Farm / work / ute rifle - pigs

[Farmer Roy]

Hi
Looking for a bit of advice for a good rugged short rifle to carry in ute / tractor or bike, for pigs.
Open plains country, but most sightings are relatively close - say 100m & moving fast.
I have a 243 with 3 x 9 scope but it's a bit cumbersome & im thinking a peep sight or red dot might be better for quick shots
Currently a lever action in 30-30, 357 or 44 magnum top the list. Or a SMLE if I could find one
Oh yeah, being farmer budget it needs to be reasonably affordable second hand plus cheap to feed
Any comments or advice on the suitability or otherwise, or other options, greatly appreciated
Cheers

[BBJ]

You've got a decent calibre pick for the job as long as you're chucking heavy pills, IMO.

80gr - 90gr bullets out of a .243 isn't mucking about on target.

What's cumbersome about it? Target acquisition or the length of the rifle?

If it's the scope look at a 1-4x I'd say. Pick them up real quick as they run.

[in2anity]

Hi
Looking for a bit of advice for a good rugged short rifle to carry in ute / tractor or bike, for pigs.
Open plains country, but most sightings are relatively close - say 100m & moving fast.
I have a 243 with 3 x 9 scope but it's a bit cumbersome & im thinking a peep sight or red dot might be better for quick shots
Currently a lever action in 30-30, 357 or 44 magnum top the list. Or a SMLE if I could find one
Oh yeah, being farmer budget it needs to be reasonably affordable second hand plus cheap to feed
Any comments or advice on the suitability or otherwise, or other options, greatly appreciated
Cheers

Do you handload? Or you gonna buy factory?

[Farmer Roy]

Err, target acquisition is cumbersome . . .
Rifle & scope is a bit bulky also, & worried about scope getting knocked about . . .

Yeah, I did consider another sight on the 243

One thing I did like about a 357 / 44 was decent capacity & follow up shots

[bladeracer]

Hi
Looking for a bit of advice for a good rugged short rifle to carry in ute / tractor or bike, for pigs.
Open plains country, but most sightings are relatively close - say 100m & moving fast.
I have a 243 with 3 x 9 scope but it's a bit cumbersome & im thinking a peep sight or red dot might be better for quick shots
Currently a lever action in 30-30, 357 or 44 magnum top the list. Or a SMLE if I could find one
Oh yeah, being farmer budget it needs to be reasonably affordable second hand plus cheap to feed
Any comments or advice on the suitability or otherwise, or other options, greatly appreciated
Cheers

Ruger American Ranch Rifle in 300 Blackout or 450 Bushmaster maybe?
16" barrel and 2.5kg - around $700.
Load your own with cast lead and it'll be damned cheap to feed.

[Farmer Roy]

Factory loads

[Daddybang]

30/30 or 45/70 for close quick work has it's positives.

[bladeracer]

Factory loads

Hmmm...if you want cheap to feed then maybe one of the milsurps and surplus ammo.
8x57mm Mauser would be my pick due to its size and weight.
Carcano Short Rifle is very light and handy and real cheap. But the feed system isn't great in my opinion.

[in2anity]

Factory loads

That changes things a bit- 300BLK is pricey. 30/30 ammo is pricey too in Aus. How about a 308 carbine? 308 ammo is cheap is all. Or what about a pistol caliber lever - what about 357 mag? Or 44mag slightly more expensive ammo. How about a ruger m77/357? They're probably slightly more accurate than most levers...

[duncan61]

BLR in .243

[Milsurp98]

Looking for a bit of advice for a good rugged short rifle to carry in ute / tractor or bike, for pigs.
Open plains country, but most sightings are relatively close - say 100m & moving fast.

100m & moving fast. Count out the 357, would have to give 10m lead for running fast at 100. The 44 is much better but still a slow projectile.
The 30-30 sounds much more for what you need.
Red dots are not much smaller than scopes. So open sights prob be better. Have you seen the fire sights? I have a set on my Win 94 30-30. Very easy to see target and aim.
Other than a 30-30 an open sight mil surp like a 6.5 Swede or 308 K98 (Israeli)

[bladeracer]

Red dots are not much smaller than scopes. So open sights prob be better. Have you seen the fire sights? I have a set on my Win 94 30-30. Very easy to see target and aim.

I have the Fire Sights on my Stoeger 12-gauge. I like them.

[Oldbloke]

What about a reflex sight?

[Bang-sticks]

I would agree 30-30 lever would be good. Another one to look into would be a pump action 308 like the rem 7600. I would go with either iron sights or 1-4x scope. I have found the red dot scope can be hard to use if the sun is at the wrong angle

[wrenchman]

i think what you want is 30/30 marlin or a winchester marlin also makes it in 44 and 357 you should be able to find them used.
i think you might find more deals on the 3030 and if you hand load you can have some fun with any of the

[Browning]

I bought a Ruger GS years ago in a 308 for this very same job.
Short barrel is great and it's built like a tank!! It takes whatever you dish out... I used mine on the quad heaps and it's tipped with a little aimpoint (never had any probs with sun or anything)
Great combo and works perfect for what you've described... Pretty bloody accurate as well even with factory loads.....
Been thinking of selling it for a while now as well... lol

[Farmer Roy]

I bought a Ruger GS years ago in a 308 for this very same job.
Short barrel is great and it's built like a tank!! It takes whatever you dish out... I used mine on the quad heaps and it's tipped with a little aimpoint (never had any probs with sun or anything)
Great combo and works perfect for what you've described... Pretty bloody accurate as well even with factory loads.....
Been thinking of selling it for a while now as well... lol

sounds ideal

dunno about the ease of cross border private sales ?

