Rell
.375 member
Reged: 03/12/04
Posts: 642
Loc: Oyster Bay, NY, USA
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I've been on a rifle buying binge lately and I realize I have 10 rifles that are essentially the same when it comes to utility. I like short barreled medium bore stalking rifles.
2 x 338 Federal 1 x 338-06 2 x 356 Winchester 1 x 35 Whelen 2 x 9.3x62 1 x 9.3x74r 1 x 375 Ruger
I'm not sure what the mythical ideal battery would consist of but I suspect it would have one or maybe two rifles in this class.
So hypothetically, if I where to sell every rifle I own today, what would I buy to fill out the battery?
So here's the questions for the "if you could only have two rifles?" - Two rifles to hunt the entire world. - Had an unlimited budget. - Would hunt the game you want today. - Could never buy/sell/borrow/trade to another rifle. What would you get?
I thought this would be a fun topic to spend 5 minutes thinking about.
-------------------- 450-400, 9.3x74r and 7x65r.
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bonanza
.400 member
Reged: 17/05/04
Posts: 2335
Loc: South Carolina
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1) a nice prewar Webly 450-400 3" double rifle. 2) a nice left hand Dakota M76 30-06 bolt action.
--------------------
"Speak Precisely" G. Gordon Liddy.
"Life is absurd, chaotic and we must define its purpose with our actions" Abert Camus
"I''m the dude playing a dude disguised as another dude."
"Yo! Mr. White"
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hunter_angler
.300 member
Reged: 24/03/10
Posts: 104
Loc: Grand Marais, Michigan (home i...
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I am in kind of the same boat. Lots of rifles and have thought of narrowing things down.
Not sure why but I am an old school rimmed cartridge guy. As long as I could have a side by side 12 bore shotgun for birds and small game, I would take the following rifles for my needs:
Ballard 1885 High Wall in .300 H&H flanged Searcy sidelock double in .470 NE
I never intend to hunt elephant, if I did I might opt for a .577 NE in the latter.
It is fun to think about, but having lots of guns in the safe is fun too....
-------------------- Semper Paratus
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Dumprat
.300 member
Reged: 20/02/14
Posts: 205
Loc: Vancouver island bc.
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Rigby double in 416 308 Remington mountain rifle.
That will cover off almost everything from gophers to elephants no?
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jvw
.300 member
Reged: 15/05/08
Posts: 104
Loc: Australia
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Quote:
1) a nice prewar Webly 450-400 3" double rifle. 2) a nice left hand Dakota M76 30-06 bolt action.
You, Sir, have taste!
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lancaster
.470 member
Reged: 06/05/08
Posts: 9532
Loc: There's a lighthouse in the mi...
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mauser in 9,3x64 mannlicher schönauer in 7x64
-------------------- Norwegian hunter misses moose, shoots man on toilet
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bringing civilisation to the barbarians
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Igorrock
.400 member
Reged: 01/03/07
Posts: 1684
Loc: Finland
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Quote:
mauser in 9,3x64 mannlicher schönauer in 7x64
Yes, this first we both have but my Mannlicher Schönauer is 6,5x57
-------------------- http://promaakari.wordpress.com/
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Ruger_450
Banned
Reged: 10/03/13
Posts: 163
Loc: WY & FL
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You don't want the Ballard High wall in 300 flanged.
I spent two grand buying a Ballard Highwall (ANNB) from the late great Thad Scott. It was a beautiful rifle to say the least. But the Ballard High Wall uses the same extractor as the original High Wall. It would not extract factory 300 H&H loads w/o using a cleaning rod. It would sorta work with 30-40 level hand loads. So I sent it off to Wyoming Armory which converted it to 30 flanged. Slight improvement but still 30-40 loads were the maximum. I suppose I could have tried a 30 flanged "Weatherby" that might have worked better, but I sent it down the road to someone willing to pour more money into it. The Browning and the contemporary Winchester High Walls have totally different guts and pop out magnums with a spring assisted extractor/ejector. Ruger No. 1 & 3s also work great.
