If you could only have one rifle.....

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Bob S

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If you could only own one rifle, to serve all your purposes, what would it be? Serving all the shooters needs including, but not limited to: hunting; plinking; survival; self defense; y2k; trail gun; varmit gun; ect. Which one rifle would suit all these needs best? If a man was only going to have one, what should it be?
 
I do not believe there is such a rifle , BUT if I could only have 1 rifle I would take a lightweight bolt action .308 . It would be great for all your uses except plinking , you could kill anything on our continent with it if you did your part , you could shoot accurately at long range , you could find surplus ammo for it , you do not need to carry a bag of replacement parts , springs or gas rings for it , it would for the most part be totally reliable . I have a Remington model 700 stainless BDL-DM with a Burris 3x9x40 that fills this role for me . It is fairly lightweight , easy to take care of , with Federal Premium 150 grain Ballistic tips it will shoot a 3 shot 5/8" group any day of the week so I am confident that I do not have to have a 30 round clip . JMHO . Good luck , Mike...
 
I was going to say my M1A, it can do just about anything I need it to. But, after some thought, I think maybe something like an 1841 Mississippi or similar frontloader.
If I need a rifle, it's there. If I need a shotgun, it's there. Blackpowder ain't too hard to make, and lead balls are easy to make. Many of our forefathers only had one gun, and survived many years with it. It's great for small game AND large, so I'll have to go with a 19th century piece.

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Happiness is a tight group!


[This message has been edited by Outlaw1 (edited September 21, 1999).]
 
It would be an easy question to answer it it were two guns . I think I would answer this question like I did when I was asked which of the three rifles I took to demonstrate in Pakistan. It was a 308 sniper rifle , a 300 Win Mag sniper rifle and a 50BMG sniper rifle. When the general asked me which one I would pick if I were going to use it I told him it would be the 50 because it would do every thing that the other two would do and a hell of a lot more. I think if I could have only one it would have to be the 300Win Mag. If it could be two It would be the 220 Swift and the 300 Win
 
Synthetic stocked scoped bolt action .308 and unless it was the Steyr Scout, no detachable magazine. Less parts and fewer things to keep tuned. Easier and faster to clean than a semi.

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
HK G3/91. It will do everything a turnbolt will, plus repel up to 20/30 borders, out to 1100 meters, before requiring a reload. You can also mount a scope, zero it, dismount it until you need it then remount it without needing to rezero it. Try that with a Rem. 700/Win. 70/ad infinum... ;)

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May your lead always hit center mass and your brass always land in your range bag.

~Blades~
 
My Springfield, were its bore not so pitted, would fit the bill-- if you can't do it with a .30-06 and 180's you'd better reconsider tactics.

Hmmmm.... You didn't stipulate that I had to be able to afford it. Okay-- I'll throw in with Gale on this one-- a McMillan .300 Win Mag with a handy light barrel and very good medium-to-low-power glass on it with backup iron sights would suit my every need. Overall weight would need to be in the <7 lbs range.

Given the right bullet, I'd take anything from cape buff to chipmunks with it, as I could with the .300 I already own. Used correctly, I shouldn't need more rapidity than the correctly thrown bolt provides, nor more than the 4 rounds in the rifle.

One good rifle? Nah.. Gimme one GREAT rifle...

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Will you, too, be one who stands in the gap?

Matt
 
AR15/M-16!!!!

This is the best all pourpose rifle out there, it can fire multiple shots without reloading, it's cartyige can be used on all sorts of game (human and animal alike), and it has the most aftermarket parts or any rifle. It is also lightweat and holds 30 rounds.

bt
 
Let's see. One rifle? OK. I want a scout type rifle, in .308 Win. based on a proper unaltered military Mauser action. It would have the lightest weight synthetic stock I could find.
Why the UNALTERED military Mauser. Easy. Your could reload rapidly, if necessary with the 5 round stripper clips. Something you cannot do with the Steyr Scout.
I have a Steyr Mauser right now, with a Lawson thumbhole stock, scope, sling and 4 rounds of ammo that weighs out at exactly 5.5 pounds. The only thing wrong with it is the lip for the stripper clips has been ground off to put a scope on it. It is in .308 and is quite accurate.
Another thing I dislike about the Steyr Scout is it does not have controlled feed, something I feel should be on that type of rifle, hence my choice of a Mauser action.
Paul B.
 
