G'day,
We all know someone who's brought the subject up, and I've seen it come around a bit on here too, "what rifle/cartridge would you keep to hunt with if you could only have one?".
Trouble is, I was thinking about that (yes it hurt, too
) and I have a serious problem with this. My favourite cartridge isn't the one I could keep, and my favourite rifle isn't either. I reckon a lot of you would find yourselves in the same boat if you really thought about it too.
See, my favourite cartridge is fast becoming the .204 Ruger. It shoots bull**** flat compared to anything else I've ever owned, is a complete tack driver and accompanies me in the ute every day at work. (I work on a cattle station, and pest destruction is one of the perks of the job.) It constantly surprises me in its ability to reach out and flatten pigs and dingos as well as smaller game, at ranges I would never have previously tried (shots over 200 yards are becoming the norm, and I was always a very close range shooter) and it's an absolute joy to shoot because of its accuracy and lack of recoil.
But it's no good as a walk around rifle, and you just can't hunt anything bigger than pigs with it, and even they really should be just shot unsuspecting from a solid rest from the vehicle, to ensure clean kills. So this is the cartridge I'd probably miss the most, and though I love it if I could only have one, it just couldn't be this.
Ditto for my favourite hunting rifle, my CZ550 in .375H&H magnum. I respect this rifle above all the others because everything on it just works. Flawlessly. It fits perfectly, I love the look of it and the calibre is awesome for hunting bite back game. But it has too much recoil for daily use, and it's just too expensive to shoot smaller game with.
So, if I had to keep just one hunting rifle, it would be my Tikka T3 in .270WSM. It's reliable, accurate, flat shooting and it's pleasant enough to shoot. It's versatile enough to handle smaller game like dogs and pigs and with 180gn Woodleigh projectiles I could still shoot scrub bulls and buffalo etc.
But it's probably the rifle I use the least at the moment, bit of a plain jane really and while the cartridge is a good one, I have smaller rounds that mostly fit the bill as you can see. I know this is a long post but I think some people will understand where I'm coming from. If I had to be a one gun hunter, for reasons of practicality I'd have to let two favourites go in order to make a sensible choice.
I say let's hope we're never forced with such a decision!!!
We all know someone who's brought the subject up, and I've seen it come around a bit on here too, "what rifle/cartridge would you keep to hunt with if you could only have one?".
Trouble is, I was thinking about that (yes it hurt, too
) and I have a serious problem with this. My favourite cartridge isn't the one I could keep, and my favourite rifle isn't either. I reckon a lot of you would find yourselves in the same boat if you really thought about it too. See, my favourite cartridge is fast becoming the .204 Ruger. It shoots bull**** flat compared to anything else I've ever owned, is a complete tack driver and accompanies me in the ute every day at work. (I work on a cattle station, and pest destruction is one of the perks of the job.) It constantly surprises me in its ability to reach out and flatten pigs and dingos as well as smaller game, at ranges I would never have previously tried (shots over 200 yards are becoming the norm, and I was always a very close range shooter) and it's an absolute joy to shoot because of its accuracy and lack of recoil.
But it's no good as a walk around rifle, and you just can't hunt anything bigger than pigs with it, and even they really should be just shot unsuspecting from a solid rest from the vehicle, to ensure clean kills. So this is the cartridge I'd probably miss the most, and though I love it if I could only have one, it just couldn't be this.
Ditto for my favourite hunting rifle, my CZ550 in .375H&H magnum. I respect this rifle above all the others because everything on it just works. Flawlessly. It fits perfectly, I love the look of it and the calibre is awesome for hunting bite back game. But it has too much recoil for daily use, and it's just too expensive to shoot smaller game with.
So, if I had to keep just one hunting rifle, it would be my Tikka T3 in .270WSM. It's reliable, accurate, flat shooting and it's pleasant enough to shoot. It's versatile enough to handle smaller game like dogs and pigs and with 180gn Woodleigh projectiles I could still shoot scrub bulls and buffalo etc.
But it's probably the rifle I use the least at the moment, bit of a plain jane really and while the cartridge is a good one, I have smaller rounds that mostly fit the bill as you can see. I know this is a long post but I think some people will understand where I'm coming from. If I had to be a one gun hunter, for reasons of practicality I'd have to let two favourites go in order to make a sensible choice.
I say let's hope we're never forced with such a decision!!!
