So though I like the Model 70 trigger, for the overall fire-control system I like a safety that blocks the trigger. For that reason I've always liked the safety on the Ruger 77 Mk. II. Engaging it rotates a robust steel shaft to where it not only blocks the trigger, but in its fully rearward position, the firing pin and bolt are also locked. Given the mechanics of the aforementioned systems, it's impossible to meld them into one, but if it were possible, I'd go with the Model 70 trigger and the Ruger safety. And while I'm wishing for the impossible, I might as well specify that the safety be located on the tang, shotgun style, where it naturally falls under the thumb and can be released at the last possible moment with the least amount of gun movement.

The author's idea of a stock of perfect design, line and proportion is Remington's Model 700-APR (African Plains Rifle).

When it comes to storing cartridges, I like the economy of space the Mauser-type staggered-column box magazine provides, but there's no question that the smoothest and most reliable feeding of cartridges is achieved when they're perfectly aligned with the chamber and fed from the exact same central position. There's also no question in my mind that the best Mauser-type magazine is the original, which has the triggerguard bow, magazine box and floorplate frame as one integral unit of steel.

For economy's sake, most production rifles today break the bottom metal unit into two or three separate components. To get a genuine Mauser-type bottom metal unit you have to go to Brownells or Midway for an all-steel Sunny Hill unit for around $400 or get an aluminum job by Paws that goes for around $110.

Though I prefer the fixed box with hinged floorplate, I have to admit to the convenience of detachable magazines, and I'm getting to like some of them more and more. Of the many variations of DMs I've seen, I find the Sako to be the sturdiest, best looking and among the best functioning of the lot.

Winchester's Model 70 Shadow is another excellent example of what the author believes is the perfect stock for a general-purpose hunting rifle. You can take or leave the shadow lines, he says, but they don't affect silhouette or proportion.

Barrels
Last but not least we come to the barrel. I'm not a fan of ultralight rifles and therefore of thin, whippy barrels. For general-purpose hunting of nondangerous game, I want a 24-inch pipe that measures around .600 to .625 at the muzzle. That's for both standard and magnum calibers. And make it fluted, mostly because I think flutes look cool. Depending on caliber, and thus wall thickness, a fluted barrel can be of slightly heavier contour.

So there you have it, a rifle that's impossible to build because some of the features I personally would want are incompatible with others. For the sake of brevity, I stayed within a universe of rifles whose features most of us are familiar with. Had we included out-of-production and the lesser-known European guns, many of which depart drastically from the basic Mauser design, it would have been just too unwieldy a topic for a single article. Even at that, you've got to admit it's fun to fantasize about just what kind of rifle you'd come up with if you could borrow features from a handful of different designs, let alone dozens. What would your hybrid look like?