undecided
Still up in the air about what "heavy" I may rifle hunt with this year......I've invested a lot of time and effort getting a Mark X Mannlicher in '06 up to snuff, and have not yet killed a deer with it. I believe it dates from the 1970's, say 35-40 years old maybe. Hunted it last season too, but another rifle was along when the buck showed up. One of the problems last year was the vintage Redfield 4x was not pulling enough light at dusk to satisfy me, so I would only the hunt the AM's with the Mark X. Another was the rifle is awfully pretty, and I was reluctant to hunt it hard, up trees in climbing stands, deep in the muck, etc. Its got a Leupold 6x on it now, and is much better at dusk, so it should get more hunting time this year.
One rifle that will go to the woods is a Ruger bolt, stainless/synthetic, in 7.62x39. Shrugs off hard use, light, short, (20" bbl) and easy to carry, and more than enough punch for use in the thick stuff where shots are short, but drags are long. Little rifle has had some trigger work, and I broke in the barrel when new. A cream puff to shoot, and wonderfully accurate with W_W factory ammo or my 135 gr reloads. Wish I could find some more of those Sierra SSP slugs!!!!! The Ruger wears a Leupold 2-7x.
What I REALLY want to do is take a deer (or more) with my bow. Got skunked last year with the bow, first time in 25+ years!!!