore. It's done a great job, but it weighted a ton and had a bad habit of shooting only lightweight bullets well. Since it was my long range deer gun, it's been replaced with a Vanguard .257 which seems lighter and handier and it fits me better. With less recoil to boot.

To be perfectly honest, I don't need most of my guns and wouldn't have a problem selling them for the right price. The only gun I have any real attachment to is my Dad's Model 70.

The one I'm carrying in a self defense scenario!

I have 2 guns that I inherited from my father-in-law when he died that I'd never part with: a 30-30 Marlin and a Ruger M77 .243. I suppose that if I had to choose between those two that I'd keep the .243.

I generally don't get rid of guns, but there are a few that I'd never part with under any circumstance.

One is a pre-64 model 70 westerner in .264 win mag. I inherited that rifle from my father, who almost never shot it. I re-stocked it and it is now a very accurate rifle that I regularly hunt with. It's an outstanding rifle, and has obvious sentimental value.

The other gun is a 12 gauge Beretta A-302. It's a standard 2 3/4" gun with a 26" improved cylinder barrel. I bought this gun 27 years ago for my then fiance, to get her involved in bird hunting. It doesn't have a recoil pad, so she never would shoot it. On a whim, I decided to try the gun shortly after I bought it, and it has been my primary birdshooting gun ever since. In 27 seasons it has fired many thousands of shells, here at home as well as in Alberta, and Botswana. It is now very beat up with blueing worn away, the rib is dented, stock all beat up, but the birds keep on falling every time I take it out. I can't imagine not having this great shotgun to take out onto the marsh.

The wife never did get into bird hunting.....

quote:

Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:
Aside from collector's pieces and those held on to for sentimentel reasons, is there one particular firearm you can't ever see yourself parting with?

For me it would have to be 3.

My .375 H&H - I flat love that gun.

My SigSaur 9mm - given to me by my brother

My Ithaca model 37 12ga

I always said I'd never part with my first centerfire, a Winchester 70 Stainless classic in 30-06. I bought that gun new in December 2001, and have put well over 700 rounds through it. I actually thought of trading it off on a .338 WM a while ago, but my dear little wife gave me a funny look, and flat told me that I better not! She is the BEST! That one will never go, and neither will a Featherweight Stainless in 6.5x55 that I bought a couple of years ago. There is no way to replace either of them now, and the confidence I have in both would be hard to rebuild if I sold them. Not to mention the money and time it has taken to get them where I want them
Good hunting,
Graham