Thinking about a new rifle, need ideas

Another vote for the Tikka T3, in .308. That caliber is a bit more versatile than the .30-06.
A good piece of glass and you're sitting pretty.

 

My vote is for a Tikka T3x in 30/06. Superb rifles right out of the box.

 

Jonnyc you are going to have to work pretty hard to convince me that the .308 is more versatile than the .30-06. How do you figure that? I am not trying to be argumentative, but really want to know your thought process. The .308 is, in essence a .30-06 short. The .30-06 can shoot bullets much heavier than the .308 can. The only real advantage I see for the .308 is a short action in a bolt rifle. I have heard the more inherent accuracy before, but I am kind of “meh” regarding that.

 

I concur

The rhetoric of "advantage" of a short action is exactly that, rhetoric. 1 seriously doubt many could work a short and long action, tell which was which.

I have short and long actions, mini and magnum. The difference is minimal.

 

My Tikka is a real performer -- more accurate that my ability to shoot it. Sub-MOA in .308.

Since you already load for the 30-06, stay with that cartridge. You can load-up heavier bullets for elk. The longer 30-06 case allows for the loading of longer/heavier bullets than does the .308 case (without having to use compressed loads), plus also allows you to load hot for heavier game. The Tikka metallurgy is state-of-the-art. Stay safe, use only tested loading tables.
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I have gotten sub MOA out of both out of box with factory ammo. But both were a few years old. Latest manufacture with Remington under new management I don't know.

 

You DON'T need anything else then ,lug that 10.25 lb. wonder up and down the slopes like a goat

Seriously there's Nothing wrong with Tikka ,I own more than a couple although Not in 30-06 .

I'm somewhat amused by comments such as No 6.5 for Bull Elk and I'll tell you why .

There was this fellow over on the Dark Continent named Walter Bell aka Karamojo Bell ,some what a Legend among professional BIG Game hunters . His Rifles of choice 6.5mm and his .275 Rigby aka 7X57 or 7mm Mauser . Walter recorded between 865-1170 ELEPHANTS to his Hunting credits ,depending upon who's reference books one reads . He averaged 1.5 shots for the entire lot of them .

MY point is this ; You're looking for a sufficient lightweight hunting rifle ,ask yourself what's the longest hunting shot you've made ( successfully ) ?. Are YOU generally hunting in an area that 300 + yd. shots are common ? or need heavier bullets to break brush before contacting the animal ?.

It's NO secret I've hunted with a 7mm Rem Mag ,most of MY life and can honestly say ,I've only had to follow up one animal with another shot in over #59 years of hunting . FYI : The ONLY reason I shot twice was to eliminate the possibility of losing that animal down a canyon ,as it was nearly dark when I shot it .

IF YOU hunt ethically and responsibly with a proper bullet selection and the weapon YOU fire is accurate ,a 6.5mm Traveling 2800-3000 Fps. is gonna hit what you shoot like a freight train . Heavier the animal heavier the bullet need be and STAY WITHIN IT'S EFFECTIVE RANGE .

You could do a 7mm Rem Mag or 300 Win mag in an AR platform also or buy a Tikka ,if YOU feel the need for that type of performance .

I as I'll assume other hunters do , research WHAT I'm hunting and Where I'm hunting and at what probable distances I'll have an opportunity at taking a decent animal . One Gun it's MY 7 Rem Mag ,it hits what I aim at carries enough HP to do the job and IF it doesn't , I'll step up to .338 Win Mag . However I'm not gonna use a 175 gr. on a 165 lb. Mule deer at 0-200 yd. perhaps a 140 gr. 0-450 yd. Yet I carry 120 140 160 & 175 gr. because I KNOW where they impact at any given range between 50 yd.- 500 yd**. and ONLY two would go that far 160 &175gr.** out of MY rifle anyway .

IF I were hunting Elk in New Mexico and in an area of open range say 0-300 yd. ,I'd have NO hesitation using a 147 gr. 6.5 CM on ANY Bull Elk .

