Elk Hunt - Rifle Situation

[DWNRVR]

Hey all,

New here and after lurking around for a bit this seems like a good place for me to land and hang out. MODS if this should be in a different subforum, please move accordingly. I still have my posting training wheels on so I will go as fast as they will let me. As the title says, I have my first Elk hunt this fall/winter and I am trying to get my rifle situation figured out. This is a controlled hunt that we have been putting in for a few years. Small group (4 total) of good friends with a variety of experience. While I have deer hunted, this hunt has my attention in a different way, starting with my rifle. Many years ago my father stopped hunting and he gifted me his Browning 7mm Rem Mag A-Bolt. Carbide stock and stainless barrel and it might have 25 rounds through it. It's in great condition, and perfect for elk hunting. One problem. It's lefthanded. I am not lefthanded. I need to get a new rifle and figured I need to move this one to a new home where it can be of more use to someone.

Now I am a fish out of water. I have never sold a gun, only traded/sold/bought amongst family. I started to call around to local gun shops to gauge interest in a trade (or sale) and emailed a few places but the responses have been slow at best. I also see a lot of brokers and auctions online…. I had no expectations, so this isn't a problem and my hunt this fall isn't contingent on me getting this gun sold. Bottom line is I am not in hurry, but the gun is doing nothing sitting in my safe and I could use the money to put towards a new rifle. My first question is, aside from the classifieds here, what are some suggestions (do's & do nots) for getting this gun sold at a fair price? Is a lefthanded bolt action worth a little more, or less? I have an idea what it's worth on the open market but everything I am finding is righthanded, as you would expect. So, I am just curious what you all might have to say about this.

Obviously my knowledge on this subject is limited at best so any feedback/guidance/knowledge is appreciated.


Part 2 of this situation is that my FIL is trying to get me to take his Interarms Mark X 30-06 for the hunt to try it out, and eventually buy it. It's a nice gun and should do as a suitable replacement for the 7mm rem mag and a little bit of research online suggests they are pretty good rifles. Thoughts on this make and model are appreciated as well.

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[Andy54Hawken]

Thoughts...

The Interarms Mark X series of rifles are excellent...that said I am a Mauser 98 fan...
All kidding aside...they are a fine rifle , well made and make for excellent shooters.
.30-06 is an outstanding North American hunting round for sure.

As far as trading your rifle....
I like to trade ...fun to do for sure.
Especially since I am usually trading something that I like...but don't use...for something that I will use.
However...it being your father's rifle....
May cause you some heartache down the road if you sell or trade it off.

We do have an active classified section here at NWFA.
Bear in mind that...there are lots of rifles out there for sale...and being that it is a left handed rifle...
It might take awhile to find the right buyer.
Pricing...well...
Pricing is tricky...whatever you price it at...I would suggest that it be with a OBO option..and perhaps for you to cover transfer fees and the like.
As for the sales ad....
Good clear pictures ....honest write up about the condition...and a realistic price will be of help here.
Andy

 

[JRuby]

I would not feel under gunned using a 30-06 for elk and given the same situation would use my father in laws rifle. I have my fathers rifle and though I own it - it will be passed down to a family member when I can no longer shoot it. To me it cannot be replaced as he is no longer with us. I would start shooting that 30-06 in order to feel comfortable with it. I have hunted elk with a 7x57 and the 30-06 has it beat ballistically.

 

[Koda]

Spend this year practicing and getting to know that 06 as a priority.
Worry about how to sell the 7mm left hand, after the hunt is over.

 

[WAYNO]

On this forum, I often read that southpaws have been disrespected by the universe, as lefty-rifles are scarce. That said, I'd think left-rifles should sell easily. In reality, nothing sells easily, especially on this site.

So... Buy the rifle you want, and place the other rifle up for sale, and if you have the luxury of waiting, it will eventually sell.

And a .30-06 would be a great choice.





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[SCannon]

I'm biased towards 7mm. That being said I have killed elk with .243, .280, 300SAUM and 28 Nosler. The .243 and 300 SAUM were one shot kills, the 28 nosler would have been but ranged the cows at 340yds and when the bull stood up he was at ~380yds (ranged after the fact), I hit him low but still took out the lungs, he ran about 100yds before laying down and required another shot to put down. The 280 was a running shot that broke the bulls back and required a second shot with a .40, I have killed a couple cows with the .280 and they were all one shot. The 280 is very similar to the 30-06.

IMO pick a caliber that you like and then shoot it so that you are comfortable with it, a well placed shot with a 243 is better than a bad shot with an ultra magnum.

As to the 7mm Mag, don't sell it. The only guns I have regretted selling are bolt action rifles.

 

[BigGame]

As Andy said, you may regret selling your Dad's rifle someday. Particularly if you have a child who is left handed.

Other than forums like this one, you might start with guns.com. They'll make you an offer for your rifle. If it's a poor offer, turn it down. If good, they'll make the transaction easy.

 

[SCannon]

As Andy said, you may regret selling your Dad's rifle someday. Particularly if you have a child who is left handed.

Other than forums like this one, you might start with guns.com. They'll make you an offer for your rifle. If it's a poor offer, turn it down. If good, they'll make the transaction easy.

Very good point, my son is LH and if this was a 7mm-08 I would send you a DM to try to buy it off of you. Keep it until you are sure your kids or grandkids are RH, then sell it.

 

[MTpockets]

Many years ago my father stopped hunting and he gifted me his Browning 7mm Rem Mag A-Bolt

If it were me, I would do my best to wander home with an elk that I had harvested with the rifle that my Father gifted me.
Adjusting to a lefthand rifle shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The following year, I would try the Father-in-Law's Interarms.

