Got old rifle - want new caliber - suggestions

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So I have this old Ruger 77 Ultralight (tang safety version) in 270. I'm thinking about rebarreling it and getting it all 'tuned' up, but I don't have a hunting caliber chosen yet. I have a 260 and a 270 already, so something new is in order. I'm thinking maybe 25-06 or 6.5-06, since it's a long action rifle. But, 257 Roberts has always interested me. I don't really want or need a 7mm, so that's not being considered, and I don't need a 30 caliber. I'm leaning just a bit toward the 25-06, but not for any big reason. The Ultralight has a rather short barrel, and I'd replace it with the same barrel length, so maybe the 257 is a better choice. Or, maybe just do it up in 260 and sell the other one I have. Help me clarify my thinking on this.
 
IDK about your thinking on it, but my thinking is that since a Ruger M77RL Mark I (tang safety) .270 Ultralight is nearly worth it's weight in gold, in the right market ( I sold one for close to $1K a very few years ago) - I'd sell it in an online gun auction & buy whatever floats your boat.


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It was my late Father's rifle, so selling it isn't something I'd consider. And if I'm going to use it for hunting, which I'd like to do, I want a new caliber (new to me).
 
One problem with Ruger is magazine length which is 3.350" and if your wanting to shoot some of the long type bullets may not work.
 
I like the 257 Roberts idea. Shot my buddies out in WY last year. I was stunned at its performance out past 500yds. My 270 was still packing a punch but the 257 was burning holes in the steel plate that the 270 was not denting.

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I like the 257 Roberts idea. Shot my buddies out in WY last year. I was stunned at its performance out past 500yds. My 270 was still packing a punch but the 257 was burning holes in the steel plate that the 270 was not denting.
Click to expand...

I'd be more than interested in the load data, components and external ballistics factors involved in that.

Have you confused Mr. Weatherby with Mr. Roberts?
 
One thing that I didn't mention about the rifle is that the bore got cleaned 3 or 4 times in 20 or 25 years of rain, snow, mud and general neglect. Dad was a wonderful man, but not the gun cleaning type. I did that occasional mercy cleaning. I'll load up some light loads and see how it shoots, and it needs a big cleaning now. The bore might be 40 miles of bad road. I want to use Dad's old rifle, but it might actually need a new barrel. And thinking that it might need a new barrel got me to considering other calibers that I don't have.
 
I suppose needing a new barrel could change things a bit. Wouldn't in my case as 270 was dad's favorite so I wouldn't think of changing that. What do you think dad's advice would be?
 
Ah, mavracer, you asked a good question. Dad was a 308 man for years, and hunted with a BAR. Finally one day he told me that the BAR was just too heavy for his aging body. Well...I was all over that, and called all my siblings (5 of us) and said that Dad needed a new rifle. They agreed, so after some research, I got him a BLR in 243 and scoped it and sighted it in so we could surprise him at Christmas. Well, about 2 weeks before Christmas I was in the truck with Dad and I asked him what he thought about the 243 caliber. He said "wouldn't own one. Too puny for the deer we hunt". OMG...I bought him a 243. Ok...back to the gunshop and they swapped out the rifles for a restock fee and I chose that Ruger Ultralight and they only had the one in 270. I scoped it and sighted it in and we gave it to him. He was happy, but didn't say much about the caliber. A couple of weeks later I called him to ask if he'd gotten a deer yet. He hadn't gotten a deer, but he had shot a coyote. He said that "Man, there were chunks of that coyote on palmetto leaves for 30 yards. I love this 270". And he was a 270 man for the next 25ish years. That said, he could have just as easily been happy with that rifle in 308 or 25-06 or whatever. With him, I don't think it was all about the caliber.

I'll clean it real good and shoot it and see what happens. Maybe I'll just leave it alone, and maybe I'll go to 260 or a 25-06. I really like the 260 caliber, so I could rebarrel Dad's rifle and then sell my 260. I've got guys lined up to buy it if I ever do decide to sell. Or heck, maybe I'll just shoot it like it is, if the accuracy is Ok. I used to check the sights for him each year, but I never shot groups with it. Darn thing kicks like a mule.
 
If you decide to rebarrel, stay with the 06 length cartridge. If you use the 08 cartridge, you may have to do some additional work to get the cartridge to feed correctly. The 270 is a great cartridge as is the 06, 25-06, and the 6.5-06.

If you are really looking for something different, then by all means go to the 6.5-06. Just remember that you wont be able to buy ammo for it over the counter. You will have to "roll your own". Which of course is easy enough. You can use any 06 based brass and resize it in the die.
 
it would be a hard decision changing my dads rifle,and just as hard what caliber.recently i had a chance to shoot a 25-06 ai,i love it.not that gaining 100 to 150 fps is worth it for punching paper.the fellow that owns it says its good deer medicine.just something different.good luck
 
I wouldnt re barrel it, first off to do it right and update that gun you have half of a new gun already, keep it how it is and put it in the gun safe and save some more money and buy the gun you want
 
I did the same thing. Started with an FN commercial Mauser in .270 Winchester. Had it re-barreled with a Shilen barrel. Considered various options but really wanted it to be a "classic" type of chambering. So went with .257 Roberts AI. It worked perfectly with the existing action and has proven to be very accurate for me out of that fine barrel.

Gregg
 
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