What are your not-negotiables for a rifle?

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

There must be something wrong with me because I seldom meet a rifle I don’t like.

@Flewis
Any rifle in 243 is instantly disliked by me unless I can rebarell cheaply and it's very very cheap or donated.
I wouldn't care if it was a Rigby, R8 or a bog standard Savage if it's a 243 you can keep it.
Bob

 

[Flewis]

Bob. I said rifle, I didn’t say I liked every caliber I met.

 

[ZG47]

Bob. I said rifle, I didn’t say I liked every caliber I met.

Give @Bob Nelson 35Whelen an inch and he will take … a nautical mile !

 

[CBH Australia]

@Flewis
Any rifle in 243 is instantly disliked by me unless I can rebarell cheaply and it's very very cheap or donated.
I wouldn't care if it was a Rigby, R8 or a bog standard Savage if it's a 243 you can keep it.
Bob

I will accept any Rigby or Blaser R8 that Bob doesn’t want.
Will leave it chambered as is.

 

[Badboymelvin]

@Badboymelvin
And the 35 Whelen will do the same velocity with less fuss and bother but not really needed for deer or sambar but fun to use
I would be just as happy with a light 308 and some 150 accubond, Woodleigh or SST and for ranges upto 200 yards a nice 180gn round nose will sit them on their arse just as well.
The go big or go home arguments are fine but why beat your self up when smaller will result in dead when you do your part.
This year my 222 or 25 will get a work out and the 35 can have a rest and come out to play next year.
Must be getting old.
Bob

You know Bob, there's a saying...

'On a good day ANYTHING will work... but on a bad day you need every advantage you can get.'

Not only are Sambar big and tough, but the environment they live in is thick and hard to track.
Also, the only shot you might get is on a running deer - and for a split second between brush, and this makes perfect placement difficult.
Trying to track a wounded deer in the thick stuff, over logs, creeks and you name it, isn't easy... or fun.

I love the .308 as much as anyone - l just bought one, but the .308 would be the minimum l'd ever use on Sambar.
I say minimum and certainly not my first choice.
I have some Sako bonded 150gn Super-Hammerheads that shoot to the same POI as the Sako 150gn Gameheads - and l purchased the bonded bullets in case there's the possibility of seeing a Sambar while out Fallow hunting... not to specifically hunt them.
If l'm dedicated Sambar hunting l'll be carrying my 425 Express.

I've told the story before where l took a shot on a running Sambar stag and hit it too far back... that's the PC way of saying l gut shot it.
Not proud of it, not at all. But this is hunting and sometimes these things happen - as much as we do everything we can to avoid it.
I hit this stag with a .458 Winchester Magnum with 500gn softpoint at a little over 2000fps.
And even though the shot was poor (and once again l'm not proud of it) it pulled the big deer up so l could put a second shot into it's shoulder.
Now, what would've happened if that same shot occurred with a .308 loaded with SST's?
l can tell you what, you would've spent all day tracking a deer...

No one particularly likes getting punished by recoil - but there is a reason why a lot of Sambar hunters use bigger cartridges... because we have everything stacked against us from the start.
So why not use a cartridge that can do the job not when everything goes right, but when everything goes wrong.

I personally think that the .338 Winchester Magnum is an absolutely magnificent Sambar cartridge, and l would pick that over most other cartridges - including the 35 Whelen.
Apart from the .338 l think that my 425 Express is my favourite Sambar cartridge.
Shoots flat to 250mtrs if l ever need it and hits with 5000ft/lbs of energy with plenty of bullet weight and plenty of velocity.

My .308 would have to be my favourite rifle at the moment, so light and handy but l have my personal reasons why it's not my frontline Sambar rifle.

I've also use a 270WSM with 150gn Powerpoints with great success - in fact it was a hammer.
I've also personally used a .300Wby with 180gn Woodleigh's and that effective as well.
And as previously mentioned I've used the .338WM with 225gn Woodleigh's as well as the .458WM with 480-550gn Woodleigh's.
I've also used a .308 to take my first Sambar and as l said, l really like the .308... but to say it's as good as the bigger stuff - especially when you can't guarantee perfect shot placement, well, that just hasn't been my experience...
YMMV

Russ

 

[CoElkHunter]

You know Bob, there's a saying...

'On a good day ANYTHING will work... but on a bad day you need every advantage you can get.'

Not only are Sambar big and tough, but the environment they live in is thick and hard to track.
Also, the only shot you might get is on a running deer - and for a split second between brush, and this makes perfect placement difficult.
Trying to track a wounded deer in the thick stuff, over logs, creeks and you name it, isn't easy... or fun.

I love the .308 as much as anyone - l just bought one, but the .308 would be the minimum l'd ever use on Sambar.
I say minimum and certainly not my first choice.
I have some Sako bonded 150gn Super-Hammerheads that shoot to the same POI as the Sako 150gn Gameheads - and l purchased the bonded bullets in case there's the possibility of seeing a Sambar while out Fallow hunting... not to specifically hunt them.
If l'm dedicated Sambar hunting l'll be carrying my 425 Express.

