This is my attempt to give some answers to the often-asked question, (which rifle/caliber is best)? There are many factors involved in choosing a weapon and though I may miss one or so factors I will attempt to list as much as I can.
To effectively answer this question we must ask other questions.
1. What am I going to use this weapon for? (Primary use, and secondary use)
2. What action platform do I want? (Single shot, Bolt-action, semi-auto)
3. What caliber do I want?
4. What options does the weapon have?
5. What can I afford?
Each of these questions interconnects with each other; sense primary use will also affect the caliber you choose, just as the action will affect the use.
1. What am I going to use the weapon for?
I might be into hunting medium size game in North America and this would be my primary use. With this I can think about cost, just what kind of money do I have to spend? Knowing my finances now I can think about caliber. And just what platform I want and can afford.
I will have limited funds to buy an effective hunting rifle for North American game. Sense most deer are taken under 150 yards I don’t have a need for large calibers such as .338 Lapua Magnum, nor even the 7mm magnum. Something in a 243, 270, 30-30, 308, or 30-06 would fit this bill quite well. All these listed calibers have preformed quite well with hunting for many years.
Each of these calibers have good points and bad points, such as the 243, it is lighter on recoil, less damage to meat, and the cost of ammo is slightly less then some of the other calibers. The down side is less punch then most of the others, less options for reloading.
The advantage to 30-30, 308, 30-06 is the availability of numerous bullet weights and types for reloading, so you can really tweak your hunting rifle into one mean machine. The down side is heaver recoil and cost of ammo.
2. What action platform do I want and can afford?
Sense I will be using this to hunt deer with and have limited funds I think my option would be a lever action 30-30 with a fair scope. This you can oft times get at wal-mart (don’t laugh) for well under $300 U.S. A lot of hunting ammo for the 30-30 can be bought right off the shelf there also and the cost is minimal. The weapon is lightweight and reliable. A lot of times the Marlin 30-30 comes as a package deal with a fixed 4 power scope which is good for deer under 150 yards.
If say your primary use is hunting with a secondary of SHTF then I might choose a 30-06 in a bolt-action platform. This can be used to stave off zombies at a much longer range then a 30-30 with a fair amount of accuracy. This will stop them pesky zombies dead (pun intended) in their tracks. One can buy a good bolt action at wal-mart with a fair scope for hunting for around +/- $400 U.S.
If I want a rifle with the primary use as medium range target, and funds allow. I would be looking at something in the 308, 30-06, 7mm mag. in a good bolt-action rifle. The specs. I would place on this type of rifle would be but not limited to. 22 to 26 inch BBL, mid range scope such as the Millett 4-16x50 TRS-1 (about $400 U.S.), or maybe a good Hawke Optics Frontier 6-24x50 SF Rifle Scope (about $600 U.S.), Glass beaded, bolt lapped and blue printed.
The availability of match grade ammo for these calibers is a tad bit costly but available at most large gun shops and through mail order. Sense I will be shooting paper a lot I will be reloading my own comparable match grade ammo to save a few $.
If I were going to use the rifle for mid to long range target shooting I would consider a slightly larger caliber in something like .338 Lapua Magnum, 6.5 Creedmoor, 416 Rigby, or 416 Barrett. These rifles would be bolt action with many more options then a new Cadillac has which drives up the cost considerable. A 98Bravo Barrett will run you just about $4000 to $5000 with no bells and whistles. One does not put a cheep 3-9 power Itasca scope on this type of rifle. This rifle deserves something in the Schmidt & Bender Police Marksman II 4-16x50mm rifle scope ($2500 U.S.) or maybe a good Hensoldt ZF 4-16x56mm FF rifle scope (2050 Euros).
Reloading for these high-end rifles is a must, for accuracy, cost effectiveness, and simply that one cannot just go to wal-mart and buy this type of ammo. For good match grade ammo for these weapons you are going to pay someplace around $3 U.S. per round and reloading will cut the cost by about 1/3rd.
If my primary use is to fight hordes of invading zombies, and I want to be able to throw lead down range not having to worry about accuracy all that much then a good AR platform ($1000) would be just the thing if money allows. If you were on a tight budget I would say something like a Cetme, or maybe an AK platform ($500ish). Ammo is somewhat cheaper sense one can buy Mil-surplus at half the cost.
