modern mountain man rifle

K Williams said:
What do you recommend for factory ammo? I don't handload. Maybe I need to start!
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I haven't shot much factory ammo through mine but some of my first handloads were real close to the remington 300 grain hollow points The box says they are doing 1800 fps my chronograph says they are doing 1625 fps which is still plenty for deer If you plan on shooting it much and aren't wealthy you need to start reloading
 
54 caliber smoothbore rifle, oxymoron I know, but that's what they are called, would be pretty handy.

Fine shot for the small stuff and a thumb size round ball for the big. May not be modern but still works pretty good and loose powder and shot is a lot lighter than loaded 45-70s and a lot easier on squirrels and such. I really don't much believe in the one gun theory. I reckon I would be eating more small game than big, back in the day I don't think they worried much about being wasteful but killing an elk in the summer for a couple of meals just don't seem right. I have never been to Canada, but around here small game is much more plentiful and easier to kill than big. Chris
 
"When it comes to special or extremely hard use, using heavy modern cartridges, using the rifle for hard service in unexplored regions, the tropics, or the arctic, the Mauser type of action demonstrates it's superiority."

- Townsend Whelen

'Nuff said.
 
brandonc said:
"When it comes to special or extremely hard use, using heavy modern cartridges, using the rifle for hard service in unexplored regions, the tropics, or the arctic, the Mauser type of action demonstrates it's superiority."

- Townsend Whelen

'Nuff said.
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And the wonderful 35 Whelen would be a darn good choice to stuff in that mauser action. Chris
 
I'd be pretty comfortable with my Rem 700 in 7mm Rem Mag. I wouldn't mind a higher power scope than the 3-9 I've got on it now for those longer range shots, but I could deal with it.
 
August West said:
54 caliber smoothbore rifle, oxymoron I know, but that's what they are called, would be pretty handy.

Fine shot for the small stuff and a thumb size round ball for the big. May not be modern but still works pretty good and loose powder and shot is a lot lighter than loaded 45-70s and a lot easier on squirrels and such. I really don't much believe in the one gun theory. I reckon I would be eating more small game than big, back in the day I don't think they worried much about being wasteful but killing an elk in the summer for a couple of meals just don't seem right. I have never been to Canada, but around here small game is much more plentiful and easier to kill than big. Chris
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They also made jerky and pemmican from the meat, but I have the feeling a lot of meat was wasted if they didn't have salt, etc to preserve it.
 
Savage 24 combo gun (out of production) .22lr over 20 gauge.I'd keep a slug in the 20gauge barrel for large furry surprises with big ass teeth.Alternatively a 45/70 Guide Gun.If it's true "mountain man" living then i'll be looking to feed myself as efficiently as possible.To me that means trapping,baiting,fishing, and opportunistic hunting. I will not be expending lots of energy scouting for that buck nor will I be taking long shots.Obviously this is on the premise of wooded mountanous terrain.If I was on open prairie/flatlands a flat shooting accurate bolt gun would be my pick.Probably in .243.Very accurate widely available cartridge that will work just fine on most anything you'll find in those areas.
 
This has been a great read so far.

As far as versatility goes, there's nothing that beats a shotgun. 12ga is plenty powerful for anything you'll encounter in N. America and readily available just about everywhere. Slugs will take care of the biggest ugliest beasts with good shot placement, and there's a huge variety of shot to satisfy all of your small game hunting desires.

No it's not a rifle (although I guess you could argue that with slugs), but I would think a "modern mountain man" would choose what he felt was most appropriate and if you're limited to one gun this would be mine.

Unfortunately it has a limited ammo carrying capacity, is a short range weapon (25m with shot or just over a 100m with good slugs) and the gun, along with the ammo, is heavy compared to a rimfire, but it can take everything from the smallest to the biggest animals in the US and CAnada, all in one gun. Nothing else that I am aware of can do that.

Most shotguns are inexpensive, unless you're talking something like my Scattergun Tech, which was absurdly expensive for a working shotgun. A single shot HR can be had for incredibly cheap new, and for next to nothing used. Good pumps start around $300.

A single shot break action is as simple as a gun can get so there's little to break, and if you so desire you can get barrel inserts for different calibers (although I know little about this, including accuracy). A good pump, such as a Rem 870, is still a fairly simple weapon and easy to maintain.

If you choose a common shotgun such as the Rem 870, Mossberg 500 or Win 1300 (especially the 870), you can find a billion aftermarket accessories to outfit it exactly the way you want. Need a self-defense/combat shotgun? Get a SureFire lighted fore-end, 18" Vang comp barrel, tritium ghost-ring sights, red dot, side-saddle and a short or collapsible stock. Need a waterfowl gun? Replace the barrel with a 28" ribbed barrel. Want to shoot deer? Get a 22" rifle-sighted barrel. Want to shoot squirrel? Get a 22" bead-sighted barrel.

