If I had known I was going to like it so much I would have bought something nicer!
Back in 2004 I was chosen for a moose hunting permit in the New Hampshire moose lottery. I needed a rifle. Up until then, I had primarily been a shotgunner. I could have used a shotgun and slugs for my hunt, and I did have a Winchester 94 30-30 and I could have used that, but the hunt of a lifetime sort of demands a new gun.
For whatever reason, I had my heart set on a 30-06 or a .308. I contemplated a Browning BAR semi-auto, but in the end I decided that a bolt-action would be the ticket. After perusing several gun stores I showed up at a new gun store with items for possible trade: a Ruger Mini-14 and a Smith & Wesson 5906 pistol. The offer that they made me on the Mini was ridiculously low, but I was so anxious to get rid of the pistol that I took their offer of 50% of its value.
On the rack behind the counter he had a group of bolt-action rifles. I remember there was an older Weatherby that he showed me - it had a big, gaudy stock and it just seemed like a big gun. I passed. Then he tried to sell me on the virtues of a 7mm-08. This would probably have been perfect, but I wanted the .308 or 30-06.
That's when he pulled down a new Remington 700 ADL in 30-06. It had an ugly black plastic stock. It wasn't blued, but was instead coated with some sort of textured black enamel. It didn't have a magazine drop plate to unload the gun. I did the math in my head, the gun wasn't a lot of money, and with what I was getting on the trade it wouldn't cost me much out of pocket. It was a perfect moose gun and I kind of figured that I wouldn't use it much after the moose hunt. Sold! I left with it.
I put a decent Burris 3-9 scope on it with some Leupold QR detachable rings. These rings allowed me to remove the scope and it would always return within an inch of zero when reattached. I also began handloading so I'd have plenty of ammo to practice with. That summer I did a lot of shooting, and I was always very impressed with how accurate that inexpensive rifle was. I settled on a moose hunting handload - a 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt bullet and I think I used 4064 powder. It kicked pretty hard, but it wasn't unbearable.
The week of the moose hunt finally came, and on the second day I bagged a three year old bull that dressed out at six hundred pounds. I hit him in the shoulder with the ought-six and he dropped on the spot. My ugly rifle had done what it was supposed to do.
But contrary to my initial ideas for the rifle I didn't trade it out after that, or put it in the closet and forget about it. The following year I was invited for a week of deer hunting in Maine. I resighted in the rifle with 150 grain Hornady SST handloads and off we went. Now, I had never shot a deer before, but towards the end of the week a spikehorn began coming in behind where I was perched in a treestand. I kept losing him in the scope as he ducked behind small hemlocks, and I was shaking so badly at one point that the stand started to vibrate against the tree. I finally put the crosshairs on his shoulder when he stepped into a clearing about 40 yards away. The rifle boomed and then I lost sight of the deer.
I worked my way down the tree and I planned for some tracking. I couldn't see the deer and I was hoping for a good blood trail. However, when I got to where he had been standing the spike was about 3 yards away, having taken one leap and before piling up dead. When I dressed him I found that the lungs were pulp, the top of the heart was gone, and both legs were broken at the shoulder. The deer never knew what hit him and the ugly rifle had done the job once again.
Now when I've got serious hunting to do I usually grab for my Remington 700. I do have other guns and I sometimes use them, but the Remington has become the 'go to' gun. Lately I've been thinking how a smaller caliber might be nice for deer hunting. Something in 250 Savage or 260 Remington. Something light and elegant that won't kick like a mule. However, when I compare these rifles, feature-to-feature with what I have, they never quite add up.
My ugly rifle has a lot of features that add up to a perfect package:
1) It has iron sights on it. Coupled with the quick-detach scope rings I could always remove the scope if it became damaged and shoot the irons. This is especially important on an out-of-state hunt where a broken scope could cause a lot of downtime.
2) It's got a great trigger. I'm surprised that Remington could put an almost perfect trigger on a gun in this price range.
3) It's durable. I once accidently dropped it out of a treestand (unloaded) - and it was no worse for the wear. The ugly enamel finish is tough and the plastic stock doesn't scratch.
4) It's accurate. I have no interest in measuring groups with calipers, but I know that the gun is more accurate than I need it to be.
5) The 30-06 is still a heck of a cartridge even though it is over 100 years old.
So it looks like I'm stuck with this ugly rifle, I haven't seen anything to replace it that would be better; maybe as good, but not better. Perhaps one day one of my kids will want it, and then I can treat myself to some fancy quarterbore that looks like a million bucks. But for now I grab the ugly gun when works needs to be done...
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