Most International Skeet shooters and box bird shooters catch their empties and quietly deposit them in the proper receptacles. Not a negative comment on shell swatters, it's just the way it is. The Olympic Skeet Mixed Team finals did not come off with this polite way of disposing of empties because, oddly, the hosts did not place receptacles next to the shooters the way it is usually done. However, the shooters caught their empties and tossed them to the front of the shooting stations, out of the way of shooters. It was very pleasant to watch this "good behavior".

With me, its the kitchen table gunsmith jobs that are usually deal killers. Buggered up screws, cut stocks with badly fitted pads, cut barrels, and any kind of pitting.

I'm not a fan of recoil pads to begin with, so badly fitted hack jobs are a real turn off (even though many can be fixed).

One more, why do people feel the need to put a pad on a .410? Just me.

Yep.... I saw that once.....

Or a 16, 20 or 28 for that matter? A Silvers pad isn't that soft either but I can see it being used to increase LOP.

I will not purchase a gun with excuses. "Great gun but has a repair the the stock" etc. There are enough guns out there that do not have excuses.

I call those "but" guns

1. Pinned stocks.
2. Smaller bore than 12
3. Straight stock
4. Non colt 1911s

I will not buy a rifle in .308, .30-06, .30-30 or .270 (unless the .308 or .30-06 is full auto) nor will I buy a repeating lever rifle.

Hmmm 06 and 308 are not in my top ten favorite cartridges however ........ I have one of each in Mannlicher Schoenauer carbines and a 270 for good measure as well as 243 , 6.5x54MS and 7x57 :cool:

You do like those Mannlicher guns! I had one years ago that was a .22 mag. Neat little gun.

The crowd I hunted the Poconos with all shot bolt actions or a couple lever actions . But we ran into a lot of locals that had a specific deer rifle and a specific bear rifle . Generally they were both Remington 760’s in 06 with see thru mounts and a 3-9 or 4-12 Tasco or Simmons on top . And as a rule their deer rifle shot 150 or 165 CoreLokts and the bear gun shot 180 or 200 grain CoreLokts . Personally I’d have used 165’s for both and a single rifle no see thru mounts and a 2-7 or 3-9 Leupold Vari XII but not on a 760 I’d prefer a 700 Mountain rifle .

Craig, I've used my 760 carbine in 280 Rem for many deer, several bear, and moose. When I walk out the door, I'm reaching for it every time. No see through mounts but a nice Zeiss scope with Talley mounts. Great combination. Remington pump rifles have been popular in the Poconos for a long time.

We may have crossed paths . You are most certainly in the minority of the 760 users I crossed paths with . Our center of operations back then was Newfoundland and Hamlin to a lesser degree . FWIW I ran it three or four guys that had one of the later Remington pumps the 7600 I think it was all in 35 Whelen . I killed more deer in PA with a Remington Model 7 in 260 REM than with any other cartridge . Never did kill a bear up there .

I'm glad not all of us have the same likes/dislikes. Prices for the favored stuff would be astronomical. I won't buy any gun that is overpriced, regardless how much I want it.

I love ejectors for hunting. I've ordered two made to order 30" barreled .410s for doves and quail in the last few years. Both were ordered with ejectors. I never have an empty to hit the ground unintentionally, whether hunting or shooting sporting .....never.

I like recoil pads on my S X Ss, too. Not for recoil attenuation, but to protect the butt when I put it on the ground in a dove blind, or the wet steel floor of a pit blind in a rice field. It keeps the butt from sliding and slamming the gun to the floor, denting barrels and scratching stocks, too. I also almost always need more LOP on vintage guns, and a period appropriate recoil pad works to do that perfectly.

One more thing I won't buy is a gun without checkering, no matter how pretty the wood is. They just look unfinished to me.