Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Just one?....7-08, 6.5, 270, or 308

As much as I love the 270... My M7 stainless with an edge in 7-08 is as close to perfection as I have found yet. Very nice to carry... very comfortable to shoot and even easier to load for.... Just fill it with r15, 4064, Varget or damn near whatever is on hand and top it with a 120 nbt and go kill schit.

I don’t think there is a bad choice out of those you are considering. I’m a 270 Winchester fan but could see the benefits of a short action if you were so inclined.

Hard not to choose the 270Win (my favorite), but it's hard to beat a 7-08 in a light rifle for most anything in NA.

Sounds like you want a 7mm-08 the most from reading your post so that's the one I think you should go with. There really isn't enough difference between the rounds you are looking at so you might as well go with the one you really like.

This ^^^^ ... For elk size game on down, pick the one you like best and go hunt. You only gotta please yourself...

.308 IMHO.

I think the 6.5CM offers the most performance for the least recoil. Factory ammo is available, but not as widely as the .308 or .270. If you want to be able to buy ammo anywhere, I’d go with the .308, which is a great cartridge too. Up to 600 yards or so, you’ll not notice a significant difference between the CM and the .308. Same with the .270.

John

7-08

H H

Amongst those you list I don't feel there is a BAD one.

My preferenceS are 270, or 7-08.

I've HAD a Tikka T 3 Lite SS 270 since 10-2003. NOT ONE single solitary problem. The new T 3X seems as good or better, but don't know from experience.

The T 3 Lite is NOT a super light but it AIN'T heavy either. I like the D M but some don't.

I'd agree with WHOMEVER said, pick the RIFLE you like over the cartridge.

That said a Tikka T 3 Lite in whichever cartridge you prefer.


Good Luck in you conquest.


Jerry

Wow. Good input, all around. I do load, though being able to buy good stuff off the shelf is never a bad thing. I am kinda leaning 708 for a bolt hunting rifle, and I also have a hankering to build a 6.5CM in an AR10 style platform for a ‘toy’. My main hunting uses are deer and hog, with some potential mullet, elk, antelope,....and anything else I can down the road.....but lining up and hunting other stuff might justify more rifles. I’m talking stands and eastern still hunting and maybe Texas/Oklahoma hunts, mainly. On the other hand, I have other stuff I hunt with, so I could go way different, but then. Might not carry it out as much. I’m not recoil shy, per se.....I just find it less and less sensible to deal with these days, and definitely less fun at the bench, working on loads or getting trigger time. I kinda figure as 7-08 and 120s to 140s in either the 708 or 6.5. I’m thinking 130-165s in either the 270 or 308 are a bit more noticeable....but probably not much.

7-08.

Deans

Oh, and Tikka lites/Superlites are on the short list, along with sako featherweights, maybe a Montana, or Barrett. I’ve had a couple of M7s in 708 and I liked the idea of the M7 much more than using the M7s: they seemed clunky to me and none shot consistently well. Like 700s better.

Assuming same rifle weight and barrel length, the Creedmoor will kick the least and make the least noise, if that's what you're after. And it sounds like that's what you're after.
Also, a 22" barrel will have less blast than a shorter barrel. And all these factors should make a rifle easier to shoot accurately.

I think the 7-08 runs a close second. Except that for me, I have to drive a lot further to buy ammo. And it costs a good bit more.

Of course, the more noise and recoil on one end usually equals more damage on the other end. But I grow tired of shooting a little quicker with more boom and blast.

Really, you should get two rifles. A .223 to "play with out to 400". And then a Swede to hunt with.

Very well put, IMO.

I never could understand why a 700 Mtn felt so much better to me than a M7, but there was just no comparison.

From your list, I'd be sorely tempted by the Montana.

FC

7mm-08

If said rifle is a Tikka, then the differences in those chambering boils down to the warm and fuzzy you get when you open a box of ammo and how well you shoot.

The rest won't matter.

That's my feeling & opinion too.

I've also read here on the fire that the main problem with the M 7 is the factory stock. 'They' say an aftermarket stock makes them feel better. I don't doubt that. How could they feel worse?

Jerry

A better stock could cure the feel, but curing the bolt wobble feel, and noodle barrel, not so much.

I don’t have to have the lightest or shortest rig, but it needs to shoot, balance, and feel ‘right’ and not end up 8.5-9# loaded up, with Talleys, and a decent scope. There’s a point where it’s too light for me to shoot well or enjoy it much. Where that is depends on stock and barrel, and my shooting, I guess.

Hey !

I’m in your camp too. BTW you are right !!

Jerry

Find a rifle YOU like in 270 or 7-08 and go forth and shoot/hunt the heck out of it.

If it is a LA, 270.
SA, 7-08