Just ranting

[CrackThump]

I reckon I just need to say this out loud. I cant talk to the missus about it lol, during the last 7 months of my licensing process she is sick to death of hearing about firearms.

I just cant freakin decide on calibre for my first centrefire . ..and time is running out, Im about to have a trio of valid PTA's show up in the mail, so its coming close to 'money where your mouth is" time. .. I have a 22LR and a 12g sorted and ready to pick up pending paperwork, ... but that F**king centrefire... AAARRRGGHHHH.

Now I know a lot of you would say .223 is the smart choice and I agree, but then I dont..

Im not exactly new to shooting, I was an infantryman in the ARES back in the day and have had successful relationships with SLR, F88, M60, Wombat gun and even an occasional one night stand with a claymore. So the larger calibres arent unknown to me.

I mean I WANT a .223, - I can plink all day without mortgaging the house, I can hunt most things smaller than deer, and for club precision I can reach out to what.... 500-600 mtrs. ? but then... at the same time.. its a bit 'meh'

what if .. WHAT IF.... that one day Im out whacking wallabies and that once in a lifetime trophy stag swans across my sightline... if I have a .223 shouldered, all I can do is wave politely at him and give him the finger. I really want a 308 at hand. .. I know I could probably cross over those two animals with a .243, but thats minimum requirement for deer in Tasmania, and Im not keen on minimum anything.

I lean towards the .308 as well for longer distance precision matches at my club, which, lets face it, club shooting will be 70% of my rounds downrange.

I dunno.. versatility versus ammo cost..

.223rem ... .308w ... 6.5creedmoor... .270w... ??


FAAAAARRRRRRRKKKK.. !!!!!! This is doing my head in..


Thanks for listening.


PS.. when I said Im not new to shooting, I AM new to the science of shooting, calibres, twist rates, ballistic coefficient, fps are all a foreign language to me, so I probably sound like a newbie twatwaffle lol... so be it, I'll get there in the end

[SCJ429]

You need more than one centerfire rifle but start with the 223.... Or perhaps a 300 WSM.....

[CrackThump]

300winmag. ?? you just became my new best friend lol... LETS DO IT.!!!

but seriously.. 300 short magnum.... thats an interesting compromise, and you just made my choice harder lol.

[Chappo]

220 swift
220 jaybird
25-06
30,06
22-250
257 Roberts
6.5 x 55
6mm br
6.5 br

Sorry, just wanted to see your head explode!!
Get an old smle 303 for the cool factor!
It’d make a pretty cool first centrefire.

[deanp100]

It’s not like getting a tattoo. You can change it if you want to. Buy a 223 in a good , desirable quality gun and when you get sick of it sell it and move on. Ditto for any calibre.

[SCJ429]

If you want to get into a bit of club shooting then get yourself a Tikka Varmint 223 with a 1:8 twist and shoot 80 grain Berger VLD. Good for 500 to 1000 metres if you are keen. Can still take it out and shoot a fox with 50 grain hunting projectiles.

I have a friend who is in his 70s who shoots a 300 WSM in Fly comps. Very capable case.

Personally I think every boy needs a big bore, like you said you never know what may cross your path while you are out hunting.

[duncan61]

Budget rifles chamber in 7mm Rem Mag and I find 100gn sierra game kings recoil about the same as .243 factory ammo.I have 168 sierra Matchkings for target shooting and a few 168 berger ELD made up on the same load They push a bit.I still have 50 plus coreloct 175 big game rounds that came with the rifle and I highly recommend 175 Winchester Failsafes for bigger stuff.You could hunt your wallabies with a mag full of 100gn pills and have a holder on the but with 5-6 175 gn big game stuff.I have a lot of Sierra stuff because my local store had a preponderance of it in stock at the time but I am sure you could get soft nose 100 7mm bullets that would blow up on contact.They are doing 3300fps out the barrel.Do you have deer other than Fallow in tassy???

[SCJ429]

Budget rifles chamber in 7mm Rem Mag and I find 100gn sierra game kings recoil about the same as .243 factory ammo.?

I would like to see the science behind that. Are you using reduced loads for the 7mm?

[RoginaJack]

Ah, no foxes in Tassie, SCJ429

AND that's the problem in Tassie - a 223 for Wallabies and what for Deer? I would look at a couple of centre fires, like a 204 or 223 for the Wallabies' and 7- 08 for the deer. What do the locals use down there for the deer?

