What rifle should I buy?

[rayderluvr]

Looking for a deer rifle, not sure what to buy. I am looking at 300 WSM, 7 mm mag, 30-06, 300 WBY mag. I plan to mostly shoot Whitetail deer, maybe balcktail and Mule deer. I currently have a 6 mm and a .223, both of which locals say will kill a whitetail (.223 seems awful small for deer.....). any input would be appreciated.

[Yooper]

All of those will do the trick caliber-wise. The .300 Weatherby may be a bit much.

What kind of gun do you want? Have a brand prefrence? Price range? Take a look at the thread about the Benelli comfortech...

[hunter1992]

2 other good calibers are 270 Win. and 7mm-08. I would go with a 270.

[rayderluvr]

Walmart has the Winchester Model 70 combo (includes cheap scope) for less than $400.00. I have always had good luck with Winchester so will either get a Model 70 or the Weatherby Vangard (also less tahn $400.00 at Walmart drilled and tapped).

[farmer]

I can tell you that a 6 mm will work fine for all the game you listed in nearly all circumstances. The .223 is usable but you must be far more selective as to the bullet placement. As to the cartridges you have listed, I can tell you the following:

7mm Mag- it is a long-range rifle with the power to take any game up elk. I do not have one but I do have a 7mm Weatherby Magnum and it is an excellent firearm.
30-06- cheap ammo can be found any where in the world and it has been used to kill just about every animal in the world. My grandfather has a large collection and it is one of the two rifles that he actually uses for hunting. Compared to the other chamberings its relatively slow but I do not think the animals can tell the difference. If you are recoil sensitive pick this one.
300 WSM- do not have one, never shot one. Nevertheless, the reloading book shows it to be halfway between the 30-06 and the 300 Weatherby. It would be prudent to determine the types and availability of ammo for this rifle.
300 Weatherby- Its one of my favorite rifles. Mine is very accurate and through reloading I can customize rounds for any situation. Factory ammo is expensive, and unless ordered online hard to find but it will out perform in both velocity and power any of the previous chamberings. The cartridge is suitable for all but the largest and most dangerous game and can be used at extreme ranges.

Personally, I would go with the 300 Weatherby because of the increases power and range. Yooper says it may be a bit much but I use mine all the time and it works just fine.

[OhioOutdoorsman]

My vote would be for the weatherby in a .30-06 or 7mm rem mag, better factory trigger than winchester and guarunteed accuracy out of the box. Either of these will be close to being the only hunting gun you'll ever need. I'd take the '06 if I we hunting in the east primarily because of cheaper ammo and the 7mm mag for extra range out west. Weatherby cartridges (not vanguard guns) are VERY expensive and unless you handload or plan not to shoot in much or are Bill Gates make impractical calibers in my opinion.

[Todd G.]

To be perfectly honest with you, when looking at the cartridges you listed, it doesn't matter! All of them fall into the same catagory for medium to large sized game. Whether it is deer or elk, all of the cartridges will work with similar results.

As a side note, the magnum cartridges you listed will be more expensive. Especially the Weatherby ammo. The WSM ammo will be next highest, followed by the 7 Rem Mag. The .30-06 will be the cheapest.

When you compare the .30-06, .300 WSM, and 7 Mag, you will find that the performance is almost identical, especially with heavier bullets. The .300 Weatherby will exceed each of them, and therefore leans more towards elk sized game more than deer. But it will still make a great deer rifle.

So, to make it short, get whichever cartridge flicks your trigger! Each of them will work very well.

[Yooper]

While I too am a big fan of the Model 70, I'd go for the the Weatherby in a 7mm mag. I bought a Model 70 kit at Wally World just like you're talking about and can tell you it's a good gun, but the scope and MORE IMPORTANTLY the scope rings were less than adequate. I ended up going for a new scope and rings after a few shots. It would have been better for e to have bought the Weatherby and grab my own scope and rings... I'd grab the gun, some good rings and bases such as Leapold's and a good scope like a VX-II, a Nikon, or one of the cabela's scopes. They offer a lot for the money.

I'm a BIG fan of the 7mm Mag. Caliber. I consider it the perfect do-it-all caliber for N.A. WHile others will get it done too, I just like eveything about the 7mm Mag. Range, power it's all there. The next one I like is the 30.06. I have one of those too. I like the cheap ammo, and it is a proven taker of every animal out there. You couldn't go wrong with an .06, either. The .300 WSM is a great new caliber and I expect it to be here a long time. I know they produce the Vanguard in it as well.