Also there's a whole lot of hunters who shoot Bull Moose with 6.5mm Swedes granted 20-200 yd. but none the less are successful ,so some of you might want to rethink that 6.5mm stuff .

 

300 Win.Mag.

 

Maybe it has been said, but a Tikka in 308 is the same action as a Tikka in 30-06, just with a magazine stop and bolt stop.

 

You can run bullets about an extra 20gr heavier in a 30-06 over 308win. So ~220gr RN in a 30-06 v ~200gr RN in a 308win. No great velocity advantage from a 30-06 over a 308win either.

Strictly performance wise, the 30-06 is more versatile by a touch.

But "versatile" dosen't have to mean on paper balistics.

The 308win can be had in a dizzying plethora of firearms. Old school battle rifles like Enfields, FR-8s, Garands, etc. It can be found in some cool Cold War Era rifles, CETMEs, FN FAL's, M1A1's. Also available in some modern rifles as well, AR10's SCAR17's, Sig Cross, and the Henry Long Ranger. Certainly something in there will scratch an itch for almost anymore. That's pretty flexible to me.

Just playing devil's advocate, I think both cartridges are excellent. I just have few cases where I feel a 30-06 is plenty, but a 308 is insufficient. So I usually go with the model in 308, because I've already got multiple other 308's.

 

a 30-06 is useless. if you shoot at a deer more then 25 yds away the bullet will bounce off

 

with new powders and bullets the velocity in a 30-06 will match the velocity of 300 WM in the 50's and 60's. naturally new powders boost the magnums somewhat also

 

Get your Tikka in either 30-06 or .308. The .308 will be slightly more efficient in use of powder, and does very well with most Garand speed powders. The .30-06 will get you just a tad more oompa with 180 grain bullets for Elk hunting. Either will do very well with 150's, 165's, and should do well with inexpensive Hornady 168 BTHPs for your recreational shooting. I would push a 168 for greater than 300 yard shooting. Whichever caliber you go with, you may wish to work a 165 hunting load for both deer and potentially Elk to closely match your 168 recreational load.

If you want to do a little work, a used wood stock Savage M11 in .308 or M110 in 30-06 with a good glass bed job and the accutrigger dialed way down tends to shoot bug holes also and is a solid hunting rifle as well. Even if you have the glass gunsmith done, your price point is probably significantly lower than the Tikka.

 

.375 is wayyyyyyy too much for anything except elk, moose, Bison, bear.
Too much bullet, too much, powder and too much recoil.
Do-All Worldwide, but North America;
.30-06 makes more sense.

 

my 375 H&H is the best prairie dog rifle I own

 

Well if you want a nearly do all Rifle in case that Kodiak Brown Bear sneaks up on you in the middle of that Elk hunt ,buy one of these :
Tikka's Big Brother SAKO in 9.63X62mm it will do what a 30-06 Can't do

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I was thinking more of ammo sourcing. Lot's easier to find lots of variety in .308 ammo than .30-06...not to mention rifles that are chambered in it.

 

I've yet to kill anything too dead. Big bullets at moderate velocities do surprisingly little meat damage and produce dramatic blood trails. Too much much powder use is just a financial question, and too much recoil is highly subjective from one person to the next. One persons shoulder bruiser is another persons plinker.

 

I have a couple of Rem 700s in .270 Win and like them. They've taken deer at various ranges to over 300 yards and killed a nice Maine Bull Moose at nearly 300 yards as it walked across the haul road, with 1 shot (picture). I've also owned a couple of 30-06s, including my first centerfire deer rifle. The .30-06 is a good cartridge, but I'd look long and hard at a 7mm-08 for a new rifle these days. I like the short-action Remington 700 and other makes. (Picture, me with my 700 BDL Stainless fluted .270 Win)





This is a timber yarding area, where the bull was attracted to a few does that were calling to him to cross the road. The road was pretty narrow, except for this yarding area where the "breeding party" was to take place.