Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/496918
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 7 1 Dwight Van Brunt d v e n t u r e s A With guns, as with many other things, it comes down to quality versus quantity. Hoping for a big upgrade, the author is putting these rifles up for adoption. From left, a spectacular Mauser 98 in .280 Remington from Austria, an early Remington 40-X .22-250 repeater, and a pre-64 Featherweight Model 70 in .30-06 Springfield. A question recently popped into my mind, then it crawled out of my good (down-range) ear, perched on my shoulder, and began chittering like a disturbed squirrel until I paid it proper attention. Since I have tried pretty hard but haven't managed to sort out an answer via conventional means, I'm writing this as an exercise to get in touch with my inner gunny and to see how this all looks on paper. Also, I don't really like squirrels. I'm dead-center in what most folks call middle age, and I've spent almost my entire working life in the shooting and hunting industry. During these years I've acquired a goodly number of guns. Some are used or at least ready to use every day and others are pressed into service on appropriate occasion. The remainder, indeed the majority, are like Joe Biden. They're well-suited to the job but they will never be called upon to do anything meaningful and excuses to keep them around have become old and stale. Forgiving the political digression, the question is this: Would I be better off selling the guns I never use and with that money acquire a few special ones that I really want and am certain to take afield? As with many things, it comes down to quality versus quantity. By way of example, I've long wanted to own a rifle from Lex Webernick's Rifles Inc. Those I've borrowed and tested have convinced me there isn't a finer long-range mountain rifle. I could raise enough scratch to get one by selling a clean pre-64 Model 70 Featherweight in .30-06 Springfield or a heavy-barreled .22-250 Remington 40-X repeater that pops dimes off distant fence