MidTNhunter

Congrats to your son for taking his first buck! The .308 and 30-06 are iconic and proven deer calibers and the heavier 165 to 180 grain cartridges excel for closer like 100 yards and in work on deer. Personally I prefer the 165 and 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt tipped cartridges in my Remington 700 bolt action in 30-06, super accurate even at longer 100-250 yards, but because they are heavier and slower than a lot of the .243 cartridges you will get better bullet expansion especially at the closer ranges. The recoil is greater than a .243 or .270 but overall the .308 and 30-06 are the best all around deer calibers for many and the ammo is abundant and not so pricey.

Yes this is a good place!

This is a well run range and the range officers keep things safe, every time I've been there, unfortunately I believe it is only open on Friday-Sunday, be sure and check operating hours before you go!

Agreed, back in the day they were solid performers, but now hard to get parts magazines, etc... Like you I would love to get a newer BAR mark III in 30-06 for closer in big timber deer hunting!

Agreed, it's an excellent 100 yard and closer deer rifle allowing quick follow up shots when necessary.

Agreed, and the ammo is always easiest to come by.

My first I bought was in 1983, a new remington 700 in 30-06, 40 years later I still hunt with this action and barrel and its still a great deer rifle. I've recently did a thorough copper defouling of the barrel and replaced the stock with a long action Magpul stock with 5 round magazine, the Magpul stock truly floats the barrel and it is more accurate than ever with the 165 grain Remington core-lokt tipped cartridge (after trying multiple different brands and types of cartridges). Over the years I've taken deer also with the 150 & 180 core lokt with pointed soft point cartridges but the newer tipped core lokt cartridges are much more accurate and repeatable at all yardages especially noticeable at 100-250 yards.

This is great advice and I've had friends that I hunt lease property with also not have great bullet expansion at close in range shooting the 130 grain Hornady round you mentioned in the .270, we agreed that the lighter and faster 130 is better suited for over 100 yard shots at deer and the slower and heavier 150 grain would be best at the closer ranges. One buddy took a huge 182" Boone & Crockett in 2020 and it took him putting 4 of the 130 grain bullets through the bucks boiler room, all inside 45 yards to put the deer down for good! And yes we caped the deer out and confirmed all 4 bullets entry and exit holes were through the deers vital chest cavity. Long story short the .270 guys have switched to the heavier weight .270 cartridges with better success since.

This is great advice! thanks

Congrats on the new 700 remington in .270, its a very accurate gun and the .270 is used by several long term hunting buds with great success over the years! Its a flatter shooting caliber than my 30-06 but the .270 is a very capable deer cartridge. If you will be shooting deer at over 100 yards stick with the lighter 130 ish grain cartridges that are faster fps velocity and flatter trajectory, but inside 100 yards go with the slower 150 grain cartridges that will give the bullet a bit more time to expand upon impact with a deer's vitals. Two friends that use the 700 shooting .270 at closer ranges we experience at our hunting lease have had to switch to the 150 grain cartridges due to not optimal expansion with 130 grain (good killing shots but requiring follow up shots on larger bucks). Good luck and hope this helps!

Thanks for the 2023 gun show info!