Ruger Forum banner

What caliber?

6K views 38 replies 24 participants last post by  ajmorell 
#1 ·
Looking at purchasing my first centerfire this summer, have it narrowed down to 4 calibers. The gun will primarily be used for MI whitetails and possibly black bear, but I can see it being used for hunts out west in the future (mulies, anelope, possibly elk, and I would like to be able to use it for varmints too if possible). Most likely a 4-12x or so will sit atop. I'm looking at Browning X-Bolts, A-Bolts, Tikka's, Savage's and Remington 700s. Whichever I get I will be reloading.

.270 Winchester - everything I have read says this is enough to take down an elk with the right bullet, ammo is pretty common (relatively speaking anyways), not sure about long range accuracy and capability to take down deer-sized game or larger at long distance (400 yards+)

.308 Winchester - also very common, enough to take down anything listed, endless bullet possibilities, decent at long range

30-06 Springfield - most common deer caliber out there, ammo available everywhere (you know what I mean), good at long range, lots of bullet options for reloader, but recoil is a bit stouter than .308 & .270

300 Win-mag - obviously most stout recoil and greatest ability to take down large game, but also probably the best at long range. Might be a bit overkill for varmints but again, lots of bullet choices for this caliber as well.
 
See less See more
#4 ·
.308 or .30-06. I like the .308 because I can shoot all day with the thing and it really doesnt bother me. The reason I chose the .308 over the .30-06 is because the recoil. You may want to look at the 7mm-08. It is not very common, but it's performance is just a bit better than the .308.
 
#6 ·
For an all-out, all-around one rifle for all things, I would go with one of the DPMS 308's. http://www.dpmsinc.com/firearms/firearm.aspx?id=14 This one is a little heavy, but 3 or 4 lbs. more in your rifle matters little, when you consider how much rifle this is. Varminting can get expensive in .30 cal, but with a 110 gr. HP going 3,200 fps, this is plenty of "varmint" gun. At the other end, 180~200 gr. bullets will do fine on Elk, or trucks....
 
#9 ·
Where/how are you getting a 55 gr. bullet for .30/'06? -and what could it possibly be good for? Is it a saboted .224? accurate to 25 feet...... The lightest real .30 cal bullet available is 110 gr., and even those have very poor SD.
If you're dead-set on the '06, and you intend to reload anyway, read up on the '06 Ackley Improved. A good gunsmith can do the chamber work. You fire form regular '06 brass, and get slightly better performance than the .300 H&H with only a tiny bit more powder than standard '06 loads. A standard '06 neck sizing die works fine from there on out.
 
#10 ·
Thanks guys. I've narrowed my decisions down..the -06 is out. It is just too much gun for what I need. I have been reading and looking at ballistics charts and I think I am going to end up with a 270 Win, but the 7mm-08 is still on the table. The reason I like the 270 a bit more is because of it's downrange ballistics, however I do not care for the fact that it is a long-action gun, but this is not a deal-breaker.
 
#14 ·
Thanks guys. I've narrowed my decisions down..the -06 is out. It is just too much gun for what I need....

A 30-06 is never too much gun. I own two of them and also a 270 Win. I have shot and loaded for both for several years and believe that the 06 has better downrange ballistics than the 270. That being said you should buy what will make you happy and build confidence with. Good luck with whatever you decide to buy. None of the calibers you were considering will be a bad choice.
 
#13 ·
270 is a great choice. I bought a featherweight m70 Winchester about 1955, and have downed 8 elk, 4 moose, 3 black bears, and a bunch of deer; mostly blacktails, but a few mule and whitetail with it. The only time I felt a bit undergunned was walking on bear trails in grizzly country. Most elk dropped with one shot, but moose usually took a few more. As you pointed out, ammo is widely available. Almost everything I shot was with 130gr. For the moose, I used either 150gr or 130gr Nosler partition handloads.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Now for the game you mentioned in your post, I favor the 30-06 because of black bears being one of those animals you mentioned. A 450-lb black bear is a force to reckon with in the woods and the 30-06 with 200 grn bullets will do the job Jim Dandy.:D

One never really knows just what size bear is going to happen buy and it pays to be on your toes and have enough gun for the job at hand always. I also like the idea, that you will have so many weights of bullets to choose from in the future. I once knew a couple of old timers that killed a lot of moose and several big bears with their 30-06's and 35-Whelens back in the 1950's.
 
