I've been asked a lot of questions regarding hunting rifles. “Long Brown Guns” as I used to call them. After much consideration let me give you my Top Three Brands. We can start there.

Kimber is Number One, Remington is Number Two, and CZ is Number Three. I like the classic lines and balance of the Kimbers, and those the nice Controlled Round Feeding of Pre-64 Winchester style action Kimber uses. So many Gun Guys talk about the greatness of the Pre-64 Winchester rifles... well, Kimber did them right. Kimber is what Winchester should have always been. Ah, Remington, Second place, but not very far behind. The Model 700 is awesome, does everything... and as much as I like it... The Model Seven is even sweeter. It's the 700, but shortened, lightened, and just perfect for a light rifle. CZ has nailed a home run with the 550 and 527 series rifles. Beautifully made rifles that have no warts. Those Single Set Triggers, brilliant. I even like there .22 rimfires.

Okay, now that I've thrown down my Top Three Brands.... Let's talk about the Top Ten Rifles. I'm going to pick my favorite rifles and calibers together. Now my Top Three and Top Ten are not going to mesh out together until you take a step back and look at the big picture.

1. CZ 527 Carbine in 7.62x39mm. This might seem odd as its a small light rifle in an intermediate caliber, but for pure enjoyment and the ability to knock down game up to Mule Deer in size, it's fantastic. This rifle, topped with a simple fixed power Leupold has become my Go-To gun for many reasons. It handles beautifully. It springs to the shoulder from it's sling almost super-naturally. It then points, finds the target and launches its .30 caliber bullet so swiftly, it's almost precognitive. Hitting a Paper Plate with a snap shot is so easy, it makes you feel like a shooting hero. No, it's not a precision accuracy type rifle, but the handling makes up for any accuracy limitations. It likes to shoot 1 inch groups at 100 yards. Sometimes it can do better, sometimes a little less. But when it comes to killing things that need to be quickly made dead, like Coyotes out to 300 yards, it's up to the task. I have used it to kill a coyote as far away as 620 yards. I can't gush on this Carbine any longer... you get the point. I am quite fond of this rifle. So much so, that I am considering buying another one for conversion to 6.5 Grendel. If I did that, I'd swap the stock for a synthetic one and get the barrel and action refinished with something weather-proof. But I do like the standard Blued Steel on Walnut. It looks quite handsome. Okay, I'll stop gushing now.

2. Kimber 8400 Classic in .270WSM. This is one rifle that I try to ignore... it calls to me. I compare this combination to a BMW M5. Very nice looking lines, great balance, great handling with all the performance you want... the rifle is 5 stars on all counts, with the only drawback being that it's spendy. It's over a Grand and you haven't even put the rings and bases on. But you get that Pre-64 action, hand cut checkering they way they used to do it, and then there is something else... the rifle just radiates quality and promised adventures. It's almost the PERFECT package. Almost.

3. Remington 700 XCR in .300 Remington Ultra Magnum. This is a big dog with a lot of bark and bite. Stainless steel with Remington's super secret coating that gives it a yellowish tint... synthetic stocks... It doesn't care what the weather is, and it doesn't care what you are hunting, where you are hunting it or how far away you are hunting it... it's going to kill it. Dead. Right. There. As much as I like the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum in there slick Stainless and Synthetic Accumark package – the 700 XCR in .300 RUM is the one I'd pick – every time – because I'm not pretentious and I am not free with my money. Sure the .30-378 is the hotter cartridge, but the .300 RUM is right up there, and up there at half the cost... half the cost for the shells (they are small artillery shells necked down to .30 caliber) and half the cost of the rifles. I also like the Sendero rifle, but for Alaskan adventures, I don't need the added weight that the bull barrel gives you. I like the XCR better... it's a more practical rifle.

4. The CZ 550 Varminter in .22-250 is a big, heavy, great looking, tack driving SOB. Guns rarely shoot better than this, and you are still under 800 bucks. You can get it with a pistol griped grey laminate stock or with a greenish/black kevlar stock. Don't make me pick one... Okay, I'd take the Grey Laminate, but I'd still pine for the green Kevlar. What makes this rifle so nice is that you can mount as big a scope as you like, and it wont look out of place. So put that Coffee Can glass up there, get that big heavy bi pod on there, put a sand bag under the buttstock, and do some precision shooting. To make it even better, once you run the gun dry, drop the magazine out, pop in a full spare, and you are back to popping off prairie dogs left and right. That's the downside too... you have to drop the mag to reload it. You can't top load it... unless you modify the mags to allow you to push a cartridge into it part way and slide it back... but it's trial and error to mod the mag so don't ask my how to do it because I don't want to be responsible for you frakking up your expensive magazine. Yes, it can be done... I've seen it... but don't try it. Great rifle.

5. Kimber Montana in .300 WSM. Light, handy, all weather, and the ballistics of a .300 Win Mag. This is like dropping a V-8 into a Porsche 914. If you are rolling out on an adventure up in the mountains, this is the rifle you are going to want. Nothing else in this list is going to pack so much punch into such a light package. No, this is not a rifle for the timid. But then again, neither are adventures.

6. Remington's Model Seven Predator in .22-250. This is a crazy cool little rifle. It has no mass to it... it weighs nothing. Light barrel, light action, light stock... and then they flute the barrel before dipping it all into some camo. This results in a light hunting rifle that begs to be taken out to play. It wants to go hunting... hard. .22-250 as an all around rifle cartridge can be argued... it's taken Mule Deer out here... and some elk, but I'd not recommend it for that purpose. Anything smaller than Elk are seriously in danger. Get this same rifle in the CDL trim package and change the caliber to .243 and you have my tie for sixth place here. Just a little heavier of a slug in a light rifle that could challenge my number one choice given more time.

7. Kimber Caprivi in .375 H&H is my next choice. This is my World Rifle. Or should I say, “Can take Everything on this world and the next” rifle. It's big, bad, beautiful, and is an league almost by its self. The only other production rifle that compares to it is the CZ 550 Safari in the same caliber. Which is fine, I like the CZ, but I like the Kimber better.

8. Browning X-Bolt in 7mm Rem Mag. The new X-bolt Hunter is a very fine rifle. I just wish the drop out magazine, which I'm iffy on already, was not made of what looks like recycled Styrofoam egg cartons. The magazine is the x-bolt's only wart. I like the lines, I like the balance, I like the action. I like this rifle. A lot. This rifle is available in multiple calibers, but when it comes to doing every game worth taking in all of North America, the 7mm Rem Mag can do it. If I was to pick my favorite cartridges (someday I'll make that list) the 7mm Rem Mag would be at the top. This 7mm X Bolt is a winning combination here.

9. Remington 700 CDL in .25-06. This is a classic combination right here. The .25-06 is a good hot flat shooting cartridge capable of taking big game like elk, yet is mild enough for young folk and nervous women folk who think they can't handle anything beefier. Very accurate too. If you have this combo and you can't shoot half inch groups – you probably need to tighten your scope rings.

10. Marlin 336 in .30-30.  Didn't think you would see this one, did you? The Marlin levergun is a versatile, fast action rifle that is more than capable for any reasonable task you ask of it. It's killed everything in North America from Moose to Mice and has been a top choice since the first time it ever came to market. The recoil is mild, the accuracy is more than acceptable, the power is up to the job. Unfortunately it's appeal is shrinking because of the glut of new rifle and new cartridges, this is you Grandfather's kind of rifle... and that's not so appealing to new shooters. Give that shooter a few more years and he'll eventually come to conclusion that he wouldn't mind having one of these.