Advice on deciding between my next hunting rifle

[ArmedSandwich]

@ the OP.

Reading between the lines I am assuming that the recoil on the 300 was not too pleasant? As a 30-06 owner as well, I would also strongly recommend this caliber, but for the fact that it known, as you go up in caliber that the 30-06 is probably the first caliber that will expose any recoil intolerance. So if you are a little recoil intolerant then you would want to shoot one if it comes into the decision matrix.

On the CZ550's, and I have 2. I intensely dislike the dropped comb on the Mannlicher style stock as I need to add cheek risers to the stock in order to get a decent cheek weld. If the ones you are looking at have a straight stock, you are better off.

Desperatezulu makes excellent point regarding reloading vs. ammo choice. This would influence any decision I may make about caliber choice.

I am unsure of your primary hunting terrain, but dragging a rifle with silencer through heavy bush is not my cup of tea. I have a .375 that came with silencer, the silencer does not get used. I hear people speak of farms requiring silencers but have never encountered such a farm. You can always add this later if an issue. If you are trying to mitigate recoil through a silencer then that is another matter, perhaps a 6.5x55mm Swede would be more appropriate from a recoil perspective.

You have not stated the size animal you intend on hunting but if you are a biltong hunter you would be hard pressed to find fault with a .308 for many reasons. The 7mm is a firm favourite as well. Tough choice that will probably come down to which one you want.

I would buy the .308.

Just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons. Why do you want a Mauser Action? I think that on the calibers of which we speak that there are no benefits to a Mauser action. They are a harder to work due to the additional components in the bolt. I was also fascinated by the Mauser thing hence my two CZ's. If I could wind the clock back, I would buy normal actions but would not discount a Mauser action if a real bargain presented.

Thanks for the comprehensive replies Andrew & Desperatezulu. I tend to agree that calibre choice is my main driving factor. I don’t want to get 5 years down the line and end up struggling to find ammo.

In terms of the 300WM. I tend to do more bush hunting than open plains hunting and I found that the 300WM was just damaging everything (I tested at a number of different gr but to no avail, and to much meat wastage). I also found that the rifle was too expensive to shoot if I felt like going down to the range and hitting a few targets. I’ve noticed that the 7x57 ammo at the shops in Pretoria tends to be a bit cheaper than the 308.

Recoil wasn’t a major consideration (having only hunted with a 300WM, and 30-06 so far and having been successful), I would like something that I can pass over to younger family members and woman in the family to use too.

To an extent I also don’t want to go and do what I did when I got the SM, spend a large amount of money upfront and not like the rifle that much (although I do still miss it). The 7x57s I’m finding look like they are cheaper in general for what I’m looking for vs the 308s. I’ll look for a few non-Mauser type actions though and see what I can find.

I hadn’t considered the 6.5x55 swede, I’ll look around for this. Main concern here would be ammo availability.

Thanks again!

[Messor]

Ammo or reloading components?

What is the performance specs of the ammo you buy on the shelf for the 7x57, type of bullets and velocity?

[Desperatezulu]

I hadn’t considered the 6.5x55 swede, I’ll look around for this. Main concern here would be ammo availability.

Definitely a contender in the mid-range class but as you rightly point out, factory ammo options are rather limited (and anaemic because of concerns over old Swedes in circulation). If looking in the 6.5 class, I guess a Creed is a better bet for a non-reloader
But I would not put a Creed above the 30-06/308/7x57 as an all-rounder.

With a silencer, the '06 is the best all-rounder IMHO for the usage you describe. If you're looking for a one-gun solution (which is sacrilege in most people's eyes and on this forum!). There have been some nice 30-06's up for sale recently (the Ruger M77 sticks in my mind) that you would not go wrong with, and for sensible money too.

While we're in full rabbit-hole mode and ignoring your original request for advice between two calibres - is getting into reloading a realistic option? Forgetting the eocnomic argument (which is valid once you shoot more than 200 rounds of premium ammo), reloading brings a lot more calibres into the mix that might otherwise be rejected on ammo availability concerns. And it enables you to pimp the bog standard calibres too, if that's what you end up with.

[ArmedSandwich]

Definitely a contender in the mid-range class but as you rightly point out, factory ammo options are rather limited (and anaemic because of concerns over old Swedes in circulation). If looking in the 6.5 class, I guess a Creed is a better bet for a non-reloader
But I would not put a Creed above the 30-06/308/7x57 as an all-rounder.

With a silencer, the '06 is the best all-rounder IMHO for the usage you describe. If you're looking for a one-gun solution (which is sacrilege in most people's eyes and on this forum!). There have been some nice 30-06's up for sale recently (the Ruger M77 sticks in my mind) that you would not go wrong with, and for sensible money too.

