Hi all. I am new to posting but I have been reading on this board for a long time. I am really struggling with which caliber rifle to buy next. I have been drooling over the GAP and Surgeon rifles here and I must have one.
I would choose a .308 but I already have a serviceable rifle (not near the precision of the rifles on this board) in that caliber and SCAR 17s that I love to shoot.
If I am going to spend $3500-$5000 I want it to be as versatile as possible. I have an 800 yard pasture near my house that I can shoot in, and a spot across a small canyon that is about 1100 yards. I also want to use it for hunting dear, buffalo and elk. Obviously more rounds will be spent target shooting than hunting but I want it for both applications.
For $5000 plus after optics is that asking too much?
I am stuck between the .260 remington and .300 win mag. I have read all about the ballistic properties of both and if I weren't wanting to use it for hunting the .260 would win hands down. The .260 would be easier to shoot but may be a little weak with the larger game. The .300 win mag seems to have good ballistics but I have been scared by people who say that shooting their .300 magnums is not fun due to recoil. As I won't be competing, a muzzle break will be used so it might not be that bad. I am a pretty strong guy can handle some recoil. I have shot 250+ rounds in an hour or two with my SCAR in .308 and not felt a thing. I have my grandfathers old lever action in .300 Savage and I can say I wouldn't want to shoot that thing all day several times a month. It obviously has a steel but plate with no padding and kicks pretty good.
I respect the opinions of those on this board and would like your opinions on which of these two calibers will be the most fun to shoot and take hunting occasionally.
Lastly, it seems there are a lot of .260's available for resale here and of course .308's, but rarely .300 win mags. This leads me to believe not as many people want or build them so there must be something bad about them. I do know one former Navy Seal with his sniper badge (did the Marine Course and Quantico) and his personal sniper rig for anything not requiring a .50 cal was a .300 win mag he had built by off of his service rifle's rem 700 long action. He absolutely loved it.
Sorry for the long winded message and thanks for your opinions.
I would choose a .308 but I already have a serviceable rifle (not near the precision of the rifles on this board) in that caliber and SCAR 17s that I love to shoot.
If I am going to spend $3500-$5000 I want it to be as versatile as possible. I have an 800 yard pasture near my house that I can shoot in, and a spot across a small canyon that is about 1100 yards. I also want to use it for hunting dear, buffalo and elk. Obviously more rounds will be spent target shooting than hunting but I want it for both applications.
For $5000 plus after optics is that asking too much?
I am stuck between the .260 remington and .300 win mag. I have read all about the ballistic properties of both and if I weren't wanting to use it for hunting the .260 would win hands down. The .260 would be easier to shoot but may be a little weak with the larger game. The .300 win mag seems to have good ballistics but I have been scared by people who say that shooting their .300 magnums is not fun due to recoil. As I won't be competing, a muzzle break will be used so it might not be that bad. I am a pretty strong guy can handle some recoil. I have shot 250+ rounds in an hour or two with my SCAR in .308 and not felt a thing. I have my grandfathers old lever action in .300 Savage and I can say I wouldn't want to shoot that thing all day several times a month. It obviously has a steel but plate with no padding and kicks pretty good.
I respect the opinions of those on this board and would like your opinions on which of these two calibers will be the most fun to shoot and take hunting occasionally.
Lastly, it seems there are a lot of .260's available for resale here and of course .308's, but rarely .300 win mags. This leads me to believe not as many people want or build them so there must be something bad about them. I do know one former Navy Seal with his sniper badge (did the Marine Course and Quantico) and his personal sniper rig for anything not requiring a .50 cal was a .300 win mag he had built by off of his service rifle's rem 700 long action. He absolutely loved it.
Sorry for the long winded message and thanks for your opinions.
