Which would you choose? Why?

Thanks for your opinions.

-- No Plea

BlazerK98 ????? what is it ?

Man, talk about a noncontest. I would choose the Ballard in a heartbeat.

For a straight up hunting gun, a Ballard Pacific in any caliber from .38-72 to .45-110 would be the optimal choice indeed. But the lightweight hunter will do. What caliber?

If light is important, consider a thin side low wall with a straight stock, and a #2 Octagon Barrel. Mine in .38-72 is lighter than any of my other rifles by a good bit.

I have an original .45-70 Pacific that I'm working up for my ultimate hunting gun. It may even replace the Sharps .45-100.

That is an odd pair to choose between. What's the story behind the choice?

Brent

I'm thinking it's time for a light weight, short, handy, accurate, well made custom or semi-custom deer/goat/sheep rifle... to carry a lot for the opportunity for just one shot. Dakota 10's and Hagn's require a bigger investment than I want to make. I have an Encore, but I want something with a different feel.
I'm thinking 6.5x55 SE or maybe 7x57... moderate velocity, mild recoiling, efficient hunting cartridges with a little history and romance.
I'm not thinking about a black powder or buffalo cartridge.
The Blasers and Ballard LWHR are early candidates. A Browning 1885 Low Wall could fit the bill, too, but would require rebarreling and probably more. But I'm open to suggestions.

romance? In a 6.5 of a 7 anything? Not me anyway.

If you aren't thinking blackpowder - forget the Ballard. No point. I would not do a Browning low wall myself. They are hardly low walls actually. But if they float your boat. I guess.

I know there is a Browning B78 6.5 in a shop in MSP - at least there was a while back.

Brent

No Plea

I am a fan of single shot rifles.
I have used a Ruger No1 in 243 and 45/70 quite a bit.

I recently got a Blaser K 95 Stutzen in 308.

It is one of the [it may be THE] most accurate hunting rifles I have ever owned.

I like it a lot, it handles like a dream.
I think the Blaser K 95 is one of the best single shots around.

I have not had any problems with the rimless case in the K 95.

Mine shoots 7 different 308 loads, 150, 165, 168, and 180 grain bullets under 1" at 100 yards, 3 shot groups.

you would be well served by a merkel k-1
(the europeans call them kipplauf)

a much classier rifle than the others. lightweight and superbly accurate. i took mine on 4 safaris.

i had a 300 win mag which handles all the plainsgame , esp kudu and was a lightning bolt on 2 leopards.

check it out, you'll be glad you did.

Tomo577,

I dissagree, the Merkel is a horrible looking rifle. The Kreighoff singleshot is a thing of beauty, but if you want a really classy looking singleshot you need a $50,000 Streitmer (spelling?).

I have a K95 with 3 barrels, butI think the Kreighoff is a nicer rifle, but not probably worth the extra $5000.00.

I agree with D99. The Kreighoff is beautiful but isn't worth the additional $5,000 over a K95. I shot trap with guys who shot Kreighoff K80 o/u's and seem to have lots of trigger troubles. Many of them carried spare trigger assemblies in their bag. I realize these were shotguns and we're talking rifles but I feel its worth discussing.

No Plea........you could buy a Browning Low Wall in .260 Rem. and be all set for about a 1/4 or 1/3 of the $ of a Ballard or K95...If you don't like the .260 have it re-chambered for a 6.5X55.......Nothing wrong with those other rifles if you have the $ and that's what you want...only neg. about the Browninig Low Wall is they are hard to find in .260....They are usually avialble in .22 Hornet and .243 on Guns Amer.auction site and should be fairly easy to re-barrel.....they come with nice wood also....

BEAUTY MAY BE IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

BUT THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THE KRIEGHOFF COMBI COCKER EXCEPT TO COMPLY WITH GERMAN HUNTING LAWS.

SO THEY SELL US THEIR JUNK INSTEAD OF MAKING ONE FOR THE AMERICAN MARKET. CLEVER KRAUTS