Thread: Insight / Discussion RE magnum calibres for mountain rifle

Dude, I’ve been exactly where you are right now so know how tough it can be to navigate.... I have shot a couple of 13”+ bull tahr and they were with a plain Jane remy .260. Nothing fancy, even had the original plastic stock with the action bedded into it. Shot one bull with 120gn ballistic tip, and the second with 120gn Matchking. The most premium piece of kit associated with either of those bulls was the VX3 3.5-10 scope. Not even any turrets. The best thing about the rifle was the fact that it was ‘middle of the road’. It weighed 7lb all up, the scope was mounted as low as possible, and the barrel was a #2 contour at 22” so it balanced nicely in the hand. I shot a lot of game with that beast before “something more interesting” came along. Big mistake, she was spot on for all nz hunting.
At the other extreme, I was hunting chamois with a good mate of mine, and he was carrying his favourite rifle a BSA Hunter in 6x45 (223 necked up to 243) I say to him ‘what if a bull tahr comes along’ he looks at me with a slightly puzzled look and says ‘sneak in and shoot it’. And you know what, he would bloody do that too given the chance. He was a good shot, and had an insanely accurate rifle in his hands. So what am I saying in all of that?
Pick something that is middle of the road i.e .243 to .270 that weights 7lb all up with a 2.5-8 or 3.5-10 size scope and get amongst it. Tune it well, and get good with it and it will be your best friend.
I could have paid for a new house with the money that I have put through different calibres and rifle models, and you know what, they all resulted in the same 2 things: Game meat to eat, and dings and scratches to stocks and scopes.
Get something that you like and are proud to own, (without buying into all the hype) and go get some dings and scratches in it because they are worth more in my eyes than a $1000 of flash new carbon