What would you do?

[gerry]

I'm driving myself nuts thinking about filling the gap between my the 260 Rem and new 35 Whelen. I need a flat shooting gun for goats, deer and sheep that can still handle a moose or elk. Having to shoot left handed really cuts down on the choices I have.

Different options

1) I have a 270 Win take off barrel from the 35 Whelen project I could have this put on my Rem 700 magnum action and have it rechambered to 270 Wby. I have always thought it was a neat round it would certainly fit what I need the only real downside is expensive Weatherby brass. Since I have the barrel it would be pretty inexpensive to get up and shooting.

2) The 7mm Rem mag could do the same as above just need to find a barrel, would do everthing I could want and do it cheaper than the 270 Weatherby. Can also use my Sako L691 for this as well.

3) Sell a couple of guns and buy a 7mm RM.

4) Have a 280 Rem built or buy an Montana,this is intrigueing it would also do everthing I could want and have even less recoil than the other two.

5) Buy a 30-06, also very versatile, easy to find and inexpensive to shoot.

What would you do 270 Wby, 7mm RM, 280 or 30-06?

 

[DrMike]

It doesn't sound as if any of the options you list would be bad. I do like the 7RM and the 280, but the 30-06 is for sure a great cartridge. I notice you didn't list any of the WSMs. I wouldn't short change the 300WSM or the 7WSM, for that matter.

 

[gerry]

It doesn't sound as if any of the options you list would be bad. I do like the 7RM and the 280, but the 30-06 is for sure a great cartridge. I notice you didn't list any of the WSMs. I wouldn't short change the 300WSM or the 7WSM, for that matter.

The 7mm WSM would be interesting for some reason I don't really want any 300 magnum except maybe a 300 H&H. The listed rounds would all do well for what I want.

 

[JD338]

Gerry,

I would look hard at the 280 Remington or a 280 AI.
With the right loads, both give up little to a 7mm Rem Mag.
The 140 gr bullets can do 3000/3200 fps amd the 160 gr bullets can do 2850/3000 fps.
Those two weights will cover most of NA. The 260 Rem for the light stuff and the 35 Whelen for the heavy lifting gives you a 3 gun battery for everything.

JD338

 

[bbearhntr]

I like the 7 WSM or the 7 Rem Mag.

 

[wildgene]

...well, .358-.264=94/2=47+.264=.311, so you need a .303 British, 7.65X53 Mauser, or 7.7X58 Arisaka...

...or buy a .300 WSM (http://www.tikka.fi/pdf/specs/LiteLH.pdf)

 

[BK]

Out of that list, .280 in a heartbeat.

 

[sask boy]

Hey gerry, I would go for the 280 but would really like the 280AI.
The 140gr ABs would hum and for deer,sheep & goats it would be ideal.
I really think that I am going to go to the 280AI before the fall of 2013 :wink:

Blessings,
Dan

 

[DrMike]

...well, .358-.264=94/2=47+.264=.311

There you go, pulling math on us. Who can argue with such precision? :mrgreen: On the other hand, the Arisaka would be interesting.

 

[muleman]

Build the 270Bee. I found tons of once fired brass on GB for about a buck a piece. Matter of fact I might make that brass availible if my 270Bee sells.

Scott

 

[nvbroncrider]

Gerry,

I would look hard at the 280 Remington or a 280 AI.
With the right loads, both give up little to a 7mm Rem Mag.
The 140 gr bullets can do 3000/3200 fps amd the 160 gr bullets can do 2850/3000 fps.
Those two weights will cover most of NA. The 260 Rem for the light stuff and the 35 Whelen for the heavy lifting gives you a 3 gun battery for everything.

JD338

Or you can cheat like I did on my 280 AI and give her 28" of tube and snort a 160 @ 3160. I'm expecting 3000 outta 175 PT hopefully shoot them this week.

 

[onesonek]

With the mention of goats, sheep, and deer first, I would go with the .280. Although you really can't go wrong with the .30-06 as well.

 

[SJB358]

Gerry, I vote for the 7 Rem Mag. Easy to come by brass and very easy to load for as well. I like the 7WSM a little more, but since you have a 270 barrel, there wouldn't be anything wrong with the 270WSM either. 150's at 3100 pretty serious stuff..

 

[BK]

I'm not too sure you could set the barrel back enough to make the .270 WSM work...

 

[SJB358]

I'm not too sure you could set the barrel back enough to make the .270 WSM work...

Ah, good point Kurt..

 

[Guest]

I'd always opt for the 270Wby, if given the choice. I'm concerned, though, that you'd be building it on a 22" barrel from a Remington 270Win? That might create a heck of a fireball and will certainly limit you to pedestrian velocities along the lines of the 270WSM. :twisted: :twisted:

In reality, if I were filling a gap like yours, and I wanted something that would do all of North America except the great bears, and component cost is a concern, I'd be hard pressed not to go with 7mmRemMag. The 'bee brass can now be had for less than you think - around $1.25 apiece new right now (Norma headstamp) from Grafs. Alternately, you can source Nosler or Weatherby headstamped for around $140-150 if you shop a bit. That's expensive, yes, but considering 7mmRemMag brass is running $65 for junk Remington brass, and $100 for Nosler brass, it's not as bad as it sounds. I get plenty of loads from my Norma headstamped brass, by the way. Much of it is on load #5-6 and still going strong.

Of course, just to recircle the argument, if you have a Remington action that was a 270Win, a 280Rem or 30-06 would be an easy build.

 

[gerry]

The 270 barrel is 24" so the Weatherby would be good to go. Got to go to work, will check in again tonight.

 

[gerry]

I did a lot of fooling around on http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jb ... mp-5.1.cgi all the rounds are really not that much different. I decided to drop the 270 Weatherby even though it is a great round, the others can do the same things cheaper and the ammo and brass are easier to find. I was a bit surprised how well the 30-06 compared to the other rounds, there is a reason it is so popular. With good loads the 280 also performs surprisingly well even compared to the magnum rounds. I would say it is coming down to the 280 or 30-06, but if a good deal can be found for a 7mm RM I still might buy one. I also looked at the 7mm-08 for my wife, man what a little performer it is, with mild recoil. The 35 Whelen will be able to take any shot I would ever want to try at an elk or moose, it does really well at longer range with a bullet like the 225 gr AB.

Thanks to all for their input so far like I said in the first post I can drive myself nuts trying to decide which one will be the best for me.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Gerry, I almost quit using my Model 70 .30-06 because it was a USRAC Model 70 Composite (1996) and was pretty doggy looking. So, I used my .270 Win and .280 Rem which were nicer rifles much more for deer hunting. The reality is that I finally ungraded the wood and put a new one peice floorplate into the .30-06 and it still shoots more accurately than any other larged centerfire rifle that I own. So, I have sold the .280 and will use the .30-06 more because it really does do almost anything that I want it to do in spades.

 

[DrMike]

Either cartridge will serve you well, Gerry. I like them both, though I'm probably a tad biased toward the .280. The primary reason for this is that it is somewhat more rare than the .30-06, which is more pedestrian by virtue of being so commonplace. On the other hand, if all one had was a 30-06, it would get the job done.