What Rifle/Caliber Combinations Have you liked the most and disliked the most and why?

[Mustangs Rule]

When you look at the whole "ball of wax": reloading, ease of getting components, then shooting, accuracy, velocity, and hunting performance and finally pride of firearm ownership, what have been your most and least favorites.

 

[chevyman181]

I hunted with a 7 mag most my life and it got the job done with no complaints, but I think the easiest to reload for and most accurate have been the 280ai and 6.5CM. I've those 2 more the last few years.

 

[Robert N]

Liked the Most?

My .257 Roberts in a Remington M7MS topped with a Leupold 2.5-8x36: quite possibly my absolute favorite deer rifle and was “One and done” on load development. A 117 gr. SGK over 43 gr. Of H4350 for 2,800 fps…

Hated the Most?
My 7mm SAUM in a Remington M7 AWR (original). It simply never lived up to the velocity promise. I can get a 140gr. AB at around 3050 fps or a 160 AB at 2850. Mind you, it’s a stellar rifle, delivers superb accuracy and is about as weather proof as it gets. But I never did find the velocity. I did find some Remington factory ammo - holy Hannah! That stuff was loaded mega hot! So hot in fact that a quick follow up shot was impossible as the bolt was frozen! That load did deliver on the velocity promise…a 160 at 3000 fps…but accuracy was closer to 2” at 100 instead of the 3/4” that I was getting with my handloads.

Honorable mention: anything 30-06. How boring…

 

[Mustangs Rule]

I hunted with a 7 mag most my life and it got the job done with no complaints, but I think the easiest to reload for and most accurate have been the 280ai and 6.5CM. I've those 2 more the last few years.

I had a super light Kimber Hunter in 280AI and disliked it because it was too easy when reforming the fired cases to crush them, Also the rifle itself was way too light for offhand shooting and the stock too hard and slippery. I sold it despite being a tack driver that got superb velocity.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

Liked the Most?

My .257 Roberts in a Remington M7MS topped with a Leupold 2.5-8x36: quite possibly my absolute favorite deer rifle and was “One and done” on load development. A 117 gr. SGK over 43 gr. Of H4350 for 2,800 fps…

Hated the Most?
My 7mm SAUM in a Remington M7 AWR (original). It simply never lived up to the velocity promise. I can get a 140gr. AB at around 3050 fps or a 160 AB at 2850. Mind you, it’s a stellar rifle, delivers superb accuracy and is about as weather proof as it gets. But I never did find the velocity. I did find some Remington factory ammo - holy Hannah! That stuff was loaded mega hot! So hot in fact that a quick follow up shot was impossible as the bolt was frozen! That load did deliver on the velocity promise…a 160 at 3000 fps…but accuracy was closer to 2” at 100 instead of the 3/4” that I was getting with my handloads.

Honorable mention: anything 30-06. How boring…

I loved my first open country rife, a 257 Roberts in a Remington 722 but the medium length action and short magazine well could not handle longer heavier bullets without seating them deeply, then losing powder space and not having the correct COL to match the accuracy sweet spot. I sold it.

Also had a similar problem with my first and only custom rifle, a 35 Whelen on a commercial Mauser action. The chamber length was fine, but the magazine well was just a tad too short for the best Barnes bullet and shortening the COL also missed the accuracy sweet spot. It was fine with lead core bullets, but I was just done with lead, so i sold it with a tear in my eye.

 

[Redmt]

6.5 CM is the easiest to load for and for me the best all around hunting caliber. Running a very close second is 25-06. I have both in Ruger Predator with Boyds stocks at 2-1/2# triggers and VX III scopes.

 

[belshawelk]

On the bigger power range both my Nosler 30 with a VX5. or my Nosler 28 with a VX3
Mid range power probably my all around favorite is Tikka 270WSm with Leupold Something. I think its an VX2 ( i dunno I pull the trigger and something drops.
Smaller end caliber is Weatherby 6.5-300 With VX5.

I suppose if I had to pick one, it would be the 270WSM for all around. The Nosler are a little to much IMO for deer. The 6.5-300 is IMO under for elk. I know others will disagree.

 

[Hams42]

I have loaded a lot of 7 RM, 6.5 CM and .308. Usually the 6.5 CM is a walk in the park for shooting and loading. I/my wife have had 3 6.5 CM over the years and the first one was the worst of all.

About 8 years ago right after we got married I picked up a used Howa Alpine in 6.5 CM. That was a mistake. You got 2 good shots out of it before the group started opening WAY up. Not the gun I wanted for a new shooter. Infact I think that gun has permanently ruined my wife from shooting paper. It has got her inside her head too much.

So i sold that one and got a Bergara wilderness and that is a tack driver. It likes just about anything you put in it too.

