doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Do you have a favorite rifle?

I do. This is my go to hunting rifle, built on a PD action and the only known rifle built by Holland in this caliber, .30 Super Flanged. The gun is very accurate and has been a pleasure to own. Cased and ordered by the Duke of Cranbrooke.

As a matter of fact I do have a favorite, and it just returned home to me a few days ago! It's not my most valuable, or prettiest; but it's my favorite!
A #1 Rolling Block I built on an original Sporter action I got from my late friend Whitey Hanson. The stock blanks were given to me by another friend before he passed on. The skeletonized buttplate was a gift from another close friend who passed in May of this year. Barrel is a Green Mountain 3.5 wt. full round in 32" length, and chambered in .40-65.
I stupidly let the gun go in a trade long ago, and another good friend ended up with it eventually after it toured the country. He fixed some abuse and mistreatment it got, and shot it in longrange matches. I told him if he ever sold it, to please let me have first chance to buy it back! He graciously allowed me to buy it back at our annual longrange shoot this week!
I was tickled to get it back, and Steve brought loaded ammo so I could shoot it at our shoot this year! Felt great to hear it ring the 990 yd. dinger again!

Lovely to look at and effective in the field.

Steve, my favorite rifle is being built as I write this. A Ruger No. 1 in .257 Roberts.

My main hunting rifle for about 40+ years is a left handed Mathieu - a copy of a Springfield, only left handed. 7mm Remington Magnum, Hobaugh barrel, and stocked in French walnut by Gary Goudy.

Assuming I have to have actually used it to take game my current favorite is my Rem. M30 that I had rebored to .35 Whelen.

M30's get no love, like the Mets compared to the Yankees 1903 Springfields, but I have a spot for it.



Took my Maine moose in 2016, shoot's into an inch if I do my part.



Someday i hope to have a more "glamorous" favorite rifle like a Scottish single shot but this will have to do for now.

If anything in the safe will do I surely like this Rem. M14 in .35 Rem, but my eyes need a scope...it sure looks cool.

My 1913 G.E. Lewis Mauser in .404 Jeffery.

Do we get to have separate favorites for single shot, bolt gun, and double?

I�d love to build myself a break action single.

My favorite singleshot and my favorite rifle, bar none.

Brent:

.22 or small caliber centerfire? Whichever it is, it looks wonderful.

Rem

Brent- what's under the barrel on that classy squirrel killer?

Yes, it is a .22. But if you looked at the muzzle it looks more like a 600 NE. The original 28" #2 barrel was bored out and a 17" Lilja barrel was inserted inside leaving an 11" "Backbore" to the barrel.

Because this rifle is used in different types of matches in addition to squirrel hunting, I wanted to regain some of the mass that the 11" backbore cost me at the muzzle. To that end, I mounted a muzzleloading under rib. Just weight, but it doesn't look half bad - just a little odd I suppose. It surprises me how many people never notice it, even when seeing it up close in person.

Because I used it in different competitions, it has several "outfits" or ensembles that suit those purposes. Here it is, suited up for Schuetzen.

The muzzle sled on the barrel here serves for benchrest of course, but also as additional muzzle weight for offhand, plus it keeps the rifle stable on the bench when I set it down between shots. The rifle has almost 1" of cast off so it tends to roll on the bags otherwise.

Brent, I have a .22LR #1 Rolling Block done similarly. Not as pretty as your Winchester. I bought it from a friend with a 20" half octagon .22 barrel on it and converted to RF. The round part of the barrel was stubby, and looked odd, but shot great!
I took the gun to John Taylor and asked if he could lengthen the barrel without harming the existing barrel. We decided to cut down the round part of the barrel and add a 20" sleeve over the round part and butt it to the octagon transition of the barrel. So the last 10" internally is now .45 caliber as viewed from the muzzle. After installing the "bloop tube" I took it to the range and test fired it. The groups were as tight as before, or maybe even a bit better!
I reblued the barrel afterwards and reinstalled it on the gun. The repair is invisible and the gun balances extremely well, plus looks appropriate too. My pictures are poor, and my big foot doesn't help either!

That's a really nice rifle, Vall. The squirrels, no doubt, tremble when it comes out of the safe!

My old Remington 721 in 30-06 here
shown with my Forkhorn deer

This one is my favorite ,a Browning 86 45-70 that started life as a saddle ring carbine I restocked it to a longer lop that I like ,had the action engraved with a nice border and a little winchester style scroll and topped it off with a new 26 inch half oct /round barrel...shot a few head of moose with it and it always does its job well!

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Here is one of rocky mtn bill's favorite rifles, he asked me to post this for him.

This is a 375/338 built by metalsmith Tom Burgess and Monte Mandarino. The left hand action is a Mauser design that PO Ackley had built in Japan some time in the 60's. The rifle is a take down, the only one Monte ever made. It was built in the 80's for a client who used it in Africa. It's my favorite bolt rifle.

Bill, that is a seriously nice rifle. Congratulations on your good taste.

Bill,

The most accurate mid bore hunting rifle I owned was a 375/338 built on a Mauser action, Pac-Nor barrel, D'Arcy Echols design stock in English Walnut. Clover leafs at 100 yards were the norm. I still have several pages of load data stashed somewhere.

Ken, I'd be happy to see your loading data, especially that for cast bullets if you have such. I find this an easy rifle to get good lead bullet accuracy from, and I have come to enjoy full power jacketed loads less and less. Same for the H&H version.

My favorite, a 470 double rifle by William Evans.

I can easily see that.

Although I have yet to take any game with my 461 Gibbs, it is for sure my favorite rifle!