Looking for a new caliber

[Sgt Nambu]

If you're going to get a .243, do the smart thing and make it a 6mm Remington instead. Better cartridge in every way. If you reload, that is.

Yes! If you reload! Good luck finding them on the shelf, except around deer season!

 

[Ghost Spear]

Thank you everyone for your input.

Let's mix things up a bit.
300 win mag vs. 338 Lapua

Who's shot both? Which do you prefer?

No gun is the perfect tool for every job. for me it's less of a "here is what I'm doing which gun should I get?" And more of a " I want to collect different guns and use the best tool for the job when it's needed"

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks again guys and gals, it's great to be a part of such a knowledgeable group of shooters.

 

[Certaindeaf]

.243 is a girl's rifle. just kidding but it is probably the most common rifle that dads get their daughters for their first rifle.

Yes I'm aware. I remember for a couple generations every gun writer wondered incessantly whether it was enough for 100 lb deer. Sold magazines anyways I guess.
It's a wicked little number.. and with VLD's will reach out there with the big magnums using equivalent slick slugs.

 

[best defense]

Hello all,

I have been shooting a Remington 700 chambered in 308 win and am wanting to get into another long gun platform but in a different caliber. I would like to hear your guys suggestions and experiences.

Looking for a bolt action, don't care about cost of ammo, effective distance a plus+

***************************************************************************
The honest reply would be to ask you what you plan to do with the rifle.
I decided that I wanted to shoot the 600 yard matches at Tri-County Gun Club, so I bought a second hand target rifle in 308. I never could get the 308 to shoot to my satisfaction. (Not that I am such a great shooter to start with.) So, after talking to a lot of people about what I could do that would help, I had the rifle re-barrelled to 6BR. It made a world of difference. I went from shooting in the 150 - 160 range to the high 170 - 180 range. Occasionally I shoot even better.

Then I decided that I wanted to try a hunting rifle at 600 yards as well, so I bought a Remington 700 in 243. The 243 has been an interesting project. It seems that all stock 243 caliber rifles come from the factories with a 1 in 9-1/4" rate of twist. That is supposed to be optimum for an 80 grain bullet. That is all well and good until you decide that you want to shoot it at 600 yards. There are very few if any 6mm 80 grain bullets that shoot well out of a factory rifle at 600 yards.

I decided to try a heavier bullet. Other people were doing well with 105 grain VLD (very low drag) bullets. So I bought a box of 6mm VLD bullets and discovered that the twist rate was too slow to stabilize the longer bullets at just about any distance. Mind the fact that the rifle will shoot sub minute of angle at 300 yards with 80 grain bullets, things change drastically when the range increases beyond 400 yards and you add a heavy bullet. I put a different barrel on the rifle that had a 1:8" twist rate in it. The new barrel does shoot a bit better with the heavier (longer) bullets, but not enough good enough to compete with the 6br. If I was going to do it over again, I would go with a 6.5 credmore. It has better sectional density.
Keep in mind that this was all done to see what I could do with a hunting rifle and a hunting caliber which if necessary I could buy ammo for at most sporting goods dealers. There are not many sporting goods stores that sell 6.5 credmore ammo.

Oh yeah, I also put a different stock and a brake on the rifle to help control it.

 

[OregonJohn]

For myself my "One gun" would be my Kimber Montana in 300WSM. I can download it to shoot squirrels and load it up to kill anything. It's lightweight to carry on any hunt. And very accurate. Think of it as a souped up 308win. As of right now I have several 223, a 22-250AI, a 6br, a 6mmAI, a 6x47L, several 243Win, a 260, a 6.5 creedmore, two 6.5x47L, a 257 weatherby, a 7mm-08, a 20 practical, a 338 edge, and a 416 ruger. I am sure I am forgetting about others. oh, and a 30-06. But the kimber Montana is the one.

 

[Pandaz3]

Nosler has brought out in the past few years .26, .28, .30, and .33 Nosler and make very nice Nosler 48 rifles in those calibers

 

[gunslinger3]

This guy helped me tremendously when I purchased my first bolt action:

 

[ttus]

Hello all,

I have been shooting a Remington 700 chambered in 308 win and am wanting to get into another long gun platform but in a different caliber. I would like to hear your guys suggestions and experiences.

Looking for a bolt action, don't care about cost of ammo, effective distance a plus+

I like the .204, fast and right on @ 200 and 300 YDS.

