Bang for your buck

[BirdsandBucks]

Im curious about which cartidge/rifle will give you the best bang for your buck? Personally, I'm not looking for a 600 yard elk gun.......yet hahaha but Ill need something that's gonna be able to shoot anything from a deer and smaller at or a little further then that range. This is going to be my first LRH setup so im just trying to get started on the right path. So lay it on me
Cartidge(Load Data also if you would):
Rifle (Would prefer something from the factory cash flow isn't there for a custom right now)
Optics:
Accessories:

Thanks to everyone for being so hospitable it really makes things easier on a rookie like me, it's nice to find a forum that almost everyone is willing to share information like this and not get upset when opinions clash.

 

[winmag]

Opinions on this topic vary GREATLY. But depending on your future plans for building on the platform you can afford now, Id say look hard at the Short Magnum cartriges(.270wsm/7mmwsm/300wsm/325wsm), or if you want a long action, look at a 300 mag of some sort(300win/300wby/300rum etc).
I personaly am a Winchester fan, but theres alot of guys here that own Savage because theyre so ''in expensive'' to customize into an affordable L/R rig.
Depending on how recoil tollerant you are, and what game at what distance will best determine caliber. I like .308 cal (300) because of the HUGE bullet sellection and bullet wt's to cjoose from. Weatherby and Howa offer reasonably priced quality rifles also.
Some will also try to steer you toward Tikka, and Rem too. If you go the Rem route, LISTEN to what the Rem fans have to say about choosing wich Rem,as some are not buildable. Dont just go to Bi-Mart and buy the first one you see.
Personal preferance for me would be Winchester Model-70, .300 win mag, or Winchester Model-70, .300wsm. Or Weatherby Vanguard .300wby, or Weatherby Vanguard .300win,(Wby mark 5 are a bit pricey) with the specs you laid out. But like I said, opinions on this subject vary GREATLY.
Put the best glass you can afford on it, and look into handloading.
Good Luck with your choice, and let us know what you decide.

 

[mphstigerfan]

I agree with everything winmag just said. I just bought a winchester m70 coyote and though I havent stetched out past 100 yds just yet, (still in load development phase) it has shot a 0.40 inch group at 100 yds. this is a stock rifle. I did a LOT of research on different guns before I put my money down and I suggest you do the same. many manufacturers need to tighten up their quality control on base model guns. I have heard way too many horror stories about $800- $900 rifles that wont put 3 shots in an inch or even come all that close even with handloads. my suggestion is either a savage, even though the action looks and feels cheap to me, they seem to be very accurate. or a winchester. the remingtons I do like are the senderos and mil specs both go into four digits but will generally drive tacks. or look into something with a MOA guarantee. ex. weatherby vanguard sub moa., sako, tikka, thompson center, etc... and as winmag said get enough gun. I love my 300 wsm and any of the 300 mags would be a good choice. the 7mm's and 270 mags are nice too. although for a guy with one rifle the 300s are more versitile. whatever you buy spend hours on here and googling rifles and reading any review you can find. and put way more stock in guys who know their stuff but dont work for magazines. remember a bad article on a rifle can put them out of a job rather quickly. by the same token when a new rifle comes out and nothing is written about it, this is usually not a good thing. the bad articles go in the trash and never get printed. all this said good luck, I hope you like your new rifle as much as I do.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Spend your money wise get a good scope! The new Vortex Viper PTS that are comming out would be a good choice at just under 1k or and of the but there are many others under that. Get a better scope than rifle!

Buy a Good used rifle a Remingtion Sendero or PSS in 300 win mag or amy magnum for that matter is a great starting point this give you lots of options!
1. A good action that in the future you can re chanmer to almost anything you can think of.
2. A HS precsion stock which I must say I love.
3. A great tunable factory trigger.
4. proven accury and performance in a factory rifle.
5. hundreds of low cost upgrades.

