New rifle suggestions

[nards444]

Here is my two cents. if you want to hunt out west I would be looking for a 30 caliber or possibly a mag. I would also never hunting with a single shot, bolt action all the way.

With that said a standard barrel should get you 10,000 rds but with lack of care and use could decrease that, so if you have shot way less than that and have taken care of the gun, I would look at your scope, mounts or even your own ability before going hog wild. You could replace the barrel but your probably looking at 2-300 bucks at that point I would go buy a new savage axis for 289 which ironically is like the most accurate rifle you can buy even for the price.

My out west gun is a 300 wsm, Browning x bolt medallion. Shoots great, and I can shoot boxes of ammo without getting sore One thing with the short mags is it shortens the barrel by 4 inches which makes running around with the rifle easier.

 

[steveshuntn1]

I’m gonna bed the 700 action and see how it does. I can shoot out to 350 yards with the 444 so I think my shooting abilities are ok. I wouldn’t want to take a single shot either out west. If after cleaning it with a high quality solvent and the bedding doesn’t improve the accuracy considerably at 200 yards then I’ll be buying a new rifle. I really like the Browning x bolt line. I will update on how it goes in case anyone wonders how it turns out. I’ve had a lot of great suggestions from the good folks on here.

 

[mtmuley]

I’ve had a lot of great suggestions from the good folks on here.

And some of us live and hunt "out West" mtmuley

 

[steveshuntn1]

And some of us live and hunt "out West" mtmuley

Yes sir it’s definitely a great place for information and tips for those of us who don’t.

 

[hank4elk]

sum ob us aint dumm neder....

 

[steveshuntn1]

Tried several different things…new trigger, new stock, gunsmith took care of all of it for me including floating the barrel and bedding. I could hunt in the woods with it but at 200 yards it just isn’t reliable. I can’t put three shots in a paper plate at 200. I let my cousin try who is a very good shot and it did the same with him. It’s a woods gun now. It was worth a try though. At 100 it’s a 3.5 inch group at best.

 

[Hammsolo]

You gave her a solid effort. Machines wear out.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

6.8 western isn't going to be any easier on your shoulder than a 30-06.

I have a sample size of 1 browning xbolt stainless stalker 300 wsm and it gets used more hunting than any of my custom rifles that cost 4-5x as much. Its just a nice to carry package and has been very accurate. I think tikka makes a better action and trigger but the factory stocks dont fit me as well and I like the flush magazine on the brownings.

I don't know that I'd go for the long range model xbolt, i'd probably stick with one of the standard sporter versions (stalker, hells canyon, pro).

For a basic off the shelf western rifle, Tikka/sako/xbolt is kinda where i'd start and i'd put a nightforce 3-10shv on it before a leupold.

 

[steveshuntn1]

6.8 western isn't going to be any easier on your shoulder than a 30-06.

I have a sample size of 1 browning xbolt stainless stalker 300 wsm and it gets used more hunting than any of my custom rifles that cost 4-5x as much. Its just a nice to carry package and has been very accurate. I think tikka makes a better action and trigger but the factory stocks dont fit me as well and I like the flush magazine on the brownings.

I don't know that I'd go for the long range model xbolt, i'd probably stick with one of the standard sporter versions (stalker, hells canyon, pro).

For a basic off the shelf western rifle, Tikka/sako/xbolt is kinda where i'd start and i'd put a nightforce 3-10shv on it before a leupold.

I’ve got my hands on my brothers Browning A- bolt 300 win mag. He bought it for an elk hunt back in 2014 and hasn’t shot it since he got his bull! It stacks holes at 200 and my brother has no need for it around here. The recoil is not a big deal….he’s told me to use it and if I like it we’ll talk turkey. It’ll be going to Colorado in 5 weeks!

 

[OntarioHunter]

Tried several different things…new trigger, new stock, gunsmith took care of all of it for me including floating the barrel and bedding. I could hunt in the woods with it but at 200 yards it just isn’t reliable. I can’t put three shots in a paper plate at 200. I let my cousin try who is a very good shot and it did the same with him. It’s a woods gun now. It was worth a try though. At 100 it’s a 3.5 inch group at best.

Did you try different loads? Some rifles just don't like some types of ammo. My old WWII Springfield doesn't like Barnes bullets. It LOVES Nosler Partitions and I can make Hornady Interlok work. These are tough times to fiddle with working up a good load (primers almost nonexistant and I'm told Nosler won't be shipping any components till next year) but it's something to consider.

 

[Don Fischer]

I don’t reload. Elk will be the biggest critter most likely. I would love to hunt moose but that’s a bucket list hunt for sure. I’m gonna hunt elk, mule deer, and pronghorn every year as long as I’m able. I wouldn’t shoot over 500 yards and would do all I could to cut that distance in half if possible. I think that 6.8 is awesome as well and should be deadly on elk.

