thinking about a bolt gun

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Deog

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Currently in my arsenal i mainly have lever guns, a pre66 winchester 94, jm marlin 30-30, Marlin big loop 45/70, marlin 1894 44 mag, Browning bl-22, browning blr in 300 winchester mag, not to forget about my 10-22 and old mossberg 500 that i put a pistol grip on a 18 1/2" barrel for my home defense weapon, and a Ruger Ranch
Anyway, i digress. I have a desire for a bolt gun and am having a hard time deciding on caliber and make. I really am only a pig hunter and like to go shoot in the desert for practice and fun. Really i want a bolt gun because i do not own one, and i, as most here always desire more firearms.
My calibers i am choosing between are 22-250, .243, and .270. If i hunted bigger critters i would probably choose a 30-06.
I am swaying towards the .270, as in the future i could use it for deer if need be, and it seems to be a descent longer range caliber then anything i already have.
Brands i would choose from. I have never had a problem with anything from Ruger and would consider a m77. Browning a or x bolt, Savage, winchester model 70.
Sorry for the long post, and any input would be appreciated.
Cheers
 
My favorites are the .22-250, .308, .30-06, and .300 Win Mag. I have an old Rem. 788 in .22-250 that is the most accurate rifle I own. Not finicky about ammo either; just lays them into dime sized groups at 100 yards. I have a 700 Rem. .22-250 (VSSF I think) that cost 10 times more and doesn't do any better.

I've got a Ruger M77 and another old 788 in .308. The Ruger is accurate, but the 788 drives tacks with the right ammo. I like .308 a lot. The recoil never bothers me and it seems most .308s are quite accurate.

I have a very nice Rem. 700 in .30-06. It's quite accurate (1 MOA or better at 100 yards) and it's more flexible than the .308. But, generally, .30-06s fall short of the .308 in the accuracy dept. and I've found that to be true.

I like my Ruger 77 in .300 Win Mag. Seems like it should be a bruiser, but it isn't. Powerful, accurate and flat shooting; but probably more gun than you're looking for.

There's something about .270 recoil that bothers me. Had one identical to my .30-06 and got rid of it. It wasn't as comfortable to shoot as the 06 and neither was it as accurate. Later on, a guy tried to sell me an extremely accurate M700 in .270. Shot it and got wonderful 100 yd. groups, but, again, the recoil with that rifle bugged me somehow.

If you think deer hunting is in your future, take a look at the .308. It's a sweetheart.
 
Thanks for the input. Really, if deer hunting was in my future, my 30 30 can handle that, but really i feel it just over a 100 yard gun to be accurate. And my 45/70 will kill anything, again, it really is a 100 yard gun lobbing big old projectiles.
In the end i will probably get myself a 270 and a 22-250. time will tell.
 
I would say the 243 would be best but I reload for it, the 270 would be easier to find in the stores. Either will do the job, just the 243 will spoil less meat (maybe) depending on how hot a round you use.

Rifle, no question, Savage. (Best value for the money)
Jim
 
I'd lean toward a 308 or 243 and keep it a short action. A 270 is more rifle than you need. It will do anything a 30-06 will do. You'll find more choices in budget 308 ammo and more options for quality target ammo. Even if you reload the 270 is geared as a hunting rifle, not so much as a target/plinking gun.

Your rifle choices are all over the place budget wise. For a NICE rifle, if that it what you want I'd look at the Winchester 70 or Ruger Hawkeye. If you want a budget rifle that will still shoot very good then the Ruger American would get the nod.
 
Dont rule out the Ruger American or the T/C Venture available in all popular cartridges.IMHO I like the older Rugers because of the tang safety.I think Ruger made a big mistake going with the three position safety found in their M77 line of today.....Don
 
t/c encore with a mgm barrel. mine is a 16 1/4" in 6.5 creedmoor and 20 vartarg. next two are the 357 maximum with a 19" mgm barrel and a 257 bob ai with a 21" mgm barrel.
 
