The perfect "Walking Rifle"

@old grump - my answer was vague,however, the notion of a perfect rifle for everything from squirrels to deer is pretty wide open. if you do a lot of walking in the woods, squirrel season is a lot longer than deer season and provides way more opportunity for shooting. Not that a .357 won't put down a squirrel (sarcasm), but will waste most of the useful hide/meat. To each his own

To the OP, My answer would still be a shotgun. When hunting squirrels, stoke it with pellets. If it were deer season I would keep it filled with slugs. If I came across a squirrel while hunting deer, I would simply, swap out for for a different load ... If I didn't care about the deer.

If I were to to lean a different direction from my first, reply (based off your request) it would be that savage 24 that petahw posted. It's great to dream on the Internet and living a place where we have so much choice.
 
I have killed Squirrels and Mule Deer with my marlin 357 magnum.

Head shots on squirrels if you want to save money (some times its easier said than done)
 


This is my 30-30 topper with a 16 1/2 inch bbl. A 165 TC gas checked at 1600 fps makes whitetails go dead down on the spot. If you don't reload, use Fed or Rem 150 factory loads. A Lee 113 soft lead over 6 grs. of Bullesye makes a fine small game/garden pest gun. It might weigh 5 1/5 lbs. Sight is a Bushnell TRS 25 red dot.
 
Savage 24 series .Pick any combo .
Owned most of them over the years.
22lr/20, 22mag /20, 222 /20 .best woods gun other than a tc contender .
 
Maybe a Thompson Contender with a choice of different barrels for different purposes. It's sorta a rifle.
 
Your idea of a .357 levergun is perfect. I've got one and it does a lot things nicely. Just make sure the gun will cycle both .38 special and .357 mags and you have something for everything. I don't know how big the black bears are in your country, but the .357 is more potent than some give it credit for. A similar levergun in .44mag/special is also a great choice. For me, a "walking around rifle" needs to be light and handy and the levergun works.
 
Bolt Action .223 or 7.62x39

Look at Savage's website. If you want to take squirrels and whitetail I recommend their 7.62x39 bolt action. It can drop a deer, but won't destroy a squirrel completely. A .223 will drop a deer if you can really hit a vital area or maybe get it in the brain, and is an excellent varmint cartridge. Also a 22 hornet isn't a bad idea, Savage Arms makes excellent 22 hornet bolt actions. Let us know what you decide on!
 
My 'Perfect walking rifle' is either a Ruger M77 in 6mm Remington, or an USGI M1 Carbine in .30 carbine. It would depend upon how seious I was in shooting something while wandering around.
 
I have two walking rifles my short range Rossi 92 in .357mag. And my long range ( 200yds.-250yds. ) CZ 527 carbine in 7.62x39. Both light and short.
 
A decent centerfire rifle with light loads makes a fine small game gun, with obviously upwardly mobile usefulness, power and range wise. A couple have dismissed the idea out of hand because maybe it will shoot 2 counties over from the sight settings with light loads. I havent had that trouble. I just sight in with the regular laod, and shoot the light loads enough to know where to hold, it usually is a little off elevation wise, but once you figure it out, it isnt hard to make head shots on grouse. I guess some are content to give up before they ever get started, just because they dont know,....

I tend towards larger calibers where I am, because there are larger critters, but the 30-30 is hard to beat for a general purpose, all around gun. I've shot enough grouse, squirells and bunnies with light loads to be quite happy with it in that regard. With 3 grs Unique or Red Dot and a round ball, it makes about as much noise as a 22, and does about as much damage. Same goes for any centerfire rifle with similar loads. I also use a 348 and 45-70 with round balls, both work great. Other centerfires can use jacketed bullets, but need a little more power to be sure to get the bullet out the barrel. I use a different style bullet for light loads so they are instantly identifiable compared to the regular loads. The 33 cal 200 gr flat point bullets work fine in the 338 Win as light loads at about 1500 fps vel.

I owned a 357 carbine once, I didnt keep it, but did keep the 30-30, it just seems more useful to me, and has better range. It doesn't give up anything to the 357 in flexibility when you handload, and has better range capabilities. YMMV of course, just my 2c.

My perfect walking rifle has been tending towards the model 71 Winchester, model 1886 carbine, or a scoped bolt gun, often in '06 cal. I carry year round, whenever I'm out.
 
Here are a few options, from a walkabout kind of guy:

A CZ 455 American in .22WMR. Lower-powered rounds for squirrel, CCI V-Max for larger critters like coons, porkys, and if necessary (and legal in Maine) 40 grain Maxi-Mags for Deer out to 75 yards, with well-placed neck shot.

Another option would be a 12 gauge shotgun, either pump or semi-auto. Shot for squirrels, buckshot for larger critters and close-range deer (under 40 yards) and slugs with a red-dot or holographic sight for deer.

When I'm on a walk-about, I usually take my CZ .22 Mag, but if hunting coyotes, I'll take my scoped, Tikka T3, .243 Win. I like to shoot, so if I don't see any game or varmints, I don't mind shooting a few shots with the .22 Mag at cans or other items I find on the property. I even have steel silhouettes that are left in the fields or along woods roads to test me. The .243 doesn't get shot as much, due to cost, noise and need to handload ammo.

Another option is a Ruger MK II or III with a Bushnell micro-red dot sight. I carry that when just walking about, and sometimes carry it along with the .243 Win, mostly for plinking. Squirrels are dead meat out to 30 yards with the MKII.

I've used a few Savage O/Us and don't like the weight and relatively poor iron sights. Mounting a scope makes them more like an anchor. I'm happier toting a semi-auto shotgun with various loads.
 
Obs.

Thompson Contender carbine. 357 magnum. Less than six pounds. Carry a variety of .38/.357 loads in your pocket. Squirrel to deer no problem.
 
For squirrels to deer, you might want to consider a combination gun or even a drilling......having different caliber/cartridges in one gun will cover your needs
 
I like to carry a .22 or .357 handgun while deer, bear, or elk hunting. Many times you get the opportunity to pop a squirrel or fool hen ( grouse ) for the camp pot.
 
If I lived in thick brushy country, I would take my sxs in 12 gauge, with varied ammo you can hunt anything and have the best "assault" rifle (shhhh...) on the planet,
if I was walking in sparse woods or open plains I would take my 22-250, shoots a dime at 100yds, big enough to kill big game with shot placement and shoots straight out to 300 yds for the critterz that shoot back:)
sunaj
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top