Being as you don't reload you should get something you can find ammo for. Not a clue what that might be as I haven't bought facroty rifle ammo since God was a child! Assuming ammo was no problem, doors wide open. Pretty much everything you mentioned will work well if you do your part. I've hunted with a 308 for a lot of years and 4 or 5 years ago started hunting with a 30-06 for the first time in my life. Thing to keep in mind is it really is all about the bullet and how you use it. My 6.5x06 has got three elk in three shots, about as good as it get's. I'm quite certain my 6.5x55 would do the same. It's the bullet! Use a med heavy to heavy for cal bullet and place it well. Get below 6.5 cal and I know they will all work but the lighter bullet at to much velocity really reduce the size of the target area, the bullet has to get inside! Go above 6.5 and I think the bullet choice get's even better. Better because there are heavier bullet's driven at reasonable velocities that won't tear up the bullet. I am not a magnum fan at all. Problem is I don't like recoil and can find no need to abuse myself with it. There is little a magnum will do that a 308 or 30-06 won't also do and you don't have to live with the recoil! I have used the 7mm Rem Mag, 338 Win Mag and one time a 300 Win mag. Older I got the more they recoiled and I found that animals shot properly with lesser cartridges died just as well and just as dead!

Lot of people seem to believe they need a 400+ yds cartridge out here, nothing could be further from the truth! I've lived and hunted In Montana and the past 30+ yrs in Central Oregon. My most use cartridge has been the 308 with 165gr bullet's. Nothing well hit with it wanders off! I've even known a few guy's out here that hung with 30-30's and do well, depends on how well you use what you have. Believe it or not there are even guy's in the west that hunt with bows!

As for brand or action type, what ever trips your trigger. A 30-06 is a 30-06 no matter what kind of rifle you shoot it out of! I don't know of any manufacturer that puts together ammo based on what type action it would go into; maybe one making ammo for old European military action's. Tell you a secrete about that stuff though, in Europe they have been shooting moose with that stuff for an long time not realizing it wasn't powerful enough!

I believe the determing factor about how well the rifle/cartridge you choose is going to work will depend on you and how well you use it!

 

[Wind Gypsy]

You seem pretty knowledgeable about firearms and ammo so I have a question. Say I buy factory ammo all with the same bullet. Let’s say a Barnes TTSX. Would or should that ammo group differently. Would federal and Barnes shoot the same out of my rifle if I have the same 180 grain bullet?

Certainly possible that a barrel will just like or dislike a certain bullet and either shoot it consistently well or consistently poorly with different powder/primer/brass configurations but there are countless opportunities for the different ammo to shoot differently as well. I've come to expect my custom rifles to shoot almost everything to acceptable hunting accuracy but even when spending big money that frequently isn't the case.

Possible contributing factors to them shooting differently: Different powder, different powder charge, different velocity, different neck tension, different pressures, different quality of loading consistency (neck tension, run out, OAL, etc). Even the same factory ammo from different lot #'s has quite notable differences in accuracy or velocity.

Some benchrest guys find certain lots of powder shoot tight for them when a different lot of the same powder isn't good enough for them to be competitive!

 

[Don Fischer]

Just a couple more things. You asked something about factory ammo and will it shoot well. Might and might not. Only way your gonna know is to try it. Something I think hurt's a lot of people is chashing the accuracy handloader's talk about all the time, I am guilty of that also. See generally we don't go buy a box of bullet's and load them up and get 3/4" groups right off the bat. takes some work adjusting the brand bullet's and other parts of the load. And even more, we never fail to mentiong the best loads we get but for hunting that is mostly an ego thing. You don't need a rifle to shoot under an inch to have a good hunting rifle. Warren Page wrote one time that 1 1/2" groups were good for his hunting rifle! Imagine that!

next is trigger's, seem's we just can't get enough of recommending after market trigger's. and they should be set so you breathe on it and it fires. I have several 700's with the old walker trigger's in them. Each is set at 3# and I have never had a problem with any of them; I think the problems came from people adjusting their own that messed it up, just my thought. I have a 1903 Springfield custom that the builder tuned up the two stage military trigger on. No idea where it breaks but it is about my favorite trigger on any rifle I've ever had. My mod 70 has an adjustable trigger on it and I have it set to break at 5#, doesn't bother me a bit! Actually learn trigger control and use about that 5# trigger and I think it's good as it get's. Not sure any gun smith today could do to an old two stage trigger what was done to my 1903! Don't rely on a custom trigger to improve your shooting, might and might not. Simply having a light trigger doesn't work, you still need to be able to control it! If the smith was still alive that did my 1903 I'd have him put the same type trigger on every rifle I own, it's that nice! As for scopes, don't get caught up in that. You will find at some at point a scope brand that you like that works for you and every maker is gonna let one get out with a problem now and then. Yet the biggest problem I find with them is people wanting more power in them than they actually need. You really don't need a 6-18x scope to shoot well at a target the size of a deer at 300 yds! And that high power scope people often keep set on to high a power, you know, just in case. Then they get what is a shot at more normal range, throw up the rifle and can't find the taregt in the scope! Much easier to make a good shot at a deer at 300 yds with a fixed 2 3/4x scope than it is a deer st 50 yds with a 3-9x set on 9x! I keep hearing about the scopes of choice for the west but I suspect the truth is the range of the average shot is much closer to an average of under 200yds than over 300! If the target is a deer that's an awfully big target even at 300 yds! I got a 4 1/2 to 14x scope origionally for my 6.5x06. Was thinking I wanted a long range rifle. What I found with it was the longest shot I ever took at game was 330yds and I didn't need to do it. Shooting practice I never shot the thing past 500 yds and never needed more than 8X and the target was about 4". Go figure, had a lot more scope than I needed which ment I was adding unnecessary weight and bulK to the rifle.

