Caliber recommendation for hunting rifle

[esheato]

I'm trying to get some ideas together for an all-around hunting rifle.

My big plan...is to have 3-4 hunting rifles to cover just about any situation. A varmint/target gun, an all around medium sized game gun and a larger .30 cal for elk and other big critters.

The varmint/tgt gun will be here in two months or so. Cooper MTV in .223 AI. I'm looking for recommendations for the medium caliber gun. Something for antelope, deer and other like sized animals. I would like to reserve the .30 cals for the large caliber rifle.

The requirements:

-Bolt action, left handed
-Synthetic stock, not the cheap hollow molded stocks (I wouldn't object to an aftermarket stock...most likely of the McMillan persuasion)
-Lightweight
-Prefer matte black finish to blue or stainless
-bbl on the short side for portability
-flat shooting caliber

My problem is caliber. I'll have the .22 cal for varmint and the .30 cal for the large gun.

I would also prefer a low recoiling gun. I'm honest enough to admit I can't shoot the larger calibers very well. I'm subscribing to the "precise bullet placement with a smaller caliber rather than a poor shot with a large caliber" theory. Now, I understand that a light gun will increase felt recoil, but I'd prefer to stay away from the 7mm Rem Mag monsters.

I was thinking about a 260 Rem (6.5mm-08 A-Square) or 7mm-08. See, if you split the difference between the 5.56 and the 7.62 you end up with a 6.5mm so I figure a caliber utilizing the 6.5-7mm diameter bullet would be optimum.

I'd like to stay away from the .243 Win as it's fairly close in bullet diameter to the .223 of which I'll already own one.

Any recommendations? Any field reports using the 6.5 or 7mm on deer sized game? What do you use and why?

Thanks,

Ed

 

[rbernie]

I'd recommend 7x57 (Mauser) or 7mm-08. I know that Savage makes a couple of left-handed models in 7mm-08; that's where I'd start.

 

[MrMurphy]

With proper bullet placement a .308 or .30-06 will drop anything on the North American continent short of polar bears and grizzlies, and they might even get those (though they wouldn't be my first pick, they'd work).

Savage makes a lot of lefthanded rifles, the 110/111 action chambers nearly everything.

For a large rifle, the .300 Win Mag or 7mm Rem Mag would do the trick.

For an "anything" rifle, the .308/.30-06, they're also available ANYWHERE unlike some rounds which won't be found in Alaskan village stores or Walmart.


For the under-.30-06 level, a friend has used a .260 Rem effectively on deer for five years, and the 7mm-08, like the .308, will drop most deer sized animals just fine.

The .25-06 or .270 are also options. If you can't kill it with a .270, you probably annoyed a grizzly. Jack O'Connor knocked off nearly everything in the U.S with a .270 back in the old days.

 

[jefnvk]

I have a Rem 700 Classic in 6.5x55. If you do your part, the deer isn;t going anywhere but down. Both times mine dropped right where it was.

I use it because thats what was given to me when I turned 14.

Dad has a .270 that is his favorite gun. Uses that more then the .30-06. Dunno why, though.

One last edit, IIRC the 6.5 Swede and the .260 Rem shoot the same bullet.

 

[cracked butt]

Any of the cartridges based on the .308 case (except the .243) will be pretty close to identical in performance.

Why not go up in caliber and get a .35 Whelen instead of a .30, and then pick a 7mm08, 7x57,.260, or 6.5x55 for an intermediate caliber?

 

[esheato]

I had a .308 but I sold it recently. Don't get me wrong, I liked the caliber and the .308 was on the high end of my recoil tolerance, but I don't want to go any larger at this point.

.30-06 and .270 are bigger than I want to shoot, and honestly, I think they're to much gun for California game.

.35 Whelen could be a possibility in the future but I haven't even begun to think about the large gun yet. I would most likely use the intermediate gun for just about everything, so that is what I'm concentrating on first.

One point I didn't make in my initial post is that I do reload so cartridge availability isn't an issue. I definitely prefer to use handloads for hunting.

