I've been reading around and I'm not getting the impression that the brownings have great out of the box accuracy? Is this a consensus or just some of the opinions that I've happened across?

Also I noticed that the Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker has a 13 3/4" pull length. I'm tall with long arms so most guns fit me short. The Browning A-Bolt hunter is what I tried out and it has a 13 5/8" pull length. Not much of a difference but I'm wondering if the fit of the Stainless Stalker is going to be different. I can't find a A-Bolt Stainless Stalker in town to try.

I'm still waffling on the 7mm Mag vs. .30-06 and now reading even more I'm thinking about the .300 WSM! Good thing I still have a few months to decide!

The Brownings come glass bedded and free floated. It costs about 22$ to order new trigger springs to get thepull to exactly want you want. I would take the Browning ina heartbeat over the others you've looked at, as a matter of fact my last2 rifles have been A-bolts. A Stainless Stalker in 325WSM or 338Win will be my next one.Both ofthe rifles I bought shoot great, I dont have the boss system on either.

Do a search hereon the A-bolts you'll wont find much complaining about them.

I love the browning A-bolt in whatever flavor. Also you CANNOT go wrong with a 7mm mag.

I recommend, the .338 Win Mag, over the .325 WSM, bigger bullets, with higher SD, and more readily available ammo.

I have a bunch of rifles in calibers from .223 to 7mmag, all are bolt action except the .223's are AR-15's. I just bought a thompson Center pro hunter for my 11 yr old daughter and she and I both love it. I got it in the muzzle loader set up and bought a 25.06 barrel for it. She used the 25.06 to shoot her first hog with it. No deer showed but she was really excited with the hog. The recoil reducing stock really takes out a lot of the kick outand the shortness of the rifle is perfect for her and I really like it myself. I'm going to buy another next week in muzzle loader and also a .270 or 300 win mag barrel. I'm really hooked on the TC's. I reload for all my guns and a plug-in load for the 25.06 shot a .743 group (5 shot) at the range so I believe they are accurate, and being able to change calibers is great. Hope this helps.

Okay, still researching. Talked to my brother again tonight and he brought up the .300 Win Magnum. Just as flat shooting as the 7mm Rem Mag but better punch for Elk and big Mulies but without the bullet fragmentation of the 7mm Rem Mag. Looking at the recoil table that jumps up to a 25 vs. a 20 for the 7mm Rem Mag with a 150gr bullet or a .30-06 with a 180gr bullet. Am I getting out of the comfortable range here?

Should I just get an easy shooter like the .270 win and plan on buying a second rifle if I hunt elk? This is tough, I should have just gone out and made an impulse buy!

Please enlighten me on the bullet fragmentation of 7mm rem mag???

When doing comparisons you should use bullets with similar Section Denisity vs gr size. In the .284 (7mm) 150gr bullet has SD of .266 vs. .308 (3006, 300, etc) 150gr has a SD of .226. ie: 140/.284 & 165/.308 both have a SD of .248.

I realize your talking about recoil numbers but you really should check what the bullets you'll be using in the .308's are producing vs a straight across gr size comparison. The heavier the bullet the more it jabs and you'll probably be using 165-180 gr bullets in either of the .308 calibers.

If you worried about the recoil the 300WM will be more then your first 2 choices. Whether it is tolerable or not is up to you. All 3 are more then capable of taking the biggest mule deer or elk, no fear of that just boils down to preference. Seeing you seem to be really worried about the jab the rifle will give youtry and shootthe 300 wm& 7mm rm, if not possible you might be best to stick with what you know in the 06'.

I know you've stated in a few different threads that you feel that bullet fragmentation on the 7mm Mag is more a result of a poor choice of bullets than a poor choice of caliber and I think you are probably correct. I just know several people (my brother included) that feel that the smaller 7mm bullet will fragment easier. His opinion is that if I suck up an take the recoil throwing a 180gr bullet out of the .300 Win Mag will result in less fragmentation chances than throwing a 150gr bullet out of the 7mm Rem Mag with the same trajectory out of both.

I'm thinking that I should have just gone out and bought a 7mm Rem Mag for my personal Christmas present a couple weeks ago and been done with this mess! That's what I would have done on an impulse buy for sure and I would have probably never questioned it.

If I had to go out and buy a rifle and scope tomorrow I would buy a Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker in 7mm Rem Mag for $747.85 + $25 shipping and $25 FFL handling fee = $797.85 total + a Nikon Monarch 4-12x 40mm Scope with the BDC rectile for $279.95 + ? shipping. That gets me to $1,100ish plus another $50ish for scope rings and $30ish for a new trigger spring so I guess $1,200ish for the total package. [&:]

Quite a bit more than I wanted to spend but I guess it is better to buy quality than to go the cheap route. I could cut $150 off that if I went with a blue barrell vs. the stainless steel or I could cut $200 off that if I went with the Tikka T3 or the Remington 700 SPS in stainless but I would still be in the $1,000 range so for the difference I might as well get the one I want.

The Nikon scope is only on sale until the end of January so I will probably decide by then. If I go with the .30-06 I will get the 3-9x 40mm scope instead of the 4-12x.

I do appreciate the input from everyone!

Okay, I've officially settled on one part of the equation. I just ordered a Nikon Monarch 4-12x 40mm Scope with BDC rectile for $288.65 including shipping from www.MidwayUSA.com. They just happened to be having a special on the exact scope I was leaning toward.

Bullet fragmentation in a 7mm?? If I understand right you are saying a 7mm bullet will come apart more than a .30 cal one? This is nonsense. If you compare for example the 175 Nosler partition in 7mm to the 180 gr .30 cal I think you would find that the 7mm penetrated deeper due to its superior SD. Not saying that is especially the best bullet in a 7mm, I'm just using it as an example. Bullets coming apart are the result of bullet construction and excessive velocity. Some bullets are designed for standard velocities and when pushed through magnum cases are pushed beyond thier intended uses. That is when you get bullet problems. Use a proper bullet for whatever round you pick and you will be fine. Wether you choose a 7mm or .300 mag they both require premium bullets especially for shots under 200 yds.