Planning a trip next fall to Wyoming for speed goat and mule deer with my son. Haven’t hunted in several years and looking to purchase a new rifle. Need some suggestions from the IDO experts on what to buy. I have a tikka 243 and the old reliable Rem. 30- 06. Leaning towards getting another tikka in a 270 cal. Just wondering if a different caliber would be better. Will be using factory ammo. So lets get a few opinions. Thanks everyone in advance.
For shooting the wide open spaces, if always likes the .264 Win mag.
You might consider a 25.06 sorta in between your 30.06 and the .270 that you are considering. It is a bit faster and flatter shooting than either the 30.06 or the .270. Depending on where you are going to hunt in wyoming, you might want to practice longer than what you normally shoot (a range finder is a good purchase). Also, you might check out the coyote hunting – Wyoming has more than a few, and lots of public lands.
For shooting the wide open spaces, if always likes the .264 Win mag.
Never mind. Ammo offerings can be limited.
Not to rain on another hunter’s new rifle excuse parade, but you have what you need already.
The Tikka .243 is plenty good for antelope. A good 80-100 grain bullet and you’re good to go. The .06 for mule deer, of course, is plenty of rifle and more than enough to do the job.
If you really want a one-rifle-does-all for this trip, then you could look at these options (in no particular order):
– You can’t go wrong with a 270, as you already know.
– The .25-06 is the King of the Pronghorn Rifles for good reason. And no doubt countless mule deer have been taken with them as well.
– The .270 WSM is a terrific cartridge, flat shooting, and hard hitting, but factory rifle options are limited and ammo can be on the more-challenging end of the scale.
– There are a whole stack of other possible options, the 7-08, 7 MM Mag, and the 260 that would all be just fine for your needs. The 7-08 and the 7 MM Rem Mag are probably the easiest options to find both rifles and ammo.
Keeping in mind, I’m limiting this list to options that have good factory ammo availability in most places and options that aren’t gross overkill. Obviously, a .257 Weatherby Magnum would be an option except for the fact that there are only 2 boxes of ammo available in any given state at one time. A .338 would certainly do the job, but it would be over the top.
Grouse
Since I’ve gone to the 270WSM, I haven’t looked back to other calibers. Your not going to find ammo on every shelf and an abundance of different bullets/loads. But when you do find a factory load your gun likes, stay sufficiently stocked.
That 30-06 would work fine and I have friends that only hunt (out west) with it. Given your often looking at 300+ yards of a shot, you may just want to consider an upgrade in glass. I don’t know what you have now and if that is a realistic option. But a lot of guys from the midwest seem to settle into a 3x9x XX and find they wish they had a little more magnification when they get out to Wyoming. If that is a consideration, time spent on a long range to verify point of impact for each mil-dot is key
Thanks for the info guys. Any other suggestions keep them coming. RW I was planning on going with a better scope. Any suggestions?
Ok so I am from Wyoming and have hunted antelope all my life. You do not need anything other than what you already have. I see people all the time blow giant holes in them for no reason. Save some meat and shoot it with a smaller caliber rifle. The last one that I shot that wasn’t with my bow I actually killed using an AR-15 in 223 and it did a great job with only one shot. My ultimate speed goat gun is a Weatherby 257 mag. The wife’s 25-06 is also a great speed goat gun.
As has been mentioned, if you are just going to hunt deer and antelope the .25-06 is a great rifle. The 6.5 Creedmore is gaining in popularity and would also be a good choice, but factory ammo may be hard to find, esp. in small town Wyoming.
Having said the above, my 6mm Remington has killed many, many Wyoming antelope and deer.
Buffalo Fishhead
Use what you have. You’ll be fine.
Matthews halon. Lol
Sorry I’m a bowhunter.
But good luck on your trip looking forward to seeing your trophy’s
Thanks for the info guys. Any other suggestions keep them coming. RW I was planning on going with a better scope. Any suggestions?
I’ve been a fan of Burris for many years. I own a few Veracity, and other higher end Burris scopes and VERY PLEASED.
I got introduced last year to Athlon Optics and have become very pleased with the direction of this company. They are young, as a company goes. But are delivering very good quality at a reasonable cost. Their higher end models are phenomenal for the price point. They got a lot of attention from other manufacturers because of their quality Vs price
Thanks Randy. I’ll look into those.
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