What rifle to buy

[loosegoose]

Just got back from a ND deer hunt. I borrowed a 30-06 rifle from a friend and now I need to purchase my own. Any recommendations on what caliber rifle to purchase would be appreciated. Should I stick with a 30-06 or should I go with a 270 or 7mm? Possibility of going west elk hunting in the future.

[picksbigwagon]

any of those three would be a great choice. You could probably look at some of the 30 calibers as well.......300 win Mag, 300 weatherby.....

[redtrucks]

I've use my 300 win mag for the past 10 years for both deer and elk hunting. Before the 300 all I used was my 30-06, now that gun sits in the safe. My next deer rifle will be a 270 WSM.

[Archerysniper]

When you start getting into the new short mags you also have to look into ammo avalability let say you go west to a little town elk hunting and you forget your shells at hom most likely the local hardware dosen't carry them and you will have too drive 100 miles to find some when they had 30-06 on the shelf my friend had it happen to him. For what you are explaning .270 30-06 .300 win mag would all be fine guns

[Larson15]

I personally like 30-06 the best. Seems to drop deer dead in there tracks better than a .270. (Have lost 2 deer with a .270). .300 win is a good cal also but maybe a lil much for whitetail.

[hunter991]

Stick with 30.06 and 270. IMO, the new short mags are a fad. They will be around for a while no doubt, but availability, cost etc... far outweigh the benefits. A 30.06 can be used for anything in the lower 48. If you can handle the recoil i would again say, this choice is fine. A 270 is also quite nice. The only issue i have with the 270 is bullet choices. IN the 30.06, you can go to Gander Mtn and get 150, 165, 180 and 220 gr bullets. you get less choices with the 270. The 30.06 also has a bigger bullet (obviously) and would consider it superior. Either will knock down a deer but for one all around gun i can't think of anything better than the 30.06. And recoil between the 30.06 and 270 is almost identical. You won't see that on paper, but felt recoil is basically the same. Both have the same ammo availabiltiy which is really key in todays environment.

[harvey lee]

I have used a 300 mag for the past 6 seasons in ND. This year I went back to my 7mm and have made some great long range shots at 175, 260 and a chip shot a 100 yards. I really believe I may go back to my 270 as I just don't believe I need a 300 or a 7mm to harvest a deer.

All three will work but the higher two may be a bit of overkill on a deer. For anythiny larger I would go with the 7mm or a 300.

[lawdog]

I have long held the 30-06 is the most versatile caliber and I still think it will adequately handle all game I'm gonna shoot at. And I agree ammo is very prevelant and that is a plus!

HOWEVER if i was looking right now, I might look at a Remington 300 Remington Ultra Mag (300RUM) with the variable power level shells. Tthe low power (level 1) is essentially a 30-06, the regular (level 2) just like a 300 Winchester mag and the high (level 3) power more like a .338 I believe, all fired out of the same gun and supposedly without even having to re-zero your scope. Can't get more multi-functional than that.

[harvey lee]

That sounds like an ideal weapon Jeff.

[Double D]

Not too many people must use a 308 anymore. I don't either, I guess.

DD

[fishuhalik]

I love my 25-06, but you guys are right, ammo availability is terrible. I started looking a month before season and it took me 2 weeks to find any ammo for it, I was getting a little scared! And with alot of the less popular rounds you'll pay another $10-$15 a box. Or you could just handloader and not worry about that problem.

[crothmeier]

i run a .280

i have a semi-auto with rifle sights, and a a-bolt with a scope.

with loads pushing 3,000fps at the muzzle they retain more speed and more energy at 300-400 yards than a 30-06. I dont have trouble finding cartridges although it is an odd calibur, you can find smoking deals on the guns. I paid $379 new for my remington 7400 autoloader, and $479 for my browning a-bolt stainless barrel/syn. stock

your load choices are 139gr; 140 gr, 150gr, and 165gr.

i shoot remington core-lockts in the 165gr thru the semi-auto while in the woods, and the 150gr grain thru the bolt/scope. My farthest deer was tipped over where it stood at 327 yards.

i figure ive saved about $800 between the two guns. i did alot of looking though before finding these deals.

[DRH1175]

Any of the calibers mentioned are great cartridges. I have a place in my heart for the .270 esspecially when you talk ND or farther west. They are one of the flattest shooting out there. Have more than enough power to easily take down an elk, and ammo is affordable. The 300 RUM or Short mags are great. but unless you reload, will break the bank. Truth is they can be fun guns to shoot. But definilty not needed. Maybe they are better at 500 yds. But lets be honest. Most of us unless we spend hours and hours at the range couldn't pull of a 500 yd shot humanely.

[IceNWhitetails]

I agree with DRH, I love my .270 and have used this caliber for hunting deer in MN to the plains of Western Dakota. Many people think that a .300 WIN MAG is the clear ticket, but when it comes to walking and stalking deer that makes for a heavy load. Differentiating the grain of the bullet also makes the .270 versitile as well, as with any gun. I have been shotting at Tikka .270 for the past three years and have great shooting success!

[Borch]

Not too many people must use a 308 anymore. I don't either, I guess.

DD

I love the .308 as well as the 7mm-08 based off the same cartridge.

One of the most efficient cartridges ever built.

[Gordie]

I just purchased a .308 winchester and I love it the recoil is not bad and after reading the ballistics onit from mags and some millatary spects is no wonder the millatary uses this caliber or used to. I never cared for the round but found out real quick that its a awsome addiction to the arsnal that I'm building. Now I just have to start reloading this year so I can really dial it in for my self.

I also really think that if its one gun your looking for I would choose the 30-06 as it is probally the most versitile round out there and the bullets are in every store.