Anyone mind helping me make a decision?

[Bayou Stalker]

I'm shopping for a new bolt gun for 200(rare)-300(not likely but want the option) yard max whitetails.  I am kinda flexible on the caliber, I have it narrowed to .270 (preferred) then 7mm-08, then .308.  I have owned a .270 Ruger M77 and was quite happy with it until it was stolen.  I have been shopping, feeling, trying the new rifles out there and have come to the conclusion that for an overanalyzer like myself there are just too many choices.

So thinking out loud a little...  The things I find important are feel, accuracy, money, and trigger.

Ruger Hawkeye .270 SS / floated Hogue stock:  feel 10, accuracy ?, money 5, and trigger 7.
Remington 700 .308 VTR:  feel 8, accuracy 8?, money 5, and trigger 8.
Marlin XL7 .270:  feel 6, accuracy 8?, money 9, and trigger 8.

The Hogue stock on the Ruger has superb feel to me, though a tad on the heavy side.  I understand a trigger job would be needed to bring it up to the level of the Remmy or the Marlin.  At $650 it is on the upper end of what I really want to spend.  There are not many range reports out there for this rifle with the floated stock.  I like the integrated scope mount.

The Remmy VTR has a nice feel to it, though the rubber inlay on the forend is a bit short for my long arms.  It looks kinda gimmicky but the range reports I have read here say it is a shooter.  Again on the upper end of my price range, and the .308 is the only white tail offering.  I'm also not sure about the muzzle brake and if it makes the rifle considerably louder to shoot.  The trigger feels nice and crisp.

The Marlin has a good trigger and price-point, but it is lacking the feel appeal to me.  Reports here say it is accurate, and would leave plenty of money for an above average (for me) scope.

Any additional input is appreciated.

Kendall

[Kurt L]

I would say if you only plan to shoot 100 yards or so by the looks of your post
the marlins short barrel should be fine for your use the only thing is resale would not be as good as your others.
I reload for a marlin 25-06 and that thing only has a 20 or 22 inch barrel ,they don't
give you much barrel. but his shoots 3/4 inch groups at 100 I have never shot it but he said he likes it.
you would have extra cash for a scope,not sure if this is any help but thats all i can tell you on the marlin.

[Bart Solo]

Now, I don't know about buying a 270.  Around here if you want anything less than a 300 win mag you just aren't a man.   

Seriously, if it feels best I would suggest you buy the Hawkeye. An excellent rifle.  Actually all your choices are good. 

[BRL]

My initial thoughts would be feel is the most important aspect. If you plan on keeping the rifle and shooting it regularly, it should feel good. Similar situation to buying a pair of shoes that weren't really that comfortable. You wouldn't wear them that much, or want to wear them. I guess you'd get used to it over time but I like my rifles to fit like a glove before I buy it. That said...if you are going to shoot regularly, .308 is about the cheapest ammo with the largest selection of any caliber. It might take you a lifetime to try out each brand and bullet weight. I'd be willing to bet you would have to find the right load that shoots well at some point. With the 7mm-08 you are pretty much stuck with 140 grain, unless you are going to reload. Some companies make a 120 in 7mm-08 that isn't a varmint load. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE that round, more so than the .270. But, I only own 1 long action caliber (.30-06).

Maybe open up your mind a little and consider maybe a Savage or Stevens. I have been looking at a Stevens bolt action merely because I can buy one for under $300. Heck, you almost can't go wrong.

A Stevens model 200 in .308, $300...another $300 on a scope ($300 will get you a really nice scope) and you are out the door for the cost of one of the other rifles alone. In .308 you are bound to find a load that shoots right in that gun.

Didn't mean to send you in another direction...just a thought.

[One Eye]

Don't rule out the Weatherby Vanguard or the Tikka T3 either.

Of your choices, I would go with the Ruger in 7mm-08 or .308.
Dan

[charles p]

Do you primarily hunt by stalking or from a fixed stand.  The reason I ask is, I hunt from ground or elevated stands.  The feel of a rifle is unimportant to me.  The trigger is very important.  A 22" barrel is more than enough.  I like all the calibers you mentioned.  My rifle of preference is Remington because I can do the trigger work myself.

[mannyrock]

Hmm PPC,

   I think you may have approached this question a little sideways.