JON

check out impactguns for good factory new prices and gunbroker, gunsamerica or auction arms for used rigs. the forsale section has a few deals too.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Im curious about which cartidge/rifle will give you the best bang for your buck? Personally, I'm not looking for a 600 yard elk gun.......yet hahaha but Ill need something that's gonna be able to shoot anything from a deer and smaller at or a little further then that range. This is going to be my first LRH setup so im just trying to get started on the right path. So lay it on me
Cartidge(Load Data also if you would):
Rifle (Would prefer something from the factory cash flow isn't there for a custom right now)
Optics:
Accessories:

Thanks to everyone for being so hospitable it really makes things easier on a rookie like me, it's nice to find a forum that almost everyone is willing to share information like this and not get upset when opinions clash.

Do you have a rifle now? What is it? Are you willing to use it for a donor to build your new rifle?

Steve

 

[Len Backus]

A good cartridge would be a 260 Remington.

 

[BirdsandBucks]

Do you have a rifle now? What is it? Are you willing to use it for a donor to build your new rifle?

Steve

Nothing currently just traded a Howa 1500 for some toys for my encore. Since I live in Ohio we cant really use a Rifle for much. Shotgun Muzzleloader and Bow For everything except varmints. But we get alot of Damage Permits for deer and the state allows us to use whatever we please for that.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Me and you have the same situation and I chose the 260 rem

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I was hoping that you had an old rifle in the case that you could use the action for a donor. Re barreling using a custom barrel and a little truing on the action will set you back about $600 give or take. That I think is the most bang for the buck.

Steve

 

[BirdsandBucks]

Actually I did just find out that I might be able to pick up a .243 pretty reasonably. I didnt get many details Im assuming its a Rem 700 but will know more tonight. My only concern is that its not gonna be a real long range deer killer.

 

[liltank]

Two things, for 600yrds you don't need a magnum (I here the booing and hissing as I type), but a good cartridge such as a .308 Win, 260 Rem, 6.5x47 Lapua, 6.5x55 Swede and any long action such as a 25-06(115 or heavier),270, 280, 280AI, 30-06, will be more than enough to drop your intended animal. As far as a 243... it would questionable to 600, but not out of the question. You would need to use a 107SMK or 115 VLD which requires a high rate of twist that the rifle you are getting more than likely will not have. Give this article a read and I hope it answers some of your questions.

How Do I Know What To Buy?

Tank

 

[BirdsandBucks]

Well turns out the 243 is outta the picture now so Im thinking Ill have better luck buying a factory rifle to get going. I've done quite a bit of reading on here in the past few weeks and it really seems like alot of people really enjoy their savages and also from what I've heard the average joe is able to rebarrel this gun to his/her liking. The rebarrelling idea really seems to catch my eye simply because who knows when I'll get the chance to go out west and bring a little bit of elk back to Ohio. As far as cartridge I'm a little concerned that the 6.5 mm is gonna be hard on hides even at a distance. Is there anyone that can speak differently on that subject because I really have no proof to that just me talking. In contrast to that Im worried that the 6mm might be a little light for deer at around those same ranges. But I guess in the end it's gonna come down to "Sorry honey, Yes I really did need to buy two rifles today." Haha

 

[winmag]

Well turns out the 243 is outta the picture now so Im thinking Ill have better luck buying a factory rifle to get going. I've done quite a bit of reading on here in the past few weeks and it really seems like alot of people really enjoy their savages and also from what I've heard the average joe is able to rebarrel this gun to his/her liking. The rebarrelling idea really seems to catch my eye simply because who knows when I'll get the chance to go out west and bring a little bit of elk back to Ohio. As far as cartridge I'm a little concerned that the 6.5 mm is gonna be hard on hides even at a distance. Is there anyone that can speak differently on that subject because I really have no proof to that just me talking. In contrast to that Im worried that the 6mm might be a little light for deer at around those same ranges. But I guess in the end it's gonna come down to "Sorry honey, Yes I really did need to buy two rifles today." Haha

''Sorry honey, Yes I really did need to buy 2 rifles'' Great Attitude! Perfect! I give it a 10!!!!! Sorry I dont have enough experience with small bores to give you any quality advise, but you get an A+++ for bringing up the 2 rifles explination to the Mrs.! And extra credit if you pull it off!!!!!

 

[roninflag]

first and second choice remington 700 heavy barrel / or sendero . third choice a tikka heavy barrel. you chooose the caliber you need