New rifle choices?

[HuntOrBeHunted]

This is one of them chevy vs ford threads, and I know this is all on opinion and what fits the shooter best but...

I'm looking for a flat shooting rifle caliber not as big as a 30-06 but good for deer and good for a solid long shot.

I'm going to be buying one in the next week or two and just trying to make it a dream of a hunting rifle for me. I read a lot of people say go for a 243.

If you were me what would you be looking at??

[silent death]

look into a 280 they are a great round ...or if you want to go long range you cant go

wrong with a 6.8

[HuntOrBeHunted]

I'm sort of looking for that all in one rifle. Long range good power but not a overload. When I shot my doe with the 30-06 the front shoulders were allready burger meat lol.

[silent death]

if you dont wanna go to big then a 270 or 257 roberts .. will work but even if you go with a 243

if you hit bone you are destroying meat .

[Doc]

Do you have any other criteria such as varmint hunting (saving hides), or extensive target shooting (super accuracy), or re-loading costs, or other features that you are looking for? When you say "good for a solid long shot", what kinds of distances are you looking at?

[HuntOrBeHunted]

I'm starting to lean to the 270.

And DOC no longer than 500 yards for target only on a huge farm that I would rarely shoot at.

I will mainly hunt deer with it. Its going to be my christmas gift from my mother so i'm looking to get a wood stock bolt action rifle that I can hunt a lifetime with.

[Doc]

I'm starting to lean to the 270.

And DOC no longer than 500 yards for target only on a huge farm that I would rarely shoot at.

I will mainly hunt deer with it. Its going to be my christmas gift from my mother so i'm looking to get a wood stock bolt action rifle that I can hunt a lifetime with.

This sounds identical to the situation I was in a little over a month ago. My wife wanted to buy me a deer rifle for Christmas and my birthday combined. So I went on the great quest to find the perfect rifle. On the Rifle and Gun Hunting forum of this site, there is a thread entitled "The Deer Rifle" that covers this subject very nicely (10 pages).

The gun that I finally settled on was the bolt-action Ruger American in .270 caliber. I have not regretted that purchase. I did get a chance to shoot my son's .270 just to ensure that the recoil was acceptable ....... almost no recoil. That probably decided the caliber choice as much as anything. The Ruger American does not have a wood stock ..... you mentioned you wanted a wooden stock. However, the accuracy is exceptional. One feature the Ruger American has that is not all that easy to find in a low-cost gun is a fully floated barrel. Judging from what I've seen in terms of accuracy, it seems to be a feature worth having. The action is real smooth, and with the free cheek-pad, cheek weld and target aquisition is excellent.

If you intend to reload, I calculated the cost at $.60 per bullet which comes out to $12 per box of 20.

[Gthphtm]

Ruger M77 Standard in .270 caliber.Wood stock,a little heaver then the one Doc bought ( less kick or recoil ).It's been around forever.If you want to go up a little more in price Sako.

I would stay away from anything that has a Clip right now.With all of the BS going on.

[greensider]

you should look at the ballistics chart on remingtons site or any other to see what shoots to your needs i bought a 7mm rem mag does not kick like a 30 06 but not much shoots flatter you could kill a moose at 1000 yards and they have a good bullet weight range i got mine in grey laminated wood with stainless steel looks like a piece of art

[Early]

I like the .260 Rem....Great deer round ... short action length ... little recoil.

[MountainHunter]

My primary deer rifle is a .270. Flat shooting, manageable recoil, abundant bullet selection etc.

There are so many good choices as far as manufacturers go. You would need to decide what features are of the most importance to you and what budget you are working with.

I hope you have fun doing the research! With shooting of the nature you intend to do I would make as big an investment in the scope you select as your rifle and perhaps even more depending on which rifle you buy.

For shooting long distances a heavier rifle will be inherently more accurate. Not enjoyable to carry though if you are walking a lot or hunting in the mountains.

Good luck finding exactly what you want!

[adkbuck]

I would recommend the 270 Winchester. I own several of them, a Browning A-bolt and a couple of Remington 7600's. The Remingtons have been deadly for deer in the Adirondacks and I have killed wood chucks out to 370 yards with the Browning A-bolt. I use an peep sighted synthetic stocked 7600 in bad weather when and a Trijicon 1.25-4X scoped walnut 7600 for better conditions. If you hand load you will be able to get the most out of this wonderful cartridge.

Edited December 29, 2012 by adkbuck

[Lawdwaz]

So many good choices, few bad ones. Stay away from anything with a "mag" at the end.

[HuntOrBeHunted]

I would recommend the 270 Winchester. I own several of them, a Browning A-bolt and a couple of Remington 7600's. The Remingtons have been deadly for deer in the Adirondacks and I have killed wood chucks out to 370 yards with the Browning A-bolt. I use an peep sighted synthetic stocked 7600 in bad weather when and a Trijicon 1.25-4X scoped walnut 7600 for better conditions. If you hand load you will be able to get the most out of this wonderful cartridge.

Nice picture and deer adkbuck. I would love to own a Browning. I was watching youtube videos on guys shooting deer past 500 yards with no problem. I'm not looking to do that myself but I would like to practice at that range.

[Tio1]

Rem Model 700 .270 - Great gun

[Guns&ReligionCop]

I like small calibers but if you want some range you have to go a little larger. The 260 is great flat shooting gun with umpph thats not going to blow your shoulder off. I love my 270 and would say you definitely can't go wrong with a gun in this cal either.

[loworange88]

Love my .270

[greensider]

just wondering why stay away from mags

[HuntOrBeHunted]

I like small calibers but if you want some range you have to go a little larger. The 260 is great flat shooting gun with umpph thats not going to blow your shoulder off. I love my 270 and would say you definitely can't go wrong with a gun in this cal either.

Well I do have a 30-06 I was looking for something smaller but still effective.

I'm looking into a couple nice Savage Arms due to the fact I love the accutrigger reveiws and the few savage arms rifles I have are great and i've never had problems with them.

[Pygmy]

Well I do have a 30-06 I was looking for something smaller but still effective.

I'm looking into a couple nice Savage Arms due to the fact I love the accutrigger reveiws and the few savage arms rifles I have are great and i've never had problems with them.

I am a great admirer of the .270, but if you are looking for something NOTICEABLY milder than the 30-06, you are barking up the wrong tree. Muzzle blast, meat damage, and recoil are very similar between the two, if you compare like bullet weights and rifle weights. Same for the .280 Remington, another of my pet chamberings. The .308 is in the same ball park.

The .260 Rem performs well and is noticably more mild mannered, as is the 7mm08.

The .243 is even more so, although some folks consider it marginal for deer.

[bkln]

Not what you ask for, but I'm getting a Savage .17 HMR bolt action, this is the only rifle I can use on the state land in CT for the Jan/Feb hunting of yotes and coons, very flat shooting too....

[fasteddie]

2 of my sons own Browning 270's and love them . I reload for both of them .

I have a 25-06 single shot that I like . The factory ammo is expensive and costs more than 1 1/2 times the price of the 270 .

[BizCT]

I love the weatherby 270mag & weatherby 7mm mag.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[solon]

i bought a savage 270 years ago and it was the best gun I've bought - you can practice all day and your shoulder doesn't fall off - people told me it was too light in the power category, but I've dropped 2 moose with it

[Larry]

Remember a 270 is a 30-06 necked down recoil will be close to the same for bullets upto 150gr. I would go with 7mm 08 over the 260 because easier to find ammo they are both neck down 308's