OK, since it's the off-season and we all need something to fill the time......let's discuss the "perfect" rifle to fill out my arsenal (I have more than 3 rifles, so it HAS to be an arsenal).

Currently the safe is filled with the .22 LR (lots of them), .22 Mag., .223, .243, .25-20, .250-3000, .25-06, .270, .7mm Rem. Mag., .30-30, .300 Savage, .308, .30-06, .338 Win. Mag., .35 Rem., .358, .375 Win., .44 Mag., and .45-70.

I have come into a Sears Model 53 (post-64 Winchester Model 70 built for Sears) in .30-06. It's been restocked in a Winchester Featherweight stock and is great.....however, since I have 5 .30-06 rifles in the safes, it begs to be rebarreled to something more interesting.

Here are my thoughts.....looking at the current line-up, the .22 Hornet comes to mind, but the long .30-06 action seems a waste and ther modififations to the head and feed rails could be a nightmare (a Ruger 77/22 seems better suited and less trouble than getting the long action to work with a Hornet).

Could go with a .22-250 (still too short for a full length action) or better yet a .220 Swift. I always loved the idea of a Swift, but I'm really not a "varmit" guy and it's not that far from the .243. Still, there is just something sexy about the Swift.

Another seldom seen, but intriguing round is the .240 Weatherby. Basically a .24-06 with a belt. Neat, but not so much better than the .243 (and .25-06) to really make me jump on it.

The .25's are pretty well covered (I really like the .257 Weatherby, but already have a .25-06) but there is a "glaring" gap between the .25-06 and the .270.......called the 6.5mm. A neat 6.5x55mm would work well, but if your going to run....why not run fast!! The .264 Mag. would fit in very well......although it's really not so much of an improvement over the .270 and 7mm Mag. I've always like it though.

The 7's are weak, but with the 7mm Mag. a smaller 7x57mm or even .280 seems kind of silly in a full length action since the Mag. can cover that ground. If this were a shorter action the 7x57 would sing, but why carry full weight to shoot a weaker round.

I'm really leaning toward a .300 Magnum (either Winchester or Weatherby). I know it requires work to the bolt head and feed rails, but that's really not a major problem. The .30-06 will mostly do anything the Magnums will, but not quite everything. To me, a Magnum is NOT about more velosity, but being able to throw a heavier bullet at the same velosity as a smaller round. A 200 grain Nosler at 2850-2900 fps seems a small but significant step up from the '06.

Bigger is always better to me, but it's really hard to think of a round that would be superior to the .338 Mag. for North America or the .358 if ranges are more modest. That said, there is the option of a .35 Whelen or maybe a 9.3x62mm. Both would fit the action so well with minimal work.......but am I really gaining anything over my beloved Savage 99 in .358??

Since BIG is better......I could go with the .375 H&H (I know the Ruger .375 looks good, but I like "classics") or maybe all the way up to a .416 or .458. I really like the idea of a true "big-bore", but honestly......what on the North American continent requires more than a .338 Magnum with 250 grain bullets? I still dream of Africa, but can always get a "stopper" if that becomes reality (one more reason to buy a new gun!!).

OK, that's the thoughts here.......convince me what "new" rifle I need. Maybe I'm overlooking something. I really don't want to go with an exotic "wildcat"......adding more "letters" doesn't impress me (as in AI, TTSX, or any other alphabet garbage). Would be nice to just rebarrel without work on the head or feed rails, but I'm not opposed to doing this if the result is truely useful.

Yes, I know.....I don't really have a "gap" to fill, but this is the off-season and riflr nuts need exercise for the brain!!

Operated at modern pressures the 7x57 is an amazingly good round.

I notice that you don't have anything in 6.5. Either a 6.5x55 operated at modern pressures (another very fine round) or a 6.5-06 would be a nice choice.

They are amazingly versatile and would be the one to get my vote. That is assuming your action could be opened up enough. I use my .375 for everything ( you ought to see what it does to prairie dogs). If you action couldn't be opened up I would say the 9.3X62 or 64. This would give you some power on the upper end of your arsenal.

I did include the 6.5mm....and by the way, it's a real contender to fill the "gap".....Love the 6.5x55, but why not go all the way to the .264 Magnum. The 6.5-06 IS nice, but I really don't wnat to go with a wildcat.

It's a Winchester Model 70, so opening it up to .375 H&H is not a problem, but what would I gain over my .338 Magnum with 250 grain bullets? Not arguing, just want to be convinced.

