Which mid-caliber in which rifle?

Granted the .30-06 recoils in terms of movement, but one with a good stock and butt pad don't hurt when you practice.
If you are only concerned with the movement, then disregard my comments, but I got the impression that you may be getting your shoulder beat to death at the bench with your rifle.

Having had a couple of stocks that punish the shooter because they are light and have hard butt pads, I was really impressed with the new Savage 10-FP in .308 and my new CZ-550 in .30-06. You can shoot them all day and not notice anything in your shoulder. Both still move on recoil if I haven't set the stock right (and pre-loaded the bipod -slightly leaning forward against it - if I am shooting from the bench), but there is no appreciable shoulder discomfort.

It may not be the caliber if the recoil seems to be punishing your shoulder, it might be the stock.

I shot two .270 Winchesters at the same outing (one light Remington 700 and one M70 super grade). After 8 rounds, I wouldn't shoot the Remington again, it was so punishing. I proceeded to put 40 rounds through the M70 with out a second thought. Other Remington stocks aren't as punishing, but this particular one was terrible for me.
 
I agree with Rimfire5.
I've found that felt recoil can vary a great deal between two rifles of the same caliber. My Tikka T3 Lite .270 kicks surprisingly hard. I've fired .30-06 rifles with a lot less felt recoil. A Limbsaver pad helped enough that I can go put 20 rounds through it without too much "paying for it later".
Length of pull, stock "fit" to the shooter, stock shape, rifle weight, recoil pad... a lot of factors play into it.

That said, I find the .260 and 6.5 Swede intriguing. I think I'd enjoy a Winchester Model 70 in one of those two options. Classic wood stock and blued barrel.
:)
 
I had a custom rifle built last year. We started with a commercial FN Mauser action. Timney trigger, Dakota bolt shroud/safety. Shilen match barrel. Totally custom handmade stock with black tip and inletted skeleton grip cap. The gunsmith and I made some of the decisions right off the bat but when it came time to order the Shilen barrel, decisions had to be made about chambering.

The action had originally been chambered for .270 Winchester. I knew I didn't want something that totally vanilla in a custom rifle. (Not saying .270 Winchester or 30-06 have anything "wrong" with them. But when you spend the big coin on custom, you want everything to be a bit different.) We wanted to use something that would work with the bolt face the way it was. So I considered some of the same choices. I'm a big fan of .260 Remington but it doesn't make sense to me in a long action. If the donor action had been from a .308 Winchester, I would have probably gone that way.

It finally came down to 6.5x55 Swedish and .257 Roberts. I love them both. Since it was a custom rifle and I was going for a "classic" look, I decided nothing fit quite as well as .257 Roberts. So we initially went with that choice. Then I did some research and found people who said that the .257 Roberts AI was the very best of the Ackley Improved cartridges. Can shoot standard .257 Roberts all day long but you have the potential to load up a good 150 fps hotter if you want it to be just a bit flatter shooting. (And I had hopes of antelope hunting someday.) So I asked the gunsmith if there was any good reason NOT to ream the chamber to the AI version. He couldn't come up with any "cons" so that's what we did.

I've been very pleased so far. Shoots the standard .257 Roberts loads just as well as any other Bob I've ever shot. But the cases come out fire formed for the AI reloading process. Just seems like a win-win to me! You have a mild shooting classic deer cartridge that just screams classic but you can turn around and load it within spitting distance of a 25-06 while burning less powder and with longer barrel life.

So if it was me.... I would find a rifle I really liked in .257 Roberts and then take it to a gunsmith to have the AI conversion done. Should cost about a hundred bucks total and you are off to the races.

Gregg
 
There's a lot to like in a .257 Roberts, but if you're going to have a long action, why not use it and get the .25-06? I've been shooting a .30-06 for a lot of years, (along with a .243, and a 25-06, and a .308, and a 7mm-08), but more and more I gravitate back to the .25-06. Plenty of power, fast, flat shooting, easy to handload, recoil-friendly, there is just a lot to like about the .25-06. Mine likes 117 Gamekings and Reloder 22 powder.
 
Of those mentioned the .257 is my choice. I am not sure how much less recoil a 25/06 has, but no doubt less that the 06.

