An Abrupt End To Deer Season

I recently visited the deer woods for the first time in many years but that was cut fairly short due to an apparent equipment malfunction. I did get out three days though, and did learn that the second weekend of deer season is much quieter. The real lesson here is to be proactive about maintaining your hunting equipment.

I noticed a lot of give in the action of my rifle. I’ve had this rifle since I decided to become a deer hunter. I purchased it from a gun store while on a camping trip an hour or so from my house as it was the only Savage dealer at the time. The rifle was mounted with a Leupold scope (they were also having an event there) and is a Savage 114 in 30.06 with a wood stock. My most luxurious purchase at the time. Since then it’s become my workhorse rifle. I’ve taken every deer with it, except my first harvest, which was done with a borrowed Remington 740. It has a tremendous amount of sentimental value to it.

After one hunting day I decided to tighten up the connecting bolts between the action and the stock, and quickly realized one of the holes was completely stripped out. I suddenly remembered this was the case many years ago, and I simply forgot to fix it then. I decided to see if I could replace the stock instead of the entire rifle.

A Google search turned up a lot of results. It is luckily a fairly common rifle. I found a handful of options but ultimately chose the Hogue. Replacing the stocks was fairly straightforward once I discovered a third screw. The other hangup was getting the bolt lock at the trigger to slide correctly. Finally the hinged floor clip needed to be repaired when the tensioner plate kept popping off from the pressure.

Overall I think the rifle looks great. I wouldn’t say it’s a tight fit although I do think there won’t be an issue with accuracy. The new stock definitely removed some weight, and the grip is sticky so that might help in the field. My first attempt at gun-smithing seems to have worked out. I will need to sight this in better though. The deer I did see were out pretty far, much further than what I shoot but certainly capable of at that distance.