New Deer Rifle

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, DaveTN said:

The new Model 70’s have the controlled Round feed of the Pre-64’s. But doing either with a quality scope for a grand would be a challenge. From 65 to present in used should be doable.

And I’ll say this… I haven’t put them head to head in a controlled test yet, and my Model 70 Super Grade is an absolute beauty, but I don’t think it can outshoot my Remington 700 VLS. A 700 is going to be his best bet in a high quality rifle and a high quality scope for a grand or under....IMO.

I bought a nice pre 64 Winchester in 30-06 a while back for $850. It came with super grade sling swivels and a 3-9 Redfield scope. It’ll shoot with anyone’s deer rifle.

[swiley383]

Hard to beat a 308. Accurate, versatile, not bad recoil, huge verity of loads. Check the Rugar american, Savage axis, Mossberg patriot ( I have the patriot in 308). Should be able to find a package deal for under $500 and mine is a wood stock.

Edited November 20, 2019 by swiley383

[pop pop]

I have fallen prey to all the hype about the old/new again 6.5 Creedmoor. Been scouring the internet about that caliber along with the 260 Remington. I will be going to my local gun store later this week. They have a Thanksgiving weekend customer appreciation day coming up on the 25 the through the 27th of November. They usually have a Ruger factory rep, among other brand reps, on hand and the Rugers are on sale at good prices(30% Off new). Going to go a couple days early so I won't need to face the crowd, and know what I am looking for before sale day. This gun store moves a lot of firearms and he has the best prices around our area. For sure on the customer appreciation sale.

With all my searching I am not real sure I am not going to purchase one of the well known calibers in 308, 270 or 30 06. My Weatherby Vanguard 06 was a real good rifle, and had the best trigger I have ever felt. My grandson, who I gave it too last Christmas, has fallen in love with it. He has researched the caliber all year and has made himself very knowledgeable on the 06 caliber. His dad has a 270. I will not be shooting over 200 to 300 yards, if I ever hunt again and know those calibers will not be the flash in the paints and fade in the future. From what I have gleaned, from my searching, is the 308 and 6.5 are somewhat comparable, with a slight edge to the 308 (Maybe), and the 270 and 06 are a bit better than the 260 or 6.5, which the Creedmoor sure is the favorite flavor for now.

What is your thoughts on my choices? Tell me if my analysis is wrong, and why. If you were purchasing a new rifle now, what would it be? I have expressed my thoughts.

[deerslayer]

The 6.5CM is a fantastic round, but if you are inside 300 yards, its only advantage over the .260 is a bigger selection of factory ammo.  In fact, it doesn't matter too much which deer round you choose for hunting in TN if you zero your rifle at 200 yards and plan to shoot no more than 300.  .270, .280, .260, 6.5, .308, 7 Mag, whatever.  Pick the one that sounds the coolest or the one your grandfather swore by or whatever.  I do disagree with Rob's statement that anything that starts with "2" is ok in TN.  A .223 is getting mighty iffy.  Just because it has been done does not mean it should be tried again.  As for which rifle, plenty has been said already.  However, if I were buying new, the first rifle I would look at would be the Bergara B-14 series.  Which scope?  A Leupold VX-3i 3-9x40, which is or will soon be on sale at Bass Pro for $299.  No need to get a 14x or 20x scope unless you are shooting waaay past 300 yards.  

[gregintenn]

58 minutes ago, pop pop said:

I have fallen prey to all the hype about the old/new again 6.5 Creedmoor. Been scouring the internet about that caliber along with the 260 Remington. I will be going to my local gun store later this week. They have a Thanksgiving weekend customer appreciation day coming up on the 25 the through the 27th of November. They usually have a Ruger factory rep, among other brand reps, on hand and the Rugers are on sale at good prices(30% Off new). Going to go a couple days early so I won't need to face the crowd, and know what I am looking for before sale day. This gun store moves a lot of firearms and he has the best prices around our area. For sure on the customer appreciation sale.

With all my searching I am not real sure I am not going to purchase one of the well known calibers in 308, 270 or 30 06. My Weatherby Vanguard 06 was a real good rifle, and had the best trigger I have ever felt. My grandson, who I gave it too last Christmas, has fallen in love with it. He has researched the caliber all year and has made himself very knowledgeable on the 06 caliber. His dad has a 270. I will not be shooting over 200 to 300 yards, if I ever hunt again and know those calibers will not be the flash in the paints and fade in the future. From what I have gleaned, from my searching, is the 308 and 6.5 are somewhat comparable, with a slight edge to the 308 (Maybe), and the 270 and 06 are a bit better than the 260 or 6.5, which the Creedmoor sure is the favorite flavor for now.

