I've decided on my first deer rifle.?

I am a long time Alaskan hunter, trapper, military competition shooter and certified Alaskan hunter safety instructor...... ballistics technician and handloading instructor.

I sure hope you reload, and, have plenty of friends with lots of 270 WSM ammo handy where ever you go. Because you are not going to find that on the shelf of any sporting store where caribou are found........... or be allowed to bring it with you the way airlines and guns/ammo are going.

There are calibers you use when you are home and plenty of ammo is to be found. Then there are normal calibers you choose when you plan on traveling to hunt. You have no idea how many guys show up in Alaska for the dream hunt of their lives with only a few hours in Fairbanks or Anchorage before they hop on a small plane and head into the bush.......... and no ammo. They run from store to store looking for things like WSM, Weatherby or 300 Ultra Mag etc etc. They end up ditching their wonderfully expensive and perfectly sighted in rifle for some spare the guide or pilot has kicking around. No sense having the perfect caliber if you can't find ammo.

Any stainless rifle is good.

Do you really want the Burris? My issue with Tasco, Simmons, Burris etc etc is they work and look great out of the box and the first few times at the range. But they do not stand up to daily hunting or take any abuse. I've lived in a 6 deer per year area - after the first, you go for #2 the next week etc etc. Then there is caribou and moose season. I put more outdoor time on a scope than most people. One year for me = 8 years for you. These low end, medium low end scopes are going to fail on you in the middle of a big hunt...... and not the off by a hair fail, I mean you miss a really nice big game animal and that is it for you until next year kind of fail. This has happened to me - more than once - don't let it happen to you. I can find another deer or caribou - you get one chance - and it will bother you the rest of your life.

If you are setting this rifle up for life - then put a scope with a lifetime warranty and good reputation. The power should not be more than 3 or 4x or it will be too much for close in shots. Look for 'side focus' - it lets your buddy with glasses use your scope, lets you use your scope without glasses - and will come in handy when you are older. Deer are most active at dawn and dusk - look for a scope with a 50mm from objective lens to gather light, and a 30mm tube to bring that light to you. Avoid the 1" tube models unless it is a brush gun. Many of the features of a police tactical scope are perfect for the tree stand hunter. Leupold is the gold standard for good optics - if you ever sell the rifle you will get $$ for having a Leupold on it. No $$ for a Burris. Look at Nikon and Millet.

Last. 270. Really now? Technically it is a great caliber - but - the selection of bullets is one of the lowest. Drop down a tad to 6mm/243 or up a tad to 30 cal and all the major bullet companies make tons of cool and interesting projectiles. A few years from now when you start to handload you may have to scap this rifle in favor of a different caliber with more selection. I see allot of hunters start with a 270 and they grow out of it.

Caribou tend to be in big open areas - and - where there is caribou there is always brown bears. Winter hunts are fun - carry a 223 to 243 and you can take wolf, coyote and fox while hunting for caribou - all the bears are asleep. 270 is too much for a varmint. Do a fall caribou hunt and you need something that will allow you to hold ground against an interior grizzly - 308 Win or bigger is needed. Nobody I know recommends a 270 for protection against brown bears.

There is not any one gun that suits everything. If they made such a thing my wife would have bought me one and sold the other three dozen in the safe a long time ago.

Once you know the caliber - choosing a rifle is very much like choosing a good coat. You simply choose one that fits you correctly and feel good - style is not an issue. It is much more important to have a rifle that is comfortable to shoot than one that everyone recomends. Generally, you simply visit a well supplied gun shop/store and begin putting them to your shoulder. Pay attention to how your trigger finger finds the trigger, how the grip feels in you hand, how much room you off hand as (is the sling screw in the way) and if the stock is too long or too short. Start with the Ruger Model 77. This is the love it, hate it model. Then try Remington and Winchester. Last, try the Marlin and then back to the Ruger. As you move away from these three manufacturer's you will dramatically go up in price, so, it would very good to your wallet if one of these 4 worked. You are much better off with a less expensive rifle you can go chasing after deer on a wet day - than a very expensive rifle you spend all you hunting time trying to protect and baby. None of my hunting rifles were bought to sit in a glass case and look at - and if your wife/gal pal is going to rag on you for dropping $1500+ on a rifle that comes home with a scratch, then you are going to need a new wife, new hobby, or less expensive rifle. Do not choose by recommendation. Try them. Hope this helps

Personally i think you made a very nice choice. Very good rifle, great trigger, feels great, looks cool, shoots really accurately. The caliber is awesome as well. like everyone else said, it would be hard to find ammo, so hopefully you reload. If not then hopefully you know a place to get it close by. If you do have problems then move around to a 270. win or a 7mm rem mag. For the game you will be hunting, this caliber is perfect. But i do suggest bumping up the scope to a 3-12 or the 4.5-14.

I don't have a single Browning in my bunch but that's a matter of personal preference, and your X-bolt is a great choice. I'd also personally have split my budget a bit differently, putting more of it into the scope and less into the rifle. But then you can upgrade the optics later, as your budget permits. No, you don't need, or even want, more scope on top. Those are big animals, so you simply don't need more magnification. As a matter of fact, you could do with something like 2-7x just as well. I have a 270 WSM, and it should serve you well. To be honest, I wouldn't have picked the caliber as one of my top ten, but there's nothing wrong with it, especially considering the range of game you've listed.

nice rifle!! i have one in 25-06.my only worry would be your caliber selection.do you reload? the wsm have not been around long,why not go with a .270 win or 30-06? every corner of the globe will have ammo for it.carabou are not hard to kill.

i have a burris 3x9 on mine,plenty of scope for out to 500 yards!.

Very nice rifle but personally I would go for a 30-06. The round has about 93 different factory loads and can be found any where ammo is sold. On top of that, it will bring down about 99% of the large game animals found in the world.

Sounds good. But I think my Remington 700 XHR in 7mm Remington Magnum with a 4-12X40 Leupold sounds better if plan on hunting caribou. The set up was around $1100.