one rifle

silverfox1

Lads,
Having not as much time now as i had a couple of years ago i have been thinking the last while of cutting down to one stalking rifle. I hate having guns in the safe doing nothing for the year. Anyway if you had to pick one rifle/calibre for mostly deer stalking and the odd fox what would it be?

Cavan duck buster

silverfox1 wrote: »

Lads,
Having not as much time now as i had a couple of years ago i have been thinking the last while of cutting down to one stalking rifle. I hate having guns in the safe doing nothing for the year. Anyway if you had to pick one rifle/calibre for mostly deer stalking and the odd fox what would it be?

I say a 243 would be your best bet.

fathersymes

Cavan duck buster wrote: »

I say a 243 would be your best bet.

Yep .243, 25-06 or 7mm-08

silverfox1

I have a 270 and a 243 at the minute. Both great calibers but id say i would stick with the 270 first. It will handle pretty much anything i want to shoot. What i was thinking is getting rid of both and getting a nice rifle to hang onto for a good while. I was just wondering your opinions on rifles.

fathersymes

silverfox1 wrote: »

I have a 270 and a 243 at the minute. Both great calibers but id say i would stick with the 270 first. It will handle pretty much anything i want to shoot. What i was thinking is getting rid of both and getting a nice rifle to hang onto for a good while. I was just wondering your opinions on rifles.

I've a bias towards Sauer, next would be Sako

silverfox1

fathersymes wrote: »

I've a bias towards Sauer, next would be Sako

Sauer make fine rifles alright. why the bias?

Vegeta

Friend has a Sauer in .243 and it is a lovely gun, beautiful balance and ergonomics.

I think I prefer Sako 75s though because their mechanics are a bit more conventional. In the unlikely scenario something needs fixing or replacing, they'll be easier to fix/address. So I think my vote is for the Sako.

silverfox1

Vegeta wrote: »

Friend has a Sauer in .243 and it is a lovely gun, beautiful balance and ergonomics.

I think I prefer Sako 75s though because their mechanics are a bit more conventional. In the unlikely scenario something needs fixing or replacing, they'll be easier to fix/address. So I think my vote is for the Sako.

I had a sako 75 22-250 a few years back. lovely gun but seriously ammo fussy. i couldn't get it to group. I got rid of it but im sorry i didn't re barrel it into a 243 or something.

deerhunter1

silverfox1 wrote: »

Lads,
Having not as much time now as i had a couple of years ago i have been thinking the last while of cutting down to one stalking rifle. I hate having guns in the safe doing nothing for the year. Anyway if you had to pick one rifle/calibre for mostly deer stalking and the odd fox what would it be?

308:D

silverfox1

deerhunter1 wrote: »

308:D

I never took to the 308 at all. I had a couple and hated them.

4200fps

243 be best for what you want. Cheap to feed, very accurate, flat shooter, mild recoil and good energy. 25-06 are a good round no doubt but hard to get ammo for and have quite snappy recoil. Most folks including myself swear the 243 is the best fox caliber out there. Yet any deer may escape any deer caliber if theres shot placement error on the kill zone

323

silverfox1 wrote: »

i would stick with the 270 first. It will handle pretty much anything i want to shoot.

Answered your own question, agree 100%

In a quality rifle, that fits you, built on a M98 action. A lifetime job that will handle most of the game on the planet.

Hibrion

For deer and fox it would have to be a .270 without doubt.

For a dedicated deer rifle, I'd go to 30-06 as it gives you more options for going abroad.

silverfox1

323 wrote: »

Answered your own question, agree 100%

In a quality rifle, that fits you, built on a M98 action. A lifetime job that will handle most of the game on the planet.

Point taken. I should have left out calibre and focused on the rifle. Im looking for opinions on the best stalking rifle out there.

steyrman2

What about a nice blaser rifle

silverfox1

steyrman2 wrote: »

What about a nice blazer rifle

Lovely job alright. Are they worth the money i wonder.

zeissman

silverfox1 wrote: »

Lovely job alright. Are they worth the money i wonder.

