I'd have a hard time getting rid of my favorite rifles, mostly due to having my top two favorite being in the same cartridge, the 250 Sav in the Savage1920.
But If I could only hunt with two....
270 Win
45-70
Tempted to pick the 9.3x62 over the 45-70, but it's easier to find ammo & reloading...
I think it matters entirely where you hunting. If there are bears or mountain lions in your area I'd want something with more punch.
I'm in the South East so I usually just carry my yard gun, a PX4 in 45 acp. If I were in a more dangerous area I'd want to carry a 454 Casull or 480 Ruger Super...
I've read both 8208 XBR & Leverevolution offer good velocity in the 338 Fed, but I don't know their temperature sensitivity.
Have you tried using the 185 TSX? Looking at the Barnes website, the 185 TTSX bullet length is a bit longer. I added the 160 TTSX below to show the length as well. Maybe...
Hate to pull up an old thread, but since it's just a year old it's not too bad.
Did you ever get a chance to try the 175 Raptor's out? I just ordered 100 of those 175 ESP Raptor bullets to test out since they were on sale. I own a Sako in 338 Fed but I might be converting my Savage 75...
I just had a Winchester Classic 70 Super Grade shipped to my dealer, 1996 model in 300WM.
Waiting for the corona to die off before I go pick it up.
Pic from the gunbroker listing.
Does he like the idea of a lever action? The Henry Long Ranger comes in 6.5 Creed & 308 Win, with iron sights or without, plus it's American made if that interest's him. If he likes old school there is the Savage 99 as well or the Browning BLR if he want's another new option.
My son turned out...
Savage 24F 223/20ga - Thought it would be more handy that what it was. Weighed a ton & the hammer select wasn't designed well, caused light strikes when firing on rifle barrel.
Remington 799 7.62x39 - Fell in love with it due to the nicer stock that came with it compared to the Zastava models...
I'd try out some 130 gr Barnes ammo out of it before judging if it's too much to handle.
After all if you plan to trade/sell it it'll be priced as a used gun either way.
So.....you're suggesting an over priced rifle/scope combo to a new member with a profile name "NoobHunter" that asked for advice for a 2 rifle package costing $3,000?
I just checked online and it looks like he would only be able to afford a used Blaser R8 @ $3,000...forget about budgeting for a...
Just cost in ammo same as the 17hmr, but you'll have a better performance on coyotes & other critters.
That is a good price, just pick it up and enjoy.
If you buy a 17 HMR, don't pick up a heavy barrel model. I purchased one years ago & had fun with it at the range, but when taking it out in the woods it was a pain to walk around with. I ended up picking up a Henry 17 HMR lever action & it's much easier to walk around with.
Those Axis rifles...
I think burning out barrels is largely over inflated when it comes to hunting / casual target rifles. It's more of a problem for competition rifles where they shoot multiple strings of shots very quickly with ammo that is hotter than the usual stuff off the shelves.
243 would work well, I reload for mine & picked up a box of 750 Speer TNT 70 gr bullets when it was on sale for target/varmint ammo. But if your wanting to stay at 223 recoil level just buy the 223, cheaper to both reload and buy new.
I'm not gonna have a back and forth with a cartridge fanboy, it's obvious your perspective on it is skewed to what it can reliably do against big body animals.
I'll just let other people weigh in on the subject rather than waste my time on you.