Saving up for a higher end rifle (like cooper), which caliber?

[blkdog]

Model 52 Timberline in .280 AI good for everything in North America. If recoil is an issue you can shoot lighter bullets for deer and go to 168 gr for elk and bear. Mine is a .5 minute gun with a light barrel for at least 4 shots until the barrel gets hot but the way it shoots you only need one shot. PS I am fortunate to have several Coopers and they all shoot well. You can get the new Trigger Tech trigger in them now and Jard makes an excellent aftermarket trigger for them

 

[Gregory K VandeDrink]

I use my 25-06 and reload to it. It's my goto rifle for nearly everything. But you'll never go wrong with a 7-08. It's good for almost everything in North America and Europe.

 

[skipglo]

OK so if you were me what would you want both caliber and brand rifle for my needs. I hunt whitetails with a max range of 400 yards. A very rare chance at a black bear may happen and I stress the word "may". I like a handy rifle (lighter weight, 9lbs or less with scope would be desirable) and I do prefer lower recoil with flat shooting. I do a lot of tree stand hunting with shooting rails (those shots would be 200 yards and less) but we have some shooting blinds on fields that can stretch 300-400 yards. We cannot shoot prone in these blinds and I will likely not be shooting prone ever with this rifle so im thinking I would prefer a typical sporter style stock. So what caliber would be at the top of your list with this info and what rifle? As for rifle brand I have been eye balling cooper because they offer beautiful rifles and a 1/2MOA guarantee. As for caliber...ive shot 300 win mags and while I am ok with them I certainly don't like them. Even a 3006 in a lighter rifle feels a bit stout for my tastes these days. FYI, I do not care for brakes and would rather not have one so lets focus on a caliber which is less recoil than a 3006 with out a brake. I do reload, but prefer rounds which are somewhat available at the gun stores. So what are your thoughts? Thanks!

300 Weatherby Mark V accumark

 

[ChrisAU]

I went Model 92 in 280AI. It now wears an AMG and is still under 8 lbs all up.

 

[Reloder28]

Cooper M52 Timberline in 280AI

 

[Reloder28]

I went Model 92 in 280AI. It now wears an AMG and is still under 8 lbs all up.

Very nice!!

 

[Mustang72]

Like someone said just about anything from a 243 and up will work. Bullet choice and shot placement are much more important than caliber. My first choices were 7/08 and 308. To round out my top 5 for what your doing and to add some well proven classics I 'll add 25/06,6.5 swede,and 7x57 mauser. Will Cooper put a fast twist 25 barrel on? For a 98 percent deer rifle it really is hard to beat a 25/06.

 

[mckostal]

If it was me. I would go with 7mm08 or 6.5x284. Even the good old 308 will do everything you need it to. As for brand of rifle, in my opinion I would just go with good old remington. Maybe a Christianson arm if I was gonna spend more

 

[Swiftkill]

I like a 300 win mag. Because it is good for virtually anything. If you are concerned with recoil put a brake on it. I've gone over to brakes on almost everything but I shoot off of a bench mostly. On some varmint rifles that I'll be hunting with other people I did not put brakes on a compact 243 and a 223.
You could do well with A243 with heavy bullets but it sounds like in your case a 260 Remington would be just the ticket. I just scanned the other replies and I think I only saw one other person mentioned the 260 Remington. That is an excellent cartridge. You can avoid a long action as with the 280s 284 and 3006. A hunting rifle is not a target rifle. For me I like the advantage of speed and a shallow trajectory. Because you are shooting at unknown distances. And a faster flatter bullet is more forgiving of distance judgment errors. How much are you really shooting the rifle? Are you sighting it in with a Box of ammo once a year and you're pulling the trigger on game 1 to 5 times? Does it really matter how much it kicks? I'm thinking about trying the 264 win mag For flatter trajectories inside of 800 yards . I just put together a modified factory gun in 300 win mag a Remington long range 5R. It is awesome and one of the best deals on the market. of course I had to change the trigger. I wanted to build a 1000 to 1500 plus gun with ammo I could get factory ammo at a reasonable price. That was my project goal if you gonna reload You can load a 264 Winchester for light loads or heavy loads as you desire. With a 260 Remington the Max you can load is the Max you can load. I know I said before you could avoid a long action with those other cartridges but the step up in performance with a long action magnum is worth it to me. But if that's not what you want then I wouldn't get a long action in an "old" cartridge when you could get the same performance from a short action with certain calibers like the 260 rem. For that matter, the 6.5 creedmore is almost identical to the 260.
The 6.5 creedmore just doesn't float my boat. I understand the theory behind it But it is just too slow and meant for heavy bullets at known distances. It's great when you know the distance to you target. But if you misjudge the distance between 4 and 500 yds...... good luck hitting it with a slow cartridge. Speed Kills!

 

[cf1105]

I looked at Cooper very closely but decided to go with a custom build with Mike at Hell's Canyon Armory. The rifle he is building for me is nearly the same price as a comparable Cooper but is a true custom build. I looked at Proof as well but they don't chamber the cartridge I wanted...

 

[DRock]

I don't know how you could go wrong with a 270 Win or 280AI. I have a Cooper Excaliber in both 270 and 280AI and also a Cooper Backcountry in 280AI. Very accurate, sturdy rifles. The Excaliber is ~7lbs without a scope and the BackCountry is ~6lbs without a scope.

I do not love the single stack magazines for the Cooper and had a feeding issue with polymer tipped bullets getting hung up when cycling the bolt quickly. I have switched over to Fierce rifles and really love my CT Edge with the carbon wrapped barrel. This gun weighs in under 6lbs without a scope and I love the Fierce staggered round magazine and the box has lots of room to seat bullets out longer if you handload.

 

[19elkhunter51]

Find a good smith. Build a custom rifle with a Broughton barrel in 25-06 and you will never look back. You won't need a brake and it will shoot plenty flat enough with plenty of power for any deer. Easy to shoot and most shoot itty bitty groups. Find factory ammo anywhere.

 

[adk hunter]

Mustang said it first! Hand skills was thinking backwards for the bullet and I like that idea. Try going to wally world, Dick's sporting goods or whomever there is around you. Cabela's and bass pro perchance? Then look at all the different ammo available. .308 and 7mm-08, .270, 7rm and the King .30-06. My bet is you can't find that many with .25-06, .280 +AI maybe and certainly not 6.5-284 or more exotic. But you don't like the recoil much in '06 I'll call the .270 nearly the same bark if not bite so just do the right thing and get what everyone had come to mind first. >308. if you like a little lighter but still on the shelf stuff 7mm-08 is there. Fits your list if cooper has that flavor.

 

[ojr]

I would buy a Sako Deluxe or Classic Deluxe in 6.5x55, or 7x64.