I went to the pawn shop today to pay on a layaway and while I was talking with the counter guy, I saw an old Ruger Model 77 in the rack. I asked him if he had any left-hand bolt actions and he said he had two, both Browning A-bolt's in 7mm Remington Magnum. I've got two left-handed grandsons, but I don't want to saddle them with a 7mm magnum. I asked if he had any .308s in stock and he allowed that he didn't. He's got some Remington 770s on order, for the frugal crowd. I finally asked him if he had any quarter-bores and he turned around and picked up the Ruger. It's one of the old Model 77s in .25-06.
Well, damn. I bought a Ruger Model 77 in .25-06 several years ago and I really like that rifle. It's a shooter, averaging under an inch with my handloads. The only problem is that I gave it to my son. While I've never regretted that gift, I've been looking for another to add to the battery.
So, here's the quandary. The gun shop doesn't have any .308s and I've got several. I bought them as grandkid rifles, but haven't decided yet which grandkid is going to get them. Yet, there's that Ruger 77 sitting forlornly in the rack. I'm trying to decide if I should take one of the .308s, probably a Remington 700 ADL and go swap for that Ruger.
Decisions, decisions.
4 comments:
I would swap for it, those 77s are good rifles provided the bore and other checks look good.
My main hunting rifle is a 257 bob and it kills everything I shoot with one shot. The 25-06 will do it further away. I just like 25 caliber rifles I guess.
Ben
I have come close to buying a .25-06 a couple of times. I already have a pile of .25 caliber bullets because of loading for my .250 Savage.
A Ruger 77 in .25-06 would be very tempting, particularly if it was a model with the tang safety.
I'd go swap. You can buy .308s of nearly any brand and flavour all day, but they aren't making any more M77s. This reminds me to go and get mine off layaway.
Well wear!
Denis
Swap, but only if absolutely necessary. Otherwise, put it on layaway. Once it's gone, it's hard to get it back!
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