[Audio-Me]

Are gun shows a good place to start? I've seen some good prices at some.

I'm interested in the Weatherby Mark V and Winchester Model 70, but not sure on the caliber, .270 or .300? Mostly for deer hunting, but I like to blow away pesky rodents every once in a while.

Oh and any scope recommendations? I only want 4x optical, just a simple no bs pure performer that gets the job done out of the box without any tweaking to do. I also have no clue on what rounds to get, grain choices, there's so damn many! 120 sound good?

Do any of you guys know about the bounty in Louisiana for $4 per nutria? Haha, that'd be a blast.

 

[Old Pa]

Gun shows are always entertaining, but virtual examples for the maxim caveat emptor (buyer beware).

.270 Winchester is a wonderful member of the .30-06 family, but one I have not owned (stuck with .25-06 and .30-06). .300 Win Mag is really popular, but kind of a short neck for reloading and the blast and belt of a belted magnum to help you develop a flinch. With .30-o6 or 270 you will find quality ammunition on sale in the Fall, which aint a bad deal.

In 270 Win, the 130 grain bullet is the star performer. How it works, of course, is based upon how well you can shoot. If you shoot at little stuff a long ways away, you will appreciate a little more magnification than 4X. I am enamored with Leopold's 4.5x14 scopes. They are wonderfully clear and reliable. Their adjustments move your impacts across the target like you are on graph paper. They cost more than most rifles. Still recommended.

I favor the Remington 700 in these centerfire cartridges.

I saw the Nutria bounty in the Wall Street Journal last week; for those little puppies I would choose my Ruger 10/22T, 10/22M (with walther barrel), and a good .22LR pistol. You see, the part of the WSJ story I appreciated is that you have to show up with the tail to get the $4.

When we goin'?

 

[braillediver]

Yeah I saw the Nutria articles. I'd love to go plinking with my Colt Sporter on some 11lb rats.

If you know what you want and know what you're looking at then gun shows are a good place. If you're not sure then I'd go to a reputable gun dealer.

Here in the Seattle area Wade's in Bellevue is a great place.

Pawn Shops are another interesting place to look for guns. Again you have to be knowledgable in what you're looking at though.

Good Hunting

 

[pigmode]

Do you really need a round like the .270 for Whitetaiils in Louisiana? Think of the terrain and the style of hunting you will be doing. And why the .300 Weatherby? My preference is always for the non-Weatherby variants. Weatherby arms and ammo are expensive and the performance boost of the Weatherby is not one that will be felt down range IMO, nor will it give you a noticably flatter trajectory either.

What about the 7mm-08? The .270 was developed in response to the 7mm's popularity, and it is just a hairs-breadth smaller in diameter than the 7mm. The 7mm bullet will allow a heavier bullet without a loss of efficiency--it is thus a tad more versitile. Anyway, unlike the .270, the 7mm-08 will function in a short action rifle.

Family tree:

30-06 - a lengthened, bored 7mm Mauser
.308 (7.62 NATO) - shortened 30-06
7mm-08 - a necked down .308

 

[CaptBubba]

I have a Remington 700 30-06 and it is a great gun. Very accurate, and it packs plenty of punch. You could look at the new model 750 or something like that, a budget version that includes a scope. What I've heard is it differs from the 700 in that the barral can't be modified by gunsmiths and the action isn't as smooth, but is otherwise the same. My rifle has been modified to smoothen out the bolt and reduce the pull of the trigger to 5 lbs.

My father shoots a .270 rifle based on the model 700, and modified by Ken Jerrat if anybody has heard ofhis rifles. He can put a group within 6" at 500 yrds using NBT ammunition (nosler balistic tip). I'm not that good a shot, but I have fired his gun and it may have a little bit less kick than mine but it is not that different.

Of readily avalible loads, Core-Loc ammunition is very very good. Its very consistant and packs on hell of a punch (when you are talking 30-06 loads, just about anything will be powerful). I fire 150 grain and haven't had any trouble with it, except after a day of sighting in the scope, 6 shots will kill your shoulder. Just remember to sight the gun in with the same batch of cartriges that you plan to hunt with, I drove myself crazy for a while by forgetting this.

For rodent shooting, I'd take a Ruger 10-22 rifle. Cheap ammunition, accurate, almost no kick. That's just a fun gun.

 

[Audio-Me]

I've always liked the idea of a magnum round because I figured more velocity thus flatter trajectory. I guess my logic is pretty damn ignorant guessing from your comment pigmode. I didn't realize their ammo was expensive, that definately rules out the Weatherby, cause I really love wasting cartridges.

