Buying a new rifle need advise

rblain

OK OK. I have to ask. Who's Vince and why is he letting the cooler run out of beer? We never let the cooler get low let alone run out of beer up here in the Great White North!!

Bushmaster

Patience, patience...He'll be along soon...It takes him a bit of time to catch up down under there...

Elvis

the suggestion of a slightly cheaper rifle with very good scope has alot of merit. the write ups on the savage rate it highly. the 30/06 is a great rifle and when you wear out the barrel you can convert it to a .270 win and really start to have fun!!! Very Happy

Come to think of it no moose or elk is going to stand for the type of punishment you can deal out with a .270win Shocked

. I have never felt undergunned with mine, no I dont have moose here in NZ and havent had a chance to go to fiordland to chase wapity YET but you can bet WHEN I do my old mod 70 .270 will be the gun I take.
do you reload??? the options of heavy hitting loads increase if you do. there are places that do custom loads if you dont. the 30/30 will take care of all your woods hunting and the other will cover the rest.
check out My wifes first moose thread .

rblain

My Buddy is starting to do a lot of reloading. He's the one really pushing me to get the 300 win mag. He has all the dies, all I have to do is get the brass, bullits, primers and powder and we're off to the races.
He's spent a crap load of money getting all set up and is really getting into it. He knows what he's doing, he just got back from a hunt and brought back a nice white tale and a really nice cow moose. Brought both down with his loads, one shot, one kill.
He's been really helpful and has says we can get together anytime and do some reloading.
He shoots a real canon though, a 300 WBY. Way too much for me. The price of that ammo off the shelf blows me away.

Vince

Damn...you guys are drinkin' well...I'm proud of ya's.

Beer inbound RB.

and for those of you that fancy a rum or two...this should keep you going for a little while...mixes BRILLIANTLY with ginger beer, although it's extremely "moreish".

Now...back to the subject at hand...with the size of the game you have in Canada mate, I find it hard to disagree with Elvis, although to be truthful I have never owned a .270 WIN. The 30.30 is a brilliant scrub gun...great for instinctive shots up close and has the power to deliver the goods out to at least 100 metres...with the right load (ask Bushy). Another calibre to consider is the venerable and hard hitting 30.06. Have used this calibre very successfully out to 300+ metres in the past on kangaroos. There are any number of 30.06 shooters here who can, and no doubt will, give you the good oil on this calibre.

If you are talking brands of rifle as well...that is a "loaded question". My current "go to" rifle is a Weatherby Vanguard...but realistically, any of the big brand rifles are good these days, although, like cars, some are better than others in some areas. Elvis mentions the Savage, and I think most will agree, it is a good accurate rifle.

So mate, that's about all the advice I can offer at this time...gotta go restock the beer truck for the next delivery. Good luck with your rifle/calibre search, and let us know how your fare.

Cheers, Vince

Elvis

ok for the next line of enquiry how big are you and does recoil bother you as its no good buying a cannon of you develop a flinch. its no use having a super accurite long range deerslaying machine if you close your eyes and jerk the trigger in anticipation of the boot coming. dont laugh Ive seen it too many times in the past.

slimjim

rblain wrote:

He's the one really pushing me to get the 300 win mag.

At what distance are you going to hunt? Considering the 30-06 and 300 Win Mag shoot the same bullet, the game doesn't know which caliber shot it. If the game is at 300 yards with the 30-06, the Win Mag will have the same energy out to 450 to 500 yards with a 180 gr bullet.

slimjim

Vince wrote:

Beer inbound RB.

Vince, that is one BIG Beer truck! You could host the entire forum with that rig!!! How big is the cooler to hold that rum bottle?

Pumpkinslinger

A buddy bought a Savage Edge last summer and loves it! His is a .308 Win. I'd pass on the "already scoped" version, he had trouble with the scope that came in his and switched it out for another one.

Vince · Last edited by Vince on Sat Nov 13, 2010 11:10 pm; edited 2 times in total

slimjim wrote:

Vince wrote:

Beer inbound RB.

Vince, that is one BIG Beer truck! You could host the entire forum with that rig!!! How big is the cooler to hold that rum bottle?

Don't need a cooler for the rum mate...just the ice and mixers. Very Happy

Now, the beer truck...that is one very special truck mate. I have posted pics of it before, but since they were a loooong time ago, it won't hurt to show them again...for you "billy lids":

The truck arrives:

The Set Up begins:

Set Up complete...let the fun begin:

Inside the Bar Area:

The Big Screen and Presentation Stage:

And of course, the obligatory dancing girlies...The Fourex Angels:

This rig is sponsored, and owned I believe, by Brisbane's premier beer maker Fourex (XXXX) travels to many sporting venues.

Cheers, Vince

rblain

Elvis, I learned a long time ago to never laugh at anyone giving you adise. You are making a great point and one I'm going to be thinking about when i go to the range and shoot my buddy's 300 win mag. He has both caliber rifles and invited me to shoot both. Something I plan on doing.
My size, I carry a bit of beef at 245 lbs. so a bit of a kick shouldnt bother me too much.
Bushmaster, you were right, Vince finally did check in.
Have a good night ppl, I'm going to a Jr Hockey game with a couple of buddys and swill a few beers.
Check back with you all tomorrow.

English Mike

Greetings from over the Pond rblain.

I agree with what others have said about the distance you're likely to shoot at being important - If you can't envisage shooting much past 300yds(a LONG way in most hunting scenarios) then the 30-06 is the way to go.
Savage rifles have one heck of a good reputation for supplying accuracy right out of the box, with new models using the Accutrigger™ & Accustock™ being especially good.
They're cheap enough to leave you with funds to buy a good scope too - I use Leupolds (I have five now) for everything because they just plain plain consistently. I "dial in" for ranges beyond my zero, so the turrets MUST move the point of aim & return to zero accurately every time.

slimjim

Vince wrote:

I have posted pics of it before, but since they were a loooong time ago, it won't hurt to show them again... And of course, the obligatory dancing girlies...The Fourex Girls

Vince, that's not fair!!! Where did the pictures go!?!?!?

Vince

Slim...are you telling me that you can't see them mate? I have them in my Photobucket and posted them out of there...let me know buddy.

Cheers, Vince

Bushmaster

I hate that when it happens...Had to go back and edit my first post. Just hate it when I get manufacturers mixed up. I meant Savage.

Vince. I don't think your second set of photos made it (too much whiskey).