Just a thought... and wish you all the best on your hunt and more.

 

[Pepe-lepew]

Use the lefty rifle if the stock is ambidextrous, lots of lefties use righty rifles. The only drawback is if your marksmanship skills are poor, cycling the action will be slower to get the 3-5 shots off needed to hit the animal.

I bought my daughter a LH hunting rifle before her second year hunting deer. Near the end of her mule deer hunt, her scope fogged on her. I gave her my RH rifle and she killed a buck the next day with it.

 

[Yarome]

Only you can judge the sentimental value of the gifted rifle. if it only has 25 rounds through it, it doesn't sound as if it has a particularly long hunt history and "stories to tell' under it's buttstock, but no one else can gauge that value for you.

Our family. Traditionally, family guns stay within the family. Maybe a child, grandchild, or even extended family member may value a LH family firearm.. On the other hand. If no one ever needs or wants to learn to shoot with a LH'er... and it won't ever be used by anyone... what's the point? There nothing wrong with staring up with a fresh firearm to one day become a family heirloom, right? I mean, "someone" had to be the first in line with each firearm, right.

Your rifle, your call, but... it's infinitely more common to hear folks expressing regret having let a family firearm go than the other way around. Once it's gone... it's gone.

The Mark X is no slouch and 30-06 is my preferred hunting caliber. Mainly due to it's versatility with large and medium sized game (Bear/moose/elk down to antelope/big horn). That said, i prefer having one rifle I know intimately and am highly proficient with over trying to match a particular rifle to a particular type of game. To each their own.

I'm with @Koda though. i would be more focused on getting to know a new rifle that may become "my" meat getter, and consider if you want to let the other one go or not later. One decision not dependent on the other and let the rifles stand on their own merits in the decision making process.

 

[orygun]

Sell the rifle you don't want, buy one you do.
I'd buy a 30-06, but that's no surprise to anyone that knows me.
The 7mm Rem Mag is a good round, but you'll pay more for a box of ammo and it won't kill anything deader than an '06 will. If you're feeling frugal, buy a 308.
(but you won't find one of those in our house)

 

[Spitpatch]

The Interarms MK X (Commercial Mauser 98) were (are) a whole lot of gun for the money. The barrels are on par with some of the best European makers, and the finish work well above what was offered on a standard-grade American made rifle of the same period.

And if I claimed, as I regularly do, that the .30-06 is such a mundane cartridge that it really never interested me (and still doesn't), most people here would eventually learn "the very depths of my hypocrisy".

 

[DWNRVR]

Thanks everyone for the replies and there are some really good thoughts in here I hadn't considered. I would have hit the 'like' button a bunch, but cannot yet.

Unfortunately, I didn't grow up hunting with my father. His short window of hunting was after I was out of the house and had more to do with his friend group for social reasons. He gifted me the gun after my sister started having children and my mother didn't want the gun in the house since they didn't have a safe. That was almost 20 years ago and I have been holding on to his gun ever since. When I told him I was going elk hunting he told me to sell it and get something I wanted. I will likely keep it up for sale in a couple places and just hang on to it and see where it goes. In a pinch I can always use it. I am excited to give that .30-06 a spin and see how we get along.

Thanks again for all the feedback, very much appreciated.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Well then...
Get some practice with that Interarms in .30-06...and sell that Browning.

One thing I would suggest in regards to practice is that after you have sighted the rifle in and gotten good with it on a bench is to...
Take it out and practice "Hunting shots" with it.
Hunting shots as in after you have carried that rifle all day....and taking a shot or two in :
Poor light...off hand ...with a improvised rest ...in the wet ...when you tired , cold and hungry...at a distance that you have estimated..etc...

Many folks are excellent shots at the rifle range under controlled conditions...
Hunting shots require a different mindset , skill and practice.
Andy

 

[Joe13]

Don't sell the rifle because it's inherited and you can never undo the sell.


Well - don't sell any firearm unless you need the money badly.

Use the borrowed 30-06 imo.

 

[Bobbygun]

Well - don't sell any firearm unless you need the money badly.

This right here folks.

 

[DWNRVR]

Well then...
Get some practice with that Interarms in .30-06...and sell that Browning.

One thing I would suggest in regards to practice is that after you have sighted the rifle in and gotten good with it on a bench is to...
Take it out and practice "Hunting shots" with it.
Hunting shots as in after you have carried that rifle all day....and taking a shot or two in :
Poor light...off hand ...with a improvised rest ...in the wet ...when you tired , cold and hungry...at a distance that you have estimated..etc...

Many folks are excellent shots at the rifle range under controlled conditions...
Hunting shots require a different mindset , skill and practice.
Andy

Thanks Andy. We have some scouting trips planned and this on the agenda. Shooting in a controlled environment is always a great confidence builder but boy is it different when your heart is pounding out of your chest, wearing all of your gear, and trying not to make a sound. For me it's remembering to breath. lol

 

[thorborg]

7mm mag is a shoulder thumping trigger flinching over kill for most folks, in my opine. The 30-06 is maximum needed and a great caliber with lots of rifle and bullet choices to find available. Personally, I took more than my share with a .270 and a long time hunting buddy with a beautiful sporterized 303 British. Several in my family are deadly with their 6.5 x 55, and since I'm now old, have joined their ranks. This only proving that Elk Are not Rhinos and (to a point) its the man more than the gun that'll bring home the steaks.
Good luck on your adventure and welcome to the flock.

 

[JRuby]

But when should we use our 375s and 404s, etc .... if a 7mm Remington is too big?