I want to build a custom gun to use as my primary deer rifle and I've narrowed it down to the following: 25-06, 270, 280. They're obviously all based on the '06 and thus it's almost an apples to apples choice but each one has a great deal of character along with a unique set of pros/cons which is making the decision very difficult.

The cartridges that really appealed to me that I've ruled out this time around include: 257 Bob, 257 Wby, 7mm Rem Mag, 308 Win, 30-06, 300 Win, 300 Wby. I may opt for each/all of them some day but not now. For now, the 25-28 cal '06 family seems to offer the optimum mix(for me) of recoil level, trajectory, and punch for my skill level and the type of hunting I do. In addition, they're all relatively inexpensive to shoot which will foster more shooting and thus better marksmanship.

Here's where I'm at:

25-06 Rem - Pro - Very light recoil. The 25s are known for their larger than caliber killing effect. Con - Very light bullet selection(negated by the new premiums?)

270 Win - Pro - Light recoil. Good mix between the 25-06 and 280. Easiest to find ammo for. Cons - Not as exciting as the 25-06 or the 280.

280 Rem - Pro - Decent recoil. Most versatile bullet selection. Con - Need to reload in order to get above average performance.

If you've gone this route already, please give me your input on the components too! As it stands right now I'm looking at:

Action - SS Rem 700 action - Trued. ADL or BDL?
Barrel - 24" SS Pac-Nor #2, #3, or fluted #4 barrel. Cryo treatment? Standard or 3-groove?
Stock - McMillan - Style?
Finish - None? Robar? Teflon?

[ 12-15-2002, 11:31: Message edited by: Nebraska ]

As far as your caliber choices, I would go with the .280. Like you stated it has the best selection of bullets. I like the fact that I can load all the way up to 175gr bullets if I want. Not that you need those for deer hunting, but it just gives you more options. I think the 280 loaded with 150gr bullets is just about the perfect deer combo. It's never let me down.
If your gonna have a custom rifle put together I would think you'd want to reload and fine tune the loads, as thats all part of the fun as well. So the fact that you have to reload for the .280 is no big deal.....at least thats the way I see it. Anyway, I'm sure they'll all get the job done no matter what you choose. I'm just a big .280 fan. Good luck.

Jarrett

First off let me say that I've never had the extra cash nor felt the need to drop a bunch of money on a custom rifle. What I do shoot functions flawlessly, goes bang every time I pull the trigger, and prints sub MOA with a little bit of effort on the reloading bench. So I'll address that caliber issue and leave the custom debates to folks with much more money than I've got.

Obviously, all of the calibers listed will easily kill any deer in North America and most likely anywhere else you may care to go. With any kind of decent shot placement, a deer just ain't that hard to kill. With that in mind, I'm not thinkin' of a 280 Rem. as a deer only rifle. More like a deer/elk gun.

Having grown up shooting a .270, I'm a bit partial. I've read all about this lack of "bullet selection" in the .277 caliber, but I'm not real sure what the problem is. My rifle shoots 130gr Nosler BTs at approx. 3150fps into tiny little groups, and if anyone can show me what kills a deer deader, I'd like to see it. I just don't seem to have this problem with "bullet selection".

If'n I weren't so partial to my .270, a 25-06 would likely get the nod. I'm not up on the selection Nosler offers, but a BT in the 110-120gr range should be mighty rough on deer. Recoil, while not really an issue, would be a bit easier than a .270. And, allthough it takes a bit more effort, 25-06 is more exciting to say than .270.

Nebraska:

I don't find any particular advantage to the .280 unless it is improved. The argument that you can shoot heavier bullets is not particularly compelling if the game is deer. The .270 will shoot up to a 150 grain bullet [there may be some other manufacturer out there who makes a heavier one], but I would be surprised if you would go that heavy for deer.
130 grains is sort of the staple for deer in the .270 (I like 140s myself). In any event, even if you used 150s, you can use that weight in the .270 as well. IMHO the utility of the .280 is in improving it to get to the doorstep of a 7mm mag with less powder and without a belt. Otherwise, I like the .270 for deer.

