Rifle question, If I could only buy one, opinions please....

[ripnbst]

I really think you need 3 guns my friend. A bolt or semi auto .22LR, something like a Marlin Model 60, ruger 10/22, or Savage Mk IV .22LR or whatever it's called. Then a bolt rifle like a Remington 700, Savage Model 10, Sako, CZ, whatever blows your skirt up in a caliber of your choosing. 6.5 Grendel is a good choice, so is .260REM, .243WIN. Then an AR in 5.56/.223 REM for plinking and shooting small stuff. That's gonna put you around $3000 for just the guns and the optics as long as you dont need top shelf optics. You could put quality Nikon glass on every one of those rifles and be under $3000.

 

[YukonGlocker]

If you like the AR platform, go with a 6.5 Grendel.

 

[dennishoddy]

A simple bolt gun in .270 will kill anything in Oklahoma, and gives twice the accuracy of an AR at half the price. A .243 would do, except for elk in the Wichita managed hunts. I have a Win Model 70 (bought in 1973) in .270 Winchester with a 4X Weaver scope that has taken everything up to caribou and elk.

The .270 is not an inherently accurate cartridge.

Have you ever seen a camp perry match or any match for that matter won with the .270? One big time outdoor writer championed that round, and its now in his demise one of the most popular cartridges out there.

For the record, I'm shooting a .270 for deer this year. A gun I won at a QU banquet many years ago. It kills them just fine.

I'd never use it for a long range completion. Nobody else does either.

 

[MisterGrubbs]

My go-to hunting rounds are .243 for all/general game, and a 300WM if there's something silly big.

 

[magna19]

Just shot my stevens 200 in 7mm-08. Has a rifle basix trigger, ER Shaw barrel, Boyd laminated stock, Leupold 4x12 AO. If I had to do one rifle this might be it.

 

[Super Dave]

I am confused about the original post. So you DON'T have the guns you first listed anymore, right?

Ripnbst is right. 3 guns. It doesn't have to be $3000 though. A decent little 22 will run you a few hundred, you can buy a new AR for less than $600, and a single shot deer rifle for $300-ish.

Unless you still have the guns you were talking about in the first post!

 

[tranger2]

I am confused about the original post. So you DON'T have the guns you first listed anymore, right?

Ripnbst is right. 3 guns. It doesn't have to be $3000 though. A decent little 22 will run you a few hundred, you can buy a new AR for less than $600, and a single shot deer rifle for $300-ish.

Unless you still have the guns you were talking about in the first post!

I have the three guns in the original post....I was trying to explain my background. I also have a Win 30-30, Marlin lever .22 and a few others. They sit in the safe and never get used. I am trying to find a rifle that I can shoot long range, hunt with, and IS FUN TO SHOOT, that doesn't recoil. I love the .223, FUN to shoot and accurate. Was really looking at the 6.5 but don't know anyone who has one. Wonder how much the ammo costs, etc. Effects on deer. Where to obtain. Just wanting some opinions....

 

[Super Dave]

Gotcha. The Super Gun! Very elusive, very hard to find.

Remington VTR in 308. That's the one of all the ones that I had that I should have kept. Super Gun.

 

[Wheel Gun]

Research 6.8 SPC II.

 

[ASP785]

A .223 is plenty for deer. For plinking, cheap ammunition is readily available. For hunting, you can go with any one of a number of the premium bullets with confidence. Couple that with the fact that you don't have to deal with any caliber specific AR parts or magazines, and I think the .223 AR fits your needs the best.