What kind of rifle do you hunting gunsmiths carry while hunting? Or, for those of you who know gunsmiths and their favorite hunting iron, please let us know what they prefer.

Part of the curiosity comes from the thought that, say, mechanics vehicles are always in disrepair, plumbers taps drip, a carpenter's deck is a hazard....... So does this apply to the gunsmith or are their rifles a materpiece of perfection stolen from the "assembly line" for their own use. Might they consider commissioning another maker for their personal firearm, or is that a complete no no (I would think so).

Jerry Fisher, I know, uses a self built 7MM Rem Mag topped with a Leupold. The rest of the details are a little fuzzy at the moment. We have all seen David Miller posing behind one of his "Marksmen" rifles. Anyway, what is used by the men who create?

Chuck

I don't think they have time to hunt, they're all backed up building guns for the rest of us.

I'm not a gunsmith, but a friend of mine who is retired does gunsmithing to keep his mind sharp. He carries a custom 500 Jeffery on a Remington 30s action with a custom walnut stock made by him. His other rifles include a custom 411 magnum - his all-around gun, a custom 308 for deer sized game, an original Schueler rifle in 500 Jeffery, a custom 11.2x72mm, and a custom 9.3x64mm. His favorite thing to hunt is elephants and a lot of 'em! I think gunsmiths tend to have nicer looking (at one point in the guns life) and functioning rifles.

Sevens

while i have at least one for any need or want. my baby is Winchester pre 64 mod 70 300wm with a trued action & Hart 26" original pre64 contor barrel, Marine Tex & piller bedded in a Boyds JRS Pepper Laminate stock, Waren base and rings, Leupold 3.5x10 LPS scope.
the whole action - trigger & all is Robar Np3 coated, the barrel mate brushed SS . I built it as my "go to" rifle.

I'd guess 75% of the gunsmiths that respond to this post list pre 64

My gunsmith owns and carries one of three different calibers depending on his needs:

1. 22-250
2. 30-06
3. 35 Whelen

Plus whatever he has that he hasn't mentioned in passing. He also has a .358 Norma he built on a VZ-24 back when he was at Trinidad back in the 70's, but due to certain machine restrictions, the barrel ended up too short for that caliber and inefficient; needs a longer barrel to reap the "magnum" benefits he claims. I'm pretty sure it now resides in the back of the safe. ...Sure wish I could get my mitts on the action...

my father in law was deer hunting one time with PO Ackley. every one was wondering what he was shooting, he said just a little 243

Chuck,
It's good you asked what the gunsmiths carry while hunting. If you had asked what the gunsmiths actually shoot big game with I wouldn't be able to answer!
The first rifle I pick up is the first rifle I hunted with and the rifle with which I shot my first head of big game (an Alberta antelope down by Manyberries). This is a #4 Lee Enfield which was spoterized by Parker Hale. It now wears a 30/40 Krag barrel and is my "lucky" gun.
A very close second and first choice when I'm pretending to be serious is a 35 Whelen built on a 1935 Mauser. I built this in 1986 because I always wanted a Whelen and was in the mood to build one. It's accurate and looks OK if you like the 1950s American styling. Like any good mauser it is stone reliable and rugged.
Third is a pre-war M70 in 308 Norma. This was my Dad's rifle. It was originally a 30/06 but he had it rechambered when the 308 Norma was new. I rebarrelled it with a Sako barrel and it is a fine rifle and probably the best of the lot. It still wears the original stock but may get restocked someday when I have the time.
On rare occasions I have shot game with all of these. The Lee Enfield has killed more than all the others put together mostly because I carry it more. Lee Enfields have a lot of shortcomings but they didn't bother me when I was 15 and saw it as a thing of beauty and they don't bother me now!
I would probably never have a rifle built by anyone else unless it was from one of the old masters. Not because I think mine are better but because it somehow seems dishonest. For the same reason I would never compete with someone else's target rifle. Just as most handloaders prefer to use their own ammunition rather than some of the excellent factory offerings. Regards, Bill.

I'm no gunsmith but my gunsmith (a semi-retired Norwegian fast approaching 80 years of age) carries a 1917 (Enfield) based rifle with a Hart barrel in 6mm/06 caliber and a thumbhole Fajen stock. That's his whitetail gun.

Before that he used basically the same affair but only the caliber was 308 Norma. He used that for all of his moose/elk.

I think both have 3.5-10x40 Vari-X III Leupold scopes atop them.

And boy do they ever shoot. I asked him once why he used the 1917 Enfield action and his reply was that it was simply the best, that he could use anything he damned well pleased and that's what he chose. I'm sure availability impacted that choice but it is a damned fine action.

Reed

During deer season the gunsmith I do stock work for can�t get very far from the shop. (Busy with repairs and he is also a �slum lord�). So he sets up his 50 BMG in the barn behind the shop and waits for the deer to come out at dusk. It is a State Arms bolt action with a scope on it that I could never afford. He replaced the original barrel with an M-2 machine gun barrel. It shoots real nice now.

I did get him away long enough to do some prairie doggin last summer. He brought along his (very pretty) 1909 Argentine in 22-250, and of course the 50 BMG. He had (if I remember correctly) one of those Royal Crown bags full of 22-250 ammo and four ammo cans of 50 BMG. I thought he had more 22-250 but they were bottles, not bullets. I finally had to place the truck in between us when he was shooting. (If he didn�t have a really nice lathe I wouldn�t have invited him to begin with)

While we were there we shot the 50 and my 300 winmag at 1000 yds. Very interesting. The 168 grain match bullets would be laying behind the cardboard just slightly under the surface of the soil showing remarkably little deformation.

The Rancher went shooting with us one day and had us eliminate a goat that �wouldn�t make it through the winter�. One shot at 850 yds with the 50 BMG.

Later, pdhntr

i am hobbist... and i, of late, usually pick up my 376 steyr or my 358 winchester, as my favorite hunting guns.. the 416 is a blast, the 500 jeffery is a hoot, but just for walking in the woods.. i like my 376...

oh, yeah, and i never finished the rear sight, so it's in a minor state of not finished..

btw, a painters house always needs painting.. but you can bet the most reliable thing in a techie's house is his computer

jeffe