What do you guys think? (Future rifle acquisition)
My In Laws are strongly hinting about taking me hunting. The only thing I have that looks like a hunting Rifle is the 1964 Winchester Model 70 National Match Rifle I bought some years ago. It comes with match sights and with my eyesight, I simply can’t shoot that thing comfortably. Rather than invest in modifications that would change the rifle or invest on expensive stuff to make it comfortable to shoot, I decided to sell it and get me some modern bolt action which hopefully will also be lighter that this bastard.
Now, this is what I have “learned” reading articles and blogs out there: I should go for something in the 30 caliber region because you can take most US game with it. Something bigger is overkill and something smaller may not take game humanely. Then we have the issue of ammo availability for hunting rifles which seems to be somewhat disappeared or very frigging expensive. And lastly but most importantly, get a reliable rifle from a good company.
Till yesterday, I was still debating between .30-06 and .308 mostly because the latter ammo seems to be crawling back into shelves. But then I bumped into this video:
First the question I had of ammo availability: No issue there. Y’all remember my first rifle was a WASR-10 and I bought it when Cheaper Than Dirt was not yet ScumbagDotCom and their price for 7.62 Russian was in the $100/1K range. Basically I have plenty of ammo to hunt (game) for decades. Then the caliber itself being in the metric side of the 30 caliber should be good enough to take your average deer, but I would like shooter among the readers to confirm/deny/advice on it.
And then it is Ruger and I have not heard bad things about their American Rifle series, but then again I do not keep my ear grounded on this particular type of weapons.
And the last thing: There are a couple of these rifles in stores not-so-nearby and at a decent price ($500+/-) so it would be just to show up with the cash and I go home with it rather than hunt and wait for one to show up somewhere or pay exaggerated prices in Gunbroker.
The Winchester will be put up for sale later today or tomorrow. So while I wait for the transaction to occur, I figured I ask you for your opinions and advice on the Rusky Ruger before committing the coin to it.