Hardest cartridges to load go to my uncle. He shoots a 325 WSM and a .257 Bob. Components are hard to find for both. So his back up is a 7mm-08. When I was driving truck I would stop at every little town to look for 325 WSM brass. I was able to get him a pretty good stockpile.

 

[brymoore]

I have a few rifles I really like but I’m always drawn back to my Kimber 84L in 280ai. I’ve gone down the path of replacing it several times but I’m going to spend a lot of money to correct a few minor issues. It’s been through a bunch of hard hunting seasons and has the war wounds - and being reliable. I researched replacing it again last winter and decided to buy a replacement 280ai barrel. Worst problem quickly solved. Best it’s shot since I’ve owned it.

Worst rifle is my father’s Winchester Model 88 in 308. I’ve killed whitetail, mule deer, elk and watched Dad shoot antelope. It’s a tack. I just can’t get over the design and bad, non-adjustable trigger.

 

[Hams42]

Worst rifle is my father’s Winchester Model 88 in 308. I’ve killed whitetail, mule deer, elk and watched Dad shoot antelope. It’s a tack. I just can’t get over the design and bad, non-adjustable trigger.

This is how I felt about the Rugger M77 Hawkeye's and the tang safety M77. My dad and I both had Hawkeyes and talk about a BAD trigger. I took my 270 in to Scheels one day to measure the trigger and it was 9 lbs! I put a Timney in it to fix it.

I am in the process of fixing my dad's tang safety M77 and was delighted when I found it had an adjustable trigger. He has shot it with the trigger at the heaviest point since the mid 80s. I asked him and he said he never knew it could be adjusted.

 

[noharleyyet]

Favorite: 7MM Super Mashburn because it'll send a 180 grain bullet @ 3080fps accurately/consistently....tied with a .257 Wby just because

Least favorite: 300 Wby Mag...nasty form ruining recoil

 

[Mustangs Rule]

On the bigger power range both my Nosler 30 with a VX5. or my Nosler 28 with a VX3
Mid range power probably my all around favorite is Tikka 270WSm with Leupold Something. I think its an VX2 ( i dunno I pull the trigger and something drops.
Smaller end caliber is Weatherby 6.5-300 With VX5.

I suppose if I had to pick one, it would be the 270WSM for all around. The Nosler are a little to much IMO for deer. The 6.5-300 is IMO under for elk. I know others will disagree.

Allow me the perspective that almost being 80 years old allows and also having grown up on a dairy farm in western Connecticut, Think Colt, Marlin, Ruger, Charter Arms, and of course Winchester, then a tad to the north was Smith and Wesson just to the east was Ithaca.

It was like being in the epicenter of Americas' gold age of incredibly well made, even artistic firearms. Mostly all gone now of course. Those rifles had curves, and swells, so pleasant to eye and hand. That little special for-end under barrel screw on pre-64's allowed one to adjust for barrel harmonics. That third screw in the bottom metal allowed for final action bedding.

Now rifles have been turned in straight stick figure scare crows. We went from Marylynn Monroe to Twiggy

As said above I got rid of my Kimber 280AI and went back to my 1955 made model 70 in 270. The most important quality hunters need in field is patience.

I really like using and reloading for that so ever so accurate rifle in that caliber. Looking at the workmanship calms me. And in terms of genuine game field utility, is there any real-world difference between a 270 Winchester and a 7mm Mag or even a 270WSM.?

 

[brymoore]

This is how I felt about the Rugger M77 Hawkeye's and the tang safety M77. My dad and I both had Hawkeyes and talk about a BAD trigger. I took my 270 in to Scheels one day to measure the trigger and it was 9 lbs! I put a Timney in it to fix it.

I am in the process of fixing my dad's tang safety M77 and was delighted when I found it had an adjustable trigger. He has shot it with the trigger at the heaviest point since the mid 80s. I asked him and he said he never knew it could be adjusted.

Old memory because I tried to fix the trigger a while ago. Because of the unique design, the trigger can’t be adjusted or upgraded. I’m stuck with the old trigger

 

[Bonasababy]

Don't reload, but a recent purchase is growing on me as ideal. Bought as another gun for grandkids someday. Ruger RL 77 in 257 Roberts, wearing a 2.5 x 8 Leupold. I like light rifles...Rugers version is a bit heavier than some which is better for offhand shooting. Not so heavy that its much different to carry still hunting though.

My older version Remington 700 mountain rifle has similar dimensions. In 30.06 thought its recoil is stouter.

 

[Ben Lamb]

This is like asking which Village Person is your favorite.

