Are expensive rifles really needed to hunt successfully?

[infinity_656]

:)
I asked about the question earlier if higher price = better quality rifle?
I was told that this would be a better question and after thinking I have too say yes it is
Are expensive rifles really needed to hunt successfully?  I think back to my grandfather in east texas.  He hunted to put meat on the table and feed his family.  As I got older I looked at the guns he used and non were really name brands.
 
When my extra money was burning a hole in my pocket I decided too get a bolt action to hunt with this year.  Well I looked at a lot of them and noticed that a few of the low cost rifles were rated really highly by professionals.  I picked the model 200 from Stevens
Its kind of funny when you take time and look at different user forums and see what is said about lower cost rifles.  Many times its the person who has never used one that has the most to say about how bad they are.
 
We also need to decide what type of hunting will we really do.  My grand father for example feed a family deer and other wild game and never took a shot over 50 yards at best.  As I get ready for the season hunting on the family land I realize that with pine trees and other factors the longest shot i will take will be the same distance.  So the 500.00 scope and latest rifle will never get a workout with me.

[RatherBHuntin]

:)
Its kind of funny when you take time and look at different user forums and see what is said about lower cost rifles.  Many times its the person who has never used one that has the most to say about how bad they are.
 

Yea, you seem to have hit the X ring with that one.  And usually people like that even after using won't say anything positive...just not their way.

[sakorick]

It makes no sense to have back to back threads that cover the exact same topic. Lets combine these somehow. Regards, Rick.

[babbyc1000]

i think its all down to the gun itself
 
one example i have is my double barrel shotgun, its over 40 years old and belonged to my girlfriends dad before he passed away. it is a basque model and needs a bit of work (re blueing the barrel, etc)
 
a couple of weeks ago i went to a clay shooting event, there were lots of people there you would call professionals, with top of the range over and unders worth over £2000. well me and my ancient side by side put most of them to shame when it came to smashing clays!! I felt a bit self conscious at the time when i took it out of the gun sleeve and saw everyone elses shiny, engraved and gold inlaid guns, but hey its down to the performance at the end of the day!
 
Another example is my .22 scope - it cost me £24 (approx $50 i think) from ebay, that included shipping from Hong Kong. everyone laughed when i told them but again, when i got it it was excellent, nitrogen sealed parts, magnification from 3 times up to 9, 42 mil viewer, as well as that its sprayed in a camo pattern! i was trying out a £300 sight 2 days before i got it and i have to say the £300 one might as well have been a magnifying glass compared o the £24 one!
 
one last thing though - if your only going to be shooting up yo 50 metres then i wouldve went for a semi auto, its less powerful than a bolt action but at that range youd hardly notice the difference, and the increased ROF would also be useful - thats why i got a ruger 10/22 with a bull pup stock!

[Hunterbug]

I have not spent more than $400 on any of my guns but I always manage to fill my tag. The hunter is the single most important aspect to hunting success.

[babbyc1000]

I kinda agree and disagree with that hunterburg
 
You need both aspects for an enjoyable days shooting, i was given on old BSA bolt action rifle by a family friend, it was ancient, im talking 50+ yrs and hadnt been looked after well. i consider myself a good hunter but i couldnt get anything with that rifle, turned out the sights were warped, so although theres no way i would pay over £500 ($1000) for a rifle i think you still need to spend a certain amount of money to get your targets!:rolleyes:

[Hunterbug]

But you can get a quality rifle for not alot of money.

[sakorick]

But you can get a quality rifle for not alot of money.

You bet you can! Scopes too! I guess it boils down to buying the best you can afford. There are alot of super deals out there as the competition is fierce. For instance, I never thought I could purchase a Zeiss scope for anything less than 6-800 dollars, however, a 3x9x40 Conquest can be had for less than 400. The Burris 3x9x40 with the BP reticle can be had for under 200 dollars. Top of the line Scope mounts are also very affordable. I love the older Sakos but can't afford one but once a year or so.....I save and scrimp then find one that adds to my collection and sell one that is not as good. Gun Broker, Auction Arms and GA should be periodically reviewed.....there are great prices on real nice rifles out there! I always seem to fing something when I'm not really looking! Regards, Rick.

[Mauserfan in TX]

My 8mm Scout was a project rifle. I put it together for around $200.00. It has put more meat in the freezer than my dads' expensive rifles have, and it drives him crazy.

[babbyc1000]

Oh yeah im not saying you need to spend big bucks, but at the same time you need to be very careful with all weapons!

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

   The simple answer is Nope expensive guns are not needed to make any hunt successful  however they are nice though :D .

   Now about that BSA with warped sights  sounds like an awful lot of abuse there. If the barrel internally was in good shape then the sights could be fixed/replaced or a scope fitted and you would have a nice rifle. Bu then I happen to be rather baised about BSA's as anyone on the forum can attest to .

  Also as they can tell I collect rifles so yep I have covered the price range from $45-$4500 and one day will get myself a nice SxS double rifle  one day.

  May I also say that personaly I have never knocked the Savage nor Stevens having never had anything to do with either of them. However I intensly dislike the Remington 700 and the Weatherby's! and I cannot truthfully say that the handi rifles are attractive, like wise the Contender they just don't look right to me so ................................

Oh yeah im not saying you need to spend big bucks, but at the same time you need to be very careful with all weapons!