I'll be mostly hunting whitetail on an island in Maine, not Louisiana (never even been there), probably doesn't make a difference though.

I've always been interested in the .308 round, especially the Remington 700 rifle, but isn't it synthetic stock only?
I hate plastic.

I've shot 30-06, that's all my uncle shoots, and he's got quite a few rifles.

I'm very open to suggestions, my only criteria are bolt action, wooden stock, and good for long range, oh and it's gotta be bear killin' powerful cause ya never know when you might run into a black bear or mountain lion.

I don't need fancy scopes, besides I can't afford expensive ones. I just want one that works ya know? I think 4x will be enough.

What I think would be a fun rodent gun is a Spencer .50, blow them bitches away I say.

Any of you western fans? I think it'd be mighty cool having a 1873 Colt, I like the AWA Longhorn. .44 revolvers are awesome.

 

[morphsci]

We do a lot of whitetail hunting here in SC. The hunting season is the longest in the country. You really do not need a really powerful cartridge here since the deer are not really that large and most of the shots are well under 100 yards because of the cover. That being said I use a Marlin lever action 30-30 and my wife uses a Ruger .270. We may be moving out west shortly and in that case I believe I will be purchasing a 30-06 or 7mm magnum because of the longer shots and larger game. However, my wifes .270 will work very well just about anywhere in NA and on just about any game. Check out the book, The Hunting Rifle by Jack O'Connor. It is a little dated but it still contains a lot of really good information about rifles, calibers and hunting.

 

[Audio-Me]

7mm mag, hrm, any rifle recommendations for this round?

 

[Old Pa]

Mine is a custom; McMillan barrel on a wrong-handed Sako bolt in a Bell & Carlson synthetic stock. 7mm Rem Mag is the smallest of the 458/338/300 Win mag case family. A good step-and-a-half over the .30-06 family, which is a step over the .308 family. The versitality of any of these depends on the barrel rifling twist you can choose.

Pigmode: your family tree kind of condenses the improvements of ball powder. Ever shot a 7mm-08? I still favor a "software" approach to choosing calibers and bullet weights.

And we haven't even gotten to my favorite topic of sectional density (and I am not referring to women from East Texas) . . . .

 

[CaptBubba]

morphsci, a bit off topic, but have you seem much this year? Last few times I've gone they come out right at dark, when I can't see anymore.


The 30-06 round has a quicker drop-off than the .270, so the .270 is a bit better for long shots. I believe the 7mm magnum is just overkill. What type of action do you want anyway? Bolt, lever, semi-auto?

 

[Audio-Me]

I believe I mentioned I will only accept bolt action. I don't mind overkill, but my family sure would for wasted meat, lol.

 

[CaptBubba]

Noted, just didn't see it in your first post. The Model 700 does come in wooden stock versions, I have a Ducks Unlimited model and it is wood. It is, however, more accurate than I am.

Tasco makes decent, cheap scopes. The larger the front lens is the darker it can be before you can't see anymore. Variable zoom scopes are nice, but not neccisary.

 

[Audio-Me]

Then can I have it?

Being able to see under darker conditions will be very useful. I've no desire for variable zoom, I'd much rather have a fixed scope which I suspect has a much sharper picture than zoom ones.

I'm looking at the Remington Model Seven LS right now. Very nice. Wish it had a longer barrel though.

 

[Old Pa]

I used to believe in fixed power scopes the same way I believed that "wire is wire" for cables and interconnects. Objective study and practice indicated otherwise in both cases. With quality variable power scopes made in the last 20 years, resolution at low and high power is indistiguishable from good fixed power scopes. Variable is very handy when you want to shoot at small targets and/or at great ranges.

Tasco makes **** and has always made ****. A good scope costs at least as much as a rifle. Greater objective lense diameter (all other things being equal) means greater clarity under all viewing conditions.

The range of practical shooting for hunting is almost always 200 yds. or less. In the Northwoods, almost every deer is shot between 50 and 75 yards. The practiced hunter who wishes to recover his game limits his range according to his weapon and his skill. Hunting is getting within the range of skill and weapon killing power.

 

[Audio-Me]

power scope? as in uses batteries? sounds silly to me. I'm not spending $600+ on a scope, an optical 4x one will have to do and should be just fine for me (I think).

No way am I going to shoot at a deer from far away, I'm no expert, I'd never shoot one without being confident it'd be dead right away. Rodents on the other hand...