Lucky Rifles!

[Siskiyou]

Is hunting a matter of skill, or is a matter of luck, voodoo, and circumstances?  Back in the 20th Century my Dad gave me a new Remington M760 in .270 Winchester.  We lived on a tight budget and I know Dad gave up things so I could have that new rifle.  By the end of deer season I had put two bucks into the freezer.  Dad choose that rifle for two reasons, I have a dominant left eye, and Jack O’Connor writing about the .270.

The M760 proved to be a productive rifle over the years.  But I caught it off guard one season and started an affair with a Savage 110CL in .270.  Another productive deer rifle.

But I have tried a few other rifles that have not produced.  Do they have a bad odor, or are the two original rifles sticking pins in voodoo replicas of them at home.  All of them are made of steel, wood, with a glass sight, and a sling.  But they do not fill the freezer.  I have taken them on the same hunting trip and after carrying them around for a couple of days; I take one of the Lucky Rifles out and filled a tag.

My hunting partner bought a new Winchester in 7MM Remington Magnum.  But to this day he carries his Winchester in 30-06.  His worn rifle has filled the freezer for him over the last thirty years.  Every year he buys ammunition for the new rifle and stacks it on the shelve with the other ammo. He keeps saying that he will sight in the new rifle next year and take it hunting.  He even bought a scope for it.

The M760 was the first rifle I could call “my rifle.”  The bluing has worn thin in some locations, there is a minor gouge in the barrel when I dropped out of some rocks getting away from a  rattlesnake.  The sighting has improved over the first few years.  A Williams’s peep sight now sets in a box.  And three or four scopes have been in the dependable Weaver Mounts.  Yes it is “My Rifle”; earlier rifles were barrowed for the season. 

So knowing the old M760 and 110CL are dependable do they make my eyes sharper, and my ears keener when I am out looking for a buck?  Or do certain rifles have magic? 

[dw06]

I think it is skill,with alittle luck mixed in ;)Can't argue with anything you said,as I've had same things happen with rifles,sorta makes ya wonder don't it

[jvs]

I had an Uncle that hunted for close to 35 years without success when it came to scoring a buck.  Not until he bought a new rifle did he get one with antlers.  In all that time he only got 2 or 3 doe.  He put the time in before the season, and during the season.  He just couldnt get a buck. When I had the opportunity to hunt with him, I used to kid him in that I wanted to hunt in places where I'd see deer.   Actually, I think he got 'buck fever' real bad.  Maybe he just talked himself out of seeing antlers.

Now I'm not saying that the rifle jinxed him, but he sold it to a guy who hasn't missed scoring since he bought it. 

I have heard of rifles over the years that DO NOT score, no matter how many times it changes hands.  Of course, that is usually at the Gun Club when they kid a guy for missing. 

I always figured dumb luck would kick in for my uncle.  Im glad it did before he died.  He actually got 3 buck in 3 years after he bought another rifle.  Myself and my other uncle helped out a little, but he never knew.

[Siskiyou]

An example of a Lucky Rifle in action.  My father-in-law was with me for a hunt.  The plan was to drive up next to the Wilderness and work a ridge coming out of the Wilderness during a storm.  We never made it to our plan location. 

The year before I had taken two bucks and my father-in-law did not fill a tag.  I told him that filling his tag was my number one priority.  I would hang back and let him take the first shot if we were together when a legal buck was spot.

In route to our planned location I told my father-in-law to keep his eyes open because we were approaching a known migration trail.  As we made the turn I observed about a dozen deer.  There was at least three bucks in the bunch.  I told my father-in-law the shot would be his.  I rolled out of my 4x4 and put my back to a tree waiting for the shot.  It seemed like a lot of time was passing and the deer were departing the area.  I dropped one of the departing bucks.

My father-in-law told me that he got hung-up in his seat belt and could not get it to release.  He had taken big game when he was station in Alaska.  He knew how to react having fought in New Guinea and the Philphines during WWII.  He was physically able to hunt.  During President Kennedy's era he made fifty mile cross country ski trips in Alaska. 

But he could not overcome the power of a luck rifle.  The man was a great hunting partner.

[tomzuki]

Yup! I agree.  I have a bolt action .270 that I've owned for 30 years.  I have actually stopped carrying it into the field because I believe that it's very "unlucky" or "jinxed".  This particular rifle has many quirks and if it does'nt print a decent 100 yard group with a new scope I will be trowing it away! My Karma could be seriously negatively impacted if I were to sell it to another, and I could'nt do that to anybody else...........