Everyday Rifles
Sometimes Utility Trumps Favorites
The Tikka T3x Arctic .308 has a rail to accept optical sights but the
factory iron sights are so good Dave seldom feels the need to add an optic.
Living on a remote farm (the nearest traffic light is 40+ miles away), I use rifles pretty much daily. I have a ready rack holding four rifles and seldom step outside without picking one up. Over the years I’ve noticed my firearm choices evolving. These aren’t necessarily my favorites, nor are they first choice for hunting, plinking, competition or collecting. I know most readers don’t live in the country but I also notice from reading various web sites considerable interest in “survival” rifles. Maybe there is some crossover utility.
For longer range pest control — which usually means coyotes — a .223
is a most useful tool. Current first choice is this Howa 1500 Mini with the
super handy Lula folding stock. Scope is a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40.
The “One Rifle” Idea
A common theme is, if you had to bail out with just one rifle what would it be? I don’t plan on bailing out as I can’t think of a better place to go. I’ve lived in city apartments in the past and can understand why getting out may sometimes be the best option. The rifles I use regularly are generally carried in a case or scabbard in a pickup or UTV, or leaning on a handy stump while I’m at work outdoors, for example tending the garden or processing firewood. They are readily available if a shot offers at a pest, or a game animal in season.
The only time I have a firearm loaded is when it is under my direct control; in my hands, in a holster or slung on my back. Otherwise it is unloaded. I like a rifle that can be quickly loaded and unloaded as needed. When a gopher pops out of his burrow, or a raccoon gets in the corn patch, I want to be able to put down the chainsaw or garden spade, grab the rifle, load the magazine and take the shot, then pocket the magazine and set the rifle away again. For this purpose some rifles are not particularly well adapted.
For example many of my favorite rifles have tubular magazines; lever, pump, and semiautomatic .22s and lever-action centrefires. Usually they provide very reliable feeding, and can hold a lot of rounds, the only drawback being they are relatively slow to load and unload. A lever action with tubular magazine loaded, chamber empty, in a scabbard or vehicle rack, is a pretty handy item. I just wish I could find a way to keep them loaded but secure when out of my hands. I like the system used by many police patrol vehicles in which a magazine loaded/chamber empty shotgun is secured by steel jaws that can be quickly opened by pressing a button. One day I am going to try and adapt such a system to hold my lever guns.
For gophers in the garden, possums in the pasture or raccoons in the corn,
this Ruger American Compact .22 WMRF with Redfield 3-9x40 scope is about ideal.
Perfect, Except …
I like semiautomatic .22s as well as AR and Mini-14 .223s, they are good choices except for a minor inconvenience. After firing a shot but before putting the rifle back, I have to remove the magazine, clear the chamber, find the ejected round, which likely as not has fallen on the ground or in the snow, clean it and reload it in the magazine. An accurate AR is hard to beat for calling coyotes or an afternoon of prairie dog shooting but for daily standby use, I like a manually operated action.
Currently my rifles of choice for daily use are bolt-actions with detachable magazines, preferably holding 10 cartridges. There’s no magic in 10; it just gives me enough cartridges I don’t need to carry extra magazines or ammo. I can take a few shots and still have four or five rounds left at the end of the day.
