What happened to the good old hunting rifle?

Why heck! My NEW rifle is this one and it's 80 this year!
 

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I know this will open Pandora's box......

but what happened to the good 'ol dad or grandpas hunting rifle?

I realize machining "may" be better (subjective here), things are lighter, and some "new" cartridges have great ballistics.

My teaching was practice, trigger time, and reloading adjustments got us dialed in. I don't think that has changed, just new age rifles. I am under 40, barely, but under 40.

I have 2 rifles that run neck and neck, one is a 80's model REM 700 30-06 that I got for Christmas the first yet I could hunt. Did a lot of load development and can stack shots (on a good range day) at 200 yds. Also have a browning a bolt that is a great shooter also. I hunt more with the A Bolt due to weight, but I shoot the Remington a few times a year and am confident it will get the job done as it has many times while hunting.

I have looked at swapping to a newer rifle, but don't see the need. I recognize, personal opinion.

I also have a couple of inherited rifles that are older that just plain shoot. Mostly as a result of load development, for which I have the recipes also. They are heavy wood stocks, but how do they differ from a heavy barrel modern gun?

let the popcorn come out :)
There still in my gun safe but what happened to the good old hunting rifle is the same thing that happened to grand dad's good old pickup truck. Technology. Just like everything else. Some like it some don't. I do like it in some areas and could do without it in others. Either way, it's here to stay.
 
What happened to good old hunting rifles? Well, I looked in my safes, and they are still there and are often used.

This is just an LR/ELR hunting page, so it lends itself to rifles and equipment tailored for that function.
 
Well hell I'm old enough to have my grandpa and my dads rifles shot lot of critters with grandpas 30-06 out to 500 yds here in Colorado my oldest son has even shot deer with great grandpas rifle. I have some of the new stuff Creedmoors,WSM and a full custom 300 Lapua mag wildcat. So how dead is dead
"So how dead is dead?" I like that! 👍
 
Like as stated this is a WS specifically dedicated to LRH so plane Jane wood stocked blued hunting rifles aren't likely to be common topics of discussion

I became interested in LR when on my third elk hunting trip and first rifle elk hunt in Wyoming back in 2003. Was checking the zero of my M700 SST DBM in 338wm with my very accurate handloads of 225 NPT and using an enormous bolder as a perfectly shaped and positioned shooting rest put three shots into one ragged hole at LRF confirmed 100 yards, which for that gun topped with a VariX-III 4-12×40 was typical
I decided to stretch things out by shooting and shortly was keeping my shots consistently in an empty Coleman fuel can out to 500 yards
Had a very large dirt berm as a back stop set up a target about 5' off the ground on a 5'×5' tarp shot at it and figured my bullet drop based on where on the tarp below the target my bullets hit
Set up the fuel can by using a plumbbob improvised out of Parra cord and a socket to align the fuel can with the target. Had to do this as my scope was a set it and forget it type and had a standard non BDC duplex reticle and standard non target turrets.
I felt I only needed to change out the factory stock on that rifle and glass bed it and it would be a superb medium to med-long range hunting rifle.
I chose instead to buy two other rifles to begin my long range endeavors
A Tikka T3 in 300wsm and a Savage 10FCP in 308
The 300wsm as it is ballisticly superior to the 338wm and the 308 as an economica lighter recoiling means to learn long range shooting
Both are .7-.5 moa guns Tha Savage has yet to shoot a reload so I am very excited to see what it can do.
Shot the Savage using cheapest OTC hunting ammo I could find back in 2018 Federal Power Shock and it put the first 3 shots into one ragged hole
Shot my Tikka T3 before 2020 deer season using 2019 reloads and shot a 3 shot .355" 100 yard group so today's plane Jane 100% factory rifles are capable of excellent accuracy at least IMO.
As today's 100% factory rifles go I would consider both the T3 and 10FCP to be modernized version of grand dads plane Jane factory rifles. As both are mass-produced and aren't even close to qualifying as even semi-custom rifles and I have absolutely no doubt WHATSOEVER both are 1k yard capable rifles.
Granddads guns are still around they just got a dose of modernization
 
Like as stated this is a WS specifically dedicated to LRH so plane Jane wood stocked blued hunting rifles aren't likely to be common topics of discussion

I became interested in LR when on my third elk hunting trip and first rifle elk hunt in Wyoming back in 2003. Was checking the zero of my M700 SST DBM in 338wm with my very accurate handloads of 225 NPT and using an enormous bolder as a perfectly shaped and positioned shooting rest put three shots into one ragged hole at LRF confirmed 100 yards, which for that gun topped with a VariX-III 4-12×40 was typical
I decided to stretch things out by shooting and shortly was keeping my shots consistently in an empty Coleman fuel can out to 500 yards
Had a very large dirt berm as a back stop set up a target about 5' off the ground on a 5'×5' tarp shot at it and figured my bullet drop based on where on the tarp below the target my bullets hit
Set up the fuel can by using a plumbbob improvised out of Parra cord and a socket to align the fuel can with the target. Had to do this as my scope was a set it and forget it type and had a standard non BDC duplex reticle and standard non target turrets.
I felt I only needed to change out the factory stock on that rifle and glass bed it and it would be a superb medium to med-long range hunting rifle.
I chose instead to buy two other rifles to begin my long range endeavors
A Tikka T3 in 300wsm and a Savage 10FCP in 308
The 300wsm as it is ballisticly superior to the 338wm and the 308 as an economica lighter recoiling means to learn long range shooting
Both are .7-.5 moa guns Tha Savage has yet to shoot a reload so I am very excited to see what it can do.
Shot the Savage using cheapest OTC hunting ammo I could find back in 2018 Federal Power Shock and it put the first 3 shots into one ragged hole
Shot my Tikka T3 before 2020 deer season using 2019 reloads and shot a 3 shot .355" 100 yard group so today's plane Jane 100% factory rifles are capable of excellent accuracy at least IMO.
As today's 100% factory rifles go I would consider both the T3 and 10FCP to be modernized version of grand dads plane Jane factory rifles. As both are mass-produced and aren't even close to qualifying as even semi-custom rifles and I have absolutely no doubt WHATSOEVER both are 1k yard capable rifles.
Granddads guns are still around they just got a dose of modernization
Well I must say that my custom built 300 Lapua mag is a very capable long range rifle in fact it was built by a builder by the name of Greg Tannel of Gre'Tan' Rifles look at his web site and I too have a 7RUM that has killed at 700 yds with finely tuned hand loads pillar and glad bedded with after market trigger oh it a 100% factory rifle other than the trigger. So am I qualified to be on the site. Please 🙏😂
 
My first rifle was one of those good old Remington 721's. Biggest *** I ever owned, but one can say I learned a lot replacing every thing on it before it shot.

A few years of thinking it was me that sucked didn't help the learning curve.

Not all the good old days were good. Not all the new shiny isn't bright. Make your choices, take your chances, pay your money is the constant.
 
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