One last thing here before I stop boring you to death, is that all the fancy weapons and scopes in the world will not make you a better shooter. This can be only achieved by a lot of range time and good instructors.
opaww
To effectively answer this question we must ask other questions.
1. What am I going to use this weapon for? (Primary use, and secondary use)
2. What action platform do I want? (Single shot, Bolt-action, semi-auto)
3. What caliber do I want?
4. What options does the weapon have?
5. What can I afford?
Each of these questions interconnects with each other; sense primary use will also affect the caliber you choose, just as the action will affect the use.
1. What am I going to use the weapon for?
I might be into hunting medium size game in North America and this would be my primary use. With this I can think about cost, just what kind of money do I have to spend? Knowing my finances now I can think about caliber. And just what platform I want and can afford.
I will have limited funds to buy an effective hunting rifle for North American game. Sense most deer are taken under 150 yards I don’t have a need for large calibers such as .338 Lapua Magnum, nor even the 7mm magnum. Something in a 243, 270, 30-30, 308, or 30-06 would fit this bill quite well. All these listed calibers have preformed quite well with hunting for many years.
Each of these calibers have good points and bad points, such as the 243, it is lighter on recoil, less damage to meat, and the cost of ammo is slightly less then some of the other calibers. The down side is less punch then most of the others, less options for reloading.
The advantage to 30-30, 308, 30-06 is the availability of numerous bullet weights and types for reloading, so you can really tweak your hunting rifle into one mean machine. The down side is heaver recoil and cost of ammo.
2. What action platform do I want and can afford?
Sense I will be using this to hunt deer with and have limited funds I think my option would be a lever action 30-30 with a fair scope. This you can oft times get at wal-mart (don’t laugh) for well under $300 U.S. A lot of hunting ammo for the 30-30 can be bought right off the shelf there also and the cost is minimal. The weapon is lightweight and reliable. A lot of times the Marlin 30-30 comes as a package deal with a fixed 4 power scope which is good for deer under 150 yards.
If say your primary use is hunting with a secondary of SHTF then I might choose a 30-06 in a bolt-action platform. This can be used to stave off zombies at a much longer range then a 30-30 with a fair amount of accuracy. This will stop them pesky zombies dead (pun intended) in their tracks. One can buy a good bolt action at wal-mart with a fair scope for hunting for around +/- $400 U.S.
If I want a rifle with the primary use as medium range target, and funds allow. I would be looking at something in the 308, 30-06, 7mm mag. in a good bolt-action rifle. The specs. I would place on this type of rifle would be but not limited to. 22 to 26 inch BBL, mid range scope such as the Millett 4-16x50 TRS-1 (about $400 U.S.), or maybe a good Hawke Optics Frontier 6-24x50 SF Rifle Scope (about $600 U.S.), Glass beaded, bolt lapped and blue printed.
The availability of match grade ammo for these calibers is a tad bit costly but available at most large gun shops and through mail order. Sense I will be shooting paper a lot I will be reloading my own comparable match grade ammo to save a few $.
If I were going to use the rifle for mid to long range target shooting I would consider a slightly larger caliber in something like .338 Lapua Magnum, 6.5 Creedmoor, 416 Rigby, or 416 Barrett. These rifles would be bolt action with many more options then a new Cadillac has which drives up the cost considerable. A 98Bravo Barrett will run you just about $4000 to $5000 with no bells and whistles. One does not put a cheep 3-9 power Itasca scope on this type of rifle. This rifle deserves something in the Schmidt & Bender Police Marksman II 4-16x50mm rifle scope ($2500 U.S.) or maybe a good Hensoldt ZF 4-16x56mm FF rifle scope (2050 Euros).
Reloading for these high-end rifles is a must, for accuracy, cost effectiveness, and simply that one cannot just go to wal-mart and buy this type of ammo. For good match grade ammo for these weapons you are going to pay someplace around $3 U.S. per round and reloading will cut the cost by about 1/3rd.
If my primary use is to fight hordes of invading zombies, and I want to be able to throw lead down range not having to worry about accuracy all that much then a good AR platform ($1000) would be just the thing if money allows. If you were on a tight budget I would say something like a Cetme, or maybe an AK platform ($500ish). Ammo is somewhat cheaper sense one can buy Mil-surplus at half the cost.
One last thing here before I stop boring you to death, is that all the fancy weapons and scopes in the world will not make you a better shooter. This can be only achieved by a lot of range time and good instructors.
opaww