What is your thoughts on my choices? Tell me if my analysis is wrong, and why. If you were purchasing a new rifle now, what would it be? I have expressed my thoughts.

You will never be able to tell any difference in any of the calibers you’ve mentioned when shooting a deer. People do not realize how small the difference between high power rifle calibers actually is. You hit a deer in the vitals with any of them and you will be putting venison in the freezer. It isn’t that complicated.

Many cartridges are either considered long action or short action, and are based on the parent cases of the 30-06(long action) and the 308(short action).

The 30-06 family includes the 25-06, 6.5-06, 280 Remington, 30-06, 8mm-06, and 35 Whelen.

The 308 family includes the 243Win, 260 Rem, 7mm-08, 308Win, etc.

I’ve read many arguments on which is better...the 270 Win.  versus the 280 Remington for example. These share the same case. One bullet is .007mm larger in diameter than the other. Side by side, you almost need a dial caliper to tell which bullet is which. No way is there any real practical difference between the two rounds.

New cartridges are introduced and touted by manufacturers mainly to increase sales.

Edited November 20, 2019 by gregintenn

[deerslayer]

And I kept harping about 300 yards because you mentioned 300 but also it’s the max distance a competent hunter should shoot at game under hunting conditions without seriously researching, dialing in, and practicing with their rifle, IMO.  

Edited November 20, 2019 by deerslayer

[Johnny Rotten]

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/845651877

Simple great gun for deer hunting with tons of accessories available to customize to your preference.

I have a 700p (308) and have killed a few at 450yds but most around 200yrds

 

[Ronald_55]

29 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

You will never be able to tell any difference in any of the calibers you’ve mentioned when shooting a deer. People do not realize how small the difference between high power rifle calibers actually is. You hit a deer in the vitals with any of them and you will be putting venison in the freezer. It isn’t that complicated.

Many cartridges are either considered long action or short action, and are based on the parent cases of the 30-06(long action) and the 308(short action).

The 30-06 family includes the 25-06, 6.5-06, 280 Remington, 30-06, 8mm-06, and 35 Whelen.

The 308 family includes the 243Win, 260 Rem, 7mm-08, 308Win, etc.

I’ve read many arguments on which is better...the 270 Win.  versus the 280 Remington for example. These share the same case. One bullet is .007mm larger in diameter than the other. Side by side, you almost need a dial caliper to tell which bullet is which. No way is there any real practical difference between the two rounds.

New cartridges are introduced and touted by manufacturers mainly to increase sales.

In fact comparing .308 v .30-06 specifically, my FIL's reloading books call for the exact same bullet to reload each. I know muzzle velocity and such differ, but as you said not enough to matter hunting whitetail. 

I have a .30-06 and a .308. I pretty much always pick up the .308. In my case though it is because that rifle is lighter and far more capable than I am at any distance I can see game in the areas I hunt. And this from a guy that grew up with my dad carrying a .45 and hunting deer with a .444. Overdoing it is in my DNA. lol

[gregintenn]

7 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

In fact comparing .308 v .30-06 specifically, my FIL's reloading books call for the exact same bullet to reload each. I know muzzle velocity and such differ, but as you said not enough to matter hunting whitetail. 

I have a .30-06 and a .308. I pretty much always pick up the .308. In my case though it is because that rifle is lighter and far more capable than I am at any distance I can see game in the areas I hunt. And this from a guy that grew up with my dad carrying a .45 and hunting deer with a .444. Overdoing it is in my DNA. lol

I don’t think they’d differ over about 100fps. With some bullets, they are virtually the same.

[E4 No More]

My :

If you don't intend to hunt much then I assume you'll be target shooting it a lot: therefore get the caliber that costs you less to feed it.

[DaveTN]

1 minute ago, E4 No More said:

My :

If you don't intend to hunt much then I assume you'll be target shooting it a lot: therefore get the caliber that costs you less to feed it.

Prezactly!

That's why I wouldn't want a designer caliber. .308, 30-06, .243 won't break the bank. .223 is about as cheap as you can get, and makes a great target round, but I wouldn't think most would want it for a deer round.

