# What Caliber for ME???



## Keith Tobberman (May 28, 2005)

Hey, I am into target shooting more than hunting. This fall I am interested in buying a good rifle for targeting and hunting. I live in Northern Maine where brush is thick so any 30 cal up would be great, but there are many good target shooting smaller bullets. Any opinions on what I should get and also what make and model?
-thanks


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## Burly1 (Sep 20, 2003)

Keith, I would consider a .308 to be one caliber that would suit your purposes. It is a wonderfully accurate target round, and as a hunting round would work well for all North American game, with the exception of the big bears. There are so very many great rifles on the market today, that to recommend only one would be a simple matter of opinion only. Having said that, a synthetic stock may well suit your purposes, as they are impervious to changes in the weather. A stainless barrelled action may be a good choice as well, if you hunt during the winter months. One combo that I have been wanting to try myself, is the Ruger scout rifle. It comes in the short-action calibers, and seems ideal for short to medium range work. I have never found a Ruger that was not accurate, with the right handload. Good shooting, Burl


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## Peakebrook (Mar 21, 2005)

What distances are you talking for target shooting?

Do you plan on reloading?

If you plan on doing mostly target shooting, then recoil should be a consideration. As Burl mentioned, the 308 would be a great choice. You have great bullet selection, very reasonable recoil, and there is some cheap military surplus ammo for plinking.


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## OneShotOneKill (Feb 13, 2004)

*Keith Tobberman;

I assume you meant cartridge not caliber.

The .308 is an excellent caliber with many bullets available for reloading. The cartridges that I would suggest is the 308 Winchester or 30-06 Springfield for hunting. The 308 Winchester is a better selection for target shooting, but either one will suffice. Of course I would suggest you to go to some gun shops and handle the various bolt-action rifles available. I really like Remington model 700's. Leupold is my favorite scope.*


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## secretsquirrel (Sep 13, 2005)

i have an rem vsf in 308 win with the match ammo federal or the blackhills i have gotten some very good groups 3 and 5 shots, that could be coverd by a penny at 100 yards i have a zeiss conquest scope 4.5-14x50


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## Dave_w (May 25, 2005)

I'm in almost the same boat you're in.

The .308, I'm beginning to find through shooting by buddies' customized bench guns, is a wonderful cartridge. If you're looking at a Remington 700, you might as well look at a Savage, particularly the 12BVSS and the 10FP. Both come chambered in .308, I believe. The 10FP is the entry-level tactical law enforcement bolt-action Savage offers. The 12BVSS is a varmint-type gun. The critical difference is that the 10FP doesn't come with the 12BVSS's fluted barrel (although it is a heavy free-floating barrel), and it doesn't have the pretty wood stock.

The 10FP, however, does cost about $100 less, and only weighs 8.5 pounds to the 12BVSS's 10 pounds. And besides which, who cares about the stock? I like synthetics better because they won't warp on you. Besides, no factory stock on a standard gun is ever what I'd call ideal. I usually slap on a custom one (the only exception being my Ruger Model 10/22 factory race rifle, which came with a gorgeous chestnut Fajan thumb-through).

Here's the key practical difference between the Remington and the Savage that I can actually attest to (I haven't gotten a chance to shoot a stock 700 series yet; the consensus that I've heard so far is that the Savage will outshoot the Remington out of the box). The Remington features a 60-degree bolt throw. The Savage has a 90-degree, like the rest of the world. Like the other guy said, the 60-degree is going to be a lot less awkward with a scope.

Unless, of course, you're not curling your hand over the damn bolt handle.

Here's how I do it: Using the back of my thumb, I rotate the bolt handle up and push it back. I keep my fingers pointed forward so that when the casing is ejecting, it slips right into my gloved fingers, keeping it from flying off (a practice oringally developed by snipers to keep that sharp, directional clank of ejected brass from giving away their position; it also lets you keep your brass for reloading without having to crawl around looking for it). Then I push the bolt forward with the tip of my thumb, and rotate it again by curling my thumb over the tip and pushing down. Granted, though, this only works because I'm nineteen and have deft little fingers. If you've got giant pieces of ham for hands, buy a damn semiauto and quit yer b!tchin`.


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