SCJ429 wrote:270 WSM instead of Win?
Johnat21 wrote:Hi guys, first time poster... lived in oz for 11 years now, was a shooter from a young age in the UK, mainly wildfowling on the Dee marshes and in Scotland, however I've just completed my firearms safety exam here in victoria and waiting for my police clearance certificate from the UK so I can continue my long arms application.
My question is: I'm on a budget of about $13-1500 for a rifle and scope.. looking at a 270win so I can attempt deer shooting too as well as range shooting. What am I best looking at or trying out in my price range?... Ruger American blued, mauser m18, sauer, winchester xpr?.. all seem very similar and I obviously have no idea!
Cheers John
deye243 wrote:since the department of Sparks and Embers reviewed the rules to allow for the Winchester Short Magnums now you can go and chase reds & sambar through the scrub with a 357 magnum or even a 32 long Colt for that matter but you cannot use a 6.5x55 it's a joke
mickb wrote:Yeah thats a pretty crazy list . A 350 grain bolt allowed in a low poundage bow/crossbow but 400 grain minimum in a more powerful bow/crossbow because more powerful bows apparently cant throw a 350 grain as effectively than the lighter bow.
Who kicked off the idea for minimums anyway? Govt or hunting groups? The list smells a little like hunting groups self regulating then government jumping in and bungling it totally.
Shootermick wrote:Blade is on the Ruger’s, DJ on the Howa’s.
I’ve got four Ruger’s, so I’ll recommend one of them. But, as has already been said, go in and have a look for yourself, I doubt either brand would disappoint for the price.
Oldbloke wrote:deye243 wrote:since the department of Sparks and Embers reviewed the rules to allow for the Winchester Short Magnums now you can go and chase reds & sambar through the scrub with a 357 magnum or even a 32 long Colt for that matter but you cannot use a 6.5x55 it's a joke
Since the 270 WSM case is 2.1" long and for years the minimum for Sambar was, 270 cal x 2" case length I doubt that's correct. I think it was an administrative cock-up.
bladeracer wrote:Johnat21 wrote:Hi guys, first time poster... lived in oz for 11 years now, was a shooter from a young age in the UK, mainly wildfowling on the Dee marshes and in Scotland, however I've just completed my firearms safety exam here in victoria and waiting for my police clearance certificate from the UK so I can continue my long arms application.
My question is: I'm on a budget of about $13-1500 for a rifle and scope.. looking at a 270win so I can attempt deer shooting too as well as range shooting. What am I best looking at or trying out in my price range?... Ruger American blued, mauser m18, sauer, winchester xpr?.. all seem very similar and I obviously have no idea!
Cheers John
If you've been resident here for eleven years I'm curious what you would need from the UK to support your application.
Do you load your own ammo? This will be a part of your decision making I think. Anything remotely "exotic" starts costing a lot of money to shoot if you're buying factory ammo. If you load your own then you can load .270WSM cheaper than buying standard .270Win factory ammo.
I prefer a short-action rifle rather than a .270Win.
My preference is 7mm-08 but .308 is also an excellent choice if you want to use factory ammo.
You don't need a .270Win to hunt deer in Victoria, just anything that fires a bullet .270" diameter or larger.
For deer you want something compact and light, for realistic range shooting you want a heavier longer barrel. If you enjoy time in the bush then get something lighter and accept its shortcomings at the range, if you prefer range shooting then get something heavier and accept that it's going to be a workout lugging it around in the bush. For range shooting you're going to want a larger scope that gets up to about 20-power at least, but for deer you'd probably want a compact 1-6x or 3-9x, a red dot, or open sights. You can use a larger scope for range shooting and remove it for the bush, or swap on something more compact.
Personally, I would get two different rifles.
A bolt-action with a heavy-ish barrel and a decent scope for range work, in 6.5Creedmoor, 7mm-08 or .308, and a lighter bolt-, pump-, or lever-action rifle for hunting with a low-power optic, in 7mm-08, .308, .30-30, or .44 Magnum.
I tend to want my rifles to be "all-rounders" that I can happily use for whatever I'm doing, so I went with the Ruger American and Bushnell AR Optics 4.5-18x40 scopes. I have this rifle/scope in .204, .223, .243 and 7mm-08 in MDT chassis with 10rd AICS mags. The only thing I don't like about them is that they don't come with sights.
What area of Victoria are you looking to hunt?
Johnat21 wrote:Hey bladeracer, I need a police clearance because I've lived outside of Australia while over the age of 16, I've had a look at a few guns now and my birthday budget will now stretch to a Tikka T3x hunter, but im thinking cheaper rifle with better optics atm... I will be hunting around Marysville and Eildon region with a buddy. I don't self load, as I said, I'm a complete novice.... I will probably spend more time at the range than hunting until I get the hang of rifle shooting instead of shotgun.
Thanks for all the replies, there is a lot to think about...