   My advice:  Always choose the specific caliber first.  This is the most important factor.  I don't think that should ever let the style or brand of rifle choose the caliber for you.

   Caliber?  All three are classic whitetail rounds, good to 300 yards.   Lots and lots of deer hunters have pronounced the 7mm-08, with 140 grain bullet, to be the best whitetail round ever invented.  It blends the best of the .308 and the .270.  I would go for the 7mm-08 (or the .308) strictly based on the fact that they are short action cartridges.

   The new Ruger bolt actions have really good triggers, with a three position safety.  I would go there, and skip the others.

  Just my opinions.

Mannyrock

[Coyote Hunter]

A .270 or .308 will be fine for your application.  In fact, both will take deer cleanly past 500 yards with the right loads, with manageable drop (under 36") and plenty of energy (1300-1500fpe) at that range.

Pick the cartridge and pick the rifle - you shouldn't have any problem getting the combination you want but you may have to visit another store.

[FW Conch]

I agree with BRL, take a hard look @ the Stevens 200.  It's difficult to buy a rifle that has everything to

your likeing in one package. With the Stevens it's easy to swap out barrels & there are lots of aftermarket

sources available. The action is the same as Savage 10/110 except for the trigger, but sooner or later most

riflemen want to get an upgrade trigger no matter how much they pay for the rifle. There are lots of stocks

available & you could have one custom fitted. All this can start with less than $300 out the door for a rifle

that will shoot better than you could possibly believe for that price, as is !      Good Luck    Jim 

[nomosendero]

Now, I don't know about buying a 270.  Around here if you want anything less than a 300 win mag you just aren't a man.   

Seriously, if it feels best I would suggest you buy the Hawkeye. An excellent rifle.  Actually all your choices are good. 

 

[nomosendero]

Kendall

Your 3 caliber choices are good ones indeed. You mention Whitetails only & a max. range of 300 yards & under those circumstances it would make absolutely zero deifferenc which of the 3 you chose.

The 270 shoots a little flatter, but with your max of 300 yards you can omit that consideration, it doesn't matter. So no need to even mention trajectory/wind drift here.

In recoil, the 7-08 wins over the 308 with comparable SD bullets & due to less powder capacity, the 7-08 is slightly milder in recoil than the 270 with comparable weight bullets, though not much.

If action length is a factor(isn't for me), you are down to 2.

I like the 270 & 308 alot & have hunted alot over the past 2 years with the 270 & I really like the 308 & shoot it more than any round bigger than a 223 now, but when it comes to a pure Deer round at the ranges YOU will be hunting, the 7-08 is good as it gets.

We are splitting hairs to be all giddy about one of these too much over the others, but even though it is not what I use, to start from scratch the 7-08 is tough to beat.
   

[Badnews Bob]

Savage in 7mm-08 or .308, Good trigger good price, I don't like their syntetic stock but it'll do much prefer the wood. If you don't like the caliber its easy to change later.

[Bart Solo]

Now, I don't know about buying a 270.  Around here if you want anything less than a 300 win mag you just aren't a man.   

Seriously, if it feels best I would suggest you buy the Hawkeye. An excellent rifle.  Actually all your choices are good. 

 

A little joke. 

Here is another.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EVqT3XEzss Give it a look. 

[Tunaman]

Your choices are all sound and of the three that you offer, I would choose the 7-08 as well. Where I hunt, the 7-08 has really gained in popularity in the last 5 years. I have a Savage 16 in 7-08 that gave me fits, the recoil lug needed to be bedded and the factory stock was so flexable that a light wind would put preasure on the barrel. Once I worked this all out, load development went smoothly and it now shoots in the 1-1.25 range. It is not the most accurate rifle that i own, but it is capable of minute of deer for a pretty good ways out there. My furthest shot with it was at a lazered 211 yards but my nephew killed a very nice 10pt with it yesterday at 244. He actually had no business shooting that far with a borrowed rifle but all is well that ends well.