The .25-06 is a fine deer rifle, especially with 115 and 120 grain pills, but the .270 will give you more downrange energy across the spectrum of bullet weights you are likely to use for deer in either caliber. IMHO, the advantage of the .25-06 lies in its ability to double as a very effective 'yote/varmint rifle with 90 grain bullets.

The .270 is not as "sexy" as it once was, what with all the magnums out there burning half a pound of powder a shot, but for a well balanced deer cartridge it is very hard to beat.

Regards,

Jordan

I personally like the .270 with the .280 a close second.

The only difference is bullet weight and selection. They are all going to fall with in the 2800 to 3100 velocity range. Point of impact at reasonable hunting ranges will not vary enough to matter. They will all bounce off brush about the same. They are all capable of "pulling the rug out" with high velocity hydrostatic impact. The .270 is excellent with 130 gr bullets and loses velocity very quickly as the bullet weight increases. But every hardware store has them. The .25-06 used lighter bullets at higher velocity but selection is less. And the .280 is the golden god of the '06 family with 150 gr bullets(IMO). Good luck

To fix the downside on the .280 you can get some of the high performance ammo that will sometimes even out perform ones reloads. Hornady "Light Magnum), & Federal (High Energy) both publish 3100 to 3150 fps with 139-140 grain bullets. Also if you stick with a 139-140 bullet (best I have found for deer)the recoil would be no more than with the .270 and you still have your versitility with other bullet choices. I'm partial to the .280 too, It's my favorite all around but especially, "deer" cartridge.

Good Luck & enjoy whithcever you decide to go with...JD

Ain't a dimes worth of difference twingst the three on the receiving end!

Ditto what Ol'sarge said. Also, when I was younger I said there are two cartridges I would never own (because everybody had one), the .270win & the .30-06. I now shoot a .270win as my deer rifle, go figure . I've been through a few others too, .243,.260,.280,30-30,.308,.300winny.

My next rifle will probably be in .338win, for a solid 2 rifle battery for N. America.
I can't deny though the urge though, for a M70 .30-06 for some reason....

To answer your question though, the 25-06 will never kill better than a .270 with 130-140gr pills, and the heavier bullet weights in the .280 are not needed for deer.

For something Sexy how about a .270AI w/ 25" barrel Don't see one of them everyday.

My .270win is a Custom 26" barrel for my T/C Encore. I'm thinking of going to 270AI after I start handloading this year.

A thought on bullet selection, or the lack thereof in certian calibers. Ive noticed that a whole lot of guys stand by the "one load for one rifle" idea. I does make sense in a lot of aspects, and therefore as long as a guy can find ONE bullet that is suitable and the rifle likes it, what more do you need? I have numerous .30 caliber bullets in my bullet drawer, but more often than not I reach for only two of them. One for each .30 cal I shoot.

I'm another one of those rabid .280 fans. My two usually shoot nothing but 150 NP's at 2900+ fps. That choice has worked out quite well over the years. I have shot 175's out of it once in RSA and again back in MT on elk. They perform quite well too. The .280 is a great round that with 140/150's is fine for deer and antelope yet with 150-175's it will cleanly take bigger stuff like elk and moose.

But I have to say that for DEER I would lean towards the .25-06 as its just a neat cartridge. Very minor recoil and all the bullets a guy could want. I used 115 or 120's on deer and antelope for a lot of years and never had a problem.

Your choice of a Rem 700 action is a good one. Trued and with a decent barrel properly chambered and installed in any of the good glass stocks we have now it should shoot quite well. Your surely on the right track.

Choose whatever cartridge trips YOUR trigger though.

FN in MT

For deer only my own feeling is that the 25-06 is just about perfect.It has all the power needed for deer yet is light on recoil so it is easy to practise with.You don't need a 270 or 280 for any deer as a good 100 to 120gr bullet will easily kill the biggest deer quickly and cleanly.

Sounds like a fun project. The ultimate deer rifle !

