I've only got one classic rifle left but have had a few. I ve got a 1903 Springfield built by Paul Jaeger in 1945. I am the second owner as it was left to me by a guy that was like a dad to me. He had it made for himself when he got out of the service. spent his last days in the Walla Walla Military Hospital. He was wounded in the Pacific. It has the origional barrel and it's pitted pretty bad but the thing shoots great! On it is a set of Redfield vertical split rings and a veru old Denver 2 3/4x widefield scope I bought new about 1971. The stock is nice walnut and is a work of stock making art. Have no idea what will happen when I'm gone, my son doesn't appreciate what it is. Maybe a grand child will, hope so.

I'm a fan of the Winchester model 70 and prefer classic rifles over most anything new too.

Funny but the most repulsive thing I find about modern rifles is plastic stocks and stainless steel! I love walnut stocks and blued steel!

My grandpa gave me his old savage 99 in .308 with a rotary clip.  it was my first centerfire rifle and I took my first few deer with it.  sadly it never seemed to fit me just right, it seemed to small for me and my big frame.  a buddy of mine borrowed it, built a stock extension for it just for a temporary use and took a nice 50" moose and a beautiful cinnamon phase black bear.  When i get old i am going to leave it to my oldest son.

I too would rather not have any plastic on my rifles, especialy some of the ill fitted stocks I've seen on factory rifles today.  I want well fitted walnut and all forged carbon steel.  I don't like stainless either.  If I want more corrosion resistance I'll simply have the steel bead blasted and parkerized.  But overall I've never had an issue in the elements with blued carbon steel, it just required a bit more vigilance.

With that said my go-to rifle is a modern New Haven, Conn made Winchester M70 with a CRF action (remake of the pre-64 action).

I have been all over the place on what I liked in a handgun and or a rifle.  From a blued finish to stainless to parkerized.  All my hand guns except for one has wood grips or panels.  All of my rifles and shotguns except for two of them have wood stocks and all of them have a blued finish except for my one stainless rifle.  That stainless one is a .340 Weatherby.  It is a stainless rifle in a fiberglass stock and except for my .22-250 is my most accurate rifle in the safe. 

Now as for hunting with them I still remember the first time that I took my Ruger Red Label 20 gage out and put a scratch on that beautiful stock.  It was a lot like the first dent in a brand new car.  But when I look at that scratch I remember that pheasant hunt and the birds that I shot with it. 

Now as far as hunting with a classic rifle, depending on what I draw out on this year I plan on using my dads .300 Savage Model 99.  It hasn't been shot in over 50 years but I plan on taking it out to the range and see just what this old time rifle will do with its peep sights.  Now if I happen to draw a coveted muzzle loader tag in Utah I'll just clean it up and put it away until next years hunt.  But, it could be interesting if I decide to take it elk hunting here in Colorado this coming fall.  It all depends on the draws. 

Yeah I know what you mean Critter about the first scratch you get on a sporting arm.  It's all just part of hunting.  We can do our best to take care of our guns in the field but it's inevitable that they do get scratches or rubs on them.  Blued steel or phosphate finished steel wears over times and wood stocks get small nicks and scratches. But that's what these things were made for, to take out into the field. They are first and foremost hunting tools.

I never ever have liked high gloss varnish finished on wood stocks.  They just don't age well and the actually look like hell once they get scratches dings in them.  Actually many of those coated wood finishes tend to yellow, haze, and then flake or peel with age.  I think an impregnated plain Linseed oil finish is the way to go when it comes to nice walnut wood stocks.  If it was tough enough for the military on those '03 Springfields and M1 Garands on the battles fields, then I doubt anything I take a rifle through will even come close to duplicating those harsh conditions. Just take a look at any vintage military issue rifle from that era, even those that saw battle, and with the exception of dents and scratches those old stocks are in great shape probably better shape than many commericial rifle stocks from the same era.

 Nice thing about Lineed oil is that on walnut it required no staining to get that rich brown color seen on so many vintage rifles.  The linseed oil alone gives the wood that color once it seeps into the wood fibers and cures.  Even better is the fact that if and when you get a scratch or nick in your stock it can easily be colored in by simply rubbing another coat of boiled linseed oil into the wood, leaving the indentation there to remind you that your rifle actually gets used.  Plus Linseed oiled walnut just tends to develop a nice character to it with age and handling.  Something that can't be replicated on these modern factory spray-on polymer varnish finished stocks.

sounds like a bunch of old men.

synthetic, stainless and breaked.

to be honest, there is some nice looking older rifles.  but there is also some very nice looking new rifles.  If you buy a starting price point item, it will be that.  But if you buy the top of the line rifle of today.  It will be every bit a classic 50 years from now as the classics are today.

What amazes me is what you can get for, so cheap.  Some of these new rifles perform pretty fricken good.  But it also depends on what there use is for.  A week long sheep hunt will be a different gun, than an antelope hunt on a gentlemens ranch. 

As far as ole jack.   He was just one of those extremely lucky men in life, who made a good life into a great life.    In todays world it seems to be craig boddington.