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Old April 28, 2013, 09:46 PM   #26
CharlieDeltaJuliet
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The 300 WinMag is my choice, but for most I would say the 30-06. The reason I choose the WinMag is I have always been able to find ammo for it no matter where I go (fewer people have them than .308's etc & ammo cost a little more). I have been in many gun shops, retail stores, and specialty stores and seen 300WM on the shelves when most else is gone. Plus my 300WM is my most accurate rifle I own. I reload for all my rifles and I highly suggest that being something that anyone who even considers a "SHTF" situation to look into.

All of these folks are right though. From 243-30-06 etc, they are all great calibers and it is to each their own. Find what you shoot the best and stick with it. Me personally, I love Remington 700's and pre 64 Winchester Mod.70 rifles. Not taking away from Sako, Savage, Ruger, etc, all are very good rifles. Good luck with your choice and listen to all of these folks, they each make great points.
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Old April 28, 2013, 11:32 PM   #27
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Thanks guys . I'm seeing a lot of 30-06 here . I think I'll go to a few places around town in the next few days with a list of what you guys have been recommending and see what's on the shelves .

No love for the 7mm-08 ?

Last edited by Metal god; April 29, 2013 at 12:03 AM.
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Old April 28, 2013, 11:50 PM   #28
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270 even now it it available
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Old April 29, 2013, 03:17 AM   #29
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I've had no problem finding 270 WSM, .270 Win, or .30-30. Another one I have not had a problem finding except for one place is .280 Remington. I won a rifle in each of those calibers, so I am still enjoying shooting while others are unable to.
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Old April 29, 2013, 11:17 AM   #30
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Anything thats wierd and easy to wildcat from whatever cases are available with a good stash of primers or a universal depriming die. 9.3X57, 8X57 Mauser ect. Any brass based on the 30 06 case can be formed and if You hand cast your bullets your ahead. The common popular stuff goes fast.
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Old April 29, 2013, 02:48 PM   #31
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Originally Posted by Metal god View Post
Thanks guys . I'm seeing a lot of 30-06 here . I think I'll go to a few places around town in the next few days with a list of what you guys have been recommending and see what's on the shelves .

No love for the 7mm-08 ?
What you should really do is get a short-action savage chambered in .308 and a barrel wrench. Then order barrels in:

.243 Winchester
.243 AI
.25-08 (.25 Souper)
.260 Remington
7mm-08 Remington
.338 Federal
.358 Winchester

And those are just a few that share the same parent case.

There are... probably dozens... more than share the same bolt face.

With that list above, you could buy 5,000 Lapua .308 cases and be set to load any and all of them.
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Old April 29, 2013, 03:44 PM   #32
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What you should really do is get a short-action savage chambered in .308 and a barrel wrench. Then order barrels in:

.243 Winchester
.243 AI
.25-08 (.25 Souper)
.260 Remington
7mm-08 Remington
.338 Federal
.358 Winchester

And those are just a few that share the same parent case.

There are... probably dozens... more than share the same bolt face.

With that list above, you could buy 5,000 Lapua .308 cases and be set to load any and all of them.
Now that's the kind of thinking I'm talking about . I like it thats much more then I was ever considering but I really do like that idea .

Already have the savage 308 . Maybe pick up another in 243 , only cus I've been wanting a rifle in 243 . WoW this has put my head a spinning
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Old April 29, 2013, 03:48 PM   #33
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whats a great all around caliber that will be in stock when the SHTF

No need for another rifle.. all you need is a barrel wrench, a go-gauge and a barrel.
Excellent, custom, "pre-fit" barrels can be had for under $400 in any finish, length, contour and style you could want.
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Old April 29, 2013, 04:02 PM   #34
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I like my 8x57, I can grab 30 06 270 280 7x57 rob the powder and primer out of any of them and convert them for my Mauser and use them, just need my loading tools and some .323s.
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Old April 29, 2013, 04:29 PM   #35
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Brian Pfleuger is absolutly right about the S/A with barrel wrench. I have a friend that swears by swapping his Savage out for multi purposes.
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Old April 29, 2013, 04:49 PM   #36
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7.62x54r
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Old April 29, 2013, 05:24 PM   #37
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I think the comments have been right on so far. My thoughts with gun of choice.

M1 Garand in 30-06
Winchester 94 or Marlin 336 in 30-30
Mosin Nagant in 7.62x54R

Really, all of the regular common hunting calibers are available.
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Old April 29, 2013, 05:30 PM   #38
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No need for another rifle..
-1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

There is always a need for another rifle
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Old April 29, 2013, 07:21 PM   #39
Brian Pfleuger
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Originally Posted by Metal god View Post
-1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

There is always a need for another rifle
Not when you can just swap barrels.
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Old April 29, 2013, 07:22 PM   #40
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While I agree that having extra barrels around does sound like a good idea, and it can be. However, having extra barrels around means having to stock extra reloading supplies or ammunition. You're going to spend a lot of time swapping out barrels and re-zeroing your rifles. I know I've tried the switch barrel concept and it just doesn't work well for me.

5) There are better switch barrel rifles commercially available than the Savage action. However, they are far more expensive. If you are truly wanting a switch barrel rifle Blaser 93 and Sauer 202 are much better options than the Savage.

4) In stock barrels at most places for Savage are usually bull and varmint contours. Not every cartridge will I want in those contours, and wait time on custom barrels is usually 6+ weeks if your lucky.

