Micro

If that's your priority, the .270 is a great choice. If you were shooting prairie dogs (which we don't have) and were burning up the ammo, a .270 be overkill on dogs and on you. But for the occassional chuck, no problem. If it were me, I'd select a round that your rifle shoots well and stick with it for both deer and chucks. If it's adequate for deer, it will be way more than adequate for chucks. You aren't going to "blow" a chuck apart anymore with a 130 or 140 grain deer bullet than you will a 100 grain varmit bullet (but who cares if you did, unless you were going to eat them - in which case you could just make chuck fritters ). The benefit to finding and using one round is that you don't have to re-adjust your scope for a second round. About a scope, I agree 110%, don't buy cheap. You will reget it. Cheap scopes will last a little while, but pretty soon they won't hold zero, start to fog up, then suddenly you hear something rattling inside. The least expensive scope I know of that has a good reputation is the Bushnell Trophy for about $110. Preferably, you should budget more - $150 to $200 to get a really good scope that will last as long as your rifle. I have several Burris scopes and that are the bomb-digity. You can bet the Fullfields for about $200. Nikon makes a great scope for about $150 - the Pro Staff. Leupold makes a Vari-VX model for about $200. If you go to Green Top after deer season, they'll have sales on their rifles and scopes and you get a much reduced price. The reason I prefer Green Top is because it is privately owned. It has a huge selection. The sales people are very knowledgeable. They can do some work on your gun, like mounting your scope. They can ship your gun if is ever needs warranty work. They have a store guarrantee in addition to the manufacturers warraty. And they will match any price. It may be far away (it is for me, too - 75 miles), but you aren't going to be buy rifle ammo every other day. Just buy a few boxes and that will last you one or more seasons.

You can kill a deer with a .22 LR. Truth be known, that round has probably killed more deer than most "deer rounds." It's not the best choice. A .243 will kill a deer. But shot placement, while critical with any caliber, is especially so with a rifle with such a small light bullet. Of the 70+ deer I've killed, I've taken shoulder shots on the vast majority. Breaking a shoulder is the quickest way to anchor a deer. A 140 grain 7mm will do it better than a 100 or 95 grain 6mm. You may be taking fewer shots at deer than at varmits, but you're going to be best served by a deer rifle you can use on varmits, not a varmit rifle you can use on deer. BTW, if you live in Northern Virginia, you can get any ammo you want for any caliber at Green Top. http://www.greentophuntfish.com/ It's the only store I know where you can walk in and find calibers like 7mm Weatherby Magnum and .358 Norm sitting on the shelves. You are not going to have any difficulty finding 7mm-08.

Unless you have no Wal Mart, Kmart, Dicks, BPS, or any gun or outdoor store anywhere near you, you might have trouble finding 7mm-08 ammo. No doubt, the .243 is a better varmit cartridge. But the 7mm-8 is a better deer cartridge. The only factory loadings in .243 suitable for deer are 100 grain loads. Winchester makes some 95 grain loads but these are really light bullets for deer.

You didn't have the $400 limitation or rifle choices in your post when I responded. Scratch the Model Seven. I don't know much about the Mossbergs. But Savages have great reputations - and powerhouse actions, and super barrels. Of the rifles you listed, I'd go with the Savage 111. You could mount some Weaver scope bases, get a decent Bushnell scope, and some Weaver rings and you'll have one of the toughest deer rifles on the planet. BTW, the 111 is chambered in 7mm-08.

The recoil difference between the .25-06 and the .270 using factory rounds with bullets suitable for deer is going to be negligible. The recoil difference between the .243 and 7mm-08 is going to be negligible as well. The difference between the .25-06/.270 and the .243/7mm-08 is going to be more substantial. The 7mm-08 is highly regarded as a deer hunting round. It's easy on the shoulder, too. The 7mm-08 has grown tremendously in popularity in the last decade or so. Many brands of rifle are chambered for it. All of the major ammo makers make 7mm-08 ammo. You can get ammo for it just about anywhere that sells ammo. If you want a forgiving deer rifle - one that easy on the shoulder (recoil wise and carrying wise), that can pull occassional double duty on chucks or coyotes (you won't be burning up the ammo on these varmits), and which has enough power to drop any whitetail deer anywhere, and which will be as at home in the thick woods as it would be on a stand overlooking a beanfield, and which can take the elements without blinking, then I recommend the Remington Model 7 in stainless steel with composite stock. The Remington Model seven is a scaled down lighter verson of their Model 700. The action is timeless - smooth, and reliable. Remingtons have some of the best triggers out-of-the-box of any rifle. Add a scope with a low to medium magnification range, and you have the perfect Virginia deer rifle. If you want a scope recommendation, I highly recommend Burris. I've used Leupold, Weaver, Redfield, Zeiss, and Burris. For durability and consistency, you can't beat Burris. My favorite scope, which would be perfect on a Model Seven, is the Burris Signature 2-8x (not sure if it's made anymore). The Burris Fullfield II line is also extremely good, and less expensive. A good 2-7x or 3-9x scope will do you just fine.