[Quavodus]

On 11/17/2019 at 2:15 PM, robtattoo said:

Were I in your position, I'd scroll down to the classifieds & not hesitate to buy @bluemailman53 Savage .260

It's ballistically identical to the 6.5 manbun & quite frankly, an astonishingly good deal!

 

That would be a awesome rifle for somebody.

[pop pop]

Guess this is my lucky day. I just received a Black Friday sale paper from, Bass Pro, which has a Savage Axis X P Bolt action rifle package with a factory mounted, and bore sighted Weaver 3-9x40 rifle scope on it. It is priced, after a 75.00 rebate for 199.97. It comes in 8 calibers. Sounds interesting. Do any of you know anything about the Savage Axis X P rifles? 

[Handsome Rob]

16 minutes ago, pop pop said:

Guess this is my lucky day. I just received a Black Friday sale paper from, Bass Pro, which has a Savage Axis X P Bolt action rifle package with a factory mounted, and bore sighted Weaver 3-9x40 rifle scope on it. It is priced, after a 75.00 rebate for 199.97. It comes in 8 calibers. Sounds interesting. Do any of you know anything about the Savage Axis X P rifles? 

Lots. My 6.5 Swede is built around an Axis action. I'm a massive fan of the platform.

But......

The action is great. Literally every other part of the firearm is cheaply built & it feels like it. Nothing (other than barrels) ate interchangeable with the 110 series, aftermarket support is almost non existent (besides Boyd's stocks) & although they're typically 'Savage accurate' they're really, really cheap feeling. I doubt you'd like it at all, to be honest. Nothing like a higher end Savage.

I've dumped enough money into mine to have bought 2 Remington 700s now, but I had an idea in mind & well, we all know how that goes! Literally the only stock part is the action body itself.

Edited November 21, 2019 by robtattoo

[DaveTN]

37 minutes ago, pop pop said:

Do any of you know anything about the Savage Axis X P rifles? 

https://www.chuckhawks.com/savage_edge.htm

[Handsome Rob]

This is one time I can utterly agree with a Chuck Hawks review. I had a wonderful little .223Axis I chopped down to 16" & it was consistently sub ½moa.

I really, really regret parting with that one.

[Ronald_55]

2 hours ago, robtattoo said:

I really, really regret parting with that one.

Rob

No offense but I notice a pattern here.......

[Handsome Rob]

1 hour ago, Ronald_55 said:

Rob

No offense but I notice a pattern here.......

Yeah......I need to quit selling ####. Maybe buy a bigger safe.

[Ronald_55]

11 minutes ago, robtattoo said:

Yeah......I need to quit selling ####. Maybe buy a bigger safe.

The Black Friday thread has some larger safes at good prices.

[Handsome Rob]

41 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

The Black Friday thread has some larger safes at good prices.

You really, really need to stop that. You understand marriage, right?!

[Ronald_55]

42 minutes ago, robtattoo said:

You really, really need to stop that. You understand marriage, right?!

I sure do. Generally it means I get told no...a lot...

To quote a song I like:

"I'm not deaf, I'm just a real bad listener" 

[Quavodus]

5 hours ago, robtattoo said:

Lots. My 6.5 Swede is built around an Axis action. I'm a massive fan of the platform.

But......

The action is great. Literally every other part of the firearm is cheaply built & it feels like it. Nothing (other than barrels) ate interchangeable with the 110 series, aftermarket support is almost non existent (besides Boyd's stocks) & although they're typically 'Savage accurate' they're really, really cheap feeling. I doubt you'd like it at all, to be honest. Nothing like a higher end Savage.

I've dumped enough money into mine to have bought 2 Remington 700s now, but I had an idea in mind & well, we all know how that goes! Literally the only stock part is the action body itself.

That's pretty nice Rob. I like it.

[pop pop]

My grandson, Son In Law and I are bound for Bass Pro on Friday morning and both of us want the Savage Axis. We will see how we come out. Hope they got a bunch. I have decided on the 6.5 Creedmoor, or 308. They said they had 8 calibers in the add.

Which caliber would you get if you were in the market?

I am kind of a 30 06 man at heart, and this will be a stretch for me. 

[Chucktshoes]

6.5 Cr

[martin5]

I just kind of skimmed through, has anyone said anything about the 7 mm 08.?