I lived and hunted Montana about 5 yrs, Alaska about 1 1/2 yrs and Central Oregon 32 yrs and something I finally discovered was the only shot you have to take is the one at the charging Grizzly at 20yds bent on killing you, I have never seen that! And for something like that imagine throwing up youR 6-18x scope on higher power and trying to find the target! My favorite hunting scope is a fixed 2 3/4x. My son shot his first deer at about 250yds with it and never saw the deer fall, one shot! he got the scope with that rifle and decided he needed more scope so got a 3-9x and has never used it on 9X! Probably as good a deal on the power of a scope you can get is about 2-7x and keep it on 2X! And you don't need to spend more on the scope than on the rifle, that is BS. I'm sure those expensive scope's are very nice but generally speaking, it's not people that need them that use them, it's people that can afford them! People have good luck with a lot of different brands of scopes and opinion's that vary depending on the success they have had with this or that brand. And yep some people have had problems with this of that brand and lot of time's if they think it was to inexpensive, one problem and blame the brand and bad mouth it again for life.

Not to pick on any brand in particular but what do you do if your $1500 scope has a problem? Send it in for repair! Where you gonna find a more expensive scope that is obviously better? And if you really believe that the scope should cost more than the gun and you have a custom you have $3500 into, where you gonna find a scope for it. My 1903 Springfield was appraised in 1992 at $7500, where in the world will I find a scope cost's more than that? It has a 50+ yr old Redfield on it and doing very well! Scope should cost more than the gun, neat saying that bears no truth! I have a Bushnell Banner on a 25-06, a 2 3/4x Redfield on the 30-06 and a 1-4x Redfield, on a 308, scope's on rifles that are older than a lot of guy's on this site and still working very well. The Redfields are oldest and the adjustment knobs work with pressure not clicks. Not as neat as clicks but work well just the same and have been working for over 50 yrs! How long does a scope have to last? I've got a couple new leupold/Redfields, couple Nikons and about a year ago got a new Vortex. Not a bad word to say about any of them. Know what the best scope you can put on your rifle is? One you can afford!

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

Reloading is fun and you should get into it! Until you do reload, there are those of us who will for you and you probably do know some already. Your 30-06 brass can be neck-sized into a ‘06 family of cartridges. By that rationale alone, I recommend you consider anything 25-06 up to 35 Whelen. I myself have created about 50 loads for .270 out of 30-06 brass.

 

[7MMRM]

I’d go with a 7mm Remington magnum…

 

[steveshuntn1]

I’ve bought a half dozen or so different factory loads and nothing shoots well..the federal 180 power shok seems to be my best choice. It’s more than capable for my hunting ground around here for whitetail so it’s not getting retired just yet.
If my brother doesn’t sell me the 300 win mag I’m using then I’ll most likely buy another one, or a 7mag, or another 30-06! I like reliable calibers that I can possibly buy ammo for when I need it. I may one day get into reloading, but time doesn’t allow it right now. The 6.8 western, 300 prc, 6.5 prc and so on look great, but I worry about finding ammo.

 

[Farmerj]

Sounds like it’s time to make a lead/wax casting.

 

[BrianFromTheWest]

I’m not a guy who buys a new gun very often. My 30-06 Remington 700 is almost 35 years old and accuracy is not that great anymore. My main rifle is a single shot H&R 444 marlin I bought ten years ago that I deer hunt with ( I don’t have to track deer anymore after the shot!) I decided to start hunting out west beginning this year and want to get a new rifle. I’m leaning towards the Browning X bolt long range and topping it with a Leupold VX cds scope. Looking hard at the .308 and the 6.8 western. That 444 marlin has a punch to it so I’m wanting a little less recoil as I get older. What do you folks who hunt out west suggests?

I love my Tikka 30-06 with a Leupold VX3-HD CDS 4.5x14. I am looking at getting a 7mm or 6.8 western from tikka and throwing the same scope on it, but Ill go closer to 20x for that setup.

 

[7mm-08]

I was gonna jump in, but there are already 5 pages, says 7mm-08.

 

[SoloIdaho]

Have a smith work over your 06. 308 is awesome, but nostalgia is awesome-er!