I'd like to build one myself, and was kicking around the idea of going w/ .270 Weatherby.

What kind of action, stock, trigger, scope, etc. are you thinking about ?

Like Frank N. I too went w/ the .280rem. It is a M70CRF in a nice piece of wood, light weight & way more accurate than I can shoot in the field. I went .280 just in case I have it in hand deer hunting along w/ an elk tag. If I were going for a deer/antelope only rig, then I would go .25-06 just because I really don't care that much for the .270 (good round, just everyone has one).
Then again, for a deer only round, it would be hard to beat a Rem. M7 in 7-08.

Steiny,

It's definitely going to be a Rem 700 action(most likely ADL). After that??? I was thinking about a #3 or #4 contour barrel but have been getting several suggestions to go with a #1 contour and drop it in a McMillan Moutain rifle stock. That sounds like a really nice set up too! I've never shot something that light before so my only concern would be how it would handle when shooting off hand. I've also received some suggestions to go with an "Improved" round instead of the standard. Sounds interesting! I'm doing my best to not go overboard on the cartridge but a little extra mustard couldn't hurt could it???

Nebraska,
If you have never owned or used a .270 (?) give yourself a treat. You'll find it anything but boring.

I own many rifles just "below" and just "above" a .270, but always go to it as my "serious" whitetail rifle. Mine does 3200 fps with a 130 bullet without pressure, but apparently has a "fast" barrel (at 24 1/2"). Most will easily get you 3100+ with the 130 -- and a 130 is THE consumate deer bullet in the .270.

On really long shots on a large muley, I might feel a little less comfortable with a .25-06, but I'm sure it would do the job if you prefer it, as would a .280.

As to barrel choice, there is nothing about a heavier barrel that makes it more accurate than a light barrel for the first few shots, at least until the barrel begins to heat. Do yourself a favor and build your rifle with a nice trim barrel to keep the rifle weight down. You'll carry it a heap of alot more of the time than you'll shoot it, and it's where the first shot out of the cold barrel lands in deer hunting, not where the fifth shot of a deliberate bench-fired group hits. If it were a varmint rifle that you expected to make 20+ consecutive shots with, then the heavier barrel would be useful, but that's not a consideration in a hunting rifle.

If you are using a Remington 700, get a magazine box for a magnum cartridge. You can use the extra length to seat .270's or .280's out long and get a bit of improved performance. A good smith can probably get you five .270's into the longer and wider magazine box. Not terribly important, but can come in handy in rare instances. Also, I don't care for the alloy bottom metal on the BDL, and replacement steel is very expensive, so I think I would opt for an ADL action with the ever-dependable blind box.

Have fun.

[ 12-16-2002, 20:16: Message edited by: Stonecreek ]

I think the caliber choice has to do with what you already might have. I had a similar choice when I bought my 25/06. I was leaning toward a 270 but one of my friends said you have a 300 mag and a 30/06 why get something so close. That's is when I looked at the 25/06. I have been very happy with it. If you are looking for the one gun theory the 280 is the best choice for a reloader because of the bullet weights with the 270 a close second.

My 25/06 is a great deer gun. It shoots mid to heavy weight bullets just wonderful. My favorite load is IMR4831 over a 90 grain X bullet BT for 3400 fps. (A side note about X bullets. People seem to love or hate them. I have found to try different weight in a caliber. Some time this help accuracy. This gun loves the 90 grain but is only medicore with the 115 grain.) This load has worked like lighting on Wisconsin whitetails. It also shoots the partitions and Ballistic Tip suburb also. You can't go wrong with any of those cartirdges. I like this cartridge and it is a little different not real ordinary.

I personally would go with the BDL action. Easier to unload catridges from the magazine. As for barrel contour I like thin to medium weight. They are easier to carry. They will heat up if you are doing load development (so what, take your time and let it cool).

Sounds Like a fun project

Have fun

Hcliff

Well, some of the calibers you ruled out are alot of 'ole stand bys for just about every hunter. You mentioned cheap to reload for . well one of the cheapest is the 308.. just my .02.... but...

