Sunday, May 17, 2020

Choices, Choices

Its's mid-May and deer season starts in late October, a scant five months away, so it's time to start making some decisions about the upcoming season.  After a hiatus of several years, I bought into a deer lease and I'll be back in the deer woods this season.

The area is north-central Louisiana piney woods.  It's basically a ridge line overlooking a creek.  I'll be hunting from a deer blind, looking down a shooting lane, maximum range will be about 150 yards.  I'll have a corn-feeder set up about 100 yards from the blind.

I've winnowed down the rifles, but I still have a choice to make.  Caliber is .308 Winchester.

It'll be one of these two.  The rifle on top is a Savage 10 FCM Scout.  The optic is a Burris Scout scope.  This particular rifle is the 3rd iteration of Savage Scout rifles.  I picked it up in January 2015, just before Savage announced the 4th generation.  This rifle has the Accustock, with the aluminum bedding block.    I haven't made meat with it yet, but it's been a solid performer on family range outings.  I feel really confident with this rifle.

The lower rifle is a Remington 700 ADL that I picked up in a pawn sop in 2011.  It is mounted with a Leupold VX-1 in 3X9.  It shoots very well, and I'm also confident of my ability to hit with this rifle.

My son and son-in-law both looked at them during our Sunday lunch.  They coon-fingered them completely, but didn't give me much guidance on the decision.

So, I have to choose between two perfectly suitable choices.  Black Scout rifle or old-school walnut and blued steel.  What to do, what to do?

7 comments:

Pinky said...

Can't go wrong with either choice. Use whichever one shoots best for you.

Eaton Rapids Joe said...

Tupperware on rainy days.

Pretty gun on photo-op days.

Best of both worlds.

BobF said...

I think you already made the decision for the correct reason: "I feel really confident with this rifle."

Anonymous said...

Bring both. Things happen, scopes break, firing pins break, better to carry a backup than ruin a day of hunting.

Mark D

Anonymous said...

Pick the one that with the scope that transmits the most light.

More or less, all things are equal with the rifles. Having the best scope is always the biggest deciding factor when its low light and time to shoot.

Sabre22 said...

Which one do you shoot the best? One usually feels better than the other at least for me. Then which scope transmits the most light?That is how I would judge it. Or which one do you have the most confidence in? I have two rifles that shoot equally well 1/2 inch groups at one hundred meters. Equally accurate, one has a synthetic stock and one has a walnut stock the same situation as you have. Another criteria could be weather? Synthetic stocks are more weather resistant of course. One of the above rifles I have had since 1979 and it has only ever required one shot on the deer. The other rifle I bought in 1988, both were at rod and Gun Clubs in Germany. I think of as more of a back up or bad weather rifle. That is part of the fun of hunting and having more than one rifle to hunt with. At least for me

MattB said...

Walnut and steel has always worked for me!