As I've mentioned before, I'm am seriously jonesing for a 9.3 or .35 rifle of serious capability such as a .35 Whelen, .350 Remington Magnum, 9.3x62mm Mauser or 9.3x74R. Why? Come on, is that REALLY important? I suppose that I want a rifle to take Elk or Moose hunting that won't cause serious concerns on the part of the guide, outfitter, or PH.

I did buy the .45-70 barrel for my Contender for the same purpose but I continue to get the feeling that most people feel that a 6 pound (scoped) rifle is just not serious medicine for anything regardless of what it is chambered for.

Ok, so what rifle do I want to get this Elk/Moose slayer in? Well, I've been considering a bunch of options. First, I thought that I'd get a vintage rifle (I LIKE vintage rifles) in 9.3x62mm but found out that it is not the easiest thing to mount a scope and would often require alterations that I would not want to make to a vintage firearm. Then, I thought that the CZ-USA 550 American in 9.3x62mm would be just the ticket. However, it will still require several customizing things such as a banded front sight, a rear sight and perhaps slightly shortening the barrel and a set of slightly lower rings. Not impossible but discouraging.

Now I'm thinking of going the single shot route (big surprise, huh?) and for that am considering either a Ruger No. 1 (I'd prefer the Alexander Henry forearm used on the 1A) or TC Encore. I'm really not excited about the Encore. It just doesn't have that feeling of quality that the Contender has. This despite their common methods of manufacture, etc. I also don't like the Encore stock form, the way the hammer is shaped, the handling characteristics, etc. Finding a Ruger No. 1 action might be a bit of a problem though (unless Brownells still sells them). I will be mounting a Leupold 1.5-5x and would like to have a way to ALSO mount an aperture sight as a backup. If I have to start with just the action (i.e. without factory wood) I'll be stocking in a laminate like Boyd's.