Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
BTW, the Tikka T3 has the best factory trigger I have ever used. Just something else to keep in mind.
What to upgrade to???
- Thread starter bleedingcoffee
- Start date
Ok.. I spent an hour or so at Bass Pro in Calgary looking at the different guns. I really love the Tikka T3; the hunter model the most. So I think I have that question answered for myself, just had to run the bolt a couple times and loved it.
But for the second question.... This is going to be the hard decision for me.
I primarily hunt deer, but also hunt elk and moose with everything in the Sundre area. Most of the shots I will make are within 300 yards, it is unlikely (but possible) that I would exceed that. And I forgot a pretty popular 270 in the mix, so where I stand today trying to decide - 270, 30-06, or 7mm rem mag??? I have eliminated the 300 win mag.
I am leaning towards the 30-06 or 270 primarily for pricing of ammo. I am not sure how the 270 would be for the moose/elk...
But for the second question.... This is going to be the hard decision for me.
I primarily hunt deer, but also hunt elk and moose with everything in the Sundre area. Most of the shots I will make are within 300 yards, it is unlikely (but possible) that I would exceed that. And I forgot a pretty popular 270 in the mix, so where I stand today trying to decide - 270, 30-06, or 7mm rem mag??? I have eliminated the 300 win mag.
I am leaning towards the 30-06 or 270 primarily for pricing of ammo. I am not sure how the 270 would be for the moose/elk...
If you are taking out the 300 win mag because of ammo cost the 7mm is pretty much right behind it with factory loads.
A .270 is a great deer caliber and is entry level (arguably) for moose and elk. My .270 has taken moose, I have never hunted elk though. Out to 300 yards the .270 and the 30-06 are ballistically similar too. One thing I like about the 30-06 is that you can use heavier bullets if you feel the need. If you plan on hunting bears the .270 will do the job, but a hunting buddy of mine has tried in the past and he found he was having more follow up shots than he normally would. That being said... shot placement is key.
Like I said before in an earlier post. If you could get out to shoot both calibers to get a feel for them the decision may be easier to make. Keep in mind that T3, even with the wood stock, is still mighty light. Add to that a harder compound recoil pad from the factory and they like to kick. Look at a limbsaver(or other brand) recoil pad to tame them down. (again thats personal preferance...)
Good luck and have fun deciding. Have you thought about your optics yet?
A .270 is a great deer caliber and is entry level (arguably) for moose and elk. My .270 has taken moose, I have never hunted elk though. Out to 300 yards the .270 and the 30-06 are ballistically similar too. One thing I like about the 30-06 is that you can use heavier bullets if you feel the need. If you plan on hunting bears the .270 will do the job, but a hunting buddy of mine has tried in the past and he found he was having more follow up shots than he normally would. That being said... shot placement is key.
Like I said before in an earlier post. If you could get out to shoot both calibers to get a feel for them the decision may be easier to make. Keep in mind that T3, even with the wood stock, is still mighty light. Add to that a harder compound recoil pad from the factory and they like to kick. Look at a limbsaver(or other brand) recoil pad to tame them down. (again thats personal preferance...)
Good luck and have fun deciding. Have you thought about your optics yet?
I love my Tikka T3 SS 30-06, super accurate, light weight and I can push a 180gr bullet to 2850fps out of it. Pretty close to a 300 that the animal won't notice. Or shoot premium 165's between 2900-3000fps for everything too.
If you're hunting Elk and Moose regularly, the 270 should be out of the mix and the 300 Win Mag should be back in. .30-06 runs out of ft./lbs for moose at about 200 yards. 7mm would be a good choice, but 300 would be best, IMHO.
Also, how often do you shoot at 300 yards now? Do you practice at the range off-hand at 300 yards? It's one thing to say you'll have the space to shoot out to 300 yards, but another thing entirely to practice often at that range, and actually shoot an animal at that distance.
Also, how often do you shoot at 300 yards now? Do you practice at the range off-hand at 300 yards? It's one thing to say you'll have the space to shoot out to 300 yards, but another thing entirely to practice often at that range, and actually shoot an animal at that distance.
Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
^HAHA!