I shot a few of them and they were all accurate but I think they are way overpriced for what you get.
For the price of a blaser you could get a nice custom rifle built.

steyrman2

zeissman wrote: »

I shot a few of them and they were all accurate but I think they are way overpriced for what you get.
For the price of a blaser you could get a nice custom rifle built.

Hi yes you could get a custom rifle built
how long will you be waiting
will it shoot
will you be able to have a interchangeable barrel
there will be no proofing on it
resale value will be less than half of what you pay if anyone will take it


Blaser is a better option you could have a .243 barrel if you get fed up with it you can buy a new barrel no problem fitting 5 o 10 mins no down time and you can change calibers if you want resale value a lot better than any custom rifle plus a back up service second to none the have customer care like all proper rifle makers .
I have a few shooting buddys went down the custom route between them the spent a lot of money on there guns and as much travelling up and down before and after the build and still ended up going back to factory rifles .

If your into f-class you could go custom if you wanted something different but factory rigs will shoot just as good with right ammo .

Back to the op that started this tread factory rifles would suit you better imo for deer stalking and a bit of foxing a factory rifle with interchangeable barrels must be worth a look

zeissman

steyrman2 wrote: »

Hi yes you could get a custom rifle built
how long will you be waiting
will it shoot
will you be able to have a interchangeable barrel
there will be no proofing on it
resale value will be less than half of what you pay if anyone will take it


Blazer is a better option you could have a .243 barrel if you get fed up with it you can buy a new barrel no problem fitting 5 o 10 mins no down time and you can change calibers if you want resale value a lot better than any custom rifle plus a back up service second to none the have customer care like all proper rifle makers .
I have a few shooting buddys went down the custom route between them the spent a lot of money on there guns and as much travelling up and down before and after the build and still ended up going back to factory rifles .

If your into f-class you could go custom if you wanted something different but factory rigs will shoot just as good with right ammo .

Back to the op that started this tread factory rifles would suit you better imo for deer stalking and a bit of foxing a factory rifle with interchangeable barrels must be worth a look

I still think they are too expensive, Spare barrels are also very expensive.
At the end of the day they are a factory rifle and wont shoot any better than a sako or tikka.

steyrman2

zeissman wrote: »

I still think they are too expensive, Spare barrels are also very expensive.
At the end of the day they are a factory rifle and wont shoot any better than a sako or tikka.

I agree the wont shoot any better than a sako or tikka but with the timber finish the look a lot better im not into timber stocks my self

As for price as a standard rifle R8 offroad you can get a spare barrell for 750 or there abouts you can have 2 barrells of the same caliber different twist and lenght with one licence is cheaper than going custom you have a new action not one revamped

zeissman

steyrman2 wrote: »

I agree the wont shoot any better than a sako or tikka but with the timber finish the look a lot better im not into timber stocks my self

As for price as a standard rifle R8 offroad you can get a spare barrell for 750 or there abouts you can have 2 barrells of the same caliber different twist and lenght with one licence is cheaper than going custom you have a new action not one revamped

What price is the r8 offroad ?
750 is not bad for a spare barrel, I thought they were a lot more than that.
The reason I suggested a custom rifle was that you could pick whatever action, barrel, stock, etc that you wanted.
Do you think the custom rifles shoot any better than a good factory rifle ?

silverfox1

steyrman2 wrote: »

I agree the wont shoot any better than a sako or tikka but with the timber finish the look a lot better im not into timber stocks my self

As for price as a standard rifle R8 offroad you can get a spare barrell for 750 or there abouts you can have 2 barrells of the same caliber different twist and lenght with one licence is cheaper than going custom you have a new action not one revamped

I didn't know you could have 2 barrels on the one license. That would be a great job. I got a bad experience with a custom build before so Im kind of sour to the idea.

hedzball

silverfox1 wrote: »

I didn't know you could have 2 barrels on the one license. That would be a great job. I got a bad experience with a custom build before so Im kind of sour to the idea.

