New gun advice...

[jdk81]

I am looking into getting a new rifle. The rifles I currently own are a Remington 700 BDL 30-06 and a Savage Stevens 200 .223.

What should my next caliber be? I am thinking either a .243 or maybe a .270. I have looked online and I have found that there are a lot of good guns out there. I am looking for something that will shoot good out of the box. My Stevens shoots <1" at 100 yards. I am very happy with that since it cost me $275 for the whole setup.

What should I look for? A Remington 700 SPS tactical? Savage model 14 FV? I want something that if I choose to do so, I can build upon it (new stock, trigger, etc) if I decide to. I know 700's are VERY good actions. I do not want to have to build upon it right away. I do not reload at the moment.

I want something that will give me under MOA out of the box. Also what caliber I should buy?

Thanks

 

[MudRunner2005]

How about a good middle of the road caliber....Like a .25-06, 7mm-08, or 6.5-284 Norma?

If you don't have any magnums, the 7mm Remington Magnum is always a classic. Or .257 Weatherby.

As for rifle brands, I am partial in my centerfires. I prefer Remington 700's, but also own a Browning A-Bolt II 7mm Rem Mag, and a Weatherby Mark V Accumark in .257 Wby.

If you want accuracy and 1 MOA or less out of the box, I would look into the Remington 700 Sendero SF II in 7mm Rem Mag or .300 WinMag. Or a Remington 700 5R MilSpec in a .308 Win or .300 WinMag.

 

[jdk81]

What would you recommend? I am open to anything and everything. Primary uses will be deer hunting, target shooting, and varmint control. Whatever I need it to do, accurately.

 

[MudRunner2005]

How experienced of a hunter are you?

Do you get buck fever and tend to shake and have the tendency to not calmly think things through which can lead to potentially making not-so-great shots (gut shots or shoulder shots)? If so, get a bigger more forgiving caliber, like the 300 WinMag that will punch through that shoulder.

If you are a calm experienced hunter who takes his time lining up his shots, checks his shot angle, and visualizes where it will enter and exit at, and know what vitals he's going to hit and where they're located behind the shoulder (not IN the shoulder)....Then a smaller caliber will be fine like a .25-06, .257 Wby, or a .257 Roberts +P.

I like .257 and 7mm calibers, personally. But I also have .22 calibers, and .30 and .338 calibers as well.

 

[jdk81]

I would consider myself experienced. I do not shake anymore at all. I guess I am wanting a gun that is small-ish caliber and can be effective at long range. Like a 25-06 maybe? One that will shoot a decently flat trajectory, and can be capable of hitting paper at long ranges. Also, factory ammo availability and quality is a factor.

Also, in Iowa you cannot use a caliber smaller than a .243 for deer.

 

[jdk81]

A 25-06 sounds like it would be best for my intended uses I believe.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I would consider myself experienced. I do not shake anymore at all. I guess I am wanting a gun that is small-ish caliber and can be effective at long range. Like a 25-06 maybe? One that will shoot a decently flat trajectory, and can be capable of hitting paper at long ranges. Also, factory ammo availability and quality is a factor.

Also, in Iowa you cannot use a caliber smaller than a .243 for deer.

.25-06 will be a good deer caliber for 100-500 yards. And if you up the ante to the .25-06 Ackley Improved, you can get .257 Wby performance out of a standard case, instead of jumping up to a magnum case, which is what I'm fixing to do with my Sendero .25-06 barrel I have for my newest build. I will be having the chamber reamed out to .25-06 A.I.

Personally, I wouldn't shoot a deer with the .25-06 past about 650, same for a .257 Wby Mag. Not because they won't shoot further, but because of how light that bullet is, so at distance, it won't retain the mass of a heavier larger bullet. The calibers can effectively be shot out to 1,000+ on smaller animals like varmints and stuff that are really small and easy to kill.

I have been talking with Berger, in hopes they will make a true LR VLD for the .257 calibers (130gr) with some extra umph to be able to take deer sized game out to around 750 yards or so.....But so far to no avail. So I will keep shooting the 115 VLD's and 110 Accubonds for now.

I hope Berger will make us some 130 VLD's for LR shooting soon.

 

[BrentM]

7mm-08 is a pretty sweet caliber too.

6.5-284 is what I am shooting for a LR rifle and I love it. I do reload however.

Another option is the 260.

If I were in your shoes and wanted over the counter ammo and LR high BC bullets, I would go 260 in Savage. My buddy has one and is pushing a 140 Berger at 2850-2880 with a 26" barrel. My 6.5-284 pushes a 140 Berger at 2970 in a 24".

I am kind of in a love affair with the 6.5 bullets right now for some reason.