edapp
Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2017
- Messages
- 80
Help me pick a quality, "lifetime" hunting rifle for whitetail/hogs (mostly whitetail). I have had a series of inexpensive hunting rifles that do the job but leave me wanting for more. I would like to replace a few with something nice that is worth putting some good glass on and leaving alone for life. Something I can shoot a lot and get very comfortable with. Help me pick the cartridge and rifle.... spend my money!
What I am looking for:
Short action (considering .308, 7mm-08, 6.5 creedmoor, you could talk me into something else)
Stainless
High quality stock
Weight is not a huge factor, but this will be a hunting rifle not a target rifle.
Rifles I am drawn to:
Winchester m70 weather extreme
Barrett Fieldcraft
Sako 85 finnlight 2
None of these are available for me to hold locally at the moment.
What I have already: I have a blued/walnut 30-06. It is too pretty to hunt with in some areas that I know will get banged up or wet. 30-06 is overkill for the 100 lb deer around here, and not much fun to shoot at the range. I have a 6.5 grendel AR that I take primarily for hogs. The AR platform is not ideal to me in a tree stand or for deer. If 6.5 grendel bolt rifles were more common I might consider it. a grendel fieldcraft would be fantastic.
Additionally, I do not reload. I order my ammunition online so I am not as worried about availability as I am affordability and the number of loads available. I have a decent stock of .308 ammunition, and love the price and number of different loads available. The biggest reason I am looking at a different cartridge is the possibility of reduced recoil. A rifle like the fieldcraft would not be as fun to shoot in the .308 as it would in the creedmoor (based on my reading). My hunting shots will be within 300 yards, vast majority within 150 yards.
So what do you think?
What I am looking for:
Short action (considering .308, 7mm-08, 6.5 creedmoor, you could talk me into something else)
Stainless
High quality stock
Weight is not a huge factor, but this will be a hunting rifle not a target rifle.
Rifles I am drawn to:
Winchester m70 weather extreme
Barrett Fieldcraft
Sako 85 finnlight 2
None of these are available for me to hold locally at the moment.
What I have already: I have a blued/walnut 30-06. It is too pretty to hunt with in some areas that I know will get banged up or wet. 30-06 is overkill for the 100 lb deer around here, and not much fun to shoot at the range. I have a 6.5 grendel AR that I take primarily for hogs. The AR platform is not ideal to me in a tree stand or for deer. If 6.5 grendel bolt rifles were more common I might consider it. a grendel fieldcraft would be fantastic.
Additionally, I do not reload. I order my ammunition online so I am not as worried about availability as I am affordability and the number of loads available. I have a decent stock of .308 ammunition, and love the price and number of different loads available. The biggest reason I am looking at a different cartridge is the possibility of reduced recoil. A rifle like the fieldcraft would not be as fun to shoot in the .308 as it would in the creedmoor (based on my reading). My hunting shots will be within 300 yards, vast majority within 150 yards.
So what do you think?