What caliber is your BDL? For your new rifle, caliber choice is a matter of what you feel comfortable with, and what you expect to hunt with it, and also at what range. For deer and antelope, you might just want to look at a 243, 25-06, or a 260 Remington. You get plenty of knock-down power with minimal recoil, plus you can ammo cheaper than for the mags.

Captain,
My BDL is a 2506,, I love it for deer and antelope, and I'm sure if I got a 300 mag that I would still use the 2506 but I am thinking about going elk hunting and I know that the 300 mag is an excellent choice for elk, I was just wondering if anybody has been around the 700 SPS, sps, stands for special purpose synthetic, it's actually a little less for the sps than for the bdl cause it's not so fancy and I don't need fancy I need quality, I'm not sure how long the sps has been around, I was just looking to see if anybody knows if they are as good as the more expensive bdl's and such.

The sps is of the same quality as the BDL (all 700 actions are built the same)just not finished as fancy. You will find the barrel color is flat black and rough which is great for hunting but I have been told they will tend to gather rust much quicker.

I thought black matte finish was more rust-resistant than bluing alone?!?

I have an sps 870 shotgun with the same finish and it is a horrible rust magnet. The rough finish just holds the water there whereas a blued finish would have made the water drip off.

thanks chester,

I thought it would probably be as good as the bdl,, I always take care of my guns so I shouldn't have any trouble with the rust

I should have thought of that, the matte holding the water. I prefer matte over stainless any day, though, because its just less noticeable by game, at least in my experience. Whenever I bring my guns in and they're wet, I put them in a room all day long with a dehumidifyer before trying to wipe them down, which could be why I haven't had any trouble.

I was looking at a Remington 700 BDL in the 30-06, and at the Savage 116 weather master or the 111 with the accutrigger. Originally I was set on a synthetic/stainless, however now I'm rethinking this choice. What do you all recommend for a first rifle, considering I can spend up to around $550, and will purchase some serious glass as the deer season nears. I'm after accuracy, and ease of maintenance. Also, does any one have any experience with the detachable mags. on the Rem 700's vs. the hinged floorplates? Is the detachable mag. worth the extra $45-$50? Thanks for your responses.
John-

A model 700 is a great choice, and offers more than enough accuracy for any hunting rifle. Personally, I think detachable mags are overrated, just one more thing that can be left in the truck. Sure, they let you load faster, but I would take the hinged floorplate any day.

Thanks for the tip on the detcahable mag. I talked to a guy today who was trying to convince me to get a 270 instead of the 30-06. Are the 270's really that much more accurate? I didn't think so, but this guy was pretty convincing.
John-