Can rifles be TOO pretty?

Concidering the question

Should I drive my $55,000 pickup daily or use it for special occassions only?

Funny thing is those special occassions are hunting trips.

BTW never buy a used truck from a chukar hunter:)=
 
Trophy or tool, it's all relative!

I love a beatiful rifle:) but I own none of them. I love to hunt, shoot and handload but I hate the maintenance that a beautiful rifle requires to stay that way. I am slowly replacing all my old wood/blue arms with stainless/synthetic because I can give the new ones a thorough clean/oil session at my leasure. I don't hesitate at a briar patch, clearcut or rocky laurel patch because I couldn't care less if I scratch it, just as long as I don't knock the scope off zero.
If I had the money for a polished high dollar beauty and the patience to sit on a stand and the time to clean/polish immediately after the hunt, I'd love one but I'm not that guy. I need my rifle to be accurate and reliable but scratches and scuffs are just welcome reminders of the rights of passage.:cool:
 
The scratches, dents and dings earned through hard use are what make it beautiful. Each one is a memory, same as our gray hair and wrinkles that we earn through our lives. We aren't diminished by this, rather enriched by them, same as our rifles.
 
Andrew B said:
Each one is a memory, same as our gray hair and wrinkles that we earn through our lives. We aren't diminished by this, rather enriched by them.
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Grow a beard & see how many smarties ask you if you are Santa Claus on holidays - trouble is, I do play street Santa every year. :)
 
If you are fortunate to have such a rifle and you choose to hunt with it as I do mine, you better be sure that you are very good with it.

I have a rifle that I have hunted with for over 50 years. I have refinished and re-barreled it and It still gives me pleasure and fond memories. The rifle was designed and built to shoot by a dear friend who taught me the love of firearms and much more.

Concho Bill
 
I suppose I worded my initial posting a little extreme and may have offended some.

If so, apologies.

I have one very pretty rifle -- a Win Model 54 restocked by Al Bison. It is a 7mm, and was designed as a saddle rifle.

Foolishly, we did hunt with it. My son got his first deer with it. By good luck, we did not mar it or scratch it. As I am older and wiser, we just keep it for looks. Once and a while I take it to the range in a good, padded guncase and fire off a box of shells with it.
 

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Montana Pete said:
I suppose I worded my initial posting a little extreme and may have offended some.

If so, apologies.

I have one very pretty rifle -- a Win Model 54 restocked by Al Bison. It is a 7mm, and was designed as a saddle rifle.

Foolishly, we did hunt with it. My son got his first deer with it. By good luck, we did not mar it or scratch it. As I am older and wiser, we just keep it for looks. Once and a while I take it to the range in a good, padded guncase and fire off a box of shells with it.
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If you are a student of the gun, then there is no need to apologize. We are living a life that allows us to grow and learn.

Fine looking rifle you have there, I would hunt with it and not think twice about it.
 
A rifle too pretty

I have several wooden stocked rifles that I am very careful with. I do quite a bit of hiking, crawling under barbed wire, snaking on the ground and generally being a klutz who manages to find every tree root, groundhog hole, and tripping hazard Mother Nature has to offer. I will not use a beautiful rifle to hunt with. For that reason I have a couple of 'beater' rifles. These are mechanically sound rifles with good optics, triggers, bedding, etc. that I am not afraid to use or scratch in the field. One of them even took a spill with me slipping on a mossy rock crossing a Vermont stream to call coyotes. The rifle smacked into the rocks as I was catapaulting over rocks and water. The scope caps were dinged, the outer coating scraped in parts, scratches and dents in the wood stock but otherwise unharmed; with the exception of my ego. Would I take a Cooper, my pet Sako Vixen, my hand rubbed English red oil finish .218 Bee into such an environment? The answer is a resounding no!

I can even match some of the dings and scratches to scars to go along with the incident which adds a degree of nostalgia.

Lou Baccino
 
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Fine rifle

JeffVN said:
No a rifle can never be too gorgeous. SOmetimes the rifle IS the trophy. This gorgeous English Walnut beauty is mine....

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JeffVN
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That, my friend, is a work of art.

Lou Baccino
 
Can a rifle be too pretty?

Absolutely not as far as I am concerned. A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

I will choose to use mine.

Concho Bill
 
Just joined a few mins ago, and after seeing this post, felt need to reply.
Guns can be "Pretty" and pretty accurate, or they can be used strictly as a hunting tool, the owner not really caring how they look, and some in the middle.
Myself, I'm a semi-retired custom painter/Artist [which means I only work on jobs that I want, when I want], and I like my stuff [all my toys] to be "Show quality"]. I have cutom painted both my Marlin 882 .22 mag, and just finished painting my savage model 25 .204, and soon will paint my savage Mako .17 cal.
I mainly shoot at the range [paper] with some other guys, but have used the Malin 882 on a couple of ground squirrel hunts. I'm not conserned about dinging the paint, as I know how to fix it, and they both serve my purpose just fine.
Some people like to paint up their "Hot Rods" and use them, and I do. I shoot twice, and sometimes three times a week at the range, and run many, many rounds through my guns They look nice and get used, and looked at often.
It boils down to whatever floats your boat.
Might just post some pic's of my "Hot Rods" later.
 
O.K. Decided to post a couple of pics. of my "Range Queens", to stir the pot a little on this "Too Pretty" issue.
These are mainly Range guns, but will be shooting them out in the field also.

This would be my Marlin 882- .22 mag.
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And this would be my Savage Model 25 .204, that I just finished painting, last week.

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This one gets the treatment soon. Savage Mako .17 cal.


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And this is how the Mako .17 shoots at 100 yds.

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moonsign said:
O.K. Decided to post a couple of pics. of my "Range Queens", to stir the pot a little on this "Too Pretty" issue.
These are mainly Range guns, but will be shooting them out in the field also.
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Some like blonds. Others prefer redheads. I'm sure your rifles are pretty (or even beautiful) to some, but I prefer blued steel and walnut stocks that have "classic" good looks. Guess that's why I don't like "rap" music or pants with crotches below the knee!
 
I am personnally old school also, but my first reaction to those last pictures was:"Zow-wee!!! Nice Paint!!" If he had done that to my rifle, then I'd have to formulate a more in-depth opinion. But he did it to his own, and did a nice job.
 
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