Few years back ran into a hunter in a remote area. The guy looked like he was down on his luck. His truck was beat up, and when he pulled his rifle out the appearance was unbelievable. The stock behind the trigger guard was duct taped, and the barrel was duct taped to the foreend in two locations.
But I spent some time discussing his rifle with him because it was Swiss 7.5x55. When I was a youngster and looking at the different Mil-Surp rifles I thought it was the best option.
While the stock was in sad shape the metal work appeared to be in much better condition. The owner claimed it did not leak gas, fired cases looked good, and he said it was accurate. The year before he had killed five bucks with it. He took the deer to friends in a mill town fifty miles away who tagged them. Without a doubt this guy was a poacher.
Admittedly I profiled this guy as a druggee. He was skinny, he did not have a camp per say, just a fire ring, a his badly beat up pickup, and an open can of beans and a spoon.
I was interested his rifle because it was a Swiss 7.5x55.
A short distance down the road my partner spoke up and made a statement, "We are not going to invite that guy to dinner." In the past we have invited hunters to share coffee and a meal in our camp.
Early the next morning we heard one shot up towards the guy's camp. Later that day when we returned to camp he came down and asked us if we wanted a forkee. The answer was no!
That evening he returned to say he was rather discussed because nobody in town would take his deer.
I tell this story to point out just how tough these rifles are under adverse conditions. This guys belongings live a hard life, but with duct tape patches the rifle still held hunting accuracy. He was still able to make a neck shot on a deer.
In my LEO days I never seen a druggee firearm with so much duct tape on it.
I am not sure but I tossed a Cheaper then Dirt ad into the recycle last week. They were offering a deal on 7.5 Swiss ammo.
