Which round, which rifle?

[JHKBA]

Which round, which rifle?

I am shopping for a new rifle to take to the range and hunt with. I doubt I will need anything past 600m hunting but would like to get about 1000m on a range shooting targets. *I would like it to be a semi light and packable rifle thats highly accurate out of the box or if need be can have some work done to be a very good reliable rifle. While price is a concern it's lower on the list of importance.*

I have looked at a variety of calibers from .260, .270, .280, .308, 6.5 creedmore, 7mm, 30-06, and 300win mag and feel a .308 would be the most practical round seeing as there is a large selection of ammo available. *I also shoot this round regularly in the military out of a m110, so I am more familiar with it. * But I am not totally sold and am more then willing to look at or reconsider other rounds.

My biggest problem is which rifle to go with...I have been looking *closely at a remington 700 or a sako a7/trg22 or a kimber and I have learned a little about the savages with interchanging barrels that has some appeal since I would be able to change between, say a .308 and .300 win mag? Maybe the 6.5 creedmore as well. A AR style is also an option but I have not researched them

And then I have some areas that I do not know a lot about but would be interested in finding more information such as, would you recommend a muzzle break? Recrowning?changes to the trigger? What stock would go well with this if not the factory? Or any other suggestions for improvement?*

Thank you for your time and opinions and help!*

 

[diriel]

To be honest, the good old 25-06 is a stone cold killing machine out to right about 550m or so, and it is pretty reasonable on recoil. You have to reload to get that kind of performance I believe. The Berger 115 bullets and H1000 or H4831SC, or IMR7828SSC are really nice.

That being said, if you can tolerate the recoil of the 300wm then it will hammer out to right around 1k or so... for a certain series of "Prices"

The 7mm RM of course is also great..

The 30-06 "is never a mistake" according to the immortal Townsend Wheelen.

The 6.5's are really nice, and I am very much a fan of them. The .260, 6.5 Creedmore, and the 6.5x47 Lapua are all very nice, and would likely do what you need.

While I love the .308, for me it more or less runs out of steam around 450m or so for conservative shots on animals. I do not enjoy tracking wounded animals for hours on end.

Decisions and Choices!
Gary

 

[roninflag]

a remington sendero or 5-r. 7mm mag or 300 win mag. soon er or later you will want to reload your own.

 

[nateisw]

There are lots of calibers that will meet your needs, but I would suggest either a 30-06 or 7mm rem mag. Both are very popular calibers with a large selection of bullets and don't have crazy recoil.
I have a Savage 116 in 7mm rem mag that I really like. It was pretty cheap and shoots one MOA with cheap Winchester ammo with a Bushnell elite 4200 scope on it and I'm sure its capable of shooting tighter groups with more expensive ammo or if I learned how to handload and figured out what the gun really likes, but it's present accuracy more than meets my needs for hunting.
My advice is to buy a savage and the best scope you can afford and from there you can upgrade the barrel and stock if you're not happy with its out of the box performance.
Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[BountyHunter]

I would suggest you look at the savage rifles. Several models that would suffice depending on your weight limits. the palma, F class or one of the varmint models. All at $1000 or under

308 is by far easier to load and get to shoot and you are already familiar with the ballistics. However, for LR in the 308 the go to bullet has turned out to be the Berger 185 which is much better than the 118LR or the 175 SMK. Will be flatter and hold inside the wind compared to the others.

Second barrel in any caliber for LR hunting can be had for $300 chambered. Add another $30 for interchangable bolt face. Even second stock can be had for little money.

As for second caliber, you want at least the 300 Win mag, 300 WSM or larger or a 7mm of at least 7mm Rem mag size. If a 7mm you want the long throat for the 180s. Prechambered barrel can be hand throated by competant smith for the longer bullet.

Go to www.savageshooters.com to see all the options and vendors of barrels, stocks and guns.

BH

 

[liltank]

No contest, the TRG 22 would be my choice hands down! If you can afford it.... get it!

