Opinions on rifle calibers

[papabear]

Good luck finding a Win '94. Since they stopped making them they are hard to find and end up being pricier than a 336.

[BobT]

One thought about the model 94. When I was younger we hunted with a party that used model 94s. The newer ones, back in the early 80s, seemed to have problems with shells jamming. They would somehow get lodged under the action and they'd have to dig them out with pocket knife or something. I was told this was an issue with the later models but not with the pre 1964 models. I don't know if this has been improved or not but I do know that my 336C never gave me any issues with shell ejection or loading.

Bob

[Steve Foss]

I've also shot the Marlin 336 series for deer in .30-30 and .35 Remy. Great gun, clean action, nice trigger break, nice sights.

And it didn't occur to me to suggest borrowing your buddy's gun for another season to save more $ for a better rifle. That's great advice.

[TrophyEyes]

I think you can hit up some of the used racks now that the season is almost done and get a nice rifle for practically nothing. I would also look at some estate sale if you are a real bargin hunter. My cousin picked up 3 nice guns (2 Rugers, and a Thompson center) for $100 just because the daughter didn't want to deal with her dads guns. Deals are out there and like everyone said and I have posted on this before. You can use almost any caliber in production today to take the majority of North American game. Plenty of Elk, Dear and bear have fallen to 30-30, 30-06, .270, 243, 7mm and any other traditional calibers. Just because the magazines say that you need a 338 to shoot an elk or a bear is bogus. All those animals that were shot over the years didn't come back to life because someone's expert opinion said that a 30-30 wasn't an ideal round for elk. I can tell you, you don't even need to be as close as you would with a bow.

My opinion, Get a 50 cal muzzleloader. That is a bunch of fun and worth the little extra challenge. And believe me when I say you can take anything on this continent or any other with that.

[WollMan]

I am having a hard time choosing which to get too. I am going to get a Tika, cause I can get a deal, Uncle a Beretta Rep, but i dont know if i want to go with the .308 or the 30-06. Maybe someday i will go after Mule deer or elk. .308 is a sweet deer load, shoots really flat and is shorter. How much performance is lost is what i want to know? .308 will kill anything with a good shot.

[TrophyEyes]

The 30-06 has such a wide range of loads, which you have to play around with. Rumor has it that they are now making a 30-06 load that is the equivalant of a .300 win mag. This is very nice because you can drop down to the lighter loads for deer and then step up to the heavy hitting stuff for elk. You should not shoot over 500 yards anyways, so what is the difference?

[Steve Foss]

You're right, the .308 will kill anything with excellent shot placement. On truly big game like elk and moose, however, a bigger cartridge/load with more energy will allow you to take longer shots to some degree, and will also allow you to break down a bigger animal's shoulder and get the kill.

Can a .308 be used for the biggest ungulates in North America? Yes indeed. Is it the best cartridge for those biggest animals? Nope. But neither is the .30-06 necessarily the "best" cartridge in those situations. There are more powerful cartridges that many would argue are better than the ought-six.

What makes the .30-06 so valuable in my mind is the versatility of the cartridge. Because it's a bigger cartridge than the .308 it offers more options, so I don't call it the best cartridge for North American big game, simply one of the best compromises there is, and a clearly better cartridge than the .308 for those who want to hunt deer but also the big stuff.

[DRH1175]

they both are excellent cartridges. YOu can't go wrong with either. With that said. I personally like the .308. More accurate. and just a lot more fun to shoot. They both shoot the same bullets and there is only about 150 fps between the two so as far as power it is a dump shoot. I have a tikka in .270 and absoulutly love the gun to death!

[Lund4Fish]

Your original post asked about whether to shoot the .30-.30 or the .30-06. By all means the .30-06 in my opinion. I own and have shot game with the .30-.30, .270, .30-06 and 300 Win. Mag. The one and best all around caliber for me is the .30-06 and just for the record I've shot 30+ mule deer and whitetails and 20+ elk all with 165 grain loads out of the .30-06 with many dropped in their tracks. You don't need the heavier loads for the elk and the 165's are flatter shooting.

[vermilionwally]

Ive been watching the classifieds lately to see if any nice .30-06s come up but havent seen anything yet in the duluth paper or the manneys.

[harvey lee]

I would also suggest to maybe wait and save up a few more dollars. A new Tikka will cost you a bit more but this rifle is very accurate right out of the box and the trigger is great.

I might also suggest looking at a 7MM as this will still be flat shooting and is fine on deer and will do a great job on elk. The 7mm is one very versatile rifle with many loads to pick from.

I own many different caliber but my favorite has to be my 7mm. Nothing wrong with the other calibers but I believe the 7mm might suit you better for the larger animals.

Good luck in your seasrch. Only problem with my ideas is that you will need to wait and save a bit more.

[vermilionwally]

Just had one more question... Ive seen some semi automatic .30-06,s with scopes in the paper within my price range but i have heard people say that bolt actions are a lot more accurate. I was wondering if this is true or not? Would a bolt action be better shooting?

[Steve Foss]

Bolt actions produce more precise groups than semi-autos.

My best experience with a semi-auto was with a Winchester Model 100 carbine in .308. Such a sweet gun, and nicely precise. But my cheap Remy model 710 .30-06 produces noticeably more precise groups than the carbine. At least on paper. But the difference was pretty small, and we don't hunt by shooting paper.

If you're shooting at 100 to 200 yards the difference in hunting terms is moot, and the vast majority of our shots up here in the Northwoods are under 100 yards, unless you've got a stand in a big clearing or have long shooting lanes cut.

However, if you're shooting at 300-500 yards the difference in precision can be important.

[Grant Pearson]

I've found bolt actions to be a little more accurate. The be honest though, in my experience, we're talking a half inch at 100 yards, which isn't going to make a difference. I'd say go for the semi-auto. Then, when you get a little more $$, you can use the $ and exchange up to a bolt later down the road.

[Muthagoose]

I shoot mainly bolts myself.. This fall when I was sighting in the wife's old Win auto in a 308, it shot a impressive tight group,well into the 1/2" range.

So for kicks I tossed 4 out real fast on the target.. not a 1/2" but good enough to be confident on a multi deer potential// Its only a 308, very easy to control recoil and get back on target. I spent another 80 rounds rolling cans in our gravel pit with it..... Very fun and accurate gun to shoot..

[BobT]

I would think that unless you're shooting competition, the average to above average hunter doesn't have to be too concerned about pinpoint accuracy. Most of us couldn't shoot that repeatedly accurate off-hand anyway and in most cases, it's not necessary. What's an inch either way when your target is the size of a dinner plate? How many of us could actually pinpoint the exact shot location in all situations to put a bullet directly through the heart? I venture to guess not too many. We aim for the area where we know has the vitals and can feel confident we can hit something deadly. We don't pull down on them and think to ourselves, "This time I'll take out his heart." We just aim for the area where the vitals are located and really don't care what we destroy as long as it puts our target down.

Bob

[Borch]

Well the bolt actions have the greatest accuracy potential simply because there are so many things that a good gunsmith can do to it to tweak the accuracy. Semi auto and pumps can be very accurates as well. However, there are very few tweaks that a gunsmith can do to improve accuracy so other than keeping the barrel clean, adjusting the trigger and finding the right load there's not much that can be done to improve an individual guns accuracy. I do have a 30-06 Rem auto that shoots 3/4" groups at 100 yards if I'm on my game. Not too bad.

As far as which calibers are best that's fodder for hunting camp. Every caliber has it's place and ca be best depending on the situation and how the hunter who's shooting it at the time feels about it.