Only one caliber

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Well I hunt in a straight wall state so that pretty well makes my gun a hunting rifle first and a target gun second.

So i am not going to go this route but to maximize a one gun choice for that criteria and my circumstances it would have to be a 45 Raptor built on a lefty Rem 700 action.

Oh right the budget. Maybe I could find a 45 Raptor Remage barrel on t used market. They are out there. And a 700 lefty bare action are around as well. Might be able to pull it off.
 
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I would buy the Ruger American in 308. Its a $400 rifle and you could put the rest of the budget into scope, ammo, etc. My 2 RAR's shoot less than 1" at 100 yards. Why 308? Common round with lots of options in bullet weights, bullet designs, and military surplus.
 
cougarman said:
You can only choose one caliber gun. It is going to be used for target shooting and possibly hunting. Which would it be and why?
270
308
30/06

Suggestions on rifle to buy under $750.
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270 would be my pick. Flatter shooting than 30-06 with less recoil. Further useful point blank range than 308, and again flatter shooting. For hunting largest of North American game I might choose 30-06.
For purely target, no hunting, 308.
 
rkittine said:
Except the .308 came first and the 7mm08, is a Necked down .308
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.308 came first✓
7-08 Came better✓
Bfh_auto said:
I would choose 270 from the 3 options.
I like a 140 grain ballistic tip at 3100 fps for deer.
A 150 RN works well on elk and moose.
A 110 VMAX @3500 fps is a grenade.
If you can't handle the recoil of a 270. You need to get a rifle that fits you better.
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+
mshootnit said:
270 would be my pick. Flatter shooting than 30-06 with less recoil. Further useful point blank range than 308, and again flatter shooting. For hunting largest of North American game I might choose 30-06.
For purely target, no hunting, 308.
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=
.270 Uber fast twist for 180 elites? ;) (Uber fast twist so you can run that ridiculous bc at lower velocities and still save recoil......wait we mighta just invented a short action efficient .264 cartridge.....) :evil::neener::rofl:

Eta better fit is no joke but I DO know that even with the best fit, more people start with a .22 than a .270 for more than just ammo reasons, and in a different perspective, I've hunted with people who need assistance and in ANY fit, the .270 was not the right choice for them, but generally yes, the .270 can be tolerated if fitted and loaded properly (don't need a screaming 130-150 for 200 yd deer no matter how much we like it, a soft loaded 120ish works well too) but to that end soft .308 loads are easier to come by in general. Between the .270 and .308 it's kind of a wash without knowing what kind of distance on the targets, kind of game, and what kind of distance on said game.
7x51 kills both birds well as do several other cartridges but this exercise in academia could be answered as equally with .223 vs .408 Tejas.
 
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cougarman said:
You can only choose one caliber gun. It is going to be used for target shooting and possibly hunting. Which would it be and why?
270
308
30/06

Suggestions on rifle to buy under $750.
Click to expand...
I'm NOT going to read through three pages of answers to see if any other info was given, but like always, a question is asked without giving near enough info to properly answer it!

Hunt what? What kind of target shooting? What action style are we talking about?? How much recoil can you stand?

All that would need to be known to answer this properly, and this late in the evening, I probably forgot a couple more...

DM
 
My choice would be .308
It is a common caliber that can be downloaded (red dot and .31 cal lead ball --> 200 gr loads) or upped as needed.
You can make the brass for 308 outta the 270 and 30-06 (huge pain but did it to prove to myself that I could). So an extra plus?
 
js8588 said:
I'm really surprised YOU didn't say 270.

One gun for me would be my 6.5x55.
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(The 6.5x55 wasn't mentioned.)

He said he wanted something primarily for target shooting and "possibly" hunting. The .308 is a better cartridge for target shooting than the .270 Win because it is more efficient/accurate and has lower recoil for range use with the lighter powder charges that are typical for target shooting.

The .308 is a very popular hunting round in Maine, and though I never had one, shot many when sighting-in rifles for customers, back in the day. It also works better than longer cartridges in pumps and semi-autos. Even bolt action rifles are handier in .308-length actions.

I went a bit lower, choosing .243 Win for my range/large varmint/ occasional deer-hunting cartridge and have 3 of them. Limiting deer shots to 200 yards, it will kill quite well with the right loads. The women and teens in the family have also used the .243 Win quite successfully!
 
Up until just recently I would have chosen a 30-06, .308, .223/5.56, or even a 6.5 Creedmoor.
But after my last gun build I believe I have found my favorite caliber. It's the 350 Legend, I built one on the AR platform & I can't believe the ease of shooting & unbelievable accuracy. This is two of the rounds I have tried through this rifle, I will be using this come deer season but from the target results I can't decide which round to use. It will hit a paper plate at 200yds just as easy.

Winchester 150 gr Deer Season XP 350 Legend.jpg This is the target from 100yds 5 round group of Winchester 150 gr Deer Season XP 350 Legend round.

170gr Hornady SP 350 Legend..jpg This is a target after shooting the Hornady American Whitetail 170gr SP 350 Legend.
 
I have never been a place selling ammunition that did not have at least one box of 30-06 on the shelf, even in the worst period of shortages. And the same is true of .270 Winchester. Not so much .308. I think this is because there are currently no self-loading (aka semi-automatic) firearms manufactured in these cartridges, so you do not have the people who like to go out to the range and shoot off a case of cartridges using firearms chambered for 30-06 or .270.
 
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2014/11/match-results-for-308-vs-30-06-surprising-findings/

RESULTS: .308 Has Small Edge at Middle Distance, But .30-06 Is Better at Long Range
Surprisingly, the .30-06 performed nearly as well as the .308 at middle distances. The .30-06 delivered 99.2% of max possible scores vs. 99.5% for the .308 Win. Notably, at 1000 yards, the .30-06 racked up 97.7% of max scores vs. 97.3% for the .308 Win. So, at 1000 yards, the .30-06 actually proved superior to the .308 Win. German explains: “This isn’t too surprising when one considers [the .308’s] limited case capacity for the bullet weights typically used in Long-Range shooting. They just run out of steam and dip perilously close to the transonic range as they approach 1000 yards of flight. The extra 150 fps or so that can be safely obtained from the .30-06 case really pays off at 1000 yards.”
 
If you can’t kill it with a 30-06, you should hide.

The bullet is the true weapon, the gun a tool, the rest a delivery system, so to say....

A 30-06 can basically shoot as far as the naked eye can clearly see.

30-06 denying cover to those who hide.

30-06 is the perfect ergonomic power for making the rifle light enough to carry, not excessively recoil in use, , and yet kill very far.....a basic extension of The Will of Man.

The 30-06, King of Rifle cartridges!
 
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