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   Now as for this ................ well I brought an old BSA commercially sporterised P-14 rifle, BSA called it the Model D I believe  well the barrel has been cropped by someone who when re-fitting the foresight ramp got it canted  and the barrel is rusted internally, heavy pitting yet using Winchester White Box .303 at 60 paces it will group around an 1" using the peep sight so it could be used quite comfortably for hunting. It was brought to use as spares for the Model E I had just aquired then I noticed that they were different models so it has remained intact for now. I say for now as a new barrel in intended and the sights fitted properly, a restoration if you like, but money (lack of) and dealing with the licence issues has held up the project :o . So appearences can be very deceptive indeed. I was ready to right this off as parts when I decided to try it out and to say I was surprised would be an understatement .

[babbyc1000]

believe me the bsa i have is in VERY bad shape! the outside of the barrel is pitted and rusted very badly, i know the sights could have been replaced - i actually did replace them with another sight i had, but at 50m i was having trouble hitting a 5 gallon water drum repeatedly - believe me im not that bad a shot! i know what you mean about bsa, its a lovely weapon and with time, effort and money i could probably do it up, if i could i have have it AND my ruger 10/22 it would be wonderful but the local police dont like you being armed to the teeth much, i had enough trouble convincing them to let me have two 12 bore shotguns - one is called "the basque", its a side by side, approx 40+ yrs old, made in spain, the other is an "aya cosmos" single barrel, im told 50+ yrs old and its spanish too! and guess what? i got them both free, ha ha!
 
I think what im trying to say here is that you dont neccessarily need to spend big money to get a good rifle, but at the same time dont expect to get something for nothing!

[Brithunter]

Hi,

    Hmm I am thinking that you are in the UK somewhere, is that so? if so which county are you dealing wiht as it seems that they seriously need educating to what the law says and it's not what they wish it to say :frown .

    It can be difficult but believe me they can be beaten and should be as the more shooters who let them get away with stuff like this makes it harder for everyone in the long run.

   I am currently fighting the stupidity of Lincolnshire Police after moving into the county with a fair collection of rifles. There is actually no limit in law to the number of guns you may have and it matters not if they be Shotguns or Rifles . the biggest problem is that the Police missuse the Good reason clause and they move the goal posts as well. Shooting is apparantly not a good reason?

   However join BASC get their advice and hammer the "Police Gestapo" into the ground smiling whilst you do it then enjoy your fun shooting it's well worth it in the long run believe me . The previous county tried it some years ago and we beat them and now it's time to do it all over again.

   Oh and John Knibbs can help with BSA parts including new barrels. The trouble is with this is the charges for fitting and blacking can be high. Norma Clark has just quied £275 ($485 US) to fit, proof and black and .308 barrel to a M81 classic. On the other hand a nice decent condition bSA CF2 cane be had for about the £225-£325 mark, Monarchs and Majestics about the same but sometimes less. I picked up a 1st Pattern Monarch in .270 Win complete with it's iron sights and fore sight hood for £100 last March at the Bisley show and apart from a couple of scratches in the finish on the wood it's almost like new . Sorry no photos due to the licence issues it's still with a friend on his RFD.

[babbyc1000]

Yeah mate i live in northern ireland (im not a terrorist though!!!) so cops dont like giving us guns! plus im only 22 yo and this was my first licence, the local firearms officer was dead on, he really helped me, but his inspector in belfast tried to say he didnt see the reason why i needed 2 12 bores and didnt think i had enough "experience" to have a .22 - even though it said on my application form i was a warrant officer in the cadets for 4 years and my duties were being a member of the shooting team and training cadets weapons handling on 5.56m rifles (gpl98 - its a version of the sa80 but with the gas parts removed)
 
so after many MANY letters from officers int he cadets and people telling him im not a complete psycho (only on mondays and wednesdays) i finally got it. what way do licences work on the mainland? for us we have to send them to the main HQ in belfast with a fully signed application form, photographs, two signed references from people stating as i said ur not a complete wacko, oh and i sent mine off in january, got the licence on 16th September!!!!

[Brithunter]

Ahhh NI,

   Well that changes things slightly as the rules are different in NI. Were you aware that you cna still own, shoot and keep pistols at home?

   As for the SA80 stuff never shot one but don't like the way they are made in fact the barrel band that holds the sling swivel on my Brno 601 is made form the gas block of the SA80 :D  I worked at a firm in Redhill Surrey which had the contract from RO to make lot's of bits like the :-

Gas Block
Hammer,
Safety retainer (D shaped tube)
Gas rod
Iron front sights complete
Sight rail
Action guide rods  

   And that's just what I worked on at different times, they did other stuff too which I never got to look at. I have some scrap unmachined sight rail still and a end bar which is drawn with a lug on the bottom which they made something on the SA80 out of.

    Next year I may take the cadets up on the offer to shoot their cadet versions  as they use our club range but not juring the autumn or winter for some reason. Now BASC would still be a good idea as it also provides insurance and they have a NI region.

   The trouble here on the mainland is that each constabulary seems to have it's own ideas on what the laws should be and make their own rules up as they go along. My Firearms Enquiry Offcer is a right pratt and knows probably a little more than my dog about firearms and the rules. I finally got fed up with his Bull ( OK John ) and threw him out so they don't want to come here now at all :D . Had to go to the plod shop and talk to another one of them and yet still after being there 2 1/2 hours he screwed the whole thing up missing at least one rifle off and messing up the ammo listings . I wonder where they het these retards from ?

   Well not really as I know both are ex-coppers who lost their jobs through problems, one is an alcoholic the other not sure as yet apart from being a total plonker .