My brain is scrambled, need help from you knowledgeable riflemen out there. First of all, does anyone have these caliber(s) from any of these manufacturers?
I've been looking at the 6.5x55 Swede recently, as well as kicking around the idea of the other 2 calibers. The main purpose of the purchase would be for deer, antelope, small/medium plains game.
I have a tikka rifle and really like it, so I am curious about the Tikka Swede offering. The Ruger African is also out there now in 6.5 Swede. The only winchesters I'm seeing are in the featherlite variety.
Anyways any thoughts, experiences, etc with these calibers and manufacturers? Thanks
I already own a T3X Hunter in 6.5x55. I can stack ELD-X all day long. I was amazed how well it continues to shoot with a warm barrel.
I do have a similar quandary, though. My wife is starting to enjoy hunting, and so is my daughter. I just picked up a cheapy CVA single shot yesterday in 7mm-08. If my daughter really enjoys hunting this Fall, I'll get her something nice.
But...
my wife and I both shoot LH, my daughter is a righty. If I get my daughter something nice, I'd like to make it a pair of bookends and get the same cartridge for myself. That way, my wife will have something light to shoot (6.5x55) when we go together. Since I'm a lefty, my options are limited, unless I build a custom gun.
I want a pair of 7x57. In that, I have 2 options: Montana Rifle Company, and Zastava. I have a lh Zastava in 9.3 (it shoots great), but I was planning on a nice rifle as a gift for my daughter when she graduates law school in 2020. But all of the negative press in this thread regarding MRC has me thinking a different caliber entirely. So now the choice is between 7mm-08 and 280 Rem/280 AI. I'm planning on making the ammo myself, and there are plenty of 280R/AI options to push the bullets at 7mm-08/7x57 velocities until my daughter gets comfortable with the recoil.
That pretty much points me to two makes: Savage and Tikka (in 7mm-08). I've owned a bunch of Savages through the years, and they've all been great shooters. I own the one Tikka, also a great shooter. But neither are, IMO, suitable gifts for a brand new lawyer.
There is the option of Sako in 7x64 - they do offer Hunter and Bavarian in LH. But the budget is 3k, not 4k.
So you and I, we have the same "problem." (I do not consider 1st problems to be real problems).
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