While we're in full rabbit-hole mode and ignoring your original request for advice between two calibres - is getting into reloading a realistic option? Forgetting the eocnomic argument (which is valid once you shoot more than 200 rounds of premium ammo), reloading brings a lot more calibres into the mix that might otherwise be rejected on ammo availability concerns. And it enables you to pimp the bog standard calibres too, if that's what you end up with.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply! In terms of reloading, I am actively looking into getting started and am saving up for a Dillon press at the moment. (My 223 is getting too expensive to shoot using factory ammo).

[TStone]

In a hunting context, there is no practical difference between the 7x57 and the .308 win, as far as performance on game is concerned. I have been hunting with a 7x57 for the past 35 years and have taken game ranging from springbok to eland with it out to 350m. As I replaced my .308 with the 7x57, I have not used the .308 for the same period of time but I have guided a lot of hunters using the stubby little .308 win and its performance on the same variety of game have never disappointed as long as the hunter did his part. If you do not handload, I would recommend the .308, if you do reload either will work really well.

While neither are traditionally considered to be long range hunting calibers both will work really well out to 400m provided you own a rangefinder, a scope that can compensate for bullet drop, use accurate handloaded ammunition and practice from field positions out to your maximum chosen distance.

I have hunted ± 1200 head of game with the 6.5x55 and about half that number with the Creedmoor, and there is nothing to choose between the two 6.5mm's as far as hunting is concerned. I love the 6,5mm's but for an only rifle the .308 win or 7x57 make a lot more sense.

Controlled feed actions are preferable for dangerous game hunting (and even that is debatable) but for normal hunting a push feed action will serve you just as well. Pick the rifle that handles the best for you.

There are some excellent scopes available that will work as well for open country work as they will for bushveld hunting. Three that I have personal experience with are the Leupold VX-3 HD 3.5-10x40, the Leupold VX-5 HD 3-15x44 and the VX-6 3-18x44. All of them have lockable elevation turrets that can be used for dialing at longer ranges.

[Arnold]

I have had many different calibers and different rifles.

My first was a cz550 in 308W. Great rifle but the action is a standard length action fitting to a 30-06. Not a big issue but the feed rails on the action is cut for a 30-06 length cartridge. This causes the shorter 308W to pop out in some cases and the round is loaded push - feed ... if it does not get stuck between bolt and the rear of the barrel. The longer 7x57 might be better than the 308 but I have my doubts.

I had a 308W in a Howa Varminter and managed to shoot out the barrel after I rebarreled to 6 Creed.

A 300WM in a light Rem700 kicked like a mule, although very accurate, I decided that I do not need all that.

Settled on a Tikka T3 Varminter in 30-06 and got the barrel cut down to 20" for a handier rifle. For my normal use I will not need anything else. Ammo is abundant and reloading components as well.

For smaller game in the bush I have a Ruger No1 in 243 Win with a 22" barrel. For the Karoo I have a 26" Rem700 also in 243 Win.

I have shot an Eland bull with my 338 LM, just because the 30-06 was at home and I had the 338 as backup in case there was a wounded animal that had to be put down at distance.

The 30-06 is boringly versatile and the Tikka Varminter awesomely precise. These were on special for R12k (some years ago) ... you might find a secondhand Tikka Varminter or perhaps an older Sako for a good price.

Get a suitable rifle platform in an appropriate caliber with matching optics that will suit your long term vision. Everybody will have a different opinion/answer to the above statement.

Final advice: Do not be in a hurry and have the money ready and waiting for the deal of a lifetime ;)
Lots of great deals going around, and it is a buyers market if you have patience.

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

[Pirate]

Bugrit, if I could justify another hunting rifle I would have bought that 7x57 CZ and made the choice easy for you... it would be a no-brainer for me!

[TStone]

Bugrit, if I could justify another hunting rifle I would have bought that 7x57 CZ and made the choice easy for you... it would be a no-brainer for me!

That 9.3x62 needs a little sister

[Pirate]

That 9.3x62 needs a little sister

You and I both fully appreciate that... but for the sake of continued domestic harmony I'll have to consider the 9.3 as the somewhat more brash younger brother to the BRNO 308W...

[Toxxyc]

If I had to buy an only rifle now, it'll probably be a 6.5CM (or another 6.5mm that's similar to it). My brother in law shoots one, and (if I remember his numbers correctly) it launches a 143gr bullet at 2,800 FPS, and it's not a very hot load. That's very close to .308 Win (with a 168gr bullet) levels of energy at the muzzle, and it exceeds the 308 at distance. It also generally shoots bullets with better ballistics, so it shoots flatter and maintains speed over distance better. It also recoils less.

The downside is expensive brass, but it makes up for that with less powder and cheaper bullets. I'm also sure it makes a perfectly capable small to medium game hunting cartridge, and while it won't be my first choice every time if I'm to go hunt Eland, if you do your part, it'll do the job just fine.