I'm sure you can load down with some of the rifles mentioned, but I'm not shooting thumper with a 33-30 or 30.06, unless I can guarantee a headshot, and what a waste of ammo that would be. And I'm definitely not going after pheasant with my 300winmag or 338 lapua. You can argue about snaring and trapping all you want, but being a mountain man would likely also mean taking game when it was available.

I do wish that I could find something like a Savage 24 in 12ga/22lr. That to me would be my ultimate survival gun.

Just my 2 cents from my limited experience. YMMV.
 
yoz's friend said:
if you where headed out to live in the mountains what would you bring for a rifle? im not talking about a shtf rifle im talking about a modern mountain man do-it-all rifle. for the scenerio lets say mountains of western canada.
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I got in on this late unfortunately. .50 Alaskan is becoming a HUGELY popular northern backcountry caliber. Never fired it myself but once I win the lottery I will have a nice breakdown one. The rifle I do most of my backcountry hiking with is my .243 Ruger Target Grey Frontier. 7 pounds, scout style scope setup, 16 inch matchgrade barrel. At the time I was residing in florida and the deer there never reach 100 pounds, so I went for the .243. In Hindsight I should have went with the .338 Federal, but hell I may get another one I like it so much. Bombproof mauser style action, typical ruger quality fit and finish. Handles like an M-4, groups like a good bolt gun
 
Shotgun said:
The primary reasons that the mountain men carried rifles was to kill large game and people. My mind tells me that an M14 or an FAL would be about the best thing going. No question as to it's self defense capability and although .308 it is a bit light for elk and moose, I think it'll get the job done. Especially with 2 or 3 or 10 rounds in it.;)
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I love my FAL, I trash it and it still keeps right on trucking! By far the most reliable action I have used, and even if it does fail you can field strip it in all of 2 seconds. I do NOT think a 336 would be a good mountain man rifle, unless you modify it. I can WATCH mine rust-and that is with propper maintenance... definately gonna hit mine with some duracoat. And for some reason I can't get it to group for crap.
 
How accurate is the Savage Scout? both scope and Iron sights? What kind of scope do you have on it?

RickJ
 
RickJ said:
How accurate is the Savage Scout? both scope and Iron sights? What kind of scope do you have on it?

RickJ
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the iron sights are completely useless. I HIGHLY recommend the Ruger Target Grey Frontier. It's even smaller, with a thicker stainless steel barrel and a comparable price, I got mine for around 400 dollars. I put a burris scout scope on it and the combination is unbeatable. 1.25 MOA with 15 dollar a box walmart ammo is the norm, with factory matchgrade it is consistantly sub-moa out past 300 yards. The scope is a bit heavy but screams "quality" and "durable". I'm waiting for them to come out with a similar scope with a fat, simple ballistic recticle so you have some idea as far as ballistic and windage adjustments...
 
Your mention of the Ruger Target Frontier got me cruising the Ruger website, and I came across the M77 International Rifle. Really I think it just looks cool more than anything, but the 18.5" barrel would be rather handy, and it'd have enough oomph for most anything in any of the 3 bigger calibers it's available in, though I'd opt for the .308 over the other two(.270 and 30/06), if it was to be my only gun. If I was to actually buy one in real life though, I'd go for the .270.


Also, I've recently had my eye on a CZ 527 Carbine, in 7.62x39. I've got an SKS, but I'm way too lazy to clean it, so a nice bolt gun to shoot the dirt cheap surplus ammo is on my short list once I come up with the money to start buying guns again. I don't really know what would make it a particularily good "mountain man" rifle, but it's a handy gun in a super cheap, decently powered cartridge.
 
6shooter said:
Your mention of the Ruger Target Frontier got me cruising the Ruger website, and I came across the M77 International Rifle. Really I think it just looks cool more than anything, but the 18.5" barrel would be rather handy, and it'd have enough oomph for most anything in any of the 3 bigger calibers it's available in, though I'd opt for the .308 over the other two(.270 and 30/06), if it was to be my only gun. If I was to actually buy one in real life though, I'd go for the .270.


Also, I've recently had my eye on a CZ 527 Carbine, in 7.62x39. I've got an SKS, but I'm way too lazy to clean it, so a nice bolt gun to shoot the dirt cheap surplus ammo is on my short list once I come up with the money to start buying guns again. I don't really know what would make it a particularily good "mountain man" rifle, but it's a handy gun in a super cheap, decently powered cartridge.
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I've had my eye on a couple of CZ's and this is definately one of them. The Mosin Nagant isn't a bad option eather, a nice M44 will group MOA or less with better surplus ammo too. I haven't seen the international yet, I'll go check it out now
 
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