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I would suggest if you shoot well with the miroku go for something from the browning stable. they have a deeper action and slightly different profile than the berrettas... although i have to say the silver pigeon in 20 ga is very nice!!!

Might I just say in the big NZ gov. deer cull they were shooting some of the biggest reds on the planet with the issued .222 rem. Placement and experience will always win out over a bigger gun. A deer with a non functioning heart will run equally as short or far hit with anything. As far as twist rate goes bullet shape and type then load selection will answer that in a std twist .243 win which is well capable with 100 grn bullets. Like I say though .243 win on bigger deer regular needs a bit more than a novice behind the Butt and a slightly bigger gun is not too harmful as long as the shooter can still place the shots! The advantage really being in a better blood strike to follow not a faster kill placement does that. A dog can follow foot scent alone and blood we cannot even detect Our deer act allows more than enough tolerance for a poor user Hi Kent, I am afraid we have to agree to differ on some of these points... but not massively! But what i definately agree on is the use of a dog. interlock

To clarify what i meant by "off the shelf" remmy 700s are so common that it is likely that the barrell makers will have blanks already made up to fit... just require chambering. of course that has to be done with the action. You are about 160 odd miles away but i would recomend Steve Kershaw in Howden or John Carr at Thorne. Both of these guys are true gents and are excellent with rifles. I have done lots of business with John.If you took your rifle there and let him scope it for you he will give you the full strory and i would trust him to tell you if the work was not needed. Kind regards Interlock

In my view .22 or 17hmr for rabbits. For the bigger rifle look at the biggest or toughest animal you will hunt. Then Think about what will kill that effectively and efficiently and go for a rifle that it is in the middle of it's performance envelope. ie... a woodland fallow buck (pretty tough, you want to anchor it well so you dont spend the rest of the day blood tracking). 140 gr plus delivered at over 2800 fps... so really a 6.5 mm plus bore size. maybe a 6.5x 55, 260 rem, 270 win, 7mm08, 7x57 .308 win 30-06 sprg. Then look at whether you will reload or ammunition availability and choose from there. I use a .30-06 sprg with 165 gr bullets loaded myself at about 2900 fps (data alone). I know that will kill everything i need to, i won't need to change my zero. it is not very damaging. But i load my own. If i didn't i might go with .308 win. A .243 is a very popular choice. try to make sure you have one with a fast twist rate. this way you can use heavier bullets (i liked hornady 100 gr interlocks when i used a 2430 If you are using .243 on deer (IMHO) take your dog with you. 7MM08 is a very potent and effective round interlock

I am with the guys above to a degree. If the rifle is shooting well then keep shooting it.... the damage is likely to appear around the throat where you might find some fire cracking and at the muzzle where the rifling will wear. The thing with a remmy 700 is you can get some really good quality barrells almost off the shelf. For the price of the new rifle you can get a border barrel to your spec. and installed which with a new trigger will make your rifle much better than one you can buy for the same money. I had an FN Mauser rebarrelled and it was pretty expensive but done by an excellent rifle man has left me with a superb rifle. interlock

I shoot a lot of duck. I just use a steel game 4 shot. express do a good one.

This is worth buying for the mauser action alone!

I agree that pulling a load of bullets is a pain. It might be worth sorting them by wieght or running them through a die to all e the same length... however, if they are heavily crimped you might buckle the shoulders. I am just about to start using the 170 gr grom from my 30-06 for all of my stalking. i will be interested to see how accurate they are.

Hi Guys, I couldn't upload a picture before