deer rifle

Longranger

Hi lads, I'm wondering what the best value deer calibre is. My missus is paying for half a rifle for christmas and I don't know what to get. I was looking at a 7mm08 but I think a 308 would be cheaper to run. I'll be using it for a few foxes too. What do ye think?

tomcat220t

Probibly a .270 ...30 -35 euro a box .

rowa

You can get the cheap plinking ball ammo for the .308 or .223 or most of the military calibres, but i think you'll find all decent hunting ammo is pretty expensive here.

Cass

Taking into account performance, ammo choice, resale value, etc as a package rather than does one or two well then the .308 is the better choice.

The ,270 would be a better penetrating/harder hitting round than the .308, and the 6.5 is a personal favorite so i'm throwing that in there for kicks and giggles.

There is te 30-06 and .300winmag, but with the three calibers above there is no real "need" to go for these, but they are terrific calibers.


Personally i would vouch for the .308. Can be used for hunting, target work, ammo is between €25 - 45 per box with MilSurp stuff cheaper again. Its a popular caliber so reselling wouldn't be an issue.

dwight has a 7mm08 and its ultra light as well as being a great caliber.

rowa

I was thinking of buying a rifle for boar shooting as its always something i wanted to do and for a laugh i asked in a gunshop i go to what sort of money would ammo be for the 30/06 and the 300 win mag , the 30/06 wasn't too bad but the 300 win mag was €40 for ten rounds , i nearly got a nose bleed, 4 quid a bang !

Cass

Thats fairly chronic. The 30-06 ammo goes from €28 to €44 for 20.

It wasn't me!

Ammo for the .300 mag is about €5 a box more expensive than the same stuff in .30-06, as a rule. However, as a deer and fox gun, there's absolutely no call to go talking about either really. Not that they won't kill foxes mind! For a deer rifle, it's hard to beat a .308 or a .270. For a deer and fox rifle, something like a .243, .25-06 or .270 is perfect (You'll like the flatter trajectory if shooting at night where judging distance is harder) and all come in factory loadings with suitable bullets for both foxes and deer. Personally I'd lean towards the heavier end, the .25-06 being about the perfect compromise, but unless you're going to moderate it, I can't think of a factory rifle that has a barrel long enough to keep the noise civilised. My 22.5" Sako is wickedly noisy without the mod on, hateful thing to shoot. If you want a deer and bigger game rifle, the .30-06 or the .300 mag is absolutely perfect, but your best bet as an all rounder in Ireland is probably something like a .270 or a .25-06. Extremely flat for foxing, reasonable ammo prices, reasonable availability (Though the .270 is better here), good bullets for foxing and stalking in both and lots of choice in factory rifles.

rowa

€5 a box more expensive then 30/06 ? in the shops i asked in 300 win mag ammo was exactly twice the price of 30/06 for comparable quality , another over looked round which is very old but very good is the 7x57 , hasn't the same energy as the .270 and .308 etc but so what if you don't need it.

Vegeta

Brother shoots a 300 win mag and the Hornady Custom branded ammo with a 180 grain SST ammo is 45 euro for a box of 20. Expensive but not crazy either.

Cass

That sounds a little more resonable. No more expensive than the higher end .308/30-06/.270 ammo.

rowa

It does , i might have to reconsider now.

It wasn't me!

rowa wrote: »

€5 a box more expensive then 30/06 ? in the shops i asked in 300 win mag ammo was exactly twice the price of 30/06 for comparable quality , another over looked round which is very old but very good is the 7x57 , hasn't the same energy as the .270 and .308 etc but so what if you don't need it.

I spent a long time looking around pricing ammo comparing .30-06 and .300 win mag (Just about impossible to decide between the two, certainly on cost given the volume I'd shoot every year). The broad reality is about €5 more a box than the same stuff in .30-06. If you're paying more, you're being had by a dealer who just slaps an arbitrary figure on it. What was the ammo? I know the Lapua stuff is very expensive (€40 would be cheap compared to what I saw it for).

deerhunter1

Longranger wrote: »

Hi lads, I'm wondering what the best value deer calibre is. My missus is paying for half a rifle for christmas and I don't know what to get. I was looking at a 7mm08 but I think a 308 would be cheaper to run. I'll be using it for a few foxes too. What do ye think?

