Beginner Hunter Caliber Question

[HUTCH 7.62]

Second on the 270.

Brownings used to make a sweet lever action in 270

[RNE228]

This would be nice; just add a scope.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1500125

[mjmagee67]

My worthless opinion........30-06...

Why....it's what I have always used and it has never failed me. If it ain't broken don't fix it.

[FishnHunt]

This would be nice; just add a scope.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s....php?t=1500125

I'd want to shoot that Kimber. I love how lite they are but I don't like to play the kimber roulette.

[Rockdog]

I'm wondering if we confused the OP more than he was, or were we any help?

I had a long last few days so I just got caught up.

You all have been a huge help, and I am leaning towards the 243. I will keep everyone posted and hopefully start off another OEM debate.

Thanks again,
Rocky

[Rockdog]

OP
You have a bunch of well intentioned posters offering you advise.
If your wanting to hunt animals up to elk in size forget the 22 long rifle 17 hmr and 223 posts.
If your planning on hunting pigs and deer mainly and you have changed your original choices of 270 or 30-06 start with 243 as your smallest round.

More pigs and cows have been slaughtered with the use of a 22 long rifle than all other rounds combined but that isn't hunting.

Next you have to decide what kind of person you are. Do you wipe off all of your hand tools after each use and place them on the wall in an outlined drawing?
Or
Do you hammer a nail and drop the hammer back into a tool box or leave it on the counter?
My truck hasn't been washed in over 10 years except for when it rains and the entire bed is currently covered in pig and deer blood.
Some hunters will put down a tarp and have there truck detailed after getting it dusty and not killing anything.
Neither way is an issue you just have to know which way you lean in order to be happy.
I have many many Remington's both new and old. The picture is of a two year old 700 with a rusty bolt knob. I will never call Remington about it and I will never put oil on the knob either. I know that knob will never be detrimental to my way of hunting or shooting.
I have hunting buddies that would have a third stage coronary event if that was there gun and they would call Remington relentlessly and write about it on 20 forums.

I don't call them names or think they need help it's just how people are different.

Next we keep reading about the flat trajectory of the 270 and how it is flatter than the 30-06.

The 270 shoots a 130 grain bullet at 3140 FPS.
The 30-06 shoots a 125 grain bullet at 3300 FPS.
Most hunters using a 270 will use 130-140 grain bullets while most hunters using the 30-06 will be using 150-180 grain bullets.
I don't mind people saying a 130 is flatter shooting to 300 yards than a 180 is at 300 yards but it's not a good comparison in my opinion. Match up the bullet weights and make a more honest comparison.

I sent a brand new hunting rifle in to one of the world's finest gunsmiths for a new barrel. A few days goes by and my email and my cellphone are both lit up with messages. I gave the gunsmith Jim Borden a call and he was all excited that my brand new Borden action was all scratched up and his wife Joan had sent me a pile of pictures. I told him the gun had fallen of the rollcage of my Jeep and slid down a rocky road before ending up in a ditch. I told him to toss the old barrel and put on a new one and all was well.
I was shooting at the biggest 1000 yard Benchrest match many months later and a fellow competitor who was shooting a Borden gun told me he had to call Jim for a part and when Jim found out he was from California he asked him if he knew me.
John"Pretty Gun" Crawford was the nickname I gave that shooter and he said yes I shoot with him all the time. Jim told him the story about the scratched up action and John told him I hit a BAT action with a mallet and the handle flew over the cyclone fence at the 100 yard range at Sacramento.

I don't purposely abuse my gear but I do use it for its intended role.

For the record, I am somewhere in between, I like a little mess but at some point, it has to be cleaned. And my truck hasn't been washed in maybe 6 months.

[LynnJr]

Rockdog
If your not anal retentive a 700 Remington in 243 will serve you well.
It also carries a good resale value compared to some of the other options mentioned and is the most upgradable/reconfigurable action made today.

[Rockdog]

Rockdog
If your not anal retentive a 700 Remington in 243 will serve you well.
It also carries a good resale value compared to some of the other options mentioned and is the most upgradable/reconfigurable action made today.

Thank you for the recommendation.

[Paradiddle]

Rockdog
If your not anal retentive a 700 Remington in 243 will serve you well.
It also carries a good resale value compared to some of the other options mentioned and is the most upgradable/reconfigurable action made today.

I think 10 years ago remington would be excellent recommendation, after recently handling a few Remington rifles I think their quality and fit has really gone down hill.

Just my .02 - I think there are far nicer factory rifles for less money now. NOW - getting a used Remington from a "while ago" would be a great option.

Jeff

[gpark09]

I do own a 9mm that I shoot around one a month.

With my lack of experience, should I go for a .270, or the 30-06?

My guess is that you're not a real shooter, yet. Which is OK. Everyone starts from some point.

