Best LRH caliber to start with?

[WildRose]

Originally Posted by toddc

Quit tormenting yourself by using the gun guys "N" word. NEED. You may not need that 325 but it'd make a great thread! Seriously tho good advice all around. I like your 200 add for reality. I use 50% so 500 is 750. 1000 will get to 1500 real quick when you start pasting rocks at 1300! It may not happen to everyone but it sure as heck got me!

I have a lot of actual "needs" for which I lack the budget so until I've taken care of all of them my "wants" go on the back shelf.

If I should one day win the lottery (difficult since I don't play) I'll need to buy a slightly used but in great condition National Guard Armory to house the entire Arsenal and I'll probably die with fifty more builds paid for and waiting for various gunsmiths to complete.

Having such limitations for myself I understand the rest of the guys especially those new to the sport who have serious budget considerations that have to be worked around while trying to accomplish their goals.

[toddc]

Originally Posted by WildRose

I have a lot of actual "needs" for which I lack the budget so until I've taken care of all of them my "wants" go on the back shelf.

If I should one day win the lottery (difficult since I don't play) I'll need to buy a slightly used but in great condition National Guard Armory to house the entire Arsenal and I'll probably die with fifty more builds paid for and waiting for various gunsmiths to complete.

Having such limitations for myself I understand the rest of the guys especially those new to the sport who have serious budget considerations that have to be worked around while trying to accomplish their goals.

I think we are all in the same boat. Even if we have the money theres always the WIFE FACTOR!
Its why I shoot savages. 3 base guns and I change the barrels if I wanna go from deer to prairie dogs(or just use a 338 lol). This way wife recognises the stock/scope combo and all the barrels are bead blasted so she thinks I have 3 guns. Which technically is true.

[WildRose]

Originally Posted by toddc

I think we are all in the same boat. Even if we have the money theres always the WIFE FACTOR!
Its why I shoot savages. 3 base guns and I change the barrels if I wanna go from deer to prairie dogs(or just use a 338 lol). This way wife recognises the stock/scope combo and all the barrels are bead blasted so she thinks I have 3 guns. Which technically is true.

I don't voice it often but I have an admitted bias against Savages. Most likely it's just due to my age because I went through several of them during those years when they were really having trouble both financially and with their quality.

I know they've come a long way especially over the last decade but man I got burned bad of four in a row and just swore I'd never take another chance on them.

Even my first Remington 700bdl was a piece of crap that after five trips to Remington still would not shoot right. I finally sent it off to a client of mine that was a NASA engineer and hobby gunsmith who took it apart completely and looked at it and told me that basically everything on it was out of square to every thing else on it and no amount of money would ever make it right. I sold it at a gun show for 250.oo and felt good about it HA!

I owned nothing but M70's for a long time after that until bitten by the 7mm STW bug and at the time the only place my local gunshop could get one was directly from the Remington Custom Shop. That one has served me well as have the rest I've bought since including the current Sederos I own.

You won't see me badmouthing Savage though, I just don't recommend them.

[toddc]

Originally Posted by WildRose

I don't voice it often but I have an admitted bias against Savages. Most likely it's just due to my age because I went through several of them during those years when they were really having trouble both financially and with their quality.

I know they've come a long way especially over the last decade but man I got burned bad of four in a row and just swore I'd never take another chance on them.

Even my first Remington 700bdl was a piece of crap that after five trips to Remington still would not shoot right. I finally sent it off to a client of mine that was a NASA engineer and hobby gunsmith who took it apart completely and looked at it and told me that basically everything on it was out of square to every thing else on it and no amount of money would ever make it right. I sold it at a gun show for 250.oo and felt good about it HA!

I owned nothing but M70's for a long time after that until bitten by the 7mm STW bug and at the time the only place my local gunshop could get one was directly from the Remington Custom Shop. That one has served me well as have the rest I've bought since including the current Sederos I own.

You won't see me badmouthing Savage though, I just don't recommend them.

Gun makers change quality and models constantly so I keep an eye out for whats good TODAY. Since I only care about the action the stock/trigger/barrel etc mean nada. Never have so the junky savages dont bother me. Just a cheaper way to get an action. And now they ALL build some bad boy stuff I just look at value per $. Same thing with scopes. Burris used to build glass almost as good as leup. Then they discovered whatever small island they built crap on for a while and a BSA was better. Now they SEEM to be creeping back. Point is GLASS CHANGES TREMENDOUSLY from model to model and year to year. Seems to be in cycles almost. Maybe like tobacco they addict us with the good stuff and then they screw you later. Maybe I'm nutz too.

[dieselboy427]

I'll throw in my .02 Don't send the .308 to the scrap heap. It is WAY cheaper to learn Windage and Range estimation with repeated shooting. It will be more sensitive to these conditions and you will get a more defined response to your calculations. Where I'm at, we have NO trees compared to what you're used to. It is flat and pretty bare. Most anywhere, a shot at 880 is possible in any direction and some flat shots with 2-3 open miles behind it. For a non-reloader, based on availability of ammo, the 300WM is a winner. For cash sensitive reloaders, the 7mm class and the 300WM & RUM are pretty fast, "cheap" and easy and can be had in a number of quality factory rifles. I would suggest a brake though to avoid developing a flinch. For the people with a long founded addiction, 7mm, 30's, 338's, and whatever ridiculous crap you have can be loaded to deliver but they are not for everyone. I wouldn't limit my bullets to any certain weight. You would be surprised how much effect a properly sized brake has on any rifle. A 30 cal with a 230gr bullet, pushed over 3000 fps can have less recoil than your .308 with a 175smk at 2600.

P.S. Welcome to the sport. Welcome to the addiction.

[toddc]

Hard kickin 308? Why thats impossible! LOL. Worst gun I have to shoot every year is always a 308 that some guy buys a girlfriend to use. Instead of her sighting it in I just do it so she wont be flinching by the time I get her on a deer. This year it was a mossberg. Nice gun....175 gr wasnt so nice. Im a wimp I want my 338 and its brake and 30lb stock back!

[paphil]

I live not far from you so come down and shoot a 6.5-284 or a 7mm and you will find what you are looking for!