I've told the story before where l took a shot on a running Sambar stag and hit it too far back... that's the PC way of saying l gut shot it.
Not proud of it, not at all. But this is hunting and sometimes these things happen - as much as we do everything we can to avoid it.
I hit this stag with a .458 Winchester Magnum with 500gn softpoint at a little over 2000fps.
And even though the shot was poor (and once again l'm not proud of it) it pulled the big deer up so l could put a second shot into it's shoulder.
Now, what would've happened if that same shot occurred with a .308 loaded with SST's?
l can tell you what, you would've spent all day tracking a deer...

No one particularly likes getting punished by recoil - but there is a reason why a lot of Sambar hunters use bigger cartridges... because we have everything stacked against us from the start.
So why not use a cartridge that can do the job not when everything goes right, but when everything goes wrong.

I personally think that the .338 Winchester Magnum is an absolutely magnificent Sambar cartridge, and l would pick that over most other cartridges - including the 35 Whelen.
Apart from the .338 l think that my 425 Express is my favourite Sambar cartridge.
Shoots flat to 250mtrs if l ever need it and hits with 5000ft/lbs of energy with plenty of bullet weight and plenty of velocity.

My .308 would have to be my favourite rifle at the moment, so light and handy but l have my personal reasons why it's not my frontline Sambar rifle.

I've also use a 270WSM with 150gn Powerpoints with great success - in fact it was a hammer.
I've also personally used a .300Wby with 180gn Woodleigh's and that effective as well.
And as previously mentioned I've used the .338WM with 225gn Woodleigh's as well as the .458WM with 480-550gn Woodleigh's.
I've also used a .308 to take my first Sambar and as l said, l really like the .308... but to say it's as good as the bigger stuff - especially when you can't guarantee perfect shot placement, well, that just hasn't been my experience...
YMMV

Russ

.338 WINCHESTER MAGNUM if you don’t want to have to track large wounded stuff in the bush. “One in the hand taken by the .338WM is worth two wounded by a .35 WHELEN in the bush”. Ha! Ha! Ha!

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Hi.

Like the title says, what are your not-negotiables when purchasing a new rifle?
Now this is obviously going to be a very personal thing and we are all going to have very different ideas on this.
My perfect rifle may be your worst nightmare!
But it's still interesting to hear other people's opinions a- and you never know, my mind might be changed.

Here a are a few of my not-negotiables...

1. NO detachable magazines. I won't buy a rifle with a detachable magazine. I especially don't trust budget rifles with plastic magazines that can wear, get lost or are unreliable.
Floorplates - or better yet, blind magazines for me.
I'll tell you a story... l hunted with a mate who had a Mossberg .308 with 10 shot magazine and we had to walk a fair way to get to our spot. Once we got there my mate somehow realised that he had somehow released his magazine on the walk and now he had a very awkward to load single-shot.
As a side note on the walk back he somehow found it again (!!!) but he never used that rifle hunting again.

2. NO wooden stocks. Once again a very personal choice and l have to add that l love the look of a nice wooden stock as much as the next person, but l absolutely hate scratching stocks, so fancy wood stocks are a no for me these days...
And unlike most people l actually don't mind the looks of a synthetic stock. I think practical has a certain beauty to it.
Having said that l believe that shotguns and quality air rifles SHOULD have a wood stock.
A nice shotgun with a synthetic stock just doesn't look right to me... so what l should've said is all my centrefire hunting rifles have synthetic stocks.

3. NO muzzle brakes. l have owned several big-bore rifles and l have personally never felt the need for a muzzle brake.
YMMV.
Sure, shooting a .458 off the bench is hard work but take your time, fold up a towel and put it between your shoulder and the rifle and hang on!
Once sighted in the hard work is done and l've never felt recoil in the field - even when l've been kissed by the scope.
Not judging other people for using a muzzle brake, they may have an injury etc... but personally for me, l don't want/need one.

4. Heavy rifles. Just sold my last heavy rifle and won't buy another. My hunting style consists of walking, and walking, and walking... yep, light rifles for me.

5. Classic styling. I prefer my rifles to have plain classic lines.

6. NO attachments. Personally - and for the type of hunting l do, l don't need flashlights, bipods or anything like that on my rifle. It just adds weight and l simply would never use them for my style of hunting.

So that's my personal not negotiables for when l buy a rifle.
l'm sure other people's are different and that's totally fine by me.

So what are your personal not-negotiable's when buying a new rifle?

Russ

Depending on what I want to use the rifle for, the requirements can change. As a general.rule it must be a bolt action. No lever action, pump or semi autos in hunting rifles. Then blued steel and walnut with classic lines are must haves. I do have a single shot that I like, and own several lever gun. I have a Rem Model 7 in stainless and synthetic because you it's really wet here in the deer season so exceptions can be.made for specific purposes.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Give @Bob Nelson 35Whelen an inch and he will take … a nautical mile !

@ZG47
As my wife says
Give me an inch and I think I'm a ruler.
Bob

 

[Nevada Mike]

Non Negotiable for a SERIOUS hunting rifle...

Mauser 98 or Win Model 70 (or clone)
The best barrel I can buy
Sub 1" precision
Not too heavy
Nice to look at