It certainly is true that a bolt action is not as fast for a follow-up shot as a semi, but with a little practice, you may be surprised at how fast you can cycle it. It is a generally accepted fact that bolt action rifles are more inherently accurate than pumps, semis, or lever guns due to the way they are constructed, and the reasons nchawkeye explained. In my opinion, the .243 is all the gun you need for your type of hunting, and a .270 is beginning to reach the upper limits of overkill for those Florida deer. I personally would not even consider any of the magnum cartridges for your type of hunting. What i would recommend you do is take a good, hard look at the 7mm-08 in a nice bolt action that fits you, combined with a good quality scope. Good bullet selection, an excellent cartridge for reloading, mild recoil, etc., etc. It is definitely worth taking a hard look at...........

I think the 270 WSM is the only one of the new calibers that will survive over the long run. It is a nice package & offers some dandy performance. I have always thought the 7 mm Mag was over-rated, as it has just about nothing over a plain old 270 Win when the 270 is loaded where it was designed to be.
Most of any difference can be accounted for by the longer barrel found on the 7 mm Mags.
Bolt action rifles will just about always be more aaccurate off the shelf than an auto. I had a bolt in 35 Whelen that liked just about everything that I ran through it. I am working with an auto in the same caliber that is a lot more finicky, & never quite as accurate or consistant.
My 2 cents, get a bolt action in 270 WSM, and go hunting for anything in North America. With a good bullet, it will never disappoint you.

Well thanks for the input! I went with the .270 Winchester WSM, Model 70. It is a great little rifle and I can't wait to go sight it in. I comes with a simmons scope, 3-9x40, which isn't bad and I will use it and save my money to buy a nice climbing treestand and retire my old one.

Thanks for all of the input.

No NO.....buy the Browning A-bolt .243 Rifle....! [:@] Dang...too late!



I have hunted with my Remington 30-06 model 742 for many years and finally went out and bought a brand new Browning Hunter A-bolt .243 Rifle and have never regreted it for the past 2 years since I've owned it,less recoil and very accurate!I suggest you get a Caldwell Lead Sled to help with sighting in your new WSM .270,I also have a Browning Medallion in the .270 WSM and just recently sighted it in at 100 yards for this Novembers Rifle Deer Season and I plan on trying it out (the .270 WSM) on the 200 yard range to see how well it performs further out?

A bolt action is more accurate in my oppion. Hard to explain why but i can shot a lot better with a bolt than i can a semi-auto. But maybe it depends on the shooter. I like a bolt action though. And it would have to be more reliable than a semi due to teh simple fact that a semi could jam on occasicion. But i dont personally own a high power semi-auto. Just a .22 semi but every once in a blue moon it will jam while target shooting. It easy to fix but you could end up missing somehting big when out hunting. I put my trust in a bolt

At that price, you can't go wrong! Buy it! I doubt that you'll ever find a better deal. Put a decent scope on it, not some undependable cheapie. If you are really going to shoot at long ranges, you need a reliable scope!