Need advice on new inline rifle for hunting

[Pathfinder60]

To a weak old person like myself, a heavy bench gun is NOT a hunting rifle. Laugh all you wish, you will never ever see me hunting with such...............

Duly noted...but not everyone is old and weak. This guy want to be lethal out to 350 yards. You're not going to do that without a fair bit of recoil. A heavier rifle will help mitigate that recoil. Which is why I suggested that type of weapon. And the extra weight helps steady the weapon as well. At 350 yards crosshairs move around quite a bit. Personally I think 350 yards for a noob to this is a stretch but that's not for me to decide. He asked for suggestions and based on all my long range experience I gave him mine. End of story.

 

[GM54-120]

They obvious answer is two rifles one lightweight walking gun and one heavy target setting in the box stand gun,, and maybe five guns in between those two

And that is more or less what ive got. 2 light weights, 2 middle weights and a heavy weight. On my last conservation area hunt it was either stalk/still, carry in a blind or risk having a stand up on public ground. Sorta sucked carrying the middle weight all day and a stool. It would have been nicer to carry the NULA but i already had a nice load worked up to hunt in a area with lots of people around.

No way in hell i was going to carry around a 11lb+ rifle in that situation.

 

[Pathfinder60]

I would wager the OP would like to know where he can buy one for that kinda money too. That is after all what this topic is about. I cant seem to find a new one for under $800
He'd have to keep his eyes open and be patient...like I did.

And that is more or less what ive got. 2 light weights, 2 middle weights and a heavy weight. On my last conservation area hunt it was either stalk/still, carry in a blind or risk having a stand up on public ground. Sorta sucked carrying the middle weight all day and a stool. It would have been nicer to carry the NULA but i already had a nice load worked up to hunt in a area with lots of people around.

No way in hell i was going to carry around a 11lb+ rifle in that situation.

Can't blame you there. Your arsenal illustrates a good point...finding 1 gun to do it all is tough...maybe to the point of undoable. It all depends on the range of hunting situations you might find yourself in. I don't have all those variables...it's either in a ground blind over open fields or in a tree stand over open fields...both using some sort of support. But that's just me.

 

[Mnt monkey]

The new defiance ultralight I got put together here mid-season I didn't hunt with much just a little bit right at the end of our muzzleloader season I didn't have enough black horn left,, I did hunt with it three days right at the end of season and it's wonderful that's 6.49 lb rifle walking was an absolute joy,I've walked many a mile with a deer on my back and a 12-lb rifle in my hands and a stool strap to me those days are long gone. I sure don't knock the heavy rifles I love them,, but when I'm going to hunt all day long which is usuaI ,sure like the ultralight,, when I'm hunting thick cover it's always the ultralight for me if I'm hunting a open field somewhere where I can see a long way I go right on up the heavier weight ladder to one of my other guns it's nice to have the choice to make,,I guess practically speaking if I was a younger man and wanted to reach out a little bit further I would be looking at the midweight rigs mostly barrel nut that I have in mind smokeless 700s which can also shoot black horn of course,,I think if my budget kept me from building a gun like that I'd take a real hard look at that night ultralight or the Acura 45 cal 22 twist

 

[GM54-120]

The Accura LR 45 1-22 might work for some people. Reviews here have not been all that great. IMO if the bore was tighter i think we would have seen more really happy people. All 3 of my 45s are under .451. Ive had a couple larger and i was never totally happy with the sabot loads since the Harvester sabot is on the smaller side. CVA makes 45-70 rifles so i got no idea why their ML 45 barrels are larger. Even my old Accura V1 45 had a loose bore. To me anything much over .451 lands is getting loose. Not a huge deal with conicals if sizing down .458s but it can be a pain otherwise.

 

[snapbang]

Ive hunted deer, elk, antelope for 40 year. Only had to shot over 350 yards once for big game.

 

[ronlaughlin]

He asked for suggestions and based on all my long range experience I gave him mine. End of story.

The end of your story isn't the end of every one' story.

Situations are different. Hunting elk can take the hunter miles back away from roads. Require the hunter to climb a thousand feet, and more. Carrying a heavy rifle on such hunts is insane. A light accurate rifle, a good knife, fire starter, and a good pack frame to carry the elk out, are all part of a successful hunter' kit.

To each his own. Be assured, as a strong young man, this hunter never carried a heavy rifle in the mountains of Montana.

