300 is great but I wouldnt buy into the advertisement hype of a t/c. I prefer Remington, savage or Winchester bolt guns!

I know you are looking for a new caliber but what about taking that 400-600 bucks and buy a reloading set and start reloading .270 rounds? .270 is a great caliber and very versitile. With a little range time you could put together some great large game rounds. On the other hand I would tend to agree with the T/C single shot in 300 win mag or .280 rem.

.270 is the go to round. I'd spend the money on new optics and trigger job (jewel). Sounds like you don't need another gun.

Bigger.. .338 Win mag or .35 Whelen

338 federal, 350 Remington Mag or 35 Whelen if wantint to go larger. I have the first 2 and they sork great. Then again I am a shortaction fan

My .300 win mag is a Remington 700 and the recoil is no worse that my 30-06 (1903A3). I can buy ammo at walmart for about $21 a box (federal blue box - shoots them great) upto $50 a box. My buddy loves his Savage 300 WSM, but it kick hard and you cant find ammo every where and it is not cheap when you do find it. The 300 is big enough for elk and can still be used for deer.

I also have a .338 win mag and it does kick a lot more than the .300 win mag, shells are not real easy to find and when you do find them they are not cheap. Also the .300 is going to have longer effective range than the .338.

As far as bullet size all the .300s and 30-06 have the same bullets (all 30 cal). The .25-06 and .257 roberts/weatherby, ect are all smaller being .25 cal. I have a .25-06 in a Tikka and would not hessitate to hunt elk with it (if it was all I had) because of the accuracy is so good I would be comfortable with shot placement.

I personally disagree with the TC Encore choice. There are far better and higher quality guns out there for the $700-800 price tag of a new Encore. Before you ask, Yes I have had one. It is my opinion that most people think they are great guns because they spend a tremendous amount of money on advertising. I fell into that catergory and bought one, then sold it.

The Encore platform is a great concept but the quality of the gun is sub par.

.270 WSM

I will agree with you have an encore and went the custom option route... meaning custom barrel, upgraded hammer springs, triggers job ect.. For the money i have in that gun to make it a great shooter i don't think it was worth it on top of that the lock time takes some getting use to.

An Encore can make a good shooter into a bad shooter real quick if your use to short lock times of bolt rifles

Now if you need it to be really short on over all length.. then encore is the way to go

300wsm, 300win, 300 ultra, or 257w, 338 lapua

Nothing by Savage becuase they are ugly and have sloppy accutriggers

I have a 270, 30-06, 7mm Rem Mag, 338 Winchester magnum. The only bull elk that I have taken was with my 7mm Rem. Mag., but if I wanted a strictly elk gun I would get a 338Win Mag or a 300 Win mag or a 300 WSM. As far as rifles go any bolt action is great as long as it is a Win Model 70!!!

50 cal

+1, will be under what you want to spend, use the extra $$$ to put some glass on it. Whalla!

If I could only have two rifles and one was a .270, the other would definitely have to be a .375 Holland and Holland Magnum. With this two rifle battery, one could hunt all big game species around the globe.

I would go with a 300 ulra mag, or a 300 win mag. If you don't have the money for one now, i would save for one. A 270 will work on an elk (many have been taken with this caliber). A 300 ultra will work on anything in north america.

300 WM.

300 WM

You mention Elk and that you want it to be bigger than a .270 & I doubt you want to go as big as a .338 win. Mag.

The .300 Win. Mag. is still in the pretty manageable recoil range, yet is a serious hammer, too. If the recoil is not an issue for you, the .300 Win. Mag. is a great choice. Work up a good load with a 168 grain Barnes TTSX or 180 grain Nosler Partition & you will have about any critter walking covered very well.

I tend to like the Remington 700, but take a good hard look at the new SC built Winchester Model 70. They are some pretty fine rifles, judging by the few I've seen over the last couple of years. I never liked them, but the new FN built units have changed my mind.

Savage if you want to save some coin. Sako, Tikka, Ruger are others to take a look at. Try and handle a bunch of different rifles. One may just feel better to you. Fit is as important as brand.

The .300 WM sounds like a perfect choice for ya, unless recoil is an issue. Then dropping to a 7 Rem. Mag. may be a good choice, though it's pretty close to a .270. No flies on it, for sure.

I love a 300 win mag. People I hunt with look at me like I am crazy every time I take it out when hunting. You'll always get the "its too much gun" blah blah. And really it is, but who cares. I shoot it good and I am a deadly shot with it. Recoil isn't shoulder breaking, but it does pack a thump. Not enough to turn me away from shooting it anyway.

When I am doing some serious hunting my go to calibers are my 270, 7mm rem mag, 30-06 and the 300 win mag. Not a big difference is choice, they'll all get the job done with great success if I do my part. I just like em', thats my only excuse for owning all of those calibers at one time.

Difference from a .277 dia to a .308 dia isn't enough for me if it's my #2 rifle. That .270 will take out anything in Texas and North America for that matter, but if I wanted something bigger I would go .338, .325WSM ($$ ammo), or .375. Heck, even look at an old Mauser in 8mm. The ballistics on it are very .308-like and I love my vz-24.

300 Win Mag

I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but from what I have seen most customers are happy with them. I know I am.

300 WM has been adopted by the military. Ammo price will likely go down. In any event, it will be available on the shelves for a long time to come as a result.

Yes I do have one. A matter of fact, it's the only Savage I own and was reasonably cheap and very accurate. Anymore questions???

I'm kinda in your situation. I'm thinking .243, but what I am really leaning too is a Marlin 30-30 open sights, lever action. Quick to point, great for hogs, deer, coyotes, even a big cat sneeking up on ya! After reading about all the cats in East Texas, I might start carrying one along with my bow.