Originally Posted by The Famous Grouse

Fair enough, just wanted to ask about the 06 because it fits in the range of calibers you mentioned.

Re the issue of recoil, I'm not sure you should place too much stock in how hard a gun may or may not kick. Granted you are of--errrrm--slight stature, but there are a couple of reasons why I'm not sure you can make recoil too much of an issue.

First, all of the guns you're looking at are within 1 pound of each other and all are bolt actions so the action isn't going to give you any recoil reduction as an autoloader would. The 16 ounces between the lightest and the heaviest will only change the felt recoil the slightest amount if at all. And for that price, you get to carry extra ounces around the woods.

IMO, to really reduce recoil, you have to have a gun that's dramatically heavier than the ones you're looking at.

I suppose it depends on how much recoil really bothers you keeping in mind that if you shoot this rifle 20 times each year, you'll be shooting it about twice as much as most deer hunters do. If recoil really bothers you, using a good recoil pad (at the range) and possibly a muzzle brake are better options than buying a heavier gun, IMO.

Personally, I think you're on the right track with the .270, but again I wouldn't get the wsm, just the regular .270. The .270 is a really good caliber, it's not a shiny new thing, but some things are popular because they just plain work. It's a real workhorse that can dispatch deer and bear with plenty of authority.

Other options would be the .280 Rem and 7mm-08. Ammo will be more limited for these options, but that may or may not matter to you all that much depending on if you have access to stores with a good selection. Obviously if you got into rural areas, the hardware store selection of .280 ammo could be a real issue, but most Walmarts will stock it.

Good luck and let us know what you pick out.

Grouse