Flip a coin. Good luck.

I think I'm going to go with a Tikka T3 chambered in a .270 WSM with a Leupold VX-II 3-9x40mm scope.

Personally, I would go with the .270 Win. However; it sounds like you made a good decision.

Enjoy your new rifle! There's just something about your first rifle too!
Matt

Congrats on your choice, i realy love the 270wsm. I cant realy comment on the t3 but the one i seen looked like a nice rifle. I use the same scope on my 270whizzum as youve decided on. I plan on putting a sightron II 4.5-14x42 on it this summer though.

thank, I think I'm going to like it a lot. The only problem is that right now there aren't any left-handed T3's. I emailed Beretta and asked them if there were going to be any for 2004 and they haven't responded yet. Should I just get a right-handed one and make the adjustment? Remember, I'm a new hunter so I'm not used to doing anything yet.

Hello friend. If it was me , and granted its not . But if it was I would look into buying a Savage rifle, in a 7mm rem mag. For the money you cant get a better rifle on the market. I still have my first 270 cal. Savage modle 110. I am not an expert on looking at books, but I do love to hunt . I am not a big 30 cal. fan . Even though they have proven themselfs time and time again. But I do like my 7mm rem mag. I guess it really comes down to what you like , and what you want to buy . Not what we would like you to buy. whatever you get , you just need to shoot it enough to gain enough confidence in it so that you will enjoy it. Hunt safe. Thanks Leroy.

NWMhunter, Don't buy a right handed gun. If you blew a primer or case, your gun is designed to dicharge the gases away from your face. And for most guns, thats out the side thats with the exposed bolt. As for your choices on calibers, check out some ballistics and then ask yourself if you will need to shoot beyond 300 yards. Why? A .270 Win and the 7mm remington mag have very similar speeds and energies out to that range. But the .270 will kick you less, use less powder, and have a quiter muzzle blast than the 7mm. And with only.007 difference in bullet diameter, it seems clear which would be nicer to shoot. My friends bother lives and hunts out east and carries a winchester 30-06. He quite likes it, and you have a very wide choice of bullets to shoot in weights from 55 grains up to 220. But it too will kick a little more than the .270. Hope this helps.

thanks for the advice, I was actually considering just going with a right-handed gun if I couldn't go left-handed. I wasn't aware of that safety issue.

Just so you guys know, Tikka won't be making any left-handed T3's until 2005.