Firearms boredom has arrived early.

I sound like my kids, but guys, I’m bored. Firearms bored that is. Nothing new. Nothing different. I need some adventure. I need something different.

Normally this doesn’t hit until about December, but lately, well, I’m bored. As Julius Cesar said, “Boreamus, boromaus, boramus.” I came, I saw, it bored the cr@p out of me.

I’m pretty well set with rifles that the functionally normal modern midwestern hunter would need. I’m probably a little light on the true big-big game stuff, but come on! That stuff is so common it’s easier to find a .30-06 than it is to find the new Cheetos Chicken Fries at Burger King. I can get a 30-something-something-whatever anytime I want.

In need something interesting. Which means something marginally obsolete with a twist of pain-in-the-ass thrown in.

I have one project going right now, a Savage A17 that my father bought. It needs to be scoped and sighted in, but there’s just no urgency here as it’s a varmint rifle and he’s not going to be using it until next spring. Oh, and it’s a black stocked, modern rifle that, while very functional, doesn’t exactly turn my crank.

I talked myself out of the 16 gauge Remington 11-48. I’ve just got sooooooo many shotguns! I wanted to do it and maybe I still will do it, but that one can wait.

I almost made a fatal mistake of buying an old Remington Model 16. These are old pump rifles that were popular from their intro up to the 1950s, but they are chambered in many of those now-semi-obsolete “light rifle” cartridges like the .30 Rem and .35 Rem. I’m not putting down these chamberings, BTW, but these are the ones that fall into the “semi-obsolete” category. The fatal mistake I almost made was I just about bought one in the now-very-obsolete .25 Remington. I luckily found out before I bought it. But if anyone out there is sitting on 10 boxes of .25 Rem ammo you got from your grandpappy, please get in touch.

I have one idea brewing, but we’ll see where it goes. I was thinking of a nice little 1930s-40s vintage takedown .22 and then getting a nice fitted leather travel case made.

By happy chance, I found out that I have a distant relative in Montana that for some long time I’ve known has her own business but I never really delved into what it was. Well, I ran into her at a wedding this summer and I finally outright asked. She’s a custom saddle maker/repairer! So I hatched a plan to have her make me a custom car case for a takedown .22.

Am I nuts here? Takedown .22s just seem like so much fun and some of the Rems and Winchesters are just so cute. I have a Remington 12, but it’s my great grandfather’s and I had to have the chamber and barrel overhauled so now I don’t want to shoot it very much.

Anyone else out there in the same boat?

Grouse

I have a .250 Helldiver that I haven’t put up for sale yet.

That should keep you from getting bored for a couple years.

I plan on buying an AR for doggie hunting next year.
The 17 HMR is a little too small and the .243 is just a little too big. To date, the only black guns I have are called “pistols”.

You could always venture into the world of English double rifles.

Have you given archery any serious thought?

That will definitely be new from rifles or shotguns. It would allow you to expand your hunting opportunities especially after dropping all the time, money and effort into food plotting. You also have the space to set up your own 3D archery target course. “Techy” gadgets? Archery has them if you’re so inclined. You could even make your own arrows to satisfy a “reloading” itch.

Why not dive into the world of “black rifles”? I just finished building an AR a month ago and it was thoroughly enjoyable. The fun in it for me was being able to pick and choose every single piece. There are so many options available from the 223/5.56 – 7.62×39 – 7.62-54 – 300 black out – 458 Socom even the 300 win mag! Most of them require purchasing separate uppers and lowers but if you buy a multi-cal lower you only need to buy new uppers for the 223/7.62×39/300 blackout.

Even getting into the realm of DI Vs piston driven allows different options. I’m already looking forward to building another one.

He did the AR platform last year or the year before.
DT

Winchester Model 55 Takedown gets my vote! They’re timeless and rather rare. Lot’s of features and components are a 94. I have one in .32 WS and I love it. Being they only produced about 16k takedown versions, they can be a tougher find as of late.

If you’re stuck on a .22 Takedown, my vote goes to a Winchester 62. They have their issues, but they’re really cool.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

I have a .250 Helldiver…

Sharps in Wildcat chamberings just aren’t my thing, I’m afraid.

Bill Boyd wrote:

You could always venture into the world of English double rifles.

Certainly interesting and historically significant, but I can’t help but think I would never use one. When I head for Africa, it will be with a totally boring, totally modern, bolt action wonder.

tegg wrote:

Have you given archery any serious thought?

Yes, I’d like to get into that.

realtreeap10 wrote:

Why not dive into the world of “black rifles”?

I did get into ARs a few years back with a Mossberg MMR. They certainly are interesting and I had a terrific time with it once I got it tuned up and shooting well. This year was my first varmint trip with the AR and it really was fun to have a .223 in semi-auto.

I don’t have the hankering for any more just yet. For me, one of the limiting factors for the AR is that I don’t have any need or interest for chamberings other than .223. The only exception is possibly the .204. Also, 107 out of every 100 people surveyed think that ARs are ugly. Functional, yes…

404 ERROR wrote:

Winchester Model 55 Takedown gets my vote!

Yes to the 62. I watch for these, but because they are Winchesters, good examples are few/far between and good condition ones currently attract $$$. I’ve also been watching the Win 63, although not takedown, it’s a neat rifle. Again, good examples are very hard to find.

I’ve never been that into lever actions insofar as owning them. Like double rifles, I appreciate them historically, but I haven’t found one yet that I really want to own.

The current leader is the Remington 121. More good examples out there than the 62 and a very good example can be had for $600 on the current market.

Grouse

Why not 338 lapua and get into some distance shooting?