 

[JHKBA]

So I am following some of the leads on savages but really would like some info on a sako? And also really reconsidering a 7mm

 

[diriel]

Sako flat out makes a GOOD rifle, no ifs ands or buts about it. I am not a Sako fanboi or anything like that, in fact I am a bit of a "Whore" in that I like many different brands Savage is good, Winchester is solid these days, Howa / Vanguard are sweet shooters as well. I have a friend who bought a Tikka in 25-06 and it shoots very well out of the box with oem ammo.

7mmRM is an absolute time proven performer no doubt about it. The 7mm WSM as chambered by Winchester is also rock solid. Hard to go wrong for sure. Another real nice round is the 270 WSM, just sort of fyi.

The Ruger American Rifle™ Bolt-Action Rifle Models
This looks promising .... I have no first hand experience with it, but from what I have read, and from what I can discern it really might become a nice hunters tool! I am really seriously considering picking one up to tinker with gun)

Good Shooting sir,
Gary

 

[Fred Ea]

I would seriously consider a 7mm Rem. Mag., you can get ammo almost anywhere, they are accurate and powerful. Your bullet selection is very good also. The more you shoot, the more you will want to reload and that is were you can pick up at little more power and accuracy and quality bullets. Now all you have to do is pick the make of rifle you want, I like Remington 700's and Winchester model 70's, but there are a lot of good quality rifles out there now of many manufacturers. I don't thing there is a bad choice, just your personal preference.lightbulb
FE

 

[Fred Ea]

Sako flat out makes a GOOD rifle, no ifs ands or buts about it. I am not a Sako fanboi or anything like that, in fact I am a bit of a "Whore" in that I like many different brands Savage is good, Winchester is solid these days, Howa / Vanguard are sweet shooters as well. I have a friend who bought a Tikka in 25-06 and it shoots very well out of the box with oem ammo.

7mmRM is an absolute time proven performer no doubt about it. The 7mm WSM as chambered by Winchester is also rock solid. Hard to go wrong for sure. Another real nice round is the 270 WSM, just sort of fyi.

The Ruger American Rifle™ Bolt-Action Rifle Models
This looks promising .... I have no first hand experience with it, but from what I have read, and from what I can discern it really might become a nice hunters tool! I am really seriously considering picking one up to tinker with
Good Shooting sir,
Gary

diriel,
I looked a the new ruger the past weekend and it has a super smooth action, smoother than a M77, but I am a traditionalist, I didn't like the stock on it, didn't feel good and lacks in looks, but I doubt that will hurt performance at all. Overall looked to be a very nice rifle.
FE

 

[LouBoyd]

It seem s to me that if you're shooting an M110 regularly you shouldn't need advice from this group. You haven't mentioned what terrain, conditions, distances, and targets you want to shoot. I'd just take every opportunity to shoot the M110 and absorb all the training you can convince the military to give you.

There is no best rifle or cartridge. Only some that are more suitable for certain applications than others. Take the opportunity you're being given to learn all you can to make yourself the best shooter you can. Then you'll make a better choice for yourself than anyone can recommend for you.

 

[JHKBA]

There isn't a military rifle I would take hunting. The m110 has way to much weight and rails to make it a practical hunter. And I don't like where the charging handle is. It does it's job and accommodates all the accessories that you can find for it but I won't be using a night optic or a suppressor or even need a semi-auto. And the biggest thing is that it isn't mine, it doesn't come home with me.

I'm just looking for something that shoots a sub 1" moa has good recoil is going to work forever and be something I am proud of in a rifle.

 

[diriel]

@FE - Thanks for the input on the Ruger American! I think I will pick up one of those in .308 to play with.

Ok back on topic:

Since you mentioned the Sako TRG...hey those things are seriously well built. If you can afford one it would be real tough to beat.

The next on my personal list would likely be a Winchester, or a Howa if we are talking about magnums.

Gary

 

[liltank]

You need to understand... I am a huge fan of Savage, but if I ever had a chance to sell my Savage and get a Sako TRG22, I would do it in a heartbeat. They are currently used by many European nations as the issued sniper rifle. They are built to last and accurate. If you want a good Savage, then choose any of the Model 12 models in .308 or any of the Military/Police model 10's. The Mod 12FV in SS is a great starting platform and really only needs a stock upgrade. There are a bunch of options out there.

Tank