Perfect Rifle

I am updating my two twin boys rifles, they have been hunting with model 99 300 savage, since I have two of them my budget is a little stretched. I have read these posts from all of you for years and respect your input, I am looking at a rifle that can be used to hunt pronghorn antelope up to and including elk, I am a avid hand-loader but a little stumped on a rifle that will do it all ....I know I am asking a lot of a rifle for all of this...."help all of you"......

7 mag, light bullets for pronghorn, mid to heavies for elk

Or 300win mag, same deal

Or 280, or 30-06, or 270, or, or, or

Also depends on your hunting distances, well placed shots on elk under 300 yards almost any caliber will work, and age of boys

I would look at the 7-08 for a short action and the 280AI for a long action. Just depends on their age and recoil tolerance.

My son doesn't like heavy recoil. It was a 6.5 Creedmoor for him.

+1 for the 280AI. You can load it down with 140's at around 2800-2900 fps for when they are younger, and then hop it up with some 168's when they can handle more recoil. Will do everything you listed.

If you don't want to bother with a somewhat "boutique" round, the good old 270 is still a top seller for a reason. 130's loaded down, then 140-150 loaded up with RL26 will also kill big deer and Elk.

270 or 338-06. Both are very easy to reload for and recoil is mild on both

Next step up from a 300 savage for growing boys , my opinion is a 7mag.

I have grown to really like the 6.5 bullets for all the game you listed. 6.5 creedmoor or 260 rem would be fun guns. I like the 7mm08 as well.

The savage trophy hunter xp with the nikon 3-9x40 BDC package is pretty hard to beat for the value. They can be had on gunbroker for under $500. They come with the accutrigger which is pretty sweet.

I bought a 243 for my daughter and a 6.5 creedmoor for my son in that package. I have since upgraded both of their scopes and my son's 6.5 creedmoor stock to a boyds at one. Both guns shot sub moa with factory ammo right out of the box.

The ruger american is a really good gun for the money as well.

Yep, 7rm is about as good as it gets for a one rifle man. It's not too overkill for the littler critters, and it will put elk away well past 500 without an issue. If I could only own one rifle it would be a 7rm for several reasons.

I'd say the 6.5 Creedmoor and 7mm-08 would step up the power significantly from the 300 Savage, without significantly changed recoil. Both are great for medium-sized game. With good bullet selection and prudent ranges, both are capable of elk.

A reasonable step up from that, in my opinion, is the 300 WSM. It has plenty of power for elk, it can be loaded down for smaller game, and has a bit less recoil than the 7mm Rem Mag (though I like that caliber, too).

6.5 creed at reasonable ranges. Then when they are out of HS they can by a kicker if they want. 6.5 Sherman would be my vote it the end.

I bought a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 CM, with a factory rebate, sale at Cabelas and including tax, I was out the door for under $400. It shoots right at 1 MOA, sometimes better. You can shoot a pretty wide variety of bullets with it, factory ammo selection is vast and ammo is relatively inexpensive due to the craze built up around this cartridge. A 143 ELD-X is a bit light, IMO, for elk for those that aren't very experienced hunters, but can definitely do the job if placed well.

Thanks for your help guys, having someone to bounce ideas off of really helps,,,,