I second the archery suggestion. I shot a martin lynx competitively for several years and hunted with it for a decade. I just bought a Hoyt Carbon Spyder Long Draw (I’m 6’8″) this spring and its like a whole new world. The precision shooting with these new bows is incredible…..although I probably would have bit on that Remington 16 gauge.

Plus its easy to have the kids come shoot too without anyone getting hurt, tired, bored! A lot of times I’ll set up the blind and let the kids shoot at a turkey decoy from inside while I do the serious shooting in another direction.

Aaron wrote:

Why not 338 lapua and get into some distance shooting?

I am thinking that I need to add a big game rifle as I’ve been eying up a plains game trip to Africa. I’m thinking of a 300 Win Mag or the .28 or .30 Nosler, or maybe a 300 Weatherby if I’m feeling particularly sadistic.

Right now, the leader for a plains game rifle is the new Sauer 101 in 300 Win Mag. The practical side of me say the 300 win mag is the way to go because the versatility just cannot be beaten. There is no N. American big game and no plains game in Africa that cannot be taken with confidence with a .300 Win.

I don’t really have a lot of interest in long range target shooting with big bores. Varmints are my long range indulgence and I’m not going to shoot anything over 6 MM / 243 because it can’t be shot too much because of recoil.

Grouse

What about a custom 10/22? I know it’s only a rimfire but I built one last year which was a lot of fun and a good learning experience for me. You could get your kid/s involved and make it a great project for all involved. With good parts and target ammo they are very accurate.

Just jump off the cliff and do a 100% custom. Something about blueprints coming to life

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An interesting suggestion Stanly. I have to come clean–and no offense intended to the many 10/22 fans out there–but I’ve never been a fan.

I would agree 100% with your statement:

Stanley wrote:

With good parts and target ammo they are very accurate.

That was my experience as well. I found that the 10/22 shoots very well as soon as you replace the barrel, the trigger, the action, and the stock. With the exception of those parts, I found it to be a terrific rifle.

The 10/22 is the only rifle that I’ve ever owned for less than a month. I literally could not get rid of it fast enough.

Grouse

You could always get into some pistol competitions. They are a blast and great training.

No offense taken, but if you change your mind this is mine I built last year. Only ruger parts are the receiver and trigger housing (but not trigger)

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Stanley wrote:

Only ruger parts are the receiver and trigger housing (but not trigger)

As a serious question, with the number of aftermarket parts for the 10/22, I have wondered, is it possible to actually make a 10/22 without actually buying one to start with? In other words, a 10/22 with NO Ruger parts?

Grouse

Just remember black rifels matter!!

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Stanley wrote:</div>
Only ruger parts are the receiver and trigger housing (but not trigger)

As a serious question, with the number of aftermarket parts for the 10/22, I have wondered, is it possible to actually make a 10/22 without actually buying one to start with? In other words, a 10/22 with NO Ruger parts?

Grouse

Yes you can build a 10/22 with all aftermarket parts. There are a couple companies out there that make the receivers and the rest is easily found from a number of companies. I never intended to take mine as far as I did but one upgrade led to another and another and so on

Blunderbuss.

Sometimes when I get “bored” with a hobby, I just need to walk away from it for a spell. Sooner or later something trips the juices again and once they do, I get into the list of “I was gonna” and seem to always combine it with some other new flash of desire or self declared brilliance.

Funny that you should bring this up right now. I have some things I’d like to do but I’m holding back because I’m getting that “when is enough, enough?” thing in the back of my head.

We are seldom creatures of contentment eh?

So….you’re bored, eh, Grouse? How about going fishing and leaving all the Iphones and putters at home along with the guns and ammo? Do something challenging.

suzuki wrote:

Blunderbuss.

Now that has some potential. I like it. A lot. In fact, I’m all over it.

Maybe pimp it out with a Nightforece scope and get into some long range, ummm, blunderbussing?

Tom Sawvell wrote:

So….you’re bored, eh, Grouse? How about going fishing and leaving all the Iphones and putters at home along with the guns and ammo? Do something challenging.

Let’s not go nuts here. I said I’m bored, not crazy. Cripes, that’s a slippery slope, I could end up taking up catfishing.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

As a serious question, with the number of aftermarket parts for the 10/22, I have wondered, is it possible to actually make a 10/22 without actually buying one to start with? In other words, a 10/22 with NO Ruger parts?

Grouse

YES! I have a “10/22” that is 100% not Ruger made. I know it’s kind of cheating, but I built it for Appleseed shoots and I love it. I actually brought it to the field day at my DNR safety class I taught last weekend and the kids LOVED it. I feel patriotic every time I shoot it…

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See if this wets your whistle Grouse!

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/586412900

Potato gun?

They’re cheap and fun!

Well, I managed to stave off terminal boredom for another week by going to the Gun Club with Tegg and touching off some powder. We did some load testing on his new rifle and made sure my handgun was good to go for deer season.

Then we needlessly drilled holes in paper with the AR platform.

Can I just say that once I got the Mossberg MMR tweaked with a complete trigger overhaul and found the right ammo combination, it’s just plain ol’ fun. The MMR stacks shots into a 1 inch pile shot after shot until it’s too hot.

I had the MMR out in the dogtowns this past summer and it functioned flawlessly the whole trip. I gave it 1 quick/dirty cleaning, and it just kept going and going and going. Only thing I need to get is more magazines.

Kidd, I continue to search for a decent .218 Bee, but I want a bolt action. I’m just not a lever action fan and I want to scope the rifle so it’s usable out in the dog towns. I believe a Win 43 is what I’ll end up with, but good ones are very, very hard to find. I also have to concern myself with finding brass for it.

Grouse