The 2000lb limitation isn't because your engine/tranny can't handle it. It's because a trailer puts weight on the rear wheels of the tow vehicle and off of the front wheels. This can make it difficult to pull a boat up a wet ramp with a front-drive vehicle. But if you are getting an aluminum boat with a 25 hp, you shouldn't have any problems. As long as your vehicle's engine and tranny are in reasonably good shape, you won't need a tranny cooler.

I've got 5 Revos and they were all dry. So were my Cardinal spinning reels.

So you are well aquainted with throat erosion, huh? ;D

The .270 is a classic deer round. Almost as perfect a dedicated deer round as they come. I hunted deer for years with a Weatherby Vanguard in .270 Win shooting 140 gr boattails. No problems with the round.

DD lives in Virginia according to his bio. The only varmits we have here are chucks and coyotes. Any round mentioned thusfar, except the .45-70, would pull good double duty on Virginia deer and Virginia varmits. IMO, the .243 is underkill for deer, and the .270 is overkill for varmits. The .25-06 is a great round for both. The 7mm-08 is a great round for both. The .25-06 will have a better trajectory, but the 7mm-08 will have less recoil. The .45-70 is a good short range deer round. It has a rainbow trajectory, though. Rifles chambered for it are limited - Marlin 1895, Ruger #1, Browning/Winchester Hi-Wall, some replicas, and a smattering of other rifles. IMO, not a good choice for a first deer rifle, and not good choice for a combo deer/varmit rifle. I've used the .45-70 on deer and factory 300 grain Remington HPs wll drop a deer quickly. I've also used the .45-70 on Maine bear and Moose and with the right loads it will drop those in their tracks, too.

I'd skip all the calibers you mentioned. IMO, the .243 is as light as you would want to go for deer. The others are based on the .30-06 case and will give you and ***-whoopin' with respect to recoil - which is ok for deer, but hell when varmit hunting. My recommendation is the 7mm-08. The round is based on the .308 case. It can be had in short action rifles, like the .243 (which is also based on the .308 case). Many rifles are chambered for it, and ammo is readily available. http://en.wikipedia....mm-08_Remington

BPS has their Extreme rods on sale for $64.99, normally $99. Great rods. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_59067_100002002_100000000_100002000_100-2-2

Here's mine: I had an Rolex GMT Master II that my parents gave me for a college graduation present. I wore it for years then is started to gain time. At the time, it was $350 to take the back off and diagnose the problem. I ended up selling it back to the jeweler my parents bought it from for the same amount they bought it for. Used the money to buy a Weatherby rifle. The I bought a Rolex stainless Oyster Perpetual Date. Then I decided I wasn't the Rolex type, sold it, and bought a Sako rifle. Bought the Seiko and haven't looked back. Keeps perfect time, is built like a tank (only watch I've seen heaverier than my old GMT), and feels good on my wrist (slightly curved edges in the bracelt). I've got a Seiko Diver's automatic for a beat-around watch.

I'm not sure what you mean by center drag. Are you talking about the stamina drag that Cardinals used to have? The ring around the spool shroud that you had to twist? They have done away with that. But there are still plenty of them around for sale. My local tackle tore still has them for sale.

That's what it's all about. Great pic and great cause.

Someone said on this forum that Abu Garcia seems to under-lubricate their reels and I agree. My Revos have come almost dry. I've had to oil every one of mine right out of the box.

Are you talking about the new 700 series? I don't have one of those, but I've seen them and they are awesome reels. For about $10 more you can get the 800 series reel. I do have 3 of these and they are, by far the best spinning reels I've ever had.

OMG : Just buy the one that's prettiest.

No. I've been waiting, too. I'm looking forward to checking this rod out. Looks great.

The thing I hate most about his show is that stooooopid theme song. .....he's just like a gypsy..... :

You spelled "do" wrong.

I know it's hard to look at photos without some background. Here is the link to the thread about those guides. (Mods delete if you wish). I hesitated to link to the TT site. http://www.tackletour.net/T3Forum/viewtopic.php?t=24005

It's all Abu Garcia's fault, and that damned Revo.

If you take the hook off, it would look cool hanging from your rearview mirror.

For $50 buck off, maybe it's worth becoming one.