The .308 I sold was a Savage. I don't have anything against them, they're fantastic shooters, but I've never owned a Remington, Winchester or Browning so I'm looking to try something different. The Browning A-Bolt fits me very well, it shoulders great and has a great trigger. The finish matches my specs, but they don't make a left-handed rifle in .260 or 7mm08.

Another possibility is to buy a short action Rem or Win, scrap it, then add a barrel and stock of my specs.

Ed

 

[Bigfoot]

Of the .308 case family I like the 7mm/08. It burns powder efficiently in a short 20" barrel and still pushes 120 gr Ballistic Tips and 120 gr Lazerhead(Barnes TSX) to 300 yds on a deer sized target area. And it's got enough frontal area to make a decent medium range Elk gun.

 

[wanderinwalker]

My vote, if you have the cash to outlay, is to do up a custom in .260 Remington. I have one (well, an out-of-the box Remmy Mountain Rifle, I'm a righty), love it dearly, would not part with it for anything. No, I haven't used it on game (yet), but it will do anything a Swede will do. Given the accuracy potential of the round and its easy shooting nature, it is a winner. I'd even be happy to take it elk hunting as long as I have a 140gr Partition at full-tilt boogie and could get within about 125 yards or so. Numerous Scandanivian moose have fallen to the 6.5 Swede, which is pretty similar to this power level. More than a few Eastern moose have even fallen to cartridges of lower power levels (.303 Savages, .30-30s, .44 Magnums, etc.) and similar power (.308s, .300 Savages, et. al.).

 

[Bwana John]

.30-06. Aint many things that a man cant fix, with $700 and a .30-06.

 

[ACP230]

The .250 Savage is a light recoiling round.
In my experience it kills deer very well out to a bit past 200 yards.
I use handloads with Remington 100 grain Core-Lokt bullets.
Remington factory loads also shoot very accurately.

 

[RangerHAAF]

Thompson Center Encore

Have you considered a Thompson Center Encore? This particular rifle will allow you to easily change in between calibers when you feel a need to. I own one in 308 Winchester mainly for deer hunting in the southern states. Should you feel that you need a caliber with longer range such as 300 Win Mag or 338 Rem Ultra Mag you can buy a new barrel for about $250.00 dollars.

I feel this system beats having to buy a new gun every time a new sexier model comes on the market. The link below does not contain all of the available calibers. You should call the company to hear what they have available.


http://www.tcarms.com/encrifle/index.php

 

[rbernie]

The Encore is a superb rifle that is naturally suited for use by lefties. However, the drawbacks to the whole 'swap barrels to get extra utility from a single rifle' concept is that you still have to buy a new piece of glass for each barrel, and that in the end you still only have one action (and therefore a single point of failure).

 

[Ktulu]

Get a nice heavy barreled rifle in .243. It can handle varmints on up to deer sized game. Check out the ballistics on the .243. You can get 55 grain all the way up to 100 grain bullets. It's a tasty little cartridge.

On the other hand, depending on how you deer hunt you might not want to lug a heavy varmint gun around the woods.

EDIT: WUPS! Some how I missed the part of your post about the .243. Sorry about that.

 

[RangerHAAF]

No, I've spoken to company reps and their barrels can be purchased with or without iron sights. My rifle has both a scope and iron sights that fold down, the iron sights are similar to the kind found on any Marlin lever action rifle; I do however concede your point if you use a scope, exclusively. The terrain that I hunt in makes a scope optional.

 

[Blue Line]

I have a Rem 700 in 257 Roberts for an easy gun to carry and shoot deer and lesser game. I love my 7mm Rem Mag for Elk although I shot one last year with a 338 Win Mag and had no problems. Although I don't have one currently the 30-06 can be loaded up for big game with heavy bullets and down for varmits with light bullets. Also the 270 (based on the 06 round) does a lot of hunting for most game in the US. You should look into the 06.

 

[WhiteKnight]

Dad has a .270 that is his favorite gun. Uses that more then the .30-06. Dunno why, though.

