Rifle advice

[Midwestwaterfowl]

Being from the Midwest, I’ve never had a need for a centerfire for my hunting. I picked up a .280 M77(to good of a deal to pass up), but ammo is fairly expensive and very hard to find. I’ve bought the only two boxes I’ve found. I’m thinking I need to buy another rifle with more accessible/cheaper ammo and less recoil to get more practice in. Some buddies and I are planning to start hunting out west, and I need to get a lot of trigger time in(I’ve never shot over 100 yards). I’m torn between getting rid of the .280 and going with a 6.5 creedmoor as a deer rifle and buying a bigger rifle down the road if we decide to try elk, my other thought is buying a .223 bolt gun as a practice rifle and keeping the .280. What are your guy’s thought? Any better options? Thanks

 

[huntsman22]

So, you buy a cheap rifle and then gripe about the price of ammo and not being able to practice as much as you'd like. This isn't an inexpensive hobby. Seriously, what did you save? Get a .22 lr. for practice......

 

[kcm2]

That's one option. IF you handload, you can load it down a bit. There's also managed recoil or lighter loads in 270/30-06 and 7mmRM, among other calibers. Elk are not hard to kill, a 280 works fine. Shot placement and good bullets are the solution. I've killed a lot of elk with a 270/130 and never needed more, with Nosler partitions and now Hornady GMX bullets. Have fun.

 

[Midwestwaterfowl]

Thanks guys, the $30 dollar a box ain’t really a problem. That seems to be the going rate for premium ammo in just about anything, the problem is that I can’t seem to find any and living in IL, ordering ammo is a pain. I guess I’m just trying to justify buying a new rifle. I also don’t handload, but plan to down the road.

 

[N2TRKYS]

You could buy a Remington Model Seven in 308 or 7-08 and be ready for deer and out West.

 

[Midwestwaterfowl]

I’ll look into em. How are the new ones? Or should I be lookin used?

 

[N2TRKYS]

I bought a new one last year in 7-08 and love it. I haven't had any issues with it. It's very accurate and a handy little rifle.

 

[Midwestwaterfowl]

Living in a slug only state I always figured a model 7 in .260 or 7-08 would be about perfect for my kinda hunting if I ever made it out of state

 

[howl]

You clearly have access to the internet, so look at how you can have the ammo shipped to your doorstep. It looks like cheap .280 ammo is gonna run $1.13 a round, shipped, if you get a case. Changing guns to get cheaper and less recoil goes to 6.5x55 at about $0.70 a round.

If you want cheaper and less recoil than that, get a .308 than isn't too lightweight. Ammo is cheaper than 6.5x55 and very common. You might even get a good price locally if for some reason you'd rather go to the store instead of the front door.

 

[LaHunter]

A .223 bolt rifle as a practice rifle is a good route. Ideally, it would be set up very similar to your hunting rifle (trigger, stock, scope) to get the most out of your practice time. Recoil is nothing, they are a blast to shoot, and pretty inexpensive quality ammo.

That being said, you still need lots of practice with your actual hunting rifle to get really familiar and confident in yourself and your rifle. For deer, .280, 6.5, .308 will all work well, along with many other calibers.

 

[Phil4]

Thanks guys, the $30 dollar a box ain’t really a problem. That seems to be the going rate for premium ammo in just about anything, the problem is that I can’t seem to find any and living in IL, ordering ammo is a pain. I guess I’m just trying to justify buying a new rifle. I also don’t handload, but plan to down the road.

Ordering ammo to IL is not a pain. I order from Buds, outdoor unlimited, selway armory, etc. with no problem. All you have to do is snap a pic of your FOID card and email it to them. A follow up phone call after ordering has been helpful for me.

Someone on this forum turned me on to ammoseek.com which is where I found the above retailers.

My old man is not tech savvy AT ALL and is always flush with 280 ammo he ordered online.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mncoolbeans]

Hi, I shoot a .280 Rem as as well. I've got a ton of ammo stocked up, I put a bunch together here for you if you want to make an offer shipped to your door, shoot me a PM.
4-Boxes of 280 Rem 150Gr Federal Blue Box SP
3-Boxes of 280 Rem 140Gr Federal Federal Fusion
5 Boxes of 280 Rem 150Gr Federal Premium Nosler Partition

 

[Midwestwaterfowl]

Thanks, I’m not real good with technology myself but if it’s that simple I will definitely go that route. I kinda feel like a dumbass now that a simple google search would have solved this. I appreciate all the help. Mncoolbeans I will get a hold of ya when I have some more time to see if we can get something worked out.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

280 is cool but because of where I live, I really try to stick with the basics for ammo availability.

 

[16Bore]

223 for playing, 270 for slaying...lotsa choices there.

 

[6mm Remington]

280 Remington is a fantastic cartridge for just about anything in North America you would want to hunt. Keep and enjoy!

 

[MTElkChaser]

I order all of my ammo from SGAmmo:

280 Ammo Link

Shipping is cheap and it’s tax free.

 

[manitou1]

.280 is my favorite. It will serve you well. Shoot it and enjoy it!

 

[mncoolbeans]

Thanks, I’m not real good with technology myself but if it’s that simple I will definitely go that route. I kinda feel like a dumbass now that a simple google search would have solved this. I appreciate all the help. Mncoolbeans I will get a hold of ya when I have some more time to see if we can get something worked out.

Sounds great, the .280 Rem you picked up is enough Rifle to hunt pretty much anything you would like. The Federal Premiums in Nosler Partitions is a really good Pill for Elk. Just shoot me a PM when you get time.

 

[Midwestwaterfowl]

Thanks for all the responses, I will check out SGAmmo.