Rifle recommendation

[mick]

DaveJ gets my vote..ya I love to shoot hot mags.. ya that hornady 6.5 300 PCR heres a handmade load for it 143 grain ELD-X at 3230 fps velocity..your going to take out a larger variety of game and at longer distances..

ya with weatherby and nosler calibres & cartridges there for the reloader

ya my 270 wsm shoots flat out to 370yds...I have trusted a winchester factory load 140 grain accubond 3200 fps,...moose deer bear elk caribou wolf...its a good hunting calibre for ladies

ya the short mag feeds smooth and its fast with minimal recoil

 

[mick]

what hasn't been mentioned is the all purpose varmint calibres a few to mention 22-250, 220 swift .222 .223 remington

old duck buddy jeff hunts in a group for winter coyote with dogs..there using small calibres mentioned

 

[Porkpie]

The old .264 Win Mag was one of the best and is still a great choice ..Winchester reintroduced the caliber a while back

And Epps tends to have them in stock in Model 70 featherweights! Another very cool option for deer and bear. I still think it's a bit too much steam for general coyote hunting, but that's just me!

ya my 270 wsm shoots flat out to 370yds...I have trusted a winchester factory load 140 grain accubond 3200 fps,...moose deer bear elk caribou wolf...its a good hunting calibre for ladies

ya the short mag feeds smooth and its fast with minimal recoil

Glad to hear, I just picked up an extreme weather in .270WSM and all the related reloading components. I'm looking forward to mild days at the range this winter.

 

[mick]

congrats on the purchase @Porkpie I think you will be very happy with that round, an extreme weather, just wondered what brand is that..sounds like a nice one..

hey Iam a left handbolt shooter so magnum choices were limited back then.. I ended up buying the 270 wsm calibre in one of the first stainless tika T3lites, ya its done me well over the years..

 

[anonymoose]

There's two schools of thought. You either try to get something that does everything poorly, or go for multiple guns.

Personally I love my .223. Ammo is cheaper than most and you could shoot it all day if you want due to the low recoil. Watch a yote drop in the scope. I think it is a good yote gun and a good long range plinker, not that I've ever killed a yote with it. I've never gone north for deer bear or moose. If I do, I will either grab my muzzleloader or buy another gun for the job. Likely a 7mm-08, 270 or 30-06. Or maybe one of each.

 

[DaveJ]

I shot a 220 Swift exclusively in my varmint days. I handload everything so I was able to get the most out of the round and still shoot relatively cheap. You could get over 4400fps handloading..but stuff like bullet vaporization and burned barrels were real. Same with the 270..it was my go to gun for deer and sometimes longer range field pigs esp if windy..but with handloading you can't believe what you can get out of a 270 Win.

If you don't handload then you have to look at what you're willing to pay to shoot. if its fairly high ammt of ammo..yotes, groundhogs, etc vs a box a year for deer. Custom ammo for the newer hotrod cartridges can run $50-$100/box. Honestly, if you want to shoot a few yotes but want a good deer cartridge and shoot relatively cheap, go with one of the standards like a 243, 270, etc. If you are going to throw moose into the equation forget light stuff..go big or go home...270 absolute minimum. The late great Jack Parkinson told me one time re shooting varmints with a big calibre rifle.. "Critters dont know and dont care what they get killed with"

The good thing is with some great out of the box guns like Savage, you can get a really accurate varmint rig AND a big game rifle for under $2000 for the pair.

 

[PlanB]

Almost pulled the trigger, so to speak on a Weatherby Vanguard 2 6.5 creedmore with a scope for around $1400. But after a bunch more research and the additional great input from this thread, I think I’m going the 2 gun route. Kerwood has a savage axis 2 223 with a scope for about $650. Maybe not the best quality gun but seems pretty accurate from what a I’ve read. Cheap available rounds and a decent entry level rifle great for yotes. I do own a decent muzzleloader but would consider the Weatherby Vanguard 2 in a 270 with a scope around $1400 for deer bear and maybe moose, if I ever get the chance to go moose hunting. So yes 2 decent rifles for around 2K. Going to go check out the 223 tomorrow.

P.S. Rifles are in short supply just like everything else!

Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread, been a huge help!

 

[Derkd9]

Almost pulled the trigger, so to speak on a Weatherby Vanguard 2 6.5 creedmore with a scope for around $1400. But after a bunch more research and the additional great input from this thread, I think I’m going the 2 gun route. Kerwood has a savage axis 2 223 with a scope for about $650. Maybe not the best quality gun but seems pretty accurate from what a I’ve read. Cheap available rounds and a decent entry level rifle great for yotes. I do own a decent muzzleloader but would consider the Weatherby Vanguard 2 in a 270 with a scope around $1400 for deer bear and maybe moose, if I ever get the chance to go moose hunting. So yes 2 decent rifles for around 2K. Going to go check out the 223 tomorrow.

P.S. Rifles are in short supply just like everything else!

Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread, been a huge help!

My .243 is a savage axis! Does the trick
I suggest buy the rifle alone and put a good quality scope on separately
I put vortex scopes on a few of my rifles and a nice leupold on my Tikka .270. love it! Nice crisp imagine collects lots of light compared to the scopes that come with the combos.

 

[Rylann]

There are few good deals around for good used guns. You really have to look. Check on Gunpost. Put the word out, you never know, somebody could have a good rifle in the basement they want to get rid of.

I know there was a remington 700 in 243 a buddy picked up for 500 bucks. It was on beautiful shape and spots out a 1.25" group at 200 yrds with factory ammo. Haven't played with reloads yet. I would expect it will clover leaf at 200 yrds.

I don't want to start a pissing match here, but there is a big difference between a 700 CDL and a Savage Axis.

 

[Derkd9]

@Rylann Agreed, savage axis does the trick
But holding that vs my Tikka is night and day.

Get what you pay for

 

[Rylann]

I look at firearms as a tool and an investment. Buy Princess Auto specials and swear when they break.

As a part time gun repair guy, I won't fix Savage Axis rifles.

 

[Derkd9]

@Rylann honestly not if but when I break my savage axis it will be retired and I will be buying a new rifle in that caliber.
It was my first rifle and I was going for cheap.
I ended up putting a new scope on it after I bought it as a combo, the cheap scopes they put on are too dark for me, especially when using it at sunset.

 

[Porkpie]

congrats on the purchase @Porkpie I think you will be very happy with that round, an extreme weather, just wondered what brand is that..sounds like a nice one..

hey Iam a left handbolt shooter so magnum choices were limited back then.. I ended up buying the 270 wsm calibre in one of the first stainless tika T3lites, ya its done me well over the years..

It’s a Winchester model 70 extreme weather. US made one. Picked it up from a guy in the Temiskaming area. He was good enough to drive down to meet me near our place in Sturgeon falls. There aren’t a ton of options for left handed shooters unfortunately. Tikkas are a good gun!

 

[Reel Therapy]

I have moved to the Howa rifles and could not be happier! I now more than a few in my collection and have not had a single issue with any of them. Howa builds all the actions Weatherby and most parts are interchangeable between them.
Just a thought if you looking...