Buddy wants one rifle for everything...?

terry 338rum · Dec 28, 2021

for some reason people have gotten the idea that a 6.5 will replace every gun from a BB gun to a cannon and it will not. if you want to hunt deer to moose buy enough gun to do the job. a 300wm or a 338wm should be your gun because you want to kill an animal not wound him and hope to find.

5.56×250 · Dec 28, 2021

Shane Lindsey said:
I would lean towards a plain old 30-06. Ammo and components speak for themselves. Plenty for killing our further than stated.
Scour the classifieds for glass as mentioned. Maybe a VX3-LR or a Vortex in the HST line.

although as mentioned just scour classifieds.

https://www.longrangehunting.com/th...he 300wm recoil in his other rig ? a7.288548/

Austringer · Dec 28, 2021

Savage axis 30-06 with nightforce SHV 4-16 F1. Slap on a Timney trigger and your away in a canter. It's not fancy but fulfills most of your stated objectives. Sub moa with both Winchester XP copper, Nosler E-Tip and Barnes TSX (And TTSX). Tack driver with lead Hornady Superformance. He can get the lot and a box or two of factory ammo with a little change if he looks around. When it proves itself to him he may reward it with a Boyd's stock and metal trigger guard.

rustyshackleford · Dec 28, 2021

30-06 tikka. Just a quick glance around and they're on gunbroker all day long for 675$, eurooptic demo section has a 3-15x44 PST G2 for 679$ so he'd still have 150$ for rings and a base. No problem at 400 with velocity or energy for even moose and I'm sure I berger 180 elite hunter at 2750 would get him to 1200 on paper. And if you're too busy to load once you know he can go buy ammo for himself

a_savage02 · Dec 28, 2021

entoptics said:
1) All ungulates to 400 yds (deer mostly, but elk, moose, etc will almost certainly be tackled occasionally).

2) Steel and paper to 800 plus (occasionally out to 1200 just for giggles on big targets).

3) $1500 for scope and rifle.

4) Factory rifle most likely (see #3).

5) I'll load for him, perhaps indefinitely, but reasonably common factory ammo is a must.

6) He only hunts with lead free. So it needs to have a good factory option in copper (see #5). He's cool with slinging lead at paper/steel, but verboten on animals.

7) He can handle recoil, but I'd like to steer him towards "a bit more than minimum" that will get the job done, so a factory rifle with a brake is a high priority, but not a deal breaker.

So...

Rifle?

Scope?

Cartridge?

I have my own opinions, but would love to hear from the peanut gallery. Just stay in the lane. None of the above 7 points can be violated and keep him happy. He's not a high volume shooter, but I'd like to push him that direction, so keep economy in mind too

300 PRC, 300win mag, or even a trusty 30-06. All have plenty factory ammo.

Rifle I wanna say probably a savage 110 there is plenty of 110 variants that you can find between 750-1000 bucks with threaded muzzles if you wanna buy a break on it.

For scope I stick with vortex. The new vortex venom you can find for 549 on sale. Or I have seen the viper pst I think on sale recently for 699.

I'm no expert just my 2 cents if I was gonna spend 1500. And for people that say 30-06 can shoot 1200 yards people are still shooting 1200 yards with 308 so a 30-06 will do it also. Not the best ballistics but it'll still do it.

motrapper · Dec 28, 2021

300 win mag checking Local Classifieds
I was lucky enough last week to get a Ruger RPR 300 win mag with Vortex Strike eagle 5x25. Atlas PSR bipod, Warne Precision skyline 1 piece rings, Vortex bubble level and New TAC Six gun case for 1,500.00.
And Now there is a Remington 700 Tactical fluted barrel 300 WM for 800.00 just keep looking

22250imp · Dec 28, 2021

entoptics said:
1) All ungulates to 400 yds (deer mostly, but elk, moose, etc will almost certainly be tackled occasionally).

2) Steel and paper to 800 plus (occasionally out to 1200 just for giggles on big targets).

3) $1500 for scope and rifle.

4) Factory rifle most likely (see #3).