#18 ·
Since it is your first rifle I would also suggest the 30-06. It's recoil isn't as fierce as a 300 mag and it can be used for just about anything in N. America. You can always buy one of the others later when the budget permits. I can't believe no one has suggested a Ruger M77 as well especially since this is a Ruger forum. It would probably be more reliable than any of the ones you mentioned.
 
#19 ·
Looking at purchasing my first centerfire this summer, have it narrowed down to 4 calibers.

.270 Winchester

.308 Winchester

30-06 Springfield

300 Win-mag

Looks like 2 calibers to me. :p Those bottom three are all the same caliber. :p

Me...I'd look at more than just the chambering to base my purchase on. Toss in the model of rifle and you gotta look at the whole package. then again, I like the less-common stuff so I'd opt with a completely different choice.
 
#22 ·
I have a 30-06 and for a range gun it sure does get old fast :p
I put togeter a 308 this past year and plan on using it for a range and hunting gun. We don't have too may bear around hear so the 308 will be plenty for me. I also reload for both and use the same bullets so I can supply both when I buy components.
 
#23 ·
My go to rifle around the house the last dozen years of so, has been the model 70 Winchester Sporter in the 25/06 caliber. This past Christmas I gave the one son that rifle for target shooting and varmint/predator hunting. It certainly put a big smile on the kid face.

I know tote my old 30/06 model 70 Winchester around the acreage but it was redone in the caliber .264/06 (hate that metric crap!) and I am getting to like it slow but sure.:)
 
#24 ·
Your choices are all pretty common, so it will really come down to matching your bullets to the task. If you are considering the bigger game, elk, etc. I would go with the 308 or bigger. I use a 30-06 for WI whitetails (150 or 180gr), never went for bear. I am comfortable knowing it would be fine for elk if I ever get out west. If you don't like the recoil, try some of the 125gr loads available for practice shooting.
 
#25 ·
Any of the first three will do you fine. The .270 is a necked down 30-06 that typically uses 130Gr bullets.
You can go the 150s for small bear.

The .308 is just a bit shorter case than either the .270 or the 30-06. Shorter case = less powder = lower recoil. Considering the military are willing to use the 7.62x51 (virtually the same as a .308 - except pressure) out to 600m, the .308 would do fine.

As mentioned in previous posts, pick a rifle you really like and see which of the top three it comes in.
I seriously doubt you will be displeased with any of those three.
 
#26 ·
The 270 is a good choice, recoil is lighter than the 30-06. Bullet selection for the 270 is small you can find bullet weights from 90 to 150 grans. With the 30-06 bullet selection is greater, 125 up to 220 grains. The 308 wouldn't be a bad choice also, but here bullet weights are limited, recoil is not bad. I would check with one of my friend to see if they any of these caliber's and try them out. It's all about what you are Comfortable with and what you can handle. The Remington 700 not a bad choice, the new savage with the accu trigger is great. Again it about personel choice in what you like. Almost like buying a car. Hope this helps.
 
#27 ·
Wow, what an old thread. FWIW, I ended up with an -06 (figures the one I said I ruled out). I had a great deal on a decent gun fall into my lap and I couldn't pass it up. I ended up with a Remington 742 in mint condition, I would be surprised if it has 100 rounds through it. I know most don't care for this gun but considering what I paid for it and my uses for it I think I did alright. I'm hoping to get this gun to MOA @ 100 yards, which seems reasonable considering it was shooting about 1.5 MOA with cheap core-lokts and a stiff 8lb trigger. The gun is at the smith getting the trigger worked over right now. I've worked up some loads using H4895 and a 165 grain Speer SPBT which I'm hoping I can dial in once I get the gun back.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I am partial to 30-06 in 180 GR PPSP. I use it for deer and bear. I have several 30-06's and use that round in all of them.
I've run into trouble using the 308. More to the point in bullet selection. I need to find a suitable expanding bullet for it. The 308 is extremely accurate. I run them through a REM 788. Suggestions?
 
#29 ·
I have really only loaded the one bullet so far. What are you looking to hunt with it....deer and bear? I really like the Win ballistic silver tips in 168 grain for deer, not so much for bear. For bear you need a bullet that will not rapidly expand like the ballistic tip, something more like an accubond or a partition I would think would suit you well. As far as bullet weight, what is the twist rate of the barrel that should help to get a good starting point.
 
#31 ·
For one I already bought a gun (see a couple posts above). Second, I have access to a pretty nice Winchester Model 94 30-30 if I ever wanted to use it, in fact I did use it last year. I just wanted something more versatile with a better range than the 30-30.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top