Rifle debate with myself.....give me your unbiased thoughts!!

[jrebel]

Looking at another hunting rifle.....I need one like I need a whole in my head .....but doing it none the less. Narrowed down to two calibers, most likely in a factory savage....well because they just shoot well.

#1 is a savage long range hunter in 338 lapua mag with 26" 1:9 barrel. I already have a savage in 338 lapua, but it is a heavy rifle that is not very much fun to pack around. It shoots the 260 grain HH sub 1/2 MOA. It absolutely crushes animals. If I go with a lighter weight rifle, I also want to go with a lighter bullet weight. I was considering the 213gr or 235gr hammer hunter, for speed alone. I figure 3100-3200 fps with a 220ish grain bullet is well......gonna be awesome. Figure it would be a great deer, elk, bear and moose gun for the ranges we hunt to. Also considering the Weatherby Accumark Elite in 338 lapua, but the price is almost 2.5 x's the savage I know savages shoot. The weatherby also has a 1:9.3 twist which likely isn't that big a deal.

#2 is a savage long range hunter in 300 win mag with 26" 1:9 barrel. I already have 2 300wsm's that both shoot 180 grain accubonds sub 1/2 MOA. Considering switching one of those rifles to a lighter faster HH bullet, but haven't committed yet as the accubonds shoot so well and I have a ton of them. Thought maybe going to a 300 win mag (I have all the components) would give me a reason to push the 160, 177, 181 HH for the same hunting purpose as listed above.

I'm struggling with whether or not I need another .30 caliber magnum rifle, or just get a more huntable .338 lapua????? Boy oh Boy the struggles us shooters and reloaders have when deciding which rifle next????....

Feel free to chime in and tell me the error of my ways..... Should I be considering another caliber all together?? I already have light and fast covered with a 7-08 pushing 101gr HH. I have a 6.5 creed pushing the 124 HH at 2850, which has proven to be a bear and deer smasher. Working on a load for the 300blk with 101 grain SH. The new rifle will get most of it's use on bear, elk and moose so fast and heavy really appeals to me.

 

[LightTheTower]

Too much oomph for me! The 338 RCM has piqued my interest in the past…

 

[Mountainman]

I would be looking at other options myself. You already have the 30 cal and the 338. I would move up to a 358 Norma or a 375 H&H or find something you like in 7mm. You can also get the 205 shock hammers to 3100 in a 338 Win mag.

JM2C

Regards

 

[jrebel]

I would be looking at other options myself. You already have the 30 cal and the 338. I would move up to a 358 Norma or a 375 H&H or find something you like in 7mm. You can also get the 205 shock hammers to 3100 in a 338 Win mag.

JM2C

Regards

Your a bad influence......I was trying to stay with calibers that I have a lot of components for.

A couple years ago, I sold a ton of reloading supplies (dies, brass, bullets, etc.) to cut back on some of my reloading shelf clutter. Got out of .243/6mm, .270, and a few others. Even sold the rifles, which I hate doing. Here you go trying to sell me on a new caliber all together. I'll have to talk to my wife about it and get back to you.....LOL

In all seriousness....I am considering other rifles / calibers so I will keep those in mind. The lapua would be nice to have 11ish lb rifle with scope. The current set up is running 14 ish lbs and is not fun to hike around the canyons.

 

[Grizzly60]

I second the 375. Talking to the wife could be iffy.

 

[RichCoyle]

Unbiased opinion because my next will be a 8mmBigDog. I would go with the big .338.

 

[cbjr]

If you don't mind the recoil, a huntable lapua seems like a go. Both your 30's can be split to cover light and heavy, why not the same with the 338's! My cheap savage 270 surprises me every time, it just stacks them time and again.

 

[Steve Davis]

I'm voting for the light 338.

 

[Muddyboots]

.270 Win aka Thors Hammer! 700LA, 27" 1:8tw (1:7 next time) Light Palma, 0.290 freebore, 3.67" max magazine COAL, shoots 156HH up to 3300 with RL26 and Peterson brass. My final load is 3200fps. Would you be happy with 7RM 160gr at 3200? Of course, so a .270 Win right there as well is super cool! Plus @Steve Davis has "promised" new super duper absolute killer upgrade for it!

No crazy brass forming requirements, LR primers, what's not to like on that?!

 

[jrebel]

.270 Win aka Thors Hammer! 700LA, 27" 1:8tw (1:7 next time) Light Palma, 0.290 freebore, 3.67" max magazine COAL, shoots 156HH up to 3300 with RL26 and Peterson brass. My final load is 3200fps. Would you be happy with 7RM 160gr at 3200? Of course, so a .270 Win right there as well is super cool! Plus @Steve Davis has "promised" new super duper absolute killer upgrade for it!

No crazy brass forming requirements, LR primers, what's not to like on that?!

.270 win was my first deer caliber and I absolutely love it. It is also one of the calibers I cut due to how close it was to the.......wait for it......6.5 creed and 7-08 with ballistics to 500 yards. I liked the short actions better at the time and thus the .270 had to go.....still a little sad about it. The two 300 wsm's took it's place in the "do all category" also which made it an easier decision.

As I relive all my decision to cut calibers and rifles...I shed a few tears. I actually should be super pissed off at Hammer Bullets.....had I discovered Hammers before the trimming down, I would have likely never got rid of some of my rifles. The .243 and 6mm Rem would have been great yote rifles with super light hammers pushing upwards of 3500+ fps. Same with the .270......

I'm voting for the light 338.

Still leaning toward the light weight 338 lapua. I just can't stop thinking about a 200+ grain bullet at 3100+fps. That thing would kill anything on the planet and it would be fun doing it. I love the 260 HH in the current .338 lapua....but I just hate packing the darn thing around. I am going to whack another bear with it this year.....it sure is fun watching big bruins drop in their tracks.