With all of that said, I would like to offer up another suggestion. The 25 calibers are deer slayers and what I shoot most often. The Bob, 25-06 and 257 Weatherby are all capable of what you want to do. Ruger list the Roberts in both the Mk2 and Hawkeye, The 25-06 is produced by just about everyone and the 257 roy is avaliable in the Vanguard, Mark5 and Rem 700. I have a Bob in mod 70, 25-06 in a Tikka and the Roy in a Vangaurd. The Bob is accurate enough to be interesting but the other two are scary accurate. All but the Bob have killed well past 200 and the Bob will if I can ever get my 9 year old daughter to let me "borrow" it again.

I hate to put a fly in your ointment but I would take a serious look at the 25's, you will not be sorry.

[wareagleguy]

Here is what the VTR can do.

[Bayou Stalker]

Here is what the VTR can do.

What ammo?  Any modifications?  It was actually this target that made me include a Remington.  .308 is not my first choice, but I do like this rifle a bit.

[wareagleguy]

Handload

168 gr Berger Bullet
41gr IMR 4064
Lapua Brass
Fed 210m primers.

AOL is just enough to get the rounds in the mag.

I have shot some factory loads in this rifle and 1" or less at 100 yards is no problem.

I did lighten the trigger a little and bedded the stock.  My bedding was done with the two part epoxy puddy you can get at AutoZone.  You can have a good bedding job in about 30 minutes. 

Took my second deer yesterday with this rifle and the first deer was a little over 200 yards.  The deer didn't take a step.

[Blowtorch53]

PPC,

If you want economy...buy the Marlin.  I bought one for a trip to Mexico.  I was going to take my $2500 Merkel with a $1000 Zeiss scope and then I sobered up and remembered that in Mexico, sometimes the "fines" from the "policia" are the guns you are transporting to hunt with.  I bought a Marlin XL7 in .30-06 for $300 tax and all at Gander Mountain and a Leopold Rifleman 3 x 9 scope and mounts for $200.  Now I have a $500 investment at stake instead of $3,500. 

The Marlin is very accurate.  I shot 1-1/2" with 5 shots at 100 yds. on a windy day the first time out.  With handloads, I know it will shoot and inch or less.  It has a great trigger, unlike the similar Stevens model I bought for my nephew.  It comes in .270 also and probably .25-06 in the near future.  This rifle kinda grows on you after you shoot it a little!

If you want something that is inexpensive, but really shoots, the XL7 is it. 

That was more than 2 cents.

BT53

[nomosendero]

Now, I don't know about buying a 270.  Around here if you want anything less than a 300 win mag you just aren't a man.   

Seriously, if it feels best I would suggest you buy the Hawkeye. An excellent rifle.  Actually all your choices are good. 

 

A little joke. 

Here is another.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EVqT3XEzss Give it a look. 

Since bringing up magnums made no since at all, I suppose it would have to be a joke. 

[nomosendero]

Kendall, you may want to see what happens after the shot show, I understand that the Marlin will be in a short action & if you like that rifle & settle on the 7-08 or 308 then you have another option.

[john keyes]

magnums have their place.  besides in my safe... If I ever go Nilgai hunting I'm using one, thats for sure.

[Bart Solo]

magnums have their place.  besides in my safe... If I ever go Nilgai hunting I'm using one, thats for sure.

If I was going Nilgai hunting I think I would leave my magnums in the safe and take an AR.  I understand the Indians and the Pakistanis in that part of the world don't get along real well. 

[nomosendero]

I guess that's why I would shoot a Nilgai in Texas instead.

[03A2]

I think you have already answered your own question - feel is most important and the ruger feels best to you.  Accuracy for all will be sufficient to your task.  Recoil will be less and accuracy in all probability will be better with a smaller cartridge.  Ruger usually chambers their rifles in a few more of the less popular rounds, i.e. the previously mentioned .257 Roberts.  Seriously, just about any offering in the hawkeye would suit you so you could shop around for a while and buy whatever you found the best deal on, .257 Roberts, .280 remington, or .358 winchester.  Money was one of your priorities, right?  Don't second guess yourself or you will end up sorry, or maybe not if you are an exceptionally lucky person.

[Bayou Stalker]

Thanks for everyone's input.  After taking the advice given here, I am going to wait to see what the shot show holds.  I have a H&R .444 ultra that will be fine for the rest of the year.  I looked at a few other models, and based on current offerings, I have narrowed it down to Ruger, Tikka, and Marlin if it becomes available in 7mm-08. 

Thanks again,
Kendall