5) I'll load for him, perhaps indefinitely, but reasonably common factory ammo is a must.

6) He only hunts with lead free. So it needs to have a good factory option in copper (see #5). He's cool with slinging lead at paper/steel, but verboten on animals.

7) He can handle recoil, but I'd like to steer him towards "a bit more than minimum" that will get the job done, so a factory rifle with a brake is a high priority, but not a deal breaker.

So...

Rifle?

Scope?

Cartridge?

I have my own opinions, but would love to hear from the peanut gallery. Just stay in the lane. None of the above 7 points can be violated and keep him happy. He's not a high volume shooter, but I'd like to push him that direction, so keep economy in mind too.

I would suggest a 30 caliber, 300 win mag, 30 nosler, or maybe a 300 short mag. The big 30's are such a versatile cartridge. You can load light to heavy bullets for what ever game you are going after. Not many other calibers offer such a spread of different bullets.

NW Sportsman · Dec 28, 2021

entoptics said:
1) All ungulates to 400 yds (deer mostly, but elk, moose, etc will almost certainly be tackled occasionally).

2) Steel and paper to 800 plus (occasionally out to 1200 just for giggles on big targets).

3) $1500 for scope and rifle.

4) Factory rifle most likely (see #3).

5) I'll load for him, perhaps indefinitely, but reasonably common factory ammo is a must.

6) He only hunts with lead free. So it needs to have a good factory option in copper (see #5). He's cool with slinging lead at paper/steel, but verboten on animals.

7) He can handle recoil, but I'd like to steer him towards "a bit more than minimum" that will get the job done, so a factory rifle with a brake is a high priority, but not a deal breaker.

So...

Rifle?

Scope?

Cartridge?

I have my own opinions, but would love to hear from the peanut gallery. Just stay in the lane. None of the above 7 points can be violated and keep him happy. He's not a high volume shooter, but I'd like to push him that direction, so keep economy in mind too.

I prefer a .300 WIN. Mag or a .300 Rem. Ultra mag. I have shoulder joint replacements so I have a Benelli R 1 in .300 Win Mag. This setup has more of a push than kick. Leupold 3 to 9 scope.

DJ Fergus · Dec 28, 2021

7mm rem mag or 6.5 prc. I prefer 7mm rem mag over the 6.5 prc but accurate ammo is more likely to be had at a better price than accurate 7mm rem mag ammo. I would say 6.5 prc is the way to go for him. It does hurt to say that

.

ducky · Dec 28, 2021

entoptics said:
@memtb I think 338WM is a bit more than needed. He already has an old Winchester 670 in 300WM. It shoots OK, but he's looking for something a little more modern, and is excited about just "getting a new rifle".

So make his old 670 more modern, $1500 will go further just getting a stock and optics. One of the McMillan Game series stocks start at $500 for standard fill, PT&G Stealth bottom metal are $150, that leaves you $750 to buy a magazine and some optics.

My last budget build went $2300 but I couldn't have bought a factory rifle I was looking for for that. That included buying a used rifle, Greyboe Trekker stock, Warne Mountain Tech rings and base, Used NF 3-10X42, Trigger Tech Primary trigger, and some gunsmithing work to mount my suppressor and fix some minor inlet issues with the stock. I'm very happy with how my rifle turned out (9 lbs suppressed), and I'll put more money into it eventually with some sort of coating and maybe eventually a DBM.

For your buddies budget I'd be looking at some T3x Tikka in a cartridge he's interested in and use the rest of the money on optics and mounts. Realistically that'll be the most bang for his buck. I wouldn't call it a significant improvement over a good shooting Winchester.

wkdwdg66 · Dec 28, 2021

DCBenn88 said:
1200 yds isn't a stretch for a 30-06 I've shot at that distance and then some with mine never had an issue, you get better ballistics than a .308.