2barrels if of same calibre..

A different calibre requires a different license..






'hdz

steyrman2

zeissman wrote: »

What price is the r8 offroad ?
750 is not bad for a spare barrel, I thought they were a lot more than that.
The reason I suggested a custom rifle was that you could pick whatever action, barrel, stock, etc that you wanted.
Do you think the custom rifles shoot any better than a good factory rifle ?

I have seen secondhand ones around 1200 to 1500 and new 2200 upwards depends how much you want to spend as it would be with custom rifles most custom rifles using a good action like stiller or rpa will cost between 1200 and 1800 euro barrell choice 750 or there abouts and stocks the same 750 for macmillan types anything from 3 to 12 months waiting time once the parts are in ireland you could be waiting 8 months for a macmillan stock of your choice and your still not sure how it will shoot you might get a guarantee that the work is right but no guarantee of accuracy most have some problems let them be small or not ammo feeding bedding problems i could go on
If you buy a factory rifle sako or tikka or even a remingtion with the right ammo i do think the will shoot as good as custom imo and no problems with feed or bedding
How many lads went down the custom route and had there rifles for sale on this site and others there like wedding presents nobody wants them unless there next to nothing price wise . If you go into any gunshop with a tikka or sako or remmie the will take a trade in 9 times out of 10

Tac

I have a Tikka T3 Super Varmint in 6.5x55 and its a great all rounder. Highly recommend Tikka.

Hibrion

+1 for the Tikka. I considered high end rifles like blaser and sauer last year when changing my rifle and ended up buying a tikka. I don't regret it.

Longranger

CZ550FS in 6.5x55. Light(for a full stock),accurate and bloody gorgeous to hold and shoot. Norma ammo for deer and prvi for charlie(80 euro for 100 rounds),add a nice old west german S&B and I wouldn't change it for anything. Might not suit, but just my 2c.
LR

Vegeta

Mauser maybe?

silverfox1

Longranger wrote: »

CZ550FS in 6.5x55. Light(for a full stock),accurate and bloody gorgeous to hold and shoot. Norma ammo for deer and prvi for charlie(80 euro for 100 rounds),add a nice old west german S&B and I wouldn't change it for anything. Might not suit, but just my 2c.
Full stock rifles are lovely alright. I very nearly bought a full stock steyr in 270 that was in stakelums a few months ago. I managed to get sense though.

steyrman2

hedzball wrote: »

2barrels if of same calibre..

A different calibre requires a different license..






'hdz

What i mean you can have 2 barrells of the same calibre you need 2 license but one is foc you just get the paper work for it so you could have a longrange varminting barrel and a short one for stalking

tac foley

steyrman2 wrote: »

What about a nice blazer rifle

...or even a Blaser.

tac

silverfox1

tac foley wrote: »

...or even a Blaser.

tac

ormondprop

If you like your .270 why not just hold onto that and sell your .243 and with the money you make upgrade your .270 some way, new stock, trigger, scope etc

silverfox1

ormondprop wrote: »

If you like your .270 why not just hold onto that and sell your .243 and with the money you make upgrade your .270 some way, new stock, trigger, scope etc

Both of them are tikkas and the triggers are perfect already. Stocks maybe could be a bit stronger but they are grand. I'd sell the two of them or neither. It'd be like trying to pick your favourite child.

ormondprop

Fair enough if you like the tikkas maybe you could trade them in and get a new tikka hunter stainless fluted, smashing looking rifle, or my favourite a sako hunter stainless in .270 or similar calibre

hedzball

PSE stock...


ahem...






'hdz

silverfox1

hedzball wrote: »

PSE stock...


ahem...






