Need advice...My precious Wife told me I can have a rifle for Christmas...

Well the 257 weatherby is gonna recoil more than the .270.
I like the idea of the 25-06 or a .243. Look for a sale.

Hard to go wrong with a CZ 550 American, handled one the other day right in the $900 range with a spectacular looking cold hammer forged barrel in high polish blue with the rotary forge marks left on the barrel. Great piece of wood on it too.

Coal Dragger said:

Hard to go wrong with a CZ 550 American, .

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Yup, in .270 or 6.5x55

Or Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in 7mm-08

If I had 900 for a hunting rifle right now it would be a Winchester 70 EW in 308. Though the brands you have listed are all nice. All three are what I think of as "slightly fancy" hunting rifles.

Pay attention to the twist of the rifle you get. Unfortunately CZ only has a 1 in 10 twist for their 6.5X55 which relegates you to the 130 or 140 grain bullets.

A .243 is a great deer rifle and has a very tolerable recoil. A .308 is pretty reasonable too.

I think you are on the right trail there, if I had $900 to spend I'd definitely get a decent rifle with some nice wood on it.

Let us know what you get.

Weatherby Vanguard or Howa 1500 in .243. You'll also have money left over for a scope.

I just bought my son a Weatherby Vanguard S2 (sub MOA model). They guaranty out of the box accuracy of less than an inch at 100 yards using premium ammo.

I didn't use premium ammo...I bought Remington Express 125 grain bullets and my first group was about an inch, second group was 0.69 inches. Out of the box with no modifications.

The rifle, a Leupold VX2 scope, and two boxes of ammo was $997 out the door.

It was such a good deal that I'm considering going back and getting myself one today.

This morning he was banging steel at 260 yards with it...chickens and gophers...small stuff. That gun might be the most under-rated deal on the market.

I just bought a rifle for my wife for Christmas. An older Rem 700, in .243 Win. Needs rings and a scope. We will make a shooter out of it for less than $600.

I would buy this.http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=321339635

In that price range you can't beat an FN M70. For a little more id upgrade to a Kimber.

Get a 25-06 if you want sub-270 recoil. I also think that the new M70 is the way to go, but a 25-06 should use a 24" barrel, so the Sporter or Supergrade are better than the Featherweight.

Below is a link to a table showing the free recoil energy in various calibers/bullet weights. Find the .270 section...then find calibers with lower ratings. The .257 weatherby mag wont offer you much reduction over the .270.

The .257 Roberts however...will cut .270 recoil by almost half.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

A 25-06 isn't gonna do anything much different than some of the other calibers you already own.

Maybe consider a different (non bolt) platform/action?

How about an ar 15, or a 22lr?

you need to round out your cz 550 collection with a 550 fs in 9.3x62

Fremmer said:

A 25-06 isn't gonna do anything much different than some of the other calibers you already own.

Maybe consider a different (non bolt) platform/action?

How about an ar 15, or a 22lr?

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Not a bad idea at all! After seeing all those calibers DH61 has, something different (and cheaper to shoot) would fit in well. I suspect he already has .22lr so a 5.56 AR gives him something he doesn't already have and access to some of the cheapest centerfire ammo available.

Maybe consider a different (non bolt) platform/action?

How about an ar 15, or a 22lr?

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I agree. Do you really need another deer rifle???

Or if it has to be a deer gun, how about a browning bar short trac in .243? Lightweight, soft shooting, and gas operated.

I suggest this because I've always wanted one, lol. But seriously, get something different maybe.

Given the OP's large number of rifles that he no longer intends to use much, I would suggest liquidating a few of them and buying a Cooper M52 in .25-06.

I love mine in .280AI.

25-06 all the way. I was strictly a 25-06 owner since 2002, then this year I wanted a 270. I went to lotus gun works in Louisville Kentucky and discovered the sako a7 tecomate. The tecomate is only chambered in 270 wsm and 300 wsm. I bought it in 270 wsm and I love it. But I was looking for a 270 and I still think a 270 would be great. The 25-06 is my favorite cartridge. It is very versatile. You can shoot 85 grain bullets and take coyotes well beyond 300 yards. I took one at 327 with 85 grain bst. Then you can hunt bigger game like mule deer and white tails with 100 grain partitions, triple shocks, etc; or 110 accubond, or 115 grain partition, and there is even 120 grain bullets. I would recommend the 25-06. I like Remington 700, never owned a weatherby. I am a sako man. If you can get a sako, I wouldn't hesitate. You already have several centerfire rifles, so if you don't mind a little more recoil and like more power, go with 270.

You seem to be a little light in the lever action department.

Savage 250-3000? Might be hard to find one in the specified budget, but a thought.

I've experienced three different BAR's that belonged to friends/family and they all shot very well. One shot so well, literally right out of the box (.308), I thought about clubbing its owner and taking it home.