A Model 70 in 9.3x62 has a five-shot magazine, which is nice if you get into a mess of hogs. Recoil is about like a 30/06. It matches the 338 with 250-grain bullets, and with 286-grain bullets, it's right on the heels of the great 375.

It's a really versatile round that's almost perfectly balanced. But then so is the 30/06.


Okie John

A real posibility (the 9.3x62)....but wy is it a better choice than the .35 Whelen??

At first I saw a missing 204 Ruger. But based on your action, 338-06 for hog? A 6.5-06 would be covered by the 25-06 and 270.

It has the same effect on game as the .375 H&H, and is legal in most African countries for DG. It is one of those magical rounds that does more than appearances would indicate.

There is no way to come close to justifying an additional gun based on a caliber gap. Your only choice is to go for a function or style gap. If you have only a light 7mm, then a long heavy beanfield 7mm fills a gap. If all you have is a synthetic stainless in a favorite cartridge, then a walnut/blued fills a gap.

I think a 9.3x62 would be a lot of fun to experiment with, even though I have it covered on each end by the Whelen and the 375 H&H. It would certainly be a cheaper conversion for that action than going to a magnum cartridge.

I don't think you're going to find a round that's "better" than what you've got already. You're going to have to base your decision purely off of lust, on this one.

If it were me, I'd rebarrel to .375 Ruger. It's the almost same length as the '06, so it'd be a nice fit for the action length. Plus, I really want one, myself.

The other option would be the 9.3x64 simply because it can match and even better your .338 in performance, plus it has a definite "cool" factor!

If I had a synthetic / stainless rifle in the safe.....I hope someone just shoots me. I like rifes......I don't like modern bullshit, no matter how "efficient" they might be. Seal your stocks, use oil and take care of your rifles and blued steel and walnut work fine. If you want to ignor your rifle at the end of the day.....that's your choice, but you really don't deserve a decent rifle.

I agree....I have no real "gap" in my line-up, but us rifle nuts can quickly make a mounatin of a molehill. The "cool" factor of a 9.3mm is attractive.

I'm really surprised that the .300 Magnum is being ignored.......that was my first inclination.

I say .300 Win Mag. Extremely versatile, pleasant to shoot in a rifle of Model 70 weight. Everybody needs one.

I like the 300 win mag. if I had to limit myself to one rifle, it would be the 300 win mag. and I don't even own one.

The obvious gaps were identified already at 6.5mm and medium and large bores. If you're conservative, a 6.5-06 can fill that gap, but if you're an experimenter a 6.5 Gibbs with 26" bbl will easily get you into the lower end of 264WM territory. Neither requires either bolt face or feed rail work.

For the larger bores a 375 Scovill or a 411 Hawk will provide you very similar performance to their belted counterparts with no mods to bolt face, feed rail or magazine.

With a standard length action I don't see much advantage to using any of the 284-based wildcats when the -06 case is so readily available and you have the mag length to fit it's offspring. Good problem to have IMO. Looking forward to your solution.

You are shockingly devoid of anything 8mm.

Just sayin' <g>.

can't go wrong with a 300 wm it kills stuff vidy good intrance exit

Actually I had thouht about an 8mm, but the 8mm Rem. mag. is too close to he .338 and te 8x57 is just a european 30-06.

stxhunter,

That looks like a destroyed ham! Were you able to salvage it?

I don't think that's where his heart is supposed to be....

You need a .300 Weatherby Magnum, best of the bunch.

You could go 8mm - 06. Brenneke turned that one factory.
8x64. Just might be the ticket for those medium sized good to eat porkers. .308 might be a shave small, while throwing .338 would be excessive, most definetly. Cant see how you could for so long have gone without one. .323 fits the bill.



Sorry, try has might, no reasoning any need in between .308 and .338.

I loose all credit points toward "rifle loony" with this post.

No reasoning in between .308 and .338???? What has NEED got to do with buying a rifle....if that were so I'd not on 200+ rifles.

own

I beg to differ on the 8x57 being "just" a european 30.06 . It's one of those cartridges you just have to use to appreciate fully.It handles heavier bullets better,with similar recoil to the '06,but is a surprisingly sudden killer.
While the 8mm06 is a wildcat,it's a very easy wildcat to do,will require no or next to no action work,and will fill a gap.
It would be real easy to do on a good surplus '98 barreled action,probably cost even less,and leave that Model '70 action for yet another project.
I have one of those Winchester built Sears '06 rifles,and even though it is one of several '06s I own,I wouldn't canibalize mine.It shoots like a house afire.

