one of the local guys , younger sons who is now about 18 years old,
asked me for advice on selecting a new deer rifle,
I asked him what he had been using?
he said he had been using a 1917 Enfield in 30/06.
that his dad who never hunts and rarely shoots owned but had given to him.
the stocks been modified,
so the upper wood handguards missing and the wood on the lower stock past the rear sling swivels been removed.
THERE are no miracle rifles,
Ive used a 257 roberts and 6mm remington,
up to cartridges like a 375 H&H and 458 mag,
they all work if you can shoot accurately.
its the skill of the rifleman and his in the field experience,
and level of consistent practice,
that remains the most significant factor in success.
a 30/06 with the correct ammo will have long ago proven to be more than adequate!
I asked if he had it available and why he was not happy with it?
he then decided to show me, so he went home and retrieved it,
to show it too me,
and we took it apart and gave it a good bore cleaning ,
with patches solvent and brushes and cleaned and lubed the action,
I doubt that had been done in decades from the looks of things.
he stated it was heavy and not very accurate,
...well, I was skeptical about the lack of accuracy as the rifles bore while not pristine,
it looked FAR better than I would have expected,in a 100 year old rifle,
SO, I went out, with him to an isolated rural area, in the local area
set up a target taped to a large box,
and at 50 yards placed a 2" orange dot on a large cardboard box.
(in front of a high dirt bank, back-stop)
I had him shoot five shots from a sitting position...
his shots impacted and formed or grouped around the orange dot,
that was about 6" in the spread, at 50 yards,
I taped off his bullet holes, I sat down, and tried a few shots,
and had no issues keeping 5 shots at 50 yards in the orange dot,
and trust me, I'm not a super great marksman,
but I generally can keep most hits in a coke can at 100 yards, if I use a sling and a scope ,
from a sitting position, and almost all shots easily on that 2" dot,
using the military peep sights at 50 yards,
my eyes are not that great with military peep sights at 72 years old,
if that was a 1" dot the results would not be as good.
it was obvious that the rifle even with surplus military ammo was reasonably accurate and it was not a rifle problem.
yes the old rifle is heavy, but its silky smooth and I offered to buy it ,
so as to provide him with a good down payment on something newer,
if he ever chooses to sell it, at anything close to a reasonable price.
yes the rifles old, but seems to have been lightly used,
as the bores stained but hardly worn and obviously rarely cleaned and oiled.
It's my bet hes going to buy something newer and lighter,
and of course, that's his option and no one can pick the rifle someone else feels is ideal.
but I appreciate the old school rifle, feel and function.
maybe its because on of my very first rifles was a 1917 enfield...
but what ever the reason, I know most of these rifles are quite accurate.
most deer are shot at well under 150-200 yards,
and a 165 grain-180 grain soft point from a 30/06 is certainly well proven to be very effective in the hands of a decent shot.
I would certainly not feel I was at any dis-advantage hunting deer so armed.
asked me for advice on selecting a new deer rifle,
I asked him what he had been using?
he said he had been using a 1917 Enfield in 30/06.
that his dad who never hunts and rarely shoots owned but had given to him.
the stocks been modified,
so the upper wood handguards missing and the wood on the lower stock past the rear sling swivels been removed.
THERE are no miracle rifles,
Ive used a 257 roberts and 6mm remington,
up to cartridges like a 375 H&H and 458 mag,
they all work if you can shoot accurately.
its the skill of the rifleman and his in the field experience,
and level of consistent practice,
that remains the most significant factor in success.
a 30/06 with the correct ammo will have long ago proven to be more than adequate!
I asked if he had it available and why he was not happy with it?
he then decided to show me, so he went home and retrieved it,
to show it too me,
and we took it apart and gave it a good bore cleaning ,
with patches solvent and brushes and cleaned and lubed the action,
I doubt that had been done in decades from the looks of things.
he stated it was heavy and not very accurate,
...well, I was skeptical about the lack of accuracy as the rifles bore while not pristine,
it looked FAR better than I would have expected,in a 100 year old rifle,
SO, I went out, with him to an isolated rural area, in the local area
set up a target taped to a large box,
and at 50 yards placed a 2" orange dot on a large cardboard box.
(in front of a high dirt bank, back-stop)
I had him shoot five shots from a sitting position...
his shots impacted and formed or grouped around the orange dot,
that was about 6" in the spread, at 50 yards,
I taped off his bullet holes, I sat down, and tried a few shots,
and had no issues keeping 5 shots at 50 yards in the orange dot,
and trust me, I'm not a super great marksman,
but I generally can keep most hits in a coke can at 100 yards, if I use a sling and a scope ,
from a sitting position, and almost all shots easily on that 2" dot,
using the military peep sights at 50 yards,
my eyes are not that great with military peep sights at 72 years old,
if that was a 1" dot the results would not be as good.
it was obvious that the rifle even with surplus military ammo was reasonably accurate and it was not a rifle problem.
yes the old rifle is heavy, but its silky smooth and I offered to buy it ,
so as to provide him with a good down payment on something newer,
if he ever chooses to sell it, at anything close to a reasonable price.
yes the rifles old, but seems to have been lightly used,
as the bores stained but hardly worn and obviously rarely cleaned and oiled.
It's my bet hes going to buy something newer and lighter,
and of course, that's his option and no one can pick the rifle someone else feels is ideal.
but I appreciate the old school rifle, feel and function.
maybe its because on of my very first rifles was a 1917 enfield...
but what ever the reason, I know most of these rifles are quite accurate.
most deer are shot at well under 150-200 yards,
and a 165 grain-180 grain soft point from a 30/06 is certainly well proven to be very effective in the hands of a decent shot.
I would certainly not feel I was at any dis-advantage hunting deer so armed.
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