First find someone with a mag rifle and beg them to let you put a box of ammo through it. Don’t just shoot it once or twice. Then you will know whether or not you a willing to live with the mag rounds. Even the short ones kick more than a 165grn 30-06. Personally I’m not really comfortable with a mag, with out a heavy rifle or a muzzle break. The 280REM is a good in-between of your family’s calibers; basically a 30-06 necked down to accept a 7mm bullet. It is a great compromise between flat shooting and significant weight at impact. Don’t dismiss the 260REM. The little bugger is loaded to 60000cpu which is a lot of pressure and fairly fast. My favorite is the 25-06REM, it puts them down quickly every time. If you really want to make them jealous, look at the varmint model in either 25-06 or 308. I have one in 25-06 and every one loves it but, it is mine and I won’t give it up.

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/rfpages/km77vt.html

Mike



Edited by - mello_collins on 11/06/2002 13:52:47