3) Kind of an aesthetic reasons, but I needed more than one stock. The stock I prefer to run heavy barrels doesn't have the same characteristics of one I want a sporter weight barrel in.

2) I needed multiple scopes, the same scope I may want on a .243 may not be the same one I want on a .358. Even cheap Lepould or Warne QRW rings aren't exactly zeroed when you take them on and off and good return to zero rings and bases are expensive.

1) Number one reason the I didn't like the switch barrel is that I rarely had the barrel on the action that I wanted to shoot. Which required me swapping out the barrels as well as a trip to the range before heading off to hunt, shoot prairie dogs, or hunt coyotes. Sometimes I'd run out of time before I could get to the range so I'd have to take a different rifle than I had planned on.

All in all you are better off just sticking to one barrel per action in my opinion. I have a dedicated LR .243 Win as well as a sporter weight .243 Win, .250 Savage and .358 win in Savage that use a .473 bolt face, as well as a 6X47 Rem and .223 that use a .384 bolt face. Trying to swap between the 6X47, .223 Rem and .223 AI barrels I had just became such of a PITA that I sold the .223 Rem and AI barrel and bought another Stevens 200 in .223 for simplicity sake.
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Old April 29, 2013, 08:10 PM   #41
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True enough. I mainly suggest it in the scenario of SHTF. It doesn't turn out to be very convenient in the real world.

Still if a guy wanted just to get a rifle and had the $$ to lay down, a Savage Competition Action and a custom barrel is one heck of a solution. Don't settle for what the manufacturers think you should want. Design and build your own. Do it right and you can even invent your own wildcat cartridge for very little (or no) extra.
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Old April 29, 2013, 08:32 PM   #42
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1) Number one reason the I didn't like the switch barrel is that I rarely had the barrel on the action that I wanted to shoot. Which required me swapping out the barrels
I get your very good point . how ever the idea of changing barrels , at least for me . Would be the ability to change from my favorite caliber that is no longer available to something I can find in stock when times get tuff . Not so much to just change the barrels out every other weekend to accommodate my shooting needs .This is why I would want another rifle as well .

I started this thread cus I decided a little while ago to consolidate and only buy certain calibers . I did what sounded good at the time and went with the most common rounds thinking it would be easy to find ammo for them .223/5.56 , 308 , 9mm , 12ga and 22lr . These are the only firearms I have bought as of late . As it turns out when the SHTF ammo for these are the first to go . It got me thinking that I should have at least one rifle that I would be able to find ammo for . I have all kinds of guns but If I can't get ammo for them they're just really cool paper wieghts .
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Old April 29, 2013, 08:51 PM   #43
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I get your very good point . how ever the idea of changing barrels , at least for me . Would be the ability to change from my favorite caliber that is no longer available to something I can find in stock when times get tuff .
Well then the only barrel you'll need is a .243 Win barrel. I looked at what Brian mentioned and can't tell you the last time I saw any .358 Win in stock at any gun store. I guess there always is online but even then it will be cost prohibitive to purchase you'd be better off stocking up reloading components for what you currently have. .338 Federal, 7mm-08, and .260 have been scarce as well during this drought and usually not found outside the internet ammunition suppliers. Sorry while cool the .243 AI and .25 Souper are reloader cartridges only, but at least you can get away with shooting regular .243 in the AI chamber.

If you do a Savage short action and spare barrel you might want to pick up the parts to swap to a WSM cartridge. I haven't seen any shortage of .270, .300, or .325 WSM at stores like Gander or SW, probably won't find the .325 at Wally World though. .270 and .25-06 have been usually in stock more so than .30-06 on occasion. Varmint rifles I've seen quite a bit of .222 on the shelves as of late.
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Old April 29, 2013, 09:45 PM   #44
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In my part of the Rockies, 270, 30-30 and 30-06 have been fairly easy to find in stock most places.

As was mentioned, having some ammo on hand is the best idea, and reloading is also good, though waiting til the last minute to buy more components isn't a good idea. I still keep an eye on whats around though.
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Old April 29, 2013, 09:48 PM   #45
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IMO if SHTF no ammo will be in stock. Thats why people are buying it all up now.

The fan is running....just no pooping yet.
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Old April 29, 2013, 11:28 PM   #46
Brian Pfleuger
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If you do a Savage short action and spare barrel you might want to pick up the parts to swap to a WSM cartridge.
Only trouble there is you'd have to make sure you had a large shank action. Getting .243 barrels made with a large shank is easy enough but the stock barrels in WSM are all large shank and the stock actions that start life as .243 are all small shank, AFAIK.
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Old April 29, 2013, 11:43 PM   #47
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all around caliber

My vote goes out for the .270 Extremely versatile. Neck-sized 30-06 round.
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Old April 29, 2013, 11:46 PM   #48
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When Savage first made their rifles in the WSM cartridge they were all small shank. Shilen I know will chamber a prefit barrel on a small shank for a WSM. All you need is the parts to swap out the magazine and bolt face and you can run a WSM on any small shank short action.
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Old April 30, 2013, 07:10 AM   #49
Brian Pfleuger
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Oh yes, that's true. I forgot about that.

Easy enough to get either barrel made with a small shank. The originals are probably like collecting hen's teeth though.
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Old April 30, 2013, 07:17 AM   #50
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I agree that nothing will be "in stock", except what you have in stock in your ammo stash. From there, it will be whatever rounds and weapons you will find.
Right now, the best purchase would be a Mosin Nagant and several cans of ammo.
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