I was gifted a 1958 vintage Model 70 Featherweight in 30-06. it stacked up 165's into tight little groups with a standard charge of IMR4350. Not much you could do to get it to shoot poorly. I killed my first big game animal with that rifle, and probably shot 20 whitetail with it. I ended up gifting it to a group in Missoula who was putting together gear for first time hunters to borrow to see if they wanted to get in to hunting.

My Ruger M77mkii in 30-06 shoots the same load of 165 Barnes I developed for the Winchester into small groups too. I had to bed the action & put in a timney on that rifle. She's also had a lot of cosmetic work done to her stock and the magazine shortened to help shed some weight. With a VX3i in 3.5x10 she comes in at about 6.5 pounds.

Before Dad passed, he sent a 1888 Haenel Mannlicher home with me. I had idolized that gun since I was a kid. It's made for chamois and mouflon hunting in Europe. The work on it is intricate and delicate, along with it being the slickest bolt action rifle I've ever felt. It took years to find a bullet and load that made it workable as a hunting rig and there's still a lot of work left on it due to some bad machining on the claw mounts, but it is one of my absolute favorite firearms because Dad gave it to me. I found a note from the son of a soldier who brought it home in 1945 from Germany. That just adds to it's favoritism.

Those have been favorites. The winchester because of the story behind it and how easy it was to get it to shoot and be succesful in the field and the Ruger as it was my first rifle I put together on my own. The 1888 because #*^@#* Nazis and thanks Dad.

The worst I've ever had was a Ruger Hawkeye in 300 WM. Beat the living snot out of me and it wouldn't group at all. I traded it for a pre-64 Winchester 100 that has a weak extractor and is basically just a single shot until I fix that issue. Good trade. Would make it again.

Now rifles have been turned in straight stick figure scare crows. We went from Marylynn Monroe to Twiggy

I apprecite the sentiment and the aesthetic of vintage rifles. I hunt with them and have more of them than any kind of firearm. The craftsmanship and artistry of a Victorian double rifle is 10 times what it is on a pre-64 model 70. As technology advances, it makes the economics of hand-crafting obsolte except for those special occassions. The industry either advances or dies (See the English gun trade post WW2).

I picked up a Seekins PH3 in 7prc and a Vortex Viper HD this year. I generally tend to fall into your camp, @Mustangs Rule, but after shooting some newer rifles, I get the allure. They're not hand-fitted by craftsmen, but the innovation in manufacturing techniques are amazing, as is the accuracy those rifles can achieve while also reducing felt recoil through stock design and a brake (or suppressor). I haven't had the time I want to spend with it but in the first 60 rounds it's every bit as accurate as I can be and it shoots multiple bullet weights well. It's heavy as heck at 9.5 pounds w/scope but I have to admit it's growing on me. Is it a favorite? Time will tell, but it's easy to be behind the trigger on it, and it lends itself to being pulled out of the safe ahead of some of the others. Those innovations don't put stalking safeties on a Jones Underlever Hammer gun w/Damascus barrels, but they have allowed for a system that allows for quick barrel changes w/o a gunsmith and tolerances that were once only the purview of masters of the trade.

 

[mtmuley]

This is like asking which Village Person is your favorite.

I was gifted a 1958 vintage Model 70 Featherweight in 30-06. it stacked up 165's into tight little groups with a standard charge of IMR4350. Not much you could do to get it to shoot poorly. I killed my first big game animal with that rifle, and probably shot 20 whitetail with it. I ended up gifting it to a group in Missoula who was putting together gear for first time hunters to borrow to see if they wanted to get in to hunting.

My Ruger M77mkii in 30-06 shoots the same load of 165 Barnes I developed for the Winchester into small groups too. I had to bed the action & put in a timney on that rifle. She's also had a lot of cosmetic work done to her stock and the magazine shortened to help shed some weight. With a VX3i in 3.5x10 she comes in at about 6.5 pounds.

Before Dad passed, he sent a 1888 Haenel Mannlicher home with me. I had idolized that gun since I was a kid. It's made for chamois and mouflon hunting in Europe. The work on it is intricate and delicate, along with it being the slickest bolt action rifle I've ever felt. It took years to find a bullet and load that made it workable as a hunting rig and there's still a lot of work left on it due to some bad machining on the claw mounts, but it is one of my absolute favorite firearms because Dad gave it to me. I found a note from the son of a soldier who brought it home in 1945 from Germany. That just adds to it's favoritism.

Those have been favorites. The winchester because of the story behind it and how easy it was to get it to shoot and be succesful in the field and the Ruger as it was my first rifle I put together on my own. The 1888 because #*^@#* Nazis and thanks Dad.

The worst I've ever had was a Ruger Hawkeye in 300 WM. Beat the living snot out of me and it wouldn't group at all. I traded it for a pre-64 Winchester 100 that has a weak extractor and is basically just a single shot until I fix that issue. Good trade. Would make it again.



