Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles All-around rifle?

Plus a big waste of money for redundant field performance, while having none of the benefits of having two rifles chambered for the same cartridge, such as owning an identical backup rifle in case of emergency, and the ease in logistics of stocking one type of ammo/components.

OP,

I am a bit mystified as to why you would want multiple calibers so close in performance unless you just have an urge to buy two rifes. Just pick a caliber and go with it, spend the extra money on components, hunting trips, etc.

Personally I have never been able to tell the difference in recoil between the 308 and 7-08, I have not owned a 6.5 yet but from years of shooting a 260 Rem which virtually duplicates the 6.5 I can tell you that it does recoil a bit less.
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Get a T-3 in any of the above calibers and it will work for the scenario outlined in your original post. The nice thing aboiut the T-3 is that everyone I have owned has been "plug and play" - just put a scope on it and go shoot small groups.

drover

Exactly. The current popularity of 140-147 grain bullets in 6.5 Creedmoor makes for very little difference in recoil, when compared to 140 grain 7mm-08 and 150-155 grain 308 loads. As in, when I've shot similar rifles side by side the biggest difference I could detect between the 6.5 Creedmoor and the 308 was in noise level, not recoil.

It's simply a manufacturing convenience and probably keeps costs down a bit. If the other characteristics of a Tikka appealed to me, I wouldn't sweat 1/2" of action length. We managed to survive with short rounds in Mausers and pre-64s for a good while before short actions became common. Non-issue for me in a hunting rifle, and occasionally the long action allows seating bullets out to some advantage with minor mods to mags and/or bolt stops. And there can be good reasons to go with short rounds even when the same rifle can be had in the "long versions". Different strokes.

It just doesn’t matter. The huge less than half inch difference in length means nothing. Does shooting 223 in a short action bother you?



You’re pole vaulting over mouse turds.

Good thing you don’t shoot 223’s in short actions.......

Threads like this really show who likes to talk about rifles and maybe hunt a bit compared to those who hunt a lot.....

Some of the stupid stuff argued for or against in this thread means jack crap...

T3 Lite SS in .270 with a 2-10x42 Monarch 5 in Warne rings shooting 150 NP’s would be perfect for an all-rounder. At least that’s what I thought, and how I put mine together. Can hunt almost all of NA with that combo without issue.

Totally agree. Pick one and go hunting/shooting.

Personally, my recent Tikka 6.5CM was so easy- mount a solid scope (LRHS), whip up some reasonably sure loads, and be dialled in to 500M by the end of range session #1- I'd go that route. And likely will be going that route for my wife's new hunting rifle.

T3 6.5CM, SS 6x, solid rings... Like drover said, "plug and play"...

To some guys 1/2" is a big difference. I personally could care less. Tikka builds extremely accurate rifles that work just fine. This short action vs long action chit is funny.

For an east coast bolt action (east of Mississippi) I would just go with a 308 Winchester. Then for longer range deer, shoot the 125gr Ballistic tip. Closer range 150gr Partitions. Exactly like I do East of the Mississippi. For large critter up close 180gr Partitions/Speer Hot core or whatever 180 is accurate. The real problem. One rifle is too boring to settle for just one.

T3 270 Win I brought in this summer. Can't complain. All around rifle? Sure,why not?

All depends on where you hunt and what you hunt. For example, in Alaska where I live the most popular cartridges are the .30-06, .300WM, .338WM, 7mm Magnum, and .375H&H. There are all kinds of cartridges in between, but those calibers are the most popular.

For the type of hunting I do, the .338WM with a 225-grain TTSX is perfect, and so would be a .30-06 or .300WM with a 180-grainer, or even a .375 H&H with a 270 though 300 grainer. I chose the .338WM several years ago, simply because it falls in the middle, kicking on the hills of the outstanding .375H&H. The reasons why these calibers are popular in Alaska is because the animals we hunt tend to be very large, and some fight back. Yes, there is noting wrong with a .270 to hunt moose in bear country, but most hunters worry a little about bears. And yes, some hunters don't worry about bears, big butts, big kneecaps, and big foot, but "me chicken" does.

Your cartridge choices look great to me, and for some reason I can't explain I would pick the .270 first, and 7-08 second.

Not being contrite, but all my rifles are “all around”. If I’m taking it hunting, it will do the work. I do admire the guy who has hunted with one rifle for too many years to count. He’s the fella who can snap a quick shot in timber or lay behind the scope and crush big fur at distance...No big deal, every time. 😎

Yes. The elusive KY elk tag. My father and friends have all applied so often. No one has gotten one. I personally am just going out West in 2 years.

I like your choice. Hard to beat a 270. Mine is a M70 EWSS 30.06. Love it. Considering getting a 7mm Mag. Have a M70 PF 300 WM that shots excellent but it’s in a heavy Boyd’s stock atm

[quote]The current popularity of 140-147 grain bullets in 6.5 Creedmoor makes for very little difference in recoil, when compared to 140 grain 7mm-08 and 150-155 grain 308 loads. As in, when I've shot similar rifles side by side the biggest difference I could detect between the 6.5 Creedmoor and the 308 was in noise level, not recoil.
/quote]

With those bullet weights the 6.5 CM has 12 ft lbs recoil in an 8 lb rifle. The 308 will have 15 and 7-08 about 14. Just for reference a 243 shooting 100 gr bullets is about 11. And with those bullet weights the 6.5 will significantly out penetrate 308 or 7-08 on game. You have to move up to 175-180 gr bullets in 7mm or 30 caliber to match the penetration you get with 140's in 6.5. And that means even more recoil. 180's in a 308 is getting close to 30-06 recoil with 150's.

That said I settled on 308 as my all around rifle some years ago. I consider the 7-08 a ballistic twin and would have no argument with someone who prefers it. But I've also played with the 6.5 CM enough to be satisfied that it'll kill anything the 308 or 7-08 will kill. And do it with less recoil, and probably better accuracy.

But at this point I ain't selling my 308's and replacing them with 6.5's. At normal hunting ranges the only real difference is recoil. But for someone just starting out I'd advise the 6.5.

Which rifle is a personal choice, but I like the Tikka a lot.

With loads I use in my rifles, at real world chronographed velocities, with 147s over 4350 and 155s over Varget, the 6.5 and 308 recoil at something like 13.1 and 14.9, in 8 lb rifles, respectively. Not enough difference to matter, as both have some decent recoil and really aren't light recoiling guns.

Penetration is dependent on bullet construction, and either have enough penetration for the big game normally shot with these sorts of rifles. SD as a metric for bullet performance is a tired trope.

I hear ya on sticking with the 308. That's my preference, also.

For someone starting out, I'd recommend something that kicks significantly less than either of the three. But that's getting pretty far off topic.

Probably less than jack crap....

Boots, glass, and sound clothing ("system"if you must)

Then there's the wind....

Like the two of you I'm pretty happy with the 308 Win. But unlike you two I'm planning on getting in on the Creedmoor scene too.

The difference in cartridges isn't Jack! If you already have a T3 and it doesn't stand out as something you want to carry everyday than a different cartridge that's more of the same is gonna change things

Sounds to me like you seriously need a Barrett Fieldcraft 😁 Get it in the caliber you have the most components for. If you've never handled one stop at a Cabelas and take a look and feel. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. In fact it seems a good many campfire members have been pleasantly surprised with the fieldcraft. I've not had the opportunity to shoot one yet but the one I held in my hands was one of the most tempting rifles to buy I've handled


Trystan