Needed..1 magic rifle

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xcalibor67

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A sad day for me as i sit and ponder the infamous old question,"What cal. should my next purchase be". Was thinking of a 270 perhaps, Never owned one.Thought it could be my longer range deer hunter. After looking at many ballistic charts, forums of hand loaders etc. I have sadly came to the conclusion, it doesnt get much better than what i already have. Seems i am already at the point of diminishing returns... Currently using my Custom 6.5x55(Swede), pushing 130gr Berger VLD's Crono'd @ 3015, i wasn't overly impressed by the gain of the 270.
Thought of a 25-06..but after checking the stats of it versus my 6mm, there again, no vast improvement. Even the infamous 264 weatherby mag. is only showing the 130gr range @ 3200-3250.And @ the cost of barrel wear and excessive powder usage,it doesn't look appealing.Meh thinks i need to find a portable Rail gun. Or perhaps invent the 1st lazer rifle intended for deer hunting, paper punching.As others, at some point we all look for that ultimate trajectory, only to find in reality it does'nt get much better than what we have.
 
Maybe you should stop worrying so much about numbers and "needs". It sounds like your current gun will already kill a deer plenty dead. Your next rifle should be one you want - it doesnt have to be faster, flatter, more powerful, etc. Maybe you've always wanted, but never bought, a nice .22lr because you never had a "need" for it. Maybe its a 30-30 lever gun. Maybe its a black rifle. What would you get the most enjoyment from?

I dont have a "need" for most of my guns - but that sure doesnt stop me from enjoying them.
 
It is sometimes very surprising to folks just how INCREDIBLY redundant our plethora of rifle cartridges really is. If you have ANYTHING in the middle range of rifle cartridges (say somewhere between .257 Roberts and .300 Win Mag) there's extremely little practical reason to go buy another rifle in a different cartridge for 99% of what most of us do with rifles.

Yes, if you want to tackle very large (or very small) game, or shoot precision matches at very long ranges, or do some form of competition requiring a specific rifle type, then you need something appropriate to that pursuit.

For hunting most medium-sized game? It's really rather pointless.
 
Inside 300 yards, there's not much difference between the modern calibers
 
@Coyote3855. I like the way you think. :D
And you guys are correct, with about any modern chambering, be it deer or pork,dead is dead,is dead. I normaly try not to get into the "My gun is better than your gun" niche. To me, as some fellow once quoted, "Interesting guns,are accurate guns" I havent pampered myself with a new rifle in almost a year! So you can see how bad im jones'in..Since i am a fan of the .264 cal. projectiles, i could treat myself to a new 6.5 Creedmore? Would ask if anyone has any feedback on that cartridge, but i really havent seen any 6.5's that honestly shoot bad. Or the 25-06, maybe in a Weatherby or Browning?
 
Haven't pampered yourself with a new rifle in ... a year? Oh well...uh, how many rounds did you put downrange making yourself a better SHOOTER? I'd rather pamper myself with a few thousand rounds of practice ammo, or a good shooting class or two than another piece of hardware to stick in the safe.

I mean, if you REALLY want that new rifle, fine, but make sure it is one that you'll shoot OFTEN and WELL.

If you gun budget is larger than your AMMO (and range/classes/competition/training) budget, you're doing something wrong.
 
So you want “1 magic rifle”. My impression of your post is that you may subconsciously be trying to confirm you already have it. I have know several men in the last five decades who have an almost cultish appreciation of the 6.5x55. I also think it is a great cartridge. Many more men have thought good marksmanship coupled with good bullet selection in a .30-06 provides a nearly unequaled number satisfactory responses to almost all shooting situations. A bolt action .30-06 may be the closest thing to a magic rifle ever created. After all, are not versatility and availability crucial elements of a magic rifle? That being said, if I had a 6.5 Swede that was working for me I would not swap it for a .30-06 with the expectation of more magic.
 
The answer looks pretty obvious. .35 Whelen to get out of the light and fast rut.
 
45-70. Now that is certainly close to an "ultimate trajectory" as in straight up and straight down! +1 on the desirability of a Marlin 1895 in 45-70, fun, fun, fun!
 
Sam1911 said:
It is sometimes very surprising to folks just how INCREDIBLY redundant our plethora of rifle cartridges really is. If you have ANYTHING in the middle range of rifle cartridges (say somewhere between .257 Roberts and .300 Win Mag) there's extremely little practical reason to go buy another rifle in a different cartridge for 99% of what most of us do with rifles.

Yes, if you want to tackle very large (or very small) game, or shoot precision matches at very long ranges, or do some form of competition requiring a specific rifle type, then you need something appropriate to that pursuit.