I apprecite the sentiment and the aesthetic of vintage rifles. I hunt with them and have more of them than any kind of firearm. The craftsmanship and artistry of a Victorian double rifle is 10 times what it is on a pre-64 model 70. As technology advances, it makes the economics of hand-crafting obsolte except for those special occassions. The industry either advances or dies (See the English gun trade post WW2).

I picked up a Seekins PH3 in 7prc and a Vortex Viper HD this year. I generally tend to fall into your camp, @Mustangs Rule, but after shooting some newer rifles, I get the allure. They're not hand-fitted by craftsmen, but the innovation in manufacturing techniques are amazing, as is the accuracy those rifles can achieve while also reducing felt recoil through stock design and a brake (or suppressor). I haven't had the time I want to spend with it but in the first 60 rounds it's every bit as accurate as I can be and it shoots multiple bullet weights well. It's heavy as heck at 9.5 pounds w/scope but I have to admit it's growing on me. Is it a favorite? Time will tell, but it's easy to be behind the trigger on it, and it lends itself to being pulled out of the safe ahead of some of the others. Those innovations don't put stalking safeties on a Jones Underlever Hammer gun w/Damascus barrels, but they have allowed for a system that allows for quick barrel changes w/o a gunsmith and tolerances that were once only the purview of masters of the trade.

Lamb went PRC and suppressor. And a Vortex. Sheeesh. mtmuley

 

[Ben Lamb]

Lamb went PRC and suppressor. And a Vortex. Sheeesh. mtmuley

 

[Hams42]

Oh I forgot a gun. I had bought a light weight 308 win. Magnesium chassis + 18" carbon barrel.
I could not get this thing to group which was odd to me when i was looking at the SD and ES. My SD were 6-9 and ES were 18-26 but groups were 1.75" to 2.25". I finally decided to ditch the chassis and put a new stock on it. The first 3 rounds through the gun after switching stocks was a clover group.

Two things happened with that stock switch. It added 2 lbs to the gun and it went back to more traditional stock line. I don't know which one had the bigger effect. I can tell you that I feel much steadier behind the gun now.

 

[44hunter45]

You never forget your first.
Ruger M77 Tang Safety in 30-06. Bought new in 1986. It just points and shoots like nothing else I have. I call it OSOK. (One Shot, One Kill)
It is currently with Paul at CCM for a 3 POS safety fitting, tang weld and refinish. They are notorious for re-blue color problems, but I hope he doesn't stress about this shooter. She ain't no safe queen.

Worst? Shoot me - but it is my vintage M94 in 30/30. Kicks like an elephant on steroids and isn't particularly deadly on game.

 

[belshawelk]

Allow me the perspective that almost being 80 years old allows and also having grown up on a dairy farm in western Connecticut, Think Colt, Marlin, Ruger, Charter Arms, and of course Winchester, then a tad to the north was Smith and Wesson just to the east was Ithaca.

It was like being in the epicenter of Americas' gold age of incredibly well made, even artistic firearms. Mostly all gone now of course. Those rifles had curves, and swells, so pleasant to eye and hand. That little special for-end under barrel screw on pre-64's allowed one to adjust for barrel harmonics. That third screw in the bottom metal allowed for final action bedding.

Now rifles have been turned in straight stick figure scare crows. We went from Marylynn Monroe to Twiggy

As said above I got rid of my Kimber 280AI and went back to my 1955 made model 70 in 270. The most important quality hunters need in field is patience.

I really like using and reloading for that so ever so accurate rifle in that caliber. Looking at the workmanship calms me. And in terms of genuine game field utility, is there any real-world difference between a 270 Winchester and a 7mm Mag or even a 270WSM.?

The 270, 270 WSM and 7MM yes are similar. But the others I mentioned are not. Sure a 270 or 30,06 will kill and N. American game. But the newer heavy for caliber cartridges do it better. Sure hit the main vital and your good. But I have shot several elk and hit a lung and heart and tracked them for a mile only to have die of internal bleeding. That's fine. I now like to hit them shoulders with a vital to anchor them. For me me I have found it more successful. Much like a bear, you have to break them down or they suck up bullets. I have yet to have any elk take a step after hit in both shoulders with my .30 Nosler. Like getting hit by a cement truck. All died on the spot. Many may disagree with my theory.

Like trying to pull your trailer with a an SUV. It works but why when truck does the job better.

Besides, what fun is one gun. Most hunters have multiple pairs of boots. Hiking, insulated, non -insulated, snow boots, climbing, tall ones, shot ones. Why? they all serve a specific use. Don't even get me started on skis.