The problem is... I can't decide on what to get... I've always been a one-rifle kind of guy. I have more rifles right now than I've ever owned at any other time in my life.
What I have:
Browning A-Bolt .30-06
Remington M700 .270Win
Winchester M70 .270Win
T/C Encore Pro Hunter .260 Remington/.50cal muzzleloader
Another .50cal muzzleloader
I'd like to get a bolt action, that much I know. But I'm torn between a .22LR, .17HMR, or .223 for plinking at the range but also useful to hunt something. (Used to have a .22LR but it got stolen years ago and never replaced.) I don't think the .223 is a good squirrel gun
but I don't really like the idea of shooting a .17HMR up in the air (at squirrels in a tree), either. It'll go a long ways. However, the .223 would be pretty cheap to shoot and could be used for pests (coyote, hogs, or whatever else).
Or something else... The "something else" gets more complicated. First, I wouldn't mind having a lower-power whitetail rifle suitable to let an inexperienced friend borrow to hunt deer but it'd make me feel safer with them not using a .30-06 or .270Win for recoil reasons and because they shoot flat (a long ways), but would still be fun for me to use sometimes or maybe even my wife at the range (she is recoil sensitive).
Second, maybe something bigger than my .30-06 like a .338 WinMag, .35 Whelen, or 9.3x62 but I would like to try some of those out to make sure I wouldn't stop shooting them because of recoil. Something that would be good on elk and give me (even more) motivation to make a trip out west.
Gah... nothing like having the green light and not being able to make up my mind (or really justify) any particular caliber because I already have some *great* whitetail/hog rifles (pretty much all I hunt).
What I have:
Browning A-Bolt .30-06
Remington M700 .270Win
Winchester M70 .270Win
T/C Encore Pro Hunter .260 Remington/.50cal muzzleloader
Another .50cal muzzleloader
I'd like to get a bolt action, that much I know. But I'm torn between a .22LR, .17HMR, or .223 for plinking at the range but also useful to hunt something. (Used to have a .22LR but it got stolen years ago and never replaced.) I don't think the .223 is a good squirrel gun
Or something else... The "something else" gets more complicated. First, I wouldn't mind having a lower-power whitetail rifle suitable to let an inexperienced friend borrow to hunt deer but it'd make me feel safer with them not using a .30-06 or .270Win for recoil reasons and because they shoot flat (a long ways), but would still be fun for me to use sometimes or maybe even my wife at the range (she is recoil sensitive).
Second, maybe something bigger than my .30-06 like a .338 WinMag, .35 Whelen, or 9.3x62 but I would like to try some of those out to make sure I wouldn't stop shooting them because of recoil. Something that would be good on elk and give me (even more) motivation to make a trip out west.
Gah... nothing like having the green light and not being able to make up my mind (or really justify) any particular caliber because I already have some *great* whitetail/hog rifles (pretty much all I hunt).