[rayderluvr]

Thank you all for your input........I am leaning toward the 300 WSM. The ballistics chart I found had the WSM with 180 gr. slugs and the 7 mag with 150, with MV, and ME similar...so I am thinking a 300 WSM with a 150 gr. slug should shoot faster (or as fast) as the 7 mag with a bit more knockdown power. Am I correct in this assumption?
Thanks!

[grayling]

All the ones you mentioned will do the job nicely. As some have mentioned already things to consider would be;

1.) Price?

2.) Features or options - this can affect price.

3.) Weight of rifle. The larger the caliber, usually, the larger the weight.

4.) Recoil - if you haven't shot higher caliber rifles I would shoot several first and then decide - test drive it first, just like a car, and see if it fits.

5.) Ammo. Is it hard to get or very easy?

6.) Bullet weight. Do you have seveal options to chose from (like the 30-06) or are you limited to one or just two different weights?

7.) Rifle manufacture. Some people have preference to one over another, specific designs, triggers, set-ups, and such. If you have questions talk with a local gunsmith and see what he says. He will be able to tell you from a mechanical standpoint which he likes an which ones are constantly in for repair. Just a like a car mechanic can tell you which vehicles are always in for repair.

I can't tell you which rifle (as that is a matter of preference to each hunter) but I would vote for the 7mm, 300wsm, or go with a standard 300 win mag.

Good luck,

Grayling

[LLOYD]

My two cents to this issue would be to stick with a caliber in the .270-30-06 range since you have stated that you are mainly interested in hunting deer sized animals. Both of these calibers can even be used for elk:in fact the 30-06 seems to still be the number one most used caliber in elk hunting surveys. The advantage of these calibers is that the recoil is not too severe and most shooters can tolerate practicing with them more and therefore develop better shooting skills.

As to your discussion of bullet weights in the .300WSM and the 7MM, you have to be careful about only looking at muzzle velocity. The 150 grain bullet, while starting out at a higher velocity in 30 caliber rifles, is actually not as efficient ballistically and does not perform as well as a 165gr bullet. Most experts consider the 165-168 gr range to be optimum in 30 caliber. You can see this phenomenon by studying ballistics tables out to 300 yards and observing that the somewhat heavier bullets acutally retain more energy at longer ranges despite leaving the barrel at lower velocities.

[tykempster]

Go with a 7mm or 30-06, a .300 mag, or short mag is expensive to shoot, especially the Weatherbys. Drop isn't that much between them from muzzle out to normal shooting ranges. When faced with this problem I chose a 7mm. Not much recoil, and not expensive shells but great performance. There isn't much drop and 7mm bullets shoot flatter and more efficient than .308 caliber bullets. As for which model of gun, look at a Savage. They have great factory triggers, and you can go from very cheap but still reliable up to pretty nice looking. Savages are known for their accuracy and available in almost all the calibers you have mentioned.

[turner1978]

If you are gonna be hunting in the thick brush back east for whitetails I would say that the 308 win would be a perfect cal. for you or the 30-06 or similar rifle low on recoil. Why punish your self with added recoil for a 80 yard shot.
But if you are hunting in more open areas like out west or maybe even thinking about an elk or moose hunt then the 7mm mags or 300 mags really would be a good choice if the recoil doesn't bother you.
Some people have a hard time shooting accurately with the high recoil magnums so if you have spent most of your hunting life shooting smaller guns like 223 then maybe it would be a wise decision to opt for a 270 win. Average recoil with a flat trajectory and enoughe punch to take anything from coyotes to elk and maybe even an occasional moose. I use my 270wsm on elk and deer all the time and it works really good. Remember that the faster you push the bullet through the animal the more meat it will ruin with blood shot. It doesn't take very much knock down power to kill a deer and anything from a 243-308 caliber will be more than adequete. One thing that might affect your decision is push feed or controlled round feed. I have both and I prefer the controlled. More reliable and less jamming problems in the excitment of seeing that thirty pointer. Have fun picking out your gun and let us know what you pick.

[rayderluvr]

Leaning towards a Winchester model70 in 7 mm mag or a savage....bothe good prices at Walmart. First, though, I am going to a gun shop in a different town to see waht he has in stock....I have heard that he has good buys this time of year.....