Rifle dilemma .270 vs 25-06 vs 6.5x55 swed

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First off sorry for your loss.
Welcome to the forum.
That is quite a conundrum you have. If it were me I'd have to choose the 6.5 x 55 especially with his reloading supplies, the 270 would probably bey second choice.
 
Yep, but can they get it to your tent before you go out at 4 in the morning?

We have to know ourselves I suppose.
If you are the type of person to wait till the last minute and buy ammunition the day before a hunt (not sure how you're going to zero your rifle in that instance), then you know that and should buy something that everyone carries ammo for.

If you are someone who actually thinks ahead, and prepares for hunting season, it shouldn't matter.

I guess one can imagine a scenario where someone does plan and something goes awry, but that is going to be so rare that I wouldn't consider it in my decision making process.

I love hunting. I can't imagine ever not going.
I really couldn't imagine waiting until the last minute to prepare.
 
If you're that unprepared, I think it's best you stay home..............:neener:

Unprepared, how about a scenario where your luggage ends up in Kenya instead of Kenai... You can lose ammo anywhere, out of your hunting coat pocket... You stay home, I just picked up some ammo at Bill & Jeans Farm, Garden, and Gunshop and I'll be in the woods huntin'... and you'll be in the hotel bar with some toothless bimbo hanging on ya. See ya round. hehehe.
 
All 3 are good choices and you couldn't go wrong with either of them. That said, I'm a .25-06 fan. My first rifle was a .25-06 and it has served me well for 40 years now. It has been used to hunt groundhogs, deer and black bear. I wouldn't hesitate to use if for Elk either.

But, the other 2 would probably work well too.
 
Unprepared, how about a scenario where your luggage ends up in Kenya instead of Kenai... You can lose ammo anywhere, out of your hunting coat pocket... You stay home, I just picked up some ammo at Bill & Jeans Farm, Garden, and Gunshop and I'll be in the woods huntin'... and you'll be in the hotel bar with some toothless bimbo hanging on ya. See ya round. hehehe.

In my book, there's no excuse for being unprepared. If your luggage ends up in Kenya, you should have packed your ammo with your rifle in the your rifle case. If you lose ammo out of your coat pocket, I'd want to know why you're carrying all of your hunting ammo in your coat pocket in the first place? If I'm not within easy driving distance to my house when I'm hunting, I bring a second rifle along. I've seen too many instances of friends and other people I've hunted with where they've dropped their rifles, fallen down on their hands and knees with their rifle in their hand while walking or climbing, etc and then there is always the question of whether the scope got jarred or knocked out of zero. It's never happened to me personally, but I've seen it so much that I've always brought a second gun with me for just in case. Two is one and one is none kinda thing. Same with ammo. If you're only bringing enough ammo to fit in your hunting coat pocket, you need to rethink. Bring a box and leave it in your truck, your ATV, your UTV, etc and carry extra rounds in your pocket. There's just no excuse for poor planning in my opinion.

If you don't reload, buy your ammo in the offseason when it's readily available and you're not fighting with thousands of other last-minute hunters trying to get the last box of 30-30 shells. Buy enough ammo in the offseason to last you to the next offseason. Don't let your ammo supply run low. Personally, I believe these are goals to strive for in all areas of your life. Keep plenty of food on hand, keep plenty of bottle water on hand, keep plenty of gasoline and stabilizer on hand, etc, etc. I'm not talking stockpiling for the apocalypse, just enough to keep you comfortable when a majority of other people are scrambling.
 
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OK, I give up, you guys win. I've never hunted in Kenai, Kenya, or dropped, jarred my rifle nor lost my ammo for that matter but you never know. Tough crowd here...

I'll still take the .270...
 
Not a bad choice there. If I were choosing on the cartridge, I'd take the 6.5x55. But on the package, probably the .270.
 
Without knowing the exact models I'd say get the .270 Win Sako with the Swaro. While I don't own a .270 anymore, it is an imminently practical cartridge for killing most anything that's made of meat. It's also the best of the three options, by far, for someone who doesn't reload.
 
Buy an inexpensive trigger pull gauge, after checking guns are unloaded, test all three. Also test for "creep" using your finger on all three. Best trigger pull wins... all three of those cartridges are winners. In addition to Whitetail: if you plan to do any varmint hunting and not keep the pelts, they are also all good.
 
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25-06, no question. Ammo is available, and not terribly expensive. It shoots flat, and still has enough energy at distance to kill just about anything on North America. The 6.5 would be fine if you reload, but if not I would pass on it. The 270 would also be fine, but if its like mine, the recoil is quite a bit stiffer than in my 25, all other things being equal. So, the 25-06 gets my vote hands down. Light weight, flat shooting, light recoiling rifle with good glass. What's not to love?

Mac
 
I am looking to purchase a rifle from my Grandfathers estate sell to be used mostly for deer hunting in Indiana, but the more I read the more I am unsure which to purchase. Any help would be appreciated as I have previously just been a shotgun/muzzleloader hunter. My choices are as follow
Sako 25-06 with Leupold Mark4 scope
Sako .27O with Swarski Scope
Steyr Safebolt 6.5x55 with Leica Er 3.5-14x42mm scope.
Wow, good options. Well I love the 6.5x55, I had a Winchester model 70 featherweight before all the 6.5 craze, but needing money and not being able to find European 6.5x55 in my area anymore, I sold it. The American stuff just doesn't cut it in 6.5 for me. Nothing wrong with 25-06 for whitetail, antelope, goat, but if it were me I'd pick the .270, it's by far the most versatile IMO
 
Buy an inexpensive trigger pull gauge, after checking guns are unloaded, test all three. Also test for "creep" using your finger on all three. Best trigger pull wins... all three of those cartridges are winners. In addition to Whitetail: if you plan to do any varmint hunting and not keep the pelts, they are also all good.
I like your thinking. Also see which one shoulders the best.
 
Buy an inexpensive trigger pull gauge, after checking guns are unloaded, test all three. Also test for "creep" using your finger on all three. Best trigger pull wins... all three of those cartridges are winners. In addition to Whitetail: if you plan to do any varmint hunting and not keep the pelts, they are also all good.
Ummmmm the only triggers I can't adjust in 15 min or less are on true throwaway guns
 
Firstly being family and told I could buy one is a blatant insult or you are not favorably liked by your family. In either case I would tell them to shove it and go buy a NIB in 308 win. Good round and win being hotter than military can also shoot military and widely available.
 
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