Need some advice on what rifle to get?

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I have budgeted about $750-1000 for a new rifle. I want to use it for most general types of hunting. Range would be 250 Yards and under. As its going to be used in Southern Ontario the max caliber would be .270 or less.

I have looked at the following rifles so far

-Remington 700s
-Stevens 200
-Tikka T3s
-Browning X Bolts
-Savage
-Ruger Hawkeye
-Winchester Featherweight 70- this one seems to be the leader so far

I have a nice Remington 700 already, but am alittle concerned about buying a new one with the discharge issues and the purported iffy quality these days from Remington.

Currently I have for hunting rifles I have the following 45/70 and a 6mm Remington.

So I guess I have twos questions here, what is the best quality rifle in my price category? Unless ive missed some?

Is .270 Winchester the best choice? I will start off with factory ammo and reload from there. So availability is a factor. Any other calibers that make sense here that are flexible from small to medium size game while keeping within the caliber limits?

Budget does not include optic either.
Thanks
 
Winchester would be my pick if getting something in stainless is a requirement, the stainless featherweight is really nice! Sticking under .270 with the Winchester only leaves the .243 as an option though.

Are you staying under .270 to nail some varmints if need be?
 
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my choice would be t3a ss t3 ss laminate. way nicer than the plastic ones. calibre one of the 270's wsm or win , 30 06, 300 wsm/300wm or even 7 08/308. i would go with one of the fist three if its to be a general purpose gun.
 
Does SO-ON even have a rifle season for deer? Check the regs specifically, because the .277 or less only applies to small game in SOME counties, unless I'm much mistaken.

My vote goes to a classic Savage ( nice wood ) or a Tikka. For what its worth, my Tikka is alot smoother than my Savage.
 
Take a look at a marlin XL7, think about it with a boyd's stock. As good as any other rifle on your list and leaves extra room in the budget for a nice scope.


Although I may be biased......
PA090064.jpg


Mine is a 7mm-08 but for your applications, .270 sounds like your best bet for an overall cartridge.
 
I do not really understand why you are imposing a .270 as the upper limit. Otherwise, I would have suggested a 30-06 for it's versatility and ammo availability.

If you want to stay in the .270 range I would suggest looking at the .270 WSMs. The ballistics are pretty impressive. This gives you a very versatile rifle that can handle any game in Ontario (North or South).

My vote for a rifle model would be the Model 70 Featherweight. I just love the look of that rifle.

Dan
 
You have narrowed your search to some pretty good selections. I personally would go with the browning or winchester. The T3 is another strong choice. With these three it basically comes down to which one you prefer.
 
I'd vote for a 6.5x55 or a regular old .270. If you have the time, go check out some of the rifles you are interested in at a store close to you and see which one feels best for you.
 
On the caliber I wont just hunt in Southern Ontario, but if I do use it for small game, coyotes I can still use it if its less than .270. I am not sure about Moose, as I dont have a pickup or an ATV and dont have the skill necessary to get the job done with so much meat.. ;)

I figured the .270 seems to be about the best all round caliber. With the 6mm I already have the .243 is sort of redundant, although at least ammo is more common.

The only other one I saw that was a maybe was the 6.5 swede or the .257 Roberts but is the .270 just a safer cheaper choice?

Thanks for the pic of the Marlin, I had not considered them as a bolt gun company, I will look.

So far I think the CRF in the 70 seems good. I want to avoid new style Short cartridges as they may or may not be around forever.

Thanks for the info

Lastly I like the Tikka...but damn it is ugly looking.
 
I have always said my next new rifle, if and when would be the T-3 in the 270wsm.
I had a chance to fondle an X-Bolt and it is something sweet in the arms.
Mag falls out and falls right back in. No effort, no fuss, no muss.
Tough call, eeny, meeny, meyenee........................moe.
Let us know what you decided and maybe why???
Cheers.
 
There are quite a bit of nice rifle by Savage but for hunting you may want to save some for a nice scope. Gun won't screw you much but the scope selection is the real deal.

Trigun
 
If you will be using the gun for deer and possibly moose, then I would say the 270 is a great choice. I love my winchester model 70, and from what everyone says, the new ones are made very well. I don't think you can go wrong if it fits you good
 
I think the Ontario government has sold a lot of 270's through it's stupid legislation over the years.
The 270 is quite capable on game as large as moose, it's failings, are all in the varmint end, noise, recoil and powder burnt (expensive to shoot compared to say a 22-250).
To that end it's really mega over kill as a varmint round on stuff smaller than coyote. But you have a smaller rifle for that anyway.

Brands, I'm partial to Winchester, but, there are no really bad rifles (except certain Remingtons, but I won't go there)
 
Marlins are a good rifle in this application. I too have the XS7 in 7mm-08 in a Boyd's laminate stock. Great minds think alike. The gun was $366, the Boyd's stock another $95 plus shipping. They shoot very very well out of the box and the Boyds was a straight 'drop in' fit.

Having said this, the Winchester 70 would probably be my choice here. I don't own one, but I had a difficult time leaving behind the one I handled in the store a couple of months ago (not a caliber I wanted). With CRF and super smooth action in stainless it was very nice.
 
I would recomend the t3 in a 270. I own a 270 you can load light for varmints and I load 150 barnes for my moose. every animal I have taken has been a single shot.
 
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