Help pick a SW Ontario rifle tryin to branch out

dbask

dbask

Member
Rating - 100%
38   0   0
Location
Ontario
Hey guys,

Looking to get into the rifle world, have basically been running a shotgun exclusively down here as I don't get up north much. Now that i'm getting into things more seriously lately, I'm looking for somethin i can take up north/out west and maybe do some yote shooting down here with.

First off, size does matter! nothin over (correct me if i'm wrong) .275 allowed down here for yotes. So if i'm not mistaken, that rules out the 7mm that was one of my options.

I'm looking for somewhat of a do-all, anything from varmints, to...dare I say moose? which brings me to the three choices I've found:

.223...have owned one in the past for punching paper, but never hunted with it. bit small for the bigger stuff but seems to be found quite easily...popular cartridge etc.

25-06...don't know much about this one...from what i've found, can have a variety of applications and can push out some heavier bullets for larger animals, but can it take down elk/moose?...yes yes, shot placement is key, and from what i've found this round has a decent punch and isn't going to rightly bounce off them, but will it make a hole that'll drop them quick or am i going to be wearing out my boots tracking the buggers? and...how easy is it to find this cartridge

.270...also not very well versed with this round. have heard it is versatile and has been around for some time and relatively easy to find.

Next battle is the rifle, which i'm not so concerned with until i find my chambering...but any suggestions or favorites for input would definitely be considered. (i'm a paper-puncher turned hunter so i do love my tack drivers)

budget for the set-up....hopefully sub 1000 preferably with some room for optics in there?
 
Last two

Your last two options are pretty good. Both the 25-06 and the 270 are running on the same 30-06 parent case just necked down to a 25 caliber bullet and a 277 caliber. I don't own a 25 yet but it will eventually be a 257 Wby Mag, (just more oomph than the 25-06). I have owned a 270 Win and ammo choices are very good and easy to come by. Most newly released guns come out in 30-06 and 270 and almost every kind of ammo is offered in 270 flavour.

I think it's a toss up and you should look at your rifle choice first.

If your reloading your options are endless but factor 25-06 ammo will be harder to purchase. The 25-06 will also recoil less than the 270.
 
Yes, a 270 given your constraints is the way to go. A Remington 700 XCR should do the trick and is available in 270. Should retail for just shy of $1000.00 and would be a tack driver with some real good practice time and consistent ammo. Nice comfy stock and an easy to clean gun for different weather conditions.
 
you need to decide exactly what youll be using it for.
at the beginning of your post you say you want one for shooting coyotes, and then youre talking about moose - theres a pretty big difference.
decide what you will be hunting most - for example if 95% of the time youll be hunting coyotes, small game, etc then you are better off picking up a .223. for that one time you want to hunt a moose, you can borrow or just buy an Enfield sporter dirt cheap. there is no sense trying to buy a 'universal' rifle that is good for all of those applications.

if you are in southern Ontario, then groundhog hunting is pretty popular there as well. the .223 is close to the ideal round for groundhogs, unless you really want to see them detonate in which case go to a .243/.25-06. unless you reload, however, .25-06 ammo will cost you 3-4x as much as .223.

one thing you maybe should consider is picking up a Savage, then later on if you decide you want a different chambering its only a matter of buying a couple headspace gauges, a barrel nut wrench and a new barrel.
 
There is no single gun that will be ideal for the coyote-to-moose range, but it isn't unrealistic to get one that will serve adequately. We all know that eventually you will get more rifles, no matter what you may say or think now, but in the meantime a .270 would sound like your best bet. It'll serve for moose, and you can use it for coyotes and groundhogs as well. Forget about saving the coyote pelts, though. Neither coyote nor groundhog hunting is done in such high volumes that recoil will wear you down...in Ontario we don't have gophers or prairie dogs or anything else that offers that kind of shooting. A great day of groundhog hunting may afford a dozen shots, less than that for coyotes. Accept the fact that you will be developing or buying multiple different loadings and bullet weights for the various types of game that you'll be after.
 
Another vote for the .270 Winchester. I live in a calibre restricted county, own a .270 and it would be my choice if I could only have one rifle.

But I also have a .223 too. :)
 
Rem 7600 270 win pump
If you are a pump gun shot gunner like me I would suggest the remington pump. It is next
on my must have list but still havn't decided on caliber (223 vs 243) as I already have a 308 for further north.
 
There are a bunch of sub-.275 cartridges that could fit your needs, and a lot of models of rifles chambered in many of these cartridges.

Has a particular rifle got your attention? Or a particular type of rifle? If you like milsup stuff, there are lots of m96s in 6.5x55 out there in various degrees of sporterization that could fit the bill. Also this is a great cartridge in a modern sporter too. Otherwise, if you're interested in a new sporter the .30-06-based cartridges you listed are certainly very sensible, but there are also many other choices.

RG

<><
 
I have a .270 & .223.

.270 is Remington 700 Mountain DM. This unit is quite loud and heavy recoil compared to .223 Ruger Mini. The Remington is also much more accurate and has a much smoother trigger.

