Caliber opinion.

[Ken14]

Have been looking long at a Weatherby Ultra-Lightweight rifle as my next Whitetail rifle. I have narrowed it down to either a .25-06 or .30-06. The .25 being light on recoil, and the .30 being able to tthrow 165-180gr stuff for bigger game.Not a .270 fan..so rules that out...all input is appreciated.

[fabsroman]

This is going to stir up a can of worms. Do you have any other rifles, and if so, in what cartridges?

I have a .22 Rem, .220 Swift, .270 Win., .30-06, and .300 Win mag, so the obvious choice for me would be the .25-06 and it is on my list of cartridges to purchase.

If you are only going to hunt whitetails or smaller game, then the .25-06 will be fine. Depends on what you are going to hunt.

[Ken14]

I have 2 .308's..a .243, a Remington Sendero in .25-06. .and really like the caliber. Love the feel of the Weatherby. And it will be primairily a Whitetail rifle.

[L. Cooper]

You already have 4 deer rifles, so I guess it matters very little which deer rifle you add.

Pick what YOU like.

[rem 700]

Both of these cartridges are favorites of mine. The 30-06 is more versatile, and you already have a 25-06 for a flat shooting deer rifle, so I'd go for the 30

[fabsroman]

Ken,

If you already have a .25-06 Sendero, why get another .25-06? However, you already have two .308's, so why get a .30-06? Can the .30-06 really do that much more than the .308? Why not get something like a .300 Win Mag. or .338 Win Mag just in case you decide to pursue something bigger than whitetails. Better yet, how about a .300 Ultra Mag or .338 Ultra Mag. That might spice life up a little. Me, I have no desire to purchase an ultra mag anything, but that is just me. You also will not catch me purchasing a new rifle in a cartridge that I already own unless there is something really special about that gun. Now, with shotguns, I own 6 12 ga. guns, but most are used for different purposes (e.g., sporting clays, trap, skeet, upland hunting, waterfowl hunting). Until I have every niche filled, I'll be buying guns that fit into certain niches before buying a gun to fill a niche that I already have filled.

[ol_spark]

Not that I know alot about Texas deer huntin', I'm assuming that's where it will be used, you didn't say, but anyhow I figure you just want a lightweight gun to have one because in Texas you surely aren't totin' that 5 3/4 lbs very far from the truck to the tower stand mostly. So I figure you're not really in need of a light wieght , you just want one. As previously mentioned, you already have adequate deer rifles. If I was to gamble on a Weatherby for a deer rifle, I'd probably make it a 7mm08. Lightweight guns should have shorter actions because long actions just don't seem right. Besides you didn't define bigger game. No matter what you choose, it'll be fun to play with.

Enjoy

[Ken14]

its about a half mile from where the truck is parked to the tripod...and i dont really like packing the Sendero that far ,but....it will clean house on most anything that makes it's way 'cross the right -of-way. I have heard mixed reports on the 30.06 and magnum Ultra Lightweight stuff as far as recoil goes. Have been thru my magnum craze days...the older I get the less recoil I desire. Thanks for everyone's .02.

[Adirondacks]

I vote 30-06. It's a classic and anybody who has a large battery owes it to himself to own one. The other good thing is all the ammo available. I handload for all my other rifles but for my 30-06 I set out to find a Remington round that would work
well in it. I can get ammo at any walmart anywhere. Big plus for your workhorse rifle.

[Brithunter]

Hmmm you want a light weight rifle then go for it However if you want a light weight then why not go smaller and like the man said 7-08 is good so is the .260 and the .243. All will take Whitetail cleanly with good shot placement .

If you like the longer cartridges then why not the .280 as you say you don't liek the .270. The .280 has a better selection of bullet weights beign a 7mm so ........................

Low recoil ............................ well we are certainly in the .260, 7-08, 257 territory.

[Dom]

Ken, if you've narrowed it down to the 25- and 30-06, then I'd go with the great 30, large choice of bullets to choose from.

Just curious though why you're not a fan of the .270, since it's also based on the 30-06 and fits perfectly between the two!! Waidmannsheil, Dom.

[Nulle]

Not sure if Weatherby makes it but the 257 Roberts is another very nice little gun with a good punch.

[Steverino]

Ken,

I own a Weatherby Mark IV Accumark UltraLightweight in .308 and it is a joy to carry afield. The first shot, which is of course the most important, is a tack driver paired with a Burris Black Diamond scope.

With that being said, I personally would not be shooting anything stouter than the .308 out of this type of lightweight model because of the light weight, recoil is stout. That's the compromise in these (and most lightweight rifles that I have shot) one obtains better ease of carrying through higher elevations, terrain, etc at the expense of recoil. I would opt for the 25-06.

My Weatherby has the factory 26" stainless whippy barrel too. When it heats up after that first shot, the pattern opens up. I ended up acquiring a Browning BLR in .308 a year later for a brush gun for deer in heavier brush while still maintaining the same cartridge. Of course it worked out okay but if I had to do it all over again, I would have found a shorter barrel and cartridge offering like the Ruger Scout etc. If you're shooting solely off of a elevated tripod, shouldn't be an issue but if you are planning on some other ground hunting, I'd definately opt for a shorter 22-24" barrel.

Good luck!

[Mike Moss]

As far as rounding out a battery goes a Kimber 8400 Montana in 300 WSM would be my choice.

However he seems to want a Weatherby UL. and recoil is an issue.

Be sure to get Decelerator pads on your guns. Best recoil reducer ever.

As to the caliber he likes the 25-06. Thats where I loose interest in the topic. For me big game cartridges start at 270.

[Ken14]

Thanks for all the input...As far as not liking the .270 every one I have owned was a problem child, just my luck I suppose. Texas Whitetail's are not particularly hard to kill...So I lose interest in heavier recoiling calibers...especiallly when speed kills quite well on the quarry I mainly hunt.