I'm building up my "battery", and looking to add a backup hunting rifle. My main rifle is a .270 in Ruger M77, shoots well, has killed tons of game.
For my second rifle I want to build another all-round, moderate-recoil rifle, but built for stillhunting in heavy timber. It must be under 8 lbs. naked, offer quick second shots, and be in fiberglass/composite/laminate stock. It should be .30 caliber or larger. I would really like to put a nice peep sight on it.
I'm looking at the .308 caliber, and the two rifles on my current short-list are the Browning BLR and the Remington 7600.
Have a BLR in .308 very good for heavy timber hunting, plenty of punch and handles nicely. I am partial to lever actions anyway. (Actually this is the second BLR in .308 for me, sold my first one and hated myself ever since, just replaced it a couple of moths ago). Bought it at a gun show from one of the attendees.He had a .243 as well I would have bought, but I hadjust bought a M77 in .243 the week before. Oh well.Good luck on your choice/purchase.
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Quit whinin' or quit huntin', they don't go together!! Reese
When they outlaw guns...I'll be an outlaw! Reese
A .380 in your pocket is better than a 45 in the truck! Stolen
"IN GOD WE TRUST"
Good choice on the .308, I happen to be a Browning fan so there's my choice...
I personaly hunt with a scoped .270 OR for stalking, I use a .30-06 with open sights for some of the same reasons your looking for.
I chose the .30-06 for the bigger loads available (220 gr.), in case I ever went Moose or Elk hunting, then I can cross dress it a little bit better than the .308.
You did say another all around round, so that's my opion.
Also, I have hunted with a Winchester .30-.30 and this does just fine. Really any .30 cal is good, but the .30-06 gets you a little bigger load if desired?
Another note, the recoil of my .30-06 Browning BAR is minimal with the gas operated system, noticably less than the .270.
Lastly, the BAR is very light and a joy to carry all day long, with the chance of jumping and shooting at a buck in brush @ 20-30-40 yards and needing another quicker follow-up round. This was the case 3 years ago when using the semi-auto, as I tagged the buck instead of watching the famous whitetail run away.
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IF we all ARCHERY hunted with our QUIVERS loaded with Slim Jim's, WOULD the WORLD be a SAFER PLACE???
I like the concept of the .308 Marlin Express, but I am very leery of this multiplication of calibers that goes on all the time. They build a caliber, you buy it, nobody else does, and you're stuck with a wildcat.
If I went Marlin, I'd fall in with a couple of posters on here and grab a 30/30, 35 Rem., or even a 45/70. The reason I faded on Marlin is they only offer a laminate stockin a 24" barrel, which makes the rifle too long for an ideal stillhunting platform. Their shorter barrels are wood-stock only, and I will not buy a rifle with a wood stock. Rifles are tools to me, not artwork.
Help with Rifle Selection.