 

[74bronco]

Nosler has brought out in the past few years .26, .28, .30, and .33 Nosler and make very nice Nosler 48 rifles in those calibers

I'll vote one of these nosler rds as well if your looking for a fast non belted magnum type gun . thinking of redueing my savage 111 7 rm into the nosler 28

 

[ttus]

Yes they are nice rounds

 

[bbbass]

I probably lean towards the .308 before the .30-06 just because I might get an AR10 or some sort of other .308 rifle and I would prefer to consolidate where possible if I were to get one of the older rounds.

When I came back to earth, I decided I could only have one rifle for hunting. So I have a .308... it will take anything from deer to elk to bear to moose with the right loadings and distances used.

However, back in the day I used a .243 a 6mmRem and 7mm-08 and 30/30 for deer, a 7mmRemMag a .308 a 30-06 a 300WinMag for elk (I'd rather use a .338mag if I was still young enough to handle the recoil), a .22-250 for varmints, and a .223Wylde for target cuz the ammo is so cheap.

Now, I can't recommend a new shooter to start with a Magnum cartridge. If you develop a flinch it won't be so good. Stay with one of the standard loads and you won't go wrong. You can always buy a cannon/magnum later.

 

[bbbass]

Thank you everyone for your input.

Let's mix things up a bit.
300 win mag vs. 338 Lapua

I have shot 300 win mag but seen more one shot stops on elk with .338. With either, you will probably want a muzzle brake. Sighting in with a whole box of ammo is OUCH time. Plus, it will sound amazing to your hunting buds every time you touch one off!

For me, the rare 8mm Remington Magnum is special!!! .323 for those of you in Elgin, OR.

 

[MikeO1948]

Hello all,

I have been shooting a Remington 700 chambered in 308 win and am wanting to get into another long gun platform but in a different caliber. I would like to hear your guys suggestions and experiences.

Looking for a bolt action, don't care about cost of ammo, effective distance a plus+

In my opinion the .308 Win is an overrated cartridge. The case is essentially the same case used for the 243 Win. I own rifles chambered in 243, 30-06 and 300 Win Mag. All shoot well, but I love the 300 Win Mag. It shoots very flat for a long ways, and hits hard out to 500 plus yards. An SVL pad reduced the recoil of my 300 Win Mag chambered 700 BDL, down to 06 level. The only downside of the 300 Win Mag is the cost of ammo. I reload, so I can still afford to shoot whenever I want.

 

[1BigGuy]

If we're voting, I would select a Winchester Model 70 in .270 with 115 grain bullets.
Want to kill something bigger? Use a heavier bullet in 150+ range.

 

[snarlingdog]

6.5 creedmoor. Great long distance performance

 

[EPS]

What bout the 26 noslor it's new I have no idea what I'm talking bout have a friend in southern CA said he got one and loves it says flat shooter

 

[eightyeight mag]

It also depends on how many rounds your shooting and how often you want to replace your barrel.
308 will have 4 to 5 times the barrel life of a 243 or any of the nosler cartridges .

 

[Pandaz3]

I only have four calibers bigger than 5.56. All three of my 308's are in a AR-10 platform and I would like a M1A, 308 seem to lend itself to the semiautomatic platform. I could hunt with them I guess, but I don't, and I would not plan on using my .30 M1 Carbine for hunting either. If I ever hunt again it would be with a Model 94 30-30, but more likely my Model 70 in 7MM Remington Magnum. So I only have one bolt gun. The military liked .308 in their bolt guns as they could use their regular M-80 ammo in a pinch and it met enough of their requirements. Were I to buy a new bolt gun, it would be something faster than a 308. I like inexpensive with good function so a Savage in one of the Nosler caribers would be the first contender with the Nosler 48 in a Nosler caliber second. Then there is always Weatherby Mark V in some Weatherby Magnum. I myself would be reluctant to move past a 30 cal as the recoil would be too much for Mr. Whimpy.

 

[bbbass]

In my opinion the .308 Win is an overrated cartridge. The case is essentially the same case used for the 243 Win.

Check your history... the .243 was developed originally as a varmint cartridge from the .308 case, so your point is overrated. The .308 is overrated? By whom? It's not supposed to be a magnum nor a .50BMG! IMO used for what it is intended to be, it is a fine cartridge... somewhere between a 30/30 and a 300 Win.

If the OP has other considerations, he has many fine cartridges that will work for him. He just needs to match his wants, needs, and intended use to one of them. I stand by my earlier statement... if you can only have one rifle, you can't go wrong with the versatility of .308 or 30-06. If you can afford more, then go explore the possibilities!

 

[2506]

bbbass has it right. The 308 was an effort to get 30-06 performance in a full-auto platform. Same as the 45acp is to the 45Colt--great caliber just doesn't work so well in an auto pistol.