Cal Advice

[Buffy]

Hey guys I'm looking at purchasing a rifle for fallow, red and rusa deer along with the odd pig and foxes.

I'm stuck on a calibre for this rifle, the last thing I want is to be undergunned. However, I don't want to have to lug around a shoulder mounted howitzer when I could do the same job with a much smaller calibre.

Things to keep in mind are:

I won't be reloading for sometime so factory ammo must be reasonably priced and readily available.

It will be my one and only rifle for sometime, so it needs to be able to cover nearly everything NSW has to throw at i ( excluding sambar deer as I have no interest in hunting them)

I would like it to be a flatish shooting rounds I may use it for some longer stuff out to about 350-400m on foxes and fallow.

The rifle will be a light weight, sporter profile barrel with a 3-9 or 4-12 power scope and bi-pod.

Any help appreciated guys

Cheers BB.

[MISSED]

Well I am going to say a 25/06.243 would do the job at a stretch but the 25 will do it easily

[Buffy]

That's what I was thinking MISSED! I just wanted to make sure that the pope and the 25-06 would be enough gun.

Cheers BB.

[Con]

For me that'd be a 270Win with 24" barrel.
Cheers...
Con

[trevort]

was thinking 308 until you talked about flat shooting. I"ll go with Con on this one

[stinkitup]

knowing you said you will use factory limits it more. How many 25/06 factory loads? never owned one so wouldn't know. If the 308 isn't flat enough, then 270 win or 30-06. The only thing I haven't shot with my old swede is the deer on your list but I do reload so means I have a lot more choice than factory ammo. Hoping to fix the deer not shot sometime soon though think it will be next year at the earliest.

308 ammo should be on the cheap side and quite a bit of selection.

Ryan

[Glenn]

The 25-06 would fit the bill.
Or maybe a 260 Rem?
270 would be good if you did happen to stumble across a Sambar!

Glenn

[andrewk]

be different and go a 257 roberts

[Brad Y]

I would probably go for a T3 in 6.5x55 swede. Plenty of grunt to drive the 130gr hunting bullets and will launch 85gr hollow points fast enough and flat enough for spotlighting foxes. Factory ammo is readily available too.

[Ackley Improved]

308W.

Since running factory ammo you have a lot of choice!! You start talking longer ranges, ammo quality going to play a part. At least you can get NRAA match ammo.

Rifle.. what does a tikka t3 varmint weigh? Not bad for a varmint rifle??

308 not flat as others..... but my 19" barrelled 308 did alright a few weeks back at 383m on a fox!!!

Cheers

[macca]

308.
Whilst it may not shoot as flat as the others it is the best all round choice for a single rifle.
Plenty of ammo choice in factories at reasonable price.
Realistically the 30 cal is the better choice for deer. I have taken them with everything from a 22lr up to a 460 weatherby.
The pope id adequate for the job but empathise adequate.
The 270 and 25-06 lack sufficient choices in packaged ammo.
The 308 will outlast all the major choices in barrel life.
That's my reasoning.When stuck with a single choice to cover all game in oz i'd always pick the 308.Then a 7mm rem mag then a 30win mag(hey i like some grunt and i don't eat rabbits or skin foxes)
cheers

[220]

25-06 would be my choice, more gun than the 243 but still small enough to be used for more than a few shots varminting.
Ammo is dearer than 243, starts at around $40/20, most dealers don't have a big selection on hand but if you can get them to order for you there is a fair selection, Federal do 6 loads, Hornady 4 and I'm sure the other manufacturers would be similar.

257 weatherby would be intersesting to play with, 4100fps with a 75gr V-max would make mist of varmints and 3600fps with 117gr would handle just about everything else.

[James270]

This thread should have been locked after Con gave the correct answer

[stinkitup]

This thread should have been locked after Con gave the correct answer

I think def 308 if your not going to reload, lots of factory loading, unless sold out all shops will carry something as well. Plus you can get loaded ammo with stuff like the woodleigh's and lighter stuff as well.

Also can always shoot some fclass standard with it. Something like a Tikka or a Savage would be nice.

Ryan

[mistit]

My 2 bobs worth for the fun of it to ,owned all the cartridges mentioned and would go for the 308 ,in real world terms the trajectory differance is not worth worrying about on larger game ,and knowing your range would be far more important ,2506 is a great all rounder but the 308 is just so easy and load development is a case of fill it up with a suitable powder and a good bullet and go shoot something.... oh and as has been said factory rounds are found every where generally ...