Caliber suggestion for a light- to medium powered all-round bolt rifle

[simonrichter]

Lately, I was thinking about looking out for a rifle again. I do not hunt, however I enjoy sending a few rounds downrange from time to time, and I can do so safely on a friends' property. Moreover, apart from fun shooting, maybe a straightforward survival and all-round rifle can't do no harm these days...
That said, ammunition cost is an issue but not first priority since I'm not going out shooting too often and if, I'm not massing the attack on my range target.

Many years ago I used to have a WWI British Enfield in .303 British, which was definitely too powerful, much too loud and ammo was too expensive, even if ammo price is not No1 priority. Switched to .22lr after that, but that was the other extreme and felt a little too air gun-like out of a full sized rifle.

After many years focusing on handguns, here I go again. I was thinking about a sturdy and economically priced bolt action, best with a synthetic stock.
For the caliber, something like a .22 Hornet came to my mind - better than any rimfire, still not too overpowered for my purpose... Or are there any better suggestions in the same performance range (cheaper, more common calibers, easier to get a rifle chambered for...)

 

[FALPhil]

It's hard to go wrong with anything in 30 caliber, although, I don' t consider 30 Carbine an all round cartridge.

 

[MrBorland]

How far are you able to shoot on your friend's land? Does it have to be chambered in a rifle cartridge?

For a very versatile light- to medium-powered bolt gun chambered in common and affordable ammo, I'd look into Ruger's 77/357. Chambered in .357mag, it'll shoot mild .38spl as well as hot .357mag. Comes with a synthetic stock and iron sights.

The other obvious choice would be a bolt rifle in .223 Remington, and maybe the better choice if you'll be shooting beyond 100 - 150 yards.

http://www.ruger.com/products/rotaryMagazine77357/models.html

 

[simonrichter]

Typically, I shoot around 100 meters (= ca. 90 yards...?), but at least a little surplus performance would be nice since I'd like to stick with the gun I'm going to choose now and don't want to get another one once I feel the need for a little more range.

Of course, a carbine solution also occurred to me but since I do have a full sized handgun and for the reason mentioned above I guess I'd prefer a "real rifle caliber". So with the .223, is the average ammo price higher or lower than for .22 Hornet?

 

[Nemsis]

I would go with .223 for sure you can find it everywhere in the US and it's reasonably cheap to shoot. Not sure what twist they sell bolt .223's in but try to get a 1/8 twist that way you can shoot 40gr-75gr bullets no problem.

 

[Jerry45]

My vote goes to the .223. Can be very accurate and is fun too shoot. It has just enough recoil to let you know you're shooting a rifle but light enough a 7 year old can have a ball shooting it to. Bouth my grandson and I love my .223 bolt gun. He loves the AR too! Doesn't cost an arm and a leg to shoot.

 

[Boomer58cal]

Given your criteria... No question .223/5.56. Cheap, accurate and sold everywhere.

Boomer

 

[Striker1]

simonrichter,

You have your location listed as Austria. If that is the case, I would find out what caliber is most common locally and move forward from there.

 

[jmr40]

223, 243 or 308 would be my pick.

 

[Powderman]

Seeing that you're in Europe...

...consider the 6.5x55.

Flat shooting, powerful enough for almost anything you would want to do, and probably a ton cheaper over there than over here.

 

[WIN1886]

In America , factory loaded 22 Hornet ammunition is not a bargain in comparison to the very popular and more powerful .223 ammunition .....in fact , I think it is a ripoff for the actual components needed to assemble this mini cartridge and I really like the 22 Hornet for my needs and location for varmint hunting ! It may be different in Austria !

 

[MattShlock]

5.56 x 45 NATO, 7.62 x 51 NATO

 

[ripnbst]

.223 Remington in a gun with a 1:9 twist.

My personal recommendation is a Remington 700 SPS in .223.

 

[big al hunter]

Given your listed location I would ask; what is the local availability of 7.62x39 ammo. It is a mild cartridge with decent range capabilities, surplus military ammo is cheap, and CZ offers a bolt action chambered for it. If ammunition is more abundant in 223/ 5.56, go that route.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Lever action 357 magnum rifle

 

[allaroundhunter]

MattShlock,

How about 7.62x51 NATO?...

 

[JD0x0]

Well you should expect to pay a $1 give or take per Center fire rifle cartridge unless you're using some sort of bulk ammo/milsurp or hand loading. So you're pretty much on level ground, pricewise, unless you go with something more exotic or a large magnum, which you'd obviously expect to pay more.
The .270 is a great choice for an all around caliber IMO. It's got a good trajectory, and with the right load it can harvest any game on the planet. You've got bullets available as light as 75 grains (Armour Piercing 6.8-LE only) and 83 grains which can be driven to velocities in excess of 4000fps. And bullets as heavy as 180 grains which have comparable (and in some cases, better) sectional density to the heavier .30, .338, .35, .375 calibers. It's plausible to drive these bullets to 2500-2600fps with the .270 win case. There's also a decent choice of long range bullets. And provided you have a barrel with a fast enough twist, you can use the 175 grain VLD made by Matrix Bullets, which has a very high BC, better than anything in 6.5mm and likely higher than the best 180gr VLD in 7mm. Though I have no actual proof of this other than the listed (static) BC of .7381

 

[Atomic Ammo]

.308 Win hands down

.308 Winchester is great all around medium caliber option for a bolt action rifle. Accurate enough for match shooting, powerful enough to hunt Elk within reasonable ranges, common enough to find ammo for in most gunshops or sporting goods stores and there are even published loads from respected companies with data for inexpensive, naturally quiet, low recoil subsonic loads using common pistol powders.

 

[44 AMP]

The .22 Hornet is considered the smallest, least powerful common centerfire rifle cartridge. Even though the case is much smaller, Hornet ammo is more expensive than .223/5.56mm. This is because the Hornet is a niche round, very specialized, and ammo sales volume is low, compared to the .223.

I am a Hornet fan, have a couple, they are great for what they do best. The .223 delivers several hundred feet per second higher velocity, and does it with a lower ammo cost. A .22-250 delivers several hundred fps more than the .223, with ammo costs generally higher than the .223 but less than the Hornet.

If you handload, the costs for all these rounds are nearly identical, other than the difference in the amount of powder used.

 

[MattShlock]

Hey, I like the 308.5 Winchester/7.62 x 54 NATO which they adopted since they let Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Turkey etc. in... LOL
OK, I'm tired.