My old 1SG who teaches long range shooting bangs a gong at 1500 yds with his factory Savage 20 inch 308 just to show people it can be done. The only thing he did to the rifle was bed it and put on a vortex.

ridgewalker · Dec 28, 2021

If moose are included, I would go 30 caliber where you could load tough quality 200 grain bullets. Also often where there are moose, there are big brown man eaters, so bigger is better IMO.
I've used the Barnes 165 TTSX out of a 300WM Tikka quite a bit and it has worked well on coyotes to elk. An acquaintance I know used my load on a cow elk and killed two with one shot. So be cautious about what is behind your target.
The Tikka punches one hole 3 shot groups at 100 m consistently.
Also you can find factory ammo almost anywhere in the world after the airline loses your handloads!

One rifle caliber for everything was OK when I could only afford 1, but as I am much older and can afford a bit more, I vastly prefer more specialized calibers. Best of luck with one caliber for everything!

richhymas · Dec 28, 2021

entoptics said:
1) All ungulates to 400 yds (deer mostly, but elk, moose, etc will almost certainly be tackled occasionally).

2) Steel and paper to 800 plus (occasionally out to 1200 just for giggles on big targets).

3) $1500 for scope and rifle.

4) Factory rifle most likely (see #3).

5) I'll load for him, perhaps indefinitely, but reasonably common factory ammo is a must.

6) He only hunts with lead free. So it needs to have a good factory option in copper (see #5). He's cool with slinging lead at paper/steel, but verboten on animals.

7) He can handle recoil, but I'd like to steer him towards "a bit more than minimum" that will get the job done, so a factory rifle with a brake is a high priority, but not a deal breaker.

So...

Rifle?

Scope?

Cartridge?

I have my own opinions, but would love to hear from the peanut gallery. Just stay in the lane. None of the above 7 points can be violated and keep him happy. He's not a high volume shooter, but I'd like to push him that direction, so keep economy in mind too.

300 win mag hands down. Please don't go smaller than 7 mag if you are shooting elk and moose. I would use at least 2-3 different bullets based on the intent. 215 Berger would be the go to for long range steel and paper. For hunting inside 400 yards I would recommend a more solid bullet construction for elk and moose. 300 win mag has a huge variety of options factory. The 190 sierra match kings in factory gold medal match are a pretty good option for long range factory target.

strikeforce32 · Dec 28, 2021

entoptics said:
1) All ungulates to 400 yds (deer mostly, but elk, moose, etc will almost certainly be tackled occasionally).

2) Steel and paper to 800 plus (occasionally out to 1200 just for giggles on big targets).

3) $1500 for scope and rifle.

4) Factory rifle most likely (see #3).

5) I'll load for him, perhaps indefinitely, but reasonably common factory ammo is a must.

6) He only hunts with lead free. So it needs to have a good factory option in copper (see #5). He's cool with slinging lead at paper/steel, but verboten on animals.

7) He can handle recoil, but I'd like to steer him towards "a bit more than minimum" that will get the job done, so a factory rifle with a brake is a high priority, but not a deal breaker.

So...

Rifle?

Scope?

Cartridge?

I have my own opinions, but would love to hear from the peanut gallery. Just stay in the lane. None of the above 7 points can be violated and keep him happy. He's not a high volume shooter, but I'd like to push him that direction, so keep economy in mind too.

With the budget in mind, and 400 being the barrier on game, I don't see any reason to move past the .308Win.

I'd probably get it in a Savage 16 and top it off with a ZEISS V4 Conquest 6-24x50.

I actually have a Remington 700 set up this way. It shoots 1 ragged hole with the Nosler 165 E-Tip ammunition (and even better with the Hornady SST).

I believe it checked all of the boxes:
Lead free factory ammunition is available
Match grade factory ammunition also
Minimal recoil
Targets out to 1200 should be no problem
400 for elk/moose is getting to the limit but capable

Buddy wants one rifle for everything...?

terry 338rum

Well-Known Member

5.56×250

Well-Known Member

Austringer

New Member

rustyshackleford

Well-Known Member

a_savage02

Well-Known Member

motrapper

Well-Known Member

22250imp

Well-Known Member

NW Sportsman

Active Member

DJ Fergus

Well-Known Member

ducky

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wkdwdg66

Well-Known Member

ridgewalker

Well-Known Member

richhymas

Well-Known Member

strikeforce32

Member

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