Need help deciding on a new rifle/ caliber

[Lou270]

Not used on black bear but a 243 works great on deer. However I have always thought a 25/06 or Weatherby cool. I don’t see why guys worry so much about what is “on shelf” these days when we order everything elsr from Amazon so could care less what my local little gun store carries on its shelf in my decisions. Any you mentioned will work fine so but what floats your boat

Lou

 

[claver]

22 and 25 Creed seem to be gaining more traction in the industry and are both very interesting. I’ll pick up a 25 Creedmore this year at some point.

 

[nm.otter]

SHOT, Sheep Show, DSC, and Western Hunt Expo all happen in the next four weeks. I'd wait and see what announcements come forth before I made my decision.

 

[nuffgun]

Not used on black bear but a 243 works great on deer.

Lou

.243 does fine on black bears. Killed my bear this spring with a 108 eldm out of a 8 twist tikka .243. I’m sure any c&c bullets would have done the same thing. The .243 win factory offerings are more than plentiful. From the 95 nosler BT and 95 sst, these two bullets alone have multiple factory offerings and are down right devastating bullets. Personally I’ve killed deer with the 87 vmax, 95 nosler BT, 95sst, 100 gr interlock (least favorite), and Speer 100 gr btsp, and now the 108 eldm. All killed fine. ( with the exception of the interlock leaving the smaller wound channel).Plan on loading the 95 tmk in 2026 out of my daughters .243 to see what that bullet will do. All this to say that the .243 Winchester still has a plethora of good/ available factory ammo from big city bass pro shops or scheels to small town gun shops and gas stations. I don’t see the .243 Winchester going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[mtnbound]

Hey everyone! This is my first post on here and I'm looking for some advice. I have been using my grandfathers marlin 30/30 for hunting since I was a kid, but the rifle has seen some better days and I made the decision to get a new rifle and only use the marlin occasion/ for plinking. The calibers I was mainly looking at were .243, 25-06, .257 wby. I originally intended to get a larger caliber but truthfully fell in love with the "smaller" calibers. I mainly hunt white tails and black bear but intend to go out west in the future. I'm having a hard time deciding especially because it's difficult to find rifles chambered in 25-06 and .257 wby. Now with the 25 rpm coming out that is also a contender for obv reasons. Just looking for anyone's input thank you !

Fast twist .243 or a 6CM is the easy button.
I wouldn’t do a Weatherby unless you reload as ammo cost is high for them.
I would just say no to the 25-06.

 

[tipsntails7]

I would say 6 or 6.5 creed. Check what ammo you have available to you if you don’t reload and pick that.

I’d guess 6.5 as I don’t think there is a current cartridge made that has more box ammo options except 308.

 

[bnewt3]

Even if you reload, I wouldnt go with the WBY. Its so nice to be able to walk into any place that sells ammo and have multiple 243 options. And as others have said, 6.5CM will do everything you want with lots of ammo options on shelves and pretty easy on the shoulder.

 

[mountaineer273]

Even if you reload, I wouldnt go with the WBY. Its so nice to be able to walk into any place that sells ammo and have multiple 243 options. And as others have said, 6.5CM will do everything you want with lots of ammo options on shelves and pretty easy on the shoulder.

Second this. While I do reload, it is also nice to have a cartridge that you can still easily obtain factory ammo for. While I am more of a .30 caliber guy, I do think the 6.5 CM is a good choice for a round in the .25 caliber or 6.5 range.

 

[Eastcoast Hunter]

Tikka without a doubt

 

[joliver2]

Look at a Tikka in 6.5 PRC. Can’t go wrong with that combination.

 

[BluMtn]

There is a long list that would work for you. Of those talked about the 6.5 Creedmoor is a good choice (just because of the popularity), followed by the 25-06 (my favorite), I would then look at the 6.5 PRC (Ammo getting more popular, my 2nd choice), then you have the fridge cartridges, 7-08 or the 308, (ammo will be available). You indicated you might want to hunt bear, so I know it could be done, but 6mm and smaller work for deer and yotes, but I have hunted enough bear to know that hitting it with a small caliber takes some precise bullet placement and you are also talking about hunting out west so I believe the above mentioned calibers would work better in your case.

 

[ganderson01]

Not to feed into the stereotypes here but a Tikka T3X in 243 or 6.5 CM is the way. Can’t go wrong whichever way you choose, but my moneys on the 6.5. Ammo is absolutely everywhere and you can find it filthy cheap on Ammoseek. Also recommend waiting for the Stockys VGs to go on sale, and put some quality glass on there. Buy once cry once

 

[Jfjfrye]

6 creed would be the easy button with factory ammo options and heavy for caliber bullets. If you reload then .243 8 twist is a great option because you won’t be able to take advantage of the 8 twist with factory .243 Ammo. If only tikka would hurry up and come out with a 6creed

 

[Whitefox82]

I guess I’d go with the 25-06 and shoot a solid copper or gilding metal bullet out of it. Plenty of speed there to open those bullets up at western distance and tough enough to take elk or moose with shot placement always number one consideration.

 

[coyotekilla]

I would not get a Wby unless you reload. The key to being proficient with any tool is practice. How much are you going to practice when you have to buy Wby ammo? I went with a 25 CM on a Tikka action and am really liking it.

I would get a 6CM over a 243.

The only way id get the 6cm over a 243 is if I reloaded. I can find 6.5cm and 243 in the grocery store, 6cm doesn't have the market share yet cause its trying to replace an almost perfect cartridge. What can a 6cm do that my 1:8 243 can't?

 

[natedock1]

Hey everyone! This is my first post on here and I'm looking for some advice. I have been using my grandfathers marlin 30/30 for hunting since I was a kid, but the rifle has seen some better days and I made the decision to get a new rifle and only use the marlin occasion/ for plinking. The calibers I was mainly looking at were .243, 25-06, .257 wby. I originally intended to get a larger caliber but truthfully fell in love with the "smaller" calibers. I mainly hunt white tails and black bear but intend to go out west in the future. I'm having a hard time deciding especially because it's difficult to find rifles chambered in 25-06 and .257 wby. Now with the 25 rpm coming out that is also a contender for obv reasons. Just looking for anyone's input thank you !

Get a 6.5 prc. Good for elk on down. Plenty of ammo, plenty of great guns to choose from. Stay away from anything with weatherby in the name of you ever want to have ammo choices and lower cost. Those old fudd calibers you mentioned are so outperformed by modern cartridges.