Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles If you can only have one bolt action rifle...

I have a 7mm-08 too. It a joy to shoot.

Look at the Blaser R8. Barrels and calibers can be interchanged without any gunsmithing which gives huge versatility for the basic platform. Start with a .30/06 barrel and go from there.

Ruger American Predator 6.5 Creedmoor.

Get yourself a Rem 700 in 6.5 Creedmoor. In the future, as funds permit, drop it in a McMillan (or whatever) stock. Mount a Leupold 3-9x40 with the LR Duplex, or a 3.5-10x40 with the B&C reticle, in x-low Talley Lightweights. Put a Butler Creek Mountain Sling on it. Go forth and shoot... thank me later 😉

The OP stated that he would want such a rifle to kill coyotes, and if the need arose, he'd shoot deer for the meat. That pretty much narrows it down.

Since this is a thread about bolt action rifles, my choice would be a Remington 700 or 7 in 243. The 243 might be the best coyote cartridge out there, and it will kill any deer that ever walked. You could go to a bigger caliber, but why.......you don't need it for coyotes, and you don't need it for deer. If you like short, lightweight rifles, you can get a 243 in one of those. If you want a heavy barrel rifle, same thing.

I've not owned a Kimber, and likely will not due to all the issues folks have. I certainly would not recommend one as a first rifle, as was suggested in an earlier post. Too much of a chance for issues for a new shooter.

Lots cheaper to practice with a .223 and barrel life will be 4 x longer than a .243. A .223 will kill any deer or coyote that ever walked if you put a good bullet where it belongs.

IF op can legally use a .223 for deer... still hasn’t said what state.

True enough, but it is legal in most states.

For me, if I could only have one bolt action, it would be my Tikka T3x stainless in .300 Win. I think I’d have pretty much everything covered from North America to African plains game.

For coyotes and deer the 243 would be about perfect, but you could look into the 6mm Remington, 25-06 or 257 Roberts as well. If you plan to be a fair weather hunter/ shooter I’d recommend a nice wooden stocked Remington 700 BDL or CDL, a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight or Ruger 77. If you want something a little more durable to the conditions you may encounter outside, stick with the same models but look for ones with a synthetic stock and stainless barrel.

And therein lies the rub.

I have killed deer and coyotes both with a 223, as well as a 243. Yes, the 223 will easily kill both, and yes, the 223 is much cheaper to shoot. But, any way you cut it, the 243 is a better choice for either, and I say that even though I use a 223 for coyotes far more than I do the 243. You can walk into just about any place that sells ammo and buy 243 ammo loaded with good deer bullets, bit it's not always the case trying to find 223 ammo loaded with good bullets for deer.

Now, if I could have only one centerfire cartridge, and I didn't have to be concerned about shooting dangerous animals, it would be a 223. I am confident enough in my shooting abilities to kill whatever I would need to with it. I reload, and know which bullets are the best choice for a certain scenario, and I know what factory ammo is as well. Not everyone does though, and if you shoot enough deer with a FMJ 223, or a 50 grain VMax, failures will occur.

I love the 223, but there are better choices for deer sized game, and if there is a chance that a shooter will use his rifle for that, then I'd advise them to use something else.

I have both, like both and have killed a pile of deer and varmints with both over the past 35 years. That said, if I were only going to have one it would undoubtedly be a fast twist .223. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Going off the .243 legality issues in some states just simply do a 6x45
It kills deer too and is easy on the wallet and shoulder.

Ruger stainless synthetic Hawkeye or MKII in 243, 270, 308 or 30-06. Top it with a set and forget Redfield or Leupold 3-9. Sight for 2" high at 100 yds with cheap Federal blue box ammo from Walmart and put it in the closet. It will still be right on 10 years from now if you decide to hunt with it.

My current state only allow hunting deer with a shotgun.

tikka 6.5 creedmoor

In that case, and since deer hunting was only a possibility, not a requirement, I'd recommend a fast-twist .223 all day. Love 6mms, but barrel life is a fraction of the .223s (factory 6s, anyway), and ammo and components pricier. Oodles of rifles to choose from too, including some that are scaled nicely to fit the little cartridge.

FWIW, if I were limited to one rifle, it would be an FN Mauser of some sort, probably a .270, no doubt about it. That's for me, not anyone else.

Fieldcraft in 6 Creedmoor.....

I’m firmly in the Tikka camp. I currently load for 4 Tikkas in .223, one 1-10” (bought used from shortactionsmoker, thanks again) T3 stainless, 2 1-8” T3 Superlites, and 1 1-8” T3 Varmint stainless. All four shoot 50 gr Ballistic Tip Varmint circa 3400 FPS at sub-.5” accuracy.

If I could find another T3 1-8” or 10” at a decent price I’d buy it. My brother, his boy, and I were shooting marmots a couple of weeks ago out to 500 yards. Humbling accuracy.




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