Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Caliber for walk around field rifle/ truck gun

This is the correct answer.

Lot's of them out there at reasonable prices in a choice of practically any configuration you may desire.

drover

For a truck gun that will see plenty of abuse, can't imagine spending much coin. I bought my son a savage axis in 223 this year for deer. Will shoot a little better than moa with cheap American eagle fmj's, and better yet with hornady and Remington ammo. Plastic stock is ugly but it's a shooter for sure. I'm tempted to duracoat to rustproof the action and barrel, just haven't got around to it yet. Total investment with duracoat $250.

Ruger Ranch in 5.56 is my beater knock around gun. $330 and shoots less than 1" every time.

223....unless there's a chance you might run into something that want's you for dinner. In that case, get a 223 AR, so you can spray and pray.

A good knock-about rifle that you wouldn't have much $$ in would be the Marlin XS7s in 243 or 7mm-08 that CDNN is closing out for $280.

223 Montana would make the most fun.

6.5 Creed Hunter would make the most versatility.

308 Montana would make the most sense if you are serious about duping your Adirondack and using the two rifles to hunt the continent.

Sounds like you need something other than a bolt action. A lot of people get stuck on them though.

As much as i really like my Ruger Compact 260, I would think for what you describe a Compact 243 would be tough to beat.

One of the reasons i bought my .308, 16.x Ruger Scout was to have a light, handy carry rifle that could take abuse and function if the scope took a header. It has a 16.1" barrel and I swapped the factory laminate stock for the synthetic one, which Ruger claims brings the weight down to 6.25 pounds.

Velocities are reduced due to the barrel length (an acceptable trade-off in my world for being light and handy). My chronoed velocities are:
2868fps = 130g TTSX/CFE223
2699fps = 150g BT/Varget
2296fps = 208 A-MAX/Varget

Both the 130g TTSX and 150g BT were about .7 MOA loads in the range sessions where those velocities were measured.

Another mod was to remove the factory flash hider and install a $30 muzzle brake I found at a gun show. The point was to test how bad the flash and bang might be if I opted for a Silencerco brake/suppressor adapter as my intent is to do so down the road. The results were the flash and bang increased but not as much as expected and recoil was reduced significantly. My hunting buddy said "there is no recoil", an exaggeration, but he was comparing it to his 7mm RM.

one other thing I did was to purchase a 3-round and 5-round synthetic mags to use in place of the factory supplied steel 10-round nag, which rattles and is obnoxiously long for my current uses. Mostly I just use the 3-round mag, which, by comparison to the others, sits almost flush with the stock.

Next step is to purchase a scout-type scope and mount it in quick-release rings.

Howa Mini in .223 or 6.5 Grendel, or an AR for either cartridge. CZ 527 if you want wood.

A truck gun is the one place where I can suspend my intense dislike for detachable magazines on sporting rifles.

Another interesting option, available in May, is the new Henry single shot. I've been consistently undewhelmed by all things Henry, but this time they appear to have a winner. Think H&R, but with a nicely contoured receiver and decent walnut. .223, .243, .308, .44 mag, and .45/70. Assuming you're not anticipating a fight, a single shot is trim, light, handy, and convenient.

+1

I carry my 1894 in .357 mag more than anything (except maybe my hatchet) while out for a walk.

I think your criteria describes perfectly the uses for a 243 with 223 a close second.

CDNN has a lot of different Ruger American Rifles on sale for under $400. The RAR stainless compact in 22-250 for $350 looks like a good, rugged, and low maintenance, option.

My truck gun is a .243 ( Remington 700) put together from parts. 21" barrel HS precision stock and various sourced factory remington parts. with 6x Weaver it weighs under 8 lbs. and with three main loads will kill bunnies to eat up to deer sized gun.
Loads:
55 gr Nosler Shots bullet Loaded to 2400fps with Unique
55 Gr Nos. Varmagedeon HP with IMR 8208 to 4000fps
95 gr Berger VLD with RL -17 3175fps.

These three loads cover all I ever need from a truck gun and more. Only bad thing is the Varmagedeon load is very destructive on fur or edibles.
But a Kimber( your choice) in 243 is a good choice.

Kimber Hunter (has a clip, good for truck gun) in .308.
Maybe cut bbl to 18 or 20".

I built a 22-250 with a fast twist barrel for the same purpose. Shooting 62 grain TTSXs or heavier bullets, I have no reservation about shooting varmints, deer, hogs, etc. My rifle has a 24 inch Rem standard contour and is very handy. It fits nicely in the truck and is great to carry.

My truck gun is a 243 Montana.

If Kimber ever makes a fast twist 22-250 that will become truck gun #2.

You mean 'detachable magazine' not 'clip', which is altogether a different thing.

(Sorry, pet peeve of mine. Lik the misuse of term 'caliber' for 'cartridge'.)

The "void in your stash' is yuuge and it's in the shape of a .223....

RAR predator in .243
80gn ttsx at 3200-3300 will work for just about anything