Anyway, thanks all for the replies. For the sort of shooting im envisaging I don't think reloading is an option - id never find the empty brass
cheers

[duncan61]

good luck

[in2anity]

sounds ideal

dunno about the ease of cross border private sales ?

Anyway, thanks all for the replies. For the sort of shooting im envisaging I don't think reloading is an option - id never find the empty brass
cheers

Considering price of (factory) ammo is a significant factor here, it's gonna be real hard to go past a compact 308. If you were handloading, it'd be a different story; the 30/30 would be more appropriate. But the price of factory 30/30 these days brings a tear to my eye; I only buy it when I absolutely have to (to replace aged brass).

[wrenchman]

does 3030 cost alot it is one of the cheepest rifle calibers to shoot here just about every one that has a gun has a 3030 it is the fist center fire rifle i shot.
when i was growing up if you said deer hunt it was the gun every one thought about.

[in2anity]

does 3030 cost alot it is one of the cheepest rifle calibers to shoot here just about every one that has a gun has a 3030 it is the fist center fire rifle i shot.
when i was growing up if you said deer hunt it was the gun every one thought about.

Yeah it does - often close to $40AUD per 20 (in NSW at least), that's towards $30USD a box!! Sure you can get em cheaper if you buy bulk + shop around, but if you just rock up at any-old LGS and buy a box of 20, they'll sting you for it

[GLS_1956]

It is hard to beat a good lever gun, when semis are not an option. Marlin's 336 comes to mind, mine has a 1x-3.5x scope on it but a good receiver iron sight would work too. The SMLE is a great gun, I love my No4Mk1, and another bolt gun to think about would be a Mosin-Nagant. My M44 is handier than my M91/30.

[Wombat]

Actually Is a Semi an option? You may be able to get a license given your need and occupation. An Sks or Ruger Mini would be ideal.

[Gwion]

Here's one for you.
https://www.usedguns.com.au/Product.aspx?p=104691

And another... just get rid of the scope for red-dot or whathaveyou and ask the seller if they have the original stock to get rid of the ugly AR wannabe thing on it.
https://www.usedguns.com.au/Product.aspx?p=104296

[Gwion]

Or this: fit your sight of choice and get the barrel lopped and crowned down to 18", buy a spare mag..... choose which ever chambering is least expensive to feed for you locally.....
http://www.claytonfirearms.com.au/produ ... on-clayton

[bladeracer]

Here's one for you.
https://www.usedguns.com.au/Product.aspx?p=104691

And another... just get rid of the scope for red-dot or whathaveyou and ask the seller if they have the original stock to get rid of the ugly AR wannabe thing on it.
https://www.usedguns.com.au/Product.aspx?p=104296

Did you miss the bit about a "farmer's budget"?

[Farmer Roy]

Actually Is a Semi an option? You may be able to get a license given your need and occupation. An Sks or Ruger Mini would be ideal.

Yeah, that did cross my mind . . .
I suppose I just assumed any semis would be too expensive & all the cheap SKS etc went to scrap years ago . . .

[Farmer Roy]

Here's one for you.
https://www.usedguns.com.au/Product.aspx?p=104691

And another... just get rid of the scope for red-dot or whathaveyou and ask the seller if they have the original stock to get rid of the ugly AR wannabe thing on it.
https://www.usedguns.com.au/Product.aspx?p=104296

Did you miss the bit about a "farmer's budget"?

[Gwion]

Nope but what other choices are out there, realistically? Besides, i know quite a few farmers with pretty healthy budgets... it's just a matter of what they want to spend, not what they can afford.

OP seems to want high rate of fire, so lever or pump. Levers aren't really available in great cartridges for quick shooting at the 100m mark, so that leaves pumps. He wants something compact for easy storage and access and pointability, that leaves the Remington pump carbine/police.

Personally i'd get a howa sporter in 308 ( https://www.thebarn.net.au/Products/How ... 6pageno%3d ), cut the barrel down to 18" to stiffen the barrel and make it compact ($80-120), stick an Atlas worx DBM kit, a couple of 10 shot mags (or not if you are really working to the 'budget') and some sort of dot type optic/scope for a couple of hundred and you are away for $1000 or less (a lot less if you skip the Atlas Worx kit).

Buy a bulk load of OSA ammo (https://www.thebarn.net.au/Products/Buf ... o+Can+(480)/12099) .....

That's quite a few piggies.....

I may even be persuaded to part with my Atlas Worx kit and mag/s for a reasonable price.......

[Farmer Roy]

Here's one for you.
https://www.usedguns.com.au/Product.aspx?p=104691

And another... just get rid of the scope for red-dot or whathaveyou and ask the seller if they have the original stock to get rid of the ugly AR wannabe thing on it.
https://www.usedguns.com.au/Product.aspx?p=104296

Thanks for your research, but your link just takes me to their front page, not the actual item
I'll have a look through the site