Now I can think of few people who are more old-fashioned and curmudgeonly than I when it comes to guns (other than those loons who think that brass cartridges are just “a passing fad” — you know who you are).
And here are my personal favorites in this category, just so we’re all clear where I stand on the issue:
Henry Golden Boy
Cimarron 1894
Hell, the Longtime Reader who sent me the link was even grumping something about the “Ninth Circle of Hell” for the perpetrator of said modification.
Frankly, I think that the above-mentioned circle should be reserved for people like Gaston Glock or the guy who thought that trigger locks on S&W revolvers would be a neat idea.
But for the guy who created that skeletonized monstrosity in the pic?
Nazzo fast, Guido.
Yes, if that thing is chambered for the wonderful .45-70 Govt. cartridge as it seems to be, that thing is going to cause equal amounts of pain at both ends of the gun. But if I’ve learned one thing, it’s that said .45-70 is the kind of gun that is carried a lot, and fired a little (by comparison to, say, a .22 or similar). The same is true of any of the big-bore dangerous rifles, of course.
And I have to tell y’all: I think that gun in the pic is kinda cute.
Would I want to take it out of the case in front of friends? Nope, it’s like that ugly girl who happens to be a sensational lay: something enjoyed but not displayed.
But if I did go on a hunting party with that gun and a bunch of buddies, all the mockery and abuse would mean less at the end of the day when they came back to the camp exhausted from carrying their magnumthumpenblitzenboomer cannons over hill and dale, while I arrived with a slightly owie shoulder but otherwise as fresh as a daisy.
Feel free to comment on my opinion, of course.
A gentleman has someone to carry his guns for him.
I don’t mind skeletonizing a stock to reduce weight, but at least put a decent comb pad or cheek rest on that thing. Can you imagine trying to snuggle up with that to get proper sight alignment on a cold morning and finding out that your cheek weld is semi-permanent as your flesh freezes to the frame?
Oh yes, I’ll take the Cimarron, please.
+1 on the cheek weld. I hadn’t even thought of the practical, being more concerned with the aesthetics of the thing.
Now I know you got your “Africa” experience, but here in Texas we drive out trucks out to within 100 yds of the deer blind, grudgingly walk the last 100 yds, climb up into the stand where we have a nice cozy chair, a pillow, a thermos of coffee, some bourbon, perhaps some adult reading material, binoculars, a little space heater, and who cares how much the rifle weighs since it’s sitting in a corner until you need it. If you’re all fancy and shit, you’ll have padding on the window sills to protect the stock as you brace it for the kill shot at the feeder, located a mere 40 yards away. Hope that 12 power scope is enough for that distance, what with us being all ethical and stuff. Be sure and wear camo, just in case the deer have x-ray vision and can see thru the plywood walls.
That said, I can understand the stainless, and can maybe accept a synthetic stock on a level gun. But that abomination up there is sinful. And getting a good check weld would be difficult, especially on a 45-70 recoil. Might as well put an EO Tech on the damn thing.
What you describe is what we used to call “sissy-hunting”.
Call it what you want, but I can attest that some of the best naps I ever took were in a deer blind on a cold morning.
And if it puts meat in the freezer, so much the better.
If you’re going to drill a hole in the stock, make it a trap so that you can put some cleaning gear in there.
The only .45-70 I shot was a Browning High Wall and to be honest I don’t remember it kicking much at all. We were shooting steel plates at 200 yards and lobbing the rounds in. Shoot, wait for it, wait then the plate would clang.
As for the skeletonized lever gun, it is designed to sell to people who already own Desert Eagles
I once heard a woman described as a moped. “A lot of fun to ride, but you don’t want your friends to see you on one.” I would categorize this as a moped rifle. Might be a lot of fun to shoot, but you probably don’t want your friends to see you with one.