My Ballard was a Wyoming built one and my understanding is that since the "wife driven" move back to MI, there are not the rifles they were.
She is/was a beautiful piece of custom rifle building but about as useful as an Enzo with a broken crankshaft.










If limited to two rifles for NA big game, probably be my R1 in 300 WinMag and A Bolt in 375 H&H.

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Huvius
.416 member
Reged: 04/11/07
Posts: 3615
Loc: Colorado
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I am thinking...
Best quality Daniel Fraser side lever 303 450NE rising bite Rigby (which would need to shoot well with the 75% bullet weight)
-------------------- He who lives in the past is doomed to enjoy it.
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BB416
.275 member
Reged: 01/10/13
Posts: 68
Loc: QLD Australia
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I am with you bonanza, the 450/400 would be great but would go for a left handed 7mm Rem Mag as a second "all-rounder". Just another thought, I wonder how many of us are left handed??
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Marrakai
.416 member
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 3713
Loc: Darwin, Top End of Australia
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As others have suggested, the .400 3inch NE would definitely be one. I already have mine, a Jeffery double that fits me perfectly, and will be the rifle I still own when they finally put me in the ground.
The lighter could be anything from a 6.5 Mannlicher to a .350 Rigby bolt-rifle. How 'bout a Westley Richards .318? Or a Lee Speed? Or....
You will gather that like many here, I value the experience of stalking with a vintage classic over sniping with a modern wonder-gun.
-------------------- Marrakai
When the bull drops, the bullshit stops!
--------------------------------
www.marrakai-adventure.com.au
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Dumprat
.300 member
Reged: 20/02/14
Posts: 205
Loc: Vancouver island bc.
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I have trouble picturing anyone shooting a coyote with a 318 Westlt Richards
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Claydog
.400 member
Reged: 17/08/12
Posts: 1154
Loc: Katherine, Northern Territory ...
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Westly Richards 318 and a pre war rigby 416 and I would die happily enough.
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Postman
.375 member
Reged: 25/09/13
Posts: 847
Loc: Canada
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my choice? good question!!!!
Answer: It depends:
Hunting: Heym double side lock safari in .375 H&H Flanged; 2nd rifle: Combi rifle in 20 gauge over a 7x57R with a .22LR insert for the shotty tube.
Targets: Sako TRG .338 Lapua; Les Baer AR15 derivative
Shorty competition: .45ACP Les Baer; Hammerli .22LLR
I can't provide a straight answer to this question. There are so many cool firearms and so little time/money
I am emotionally attached to my .257 Weatherby Ultra among other cool stuff.
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szihn
.400 member
Reged: 24/06/07
Posts: 2121
Loc: United States
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For me I could get by with 3 for all my hunting. A good 22 LR, a 270 winchester and a 375H&H.
If I could have 4 I could really specialize. I'd add a 223
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DarylS
.700 member
Reged: 10/08/05
Posts: 27710
Loc: Beautiful British Columbia, Ca...
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Interesting - I need 6 just for gophers. .17Rem. .17 AH .17 HMR .22 Ruger 10-22 .177 HW97 .22 HW98
Of course, I guy needs a 6.5x55 - just because, and no Canadian would be without a .303 - or two. From the .303, I jump to 9.3x62mm and my .375/06 IMP.
-------------------- Daryl
"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V
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gatsby
.375 member
Reged: 05/09/05
Posts: 862
Loc: inland valley CA USA
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Just two; Westley SME Holland 375
go to three 577
-------------------- "Recoil is insignificant when there is a tiger on the head of your elephant" The Maharaja of Cooch Behar
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Rule303
.450 member
Reged: 05/07/09
Posts: 5257
Loc: Woodford Qld
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Pre war 416 Rigby 22 Hornet.
Got to have something that will leave meat on the smaller critters.