If ya got the cash for a custom gun.. here goes..

I'm gonna throw in somthing to the mix just to confuse ya a little bit..

you mentioned the 25 cal.. and you want light recoil, good bullet selection.. etc..

How about the 257 DGR. it is born of of the 308 case.. actually a 260 necked down. 95% of the forming is done when you FL size it..

you can shoot 75 gr bullets through 125 gr bullets. The 75's come out at 3600fps + the 125's still give you 3000fps. All manufactures make them from barnes, hornady, nosler, sierra....

If your hunting white tails and muleys under 300 yards.. this little wildcat might be hard to beat..

here's a link for the info.. I just got one and well.. I love the 308 but man this one might take over as the '' GOTO '' rifle...

http://www.duanesguns.com/257.htm

Maybe I shouldn't get rid of that VSSF in 22-250 after all!!!! <grin>

Nebraska -
Sounds like you're on the right track.
I had my first custom piece built a couple years ago.

Used; a 700 action, Hart fluted barrel, H-S Precision green composite stock, Leupold bases, rings and a 4x10 scope. Had all the metal black tee coated, trigger job, pillar bedded, etc. Chambered it for .300 Weatherby. It's a great shooting, great handling rifle.

I'd love to make a duplicate in a little smaller caliber for a deer, antelope, sheep rifle. Maybe .270 Weatherby or .257 Roberts. I'm not much of a handloader, so I'd stay away from 'improved' or wildcat cartridges.

Good luck !

Nebraska,

Actually.. you have the majority of a good 257 DGR, already in that vssf. You have a good stock that will work, good action, the right bolt face a trigger that can be worked .. all ya need to do is get the action and lugs trued. get a premium barrel and chamber it and then pillar bed the action...... thats what I'd do....

Nebraska,

I've been through a decision process that parallels yours. I love the .257 bore and have used the .257 Roberts, .25-06 Remington, and the .257 WBY. However, I have decided against the .25's as a general whitetail rifle because I think bullet weight is on the light side for the bigger animals. The .280 Remington is fantastic, but I use the 7mm Remington Magnum as my choice of the Magnificient 7's because I don't always have the chance to handload. I settled on the .270 Winchester as my general deer rifle because of felt recoil, bullet weight, quality factory ammo availability and ballistics. Not to mention the .270 is a real American Classic.

B

I just picked up 2 SS Rem 700 ADLs on the net yesterday to use for the actions. One was a 7mm Rem Mag and the other was another 25-06(so much for consolidating ). I've never shot/owned a 7mm Rem Mag so it will be interesting to finally try one out after hearing so much about them. I don't intend on leaving it as a 7mm Rem Mag but if it were an absolute tack-driver or just a hoot to shoot; Who knows?? If not, it stands a good chance of becoming a 338 Win to use for Elk+ sized game in the future(or if I'm overcome by the dark-side, a 257 Wby ).

As far as the 270 goes, I'm going to sell the majority of my centerfire rifles but one I'll be keeping is a Marlin MR-7 in 270 Win because it was a gift from my step father. It's a very accurate and pleasant to shoot but is wood/blue so I just wouldn't feel right using it as my primary deer rifle. Part of me says...."Go with a 270 for the all weather gun and you'll only have to worry about ammo for one caliber and get used to one trajectory curve" and the other part says...."Enjoy the Marlin 270 on those nice days but make the primary deer rifle something more FUN!!!".

Until my other rifles sell, I'll be able to take them out and shoot 'em so if I haven't consciously made up my mind by next summer, I'm sure a "favorite" will be pretty clear by then. I'm doing my best to de-magnumize myself but that's easier said than done. I've read so much BS in the mags and seen the 257 Wby in action(Yikes!!) ....At least I'm trying! After all this, I'd laugh if it were the 7mm Rem Mag!!! In the mean time, I'm looking forward to reading more on everyone's take on the subject. Thanks for all the replies so far!

[ 12-18-2002, 08:32: Message edited by: Nebraska ]