I'm still wanting to move out west, and starting to arrange my rifles around it. M700s in 35 Whelen and 30-06, M7 7mm08, and planning on a M70 in 270. Ordered a Hawkeye online in 308, but they will let me order it in any caliber they have. What do I need? 300 wm? 25-06? 223? or maybe a 243. Any suggestions?
Just where exactly "out west" are you thinkin about. AN what critters are you plannin on chasing.
Might help narrow things down
From what you have I would be lookin for a fun gun. A woodsbumin plinker that can do double duty.a hawkeye in 243 would be a sweet rifle, I almost wish I would have gone that way instead of gettin the .223....almost
One way or the other, I'm headed to Gardiner, MT, or Lander, WY. Will basicly chase anything out there. No time frame yet, but really want to make the move.
If you don't have a good plinker .22lr or .223 I'd suggest one of those. If not, I'd save the money for tags...
If you're movin' to MT or WY you'd best have at least one 223..
I'm still wanting to move out west, and starting to arrange my rifles around it. M700s in 35 Whelen and 30-06, M7 7mm08, and planning on a M70 in 270. Ordered a Hawkeye online in 308, but they will let me order it in any caliber they have. What do I need? 300 wm? 25-06? 223? or maybe a 243. Any suggestions?
So, if I have this right you've a 35 W, an .06, a 7/08, a 270 and now a 308 coming?
I'd keep the Mod 7 in 7/080 and then sell the rest and buy a Montana in 300 WSM and a Hawkeye in a 223 and call it done.
Just my thoughts.
Dober
i think you already have your bases covered in the rifle department. good luck on your move though.
Yepper now all he needs is a realtor and a moving truck. Oh yeah I just happen to be a realtor and live close to Gardiner....grins
Dober
I can't believe you're considering moving west and you have neither a 223 nor a 243!!! Shame on you!!!
I don't know how Dober feels about it. But skip the 243. Get another Model 7 in 260, or a Ruger, ar a Kimber... 140 Partitions are hell on Whiteys and Muleys. 100 Partitions are hell on Antelope. And 95 grain V-maxes are hell on groundhogs, gophers, and coyotes. The 260 is the Big Sky 243.
A 223 would be a good pick if you need a dedicated varmint rifle. You can plow through 3000 rounds between rimfire and centerfire real easy on a 3 day Varmint Jihaad on the east half. 3000 22's, 2000 55 grain V-maxes in 223, and 500 rounds of 260 is the preferred ammo load for a VJ.
I think you "need" a .338.
Geeze Jeff, he said he already has a Whelan??!
Maybe one of these years we'll actually have another winter that will push some elk out of the park for the late season in Gardiner. That brings back some childhood memories...
FWIW. You could get by anywhere in Montana with an -06 shooting 180 Partitions around 2800 FPS. A flatter shooting gun for the plains is nice, so really you could add a 25-06 and have two rifles for any big game in the state.
That Whelan loaded with 158 grain Hornady XTP's will make a great gopher gun, so you've got that covered.
If I were forced to pick just one rifle to hunt the west's big game today, right now, it would be a 7mm mag of one stripe or another.But I'd want my choice of bullets.Other choices would work as well, but that's what I'd choose.
For varmints,I say you can never have enough varmint rifles or ammo, so get several!
Seems you have a pretty good start now. I guess I would say get the .223 or the .300win. Either way there is still an overlap of what the cals. will do.
If it came right down to it, I'd get the .223
Tom
When you are thinking rifles, start with what you want to hunt, then pick the most appropriate caliber for it. You can pick ANY cartridge ever made and build a case for it, but that way you could end up with 15 moose rifles, and nothing for for the rest of the hunting.
There is a crap pot full of varmit hunting out here. A high quality 22 rimfire (cheap ammo) will give you more fun than almost any of the other rifles. A Ruger, a Kimber, an Anshutz, whatever you can afford.
Then you need a small caliber centerfire. A 223 is the most popular choice, but another way to go is to use a 243 and double it up on antelope. You can use cheap bullets for the prairie dogs, and a Nosler Partition of the same weight for antelope. Is a 243 adequate for antelope? I dunno- I have friends that shoot moose with 243s, so I guess as long as the antelope don't get much bigger than moose it'll do.
You have a lot of overlap with the 7/08, 270 and 30/06. I'd pick the one that you like the best and use the others for trading material. Any of the three are as close to perfect for deer hunting as you can get.
For elk, I don't think there are many cartridges that beat the 30/06 by a significant amount. With a good 165 or 180 grain bullet it is flat shooting enough enough to hit at any praqctical range and will drive corner to corner on big bulls. I once asked John Barsness on this forum is he had been forced to hunt with a 30/06 and 4 power scope for his entire career, how many animals would have gotten away from him that he otherwise killed, and his answer was something to the effect "None!".
Most people out here have some sort of handgun to carry in the vehicle and during hiking and fishing sorties. A 357 in a good Smith and Wesson or Ruger is hard to beat.
You are much much better off having a limited number of rifles that have the triggers tuned, the bedding tuned up so they don't walk after the first two shots, with good scopes, carefully sighted in, with loads that are tried and true, stocks fit to length, than with 20 rifles that are haphazardly thrown together.
You also will get a lot more use out of a good spotting scope and a couple of good binoculars than you will another rifle.
If you are more serious about big game hunting than you are banter about rifle trivia, here are some things I think would be helpful, and fun.
Spent a lot of time shooting ground squirrels and prairie dogs. The practice of learning to hit small targets quickly is will help you kill big game way more than another rifle.
Learn to hunt coyotes. If you can learn wind, cover and concealment enough to regularly kill coyotes, you are going to be a hell of a big game hunter.
Learn to bowhunt. That extra 4 or 5 weeks in the hills, even if you don't get anything will get you in shape, hone your hunting skills, and give you lots of scouting time.
Get in the very best shape you can. Hike in the mountains every chance you get to build up you legs and ankles, bike, go to the gym in the winter if you can't be outside, whatever it takes. The math to this is pretty simple; The guy that can walk 2 miles from the truck has 2010 acres to hunt- The guy that can walk one more mile, 3 miles, has over 4500 acres to hunt, and those extra 2500 acres are going to be better hunting because the other guy isn't hunting them.
Good luck in your move.
Fred
I like the part about smoking the song dogs
I hadn't thought about it, but you're right. Calling 'yotes will teach you a few things about playing the wind game. I'm a bowhunter as well, except after a while it sort of consumes you, and you find that you don't have a lot of tags left come rifle season.
Where the hell is 59604? Not familiar with that one. Just when I thought I knew most of the Montana Contingent.
Danadair
59604 is Helena- Actually should be 59601
How about a .338 Federal?