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JabaliHunter
.400 member
Reged: 16/05/07
Posts: 1958
Loc: England
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a PRS Ultimate in 6.5x47 Lapua an Echols Legend in .375 H&H
The problem is that I would still lust after these: Westley Richards detachable lock in .450/400 or .450 Dickson (Fraser action) falling block in .303 Mauser/Rigby/H&H/H&W/etc (Oberndorf commercial) in 9,3x62 Winchester 1873 or 1876 1of1000 Woodward or Boss pair of 20 bores ... etc.
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Ahmed577
.333 member
Reged: 13/06/13
Posts: 337
Loc: Western Australia
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Forget the budget choose 2 only rifles from the over abundance of our gun safes. I would sit with my 7mm rigby magnum SxS scoped double rifle 1926 cased & untouched & my 1926 rigby 416 factory engraved bolt rifle not cased & untouched. Both guns have bought me great satisfaction shooting in Northern australia & knowing that in years to come someone will share the same passion.
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JACKEL
.275 member
Reged: 12/01/10
Posts: 52
Loc: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
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Ok Ill play:
Westley Richards Drop Lock Double in 450-400,24 inch barrels, double triggers, manual safety, extractors only, light scroll engraving, color cased action, stock without cheeckpeace, Splinter forearm.
Rigby-Mauser cal. 375 H&H in pre War design, 24 inch barrel,express and peep sights, an exact copy of the one that Dorleac posted elswhere.
And I would Die with the biggest smile ...
Oh and I almost forget to add:
Toyota LandCruiser 76 Wagon
De Havilland Beaver
Triumph Boneville ...
Edited by JACKEL (05/04/14 02:40 AM)
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bonanza
.400 member
Reged: 17/05/04
Posts: 2335
Loc: South Carolina
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Quote:
1) a nice prewar Webly 450-400 3" double rifle. 2) a nice left hand Dakota M76 30-06 bolt action.
However,
I'm completely satisfied with the six I have, but when I do need to trim it down, it will be:
1) .375 LH Dakota or .284 LH Dakota
2) .500 BPE Lyon&Lyon or .35WCF H&H
I taking the .284 Elk/Deer hunting this year to see how I like it.
--------------------
"Speak Precisely" G. Gordon Liddy.
"Life is absurd, chaotic and we must define its purpose with our actions" Abert Camus
"I''m the dude playing a dude disguised as another dude."
"Yo! Mr. White"
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Rell
.375 member
Reged: 03/12/04
Posts: 642
Loc: Oyster Bay, NY, USA
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Thanks for sharing gentlemen. It's helped formulate my thinking a little.
I think a two gun battery would consist of a fine Rigby or H&H side lock in 450-400. The second would be a 300H&H dakota takedown safari. Both rifles travel in a nice little case. The dakota would be Ceracoted and have the MPI synthetic stock.
Oddly enough not one of my beloved medium bores. But a one gun battery might very well be a 9.3x62 Dakato 76.
I may have to have a culling and sell 10-20 rifles, thin out the herd, keep the golden jewels and sart over.
-------------------- 450-400, 9.3x74r and 7x65r.
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Ruger_450
Banned
Reged: 10/03/13
Posts: 163
Loc: WY & FL
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Yes you are correct …… move em' out, move em' in.
Once had 52 Pre WW I 100% correct 03 Springfields (1 left)
Then it was 99s, only 44 (now 1)
Then 38 R.F. Sedgley Springfields (now 4)
Now it's 3-4X wood Ruger No.1 red pads (5), 30 Supers (5), 721/2s (6)
But the safe is still full …. what is all that other stuff ?
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xausa
.400 member
Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 2037
Loc: Tennessee, USA
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I already have the two rifles I would need for this hypothetical hunting experience:
Krieghoff "Teck" O/U double rifle in .458 Winchester Magnum, with interchangeable barrel sets in .375 H&H and 20gauge 3" Magnum.
Mauser 66 in 7X66 SE vom Hofe, with interchangeable barrels in 8X68 and 9.3X64.
They are not my most cherished guns, but they would do the job on anything I would care to hunt worldwide. If I had to go somewhere where ammunition resupply was a problem, then my old 7X57 on a G33/40 action or my pre-64 Model 70 in .300 H&H would serve nicely as a second rifle in place of the Mauser.
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