hey guys im going to buy a new hunting rifle soon and was wanting suggestions on what calibers to consider in the off season this rifle will be a range gun for 100 yd target shooting just for fun the rifle is a tikka t3 but in which caliber i havent decided im shooting a remington 710 in 270 right now but im hoping the tikka will be a descent upgrade not that my 710 is a bad gun it shoots fine i just want a more quality gun in an accurate caliber i have been told these are pretty accurate .308 .243 7mm-08 6.5x55 swede what do you guys think? thanks for any info divr6347
What will you hunt with the new rifle? The .308 and 7mm-08 are both great rounds, using a short .308 length cartridge instead of the longer 30-06 sized cartridge (like your .270), but they have about the same utility as the .270. The 6.5mm Swede might be neat, but hard to find ammo for. Of the ones you mentioned, I like the .243. It should shoot really flat, and you could use it for varmint hunting if you wanted to.
If you want a nicer rifle that's just as versatile as your current one, I'd think about the 7mm-08 or a 30-06.
Steve
Posts: 1739 | Location: Maryland | Registered: 17 January 2004
7mmX57 or 6.5X55 scout 19" barrel light weight stock , small recoil pad. There is a lot of inexpesive hunting and military 6.5 ammo arriving everyday from Bosnia. Brass cases. boxer primed newly manufactured. Less than$6.00/20 atJ&G in prescott AZ. Century arms also brought in a large load. To get the most from the 7X57 you will probably have to reload. You probably already do. roger
Posts: 10226 | Location: Temple City CA | Registered: 29 April 2003
THANKS for the replies guys i will be hunting deer and a few medium size hogs with this rifle medium hogs meaning 120-150 lbs sounds like 7mm-08 is the one to get now i know why the tikka dealer says he is out of them in that caliber a lot couple more questions how is the accuracy of the 7-08 and does anyone shoot it in a tikka whitetail hunter or t3 and if so are they good rifles? thanks again guys divr6347
they are very good rifle. shoot both the whitetail hunter and the t3. the t3 is nice to carry and to hunt with and it shoots good enough but my WT hunter is a little more accurate but is alot heavier. you made a good choice and youll be happy with what you have. never used a 7-08 but it is a good'en
Posts: 159 | Location: Saskatchewan | Registered: 14 November 2002
If you have no other centerfires and are going to keep the 270 (for now) then get a 243 Win. There is way more varmint hunting than game hunting and the seasons are longer.
If your going to trade the 710 then get a 308 Win. It's a universal cartridge, the US military cartridge etc.
everybody tells me that! the 2-7x44mm is a little bigger than most of the fashion critics would prefer; in fact, most would prefer no scope at all! i don't want to hijack the thread with a scope/no scope debate on the .30/30; however, it is ideal for my purposes and makes what i believe to be the ultimate whitetail rig for my area.
considering the original poster's intention of hunting deer AND hogs, it might be prudent for him to use the iron sites, or perhaps a ghost ring.....my recommendation was more for the rifle than the scope.
7mm-08 is a good round. For what you are doing I would seriously consider a 243 also. you already have a 308 and the 7mm-08 isnt that different from the 308. 243 is a little farther away as far as size is conserned and still a great little deer/small game/varmint gun. You can load the 243 all the way down to 55 grains and really get them moving but it is also a very capable mid sized game rifle and it will shoot straighter than the 08 with less recoil. Just a fun little gun to shoot. I have the T3 in 243 and havent done much shooting with it yet but I had it to the range with some 85 grain HPBT that I loaded up for it and I was shooting sub MOA without a real rest. Im hoping I can get consistent .5 groups once I get a real rest and work up a load.
Since you have a 270 you really don't "need" another hunting rifle unless you intend to hunt much larger game, in which case you ought to look into a 338 Win Mag or 375 H&H. So much for need. How about you get your Tikka in 270? You'll save on reloading inventory, dies, and accessories and can still feed it off the shelf anywhere in the world. As for accuracy the only fellow I saw shooting really well at our gun club's deer rifle sight in days last fall was using his brand new Tikka 270 to shoot into two inches at 200 yards. Have fun shopping. Good hunting!
Well just to be ornery I'm going to reccommend a CZ 550 American in 7x57, which can be had for under $500. Get a set of Talley rings for about $60 and a Leupold vx-1 2-7x for a $179 and call it good.
I honestly can't think of a better quality, more user friendly, currently available combination for the money.
I just put this exact combination together for one of my chick buddies who's been hunting with me a bit the last couple years. The accuracy has been superb for an out of the box rifle.
Posts: 1295 | Location: 3rd Planet from the Sun | Registered: 24 April 2003
i have tis very rifle (cz m550 american in 7x57) and it has performed very well in all respects. last year, it managed two antelope with one shot! both perfect, kill-zone shots, by the way. if you do choose to go with a 7mm, this is a great rifle to go for.
roger