As strange as it may sound, I'd go with a Ruger 10/22 in stainless with a scope, synth. stock and target barrel, and other extras (like extended mag release & starlight scope). I know .22 is far from the ideal hunting/self defense round, but I'd have to pick the .22 for overall use.

Reasons:
- .22LR is common, cheap, and easy to carry (or stockpile w/o raising suspicion)
- There's a wide variety of .22 rounds (from CB to ratshot to stingers)
- High-cap mags are still easy to get
- Firing a .22 doesn't attract as much unwanted attention as a .308
- There are a lot of things you can hunt with a .22 (even some larger animals, if we're talking about a survival situation)
- You can pair it with a .22 pistol and carry 1 kind of ammo
- It may be .22, but I wouldn't want to get shot with it!!!

Now, if only they made a .22 rifle that could fire both .22LR's and .22 Magnums (changeable barrels or chambers?).

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Beginner barbarians probably had the idea that every house they broke into would be full of untouched loot and frightened, unarmed victims. It just doesn't work that way, my friend.

I hope these evil men come to understand our peaceful ways soon - My trigger finger is blistering!
 
Ditto Dave.
A good .22 will do most things you need a rifle to do if you know how to use it properly. It also has a lower signature, lighter and cheaper ammo, and is easier to shoot well than most other rifles.
 
A bolt rifle in .308 or .30-06
It requires minimal maintenance and each shot makes a difference. .308 has a slight edge in the weight of the ammo vs. 30-06. Guess I'd go for a P17 in 30-06 or an Enfield in .308
I want a gun that will work in fifty years w/minimal maintenance.
 
do we have to stay with in game laws?
where i hunt a semi auto is illegal
IMHO
to serve all purposes a semi is a personal requirement

My vapor ware anglo american 22lr AR upper makes an interesting point...

20 rounds of 60 grain 22lr would convince many things to spend their efforts elsewhere...

dZ

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will you stand with me in DC on 10-2-99?
http://www.myplanet.net/jeffhead/LibMarch
 
One Rifle?? Only one??

"beware the man with one rifle.. he probably knows how to use it"

In the hunting/survival range....

Stainless bolt action 30-06 with iron sights and a scope.

Mine is a savage 116 ;) Three shots in a dime at 100 yards? Oh Yes. :)

You can get ammo anywhere and there is a TON of surplus fodder. Walmart.. K-mart.. hell a mini mart inWyoming. Its only the most popular caliber in america. You can kill anything in the lower 48 with a 06 and the right load.


Now in the defense/mad max/y2k we are going to hell and you can only carry one gun kinda scenario...

Hungarian AK variant in 7.62x39. Lighter wieght than an M1a, more punch than a .223 when you are putting dinner on the table.. a gazillion parts available in the US. So simple a fish can take it apart and clean it. And you can carry a lot of bullets in that drum magazine. And ammo is cheap cheap cheap; and in interesting variants... plastic core east german subsonic.. wood filled (anti vampire) isreali blanks, chinese steel core, russian hollow point, american soft points, bulgarian tracers, etc etc etc.

And you can probably kill anything in the lower 48 with it if you shoot it enough times ;P

damn... guess i need to buy a hungarian ak now...

Dr.Rob
 
I would pick my Blaser with extra scoped barrels 22-250, 243, 257 WBY, 270, 6.5X55, 7mm/08, 7mm Mag, 308, 30-06, 300 Win Mag, 300 WBY Mag, 338 Win Mag, 375 H&H Mag, 416 Mag and I may have left out a couple. Now if you could just convert it to fire .22 rimfire.
 
Since the law only considers the ar lower assembly as a weapon, my choice would be an ar-15 lower and start collecting upper halves that suit your needs. Let me explain, I somehow doubt that you would ever actually be hunting a buffalo while shooting your beercans during the lulls and then pick off woodchucks that try to get into your camp (and not to mention fend off hoards of Y2K looters) all at the same time. Try a 24" ss bull barrel for varmints and longrange, 20" A2 for most everything, and an 11.5" w/ 5.5"brake (and beta C-mag) for those pesky looters. If you kind find one, you could also get 9mm, 7.62x39mm and a few others once again still on the single registered lower. If you had a lower receiver for each of these variations then you would probably end up under the watchful eye of your friendly ATF agents. All you have to do is decide what you are doing with your rifle at the time and slip the appropriate upper and bolt.
 
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