Less recoil with the same terminal performance, maybe?

 

[TooTaxed]

Here's another vote for the 6.5 x 55 Mauser...now my favorite deer rifle. My beloved old Springfield .30-06 will stay in the vault until I need to go for elk or larger. For large, tough game in heavy cover, I'll use my .45-70.

 

[rbernie]

Less recoil with the same terminal performance, maybe?

Yeah, but the 270 is stil pretty much a thunderboomerflashbang kinda round compared to many other 'mid-caliber' rounds. Lots of powder capacity in that long case....

I'm still sold on the virtues of the 7x57 and 7mm-08 for anyone wanting a mid-caliber midrange (250 yards and in) thin-skinned game rifle. 120gr 7mm-08 rounds, downloaded to 2600fps-2700fps, are a joy to shoot while still possessing equal sectional density to a 150gr 308 or 30-06 round *and* while still having sufficient power for most any thin-skinned medium game animal in the US. Why choose a 270-, 280-, 284-, or 7mmMag-sized action if the intention is to solely load for medium game alone? Why chose a 6.5mm round that will have less bullet selection and variety?

If I had to pick only one caliber for use in all situations, it might be a 30-cal or a 270 or even one of the 'big' 7mm rounds. But given a chance to have several rifles, I'd choose to make the big rifle big (.308 or .338 caliber in a big rugged action with a 24-26" barrel) and make the medium rifle, well, medium-sized in both caliber and action size. To me, that means a short-action 20"-22" barrel bolt rifle (or single shot) in 7mm-08 or 7x57.

 

[salthouse]

I just went through the same exercise. I settled on the .280 Remington as my "all-purpose" hunting rifle. Its based on the 30-06 and has a number of bullet choices that make it quite flexible with a flatter trajectory (not quite as flat as the .270, but close). I'll use it to hunt deer, black bear, and moose.

 

[Shweboner]

Ive got Ruger M77 Mk-II in 30-06 thats going Elk hunting for the first time here in NW Oregon.

Helluva rifle, should serve me well.

my .02

 

[Bostonterrier97]

270, 7x57 Mauser, 6.5x55 Mauser are all fine medium game cartridges
338 Magnum or 375 H&H Magnum is a fine Elk/Moose Cartridge
The 375 can double as a great Bear Cartridge

 

[esheato]

Interesting comments guys. I still really like the idea of the 260 Rem, but I will look more into the 7mm08, 7x57 and 6.5x55 Swede.

The 30-06 would be fine for the big gun, but that's a while down the road at this point.

Thanks again,

Ed

 

[Sleeping Dog]

If I didn't have a 6.5x55mm Swede gun, I think I'd go for a .260 Remington. Comparing to the Swede measurement, the .260 is just a 6.5x51mm. So, very similar, and it's easier to moosh .308 brass through a sizing die to make new ammo in a pinch.

Another reasonable name for the .260 Rem would be "6.5mm08", so it's very similar to 7mm08.

What's 7x57? Is that a wildcat based on the 8mm Mauser brass?

Regards.

 

[rbernie]

What's 7x57? Is that a wildcat based on the 8mm Mauser brass?

No, it's the ORIGINAL smokeless Paul Mauser round, circa 1892 or so. The Swede 6.5x55 came a couple of years later, and the 8x57 (actually 7.92x57) was simply the 7x57 case that somebody in Obendorf necked up in the early 20th century to one-up the 30-cal game that the Brits and the Americans were playing.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Thanks, rbernie

It's pretty normal for me to get things bass-ackwards like that. Anyway, if the 7x57 kicks like my Turk 8x57, it's way stouter than 6.5 Swede or 260 Remington.

The Turkish 8x57 ammo kicks more like 30-06. Fun for the first few rounds, but shakes the fillings loose after about 20 rounds.

The recoil doesn't matter much in a hunting rifle. On a good day of hunting, I might put one, maybe two through the barrel. The average day is closer to zero. But still better than working!

Regards.