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What caliber

2K views 41 replies 16 participants last post by  yellowlab 
#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.
 
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#2 ·
I have a .270 and love it. It has more than enough power to take down a deer. It is also my go to gun for hogs, I usually line two up and have always been able to take them both down (unless it was my fault). My uncle has shot a few elk with his and said it worked great, but he always used ammunition that he reloaded which you said you would be doing. My buddy has a 300wsm and that thing blows away the deer, although it would be better for elk. Another caliber you should think about is the .270 wsm, although I am not sure about availability. I have connected on a few coyotes at about 400, and the .270 is very capable at that range. It would have more to do with wind and other variables considering the guns you listed.
 
#4 ·
lameduck said:
I have a .270 and love it. It has more than enough power to take down a deer. It is also my go to gun for hogs, I usually line two up and have always been able to take them both down (unless it was my fault). My uncle has shot a few elk with his and said it worked great, but he always used ammunition that he reloaded which you said you would be doing. My buddy has a 300wsm and that thing blows away the deer, although it would be better for elk. Another caliber you should think about is the .270 wsm, although I am not sure about availability. I have connected on a few coyotes at about 400, and the .270 is very capable at that range. It would have more to do with wind and other variables considering the guns you listed.
My reason for not considering WSM's (both 270 and 300) are the price. Brass is quite a bit more and factory ammo is like $10-$15/20 more.

I'm leaning towards the 30-06 as of right now, just wanted to hear some other opinions.
 
#6 ·
A .270 to me is a necked down .30-06. If you're going to get the .270 you might as well get the .30-06 for the bigger bullet IMO. I'm partial to .308's myself because I want something that I can enjoy shooting at the range instead of cringing and will take down an elk. If you get the .30-06 I wouldn't get a syntheic stock unless you like pain :thumbsup:
 
#9 ·
devildog28 said:
A .270 to me is a necked down .30-06. If you're going to get the .270 you might as well get the .30-06 for the bigger bullet IMO. I'm partial to .308's myself because I want something that I can enjoy shooting at the range instead of cringing and will take down an elk. If you get the .30-06 I wouldn't get a syntheic stock unless you like pain :thumbsup:
This gun will have a walnut/wood stock. I don't care for synthetic stocks, the only exception being my duck gun.
 
#10 ·
What do you guys think of the 7mm-08? I posted this on another forum and quite a few people have recommended it. Based on what I've heard the .300 and .270 are out. It's really between the -06, .308 and 7mm-08 now but I'm considering the last two more than the -06. I don't think I could spend a day a the range with an -06, the other two I probably could. In terms of taking game at a distance, both the .308 and 7mm-08 should do fine out to 300 yards on deer.
 
#11 ·
ajmorell said:
What do you guys think of the 7mm-08? I posted this on another forum and quite a few people have recommended it. Based on what I've heard the .300 and .270 are out. It's really between the -06, .308 and 7mm-08 now but I'm considering the last two more than the -06. I don't think I could spend a day a the range with an -06, the other two I probably could. In terms of taking game at a distance, both the .308 and 7mm-08 should do fine out to 300 yards on deer.
They're pretty much the same round. If you look at both side by side they are almost identical. The 7mm is going to be a little flatter shooting.
 
#12 ·
devildog28 said:
ajmorell said:
What do you guys think of the 7mm-08? I posted this on another forum and quite a few people have recommended it. Based on what I've heard the .300 and .270 are out. It's really between the -06, .308 and 7mm-08 now but I'm considering the last two more than the -06. I don't think I could spend a day a the range with an -06, the other two I probably could. In terms of taking game at a distance, both the .308 and 7mm-08 should do fine out to 300 yards on deer.
They're pretty much the same round. If you look at both side by side they are almost identical. The 7mm is going to be a little flatter shooting.
Yeah, was looking at the ballistics for both....really not much difference and there are a ton of bullet options available for both as well. Some other guys I talked to convinced me that you can't really have one gun for everything. Since this gun will see 99% of its use in MI for whitetails, coyotes and possibly bear I think both the 308 and 7mm-08 will handle as far of shot as you can get in MI. A trip out west probably won't happen for a few years yet, until I'm graduated at least, and by that time hopefully I will be able to afford another gun specifically for hunting out there.
 
#15 ·
Kurt said:
.308 or 7mm-08 will handle anything out west except maybe a grizz. I would get either one of those put GOOD glass on it and shoot the crap out of it. Practice makes perfect.
Leaning towards the 7mm-08 right now. It's a little flatter shooting and has just a touch less recoil. Since there are tons of bullet choices for both the 7mm and 308 reloading either makes perfect sense. As for glass, it won't be a Zeiss but I'll likely pony up the money for at least a VX-II or Bushnell Elite, probably a VX-III if I can afford it (remember I'm still in college :biggrin: )
 
#20 ·
Partially based on what preach said, I would go with the 30-06 and the .308. 30-06, you can find ammo almost anywhere and its one of the most versatile rounds out there. To me the recoil isn't all that bad, but I guess recoil is in the shoulder of the shooter.

Between the 7mm-08 and .308 I would go with .308.
 
#21 ·
Are you a smaller framed shooter? My 30-.06 (Ruger Mk. II) doesn't kick much at all. I would say in all honesty that a 3 inch waterfowl or turkey load kicks about the same (from Mossberg 835 and SBEII) as the .06. Now you want recoil? Check out the "T-rex video on youtube.
 
#22 ·
jrode237 said:
Are you a smaller framed shooter? My 30-.06 (Ruger Mk. II) doesn't kick much at all. I would say in all honesty that a 3 inch waterfowl or turkey load kicks about the same (from Mossberg 835 and SBEII) as the .06. Now you want recoil? Check out the "T-rex video on youtube.
Not by any means. I'm 6'1", 180
 
#23 ·
Got a few pounds on ya but never really considered my .06 to have that bad of recoil. I'd much rather sight that in than my old mans .338 or my bro's .300. I also like the .o6 because of the vast range of bullets you can shoot from it. Found some Remington reduced recoil (managed recoil) rounds for coyotes and they don't kick hardly at all.
 
#26 ·
.270 is a fine round that has killed many deer, much like all the rounds we have discussed. As DevilDog said earlier, it is just a necked down 30-06, so I might still consider the .30-06 over .270. .30-06 would also give you more flexibility, i.e. off the shelf ammo with bullets in 150gr up to 220gr.

But again, .270 is a fine round.

As for optics. I think Nikon Optics are are great for the price.
 
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