Yeah, I have used the 8x57mm before and it is a great round (maybe better than the .30-06 at under 300 yards). This Winchester /Sears Model 53 / 70 is also a great shooter (under an inch at 100 yards) but not as good as what I have (Model 98 Mauser that will hold 5 shots near 1/2 inch at 100 yards), so it's a "project". Maybe a mauser, but I'd go 9x57 or 9.3x57 (maybe 9.3x62) before the European '06....just me.

it actually didn't mess up to much of the ham. i shot that pig for saugage so it all got ground up anyway

You don't have a .264. I would look at a 264 win mag,

I can see a gap there between the 250-3000 and the .25-06. You need a .257 Roberts in there. Quick smart.

Since your big "gap" seems to be between .308 and .338,8mm still seems to make the most sense to me,maybe 8mm06.
I have both 9.3x57 and 9.3x62.I'd go with the 62mm length or maybe even 64mm length before the 57mm length.The brass isn't that tough,but takes about the same effort as making up 8mm06....for less advantage. 9.3x57 brass is available,but not plentiful....you would get much more utility out of the longer rounds,I believe. Loaded 9.3x57 rounds are much more difficult to find anywhere than 9.3x62,and close to twice as expensive when I have found them.

That Model 51 would make a dandy .308 Norma Magnum. Pretty much a handloadingproposition but an amazing round with 200 grain bullets.

The action would be plenty long as is.

IMO your problem was easier before you opened up a bag of worms by asking a bunch of loonies what your next rifle cartridge might be. Best answer - whatever you want. Any reason is a good reason to buy or build another rifle. It's the answer to every problem - life's good when another rifle's in the works.

You could end up like me with more good rifles than years left in the tank. That's when you decide on a few to hunt regularly and sell or give away the rest. It was a heck of a fun time getting to this stage and lots of interesting projects got done but enough is enough. I must admit it was a funny feeling the day I woke up and realised I didn't need or want another rifle. Ward

TR

You need a 35W.

WN

35 Whelen would be good. You already have 35 cal bullets, and 30-06 brass. All you need are dies.

I would vote for a 35 Whelen.You need a boreing thumper.

My gunsmith turned my .300 Win Mag into a .30-.338 twenty plus years ago. Until I bought his .22PPC, it was the most accurate rifle in my safe, and that's saying a lot for such a big magnum cartridge. My last was a 6PPC, and I'm figuring that out right now. If I get another .30-06, I'm having a .338-06 made. Hawk gunsmithing down in Texas got me interested in slower moving wildcats, expounding the virtue of better bone breaking, and less meat damage. It would probably be the biggest bullet thrower I'm interested in owning. Speer and Sierra manuals say it will take anything on the continent, and I don't see myself going anywhere. If I should go moose, elk, or buffalo hunting, I don't see myself needing anything bigger.

Texas Rick,

I have a few calibers/cartridges as well. What I enjoy using, looking at and loading are guns that step a new way from the traditional M70.

I have got some 'euro' rifles now. Some of those are full stocked carbines! Then there is the drilling. Just those two groups alone stand far aside from the usual. Think of something like that.

.325 WSM! 2925 fps with a 200-gn bullet is not a bad thing. I've lost track of what the theoretical ballistics of the round were (they were lying anyway), but that's an actual, achievable load right there. Maybe even a little bit more.

Savage 99, I know what you mean about "something different". I have several "European" style rifles too....although I could never war up to the Mannlichers (rifles, not stock style....I have several full tock rifles in the safe).

In truth I never really liked the Model 70 that much, even the pre-64's (that could get me run out of the "gun nut" club). Truth is, that since Ruger introduced the Mark II....I've liked it better than any Model 70 (heresy, I know).

I have "numerous" Mauser 98's though and most are stocked with a lot more drop i the stock than is popular, but I could always shoot them better.....probably too many years with older syle rifles when growing up. Never could really like those "hump-back" stocks on some European rifles.

From your moniker, I'm guessing you'd like my small, but growing collection of Savage 99's......11 at present count from a .243 to a 358 and all but one are pre-mil.

You need to read the Grancel Fitz article.

Whatever you do, don't go with a 6.5X55, you'll start to wonder why you bother with all those other rifles cluttering up the safe.