I know nothing about the 257. I do have a friend with a 257 roberts but have never had a conversation about it.
I do not load my own ammo, and want something that ammo can easily be had. Still deciding between the 243 and 270.
I have been so happy with the BLR, i just might consider a BAR even thought it is not really a bolt gun.
 
If you reload I would chose the 30-06. It gives you the greatest range of use from using it as a varmint load to a bear rifle. As you mentioned for plinking in the desert this is a rifle you clan shoot easily to 1200 yards while still maintains the round above the transonic sound barrier. This rifle in my opinion is a 243, 270, and 308 rolled into one, it will shoot 85 gr bullets, all the way to 220 gr.
 
You can buy 30.06 ammo off the shelf that is loaded down to squirrel hunting levels almost. They make very light loads for that caliber and for others too. But the 30.06 has the most versatility of the rifles close to the range you said you wanted. Yes it's bigger than a .270 but in reality a .270 isn't all that different from a 30.06 these days from what I understand. But if you ever do want to hunt elk or moose or whatever you can get loads capable of doing the job with a 30.06.

A .243 is a good plinking round though. I nearly bought one myself a while back but I ended up with a CZ 453 .22. You can get a lot of range from the .243 without sacrificing your shoulder too much. Some people don't have a problem with such things and if you shoot that .45-70 very often I suspect you don't either. But some day you might. I know several guys that won't touch my 30.06 because we're all getting a bit old and shooting heavier rounds just isn't something they like a lot. I myself have a neck injury that keeps my 30.06 shooting down to about 25 rounds at a time before I get pains in the neck. I haven't shot that rifle a lot for several years now because I just prefer shooting something that won't make me pay later on. We all get to that point eventually too.
 
Bolt rifle huh? Well there is only one, It's a Mauser. All others are merely copies. Sorry, I'm predjudiced.:D
 
If its between 243 and 270,go with the 270 IMHO.Great for varmint with 100 gr bullets and many heavier bullet selections for large game.The 243 would be great for deer sized game ,but if you wanted to go after something larger it may be enough gun....Don
 
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I'd split the difference of the 243 and 270 by getting a 7mm-08. It's basically a fatter bullet version of the 243 and the ballistics are not that far off from the 270.

It is a great choice if you reload...just o.k. if you don't.
 
Guys he has a gun that will kill a polar bear and a brown bear at the same time. If he wants bigger game he can bring it down with that .45-70 easy enough. The range may not be that great but it's not a good idea to shoot a big animal from a long distance anyway IMO. The .270 is certainly a versatile round but a lot of people are shooting great targets with 6mm size bullets and the .243 is very close to that size. For plinking and target shooting they are hard to beat. And personally I'd take a 30.06 over a .270. They're very similar but the 30.06 is a little more versatile IMO. A .308 is a good choice too.

Another way to go might be a Savage Hog Hunter in .308 since he said he liked hunting hogs. They have iron sights which is a pretty good idea when going up against a passel of hogs. But the range on a gun with iron sights might be too limited for some people (like me) who's eyes aren't what they used to be.

My problem is that I like every gun I see I guess.
 
I will be honest and say that as of lately, i think the 243 is what i am going to seek out. With what i have already, for the most part i have my bases covered in various calibers of hunting guns. And honestly my Marlin 336 is my favorite gun that i own, it is just such a perfect gun, short and stout, packs a wollop and gets the job done. as i said, i only hunt hogs, and always less then 100 yards. And the 45/70 scares the crap out of pigs just knowing it is in the same area as them. 45/70 is one mean lever gun for sure.
My local GS has a Browning blr in 243 that i have been eyeing, not sure why, but i just have a thing for lever guns. I did pick up and play with a ruger m77 in 270, felt good, Also checked out a very nice old winchester 70 in 270, really liked that gun.
In the end i will get myself a 243, 270 and probably a 22-250.
Thanks for all the insight, much appreciated.
 
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