The .260 would be my second choice.

Jerry
 
I also like my 25-06, very nice to shoot. Just ask the critters on my wall.
Well, you can't, they're dead!:eek: But, I've been looking a Ruger MKII or the Hawkeye, don't remember which one, in .257 Roberts. That just seems like a very pleasant round for my needs. Food for thought.
 
I'm VERY happy with my Savage in .260. I've had it for about 6 months and it shoots 140 Berger VLD's into half an inch all day long. Haven't tried anything else in it as that load does everything I could need it to. Took a ram and 2 hogs with it last weekend. (the two hogs were with one shot, too.)

The 6.5's have a cool factor to them for me with their high BC's, and you can load a .260 with bullets as light as 95 grains all the way up to 160's if you want to. My Savage has a long detachable mag also, so I don't lose pwder capacity if I go with a heavy(long) bullet like the 140 VLD.

I've got a model 16 Weather Warrior, recoil is next to nothing. Feels like my father in law's .243. For reference, I sold a .308 to go to the .260.

So in short, I'd go with the 260, as it's more versatile to me, but any would meet your need as a deer rifle.
 
I'm grown very fond of the .25's in last 7 years. I have a Ruger No.1A .257 Roberts, Ruger M77 .25-06 and a Ruger UL .250 Savage. The .257R and the .25-06 were bought new. The .250 Sav was bought used.

The .257R and the .25-06 shot 1 1/4” groups right out of the box with Federal Premium 120gr Nosler Partitions. With handloads they shot right around 1” or a tad less. After a little trigger work they shot between .5 & .75' groups, which is about as good as I can shot any more.

I got the M77 and I really liked it but I did find it a bit cumbersome when I hunted from a deer stand or blind because it has a 24” barrel.

My No.1A .257R has become my go to rifle for hunting from tree stands or blinds because it is very short when compared to the M77. A No. 1-A is a tad heavy for its over all size but there so little recoil that I see the bullets impact on the target and deer. My only complaint the safety is loud.

I have found that 100 gr NPs also work very well.
 
Idfred:

Any of the 30/06 based calibers, with the same weight bullets, will have almost the same amount of recoil: it's when lighter bullets are used that the reduced recoil is noticable. Because you are going to hunt elk you need a bullet weight that will bring the bull down. I would stick with the 30/06. However, if you must reduce you calibers, why not try the 7mm Mauser with a 140 grain Nosler partitioned bullet. It most likely will shoot through an elks boiler room.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
Thanks for the input

Just to clarify, I intend to keep my 30-06, it is a Sauer Model 90 deluxe with a nice stock and a decent rcoil pad. It has not misfed once in the 1,000 rounds I have put through it. It shoots consistenly. I will continue to use it as my elk gun, I just now have a good reason to buy something smaller.

The recoil is only an issue whne zeroing from the bench; when practicing in different positions it is not a factor. When hunting, with winter clothes, I never notice recoil.

The .257 Roberts is probably the direction I will go. I also have a Tikka Continental Varmiter in .223 with a bull barrel and it is a joy to shoot but not a carry gun and too small for my big game needs. However, it did get me thinking about an intermediate round.

If I did not already have the 30-06 and was buying a big game rifle it would be a 7mm-08 or .270 as I really don't need the 30-06 since I hunt elk infrequently.

Thanks,
 
Another vote for the 7mm-08...very efficient as a deer cartridge...has the moderate recoil you seek...

Set up in an M70 would be sweet.:D

Good luck.

JB
 
rimfire5 said:
I shot two .270 Winchesters at the same outing (one light Remington 700 and one M70 super grade). After 8 rounds, I wouldn't shoot the Remington again, it was so punishing. I proceeded to put 40 rounds through the M70 with out a second thought. Other Remington stocks aren't as punishing, but this particular one was terrible for me.
Click to expand...

I agree...the only rifle that has actually made my forehead bleed was a .270 Remington ADL. I have had 300 win mags that kicked less than that thing does for some reason...
 
Just repad your rifle and if that isnt enough, put on a brake. That should solve your recoil pattern and still leave you with the power of the 30-06.
 
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