I’m thinking about buying a new rifle. Likely a tikka unless you guys would like to share other opinions. The only other rifle I own is a savage model 16 .243. I love it, but want something bigger that I could shoot farther with if I wanted to. It will primarily be used for white tails but I want to be able to hunt bigger game in the future if I decide to. I reload my hunting ammo if that matters. I’m thinking 30-06 or 300 win mag, but I know there are a lot of great calibers out there. What would you buy if you were in my shoes? Thanks!

I have basically settled on 308 win

is it a 500 yard elk gun , no

but where I hunt 200 would be a very long shot

I can get to 200 very well , I have taken it to 1/4 mile hope to do a 1/2 mile at some point

hard to be ethical if you want to call it that beyond 250-300 might 300 win mag make that 350 yards sure it might you have to ask your self will you be shooting at those ranges. not saying shots can't be made at 350 or beyond some surely can some probably shouldn't.
I told myself if I suddenly had the money to take a big western hunting trip I would also have the money to buy a magnum rifle.

part of why I settled at 308win was I knew I wanted to shoot it a bunch. brass price , the little less powder than 30-06 , short action good on accuracy and could basically hunt anything in NA at reasonable distances but mostly it was plenty for deer and if I happen to get black bear hunting it will do for that also.

I was able to pick up several hundred pieces of brass for the 308 at 12.5 cents each 30-06 was more than double that.


30-06 would be a good choice also , a lot of factory ammo available

300 win mag unless long range is your game , I don't see the need and the cost , recoil , your less likely to shoot it

you learn things about the gun and about you when you shoot a bunch at a lot of different ranges and write down your data

I’m slanted one direction, .280 Remington or Ackley. The .284 bullet is tough to beat and I’m not a magnum fan. If you reload like we used to and will again, we’d paper target to 1200yds. Target, not animal, I’m not that good and never will be. Doesn’t hurt after a full day load testing or dink’n around either. We’ve taken countless deer, bear and piles of elk over the years from 6 steps to just under 500 yards.

You’re a reloader use imagination since factory ammo isn’t a constraint. 30-378, .284 wildcats and don’t forget the 6.5 variations. Or you can go real big, I’ve shot one once and don’t recommend it but the 600 nitro express would be pretty exotic.



Owl

One of the very best "smiths" and big game hunters I have known always swore by a 7mm magnum. He of course did load his own stuff but he could dial his rifles in for anything of most any size.

I have shot the 7mm mag myself and must say I was impressed. Although I personally like smaller cartridges for what I hunt.

300 win mag hands down for all around rifle. A little bigger and heavier to carry, but it will knock'em down.

You can load down the 300 win mag to 308 velocities although with that 243 there isnt really a need to. You can also put a 200 grain bullet in it and load it "hot" for a moose hunt. If needs be you can buy factory ammo at any gas station selling ammo. I ordered mine with iron sights. It has glass on it but glass being glass if I have a scope problem I can just remove the scope and keep hunting. I have no idea how good a shot you are but a 180 grain bullet from the 300 win mag is still moving at about 1900 fps with 1450 foot pounds of energy at 500 yards.

your 243 has about 1400 foot pounds of energy at 200 yards with a 100 grain bullet

Here's a thought for you go to your local rifle range and hang out for the weekend ask those there what their shooting and I'd bet chances are they would let you shoot their gun a time or two .

Don't forget about the .300 Weatherby mag or even the .300 ultra magnum as choices also . I'm a fan of the .300 Weatherby and have been for year's and talk about a one gun for anything anywhere in the world there it is .
Granted shot placement is paramount but it's a fun caliber to shoot but that's just me I like recoil ha ha

Don't overlook the .338 in either the Winchester mag or Lapua mag or even the ultra mag , I'd take a look at the win mag with a 225 gr bullet but the 185 gr bullets are interesting also the 250 gr bullets are sledgehammer's

There's many great choices out there and reloading your own with keep you from breaking the bank when shooting anything with the word magnum in its name ha ha
Allan

You can’t go wrong with a tikka in 30-06. I have a few tikkas and I love them. The one in 300 WSM kicks pretty good. They are a pretty light rifle for a magnum.

Bullet choice is more important than caliber most the time and lots of calibers today give you options. I went with .270 a couple years ago for my first rifle. Fast, flat shooting, and not much recoil. The only animal I would use a different caliber for is brown bear, I'd bump up for a 338 for the brown bear. There is no animal that I would use a 30-06 or 300 for that I would hesitate to use a .270 on.

30 caliber would probably have the best bullet selection followed by 7mm. Being a hand loader your choices are endless

My friends dad shot just about every big game animal in North America with the 7mm mag. He wanted one gun to do it all. Guide told him it would be as small as he would go for brown bear if he didn't want to buy another rifle. He shot the brown bear at 40 yards and his bull elk at 425. All other animals at many yardages in between.

I’m a 300 win mag fan too. I’ve shot everything from elk to blackbuck with mine. Great caliber. 270 is considered by some to be the best all round.

3006 or 308...proven reliable and very adaptable for most situations.

I suggest looking at the 30-06 and 280 AI for the reasons below.

The 300 WM is very popular as is the 7mm Rem Mag. Both are excellent elk cartridges and both are widely recognized as completely adequate for everything in NA except the big bears. Both can be loaded up or down depending on the game being hunted. Both are based on the 300 H&H belted case and neither is a particularly efficient cartridge. For example, with the same bullet the 300 WM deliveres 10% more velocity than the 30-06 but takes 30% more powder to do it. The 30-06 and 280AI are more efficient cartridges that deliver just slightly less than the 300 WM and 7mm Rem respectively and are still widely recognized as completely adequate for everything in NA except the big bears. Rifles built for the `06 and 280AI don't have to accomodate a belted case and either can be loaded for a wide variety of game.

The 270 Win is another excellent cartridge but is generally considered a bit light for elk in some circumstances. Many elk have been taken with the 270 but shot options may be more limited than with something a step up from it. I have both a 270 and an `06 and the `06 is my go to rifle for elk and bears and the 270 is my back up. I'm thinking very hard about a Kimber in 280AI for my next rifle.

For shooting paper, go with 6 or 6.5 with a short fat chambering.

greenpete done nailed this one

The other big game might change my mind on choice but the 7mm-08 is what I shoot now. Had been the .308 for until 2 years ago. Why? Cause I always wanted a 7mm-o8 and already have a .243. Again comes down to preference but me personally wouldn't like the kick (my .308 was the Rem. 600 Mohawk with a 18.5" barrel and it kicked like a mule too).

Bought a .243 when I was 17, have a 7MM Rem. Mag that has killed some deer, black bear, moose, and elk, and a .375 HH Mag if I ever get to use it on the big stuff. Didn't expect to need another rifle, but that can change, and it has.