The rifles you buy when you're young and stupid

[Mills]

I think Sheryl Crow's song goes: "It's not getting what you want, it's wanting what you got."

Well, I currently own three rifles– two of which I wish I didn't. Not because they aren't nice rifles. But because they don't fit my style of hunting.

The rifles I speak of are my Remington .25-06 Sendero with a Nikon 3-9x40 and my Sako 75ss 7mmSTW with a Zeiss 5-15x42T. I wish I could slam these two together and get one rifle I THINK I'd be happy with (at least at this point in my life). Here's what I mean:

I love the .25-06 caliber for deer and antelope. Just not in the Sendero package. It's a great shooter, but it's just too big and heavy to carry all day. On the other hand, I love the feel/balance of my Sako STW, I just don't like the caliber. Don't know why I ever thought I needed a magnum. Ah to be 20 something again.

So now (at 40), I own two very nice rifles (that I worked and saved my butt off for) (and that most people would love to own) that I'm not perticlularly fond of.

I guess I would like to have a lightweight custom rifle that wasn't a magnum that I could use primarily for antelope, deer and once in a blue moon elk. I'd top it with Leupold 3-9x40.

Is it possible to use theses two rifles to purchase a new one...without getting bent over? Has anyone ever done this? Do custom gun builders ever take guns/scopes in trade on another? Is this all just stupid?

I'd appreciate any thoughts any of you might have, or any similar experience you've went through to get your ultimate rifle. And what is it?

Thanks for letting me whine.