On all my hunting rifles I like to have a period scope and carry a knife that also matches that same era,
It is silly I know, but since when have hunters and shooters not been prone to idiosyncrasies.
For example, on my .308 Sako Finnlite I have a Leopold Ultralight 2-7 Scope with vintage Sako mounts. The knife that I carry with it is a Swedish Mora 200, stainless blade with synthetic handle.
My Winchester model 70 Standard weight in .270 carries a restored Weaver fixed 6X also made in the early 1950’s. That was my antelope rifle when I lived in Wyoming. Back then residents got plenty of late season doe tags.
My knife for that rifle is a single blade full sized folding Case made with jigged bone handles, brass lined with a carbon steel blade.
My safari grade Belgium Browning in 30-06 has a Leopold one piece bridge mount with an adjustable ghost ring peep side on the back and carries a Denver Redfield 2-7 scope. The rifle being from Europe, the knife is a classic solingen carbon steel blade with stag handles made in Germany.
My traditional TC New Englander Muzzle loader has TC peep sights and I carry two Green River knives when hunting with it. One a regular hunting carbon blade and the other a carbon skinner. These were the knives of the fur trade Mountain man era. Americas first knives.
The 6.5x55 Stainless model 70 has a walnut stock and carries one of El Paso Weavers rarest scopes. A stainless steel fixed 4X with a straight front. To match that, the Green River knife works made a short run of a “stainfree” knife with a very high carbon steel blade with walnut grips. I find it to be my all time favorite steel. Almost stainless but still can be sharpened with a river rock, and makes great sparks when struck for fire starting
The custom 35 Whelen build on an FN Action has a vintages 4x Weaver scope on it with the huge big thick post, kinda like a “middle finger” sticking up. I used that rig for shooting big black Russian boar on moonlit nights on Dep permits in orchards and barley fields. The knife was one of my favorites. A big Kabar with a six inch carbon blade and antler handles. I first saw that same knife in a display case in the local sporting goods store when I was 12 years old. It had a huge price tag, $6.25. It was still there when I was 22 and I bought it for about $20 without a sheath.
I make all my own knife sheaths anyway out of harness grade leather and sew the pieces together with copper wire.
My last rifle knife combo is my favorite. I have a bolt action model 54 Winchester in 30-06, They were first made in 1925 during the rich roaring 20’s. Those model 54’s were just a joy to look at and hold,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and shoot. They were accurate works of art. By comparison the model 70 which came out in 1937 during the great depression was cost saving come down.
My model 54 has factory installed Lyman peep sights; also has flip up African front sights and an integral front sight, with the ramp forged right into the barrel. Not the cheap screwed on ramp holding the front sight.
Remington made their first folding bullet knives in 1922. Before he died, my friend and master gunsmith gave me the pre-WW2 full sized double blade folding bullet knife his dad bought for him.
Those knives were just incredible in their workmanship. Production stopped during WW2 and they were again made in the 1980’s but never could the equal those earlier ones.
Pre WW2 Remington bullet knives are the most highly valued of all American factory knives.
I wrote a story about the man who gave me that knife here on Ifish titled “Big Jim’s Little Knife”.
Some years ago I had a trip planned to Namibia. My intention was to take that rifle and knife and one book. It was about the cuisine of Africa. I wanted to shoot only just one animal, a non-trophy gemsbok. They are reputed to have the sweetest meat of any game animal in all of Africa.
I arranged to have a chef prepare dish after dish from my book for a 10 days stay. During the days I was going to be with San-Bushman trackers learning from them and following lions as well as other game.
A cancer diagnosis got in the way of that trip.
DB
It is silly I know, but since when have hunters and shooters not been prone to idiosyncrasies.
For example, on my .308 Sako Finnlite I have a Leopold Ultralight 2-7 Scope with vintage Sako mounts. The knife that I carry with it is a Swedish Mora 200, stainless blade with synthetic handle.
My Winchester model 70 Standard weight in .270 carries a restored Weaver fixed 6X also made in the early 1950’s. That was my antelope rifle when I lived in Wyoming. Back then residents got plenty of late season doe tags.
My knife for that rifle is a single blade full sized folding Case made with jigged bone handles, brass lined with a carbon steel blade.
My safari grade Belgium Browning in 30-06 has a Leopold one piece bridge mount with an adjustable ghost ring peep side on the back and carries a Denver Redfield 2-7 scope. The rifle being from Europe, the knife is a classic solingen carbon steel blade with stag handles made in Germany.
My traditional TC New Englander Muzzle loader has TC peep sights and I carry two Green River knives when hunting with it. One a regular hunting carbon blade and the other a carbon skinner. These were the knives of the fur trade Mountain man era. Americas first knives.
The 6.5x55 Stainless model 70 has a walnut stock and carries one of El Paso Weavers rarest scopes. A stainless steel fixed 4X with a straight front. To match that, the Green River knife works made a short run of a “stainfree” knife with a very high carbon steel blade with walnut grips. I find it to be my all time favorite steel. Almost stainless but still can be sharpened with a river rock, and makes great sparks when struck for fire starting
The custom 35 Whelen build on an FN Action has a vintages 4x Weaver scope on it with the huge big thick post, kinda like a “middle finger” sticking up. I used that rig for shooting big black Russian boar on moonlit nights on Dep permits in orchards and barley fields. The knife was one of my favorites. A big Kabar with a six inch carbon blade and antler handles. I first saw that same knife in a display case in the local sporting goods store when I was 12 years old. It had a huge price tag, $6.25. It was still there when I was 22 and I bought it for about $20 without a sheath.
I make all my own knife sheaths anyway out of harness grade leather and sew the pieces together with copper wire.
My last rifle knife combo is my favorite. I have a bolt action model 54 Winchester in 30-06, They were first made in 1925 during the rich roaring 20’s. Those model 54’s were just a joy to look at and hold,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and shoot. They were accurate works of art. By comparison the model 70 which came out in 1937 during the great depression was cost saving come down.
My model 54 has factory installed Lyman peep sights; also has flip up African front sights and an integral front sight, with the ramp forged right into the barrel. Not the cheap screwed on ramp holding the front sight.
Remington made their first folding bullet knives in 1922. Before he died, my friend and master gunsmith gave me the pre-WW2 full sized double blade folding bullet knife his dad bought for him.
Those knives were just incredible in their workmanship. Production stopped during WW2 and they were again made in the 1980’s but never could the equal those earlier ones.
Pre WW2 Remington bullet knives are the most highly valued of all American factory knives.
I wrote a story about the man who gave me that knife here on Ifish titled “Big Jim’s Little Knife”.
Some years ago I had a trip planned to Namibia. My intention was to take that rifle and knife and one book. It was about the cuisine of Africa. I wanted to shoot only just one animal, a non-trophy gemsbok. They are reputed to have the sweetest meat of any game animal in all of Africa.
I arranged to have a chef prepare dish after dish from my book for a 10 days stay. During the days I was going to be with San-Bushman trackers learning from them and following lions as well as other game.
A cancer diagnosis got in the way of that trip.
DB