[duncan61]

The 7mm I have is the Remington Sendero so its quite heavy that could help.I really notice the difference between the 168 target bullet in felt recoil.I tend to load towards the lower end of recommended data and use slower powder.American factory ammo in .243 has a lot more recoil than my .243 loads with 2208 so are similar in felt recoil to 100gn 7mm rounds

[marksman]

I think the 7-08 or the 6.5x55 would do the trick but really as you say just get a 308 and be done with it

personally I would prefer the 6.5x284 but I'm not scared of getting a barrel changed every now and then

[SCJ429]

The 7mm I have is the Remington Sendero so its quite heavy that could help.I really notice the difference between the 168 target bullet in felt recoil.I tend to load towards the lower end of recommended data and use slower powder.American factory ammo in .243 has a lot more recoil than my .243 loads with 2208 so are similar in felt recoil to 100gn 7mm rounds

Fair enough, I am a fan of the 7mm Rem Mag but is definitely a big boomer. The little 243 is quite pleasant to shoot where the 7mm can knock you around. Your Sendaro would be a very nice piece of kit.

[duncan61]

The Remington corelokt and Winchester failsafes both in max 175 gn kick like a mule but the 100 gn I reload are mild.The point I was making to the O.P. is with a larger than 223 rifle you can still do the job.The .243 must be close to the most versatile chamber ever 55gn at over 4000fps or 107gn.I made 55gn pills for my .243 many years ago and still have a few.The O.P. specificly said he did not wish to be on the margin for deer with .243 so other chambers bigger are an option and I know you can get standard weight and size rifles in 7mm

[bladeracer]

I reckon I just need to say this out loud. I cant talk to the missus about it lol, during the last 7 months of my licensing process she is sick to death of hearing about firearms.

I just cant freakin decide on calibre for my first centrefire . ..and time is running out, Im about to have a trio of valid PTA's show up in the mail, so its coming close to 'money where your mouth is" time. .. I have a 22LR and a 12g sorted and ready to pick up pending paperwork, ... but that F**king centrefire... AAARRRGGHHHH.

Now I know a lot of you would say .223 is the smart choice and I agree, but then I dont..

Im not exactly new to shooting, I was an infantryman in the ARES back in the day and have had successful relationships with SLR, F88, M60, Wombat gun and even an occasional one night stand with a claymore. So the larger calibres arent unknown to me.

I mean I WANT a .223, - I can plink all day without mortgaging the house, I can hunt most things smaller than deer, and for club precision I can reach out to what.... 500-600 mtrs. ? but then... at the same time.. its a bit 'meh'

what if .. WHAT IF.... that one day Im out whacking wallabies and that once in a lifetime trophy stag swans across my sightline... if I have a .223 shouldered, all I can do is wave politely at him and give him the finger. I really want a 308 at hand. .. I know I could probably cross over those two animals with a .243, but thats minimum requirement for deer in Tasmania, and Im not keen on minimum anything.

I lean towards the .308 as well for longer distance precision matches at my club, which, lets face it, club shooting will be 70% of my rounds downrange.

I dunno.. versatility versus ammo cost..

.223rem ... .308w ... 6.5creedmoor... .270w... ??


FAAAAARRRRRRRKKKK.. !!!!!! This is doing my head in..


Thanks for listening.


PS.. when I said Im not new to shooting, I AM new to the science of shooting, calibres, twist rates, ballistic coefficient, fps are all a foreign language to me, so I probably sound like a newbie twatwaffle lol... so be it, I'll get there in the end

Do you, or do you intend to load your own ammo?
There's nothing stopping you from having as many different calibers and rifles as you can afford so I really don't think it matters what you get as the first one. If you want something that'll do everything very well try 7mm08.

[bigrich]

If you get into reloading 6.5x55, 7x57 , 7-08, 270 are the deer rifle caliber . If you don’t reload, 308, Aussie outback 165 gn ammo are accurate and cheap

[Kumaabear]

I also like the 7mm-08 exceeds the minimum for all deer hunting in Australia (.270 + for large deer in VIC), mild mannered, powerful and accurate.

My personal opinion, pick the rifle first then decide on a caliber you like that's available for that rifle.

Hell I ended up with a 30-06 as my first and I don't regret it at all

[in2anity]

placed in the right spot, a 223 is still plenty capable of dropping a deer - just sayin.

