Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

I am trying to decide which caliber and action to buy next. For the last couple of weeks i was thinking a Marlin 336 30.30 lever. But if i can have any caliber, i just decided against it. So i was looking for something a little more pleasant to shoot at the range than my 30.06 but strong enough for deer sized game. Kind of interested in a lighter weight rifle too with a good caliber to match the lighter weight. That being said, i am interested in a pump action as well. I currently have a Model 70 Winchester that is bolt action.

Another consideration is the availability of ammo for this gun. I don't really want to get something that i have to pay $25 a box for or travel to somewhere special to get it.. I know this is a tall order (maybe) but i am looking for opinions. I was thinking about 7mm-08 or some type of short action caliber. I am not really interested in any of the new "fads" of short magnums. Trying to find something that is tested and has been around for a while. Any ideas? Caliber and/or Gun ?




I have my 30.06 (Winchester model 70)

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

I have a 336 in 35 remington and a 7600 in 308. Like both although they are not my primary go to rifles. The 7600 gets little respect but I have found it to be as accurate as any M700 I've owned.

That being said, I looked heavily at the 7mm-08 in a bolt action not that long ago. I live in rural Maine and ammo selection was an issue. bascially there was no place to get any without either a long drive or mail order. Turned me off of that cartridge. If you can get the ammo, I think it would be a great choice.

I think there are a number of rifles out there that fit your needs. Remington M7s, Savage, Ruger etc. I'd look into something like that in 308. Would be significantly different that your 06 but will have less recoil. Just my opinion.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

243 Winchester. $10-12 a box at Walmart, flat shooting, good range, light recoil, and doubles as a varmint rifle with lighter bullets.

I love mine, it fills the nitch between the .223 and 308, 300Mag.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

Tikka T3 Lite in a caliber like 270 Win would be a great choice.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

I would take a look at a 25.06. It is a pleasant shooting guns with plenty of knock down power for deer.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

If your looking for a pump action rifle, Remington makes the 243 in thier Pump rifle. Also 308 and 270. If you want to step down a size or two for shooting at the range the 243 would be the ticket in a pump. You could go to the Ruger All Weather synthetic stainless bolt gun and get the 260 or 6.5x55 swed. Both are mild kickers but deliever the goods for game up to elk. The Model 7 Remington is a light weight rifle and comes in the excellent 7mm08 which was mentioned above. Another caliber mentioned already is the 25-06 although I don't think that they are a big step down in recoil. They are not bad but its a pretty good size cartridge. Check on the available calibers in the different companies light weight rifles. The Encore rifle is pretty light and comes in almost every caliber there is and would give you the option of a hunting handgun with inter changable barrels. Confused Yet?:D

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

Your case has .243Win written all over it...or if you don't mind a little more power/recoil, .270Win. If given the choice for a deer only rifle I'd go with the .270, but if I wanted to have a more multi-purpose rifle for both deer and varminting, as well as a rifle that would be pleasant to shoot on the range, the .243Win might be better.

Another to consider would be the .25-06.

Mike

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

Well I'm a big fan of the 7mm-08. If you want a light weight gun then a short action shell like the 7mm-08 will fit that bill. It has very light recoil compared to your 30-06 which fits well with your request that it be pleasent to shoot at the range. Its a very flat shooter. Great sectional density and ballistic coefficient. Its available in a wide selection of rifles. And it is absolute hot death on whitetails. I know Portage says the he had trouble with ammo availability in rural Maine but I live in "very" rural Alabama and my local Wal-mart keeps 7mm-08 in stock year round. Winchester super X power points in 140 grain are 13 $ a box. They also stock 140 grain Remington Corelocks. The local sporting goods stores also stock those two choices along with 139 gr Hornady light magnums, Remington 120 gr hollowpoints (which would be a heck of a varmit round) Federal 140 gr nosler partitions and 140 gr ballistic tips. You can check your area but if I have access to that many options within 10 minutes of PINE HILL, Alabama then I don't think availability will be problem for most people.

If you want a gun that you can shoot all day at the range without needing a chiropractor at the end of the day yet is still powerful enough to kill the biggest whitetail on earth then this is a caliber to consider.

As for guns? Well Browning offers this caliber in A-bolt and A-bolt micro hunter, BAR and BLR rifles. Remington offers it in a model 7 and its mountain rifle. Winchester offers it in Model 70 and Model 70 classic featherweight. Ruger offers it in a Model 77 compact rifle. All of these would be realitively lightweight chambered for a short action shell.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

Tikka T3, 25-06. That should fill the bill real nice.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

I being from Montana would make my choices by the terrain I hunt,
IMO my choices would be
1.25-06
2.7mm-08
3.260 rem
4.243 or 6mm
These calibers in about any rifle you wan't,I'm a big fan of the 25-06 and 7mm-08.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

There is certainly nothing wrong with the 7mm/'08 you mentioned, but I don't know of a pump in that caliber. A .250 Savage or a .257 Roberts would serve you well also. Both are pleasant to shoot, very accurate, and kill deer a lot better than a .30/30! I believe Remington once made some 760 pumps in .257 Roberts, and you can still find people selling M99 Savages chambered for the .250 Savage.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

But i think the problem with the 257 and 250 will be hard to find ammo.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

Ammo is easy to find for the 250 and 257 in big sporting goods stores but out in the sticks it would be different. One could order a good batch at a time from Midway or one of the other bigger outfits though.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

Perhaps. It is not hard to find around NY or PA. But I guess this is not a problem I give much consideration to, since I never use factory ammo for anything!

