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A good hunting rifle for old guys

bluealtered

Silver $$ Contributor
Ok, i am now into my seventy's and yes a few of my favorite hunting rifles have seemed to have gained a lot of weight over the years. I'm not sure how this happens, but it does. I bought a lightweight rifle a couple of months ago and have gotten very comfortable with it, it will be my packing rifle from here on out unless i'm using a blind.
Since i am a savage fan I bought a L.W. Storm in the dreaded 6.5cm, for the type of hunting I do anymore it fits the bill just fine. When the lightweight savages first came out many years ago i bought one of the first ones in a .260rem, with the wood stock, it shot good but the fluted bolt sucked because it drug on each round when pulling the bolt back and until i got it broken in, it just made me mad. (savage bolt body's can found for $40 on line so you could just change it out)

I should say that the savage L.W. series are #1 contour barrels so no basting away at whatever your trying to shoot. The one worry i had when buying this one was that i would have the same problem with this one with the bolt as i had before but i didn't. This one was smooth right from the box and it has fed good from the start. I have read of others still having some drag problems with the bolt but not this one.

I have only had a few chances to get to the range because of smoke from the fires making it hard to shoot at 300yds which is as far as i would use this rifle with it's 20"and #1 contour barrel but it has done MOA when i could see through the smoke and done my part, this was from the bench and using my mtm pistol rest which is all i ever use.

So anyway, if your favorite hunting rifles are gaining weight like mine here's something to look at that won't break the bank and works good for packing.
 
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I hear ya! Hit 77 this year.


When the lightweight savages first came out many years ago i bought one
Click to expand...

Me too. 6.5CM. Very accurate three shot groups with Hornady ammunition. Hated the muzzle flip and balance on the 20" pencil barrel so I took a 22" standard barrel from a Savage Trophy Hunter. Made a real difference in balance
and muzzle control. IMO. Savage should never have put a 20" barrel on that model! Like never ever! If a person can't handle the extra weight difference between a 20" and 22" then they should go to a geezer home and play a "Safari Hunter" video game.
 
Another over 70 hunter here.

I had a rifle made for my high country mule deer hunting here 25 years ago, and now that I'm into "geezerhood", it fits that bill perfectly. Titanium action (M700 clone), medium heavy 24" SS barrel heavily fluted, Lone Wolf synthetic stock. Chambered in 7mm-08 Ackley, it duplicates my Win .270 ballistics using TEN grains less powder (less recoil), and weighs in trailside at 6.8 lbs, scoped. A joy to carry all day.

Built by Prairie Gunworks in Winnipeg Canada, it has basically replaced all my other game rifles, and now qualifies for my "all-purpose" hunting rifle.
 
Hunting rifles are like dirt bikes. It’s fun to have a bunch all modded out but you need one that’s simple, bone stock, light weight, basic. Something you can just grab and go. One load for it. Simple quality scope with settings you never change.

For this role the Winchester XPR is excellent and with a VXii 3x9, darn near perfect.

7mm-08 or 6.5 Creedmoor.
 
wbm putting a 22" barrel was on my mind when i bought this one if i needed to. So far so good with the stock barrel for now but i may try that 22" barrel one of these days.
 
Even a reduce velocities, the 6.5mm hunting bullets will be effective. Drop a 129 Interlock down to 2500fps and you'll have light recoil and plenty of hunting performance.
 
I'm old too, 73 but I still haul a heavy varmint rifle in the field for ground hog hunting but I do less walking around these days. When I hunt with the heavy varminter I usually opt for a late evening set up on a tree line and don't move much. Fortunately I can drive to within 200 yards of set up points for most of the farms where I hunt.

When I'm in the mood to do some walking around while varmint / predator hunting I take one of my Rem Model 7's Rems or my Browning X Bolt Stalker in 223 Rem which is a joy to carry.

When it comes to deer hunting, weight is an issue and I've been leaning more towards my Rem Model 7, Tikka Lite T3 or Browning X Bolt Hunter in 243 Win. I know lot of hunters feel that the 243 Win is marginal at best for deer but I've never lost a deer to the 243 - I've missed a few but when I place the shot behind the shoulder broadside, they either drop or run 50 yards or so and pile up. The 85 Sierra BTHP at about 3,100 f/s is devastating on eastern white tail, at least in my experience. I should add that all my shots have been under 200 yards.