This fact also means you will most likely buy one bolt action rifle. Maybe an additional AR later on.

Depends on the caliber, you may enjoy long range shooting down the road or just shoot once a while for hunt and put it in the safe collecting dust.

If you choose to enjoy long range shooting, you need to choose a caliber that you can enjoy shooting for fun and at the same time, good enough for up to medium game hunt.

That's .308 WIN and 6.5 Creedmoor. Out of two, I would say get 6.5 Creedmoor for what may be your one bolt action rifle. (Stop screwing around with old folks caliber like 270 and .06.. .... just kidding)

Reach out and touch the gong at 1K yards with your buddies when not hunting. Sounds like fun, aightn't it?

[Paradiddle]

My guess is that you're not a real shooter, yet. Which is OK. Everyone starts from some point.

This fact also means you will most likely buy one bolt action rifle. Maybe an additional AR later on.

Depends on the caliber, you may enjoy long range shooting down the road or just shoot once a while for hunt and put it in the safe collecting dust.

If you choose to enjoy long range shooting, you need to choose a caliber that you can enjoy shooting for fun and at the same time, good enough for up to medium game hunt.

That's .308 WIN and 6.5 Creedmoor. Out of two, I would say get 6.5 Creedmoor for what may be your one bolt action rifle. (Stop screwing around with old folks caliber like 270 and .06.. .... just kidding)

Reach out and touch the gong at 1K yards with your buddies when not hunting. Sounds like fun, aightn't it?

The 6.5 Creedmoor is a ballistic copy of the 2nd or 3rd oldest centerfire cartridge in the world.

Maybe the old folks knew a thing or two.

[oak18]

I think 10 years ago remington would be excellent recommendation, after recently handling a few Remington rifles I think their quality and fit has really gone down hill.

Just my .02 - I think there are far nicer factory rifles for less money now. NOW - getting a used Remington from a "while ago" would be a great option.

Jeff

I completely agree with you. Like I’ve stated here already, Remington quality has tanked. Some people here are insulted if you say that and still feel like people should give Remington their money when Remington obviously doesn’t care much about the products they put out anymore. Hence why they filed bankruptcy.

[Tere_Hanges]

I completely agree with you. Like I’ve stated here already, Remington quality has tanked. Some people here are insulted if you say that and still feel like people should give Remington their money when Remington obviously doesn’t care much about the products they put out anymore. Hence why they filed bankruptcy.

I respectfully disagree. In 2016 I bought a brand new basic Remington 700 SPS tactical in .308win on sale for $400 at Sportsmans Warehouse. It was submoa out of the box. Shot MOA all day long with cheap Russian steel cased ammo. Fit and finish was excellent for a basic rifle. Had absolutely ZERO problems with it. Maybe I got really lucky but I highly doubt that. The basic Remington 700s have gone up in price since then but I still highly recommend them. I also bought a brand new Remington 870 express back in 2012 and it has run flawlessly, no issues whatsoever.

Most of the Remington bashing is pure unadulterated FUD. I can only speak from personal experience and mine has been all good. Now Ruger on the other hand, geesh buy at your own risk especially if you like canted barrels. I've had good and bad experiences with Ruger products.

As for OPs original question, .30-06 is an excellent all around hunting cartridge especially since you can get reasonably priced practice ammo for around .60cents/rd. It will however beat the chit out of anyone not used to it. It will feel like a 300 win mag to a new shooter. It took me quite a few years of a lot of rifle shooting to get used to it and I thought it would never get easier but it does. So just a little advice if you do go with .30-06 dont be discouraged by the recoil. Just stick with it and it will eventually get better. You cant really bypass the learning curve by shooting .22lr. Eventually you are going to have to shoot a lot of .30-06 to get used to it.

[FishnHunt]

243 is a perfect deer round! And it will shoot long ways. I just don’t know what 243 target ammo is available and what twist rate is needed for heavier pills.
243 is Little lite and a minimum in some states for elk but it will do the job.
I would look at the price of 6.5 CM or 7-08 vs 243.
I would go with one of those if bigger game such as elk is on the menu.
Regarding Remingtons, I don't own one so I can't really say anything. But it is true their quality has been poor and they did file for BK.
Out of my bolt actions from rugers, tikkas, howa and sauer. Tikka is my Fave.
I think tikka used to be the most bang for the buck. But, they gone up in price. I found a new one on sale for 399. wish I bought more of them.

[LynnJr]

The gun pictured in my post is about 3 years old and the only negative I can think of would be that the bolts knob will rust. I don't care about a little rust on a gun three years old that has never been cleaned on the outside.
The guys usually doing the bashing or guys who couldn't hit a barn if they were inside of it.
If you go on some of the other forums BAT actions are bad Dave Tooley doesn't know how to put a barrel on Bartlein Barrels don't shoot well
Those forums are usually full of younger tactical type shooters who wear camouflage to the range.