I am increasingly finding that muzzle heavy balance, moderator (suppressor) jewel trigger, stainless and synthetic semi custom M700 wins over well balanced, unmoderated, timney trigger, blued walnut custom mauser. The issues are noise, muzzle heavy balance, recoil and trigger.

Do you generaly take that which you shoot best or that which you like most or are they one and the same.

I like to carry the mauser but when push comes to shove and I'm taking a testing shot I don't find myself wishing I had it instead of the M700.

Function wins over form for me - although my criteria for function may be slightly different than yours (e.g. no moderators allowed over here).

I salute shooters who go to great length creating the ultimate in rifle style and beauty. For hunting rifles, I tend towards the more practical myself: something I shoot well, something I can carry safely, loaded in the field (rare I hunt with anything but manual cocking mechanisms these days), something that will withstand being dragged through the brush (should the need arise) etc etc. I like heavy for shooting, light is only an advantage in terms of carry.

- mike

I choose ugly and efficient even though I don't think my mauser is that. Weight don't bother me, my rifle is aout 10 pounds or so. If I was sittin in a blind or stand then I would take the Beauty, If I was hunting where I usually hunt I would take the beast.

They are both the same for me. All of my rifles get hunted and I just pick which one based on mood. I don't need a rifle that is not a working rifle. Yes, I have high grade walnut on custom rifles, but if they get banged up, I consider it character.

I like beauty in a rifle. I have stocked several of my rifles (.300 Wby, .257 AI, & .22-250) with fancy grades of Claro walnut and have hand checkered them with a multi panel grip and forearm pattern. The .257 AI has been to the top of many mountains on bighorn sheep hunts, however I did fit it with a synthetic stock for a backpack Dall sheep hunt.

My largest caliber rifle, a .375 RUM that I built for a cape buffalo hunt and was the only rifle that I took on my last trip to South Africa, is a stainless steel barrel and action that I fitted to a laminated wood stock. I also hand checkered it with the same multi-panel pattern as is on my other rifles. It's not as pretty as fancy walnut, but it's not as ugly as synthetic.

However, I also have a stainless 7 mm RM in a synthetic stock that is my foul weather rifle. I took this rifle to Africa once, and I would be confident hunting anything in North America from moose down with it. Last year, it was drizzling rain the day that I shot my elk, so this was the rifle that I took.

I lean toward the Rugged and Reliable rifles when I know I'll be in tough Huning conditions. Most all of mine are now Stainless and Synthetic, without an Ugly one in the bunch.

Way back many decades ago, I got tired of constantly fighting Rust on the Blue and scratches, dings, gouges to the Termite Food. Did not look forward to the refinishing jobs back then. Though the products made today make it easier, I'd still not look forward to it.

Have a couple of Laminates and they are relatively heavy compared to good old home-grown, aged-to-perfection Synthetic. Don't know how well they will hold up just yet as they are relatively new. No "damage" to them yet from just handling them at the Range.

Heavy rifles definitely have their place and are easier to shoot due to them not being affected as much by heart beat or breathing. That Mass makes a difference. On the other hand, most of mine are relatively light for caliber. A bit larger scope brings the weight up more than I always like, but the conditions dictate when they are an advantage.

Rugged and Reliable without being Ugly is not that hard to do.

quote:

Originally posted by 1894mk2:
I like to carry the mauser but when push comes to shove and I'm taking a testing shot I don't find myself wishing I had it instead of the M700.

Sounds like an opportunity to Customize it a bit to meet your real needs and desires. Or perhaps Trading Bait for something that you would want to have in your hands.

Safe Queens are Trading Bait where I am, though I understand swapping is not as easy everywhere.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

If it ain't blue and walnut, it ain't a rifle. Or at least a nice piece of pallet wood stained to look like walnut.

Stainless synthetic for me I would just love my sav99 to be stainless with synthetic stocks.

I grew up hunting thick brushy canyons on the California coast. I really hate to trash a nice walnut stock crashing through the briars and coyote brush so all of my hunting rigs are synthetic except the shotguns and they show the dings.

function over form every time for me.