Here's one for the gallery, I just received an email from one of my friends/hunting buddys which reads something like " I am ready to buy a new rifle, I want to hunt Deer and Elk with my new gun. I am currently using a 30-06...what do you recommend I get next.

Now my friend Terry is, up until now, a one gun hunter using a sporterized M98 cercia WWII that shoots pretty good +/- 1.5MOA most days. Terry harvests a deer and an elk almost ever year w/said 30-06 but we all know the feeling, right? I'll never forget the first deer I saw Terry shoot with reloaded 165 gr. Ballistic Tips that he and I had worked up over the two-three weeks prior to hunting season. This load was seated just shy of the lands and moving out at top speed. The shot was spectacular, you know the drop on the spot kill we sometimes see. Terry was elated with the results of a rather long cross canyon shot and talked about it all the way home.

Help me with any ideas you might have for Terry's next rifle, what action type & what caliber, also what to do for a scope? As you might conclude from Terry's only rifle he is some what of a tightwad. I will not tell him he already has all he needs for his hunting needs.

Well, if he's cheap (whoops, I mean "thrifty"), point him towards Savage. Best shooting rifles for the money. One of the 300 mags should give him all the speed he needs. He could even get a 300 RUM and be trendy. FTIW - Dan

A good rifle for Terry would be a Winchester Model 70 in .338WM, or a Ruger M77 MK-II in the same caliber. Scope? A Leupold Vary-X III 2.5-8x, or a good quality 2-7x.

Why a .338WM? Because you can use bullets from 160 grains all the way to 300. The lightweights, then from 250 to 300 grains are usually for reloaders, and factory ammo from 200 to 250 grains. When using 180-grain bullets with the .338WM, velocities around 3,000 fps are easily reached, nearly 2,900 fps with 225-grain bullets, and 2,830 fps with 230-grain bullets.

But please tell him that before he buys another rifle he my want to shoot some Federal HE ammo with 180-grain bullets, then he can decide what to do next. A 180-grain TBBC at nearly 2,900 fps makes the .30-06 almost a Magnum.

Since he is thriffy and you guys reload, just have him ream the chamber for an Ackely Improved '06 or rebarrel to .338-06.

Seeing as he has a 30/06 I would move up a bore size to ether the .338 or .375 H&H. Personally I would choose the .375 H&H.

Since he is a tight wad, have him buy a 6X42 Leupold and some premium ammo like the Federal High Energy ammo with the Trophy Bonded bullet.
It will be just like buying a new rifle. E

I would move up to a 338 win mag on a ruger stainless mkII nice rifle more punch then a 06 and just plain fun. Then if he ever goes to AK. he will have just the right rifle.

First off....does he want the new gun to do something better than the old one? or does he just want a new gun?? (This is a key question)

If he wants something better than his current '06.....what does he want to improve???

More power?? maybe the elk all got issued flak jackets last week??? If so...300 or 338

Flatter shooting maybe? OK then .270, 7 rem mag, 300 mag.

Less recoil, more fun to shoot? 270 hands down.

Or does he just have the need, the want, the craving, the burning desire...for something new???

If that's it.........he should get a spanky new 30-06 with a nice new scope.

JimF

Two guns that would be fun to own and shoot and two I would like as well.

Agreeing with earlier poster Savage 116 FSAK in .338 Win mag.

Marlin 1895 or 1895G in 45-70

Two go anywhere guns with plenty o power and good for deer through Big Bears. Both relatively easy on the wallet too.

I would take Ray suggestion but change the 338 to a 300. You said he was a tightwad and 338 ammo costs more than 300 by a 40%. That was the desiding factor for me and I would doubt on North America any game would know the difference.

Howa 1500 in .300 Win Mag or .338 Win Mag. As accurate and affordable as a Savage, but much better looking, with a smoother action, and a good trigger.

Vman:

Lots of suggestions here for 300-338 magnums. I mentioned those also. But before buying one of those bigger calibers, ask yourself the question, how experienced is this fellow and how much shooting does he do?

The recoil of those calibers is no walk in the park for someone who is an occasional shooter. Most everybody that suggested those is probably an expert shooter with many rifles and lots of experience with them. I really believe that the average shooter is not a great candidate for one of those calibers.

This would be especially true if he is the type who would try to save money on the scope and mounts.

JimF

Well, thanks for all the input from the voices of experince.

Today I received a call from friend Terry and we are going to sight in his new 270 WSM this weekend. Terry purchased a new Browning A bolt w/synthetic stock. A couple of boxes of factory ammo in 130 grain molycoated Ballistic Tip as marketed by Winchester...report to follow.

Excellent choice!!

JimF

Since you say he is a tight wad and wants a new more powerfull hunting rifle the answer to this question is very simple. Buy the Savage chambered in 300 Win mag. and top it off with a 4X12 AO Bushnell scope. You will be hard pressed to find any other rifle scope combination that is less expensive.

The 300 Winchester Magnum is and remains one of the most accurate long range 30 caliber hunting cartridges ever developed. No hunter worth his salt can shoulder a better hunting rifle than the 300 Win Mag. From woodchuck to Moose at any range the 300 Win mag will deliver the energy to harvest any and all North American big game animals with ease. Any sporting goods store stocks 300 Win Mag ammo should you run short while hunting.

Even the new wild cat Mega mags are not in stock at many sporting goods stores because they are so costly to keep on their shelfs. A good example is the 338 Ultra Mag by Remington at a cost of $69.95 per twenty rounds factory ammo. How about a box of twenty 460 Weatherby factory rounds at 100 bucks a pop.