Favorite Foul weather stalker

[sprucegum]

I picked this one up about 5 years ago. It came to me with screws and bulldog tape holding the stock together and plenty of pitting and rust on the receiver and barrel. I completely stripped the receiver, sanded and filed the pits away and reworked a butt stock from a more modern 99 savage to fit. A friend jeweled the bolt to cover up some cosmetic defects. It is a .303 savage with a 26" barrel. The bluing is cold blue from Browenells I think it is called oxpho or something like that anyhow it is good stuff. The bore is a little rough but it still shoots well if I keep it clean.
I love to carry it around in the swampy deer hidey holes on those snowy rainy crappy days when a scope is just a bother.
I also enjoy running into fellow hunters who can't imagine why I would carry a valuable antique around in the rain and snow. I fixer her up once I can do it again and in reality it's only value is as a shooter.

 

[Mike1950]

Nice, I will have to dig one of mine out and take some pics........

 

[sprucegum]

Nice, I will have to dig one of mine out and take some pics........

Looking forward to it you just can't buy a new gun with that kind of character and quality. No need for a sling on these old iron sighters they fit in your hand like a favorite tool.

 

[Mike1950]

Nice, I will have to dig one of mine out and take some pics........

Looking forward to it you just can't buy a new gun with that kind of character and quality. No need for a sling on these old iron sighters they fit in your hand like a favorite tool.

You can tell how they were carried by the wear- very well balanced. I agree on character and quality. Accurate-fast to use -light. The 250 you can shoot all day- Perfect whitetail brush gun. I had a lightweight 358-99 about 20 yrs ago- now that kicked.

 

[ripjack13]

Nice! I would love to have a lever action. My dad had a Winchester 30-30 model 90? But I never found out about it...... Then my mom had a house sale and some dude picked it up for practically nothing. I didn't know till last week when my older brother told me.

 

[sprucegum]

Nice! I would love to have a lever action. My dad had a Winchester 30-30 model 90? But I never found out about it...... Then my mom had a house sale and some dude picked it up for practically nothing. I didn't know till last week when my older brother told me.

That is too bad it happens a lot. My will gives my guns to my two sons, they are to toss a coin for first pick then take turns picking until they are gone.

 

[sprucegum]

Nice, I will have to dig one of mine out and take some pics........

Looking forward to it you just can't buy a new gun with that kind of character and quality. No need for a sling on these old iron sighters they fit in your hand like a favorite tool.

You can tell how they were carried by the wear- very well balanced. I agree on character and quality. Accurate-fast to use -light. The 250 you can shoot all day- Perfect whitetail brush gun. I had a lightweight 358-99 about 20 yrs ago- now that kicked.

The 303 is pretty modest recoil however the crescent butt plate can dig in a little if you don't shoulder it just rite. I use light loads and cast bullets for recreational shooting as I do not like to stress the brass it is pretty hard to come by. I have a few old cases I use for plinking and 20 nice new Jamison cases I load for hunting.

 

[Kevin]

That's a beauty Dave. I guess it's good I'm not independently wealthy or I'd own hundreds of guns and most would be old. Like I said, it's too bad I'm not independently wealthy. :sad:

.. they are to toss a coin for first pick then take turns picking until they are gone.

When my parents ask my sister and me for ideas on their will about properties, that's what I suggested except I said she can go first. I figured since she had the good sense to be born first she ought to go first. My sister didn't argue. :i_dunno:

This forum is very cool.

:irishjig:

 

[Kevin]

Nice! I would love to have a lever action. ...

Levers are underrated by most in this gun generation. There are many benefits to owning a lever action. While I'm not guilty of neglecting lever action rifles, I only own one wheel gun. I intend to rectify that though. I've been looking at them for a few months but not methodically yet. I don't really have a plan which is unlike me with guns. I normally define a use, then look for a caliber, then a model to fill it but I haven't done that yet. I should probably start a thread asking the revolver guys how to go about it because my revolver knowledge is minimal.

Anyway my point, get yourself a lever and it's extremely difficult to argue against a .30-30 if you can only own one.

 

[rdnkmedic]

30-30 has killed more deer than any other caliber probably.

And it was done in blue jeans and a plaid flannel shirt not space age camo paterns that cost a 100 bucks for a pair of pants.

 

[Mike1950]

I grew up in a bolt action family- Gramps had an old Savage bolt -250 cut down for grandma(4'-10")- she never shot it. Both my cousin and I shot our first deer with it. Fell in love with the caliber for whitetail and once I got a 99 -it has been my go to gun ever since. Pretty advanced for it's day- rotary mag, brass indicator telling how many shells in it and the little pop up to tell if it is cocked. Plus the take down capability.

 

[shadetree_1]

Nice! I would love to have a lever action. ...

Levers are underrated by most in this gun generation. There are many benefits to owning a lever action. While I'm not guilty of neglecting lever action rifles, I only own one wheel gun. I intend to rectify that though. I've been looking at them for a few months but not methodically yet. I don't really have a plan which is unlike me with guns. I normally define a use, then look for a caliber, then a model to fill it but I haven't done that yet. I should probably start a thread asking the revolver guys how to go about it because my revolver knowledge is minimal.

Anyway my point, get yourself a lever and it's extremely difficult to argue against a .30-30 if you can only own one.

+1 on the 30-30, we lived in Ponca City OK in the late 70's and they had the Winchester model 94 on sale at the OTASCO store for $99 and I told Linda that is what I wanted for Christmas, well come Christmas i find out that she did not like the 94 because it was not "pretty" so I ended up unwrapping the Marlin 30-30 lever OTASCO Diamond Jubile Commemorative with the medallion embedded in the stock, scope sling and all the goodies and she thought that I was going to take it in the woods and hunt with it, well I did once on a black bear hunt, I scratched the stock and it's never been in the wood since.

 

[sprucegum]

Nice! I would love to have a lever action. ...

Levers are underrated by most in this gun generation. There are many benefits to owning a lever action. While I'm not guilty of neglecting lever action rifles, I only own one wheel gun. I intend to rectify that though. I've been looking at them for a few months but not methodically yet. I don't really have a plan which is unlike me with guns. I normally define a use, then look for a caliber, then a model to fill it but I haven't done that yet. I should probably start a thread asking the revolver guys how to go about it because my revolver knowledge is minimal.

Anyway my point, get yourself a lever and it's extremely difficult to argue against a .30-30 if you can only own one.

I am pretty much a single action revolver guy my only auto being a .22. I love old style 3 screw Rugers carry them with 5 beans in the wheel and they are as safe as you can get. Load one skip one load 4 more pull to full Male chicken and let the hammer down and you are good to go (after you peek to be sure). I have my empty chamber marked with nail polish that way it is easy to tell that it is the one under the hammer.
The old .303 savage is pretty much the ballistic twin of the 30-30 since load data is scarce for it I load mine with 30-30 data minus just a tad for safety. My 30-30 is a pre 64 mod. 94.