General Purpose/ Back up Rifle

[STOMP442]

The .270 is an excellent cartridge that does it all really well and you can find ammo for it anywhere if you were in a pinch. My vote is for a Tikka T3, their plastic stocks are much better made than the Remingtons or Savage tupperware stuff and they also make a beautiful walnut stock as well.

[300RUM]

Choosing a cartridge is always a challenge, so many good options. When I first started planning my lightweight I thought I would use 7WSM. The rifle would weigh 7.5 pounds scoped and field ready. When I did The Recoil calculations I chickened out. I then considered .260 REM and 7mm - 08. That was a real hard choice. If it was only a deer and goat rifle I would have used .260 REM. When I added elk into the mix I felt 7mm - 08 was the better choice.

[duckhunter175]

The more I look the more I like the 270 or the 270wsm. 165 and 170gr available (with a fast twist barrel) Seems like they should fit in a Rem LA mag box as well with room to spare.

 

Would there be a drawback to that fast 1-8" twist in a 270 if you want to load 130s for deer/antelope and 170s for black bear/elk? Do you lose anything by fast twisting lighter bullets?

[dse]

The more I look the more I like the 270 or the 270wsm. 165 and 170gr available (with a fast twist barrel) Seems like they should fit in a Rem LA mag box as well with room to spare.

 

Would there be a drawback to that fast 1-8" twist in a 270 if you want to load 130s for deer/antelope and 170s for black bear/elk? Do you lose anything by fast twisting lighter bullets?

 

 

It should do fine with both. Too fast is alot more forgiving than too slow. My 22-250 Ai has a 7 twist for the 80 & 90 gr Berger Vld. I've shot several bullets out of it that will stabilize in a 14 twist with sub 1/2 moa accuracy.

[lancetkenyon]

I highly doubt you will find a production rifle with a fast twist .277 barrrel. Almost all have a 1:10" twist. Mannliicher-Schoenauer has a 1:9" & Husqvarna has a 1:9.5". I think everything else is 1:10" from a factory. You would want a 1:8" for the 170 EOL Hunter, and unfortunately, I think Matrix discontinued the .277 165gr.

[duckhunter175]

Bummer to hear about the matrix. The barrel twist does seem to be an issue- not gonna put a custom barrel on the back up gun. Still drawn to that cartridge for some reason. Just spoke to a gentlemen who has that Weatherby Vanguard Wilderness. He loves it-- it comes with a BC stock and 24" fluted tube for $700ish... not a bad deal.

[STOMP442]

Just about everything in North America has been killed by a .270 with a 130gr bullet. It just works. With a standard twist you can go all they way up to 150 if you wanted to. The new heavy high BC bullets are great but you kind of have to build around them in order to use them. My bullet of choice in the 270 is the Berger classic hunter. With a BC of .490 it's not far off from the 150gr VLD BC of .518 and can be fired at much higher velocity. This results in a flatter trajectory, slightly better wind drift and energy numbers nearly identical out to 700 yards where they both retain roughly 1000 foot pounds of energy.

[452b264]

I highly doubt you will find a production rifle with a fast twist .277 barrrel. Almost all have a 1:10" twist. Mannliicher-Schoenauer has a 1:9" & Husqvarna has a 1:9.5". I think everything else is 1:10" from a factory. You would want a 1:8" for the 170 EOL Hunter, and unfortunately, I think Matrix discontinued the .277 165gr.

I spoke to the new owner of Matrix Bullets and the original owner took the 270 cal. dies with him when he sold the company as the 270 was his favorite caliber. The 165 gr. VLD did just fine in a 1/10 twist barrel, the recommended twist was 1/9. The recommended twist for the new Berger 170 gr EOL is 1/8.3 so you will need at least a 1/9 twist for the heavy Berger.

[452b264]

I like the newer Vanguard/ Howa actions they have a solid internal recoil lug, a forged bolt CNC machined from solid bar stock (No tack welded bolt handle). They use a M 16 style extractor. Drop in a Timney trigger and these guns shoot.

 

Theses actions are a copy of the old Sako L 61 but dont have the internal scope mounts or the sako extractor. The action threads are metric but two sponsors for CWT can re-barrel them when needed.

 

The 270 gets my vote for and extra rifle.

[sjvcon]

Well ... if you'd consider one detachable, nothing wrong with another. Tikka. Great rifle. Can get in stainless or fluted stainless. Triggers are very decent. Vanguard / Howa would also keep you on budget, and I think they also make a nice rifle ... though off the shelf I don't think you can beat the Tikka for the money.

 

Glass ... lot of what you posted will blow the budget. Staying in budget is easier with Vortex Viper Line, which is decent glass. There are others too ... to be sure. Some of the Nikon stuff, Meopta, Minox.

 

I'd go with the .270 (I'd say .280AI, but few rifles are offered in that thanks to the 28 Nosler coming out).

[Zeke-BE]

700 dollars for a Weatherby Vanguard wilderness is a great price. I see them for 900ish at Sportsman. I have one in Creedmoor at 24" but its still a pound heavier then my tikka .270 with a larger contour but 2" shorter. The Vanguard bolt action is heavy. But with a scope it will be around 8.5#

[duckhunter175]

Well ... if you'd consider one detachable, nothing wrong with another. Tikka. Great rifle. Can get in stainless or fluted stainless. Triggers are very decent. Vanguard / Howa would also keep you on budget, and I think they also make a nice rifle ... though off the shelf I don't think you can beat the Tikka for the money.

 

Glass ... lot of what you posted will blow the budget. Staying in budget is easier with Vortex Viper Line, which is decent glass. There are others too ... to be sure. Some of the Nikon stuff, Meopta, Minox.

 

I'd go with the .270 (I'd say .280AI, but few rifles are offered in that thanks to the 28 Nosler coming out).

 

Really dont want a detachable. The wilderness has a floorplate and a magazine model. The tikkas are really smooth but I don't like the 22" barrel... or the stock. I think I'd go with a longer barrel on an xbolt before a Tikka but that is personal preference.

 

Glass is the hard part- I'm not opposed to Vortex, I've run lots of their stuff past and present. There are some good prices on VX2 and 3 with CDS. We will see- depends on what rifle and which price!

[azslim]

since you're not in a hurry start hitting pawn shops, you can get good deals if you take your time and do a little haggling, figure the shop has half of whatever the sticker price is into the gun, and the longer it is there the more willing they are to get it gone.

[lancetkenyon]

https://hammerbullets.com/product/277-cal-168g-hammer-hunter-50/

 

You are welcome!

[duckhunter175]

Are those monoliths? Not much in the description. And why 1-7"? Length?