'hdz

I still haven't seen one. Supposed to be a great job

silverfox1

ormondprop wrote: »

Fair enough if you like the tikkas maybe you could trade them in and get a new tikka hunter stainless fluted, smashing looking rifle, or my favourite a sako hunter stainless in .270 or similar calibre

I didn't know the sako came in a hunter stainless. I'll check it out. Cheers

ormondprop

http://www.sako.fi/sako85models.php?hunterss_showdata#pagedown

I would love one myself hopefully i'll have a nice 243 or other deer calibre for next season, just have to see can i save enough to hold onto my .204 aswell

silverfox1

ormondprop wrote: »

http://www.sako.fi/sako85models.php?hunterss_showdata#pagedown

I would love one myself hopefully i'll have a nice 243 or other deer calibre for next season, just have to see can i save enough to hold onto my .204 aswell

Cheers lad. Lovely looking gun

ah jeeze that stainless sako is ugly

zeissman

I dont really like it either.
I prefer stainless rifles with synthetic or laminated stocks.
I like walnut stocks with blued rifles.

clivej

Well I've yet to see a nicer looking rifle than my Sako 75 laminated varmint with fluted barrel in .308. Sub MOA and hard hitting, all you want in a rifle.
Pillared & bedded (both stocks), custom bolt knob, trigger set at light pull, threaded. Bushnell 4200 Eilte 6-24x50 tactical, Burris picatinny rials & mounts.

Poor photos don't do it justice.









And in it's synthetic stock for when I'm out stalking to save the timber from getting damaged.

patsat

If I were you I'd sell the .243 and work on the .270! I used to have a .270 but traded it because I wanted a lighter rifle and ended up getting a Tikka T3 Lite in .25-06 on sale. If there was a .270 available in the same rifle I would have taken that.

The rifle is fitted with

- Kaps 2.5-10x50 scope
- Dnz one piece aluminium mount
- Atec Maxim moderator
- Pse stock bedded for the rifle and made to my specifications

The rifle is a dream to handle, carry and shoot! It's seriously accurate for a factory barrel and factory ammo, and didn't break the bank!

I'd post a pic of it but I'm on the phone so can't but if anyone wants to go back through my posts to revive a pic yer welcome!

dev110

patsat wrote: »

I'd post a pic of it but I'm on the phone so can't but if anyone wants to go back through my posts to revive a pic yer welcome!

Done. Think they're the right ones.

ormondprop

Must be just me so but i love stainless and walnut

Tikka


Sako


Remington

silverfox1

Clive, in fairness it's a fine looking rifle no doubt. I prefer the synthetic stock to the laminate tho. It has to be well on the heavy side with all the bits and bobs on it.

Patsat,
Did the stock set you back much

patsat

silverfox1 wrote: »

Clive, in fairness it's a fine looking rifle no doubt. I prefer the synthetic stock to the laminate tho. It has to be well on the heavy side with all the bits and bobs on it.

Patsat,
Did the stock set you back much

I'll send ya a pm, can't remember but I'll give ya the ball park figure!

For what I paid I got the stock, swivel studs where I wanted them, palm swell added on the left side, my rifle was bedded into the stock and I had extra weight(lead) added into the highest part of the cheek piece to help the rifle handle better.

Forgot to mention the only way I will get rid of this rifle is for an R8 Blaser!

Edit: he also mixed his normal colored duracoat Colors in order to paint my stock the way I wanted it! Top class stuff!

silverfox1

patsat wrote: »

I'll send ya a pm, can't remember but I'll give ya the ball park figure!

For what I paid I got the stock, swivel studs where I wanted them, palm swell added on the left side, my rifle was bedded into the stock and I had extra weight(lead) added into the highest part of the cheek piece to help the rifle handle better.

Forgot to mention the only way I will get rid of this rifle is for an R8 Blaser!

Edit: he also mixed his normal colored duracoat Colors in order to paint my stock the way I wanted it! Top class stuff!

Thanks pat. Sounds like top class service alright.

silverfox1

ormondprop wrote: »

Must be just me so but i love stainless and walnut

Tikka


Sako


Remington

I like the look of them too. That sako is grand

hedzball

We were talking about quality rifles then someone mentioned remington






:pac::pac::pac:





'hdz