It really comes down to if you just want a new rifle or want to make yours work for you. If you get a new rifle, that's new mounts and optics which as we all know gets real expensive real quick.
I think if you swap your existing recoil pad for Limbsaver and use reduced loads, it will be like a .243, but you still have the option of moving back up to standard loads if you have the need. A loaded down .270 will do everything a full house .243 will do. And I don't see much difference in the .270 and 25-06 in real world situations recoil wise, but physics don't lie either.
My lightest rifle is a Weatherby S2 Wilderness (6.75 lbs naked) in .270. It's 8 lbs dressed. I put a limb saver on mine to add some length, but made a big difference in recoil. I think the Weatherby stock helps with recoil also so it's a double win. If you went to reduced loads, it'd be a ***** cat. Not that it's more than a .308 right now. It's a hunting rifle though, not a target gun. I try to do my practice under hunting circumstances. Cold bore shots and follow-ups. More range trips and/or more waiting, but truer to real world conditions.
I also agree that the benefit of a brake is ability to see hits for corrections.
But hey, if you want a newer, lighter rifle, that's all good too. Just remember that if you go lighter, the recoil of even those small rounds will increase also. Just don't put yourself back in the same boat you are in now with a lighter rifle.
Best of luck.
I think if you swap your existing recoil pad for Limbsaver and use reduced loads, it will be like a .243, but you still have the option of moving back up to standard loads if you have the need. A loaded down .270 will do everything a full house .243 will do. And I don't see much difference in the .270 and 25-06 in real world situations recoil wise, but physics don't lie either.
My lightest rifle is a Weatherby S2 Wilderness (6.75 lbs naked) in .270. It's 8 lbs dressed. I put a limb saver on mine to add some length, but made a big difference in recoil. I think the Weatherby stock helps with recoil also so it's a double win. If you went to reduced loads, it'd be a ***** cat. Not that it's more than a .308 right now. It's a hunting rifle though, not a target gun. I try to do my practice under hunting circumstances. Cold bore shots and follow-ups. More range trips and/or more waiting, but truer to real world conditions.
I also agree that the benefit of a brake is ability to see hits for corrections.
But hey, if you want a newer, lighter rifle, that's all good too. Just remember that if you go lighter, the recoil of even those small rounds will increase also. Just don't put yourself back in the same boat you are in now with a lighter rifle.
Best of luck.
