"Which, in your opinion, are the 10 greatest sporting rifles of all time?" Such was the assignment given me by Rifle Shooter magazine, and it's an interesting project. Now, I could wax ecstatic about Rigbys, original Mausers or a David Miller masterpiece, but few of us can relate to those kind of guns. When the editor asked me to do this story, what he wanted was production guns--huntin' rifles, the kind most of us can afford.

I'm sure you've got your nominees. Here are mine in chronological order.

Winchester 94
How could this not be on everyone's list? The 94 was the first rifle to be chambered for the .30-30 WCF, the first sporting cartridge to be stoked with smokeless powder. But that in itself is not enough to qualify the 94 as a legendary design. Nope, what makes it qualify for my list is how it has withstood the test of time and its overwhelming acceptance by six generations of American hunters.

In addition to being the rifle with which more deer have been harvested than any other, its cinematic history is equally unrivaled. Has there ever been a Western movie is which a 94 didn't appear? Is there a person anywhere on Earth who hasn't seen John Wayne using both ends of a 94 to mete out justice?

The Winchester Model 94 also makes my list because it works and works well. Few if any other guns are as eminently suited to harvesting deer in the eastern half of the country, and fewer still have its carrying and handling qualities. The human hand and the receiver of a scope-less 94 were destined for each other. To me, no other rifle has ever felt as good in my hand--I'm talking one-hand carry at my side--than a 94.

It is ironic that the 94 ceased production in 2005 after 101 years of production--just one year before Hornady could have given the gun yet another lease on life with its LeverEvolution ammunition. But don't count the 94 out yet. If the Model 70 can make a comeback, so can the 94.

98 Mauser
This is the one slot that can't be filled by any single make or model firearm. Some estimates put worldwide production of 98 pattern Mausers at 100 million, yet only a small fraction of that number were (are) commercial.

Perhaps the best example of a sporting rifle based on a commercial Mauser (i.e., no thumb slot in the left receiver wall) was the High Power made in Belgium by Fabrique Nationale and imported by Browning from 1959 to '74. A current example is the Remington Model 798, the barreled actions of which are made in Serbia and stocked here in Remington's Mayfield, Kentucky, facility.

It is essentially the same rifle as was imported for many years by Interarms as the Mark X and for a time by KBI under the Charles Daly name, an arrangement that ended a couple of years ago. Similar 98-based rifles were made for many years in the La Coruna armory in Spain and imported here as Santa Barbara actions and barreled actions.

Regardless of the name of the gun or the importer, if it's based on a true 98-pattern Mauser, it is considered by many as being the greatest bolt action ever designed, and one that has yet to be improved upon. Quite a claim for something that came off the drawing boards 110 years ago, but one which is hard to refute. Twin-opposed locking lugs at the head of the bolt, controlled round feeding, inertia ejection and a staggered column box magazine are all hallmarks of the 98--features that are found in most of the more popular rifles of the present day.