Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Give advice on two rifle battery

In my opinion most guys waste way too much time worrying about the type of rifle, and what the chambering is going to be. They should be focusing on the purchase of a schit ton of brass, powder, and good bullets. Both practice bullets and your hunting loads.

Also people buy schit based on very low probabilities. i.e. "I may hunt elk one day."

My "pair" are a 8" 22-250 and a 7-08. They're pretty much identical and they cover 99% of what I do. And for the other 1%? You're gonna buy another fuggin' rifle anyway so don't worry about it.

These are my babies:




Travis

Agree with Travis.
Whatever you decide on, shoot it a lot, you will know the gun better than any ballistic program. My choice on the 7RM was because it was offered to me when I had just moved to Colorado and anything new or store bought was out of my budget.

The 243 I scooped it from the classifieds, I had decided I wanted something to get more trigger time on a centerfire and 243 would work in Peru too, so getting familiar is a plus. The fact that it matched the previous gun kind of sealed the deal.

Good stuff right there......

I have followed this thread for awhile and have waited to post. This is my two cents.

1. Buy matching rifles that you like. I cannot emphasize this enough.
2. 300 caliber for your all around. WSM, Win Mag, H&H because you do not have to load them to max all the time.
3. I would get a 264 caliber for your play rifle. 260 or Creed.
If you are really concerned about recoil, get a 223. If you are concerned about limiting reloading overhead get a 308.
This rifle matching your 300 is most important IMO. If it is a 243, 7mm-08, so be it.

Then on to this!

And when you are choosing your "light" chambering keep cost in mind there too.

500 count boxes of the 50gr. V-Max are about $70.00.

500 count boxes of the 168gr. HPBT are about $135.00.

Double the cost and we haven't even factored in powder difference. Not to mention your inability to shoot the heavier schit as much as the lighter schit.

If they're more or less identical rifles, you should be able to shoot the fugg out of the lighter rifle and gain pretty much the same benefits.

Food for thought...



Travis

I have similar to Travis, except mine is an AR in 223 and a 7-08. I like the idea of two rifles that are very similar, though.

Nothing I'm going to shoot in the next five or ten years can't be slayed with one, or both, with the right bullet.

Cat, A 308 and a 308. Muddy

This is another nice combo. Again, almost identical. 2-7X33 Leupolds. Sako Forester in .243 and a Vixen in .222 Rem [bleep].

Does it matter that brass is hard to find for the .222 Remm Mag? Not when you have friends that find and send you tons of the schit.

Of course most people east of the Mississippi think topping out on a .243 or a 7-08 is plain stupidity. But the reality is, my family and I hunt deer, coyotes, and varmints more than anything else. I've lived here five or six years now and I have hunted elk twice. I think. I live on the Hi-Line and while I would like to spend more time in elk country, the reality is time right now doesn't allow for much of it. So I buy and shoot accordingly. I think most people would be best served by purchasing based on reality instead of "some day..."







Travis

Now you are just showing off your Sakos. That Forester is very nice!

I gotta show 'em off while I still own them.




Travis

This^, and I've seriously contemplated thinning the herd of centerfires rifles at my home down to these 2.

Those 2 would cover any hunting I'm ever likely to do in the future. They certainly cover anything I've done in the past.

I live in elk country and my big gun is currently a 6.5x47L. Of course, hunting elk isn't my favorite, but I go at least a few days each year.

Looks like a pair to stay with...

This is why you were made a moderator.

I always laugh when the big bears come up in a lot of conversations when 95% + of hunters will never even see the big bears, much less hunt them.

308 and 243.

I'm the Moderator in Chief around this mofo.

Straight blastin' bitches.




Dong Kong

Very nice! What actions and stocks are those? Also, any idea on the contour of the barrels, are they identical in that respect?

I'm of similar mind as Travis.

Thus my set up is a pair of left handed Ruger Hawkeyes with identical McMillan stocks wearing Leupold scopes. Ones in 223rem, the other 308win. Very boring selection of calibers but feel they are good ones for me.

As funds allow, I'm in the process of buying [bleep] of brass, primers, and bullets. Powder is still tough to find but slowly getting better.

To follow this thought, the Rem M700 line will probably offer the widest selection of cartridges that you would be interested in. Bell & Carlson offers a Weatherby stock for the LA M700: http://www.stockysstocks.com/servlet/the-460/Bell-%26-Carlson-Medalist�/Detail

On the 700, I noticed that B&C offered a stock I like for the 700. For the range rifle, that would make it fit the Weatherby I like. However, it looks like a 243 would be the only choice, as they don't offer a 6.5 of any kind. That would be fine except if I went 243, I think I want to be able to run the longer Berger's, and no factory rifle appears to have the twist for it.

I need to run the numbers and get some advice on how a 243 running 90 grainers would do at 1k, but looking at the BC's, it does not seem optimal.

I know some folks have been running heavier Amax's successfully, but I don't want to be limited to only one bullet that would work successfully. Had that problem already and ran into it that the particular rifle simply did not like that bullet, and there were no other choices.

So I definitely want choices. I can't believe Remington doesn't make a 260 Remington rifle, other than the short light barreled model 7 cdl!

If you do go the M700/B&C Medalist route you might look at the .25/06 as your range rifle. Similar ballistics to the .260 and it's a long action cartridge. I think that Weatherby stock from B&C only comes in LA.