A "whatever" rifle should have a "whatever" cartridge. In the U.S. that's the 30'06 . . . period! If you're going to take NA as a whole then either the 35 Whelen or the newly rejuvenated 9.3x62. As for the whole damn' world? See below.

I'm 15, live in georgia and hunt whitetales.I just got a savage model 16 .270WSM and i love it. But it has driven my need of a rifle. I want more rifles.I have the 2.70WSM and a .22 semi-auto, so i want a what ever rifle somthin as an extra choice for whitetales and maby a little bigger game like maby a black bear. I was thinkin a remington M700 adl in 30-06. But im undecided, so maby you fella's and ladies can help my decision. I dont want a short range rifle i want somthin that gets range like my .270WSM. thanks for any suggestions u have.

Hey Critter!
Have you killed anything yet with your new .270 WSM?
You could spend years getting the most out of that gun.

I'm a little curious why you wouldn't consider a Savage if you like your new .270 WSM. It comes in a 30'06 and I think 300 Win Mag.
Have you considered a Winchester Model 70? I've got a 700's, an A-Bolt and a couple of Model 70's and I like them all, but my Model 70's best.

I wholeheartedly agree with Oldsarge, the .30-06 or .35 Whelen are great rounds for heavy North American game animals, and can shoot out to reasonable ranges. Maybe not as far as than .270WSM of yours, but far enough. And the .35 would not be out of place in Alaska tracking BIG bears into the thick of it.

Hey someone call the CDC. I detect another case of the rifle bug.
I really doubt that one more fix is going to cure the bug.
Do you have any varmints to shoot where you live? If so you might be well served with a 223, 22-250, 243, or 6mm. These will allow you to hunt through much of the year when big game seasons are closed.
Learning to reload is also good treatment for the bug. Time spent building loads for the rifle and then testing them is about as enjoyable as time spent hunting.

Hi Critter-Killer,
I agree with the guys who have recommended the reloading route, however I can read in your post the "need" for another rifle If you can live with just a plain old 30-06 then you will have all the rifle you will need for that all encompassing weapon. However let me warn you that this is just the begining Your next question or statement will be that you need an additional rifle for a back up weapon, and then it will be that the price was too good to pass up and the next will be that you were trying to help out an old friend who needed money etc, etc, etc. Welcome to "the club" it is a sickness that you will enjoy the rest of your life. My name is cordell and I am a gunaholic On a serious note do both! get a reloader, and an .06, with this combination and the available bullets today you will never regret it. Just last week I was down to four 30-06's but I just bought another one just because it had a commercial mauser action, an old Flaig barrel, a Lyman Alaskan scope, a pretty piece of wood, and you never know when you are going to "need" a back up rifle Take care and God bless.


cordell

OOPS just read my post and it sounds like I am taking something away from the .06 with the statement "plain old 30-06" this phrase was fathered by people looking for that better mouse trap, and greener grass when they indeed were standing in the clover already. In MHO the .06 is the one cartridge that can do it all. Take care and God bless.



cordell

Here is another vote for the 35 Whelen. Learn to reload and this round will serve you very well. You can load pistol bullets of 125gr and have a great plinking round, a 200gr load that will take mid sized game out to 300yds. A 225gr load that will handle mosr game in north america, and the 250's will hanlde the rest. There you go, small game to the largest we have. The Whelen is hard to beat!!

Critter Killer,

All good advice so far. Keep in mind that the varmint and target seasons are lot longer, here at least, that the big game seasons. Your 270 WSM is plenty and then some for anything in the 49 states and in fact it's state of the art.

There is varmint hunting and a 6mm would be a back up for deer. There are target matches of all kinds too. The first rifle that I bought with my money was a M70 Varmint in 243 and it was used with good effect for 200 yd competition and long range varmint hunting. I still have the rifle I bought new in 1957.

Good luck.

I started to get the need for 'one more rifle' after I hit 18. I would cast my vote for something smaller than the .270, because anything larger might lack the range you want.
I recently picked up a Savage 25-06, and WOW, am I happy with it. I'm pretty recoil shy, and I was worried I should have grabbed a .243 instead, but now I have seen the light of '06 length cartridges.
Although with my experience the best investment you could do now is a nice empty safe, because the fever never goes away...

79

The thing is i do have coyotes down here, maby a .204 ruger is needed? The remark of the plain old 30-06 was funny never thought of it that way.To tell the truth i was gonna get a model 70 winchester in a 30-06. I think i will tell the story, After much research and price shopping i went to the local wal-mart. Found a nice (or so i thought) winchester the Super Shadow in .270WSM. i didnt want a .270 because if u hunt deer u most likley have a .270 around here. i wanted the 7mmWSM but wal-mart didnt carry it. but they did say they had an 30-06 in the super shadow. i came home researched that there was no 30-06 caliber made in super shadow. but i put it on lay away anyway. then i saw teh gun they brought out it was a model 70 30-06. but it didnt look like the "cool" super shadow stock i saw. it was just a plain old boring stock. i decided a week later to take that rifle of lay away and reaserch some forums for any info. i found AR and signed up posted my question. got bout 30 replies and thats when i decided to get my savage. and here i am. So now i am thinkin go back to wal-mart and get the m60 30-06? or get a .300WSM? i definetly know i want a 30 cal or the .204 ruger for yotes. but i want to see some more replies and make a decision.

If the rifle is gonna be primarily for deer and bear with some other stuff thrown in, how about a nice, used Savage 99 in either 300 savage or 308. Both are great calibers and both are easy to find. They are really classy guns too.
Andy

If you want something .30 caliber, buy a 30-06 or a .308. Both are plentiful, cheap to feed, and will kill practically anything. If you look hard enough, you may find a real good deal on a Winchester. Otherwise,you may want to look for a Remington or another Savage. Although used, I'd bet whatever the rifle is has not been shot much. Most folks will shoot their deer rifle far less than a box of ammo a year. Consequently, you can find some real good used deals. Just keep your eyes open and wallet ready.

Otherwise, if you just want something to play with, do what I did. Take a couple hundred bucks to a gunshow and buy a Mauser in excellent condition. Then, buy some cheap new production (read reloadable) ammuntion and work on your rifle and marksmanship skills. If you get good with those tiny mauser sights, the 8x57 will kill just about anything.

"A "whatever" rifle should have a "whatever" cartridge. In the U.S. that's the 30'06 . . . period!"

Well said! If one needs more, then the 375, that covers it.