 

[Muley Hunter]

CF guns are so much better for long shots. I had a Rem 700 LH .270. I put a Sims recoil pad on it and a muzzle brake. Recoil with a 140gr Partition was like a 30-30 and would kill a bull elk at 400 yds.

I know we aren't to mention CF guns but I just wanted to show how much a muzzleloader is not good at long shots. They make you suffer to do it. Why do it? Is it so hard to get closer?

If I had my way every state would make peep sights and scopes illegal. Then the muzzleloaders would be used as they're intended. That's just a wish from an old man and will never happen. However, in my state of Colorado that's what they would love to do. It's why they put the muzzleloader season during the elk rut.

Don't get frisky. I'm just venting. You guys like long shots. Knock yourself out. I'm in the crossbow world now and nobody takes long shots, so i'm comfortable.

btw.. OP still hasn't comeback since starting this thread.

Carry on.

 

[Mnt monkey]

Deer season's over I think a lot of us are just venting our opinions,,apologies to OP if all of us muzzleloading geeks just went crazy with his question at least my part in that,, muley hunter I agree with your premise and your statement there somewhat,,when I'm out in the field hunting which is almost 3 months every day during our season here in Texas it's so very rare that I would even consider taking a long distance shot and by long distance I mean 285 300 yards plus, however I practice long distance shots constantly when I'm target practicing I do a lot of 3 and 400-yd target work,so much that I'm confident of hitting a deer at those ranges and even in the wind anywhere on his body I want to hit him however again when it comes to the application of that I am very reserved,,I made a lot of four and five hundred yard shots on deer with a centerfire rifle as a young man most of that honestly was ego,, my goal when I'm hunting with a muzzloader is to get as close to that deer as I can if I can poke him in the eye with it I'm going to.

 

[ENCORE50A]

....btw.. OP still hasn't comeback since starting this thread.

Carry on.

The OP hasn't responded is all but you can not say the OP hasn't came back.

The OP asked a simple question and as in many cases, not all, everyone else gets carried away with opinions.

 

[Muley Hunter]

The OP hasn't responded is all but you can not say the OP hasn't came back.

The OP asked a simple question and as in many cases, not all, everyone else gets carried away with opinions.

Hold your mouse pointer over his name. It will show the last time he was on the forum. I find it handy to see if someone has seen my post that I wrote to them. It works with PM's too.

 

[GM54-120]

That only shows he has not logged on. He could have read/followed the topic without logging on.

 

[Muley Hunter]

That wouldn't be normal but would show he doesn't plan on staying on the forum. Does anybody here log off to read a thread they started?

 

[dbowling]

been logged in since 2005 except for when forums switched over or it somehow logged me off, never logged out in 16 yrs.

 

[H82MISS]

Sorry, been off line dealing with a daughter who has covid. My apologies to all. I truly appreciate all the input/advice here. You all are super, and I appreciate the info. When I mentioned I was looking for a rifle that I could depend on out to 350 yards, thats pushing it, but had to ask. I would have EVERY intention of stalking much closer, and I would never make an unethical shot at any animal. The Knight rifles look great, but I've read some negative reviews on these, but these reviews are a few years old of course. I am continuing to reread all your opinions.

 

[H82MISS]

The area I was bowhunting this past season, has some really nice bucks, but they frequent draws and seem to hang out around 200 to 275 yards, always too far, and during muzzleloader season, I kept wishing I had "that" rifle. The closest this big buck came, was within 195 yards according to my rangefinder. Thats why he's as big as he is !!!

 

[H82MISS]

That CVA Paramount is a cool looking rig.

 

[H82MISS]

GM54-120.......love your avatar by the way.

 

[GM54-120]

That CVA Paramount is a cool looking rig.

Yes, it actually is and well over 10lbs ready to hunt. The Variflame system could use a upgrade to the ASG modules (Add $200ish) and the bores run on the larger side but on paper its upto the task. Its saving grace is many Rem700 aftermarket parts fit. Such as stocks, triggers and scope rails. Stocks with compatable barrel channels need only minor material removed by the trigger to fit.

Ive got a heavy 45cal 1-22 that can easily beat the Paramount in speed with a Pacnor Super Match barrel on it. Every year it sits at home during hunting season. Other than on a bench its not all that much fun to use. It is however much cheaper to shoot than massive loads of BH209. So for recreation and practice its tons of fun.

 

[H82MISS]

How good are the triggers on most of these rifles?? I would assume that over time, improvements to many of these rifles, includes a better quality trigger too.