my father in law offering me one of three rifles that belonged to his dad: a pre-64 winchester model 70 264 mag (redfield scope), a remington model 700 243 (leupold scope), and a sako .22-250 (zeiss scope). they're all in pretty good shape, but have seen some use. i am not familiar with any of these guns. from what i've seen, the 264 sounds like the best collector/resale gun (although the optics are not great). i already have a good deer rifle (ruger 30.06), and i've been wanting a good varmint gun, so i'm leaning towards the sako...plus, i know zeiss makes a good scope. any thoughts?
Clearly this is a tough question to answer without knowing the history of the guns and seeing their condition. That being said, the sako-zeiss combination should hold real tack driving potential. Both of those brand names are great in the gun world, which it sounds like you already know. If you are hunting hill country deer, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if you find yourself taking this gun to the blind, too. For a varmint gun, .22-.250 is one of the great calibers.
Go buy some shells and go out to the reange with the Father-in-law. It will probably be neat for him to shoot his father's guns, and give you an opportunity to see which one you really to like the best. the Sako-with the Zeiss scope sounds like potentially the best fit for your needs. I am assuming you are going to hang onto the gun?
his dad was a pretty meticulous man, so i would be shocked if these aren't in pretty good condition. logistics aren't going to allow us to go to the range, unfortunately, and he is planning on giving the two other guns to his nephews. i am not sure where the gun was manufactured. it's originally a finnish brand, but the company has been purchased by beretta. my father in law thinks his dad bought the gun 15-20 years ago. i am planning on keeping what i choose.
the two in play here are the sako and the model 70. The other is an ordinary gun in an ordinary caliber with an ordinary scope. I am aware of the sentimental value, but they all have that. The sako is a great caliber for varmint hunting, and you can hunt deer with it as well. The caliber is widely popular, passes the two-dot test, and can fill a variety of needs. The 264 is an older caliber, does not pass the two-dot, most likely an inferior optic, and is a caliber that does not add to your arsenal. You already have a larger deer caliber....so you dont need another one. I am seriously considering a 22-250 solely for the wide range of applications it fits. Hill country deer, foxes, coyotes, squirrels, hogs, aggies, it works for all of them. Get the 22-250.
groin works well for me. Just got me one this morning...picked him off at about 150 yards. The sheep was a little collateral damage, but no biggie.
sako it is...thanks for the input! i'll come back with a report after i've had a chance to take it to the range.