.223 is way cheaper and is more comfortable to shoot because of the much smaller round & less recoil and less noise.

You need to weigh out the pros & cons. Can't hunt big game with .223 very well.
 
if he doesnt reload (which i doubt he does if this is his first rifle) then a 6.5x55 wouldnt be the greatest choice.

IMHO trying to find one cartridge for small game up to moose is a bad idea. you are going to end up with a rifle that is less than ideal for either task. you would be better off with two budget rifles ideally suited for both tasks, than you would trying to find one all-round rifle.

for example, if you had ~$1200 to spend, rather than buy a $1200 .270 rifle/glass, you could pick up a .270 Stevens with a low-power scope, and a .223 H&R ultra varminter with a higher power scope. youd still have the option of changing barrels on the Stevens.
or you could get a Stevens in .223 with some nice glass for small game/predator hunting, and a nice sporterized Enfield or Mauser for larger game.

btw im not trying to say the Stevens are the end-all solution, just that in some cases its better to buy two budget rifles in different chamberings than trying to get one rifle to do everything.
 
270WSM...enough umph for any big game in Ontario (Moose, Black Bear, Deer) and fun to hit ground hogs with. I live in SW Ontario and have a .223 but sometimes it's fun to hit the groundhogs with my .270WSM.
 
I am new to the rifle hunting world, but not totally new to the rifle world. I owned a Rem700 in .223 and agree the cartridge is quite suited to groundhog/dogs, but not so good for the big stuff.

I'm not one for the milsurp stuff, so it seems like most votes are for the .270 or getting two different rifles....or at least two different calibres somehow. I do realize that I'm going to be purchasing more rifles eventually, but I'm looking for a well rounded starter.

The .270 seems like a pretty down the middle cartridge from what I've heard....if it's not designed to span between the varmint-big game world, what was its intended purpose? Just curious i guess what its desired function was when it was made.

if i had to put a % of use on it I would say probably 75% coyote 25% deer and larger.

I realize that it may be alot asking a single cartridge as a do all and that's part of the reason i'm asking you guys. Is it worth potentially sacrificing in the majority of what im going shoot to broaden what i can shoot? or should i focus in on my main target and borrow...or perhaps put off (if i can't find a willing doner) the larger stuff up north for now?
 
If the limit is .275 that leaves out the 270 win, which has a bullet diameter of .277.

Am I right or am I missing something?
 
dbask said:
I'm looking for somewhat of a do-all, anything from varmints, to...dare I say moose?
Click to expand...
Anyone, anywhere in Canada would be very well served with just a 270Win and .223.

Buy a nice example of each with a good scope from the EE and you're set.


.
 
dbask said:
I realize that it may be alot asking a single cartridge as a do all and that's part of the reason i'm asking you guys. Is it worth potentially sacrificing in the majority of what im going shoot to broaden what i can shoot? or should i focus in on my main target and borrow...or perhaps put off (if i can't find a willing doner) the larger stuff up north for now?
Click to expand...

unless you reload (again im assuming you dont since this will be your first rifle), IMHO looking for a rifle that will be ideal for everything from small game to moose is asking too much and youll inevitably end up with something that is less than ideal for both. youll be sacrificing too much on one or both ends of the spectrum.

if you insist on one rifle however, i do have another suggestion:
a friend i go varminting with from Windsor is in a very similar situation as you. he chose a .243: there is a decent and widely available ammo selection for the .243 that includes everything from inexpensive hollowpoints (that have quite spectacular results on groundhogs) to premium deer bullets (the .243 is often touted as the ideal deer cartridge). its very flat, low recoil, and a pleasure to shoot... and unlike the .25-06 for example, pretty much every firearm manufacturer has several offerings in .243.

the only thing it wouldnt be ideal for on your list is moose. but how often do you intend to hunt moose? the same guy above had a sporterized Enfield that he bought for $150, took several moose with, then lost to the RCMP (he took it in to be registered and they couldnt find a SN so they told him to leave it with them till they do - he never saw it again). so all he has now is his .243 and shotguns. he has absolutely no problem borrowing a rifle for that couple days a year he goes moose hunting - its a party hunt anyways so he just asks one of the other guys to bring a spare to the camp and he makes sure its sighted in properly when hes there. i loaned him one of my .308s last year.

IMO the above would be a much better solution. you could also get the .243 in a Savage: they have several models of guns in .243 and theyre one of the better manuf.s in terms of out-of-the-box accuracy. if you purchased a .243 Savage, you could keep an eye on the EE for a take-off .308 Savage barrel (or order one from mysticplayer), and with a barrel nut wrench and a couple headspace gauges you could make it into a switch-barrel rifle.
or, since theyre all a .308 base you could even order a .338 Federal barrel, .260 Remington, 7mm-08, etc.

..and since the Savages are a pretty good value for the money, you should have money left over to buy a rifle topped with decent glass for close to your $1000 limit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom