Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ordering a Montana Rifle Co X2 - Help me choose cartridge

Gonna order a Montana X2 this weekend. Like most of us, I twist and turn over cartridge choice. I live in Alberta, Canada, and most hunting seasons I have an elk or moose tag in the pocket. I am debating between 280, 280ai, 7 wsm, and 300 wsm. I like the short action as it saves a little weight.

I know there is no wrong choice, but what would you guys go with if you were me?

Look forward to your responses.

270

W

7-08.




Travis

22" 7-08

7mm WSM.. Awesome little cartridge. Love the 270WSM as well. Both are very capable cartridges for your intended game.

I'm likely going to order an X2 soon, as well! I'm going 7-08 with an 8-twist 24" barrel. Going 24" as I like my rifles to be a slight bit muzzle heavy.

Maybe we should order together and get a good deal on the importation fee...

.300wsm

280ai

.338 win mag.

30-06 or 338 Winnie, and then send it to my house for proper break-in and testing.

30-06 is boring but it'll sure get the job done for you.

Any grizzly in the area?

Schit,forgot about that part.

Jordan, did you talk directly to MRC about the 8-twist? When I asked about custom twists they told me they would treat/price it as one of their customs.

Choices...

You've got it narrowed to a fine list and nary a dud in the bunch!

Out of the list and with the idea of it being my primary hunting rifle, I'd flip a coin between the 300wsm shooting 165 TTSX or 180gr Accubonds and the 280/280AI launching the 160 Accubond.

Whatever you get, you're gonna like it.....

Of your choices I would pick the 280. My own order will an X2 in 7mm08 with them chopping the barrel to 22 and recrowning for $65 bucks.

Brass availability for the 7 WSM has been poor the last couple years. Its out there, but its gonna cost you.

You can buy factory ammo for brass, but whats the fun in that?

I'd go one of the 280's or the 300.

I hate to be boring. Personally like something a little different but the 30-06 is always a good answer. And I am not a fan, just stating the obvious. Now I am a 308 fan...

No I haven't. Somebody said in another thread that they responded saying that they were willing to twist other than the standard, but no mention of extra fees or different pricing was made.

They have the capability and are twisting our exclusives as I designate.

They're a good bunch of guys to work with!

I have a XWR in 300 wsm and so far I'm liking it a lot. With the first handload (RL 17 /168 TTSX's) it's grouping at 3/4" and functioning great. The bedding (B+C stock) was very well done. If not a 300 wsm I'd look to a 280 AI.

Could wait until they chamber it in 28 Nosler

edit.

Given the spotty supply of brass, bullets, powders, I would go with the .308 Winchester. since you like the short action.
while it may not have the knock-down of larger cartridges like the 300 Win mag, or 338, it is more than adequate for either animal.

I have spent a lot of time in northern Canada (Yukon and NWT) and I have seen more 303's and 270's being used for moose than any other cartridges. Certainly anything those will do the .308 Winchester will do as well. But being Canadian you are probably aware of that anyway so I am preaching to the choir.

drover

If you want a short action, get the 7x57. The COAL has plenty of room for whatever projectile weight you want to load it with.

What are your exclusives?

280 Rem, it's a classic and come very close to the speeds of a 280 AI when loaded to the same pressure.

I like the looks of the 264 Win Mag myself.

308

260 with an 8 twist

I like my Kimber Montanas in 270 WSM & 7MM WSM.

Those Kimber Montana's weigh less than a M70 Featherweight and their action is better.

Of course the brass problem for the 7mm is not good.

I'd go 7wsm, as it sounds perfect.

(but, I have dies and 200 new Win brass tucked away for when I finally find the right one. . .)

The way things are now, you could probably sell that brass and buy a decent rifle. Have you seen what 7mm WSM brass is going for lately?

Mostly because I hunt with one, and like it a lot, I'd go with the 280Rem. I shot 18 head of game in Africa and 2 or 3 more here, using the 140gr Ttsx and BT. I do NOT like the BTs, blew big holes in anything it'd go through. The Ttsx excellent, but I'd try the Swifts too, or the partition. Just happened to be trying out the Ttsx. Problem with the short mags and AI configured rounds is, they might not be around tomorrow, and brass hard to get and ammo might be non-existant other countries. The 280 can be found most places. I'd sure have to look at the 308 and 06, as two great rounds. 06 will do anything those others will, and more.

I get a kick out of guys asking for others to help decide on cartridge and/or rifle choice!

I haven't hunted with everything out there, but have a pretty good idea what will/would work for me.
For example, I have hunted with the .308 and the .243, but not with the .260 or the 7-08. I do believe that I could decide for myself how these cartridges might work out for me.

And I've hunted with the 25-06 and the 30-06, but never the .270 or .280. Still, I think that my knowledge of bullet construction and my experiences warrant me making my own decisions, even if that knowledge is less than encyclopaedic.

If I were looking for a rifle today, I'd first check on availability of brass for the chamberings I was interested in. Some stuff seems seasonal. Other stuff is simply in high demand and you gotta be quick on the trigger in deciding on an order when you find it.

I'm all ears(?) when it comes to reading about what you chose and how you arrived at that decision. Really interested in how it works out for you, as well.

Of these choices,280 or 300 WSM. Easier to get ammo and components. Both good for the animals in Alberta!

He meant their action is better for Kimber. You know, more advanced design ie easer & less expensive to manufacture.

I'm pretty sure irrational paranoia is limited to some people in the United States. I suspect in Canada each .22 rimfire owner doesn't strive to have hundreds of thousands of rounds in storage. The .308 with modern bonded premium bullets is more than sufficient for the task intended.

With a lot of Elk and Moose to put on the plate, out of your suggestions, I'd go with the 300 WSM.

If you already had a good medium bore, and just wanted something dedicated to the Elk and Moose I'd move up to the .338 Win Mag.

+2 ... Inquiring minds...

300WSM of what you listed. Of course, you skipped the 30-06 and 308.

When MRC started up we were out there in Montana and I stopped in to look at what they had. Then they offered two for the price of one action as a start up offer. That was about 2004.

When the actions came they were so rough in their finish that it would have cost way too much to have them operate and look smooth.

Here is a link to MRC

Here is one of the 2 "as cast" actions I returned.

Ever consider that the only thing to not have changed since 2004 is the content of your posts?

I intend to be factual in my posts.

It seems that you cannot provide facts but just insults.

"�When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser."

Socrates

Hey Socrates, have you owned a new production rifle or action?

For instance what one?

MRC

Buy now for $1,125.00

MRC in .338 RUM got it in October 2012,and killed a cow elk in December 2012.




Instead of wallowing in the past,actually try one.

Here's what it did with RL-25,Fed 215 mag primer and a 250 gr Nosler Partition at 100 yds. The scope is a Leopold 3x-9x.


Lets see what you done with a MRC rifle.

This mimic's my feelings on the subject. I have lots of rifles for different reasons but I lean towards my 270WSM more than any of my other rifles. And a Montana, sweet. The 270wsm is fast, so is the 7mm WSM. So close you would be splitting hairs to find a real difference.

The 280's speak for themselves. Great cartridges.

The 300WSM has more noticeable recoil for a "everything" gun but is still a fine choice if that does not bother you. If that Montana stock fits real well, who the the heck cares.

From my own research I have found the WSM "7's" cartridges harder to get than the 300WSM, but if you are reloading, again, who the heck cares.

You are in a great place, I would just revel in the fact you are getting a new Montana gun works rifle. Heck you might need two:)

So, just maybe, the MRC actions being sold in the year of our Lord 2015 are better finished than the ones you bought in 2004?

When Montana first started making actions their idea was to make them available only "to the trade". They were meant to be unfinished, unpolished actions that a gunsmith would need to finish as part of making a custom rifle. They stated this very clearly on their website back then and and were very clear about this in posts on AccurateReloading where this was discussed. They said over and over and over to anybody who would listen that they were going to sell unfinished, unpolished basic actions that a gunsmith would have to polish.

Then folks were very surprised and unhappy when they got an unfinished, unpolished action.

I like watching people, they are very predictable.

What do you mean this "unfinished action that is supposed to be fitting by a gunsmith" is "unfinished and needs to be finished by a gunsmith!"

Oh the outrage.....

Not in your original choices, but another vote for the .308W If you want SA. 7mm-08 wouldn't be a bad choice either. However, most younger guys have to go thru the more is always better phase, so 7WSM if you fall into that group.