Certainly the 260 Rem and 6.5 Creedmore would be excellent choices and if I was just starting out I'd probably opt for one of these but my 243's will do for the remaining years I have left.

I do have a couple of 308's, a Rem 700 and Tikka Hunter the latter a real bear to shoot off the bench because I it's light weight. I've solved that issue by developing a reduced load with H4895 and 125 grain Nosler BT's. This load clocks at about 2,600 f/s and has plenty of energy to a humane shot of a deer. Still, I find myself reaching for the 243 Win these days.
 
IT IUST HARD TO BEAT A GOOD 243 FORSURE HAVEN'T REACH YOU GUYS AGE BUT LORD WILLING ONE DAY I'LL BE THERE WITH MY 243
 
Love the .243, one of the best rifles i ever owned was a savage $298 switch barrel rifle that of course got away from me. Yes i still have boot marks on the back of my jeans from thinking about letting it go. There are still t-posts at our range at two and three hundred yards that have the tops of the t-posts shot off from that rifle. (Yes i did buy the club a half dozen new t-posts and offered to put them in when the club is ready.)

Our club is way out in the woods and nobody really cares about those posts being three inch's shorter than the others, if and when they do i will replace them with the ones i bought. That rifle would do that no matter what caliber barrel was on it. Excuse me, i feel the need to kick myself again.
 
You want light and handy? How about a TC contender carbine in 7-30 or 30-30AI. Or even an Encore in most anything, a 307 is great. The Encore takes more trigger tweaking, but there are good instructions. There is a learning curve to reloading for accuracy for both.
 
Tikka T-3, SS 22" bbl .243 Win with, 87 HVLDS @ 3,150 or 100 gr Hornadys for, Deer / Antelope @ 7.5 pounds with, a 4.5 X 14 Burris scope (Sub 1/2 MOA ).
Tikka T-3, SS 24" bbl .270 WSM with, 140 AccuBonds at 3,150 FPS for Elk or, Shiras Moose, @ 7.75 pounds, SAME Scope, model / power ( Sub 3/4 MOA )
Age 73. 5 years. Folded up a December Ariz Bull with, the .270 WSM in 2018. All around Caliber choice would be the 6.5 Creed, in a Tikka ( just won't kill Elk as far as the .270 WSM BUT,. recoil is,.. MUCH LESS, too ! ). A 7-30 waters T / C single shot is nice, too ! I HAVE one, but I had to pass up a 510 yard shot on a Moose last year, while using it as a "back up" to my Bow, on a Hunt for Shiras Moose, in Eastern Idaho ! Always bring ENOUGH Gun is MY new Motto ( Chit !!! ) I KNEW this Chit, a LONG time ago ! But I didn't want my son packing any more weight than he had to ! 5.5 Pounds for the T /C with a 2x7 Burris, I carried my Bow.
He was a Huge 45" to 50 " Bull. I'm NOT a Trophy Hunter BUT, OMG he was, a Giant ! The furthest dash mark I was sighted for, was at 400 Yards so, I let him walk ! IF you ever Hunt Shiras Moose in the rolling hill country SAGE,.. LEAVE, the POP Guns,.. Home !
 
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Well fellas congrats on getting to the 70s and having that problem to deal with. It's a good problem considering your still enjoying the activity of shooting/ hunting. I think if or when I get there and am confronted with that issue, I'll purchase a suppressor. Get an ultra light 6.5 something and add the suppressor. Reduces noise and recoil without adding alot of weight. Just my .02 being still just over 10 years shy of my 7th decade on earth.
 
I'm a long ways from being an old timer but when those days get closer I'm thinking something along the lines of a Blaser K95 stutzen, 6.5x55...and I hope to still be hunting hard enough it has a few bumps and bangs when I'm done with it :D
 
I'm 78 and will use 280AI on elk tag here in Co. I haven't made any changes to rifles I hunt with. I'm just hoping when I turn 80, I'll still be able to hunt.
 
Well i've made it to the ripe old age of 53, so far.
Even though i'm not "out west" i still put many miles on my boots while hunting.

I lucked upon a used Forbes 24B in 280 Rem the other year. At right around 7 lbs with Sightron 4-12X40 and sling.
 
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