Chooseing a rifle caliber

[Rooster52]

Going to be in the market for a new rifle .got my mind made up on the rifle but kind of leaning to the 308 Winchester caliber. Good all around caliber,factory ammo readily available and reloading components available and usually not finickey on ammo.
Good Choice ?
Mostly for deer but maybe something bigger occasionally.

 

[8andcounting]

What about a .270 . Good deer and elk gun with easy to get ammo and in my opinion better ballistics than .308

 

[sbhooper]

Hard to beat a .308. 150 Hornadys, 51 grains CFE223 powder and lots of dead deer.

 

[JohnCushman]

A .308 will kill anything in North America. That's what I bought my wife for her 1 'all around' rifle. You can go up in bullet weight for elk, and down for antelope. I feel the same way about my 30-06. When I was single and had no one to answer to I went and bought a rifle for each animal, just because I could, but my go to all around rifle is my 30-06. But, I think a .308 is an awesome choice.

 

[8andcounting]

Well I'll disagree I guess . Respectfully , if I wanted more knock down power than a .270 (which I did when I started killing elk) I'd go to a .300wsm (I did ) . More speed than .308 and better all around gun in my opinion thanks guys

 

[Zach987]

I'm a fan of just about anything based on the 308 length case. 243, 260 rem, 7mm08, and of course the 308. The smaller ones have a touch less recoil if that's an issue, best all around in my mind is a toss up between 7mm08 and 308. Just my $.02

 

[LCH]

Rooster, are you ever not in the market for a new rifle?

I'm partial to .30/06, seems a little more versatile than the .308, but can't go wrong with either..

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Its a perfect deer round. Its pretty hard to make a case that any other round is significantly better on deer sized game. Good ammo selection, and like you said not usually finicky. Snipers get along with it pretty well on 200 lb vermin all over the world.

 

[mdhunter]

My go to is a 6.5 x .284. Flys flat, hits hard, won't kick you like a mule.

 

[Walkathon]

.308 is a good caliber, may as well go with it. Ammo is fairly easy to find and you have lots of choices of bullets. I shoot a .270 win, 7MM Rem mag and a 30-06. They all work well. Use loads that are appropriate for the animal and you're set.

 

[Rooster52]

Rooster, are you ever not in the market for a new rifle?

I got more than I need but not as many as I want.

 

[Walkathon]

Going to be in the market for a new rifle .got my mind made up on the rifle.

So what rifle are you getting?

 

[7mm08mo]

I got more than I need but not as many as I want.[/QUOTE]


Isn't that the case for us all.

 

[Rooster52]

So what rifle are you getting?

Browning Xbolt. I wish they made one with synthetic stock in left hand but not yet.

 

[Walkathon]

Browning Xbolt. I wish they made one with synthetic stock in left hand but not yet.

Nice! I suppose it's a bit more of a challenge buying a left hand rifle. I'm also a lefty but shoot right handed. I like the Xbolt but don't own one. It's on my wish list as well.

 

[sagebrush]

If I had a .280, 25-06 and a .338 in the safe already, I might be tempted with a 7MM-08. You already have a great all round rifle in the .280, a flat shooter in the 25-06 and a killing machine in the .338. Why not go with a soft shooting tack driver? Oh, and I would definitely go with one of the new models like the Hell's Canyon Speed or Hell's Canyon Smoke.

 

[sagebrush]

I just saw the thread where you sold the .280. In that case I would do the Hell's Canyon Long Range McMillan in 7mm Remington Magnum.

 

[Rooster52]

I do not see where the Hells Canyon is available in lefthand version yet.

 

[Rooster52]

Also rolling around in my mind to buy a Ruger American in 7MM=08.I hear good things about these rifles. Would make a good truck rifle for around the farm.

 

[Gunner46]

It is No secret, on this forum, that I am a true 7mm08 fan, but most people don't realize that I have had at least one 308 tucked into the safe all along also ! If I didn't have one,or the other, I wouldn't lose any sleep.

I think it says alot, that our Honorable Grand Poo-BA Randy came straight out and stated that the 308 is his cartridge of choice for elk hunting. If it''lll drop an elk, it'll do ya right in a bazillion other circumstances.