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

.270 Win. Good luck.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

25.06 Rem

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

After packing my Win. Mod. 70 (270win.) around for 25+ years I decided I was finally ready for a lighter rifle. (Actually, this was the only excuse I could come up with to buy a new hunting rifle)
So, last year after hunting season I started looking around for a light wieght 243 and had settled on either a Ruger or Remington and was leaning towards the Rem. when my shooting partner came up with a Win. feather wieght in 257 Roberts.
Well I thought about it for as long as it takes to open a wallet and pull out the cash :D
I'm hoping to be able to put a synthetic stock on it between now and hunting season but if not I'm still going to enjoy packing around another classic.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

Model 7 in 7mm08.

If I had it to do all over again, I might have chosen it over my A-Bolt in .270.

Even lighter recoil, easier to handle and pack around, with just as much punch.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

Based on what you've mentioned, A .444Marlin Marlin levergun might suit your ticket...I know it's not a pump, but you mentioned an interest in leverguns, the .444's got more stank than the .30-30, makes for a LOT better deer rifle in my opinion, but it's a lot more shootable than the .30-06...I'd also suggest a .44mag in the Marlin 1894, I get basically the same performance in the field as a .30-30 (a little more aching trajectory, but they're both good to 150-200yrds on deer if you do your part), BUT, the .44mag uses about 1/3 the powder, or costs half as much if you're buying factory loads (I've bought Winchester Super-X .44mag 240grn half jacketed soft points for $11 a 50brick, when $11 a 20box is a decent price on similar quality .30-30rnds=better than half the price for .44mag). I suggested the .444 because you seem like you're looking for more power than the .30-30, as opposed to equal power from a different round.

The .45-70 Marlin 1895Guide gun might also fit the bill, it's light and handy, and the .45-70 is an awesome hunting round, IT IS MY OPINION that it's more shootable than the .30-06, it's kind of like the .454Cassul vs. the .480R, the .480 and the .45-70 may actually kick a little harder by the numbers, but it's more of a shove than a kick, the .30-06 or .454C are lighter recoiling but kick like hell...So basically the .30-06 feels like a pretty hard kick to the shoulder, while the .45-70 feels like a really hard shove, it might just be me, but I've ALWAYS found the .45-70 to be MUCH more shootable.

I'm also not certain, but it seems like when I actually figured the recoil energy of factory ammo in the .45-70 Guide gun, the recoil energy was considerably less than that of typical .30-06 loads (in a Ruger MKII M77 standard).

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

As long as you are not looking to down animals larger than a whitetail, a 243 will do the job. A 22-250 is also a decient calb.. Many people will say the 22-250 is a little small of a bullet. It has its good and bad points. What you lose in size you gain in accuracy. I have shot lots of deer with a 22-250 and never lost one. I personally like the 30-06 best of all. But it can pop you sometimes. Have you tried different ammo. I know winchesters tend to be less punishing than remington core locks.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

The Remington 7600 is a pump action. 7MM-08 and 260 are not cataloged. I believe these rounds would fit the bill nicely for you. I have seen the 7600 in these calibers at several gun shows. I have a 7600 in 257 Roberts. This caliber isn't in the Remington catalog but I have seen many others at gun shows. It seems that any distributor that can place a large enough order can get just about what they want. Such as, I also own a Remington 700 Classic Stainless in 257 Roberts. This rifle is stainless barreled action set in a classic stock. The rifle and the caliber are not catalog items for Remington. Also, at most of the shows I attend you can find 700 ADL synthetics in 7MM-08, 260, 257 Roberts, 300 WSM, & 25-06. None of these are catalog calibers for the ADl synthetic. So if you would like a 7MM-08 or the 260 look at some gun shows or try www.gunsamerica.com and see if you can find one. My father has an old 760 pump with an 18-1/2" barrel chambered in 308. I would love to have the same rifle in 260 or 7MM-08. I can't think of a faster handling deer rifle.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

It's not that i mind the recoil all that much on a 30.06. I did install a recoil pad. But i would like to sport shot at the range and the 06 just seems to big to be there for over an hour. I am looking for a tack driver that i can use at the range and in the field. I am also looking for a light weight gun with this caliber instead of lugging my 8.7 lb Model 70 all over the woods. I think the 30.06 is great for hunting but just want something a little more pleasant for different types of hunting and shooting.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

I've used a bolt-action .243. Its a good small gun that can take down a deer. I've taken down 2 with it. Its also lightweight. hope I've helped you

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

semi
your question has Remington 7600 in 7-08 or 243 written all over it. But if you want a sweet little carrying rifle, you could stick with the bolt and try the Ruger Compact, Remington Model 7 or Browning Micro Hunter in .243, .260 or 7mm-08.
How often do you need a fast follow-up shot. The pumps are nice but a bullet is like a business. It all boils down to location, location, location.

RE: Let's talk rifles, would like some opinions..
 

I like my 270 . .It's great for deer , not too much recoil, wide range and availability of ammo.