Remington 700. What caliber?

[democracywins]

I have wanted one of these for a while now, and have been doing a lot of research on what caliber is best and practical. For reasons of future ammo accessibility I have narrowed my options to the .223, .308, and 30-06. I do recognize that a lot of people like the 7mm, but it's harder to come buy.

We all know 30-06 is a big punch, but power I think in this case may be trumped by accuracy.

.223 or .308 Advantages? Disadvantages? I like the idea of the .223 because I already have an AR and currently don't own anything that takes a .308. However my research is appearing that the .308 may be the round of choice, or at least the most popular round of this rifle...

The thoughts of the masses are welcomed...

Having said all that I may be completely wrong about anything and everything I said...

 

[kickbacked]

i bought mine in 30-06 just because i had a couple mosins which are very close caliber wise to a .308. kinda depends on what you want to do with it. I bought mine with the idea that i could take down every single animal in north america. even though i sold it having never been fired. Theres just something about the look of a 30-06 vs a .308.

 

[tradertator]

I would recommend 308. It's been said that its not the worse at anything, but its the best for everything. Plus, there are probably more varietiy of loads for it than anything else, with maybe the exception of 223/556. And being a NATO round, surplus ammo is readily available for plinking.

 

[Bigshep]

Sorry can't help, but I do have the same question actually. Been looking at these and wondering about .308 vs. 30-06 myself. Instead of asking the same thing myself, I'm just gonna post in this and track it lol.

 

[democracywins]

Adding to my thoughts I would guess that we all like to think we are going to need the 30-06, 300 Win mag, or the .308 for those shots we all dream and think about taking. I'm just trying to be realistic at the same time... at what distance does .223 become inaccurate? .308? .30-06? ect...

 

[tradertator]

I believe 223 is rated for around 600M but its going to loose a lot of steam when it gets there. 308 and 30-06 are a little beyond 1000M. Much past that, and your going to want a 300 Win Mag or larger.

Granted, those are all extremely figurative numbers, and would require a well trained shooter behind the trigger.

 

[smokingman]

None of the above.
270 Winchester

Bullet weights from 85-170.Flat shooting.You can take nearly any game in North America.Accurate.

Most of the arguments against 270win are no longer valid.At one point there where no match grade bullets to be had.Now there are.
If Winchester had not been in an argument with the Department of defense when the 308 was adopted,they would have probably adopted the 270win as it was the superior round even in the testing they did at the time.

Look at any ballistics chart and you will see it is superior in velocity,drop,and ft pounds on target to the 308.

Jack OConnor hunted nearly every game animal in the world with his 270win.They man knew a thing or two about rifles and hunting. O'Connor stalked his prey on four continents (North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia), and in such places as Rhodesia, Kenya, Tanzania, Tanganyika, India, Iran, Scotland, Spain, Italy, Mexico, the Yukon, Alberta, British Columbia, Alaska, and most of the Western United States. Sheep hunting was his passion and he was only the fifth man to achieve two "grand slams" of all four varieties of North American sheep--Desert Big Horn, Rocky Mountain Big Horn, Dall, and Stone. At one time, O'Connor held the No. 10 in Stone and No. 12 in Dall trophies in the world records.

All that said,the 308 is still a fine round.

 

[repeter1977]

Personally, I would get the 30'06, but thats only cause I already have 3 others in that caliber and I am not a big fan of the 223/5.56 round. If I were to get another rifle in 308, I would probably want a 700 in that model as well though.

 

[42769vette]

for me it boils down to purpose of the rifle. i think your dead on with the 2 calibers you have it narrowed down to.

what is your intended shooting range?

is there hunting involved? if so what are you hunting?

 

[remauto1187]

I have been wanting a 700 for quite awhile myself. Ive decided upon the .308. I also have a AR15 so dont really need another .223. I have some Mosins, SKS, AK's but what the heck...another .30 caliber gun cant hurt especially since it can handle surplus NATO 7.62x51 !

 

[grahamsy2k]

When I get one, Im getting it in 308. If that helps.

 

[JettaKnight]

None of the above.
270 Winchester

Bullet weights from 85-170.Flat shooting.You can take nearly any game in North America.Accurate.

.270 seems like a fine choice, possibly my next.
My current 700 is chambered for .204 Ruger for varmint and the like.

 

[jbell_64]

I used to have a 700 in .270 when I lived down south where they don't have stupid hunting regs. Should have kept that gun but a guy offered me an even trade on a beautiful 20 gauge benelli =/ I absolutely loved that gun! ammo was a little steep but that was my only complaint. Out of your stated choices I would go for 30-06. You can get a wide array ammo choices easily and use weaker loads when plinking to save the shoulder.

 

[downzero]

I'd go with .280 over any of the calibers mentioned in the initial post if a long action cartridge was a choice.

 

[TenZero]

.308 because of its popularity, but I've always had a hankering for 300 Win Mag for some reason.

 

[repeter1977]

after thinking a little more on it, the .308 has plenty of ballistics done up on it, especially from the Remington 700, so be the easiest thing in the world to know bullet drop, etc.

 

[Mark 1911]

My first 700 was .270 win. That would be my starting point. :Now I also have one in 30-06. Both are very versatile with a wide variety of bullet weights. The 700 is a great rifle with superb out of box accuracy. Don't forget the venerable .243!

 

[avboiler11]

Most important question: what is your intended use for the rifle?

Are you planning to hunt with it, varmint gun, range toy, _____________? What's the longest range you plan to shoot with any regularity?

Do you reload or shoot factory ammo? If factory ammo, is it cheap blasting stuff or premium ammo?

Does "STHF" ammo availability matter to you (IMO, a completely useless factor when choosing a bolt gun)?

A 223 can easily go 600+ yards if you use the right ammunition (ie. 69gr+). Thing is, the typical 700 SPS in 223 comes with a 1:12 twist that isn't suitable for heavies. If you get a 700 SPS Tactical in 223, it should have a 1:9 twist that works with 69/77gr offerings from Black Hills, Federal, etc.

30-06 is a fantastic cartridge that you can find in ANY big-box store and has been used to kill just about every animal on the planet...but if you don't hunt or reload I'd steer clear because its needless recoil. 308 does 90% of what a '06 does in factory ammo form with less recoil and will obviously carry more energy than 223...but come at the price of more expensive ammo, more recoil, and more muzzle blast. And a 223 kills paper just as dead as a 308 does, though the holes are .084" smaller.

I'd recommend an SPS Tactical in 223 or 308...or a Savage 10FP-SR in the same calibers.

I've previously owned (among others) a 270, 30'06, and 7mm Rem Mag and killed whitetail in KY with the 270 and '06...these days the only centerfires I have are 223/223 Ackley and 260 Remington.

A properly built 223 can be a HAMMER out to 1000yd and beyond...

 

[SSGSAD]

For me, .308, that is all.

 

[indyjohn]

This is a PSS in .308 I had for a time.

The goal was a 1000 yd Target Gun. It did pretty well until it got hot, then I had trouble keeping it supersonic out to that distance. Powder choice may have been a factor in that problem. If I did it again, I would look at .30-06 or .300 WM.