All around rifle suggestions

[Artos]

I would first decide if you want a short or long action & then start narrowing down your preferred caliber. If primarily going to be a whitetail round stick with a 25-30 caliber window.

Long action would include any of the 30-06 family so 25-06, 270, 280 & the 30-06 being the 4 most popular.

Short action gives you a bunch of options with 257 roberts & the 6.5x55 being great options if you want something outside the more traditional / popular rounds. 7-08 & 308 are hard to beat if you want a more readily available round.

The 257wby is the choice for a belted round. Good luck.

[UltraMax]

Just get yourself the tried and true 30’06 and be done with it. Ammunition is still $14 a box and it will ethically kill anything in the US.

[Willicd76]

There simply is no better "all around" rifle than the .308.....period. with the advancements in powders, it does everything the 30-06 does and in a lighter more compact package. Ammo is available EVERYWHERE. The 125 Speer tnt at 3200 fps is awesome on coyotes, The 150's at 2900-3000 fps are awesome on deer, and a 200gr bonded bullet at 2600fps will take anything else on this continent without issue!
It's not flashy or new, it's just GOOD.

[cva34]

Something along 25-06 or .243 would be my first looks.

Guess I'd be looking at what will I still be able to shoot in 15+ years at your age.

Agree If you plan on tx deer/hogs perfect....25-06 more range more bang&recoil but still in comfortable range..Generally a little longer and heavier ...ammo availability pretty good...

243 not quite range and power of above (plenty for Tx deer/hogs) But real comfortable to shoot.Shorter and lighter, ammo availability excellent..

Going a step bigger 260 Rem and some of the other 260 stuff out there...still in comfortable range Great cal But ammo availability not so good...but improving with time ....

[hunt247]

30-06 large selection of ammo

[Guest.1]

I always ask myself if the Libs took everything tomorrow what is the most common ammo that might be available and that would be anything that is considered a NATO round.

.308 fills this need

However.

Although I don't own one.

Tikka 6.5 creedmore would be an excellent choice.

If an outfitter insists on .30 cal I have a .308.

I've got a .270 Tikka that is my favorite rifle.

For the price it's hard to beat a Tikka. Save money and spend it on a really good optic.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

[catslayer]

Pretty much everything from 222 to 300 win mag would be fine... I would personally look hard at 243 and 6.5 PRC

I like 243 cause it works great as a coyote round as well
If elk is going to be a thing 6.5 PRC or 300 Win Mag would be my thought

I would avoid 7 mags, I'm not a fan for several reasons

[catslayer]

I always ask myself if the Libs took everything tomorrow what is the most common ammo that might be available and that would be anything that is considered a NATO round.

.308 fills this need

However.

Although I don't own one.

Tikka 6.5 creedmore would be an excellent choice.

If an outfitter insists on .30 cal I have a .308.

I've got a .270 Tikka that is my favorite rifle.

For the price it's hard to beat a Tikka. Save money and spend it on a really good optic.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

He has a point on $$$ hard to beat a Tikka for the price