Right now I have three centerfires ,Remington 700 CDL 35 Whelen,Howa 270 wsm and a Remington 700 223 rem. I'm not against lever guns, pumps or semi-auto's. Just been thinking which way to go in caliber and style of rifle to complement my collection of rifles. Give me some ideas guys. What do you think?

You have most of the hunting bases covered. A 45/70 lever gun or a 300mag bolt??

quote:

Originally posted by raybass:
Right now I have three centerfires ,Remington 700 CDL 35 Whelen,Howa 270 wsm and a Remington 700 223 rem. I'm not against lever guns, pumps or semi-auto's. Just been thinking which way to go in caliber and style of rifle to complement my collection of rifles. Give me some ideas guys. What do you think?

If you don't have a rimfire I would suggest one.

You are not yet covered for Cape Buffalo, Elephant, etc. I would suggest a 375 H&H Magnum, a 416 Rigby or a 458 Lott. Deep down inside, you've probably always wanted an elephant gun.

raybass,

Staying within the format you already have of factory rifles; I think the Weatherby Vanguard in .300 Wby. Mag. would be a perfect fit in filling an open space in caliber array and remain in the general price range of your other rifles.
Good shooting,
Dave

You might want a 416 Rem. It a great bear rifle
and elephant rifle.

I think you have all the bases coverd prety well.
Fact is you don't need another rifle for north america.
Now you just buy somthing you like, don't wory about overlap or any of that nonsence,
Pick a rifle you like, lets say, a CZ 550.
Go to the place with the best selection and look them all over.
Find the one that you think is nicest and unless its a caliber you just don't want, buy it.
Nothing wrong with having 2 rifles in the same caliber. I have 2 each in the Roberts and the .243.
Looking at your collection again, mabye a fast handeling rifle like a model 7, a ruger ultra light, browning lever, or Micro hunter A-Bolt.
Those are fun rifles. in anything from .243 through .308, or in the case of the Browning lever, .358 win !
...tj3006

Can't Hardly go wrong w/ a 300WM. Sure the 35 Whelen has a good punch but, If you decide to go out west you may want the extra range of the 300WM w/ a little heavier bullet choices than the 270WSM for bigger critters.

Good Luck

Reloader

How bout a slide action 22 LR. No joke roger

Definitely a bigger bore >40.
Lever action 444 or 45-70
or bolt in 416 or 458
or DR in 470 on up

If that doesn't tickle your fancy.
A 257 Roberts would a nice.

You have everything else covered nicely.

Pick your poison

9.3x62 -ask Lawndart, he´ll confirm it.

well not sure what type of gun or purpose but you could use a nice 458lott,or if money not option a Lazzeroni 7.82 patriot would look really pretty in your collection if your not gonna own many own custom your wife will get over the cost eventually

CZ 550 in a 416 Rigby!!

CZ medium in 9.3x62mm, or CZ Safari Magnum in 416 Rigby.
Fill in the bottom with a nice 6mm Remington or 257 Roberts, preferably inproved.

I have one of each (CZ's), and if Lawndart ever gets his butt out of the clinic for more than 15 minutes we are going to go shooting one of these days.

Rich

Why not military surplus? I can find ,localy;
Swiss k-31 - cool strait pull bolt action
yugo Mauser
Yugo SKS, can't go wrong for $129!!!!


Or, why not a 30-06, on its 100th anniversary. Get it in a 1903 Springfield sporter, on its 103rd anniversary.

A military 98 Mauser may be the ultimate dangerous game rifle, since it was designed for hunting the ultimate dangerous game - armed men. A clean one built between the wars in its original chambering will give you a whole new understanding of how a rifle should feed, extract and eject. FN sporters built in the 1950's are nice, too.

Getting away from bolt guns, a 30-30 lever gun would be right handy in east Texas. So would a Ruger #1 in 250-3000 or 7x57.


Okie John

quote:

Originally posted by raybass:
Right now I have three centerfires ,Remington 700 CDL 35 Whelen,Howa 270 wsm and a Remington 700 223 rem. I'm not against lever guns, pumps or semi-auto's. Just been thinking which way to go in caliber and style of rifle to complement my collection of rifles. Give me some ideas guys. What do you think?

Hold out for the new Ruger Hawkeye. It is the year of the 30-06, so why not? Or perhaps a
7mm-08?

I reckon you need a .416 Rigby in a CZ with a 1-4x20 leupold in talley mounts

Alot of ideas,good ones too. Here are some things I've been rolling around in that big empty space up there: 45-70 ruger #1,yugo mauser m48 8X57( with new stock, barrel turned down,and peep sights),Lever 30/30 with a low power leupy on it,Sendero 264 win.mag, Mauser build up into 338-06 or 270 win.,Savage 99 300 savage, model 7, ruger ultra light in 260 rem.or 257 roberts,257 weatherby 270 win. in the ultralight. Some of the guns that you guys mentioned that got my attention: BLR 358 win,CZ 9.3X62,45-70 marlin and the 375 H&H Magnum CZ(not sure I could handle the recoil but I've always wanted to shoot one). It occured to me as I was looking over the calibers that nobody suggested a 338 win mag, WOW that adds another one to the list. I know you guys go through this too(I want them all). All of my guns are scoped and I keep thinking I need a fast handling open sighted rifle, all my guns are blued I need one stainless, I'm good to 300 yds. with my whelen(as far as I can practice or need to be shooting)so do I need a longer range rifle,DG rifle?(these vicious man eating piney wood rooters)and I've really been thinking about a mauser build, nothing expensive but well put together. Then again a 30/30 or savage 99 would be good around here. I made my first trip out west this year for elk (didn't get one but seen some) and wondered if I did need more reach. Alot to think about huh. Anyways thanks and keep the ideas coming. Oh forgot to mention I have a M38 at home too. I do have a 22 rimfire but I broke it, so to the gunsmith that one goes. That's me in a gunshop. LOL

As others above have mentioned, I see 2 big areas of opportunity:
1) A big bore - .40+ Any of the .416's would be a natural here. A .45-70 is fine if African dangerous game are not in your future. Ditto for the .405 Winchester.
2) A milder small bore. Something on order of a .25-06 or a .257 Roberts come immediately to mind.

