Razor_J
Member
I'm in the market to buy a new bolt action rifle. I have $400 to spend and I am set on a savage either used or a new axis or a Stevens 200. I just wanted to make that clear so no brand wars will occur. I have a 22 magnum that covers me out to 300 yards are so. it is light, accurate and I know it well. I also have a mosin that is minute of deer vitals out to about 150 yards. I am looking for a rifle that I can scope up and shoot out to about 1k. I want to do this for fun and to have a rifle that delivers accurate, and very respectable energy from a football field away to way the heck out there. My problem is that I dont know what caliber to get.
At first I wanted a big boomer for the fun factor and flatness of shooting at long range such as 7stw, 300 mag, 6.5x284 etc. Then I thought that those rounds would be to bulky and way too loud in a post socio-economic collapse setting. I have been told that magnums would be beacons when you really dont need that kind of company not to mention brass availability and current expense of stocking up components. I then though that 308, 30-06, or 243 would do me fine but again that brought me to a question of availability of reloading components and weight/size constraints of transporting several hundred rounds of ammo along with components for several hundred more.
My current idea is that a 223 with the 1 in 9 twist would be the best option. I can buy ammo components for relatively cheap and I can stock up while staying on my limited budget. The rifle will be light as this is a light caliber, the recoil is also light which is good. I hear that you get a moderate amount of life out of these barrels so long as you clean them well and dont burn them with too hot loads or string too many shots close together. I hear that specificly in the savages folks are seeing great results with bullets that range from the 52 grain a-max to 72 grain bergers. This would mean that I could use bullets scavanged from 223 semi auto ammo that I happen to run across meant for semi autos, or I could conserve my heavier weighted bullets for shots beyond 500 yards. I could also carry several hundred rounds in a fanny pack which I couldnt do with any of the above calibers.
Thoughts on the subject?
At first I wanted a big boomer for the fun factor and flatness of shooting at long range such as 7stw, 300 mag, 6.5x284 etc. Then I thought that those rounds would be to bulky and way too loud in a post socio-economic collapse setting. I have been told that magnums would be beacons when you really dont need that kind of company not to mention brass availability and current expense of stocking up components. I then though that 308, 30-06, or 243 would do me fine but again that brought me to a question of availability of reloading components and weight/size constraints of transporting several hundred rounds of ammo along with components for several hundred more.
My current idea is that a 223 with the 1 in 9 twist would be the best option. I can buy ammo components for relatively cheap and I can stock up while staying on my limited budget. The rifle will be light as this is a light caliber, the recoil is also light which is good. I hear that you get a moderate amount of life out of these barrels so long as you clean them well and dont burn them with too hot loads or string too many shots close together. I hear that specificly in the savages folks are seeing great results with bullets that range from the 52 grain a-max to 72 grain bergers. This would mean that I could use bullets scavanged from 223 semi auto ammo that I happen to run across meant for semi autos, or I could conserve my heavier weighted bullets for shots beyond 500 yards. I could also carry several hundred rounds in a fanny pack which I couldnt do with any of the above calibers.
Thoughts on the subject?