The .270 would do just fine on elk/moose, but I'd be leaning toward the .30-06 based on your range limitation of 300 yards and desire to hunt bigger animals.
The .270 would do just fine on elk/moose, but I'd be leaning toward the .30-06 based on your range limitation of 300 yards and desire to hunt bigger animals.
I'd get a new Winchester Model 70 in either .270 Win or .30-06. Treat yourself and get a super grade. You'll have pride of ownership and a lot nicer than a T3 for a bit more cash.
Scope-wise, consider a fixed 6x or 4x. The FX3 6x42 is supposed to be the bee's knees.
Scope-wise, consider a fixed 6x or 4x. The FX3 6x42 is supposed to be the bee's knees.
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powder burner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
my 1 choice Tikka T3 in 30-06
my 2 choice Savage american classic in 30-06 or 300 mag.
My 3 choice: not a remington.
my 2 choice Savage american classic in 30-06 or 300 mag.
My 3 choice: not a remington.
powder burner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
30-06 runs out of ft lbs for moose at 200 yds?? are you serious?? maybe im not understanding your sense of humour or something...
So much fail in this post it isn't even funny, a Elk or Moose hit with a .270 150 gr partition at any sane distance will be dead just as quick as if it was hit with a 30-06 as long as the shot is placed well.
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30-06 in order: Tikka, Rem then Savage. If you think you need some long range capability, my choice would be the 7mm Rem Mag. Nothing wrong with a 300 but having fired one, it is a lot of gun and sometimes the deer just got messed up!
burnt_servo
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- right in the middle of b.c.
why not buy a nice scope for the 303 and start handloading for it ?
Obviously I've offended the .270 crowd. I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention. The great Jack O'Connor once wrote the .270 was the ultimate North American round.
It is great.
But a moose will drop from a 22 LR, too, if the shot is placed well. That doesn't mean we should use it, though.
A .30 cal bullet will create a bigger wound channel than a .27 cal, and a bigger wound channel will always be better than a smaller wound channel. The only thing that kills an animal is disrupting the flow of oxygen to the brain. That's it.
The reference to ft./lb limitations was, granted, the very basic rule of thumb that 2,000 ft./lbs is the minimum for moose, whereas 1,000 ft./lbs is the minimum for deer.
Frankly, I really don't care what people shoot their animals with. I know bear guides who recommend a .243 for Ontario black bears. I don't agree with them, and just because someone is a guide does not mean they understand ballistics or are even gun nutz. Having been a guide myself once (granted for fish), I know a lot of guides are full of b-s.
Anyway, all this to say I'm sorry if I offended anyone. I thought we were trying to be helpful to someone who wanted to buy a new gun, and that's something I think we all can agree on is sweet!
It is great.
But a moose will drop from a 22 LR, too, if the shot is placed well. That doesn't mean we should use it, though.
A .30 cal bullet will create a bigger wound channel than a .27 cal, and a bigger wound channel will always be better than a smaller wound channel. The only thing that kills an animal is disrupting the flow of oxygen to the brain. That's it.
The reference to ft./lb limitations was, granted, the very basic rule of thumb that 2,000 ft./lbs is the minimum for moose, whereas 1,000 ft./lbs is the minimum for deer.
Frankly, I really don't care what people shoot their animals with. I know bear guides who recommend a .243 for Ontario black bears. I don't agree with them, and just because someone is a guide does not mean they understand ballistics or are even gun nutz. Having been a guide myself once (granted for fish), I know a lot of guides are full of b-s.
Anyway, all this to say I'm sorry if I offended anyone. I thought we were trying to be helpful to someone who wanted to buy a new gun, and that's something I think we all can agree on is sweet!
savages are great guns and great for the price, as for caliber 30-06 performs well and is cheaper than the other two, at longer ranges the magnums may have an advantage
even the bottom of the line savages will perform as well as much more expensive guns, the one thing they never compromised on is accuracy, if you get the tikka i say splurge and get the laminated stock it is much nicer imo than the plastic ones or the brown wood.
even the bottom of the line savages will perform as well as much more expensive guns, the one thing they never compromised on is accuracy, if you get the tikka i say splurge and get the laminated stock it is much nicer imo than the plastic ones or the brown wood.
