Anthony T.

When I buy a new rifle, I don't worry about price if it's the rifle I want. I will lay it away and chip away at it till it's mine. I do not prefer a very hard kicking rifle, but I can handle and don't mindmost .30cal on down recoil. I don't worry about ammo supply because I handload and can always get brass and bullets for mosy any cartridge. I do look at versatility and ballistic ability of the rifle. I like high quality and style in my rifle. I will not get into calibers and cartridges in this thread because it's not relavantto the thread starters question. I wish you guys would stick to the subject or this one will be another battle. This is not about which type rifle, but why you buy a certain caliber or cartridge. Not being mean, just hoping to keep it clean! This is a great thread.

JagMagMan

We all have different preferences!
For me I'm mainly a deer hunter, so the ideal battery for me would be a .223 for varmints, 6MM Rem. for deer hunting, a .308 Win. also for deer hunting, and a 7MM RM for deer and larger animals.

I guess if I were mainly a varmint hunter, I'd probably go with a 22-250, and if I hunted big game a lots, I'd go with a .300 WM.

There are so many good deer choices from .270 through the .30 calibers that you couldn't really go wrong! And the 7MM-08 or the .280 would be two of the best!

I never pick a cartridge because of popularity, or ammo availability. I do consider ammo costs though, and I just don't have an itch for any of the new cartridges, not that they are bad, I just don't care for 'em!
Another one that is not on my list of "likes" is the 30-06!
Yeah, its a great choice, and if I only had one gun, the '06 would be it! But thats why they make so many different ice cream flavors!

Anthony T.

Ridgerunner:
Lets hear the specs on that thing....whats you got goin there man? Looks nice.

tykempster

Ridgerunner, I've been on Longrangehunting.com and that 7mm AM sounds sweet. So does the new new 510 AM.[:-] 835 grain bullets at 2800 fps! Anyways, I chose my 7mm Remington Magnum because everyone in Missouri where I hunt has a 30-06. 7mm RM isn't too much difference and can do most of the same stuff with slightly more energy and less drop, but without the real heavyweight bullets, unless you get into 200 grains with custom twist, etc. My next gun will be a 45-70, for the same reason as the 7mm Magnum. Everyone has a 30-30, and a 45-70 is another close range gun, but it is capable of larger game. It's also "historical".

nchawkeye

In 1980 I walked into a sporting goods store in Petersburg, VA with the intentions of buying a Remington Model 700 in .270 and a 2x7 Redfield Widefield scope...I ended up buying a Ruger M-77 in .243 with a Bushnell Scopechief with BDC 3x9x40...The gun was $249 and scope $127...After talking with one of the owners, he suggested a .243 mainly because I travelled alot with John Deere and planned to also hunt groundhogs in the mountains of VA and also use it for their fall turkey season...I have never bought another centerfire....

I do have a couple of guns that are "different"...a .40 caliber flintlock that I bought from Bob Watts in Stone Mountain, GA in 1977 and a .54 caliber flintlock that I finished in 1990...

KareImp

I agree with Elkampmaster on this one. For me, another choice is 'what gun is left handed?' - one of those...

Sometimes after I've bought a caliber, my friends do ask "Why did you buy "that" caliber?" Like when I got the 338 RUM...

Cuz I didn't have one, it was left handed, and the gun store had it drastically discounted when they couldn't find anyone to buy it!

aimiablerooster

[quote]ORIGINAL: Pygmy

I like things that are a little different...

That's why none of my hunting rifles have ever been chambered in .270, 30-06 or 7MM Rem Mag... Nothing against any of these, they are all fine cartridges, but EVERYBODY has one.....

Although I have mostly all standard cartridges, I kind of feel the same way about wanting something different. All I have different is a 6.5x55SE (Great) and 7.62x39 (not great). The .280 really is appealing to me and this may be the next choice.

Ideaman

I use the "I want it formula". I look at a gun, check my wallet, if wallet exceeds gun price I buy it.

After I had a good shotgun, rimfire, 22 cal , 30 cal, and magnum cal, rimfire pistol, defensive pistol,hunting pistol,and mz loader,I realized i could no longer claim I needed a gun. I had to accept the fact I wanted it, and have learned to live with that.

Anthony T.

I bought my 7mm and 30-06 because I had hunted with and shot both and loved both. I would never buy a rifle without seeing first hand what it can do on the range and in the field.

ButchA

I picked the 30-30 because that is what a co-worker of mine had. See, I bought the old Marlin 30-30 from a buddy at work a few years ago for a steal. You know how it goes sometimes... he got married... then didn't hunt much... then had a kid... wife laid down the law - the gun goes...

Anyway, he talked to me about it and let me borrow it for a weekend to try out at the range. Right from that veryfirst shot, I just fell in love with it. There is just a certain charm to a 30-30 lever gun and the historical "vibe" that it has, that I just had to buy it. So that very next payday, it was all mine.

Right now, I keep using the Marlin 30-30 in the heavy woods of Virginia like countless generationshave done before me. Plus it works out great at the deer camp. The guys with their big ultra-magnum-thunderboomers go up on the ridgetops, while I'm in the heavy brush, briars, and thickets with the 30-30 and we push the deer back and forth that way.