For hunting most medium-sized game? It's really rather pointless.
Click to expand...
This is a very true statement and one guys like me, and many of you, have overcome or have to overcome. For 99% of what 99% of us will use, we could literally eliminated 95% of the available cartridges. As long as we all had one the deer and hogs would never know the difference.

But that is where the fun comes in. I like having a .222 rem mag even though the deer couldnt tell the difference between it and a .223. I like having nice bolts and nice pieces of wood. FOr whatever reason I like European Calibers in American guns. Some of you guys like the take apart guns that you can do all kinds of things with. Others like the challenge of a single shot Ruger No.1. Some like to prove this all pointless by using a 30-30 or 30-40 and kill the deer just as dead.

I quit buying guns for any practical field use eons ago. That pretty much ended with my 30-06. Everything now is because I want one.
 
Inside 300 yards, there's not much difference between the modern calibers
Click to expand...
I'll take it one step further and say even less so with modern hunting bullets. They really have equalized a lot of the 'middle' calibers.
 
RE "redundancy" (I agree)... Here's my list of best needs for my area...

.22 cal pellet rifle
.22LR
(might add) .17 WSM (for fun)
.223 Rem
.300 BO
.30-06 Sprg
.458 SOCOM
(don't need a big/bad big bore here)
 
valnar said:
I'll take it one step further and say even less so with modern hunting bullets. They really have equalized a lot of the 'middle' calibers.
Click to expand...
Great point.

The success and or failure of a modern chambering has much more to do with capital advertising, commitment, politics, and the military than it does performance. If it was just need it would have ended with the 30-06.



So, back to the OP, get what you want.
 
It is sometimes very surprising to folks just how INCREDIBLY redundant our plethora of rifle cartridges really is. If you have ANYTHING in the middle range of rifle cartridges (say somewhere between .257 Roberts and .300 Win Mag) there's extremely little practical reason to go buy another rifle in a different cartridge for 99% of what most of us do with rifles.
Click to expand...

Exactly!!

With todays better bullets he only real difference is in the effective range. And there is a lot less difference there than most understand. Pick anything you like and choose the proper bullet for the job.
 
A sad day for me as i sit and ponder the infamous old question,"What cal. should my next purchase be". Was thinking of a 270 perhaps, Never owned one.Thought it could be my longer range deer hunter. After looking at many ballistic charts, forums of hand loaders etc. I have sadly came to the conclusion, it doesnt get much better than what i already have. Seems i am already at the point of diminishing returns... Currently using my Custom 6.5x55(Swede), pushing 130gr Berger VLD's Crono'd @ 3015, i wasn't overly impressed by the gain of the 270.
Thought of a 25-06..but after checking the stats of it versus my 6mm, there again, no vast improvement. Even the infamous 264 weatherby mag. is only showing the 130gr range @ 3200-3250.And @ the cost of barrel wear and excessive powder usage,it doesn't look appealing.Meh thinks i need to find a portable Rail gun. Or perhaps invent the 1st lazer rifle intended for deer hunting, paper punching.As others, at some point we all look for that ultimate trajectory, only to find in reality it does'nt get much better than what we have.
Click to expand...


Never heard of that cartridge, could you elaborate.....
 
Aaaand most of the conversation is about bolt gun calibers.

When I decided to build hunting rifle that would handle most of the game in North America, I decided that there were going to be some restrictions, too - a gun that can do it all simply isn't one that does anything very well.

I built one that I already had a long investment of time in - in a caliber that was designed to carry 1,000 foot pounds out to what is considered the edge of ethical hunting range. And, I designed it to support being able to get a second shot off with no interference from the action - because it would keep a shot that hit badly from being the only shot an excited animal might get. We have a responsibility to get our game down humanely.

I'm in a state that requires limited ammo capacity, but that's not an issue for licensed seasons.

So, with all that, I chose a medium sized 6 mm class cartridge, in a semi auto action that has been tested for over 45 years. One that I could buy parts to build from dozens of manufacturers, and pick and choose which parts where most effective. And, in a color I preferred. It had to be durable and withstand horrible hunting weather, too, without rusting or becoming inoperative, and be able to clean easily.

Yup. AR15 in 6.8SPC.

You want something different, why look for another boring bolt gun?
 
Magic rifle.... Want one of those.

Want some magic bulliets too...

The one rifle that has made the most magic for me is a 22lr. The brand doesn't matter though ammo is the Joo Joo that makes it happen.

Get yourself a good .22 (doesn't have to be expensive) and a box or two of whatever ammo you can find. Shoot. Repeat. Have fun and take a friend with you. The magic will come.
 
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