Pretty sure I said that the .270 was capable of killing moose and elk. Pretty sure I posted that my .270 has killed moose as well.
Also said that they are ballistically twins to 300 yards.
Another thing that I posted was that shot placement is more important than hitting power.
Maybe if you read the rest of my posts, in which the post you quoted was built upon, you would have understood.
The only negative I posted about the .270 was that a friend of mine, name to be left out, had issues with his and bear hunting.
It's funny to me that one of the few posting users on this thread to suggest getting out and finding out what caliber the questioning user shot best was more important than just buying the most recommended cannon is the only one to be slammed. Especially when the other posts I made contradict the accusations.
I may have only a few posts on this site, but I am not new to the shooting sports (range and field).
Didn't write the post to hurt anyones feeling's and i don't recall saying anything about your shooting abilities, but if your friend had issues the calibre of rifle was not to blame hence the fail in the post.
I have owned both calibres and hunted with both and can say that the difference is not noticable, the last 15 years of filling my tag's every year has taught me that.
As for your other posts i did not see them as i did not scroll through the entire entire thread, all i am saying is the .270 is no less capable than the 30-06.
If you want to jump to conclusions about what people think then that's your problem and certainly not mine
BWEESE and I have had many a discussion at camp regarding calibers and a host of other things gun nutz discuss. He relies heavily on published data, taking into account velocity, ballistic coefficient, sectional density and the like. Real life experience often contradicts the paper stats. Scandinavian hunters, for example, have been killing moose with the 6.5X55 Swede since it was introduced in 1891. If you rely on paper stats, the 6.5X55 Swede would be a poor choice for moose.
Bullet placement is far more important than bullet diameter. If you are hunting moose, use a bullet that will give better penetration. Barnes X, TSX or TTSX bullets are never a bad choice. The same goes for the Nosler Partitions and a host of others built for good retained weight and expansion.
The difference in wound channel between a .270 and a .30-06 isn’t enough to make any appreciable difference IMHO. As an example, a mutual friend and I were at a range many years ago. Brent was shooting a Model 70 in .30-06 and I was using my BAR in .270. Brent shot a steel plate about ¾ inch thick and about 6 inches in diameter with a 180 grain handload at 100 yards. It left quite a welt on the face of the steel plate. I shot the same plate with my handloaded 150 grain .270 and it went completely through the plate. The hole it left was probably closer to 40 calibre than .277.
With today’s choices in bullets, I see no need to punish myself with heavy-recoiling magnums when I can kill animals just as dead, just as fast with something that doesn’t loosen my fillings or detach my retinas.
To the OP, you will shoot more often with a .30-06 or .270 than you would with a magnum. They are less expensive to shoot (even if you reload) and you won’t develop a flinch after half a dozen rounds at the range.
My choice would be a T3 or a Savage. I have both in left-handed versions (.338 Federal and .308, respectively) and both shoot very well.
Glad to see you on here BWEESE.
Bullet placement is far more important than bullet diameter. If you are hunting moose, use a bullet that will give better penetration. Barnes X, TSX or TTSX bullets are never a bad choice. The same goes for the Nosler Partitions and a host of others built for good retained weight and expansion.
The difference in wound channel between a .270 and a .30-06 isn’t enough to make any appreciable difference IMHO. As an example, a mutual friend and I were at a range many years ago. Brent was shooting a Model 70 in .30-06 and I was using my BAR in .270. Brent shot a steel plate about ¾ inch thick and about 6 inches in diameter with a 180 grain handload at 100 yards. It left quite a welt on the face of the steel plate. I shot the same plate with my handloaded 150 grain .270 and it went completely through the plate. The hole it left was probably closer to 40 calibre than .277.
With today’s choices in bullets, I see no need to punish myself with heavy-recoiling magnums when I can kill animals just as dead, just as fast with something that doesn’t loosen my fillings or detach my retinas.
To the OP, you will shoot more often with a .30-06 or .270 than you would with a magnum. They are less expensive to shoot (even if you reload) and you won’t develop a flinch after half a dozen rounds at the range.
My choice would be a T3 or a Savage. I have both in left-handed versions (.338 Federal and .308, respectively) and both shoot very well.
Glad to see you on here BWEESE.
