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Post by skipmaster1 on Nov 25, 2007 23:02:19 GMT -6
Ok, guys. I'm an archey buff and guns are not my expertise. Don't get me wrong, i have dozens of guns and love to shoot them, but I have only hunted deer once with a gun and it was a ML.
My rifles are mostly "brush" guns. .444's, 30-30's....... I have a 30-40 Kraig and an '03 springfield as well as some lighter guns. I would rather not shoot the '03 as it has never been fired and is worth$$ becuase of where and when it was made.
anyway........i need a deer rifle that with MOA accuracy. I have been selected for a cull hunt in Jan/Feb and need to qualify with 5 out of 5 shots in a 2" circle at 50yds. right now the only rifle i have that I KNOW will do that time and again is my .223, but not legal for deer in CT. that gun will put 5 shots in a quater at 100yds all day long.
what rifle should I be looking for? remember right now i'm only looking for deer and I'd rather not punish myself with a big recoil. Max distance 100.......maybe 200yds.
My .223 is a NEF, and i am just gonna get another barrel for it.
I am looking at 243, 25-06 and maybe 7mm-08 or 308. what caliber would you reccomend.......I have not sho any of the above mentioned.
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Post by psycho on Nov 25, 2007 23:05:02 GMT -6
the ones you listed will all do what you need and better with the right ammo...
I guess CTs restrictions are 24cal or larger?
IMHO, your 30-30 with a scope should put them in a 2" circle at 50 yards everytime too...
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Post by skipmaster1 on Nov 25, 2007 23:14:47 GMT -6
I bet the 30-30 would but It's not tapped and I really am not a fan of lever rifles with scopes.....same thing with the .444. I can put round after round in a 4-5" group with iron sights at 100yds and a little better than that at 50yds........but I'm not sure about a 2" group. i only get one chance to qualify.
I love my Handi- rifle. the trigger is pretty good and it shoots lights out, I have a 9x18 scope, bull barrel and bipod on it. I am gonna get a similar set up with a larger caliber........just not sure which one.
How well does a 243 work for deer? How much does a 270 kick?
I'm not afraid of recoild but I'd rather have it fun to shoot at the range. I just sighted my 12ga in with 3" mags and it sucked. Next year I'm going to 2 3/4's again.
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Post by psycho on Nov 25, 2007 23:19:47 GMT -6
243 works great on deer.. Ive never had one get away and run no farther than 70 or 80 yards.. The 243 or 308 would be my choice, with the 243 kicking less.. 270 is not the best on recoil, but manageable.. www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm |
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Post by skipmaster1 on Nov 25, 2007 23:21:50 GMT -6
what about the .308? Hows the recoil compared to an '06?
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Post by DocHolladay on Nov 26, 2007 0:40:28 GMT -6
I would go with the .243 personally in the NEF, maybe the .25-06. If it was a bolt action, I would choose the .270 with 130gr loads. You can also get "reduced recoil" loads from Remington and Hornady(maybe some others also). They will still give you the accuracy without the punch. Those single shots sometimes magnify the recoil just because of the light weight of the rifle. Once you do choose a caliber, I would get several different bullet brands and see what the rifle shoots the best.
I had a .204 NEF and it shot a 6-8" group at 100yds with 40gr ammo. I sold it to JulianG and he called NEF and they suggested 35gr or less and that dropped it to roughly 2" groups or less. He had the trigger worked on and put some custom loads through it and got it down to a very small group(covered with a dime?). Julian can correct what I messed up on about it.
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Post by skipmaster1 on Nov 26, 2007 11:33:00 GMT -6
Thanks guys. I'm still not sure what I'm gonna get. I may buy 2 barels.......heck they are less that $100 a peice.
Doc- I'm not sure what your NEF weighed but mine set up comes in just about 11#'s........so it's by no means light
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Post by psycho on Nov 26, 2007 12:05:09 GMT -6
what about the .308? Hows the recoil compared to an '06? 270, 30-06, and 308 all haver about the same recoil, and its twice as much as the 243... |
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Post by bigblue on Nov 26, 2007 18:32:58 GMT -6
skipmaster1, I had owned several H+R and NEF rifles over the years, some shot great others not so good. The .308 and 7mm-08 would be my choice in any rifle BUT the Handi. I could never get my 7mm-08 Handi to shoot worth a darn and the .308 would only shoot good groups with light for caliber 130 gr. bullets. I know several other owners that had the same or similar problems with those caliber Handi's, then again others that love theirs. If a 30/06 is not to your liking, then I'd opt for either the .270, the .25/06 or even the .280. They are all based on the 30/06 case and should work better for you in a Handi, in my opinion. H+R/NEF had a forum of their own for years that was strictly dedicated to these guns, sadly they shut that site down about four years ago. Most of the Handi-holics as they are called settled at Greybeards, who had set up a site for them after they lost the other. You can find that here: www.go2gbo.com/forums/index.php?board=126.0 A gent that goes by the handle, quickdtoo, real name of Tim, knows more about Handi rifles than anyone else I know. You could always stop by there and ask him for his advice. Tell him BigBlue sent you! LOL While your there you might want to look over their FAQ's and HELP or the Handi Basics 101 topics. There is a lot of great information there. Let us know how you make out with it. Don |
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Post by DocHolladay on Nov 26, 2007 23:43:07 GMT -6
You must be talking about a forum Don. H&R and NEF have a website now. Marlin bought them out I guess a couple 2 or 3 years ago(??). www.hr1871.com/ |
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Post by bigblue on Nov 27, 2007 17:56:15 GMT -6
Doc,
Thanks for catching that, I guess I didn't quite make it clear. They started up H+R/NEF Talk when Marlin bought H+R/NEF. I'm thinking the buyout took place about 8 years ago already. It was actually a decision by Marlin to close that forum and their own Marlin Talk forums. I think too many guys were bringing problems with their personal guns to voice on the forums. The company viewed that as paying for their own bad press. The shut downs may also have had something to do with liability with advise being given by non-employees on a company owned forum. They were nice enough to leave the sites up for a few weeks as a read only so you could gather any information you wanted from that forum. I printed a bunch of stuff off there, not knowing that Bill at Greybeard's was going to set up a new H+R/NEF dedicated forum.
Don
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Post by DocHolladay on Nov 27, 2007 21:14:41 GMT -6
I didnt know that it has been 8 years. I just noticed the Marlin logo on the NEF/H&R site the past few years.
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