I'm in the market for a mild mannered all around gun and need some advice

Dogleg said:
A .270 in a standard weight rifle is able as mild mannered as it gets. I've got a couple in FN M70s; one featherweight and one Cabelas Featherweight Super grade. Both handle nice and about like shooting a water pistol. I don't think they can muster enough recoil to bounce on the bags. Good stock design does wonders.

The advantages of the .280 are hopelessly exaggerated. More bullet selection? How many do you need anyway? If you did feel a pressing need for more bullet weight the 160 Partition has been sitting there since forever.

The difference between a .277" and .284 is exactly the same as the difference between the bore and groove dimensions of a 7mm barrel. Some times I wonder if someone in the twenties didn't just get mixed up and made a cartridge/rifle with a 7mm bullet instead of a 7mm bore.. Its not like the Americans exactly embraced the metric system.
Click to expand...

Sums it up nicely!
 
My best friend hunts with a stainless synthetic 700 in .280 that he bought on my advice in the early '90's and he's shot all kinds of game with it since from coyotes to big moose and is totally enamored with it. Another of our crew uses a .270 and has shot at least as much game with it (it was his grand-dad's and he used it around Thunder Bay since the '30's) including the biggest bull moose I've ever personally seen.

The word that comes to mind when I think about .280 shooters (and I've owned a couple) is "cultish"...
 
Nothing wrong with a .270 Win...

Also nothing wrong with a .280, 7mm-08, 7X57, .308 and a couple dozen others... platform & fit being the keys to success.
 
The .270 is a much more practical choice than the .280 in my opinion for reasons already mentioned in this thread. As fun and interesting as slightly odd or less common cartridges are I think that if it will be your go to rifle then you should choose a cartridge for which you can buy ammo off the shelf just about anywhere.

I also agree with the idea of a Winchester Model 70 as a good choice. The new model 70's are excellent, and really a very good bargain for what you get in my opinion.
 
Remington 700 Mountain rifle! Got one here in 280 and I do know where there is another one. I've been meaning to go pick it up for a long time, cause the price is more than right.
 
The first thought that comes to me when I read "mild mannered all around gun" is a Marlin 336 in 30-30 (or Win 94 in same cal). The 30-30 is not in the same league ballistically as the 270 or 280 but I'm sure it has taken plenty of NB big game. The "levers" are light, fast and fun.
 
I shoot a M70 Extreme Weather in .270 and its awesome.....Very nice shooting rifle and cartridge will take any game in my province with ease.

My vote goes to very popular 270 win......for the win
 
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