Being the single shot nut I am, any of the big bores above are available in the Ruger No.1. My personal favorite is my custom barreled .450/400 Nitro 3" No.1. Ruger will be chambering for it next year and Hornady has announced the factory ammo.

For the smaller gun, a No.1B in .25-06 is a nice rifle. The limited run stainless No.1A in .257 Roberts is a real sweetheart of a gun that can still be found online.

Then again, if you want to stay with bolt actions, there are a lot more choices. But live a little. Try something different.

quote:

Originally posted by Grumulkin:
you've probably always wanted an elephant gun.

I bet he does...I do! and there ain't even any elephants around here

Since you live in East Texas, some kind of 45/70
would be a fun gun.
Say a Ruger No1 or a Marlin Guide gun.

How about an AR15 in 458 SOCOM or 50 Beowulf?

How am I ever gonna afford all the guns I want?

"How am I ever goona afford all the guns I wan,t "
Thats funny, In my case thats just not posible, If I bought all the rifles I wanted mabye 1% would I ever have time to shoot ...tj3006

Raybass,

Looks to me like you have all the bases covered. You have your 35 Whelen for Elk, Moose or Bear. Your 270 WSM for Deer and Antelope. The 270 could also be used as a very fine long range Elk/Moose gun if you handload and use good bullets. And your .223 for varmints and all around cheaper shooting for leisure. You are a blessed man!

Peace in the Lord,

Corey

I really don't know that the 375 H&H would be that bad recoil wise -- my #1 doesn't bother me too much -- I prefer it to my brother's 300 win mag, and I won't touch my buddies 300 weatherby. OTH, I don't know if you need it -- OTH, a 45-70 lever-action is a really fun gun to play with -- I really like mine, I really can't imagine liking any gun more.

I'm getting a remington 700 LTR in 308, cheap, very accurate, good for most stuff in the US -- I'm actually getting it since I never used a bolt-action very much, and I want something to try some high-power matches, take a gunsite course, etc.

If you're primarily a deer hunter a "backup" deer gun in 7mm-08, 25/06, .308, or 7x57.

If you like varmints as a primary target a 22/250, or .243.

Or just for fun ....a 22 Hornet.

A 45-70 is sounding good,I had one years ago and sold it to get a longer range rifle(my only one at the time). It was an 1895 model 22 inch barrel. The guide rifle looks better to me. With quick detach mounts and a 1-4 power leupold it would be awesome. The CZ in a 375 H&H sounds cool too though. Every time I go to Gander Mountain I check the big bores out. I think in a ten pound gun the recoil would be manageable. I think I will go bigger bore this time. I'll have to go and look at the above rifles and see what strikes me. I'm just not a fan of the 300 win mag, although it is a fine caliber I don't like the way it snaps my neck in recoil. Gives me a headache. The 35 whelen just doesn't seem to bother me that way. I can shoot accurately with both though. I need to get a look at a ruger #1 in 45-70 before I make a choice, They are some really nice looking rifles. I think the 416 and up magnums would be too much for me in the recoil dept but I still get the urge to buy one. LOL Crazy I guess! Yeah I think Africa is a little far fetched for me. I do read and dream though. Bear hunting...maybe but it's gotta be on my own two feet. Think I'll go to the gunshop this evening and take a look! "Straight Shootin to Ya"

If ya wanna be different.. I don't know many guys that have a 50 caliber Browning in there collection...

Raybass: I think you need an "accuracy enhanced" Rifle!
By that I mean something like the Sako heavy barrel all factory single shot bolt action Rifle I recently acquired!
This formerly factory offered Rifle is in caliber 6mm PPC and I have a 24 power Leupold on mine!
Why this kind of a Rifle you ask - because it is one of the MOST enjoyable and MOST relaxing Rifles that one can own.
Again - how so - I hear you thinking.
Well just make some finely tuned handloads for this Rifle (that in itself is a rewarding and relaxing endeavour) and wait for a calm day and go to the range and simply compete with yourself to see how small of groups you can achieve with your new "relaxing Rifle".
I used to do a lot more of this type shooting before I retired. I had to work weekends and had days off during the week. I took the greatest of pleasure in heading for the range on a calm day and shooting my various Varmint/target type Rifles for group trying to best my previous results with them.
This is a relatively inexpensive "passtime" and like I say quite enjoyable!
As to your present Rifles - I have three friends who I have seen harvest Bears, Buffalo, Elk and Deer with their 35 Whelens! I have never owned that caliber but I have seen it perform and you have the "high end" (of calibers) covered fairly well there.
And the mid-range is covered very handily by the 270 WSM - what a great Whitetailed Deer, Antelope, Coues Deer, Caribou etc round that should be!
And what more can be said for the small game and Varmint coverage than with your 223 Remington!
I am happy you are considering another Rifle and I hope my lonesome suggestion for a REALLY accuracy capable "relaxing Rifle" gets you to thinking about one.
I sure enjoy mine!
Good luck with whatever you choose!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy