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What is the difference between bolt and gas? Holy hell Marla...what's the difference between Tyler and a Hitachi?
Holy Hell, Batman! You made me damn near shoot dinner out my nose with that one!

Me? I'm mostly a hunter and that's where the bolt action reigns. If you're more of a target, game playing shooter, Semi all the way.
I don't mean that as the semi just being a plaything, I have an AR for a reason, but my shooting style and preferences center around a bolt action.
 
I have a winchester pre-64 in 358 Norma with the original stock that sure let's you know something went off. I personally believe pre-64 stocks are not designed for magnum cartridges. As the saying goes it kills on both ends
If it's the Monte Carlo style, it's not to bad, but the "straight" stock is a bit of a mule to be playing with especially without a nice buttpad.
Buy a stainless Tikka in 7mm-08.

It will kill whatever you're likely to hunt at whatever distance you're likely to shoot.

And it won't beat you up physically or financially.



P
It doesn't have to be a Tikka, but if you want to hunt, the 7mm-08 is a good killer.
My wife shot one of them elk with one.
Linda's elk.jpg
 
Buy a stainless Tikka in 7mm-08.

It will kill whatever you're likely to hunt at whatever distance you're likely to shoot.

And it won't beat you up physically or financially.



P
If it's the Monte Carlo style, it's not to bad, but the "straight" stock is a bit of a mule to be playing with especially without a nice buttpad.

It doesn't have to be a Tikka, but if you want to hunt, the 7mm-08 is a good killer.
My wife shot one of them elk with one.
View attachment 1085547
Hard to argue with this, 7mm-08 punches above it's weight limit and Tikka makes a great rifle at a reasonable cost.

@No_Regerts makes a great point about .270 and twist rate. Hopefully it will catch up to the times.
 
After reading all this nonsense, you're probably more confused than when you started.

The reality is, your rifle doesn't matter as much as us gun idiots want it to. Just get something and start practicing with it.

Fieldcraft matters more. There are a few courses out there that can help teach you the basics, but it's one of those things you just have to get out and do.

Go in the woods, work on not making noise. Be mindful of the wind.

Most of all, just enjoy being outdoors.
 
After reading all this nonsense, you're probably more confused than when you started.

The reality is, your rifle doesn't matter as much as us gun idiots want it to. Just get something and start practicing with it.

Fieldcraft matters more. There are a few courses out there that can help teach you the basics, but it's one of those things you just have to get out and do.

Go in the woods, work on not making noise. Be mindful of the wind.

Most of all, just enjoy being outdoors.
I like the sentiment and I think rifle choice doesn't matter as much as cartridge choice, so I would be hesitant to say just get something.

In my experience too many people buy rifles chambered for bigger cartridges than they should. Bigger is better, you know? Then what happens - they take it to the range and it hurts. Loud and unpleasant. So boom, there goes form, breathing, trigger squeeze, and follow through, replaced by a flinching trigger slap. Accuracy? Forget it. Practice? No way. And once the flinch settles in it's hard as heck to overcome.

To the OP, buy small and work up, if you need to. Bullet placement is (almost) everything, and smaller cartridges are much easier to shoot well.

81920812-BCEC-49A5-8996-76F4A2926885.jpeg

That's what's left of the heart from the antelope in the picture above.




P
 
Just get the .270, it'll be fine. Most things will be fine. Or get a single shot .50bmg, realize you made a mistake and buy a half dozen other rifles, never make up your mind and become proficient with none
 
I like the sentiment and I think rifle choice doesn't matter as much as cartridge choice, so I would be hesitant to say just get something.

In my experience too many people buy rifles chambered for bigger cartridges than they should. Bigger is better, you know? Then what happens - they take it to the range and it hurts. Loud and unpleasant. So boom, there goes form, breathing, trigger squeeze, and follow through, replaced by a flinching trigger slap. Accuracy? Forget it. Practice? No way. And once the flinch settles in it's hard as heck to overcome.

To the OP, buy small and work up, if you need to. Bullet placement is (almost) everything, and smaller cartridges are much easier to shoot well.

View attachment 1085581

That's what's left of the heart from the antelope in the picture above.




P
I agree! Thats why I think a .270 was a good choice:)
 
Just for grins I compared the 7-08 and 270 Winchester for average recoil energy and velocity. For reference the 30-06 is shown.

I like both cartridges greatly and both are proven killers suitable for any game in the lower 48. The 270 is flatter where the 7-08 is a bit more efficient. While recoil energy from the 270 is about 20% greater than the 7-08, the recoil velocity is only about 10% greater. Velocity determines if the recoil is more shove or more jab. To me there isn't enough difference between the two in that respect to choose one over the other, and a 7-08 in a light rifle may feel worse than a 270 in a heavier rifle. I'd personally gravitate more to the 7-08, which should be even more popular than it is, but don't see a 270 as a bad choice either.

IMO @MarlaSinger would be well served by either. They are also both popular cartridges and if one didn't work out for her she could likely sell and move on.

1639713086078.png
Source: https://backfire.tv/recoil/

For Western Oregon I personally like the 7-08, but if I was hunting the eastern side I night prefer the 270.
 
If this is a hunting gun save for good optics most bolts from a $300 Thompson to a $5000 GAP are all sub moa or better. You need good optics for anything long range and you need good optics for the most important thing which is shooting near dark this is when 90% of kills are happening, which makes all the difference. I would agree that you should go in the 7mm cal. .280rem, .280 AI, 7mm-08, 7mm rem mag, 7mm RUM etc.... .270 is a great round but there are so many other rounds that are quite a bit better than the .270 that will give you better ballistics and less recoil or equal recoil. Bolts are very solid and reliable for field use, usually lighter, more accurate, if you cant keep your eye through the scope for follow ups your scope sucks or you suck. Lastly I am a fan of buying 1 nice bolt gun how many bolts do you need around, get a rifle you can shoot anything in north america with you will always know how that gun shoots and never miss, and then go buy cool sexy guns and stuff like 50 bmgs, AK47s, Uzis, ARs, calicos, desert eagles, gold plated bubblegum, mother of pearl, silencers, mags on mags, SEX!
 
If this is a hunting gun save for good optics most bolts from a $300 Thompson to a $5000 GAP are all sub moa or better. You need good optics for anything long range and you need good optics for the most important thing which is shooting near dark this is when 90% of kills are happening, which makes all the difference. I would agree that you should go in the 7mm cal. .280rem, .280 AI, 7mm-08, 7mm rem mag, 7mm RUM etc.... .270 is a great round but there are so many other rounds that are quite a bit better than the .270 that will give you better ballistics and less recoil or equal recoil. Bolts are very solid and reliable for field use, usually lighter, more accurate, if you cant keep your eye through the scope for follow ups your scope sucks or you suck. Lastly I am a fan of buying 1 nice bolt gun how many bolts do you need around, get a rifle you can shoot anything in north america with you will always know how that gun shoots and never miss, and then go buy cool sexy guns and stuff like 50 bmgs, AK47s, Uzis, ARs, calicos, desert eagles, gold plated bubblegum, mother of pearl, silencers, mags on mags, SEX!
Thanks! I like the info. My forum on scopes was going to be next but most ppl only recommend one brand, luepold!
 
If I got to choose between .30-06, .308, .270, and .243 I'd pick the .308 and the vote wouldn't even be close. Low recoil, amazingly wide selection of bullet weights, and accurate.

Here's a good watch:


But if you're sold on the .270 that will work too.



P
 
Last Edited:
Just for grins I compared the 7-08 and 270 Winchester for average recoil energy and velocity. For reference the 30-06 is shown.

I like both cartridges greatly and both are proven killers suitable for any game in the lower 48. The 270 is flatter where the 7-08 is a bit more efficient. While recoil energy from the 270 is about 20% greater than the 7-08, the recoil velocity is only about 10% greater. Velocity determines if the recoil is more shove or more jab. To me there isn't enough difference between the two in that respect to choose one over the other, and a 7-08 in a light rifle may feel worse than a 270 in a heavier rifle. I'd personally gravitate more to the 7-08, which should be even more popular than it is, but don't see a 270 as a bad choice either.

IMO @MarlaSinger would be well served by either. They are also both popular cartridges and if one didn't work out for her she could likely sell and move on.

View attachment 1090159
Source: https://backfire.tv/recoil/

For Western Oregon I personally like the 7-08, but if I was hunting the eastern side I night prefer the 270.

Help me understand the table. I'm looking at the inputs used to generate the data.

Average bullet weight used in the .30-06 was 205 grains? That's way heavy.

Average bullet weight for the 7mm-08 was 160 grains? That's way heavy.

The nonstandard bullet weights return questionable data.

I prefer the Chuck Hawks data.





P
 
If I got to choose between .30-06, .308, .270, and .243 I'd pick the .308 and the vote wouldn't even be close. Low recoil, amazingly wide selection of bullet weights, and accurate.

Here's a good watch:


But if you're sold on the .270 that will work too.



P
.308 is too much boom! Lol! I need something smaller, but I am looking at this 7mm mag in the classifieds. Its a weatherby Camille 7mm mag
 
To bolt, or not to bolt? That is the gas key -
Whether it's better in plan to ignore
when copper and lead cost outrageous fortune
Or take arms against sea turtles
and by sniping, crush Greta. To shoot, to duck -
No more! - and by duck we avoid that painful shock -
the headache of the bullet smashing our skull
 

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