Help me pick a rifle!

I've been a gunsmith, benchrest shooter, varmint and big game hunter for over 40 years.

For my money, the Tikka T3 and T3 Lite are excellent! My new .243 T3 Lite has impressed me more than any factory rifle I've shot in many years. They are presently selling for about $550 and they're a high-quality rifle. Mine shoots preliminary handloads under 1/2" and may be better as I find the right load.

I also have an older Tikka in .243 Win that consistently shoots 1/4" groups at 100 yards.

The Weatherby Vanguard is also a good rifle, though it's quite heavy for walking around a lot.

I also have rebarreled my pillar-bedded 1980s Remington 700 ADL.243 Win with a fancy (read Expensive) Super Match barrel and the Tikka shoots just as well out of the box!!! Tikkas have the same match quality barrels as more expensive Sacos. They're super-smooth and clean very easily.
 
Yeah, I think the .270 is a nice medium between the .243 and .308. Still very powerful and hard hitting, but quite a bit less recoil than the .308. And yeah, for a dual purpose coyote and big game rifle, it's hard to beat.

In short, it's not overkill for coyote and it's not underkill on a deer.

An ar-15 will work and a good caliber for a hunting ar-15 right now is Remington's new .30 Remington AR, as well as the .243 WSSM, which will surpass the .243 winchester. A regular 5.56/.223 AR is great for coyote, but if you'll be doing other hunting, obviously you'll want something better, and a good upper can cost as much as a good dedicated bolt action. I don't know much about hunting caliber ar's, so I wouldnt know about pricing.

Going back, I think you'd be better off with a plain jane .270. Not sure on models though.
 
Well guys, I really appreciate you're replies and advice, I think I'm going to go with the .270

I'll have to look at rifles and see what I like!

Thank you all very much!!
 
The .270 Win is a bit much for range shooting, warming barrels much quicker than .223, and a bit quicker than the .243 Win, but if you handload, it has tremendous flexibility.

For Maine deer, I use 130 grain GMX bullets, but used to use 130 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips ahead of 60+ grains of Reloder 22.

For target shooting and short-range varmint control, the 90 grain Sierra HPs ahead of a mild dose of IMR 4895 are fantastic and shoot to the same POI as my hunting loads at 100 yards.

I've never found the need for 100-110 grain bullets, but am told they work well for long-range varmints. The .270 Win isn't the best p-dog cartridge, because barrels heat quickly, but I've found it to be very accurate in my rifles.
 
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