As much as I like talking guns, I have more pressing concerns this weekend. At least one of these days is going to be spent scouting some nearby public land. I really need to get out and see what’s nearby and eventually not nearby.
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I’m pretty lucky I can hunt off my back deck. I’m not looking to kill the beast a mile away cus I have to waddle my fat ass over to get it so I don’t go crazy on a scope. I prefer 30-06 with 165 grain but 308s are pretty nice too. The Golden Road that stretches from Greenville to Millinocket is a great place to go - especially for moose if you’re lucky enough to get a tag. Since Androscoggin is close to Franklin I’d head up thataway.
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I put a Remington 870 Wingmaster on order today. 12 gauge magnum with a 26" barrel. I’m buying new because you can’t find a decent used pump shotgun anywhere, or at least I can’t. I have no idea when it will come in, but it should be well before the Fall.
I’m keeping an eye out for a used .30-06 or .308 bolt gun under $500. The store I was at today had a fair number of used rifles in smaller calibers, including a nice Remington 700 in .270. No big rush, I’ll wait until I find something I like.
I had the Remington 700 in 30-06 with a Nikon Monarch scope - was a really, really good gun. Ironically I stopped hunting when I moved South, but having moved out of NY meant handguns were suddenly available for the first time ever, so I traded it in for a new Glock 17 Gen 4 and some 9mm ammo. Definitely would strongly recommend that rifle, though.
There’s a lot of things I like about a .30-06 Remington 700 BDL with iron sights. If I had more rifles I’d be fine without iron sights, but I like the idea of a rifle I can use without glass.
I suppose I need to decide what I want to get out of my first hunting rifle, which will also be my first magnified-scope long gun. I’ve thought about everything from a .30-30 lever gun to a .30-06 all-purpose big-game bolt gun to a dedicated 6.5 Creedmore deer rifle.
For now, I’m really hoping my Wingmaster comes in sooner, rather than later.
I’m a big fan of the Winchester model 70. It is a controlled feed action, which, is a deep fucking rabbit hole. Deeper than it looks, and probably not worth the time. The remington 700 is a fine choice, I had one that I’d won in a raffle, but sent down the road. The market is rich with quality aftermarket parts. You can start with the cheapest model, SPS I think stands for Shitty Plastic Stock, and build a very high quality rifle.
Any of the calibers you mentioned will serve you well. 6.5 Creedmore shoots very flat, which makes long range shooting easier, but if I was going to hunt Elk or Moose, I would want a heavier bullet. Also, 6.5 CM really needs a longer barrel to reach it’s potential.
.30-06 fan boys can make a pretty good case that it offers a wide variety of bullet weights, fast flat shooting 125 grain projectiles up to heavy hitting 200+ grain options. But it’s a hell of a lot easier for a newby if they stick to one load.
I’m certainly not an expert, and have no experience with the bigger game. I’ve read online folks brag about killing an Elk with a .243, then later reveal that they had to shoot it 7 or 8 times. That’s fucked up. It is still a far less cruel death than that elk would get in the jaws of a bear or wolf, but it’s not good hunting.
Good luck finding shells for your 870 Wingmaster. Slugs and 00 buck are rare as hen’s teeth.
One more thought about caliber, I would pick a rifle, Remington 700, Tikka T3, Winchester Model 70 or whatever, and see what you can find the best deal or sale on.
Don’t discount the .270. I’ve killed whitetail, antelope, mule deer, and elk with my Winchester Model 70 in .270. Bullet style and bullet placement are far more important than caliber when shooting big game. Dangerous game excepted of course.
They seem to be available at inflated prices on gunbroker, but the store is setting aside a few boxes of slug loads and buck shot for me. They just have no idea when the shotgun will be in. No rush on my part.
I’ve been thinking this as well. For hunting purposes locally, I doubt there will be much performance difference for me between any decent rifle/caliber/loading combo. The likelihood a 300+ yard shot ever materializing seems very low, at least for the places I’ve scouted so far and hunters I’ve spoken with locally. There’s no likely scenario where I’ll push the performance margins of any scoped big game setup.
My plan is to find ammo that groups well out of whatever I buy and then just get proficient. Maybe I go nuts and start long-range shooting, become a handload afficianado and really get into it, but that’s not in the cards right now. I just need to put holes in animals at ranges found in Maine and similar North Woods habitats.
I do plan on running that Wingmaster quite a bit. I think it will take a little more practice to get where I want to be with that, and blasting clays out of the sky is always fun.
If I found a steal on it I’d go for it, but I’d like a rifle suitable for moose and deer. .270 has probably killed a lot of moose, but I’ll err on bigger is better for me. I love moose meat, so I’ll be entering all of the regional lotteries. I think there are opportunities not too far in Canada as well.
I appreciate all of the feedback.
You’ve probably already heard of them, but the two online stores I order from are SGAMMO and Targetsportsusa. Their prices are always the best, and you can get on their email list, and you’ll know when they get stuff in stock.
SGAmmo has been my go-to for years now. I’ve bought thousands of rounds from them, and they occasionally have really good deals. I stocked up on 500 rounds of Speer Gold Dot 124gr +P hollow points at around $0.45 per round a few years ago. I’d never seen it much lower than $0.90 per round, but they had boxes of 50 cheap so I stocked up.
I just checked, it’s .95 per round now. Pickings remain slim for 12 gauge.
I got some federal flite control, which is the crem de la crem, from either them or target sports earlier this year for less than .70 a round. Now since it’s all unobtainium, I don’t want to shoot any of it.
Myself, I’m working on that J-frame lifestyle and need some quality .38 special wadcutters for my airlight.