308:D308:D Ammo for as little as 10 euro Great ********** Calibre

Cass

Longranger wrote: »

Hi lads, I'm wondering what the best value deer calibre is.

Just on the point of value. Was talking to Sean in stakelums yesterday, and was asking about any new deer caliber rifles he had or was getting. He told me he is getting in some Tikka's brand new in;

• .243
• 25-06
• 6.5x55
• .270

He is getting two models. The Tikka lite for €795, and the Tikka hunter for €975.

He also has a Styer Tactical Elite in .308 with 30mm rings, and mod for €950. Thats about as good a deal as you could want, plus neither brand of rifle would exactly upset me to own.:D

Longranger

Cheers Ez,that steyr looks NICE,have to get my thinking cap on now. Now where did I put it? ?

poulo6.5

Longranger wrote: »

Hi lads, I'm wondering what the best value deer calibre is. My missus is paying for half a rifle for christmas and I don't know what to get. I was looking at a 7mm08 but I think a 308 would be cheaper to run. I'll be using it for a few foxes too. What do ye think?

if you are talking value and versatility then you cant beat the .308.

the 7mm 08 is an excellent round as well though and either will do everything you ask of it.

the .308 will have cheep ammo available if you just want trigger time which is very important for getting used to your rifle.


happy hunting

Mauser 308

It wasn't me! wrote: »

Ammo for the .300 mag is about €5 a box more expensive than the same stuff in .30-06, as a rule. However, as a deer and fox gun, there's absolutely no call to go talking about either really. Not that they won't kill foxes mind! For a deer rifle, it's hard to beat a .308 or a .270. For a deer and fox rifle, something like a .243, .25-06 or .270 is perfect (You'll like the flatter trajectory if shooting at night where judging distance is harder) and all come in factory loadings with suitable bullets for both foxes and deer. Personally I'd lean towards the heavier end, the .25-06 being about the perfect compromise, but unless you're going to moderate it, I can't think of a factory rifle that has a barrel long enough to keep the noise civilised. My 22.5" Sako is wickedly noisy without the mod on, hateful thing to shoot. If you want a deer and bigger game rifle, the .30-06 or the .300 mag is absolutely perfect, but your best bet as an all rounder in Ireland is probably something like a .270 or a .25-06. Extremely flat for foxing, reasonable ammo prices, reasonable availability (Though the .270 is better here), good bullets for foxing and stalking in both and lots of choice in factory rifles.

IWM - If you had your time over what would you use? Say mostly deer and a few foxes and of coarse a bit of target ie a little pratice and zeroing in.

It wasn't me!

Mauser 308 wrote: »

IWM - If you had your time over what would you use? Say mostly deer and a few foxes and of coarse a bit of target ie a little pratice and zeroing in.

I can't think of a solid deer round I wouldn't happily use, to be honest. The problem is I'd love to have most of them, and pick what I want from day to day. I think the .25-06 fits the bill perfectly for what you're describing, as does the .270. If I could have a lightweight .25-06 built with a 26" barrel, I'd probably love that as a deer and light game round. For anywhere the .25 would be marginal or not legal for big game, I think a .300 magnum is about as versatile as it gets. Since I don't shoot foxes as a rule, I think a .308 is a really hard one to beat for deer only and targets. The reason it's so hard to make a decision on what to use is because they all work great, so the best deer rifle is the one you happen to have in your hand at the crucial time. For most stuff, I'd be as happy to carry a .25-06 as I would a .308 or even a bigger gun (Who doesn't love novelty?) like a 9.3x62 or a .45-70. I'd love a 9.3 as it's one of the world's great all rounders. It's not a flat shooter like a .270 or a .25-06 but with it you're good for everything from deer to the biggest of big game in some parts of the world. It's just so hard to go wrong with any of these choices. Still must have a look at your .308 sometime. Big fan of the Mauser platform.

Mauser 308

Have a week off coming up hopefully the week after next, if ur about lets tie up for a stalk and a few shots.

It wasn't me!

Mauser 308 wrote: »

Have a week off coming up hopefully the week after next, if ur about lets tie up for a stalk and a few shots.

Sounds good. Keep me posted and I'll see what the schedule lets me do.