New gun for me - your opinion??

[bearhunter99]

My wife shoots a Stainless Ecncore in 7-08 and loves it.  I have tried to get her a bolt action and she absolutely refuses!  Need to get her a .220 Swift barrel for it though.

[shoot-em-dead]

Go to wholesale sports and check out the Stevens model rifles. They are built by savage and are a super great gun at half the price as the others. My biggest complaint with them was the trigger pull was way to heavy. I paid a gun smith to lighten mine. Now I feel duped because I took the stock off for a good cleaning and found that there is a simple set screw that is for trigger adjustment. I have the 22-250 and have shot over 1000 rounds through it. great gun. I also had a 243 that I bought when they were on sale but had to sell it last year when I wasn't working. I only shot 60 or so rounds out of that gun and liked it very much. I would really recommend checking them out.

[danceswitharrows]

my gf shoots a 25-06 and loves it

[h20hunter]

Good on you for asking the advice from those of us that know everything, me included. I like the .270 very much and it is very versatile. I agree with the thoughts on the .25-06 and/or .260 Remington. Hell, maybe even a .257 roberts. Lots of good manufactures out there and most will shoot more than acceptable groups for hunting purposes. Worst case you are going to just have to marry me....I'll you you buy all the guns you want. Good luck out there and don't forget to post pics of the new toy when  you get it.

[Bofire]

Standard cartridges are cheaper to shoot. 270 or 30/06 will do all you need.
Carl

[JackOfAllTrades]

Best bang for the buck in my book is a Marlin XL7 in 270win or XS7 in 308win. Great recoil system. Adjustable trigger. Composite stock and lightweight. Pillar bedded. Same scope mount as a Win70. Fluted bolt.  Accurate.  Out the door retail price is less than $340. Put a good scope on it and you're set. (find a used Leupold 3-9x40 VXII or VXIII) Will be a hunting rifle you'll both like.

I bought one for my son last year.

Savage 110 or Tikka would also be great choices.

-Steve

[bobcat]

I'd go with either a 270 or a 308, as others have said. The 30-06 would be another good choice. They're all about the same, ballistic wise. The 30-06 will have slightly more recoil than the other two, but you can get around that by using lighter bullets and/or the "managed recoil" cartridges that Remington sells. You really can't go wrong with any of those three and ammo will be cheaper than anything else. The Marlin would be great, as Steve mentioned, and Savage and the Weatherby Vanguard would be good choices as well. Only thing about the Vanguard is they're a little on the heavy side so be sure you handle one before you commit to buying one, as it might be more weight than you want to carry. The nice thing about the extra weight is that the recoil will be a lot less noticeable.

[coriantonk]

I bought my wife a Marlin XS7 in .243.  She loves it.  I would say that the most important thing is your ability to shoot well.  Just remember that a bigger bullet wont make up for a bad shot.  Since you are buying this gun for yourself have fun, hold as many different rifles as you can.  When you find the one that you like the best, then it is time to start thinking about cartridges.  A lady I work with hunts with a .243 for deer and elk.  There allot of people who use a .270 or a 7-08.  There are allot of options out there, so have fun with it.

[Gutpile]

Tikka T3 light. 6.5X55 Swede. Or a 7mm-08.

[Magnum_Willys]

7mm-08.  Same rifle as the .243 just a 7mm diameter bullet instead of a 6mm (.243) that way you can shoot a 140 gr for bear instead of a 100 grain   

[runningboard]

considering your hometown listed as Tri-Cities & Colville, there is a gun show this weekend at the Spokane county fairgrounds go have a look around. the next time you're up in Colville stop by the pawn shop in Deer Park, huge selection, nearly every gun mentioned here probably there. good/fair prices too.

[addicted]

7mm08 or a 338FEDERAL. no kick. kill anything. doing something a little different than the 270,3006, or 308 guys. 

[addicted]

Tikka T3 light. 6.5X55 Swede.

 

I've got the hunter version (wood) and it's my go-to rifle.

as far as your go to rifle, dont you only have 2 and the other one doesnt group lol. a ruger isnt it?
swede isnt a bad choice eith btw.

[alanger]

Id choose a 7.08 i love mine, or a .270

[addicted]

Tikka T3 light. 6.5X55 Swede.

 

I've got the hunter version (wood) and it's my go-to rifle.

as far as your go to rifle, dont you only have 2 and the other one doesnt group lol. a ruger isnt it?
swede isnt a bad choice eith btw.

Yeah...not all of us are rich two-stripers with an addiction to purchasing european guns and optics...

I've got my Tikka, a Ruger M77 Mark II in .270 (the one that I hate), A Browning BLR in .243, and a couple old winchester 94's.


Is that enough to justify having a "go-to" rifle, or do I need more?

get my 3rd strip in a couple weeks lol.
i didnt say it was  a bad rifle. lol. when are you going to pick up some glass.