[Daddybang]

placed in the right spot, a 223 is still plenty capable of dropping a deer - just sayin.

Yes but is it legal
To the op just think "Three ohhhhh Three"

[GojiraSteve]

.243 mate.

It's the closest thing to an all rounder you can get and still find cheap factory ammo anywhere. You'll fall short (legally) for Sambar in Vic, but solving that problem with a 7mm-08 will make ammo marginally harder to find and certainly more expensive plus arguably leaving you overgunned for small stuff at least with factory ammo.

I bought a .223 as my first centrefire with exactly the same "shoot all day and not go broke" mindset, and wished I'd gone the .243 ever since. It's not that much more expensive but exponentially more versatile.

[in2anity]

I bought a .223 as my first centrefire with exactly the same "shoot all day and not go broke" mindset, and wished I'd gone the .243 ever since.

Why is that? Because of the deer-shooting legalities of the 223? Or are you generally not happy with the performance of the 223?

[GojiraSteve]

I bought a .223 as my first centrefire with exactly the same "shoot all day and not go broke" mindset, and wished I'd gone the .243 ever since.

Why is that? Because of the deer-shooting legalities of the 223? Or are you generally not happy with the performance of the 223?

Performance in a roundabout way. I found myself initially getting more hunting opportunities to chase deer and pigs than anything else, and being new at the game I took other peoples advice that the .223 simply wasn't enough gun. So in fairness its not that I was unhappy with its performance based on a wealth of actual experience, but I did end up buying a .308 pretty quickly and using it WAY more often.

Had I kicked off with a .243 it would've been perfectly adequate/acceptable to the more experienced blokes I was shooting with.

Flash forward 9 years from then after getting out of the sport and just now getting back in, and a .243 will definitely be the first CF to hit the safe.

[PaddyT]

Gunna say it , cause it needs to be said- 6.5 manbun,

[CrackThump]

Wheres that emoji-con thing when the head explodes. ?? hahaha..

Thanks for the input guys.. Im no closer to making a decision but I wanted to say thanks for pointing out something I have been overlooking, the fact that yeah, this ISNT going to be my only centrefire and it only takes 28 days to apply for another one.... soooo maybe .223 after all. - to start with

I HATE the fact that y'all can talk me into buying something Id effectively talked myself out of.. but feck it, it DOES make sense..

and for the few questions I noticed throughout the thread..

1. I dont plan on reloading at this stage, I just cant justify the outlay... not yet

2. those nice gentlemen that mentioned making my cherrypopper a 303. .. *wipes away some chin drool* have you SEEN the prices of a decent SMLE these days. ? oh HELL no... besides, it would only end up being a safequeen or something to svare the grandkids with one day.


Its times like this Im glad I went all out for the 16 gun safe instead of the 5gun bunnings special hahaha

Peace out Yo..

[gunnnie]

Hey Digger, feel your pain mate, been there.
Mate, there's been plenty of good advise to date & yes it can be a minefield but it doesn't need to be. You've already got two of the better shooting realms covered - 22 & 12ga.
Now, you want to cover that middle ground with surety of effectively taking a deer when needed. Personally, I'm not a fan of the 243, no significant reason, just believe there's better options. For example - 250Savage.

This cartridge is no mega-screaming powder burner, but it performs. Now, without the nahsayers crowing in, here's my reasoning.
1. Its a small capacity cart that has good ballistics,
2. efficient powder to velocity ratio &
3. is easy to reload for.

You can run pills from 75 to 120gn though it produces best results with the 85-100gn range. There is a wide range of 25cal pills to choose from that allow for varminting through to thin skinned game and medium game such as fallow & red deer.

The downside being -
1. Choice of rifles in this chambering, &
2. Availability of brass.

It's likely it would have to be a custom order for a new rifle. As for second hand, they turn up every now & then. It would be a rifle/chambering with a difference that will impress.

If that doesn't float your boat, then maybe a 6.5Creedmoor. Again, a reloaders delight with a wide range of pills that will cover rabbits to deer & bigger. Plus now readily available in a wide range of brands & budgets.

[snag]

Seriously, look hard at a .25-06. Everything from rabbits to red deer, the most versatile calibre for Australian game.

[bigpete]

If you can't get a decent lee enfiekd spotter for under 500 you're not looking hard enough