best caliber for your first gun
10-06-2005, 10:46 AM
#21
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 54
RE: best caliber for your first gun
Okay stubblejumper-I see you meant exactly what I tried to say, (I think).
The 7mm-08 is an adequate long range deer gun and very comfortable to shoot even in a light weight rifle. But for Elk, its best used at ranges less than or equal to 250 yards. That I will buy. You could almost say the same thing about the 308, it just does it with more authority on elk and doesnt shoot the lighter weight bullets as flat a the 7mm-08 (plus has more recoil). Therefore if you are primarily a deer hunter, the 7mm-08 is hard to beat. It has the inherent accuracy of its mother (308) and almost the same flatness as the 270 with 140 grain bullets (with less recoil). And though I have never been recoil sensitive, I have to say the lack of big recoil makes me a better shot. Especially at the range or when doing a lot of practicing. All the guns I've had in the last 30+ years have been magnums eg., 338WM,300Wm,7mm RM, 7mm WM, 270WSM and it has been extremely refreshing to meet the 7mm-08! My next gun will prolly be the venerable 30-06. That way I will have deer and Elk totally covered and no more magnums!!! Of corse i'd prolly be fine with just the 7mm-08 as I have never shot an Elk, nor had the opportunity at more than 200 Yards. Elk in Washington State just rarely inhabit any country that you can view them that far away. Its usually intermittent pine rimmed meadows that measure from 1/2 acre to 3 acres-or ambush trails and thick timber on the East side of the State and rain forest jungle on the west side.
The 7mm-08 is an adequate long range deer gun and very comfortable to shoot even in a light weight rifle. But for Elk, its best used at ranges less than or equal to 250 yards. That I will buy. You could almost say the same thing about the 308, it just does it with more authority on elk and doesnt shoot the lighter weight bullets as flat a the 7mm-08 (plus has more recoil). Therefore if you are primarily a deer hunter, the 7mm-08 is hard to beat. It has the inherent accuracy of its mother (308) and almost the same flatness as the 270 with 140 grain bullets (with less recoil). And though I have never been recoil sensitive, I have to say the lack of big recoil makes me a better shot. Especially at the range or when doing a lot of practicing. All the guns I've had in the last 30+ years have been magnums eg., 338WM,300Wm,7mm RM, 7mm WM, 270WSM and it has been extremely refreshing to meet the 7mm-08! My next gun will prolly be the venerable 30-06. That way I will have deer and Elk totally covered and no more magnums!!! Of corse i'd prolly be fine with just the 7mm-08 as I have never shot an Elk, nor had the opportunity at more than 200 Yards. Elk in Washington State just rarely inhabit any country that you can view them that far away. Its usually intermittent pine rimmed meadows that measure from 1/2 acre to 3 acres-or ambush trails and thick timber on the East side of the State and rain forest jungle on the west side.
10-06-2005, 11:22 AM
#22
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Central New York
Posts: 271
RE: best caliber for your first gun
I have a 280 Rem. and a 308 Win. to mention a few! I really like the 280 Rem. as a "all rounder" and it will do anything and everything I'll ever need it to do. Having said that, if your friend wants to buy one rifle for the game you mentioned I would recommend a 30-06 Spr. If I was starting over I would probably get a 30-06 instead of the 280. The main reason I say this is because I don't reload and don't know if I ever will. You can get factory loaded ammo from 55 gr. &110 gr. all the way up to 220 gr. for the 30-06.I love my 280, do think I'll ever part with it, but the ought-six is extremely tough to beat as a "all rounder". The 270 Win. is no slouch either!
I use afast handling rifle/carbine when I hunt in the woods. Right now my woods rifle is my Marlin 336CS in 35 Rem. I also use a bolt action when longer shots might be on the table, right now its my 280 Rem. Like I said if I was starting over I would use eithera Remington model 7400 Carbine or a 7600 Carbine in 30-06 as my woods rifle and a Remington model 700 CDL in 30-06 as my long range rifle, and we could have a nice little birthday party for the 30-06 next year!!!
I use afast handling rifle/carbine when I hunt in the woods. Right now my woods rifle is my Marlin 336CS in 35 Rem. I also use a bolt action when longer shots might be on the table, right now its my 280 Rem. Like I said if I was starting over I would use eithera Remington model 7400 Carbine or a 7600 Carbine in 30-06 as my woods rifle and a Remington model 700 CDL in 30-06 as my long range rifle, and we could have a nice little birthday party for the 30-06 next year!!!
10-06-2005, 07:28 PM
#23
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: North West Arkansas
Posts: 422
RE: best caliber for your first gun
ORIGINAL: spencer0071
I have a friend at work that is just starting to get into hunting, and he is looking for his first rifle. We live in southern Kansas and he knows that he wants to hunt deer. At this time he is unsure if he wants to hunt elk or antelope.
I have a friend at work that is just starting to get into hunting, and he is looking for his first rifle. We live in southern Kansas and he knows that he wants to hunt deer. At this time he is unsure if he wants to hunt elk or antelope.
I wouldn't recommend that a new shooter/hunter start out with a magnum. Let him learn to shoot and huntfirst! Several light recoiling calibers such as the 6.5x55, 260,7x57,or 7mm-08 are more than adequate (some would say excellent)for deer and antelope andcan alsoget the job done on the "I don't know if I want to hunt them", "might get a chance some day" Elk.
Bullet Placement, Bullet Placement, Bullet Placement. First, let him learn to shoot accurately athis normal hunting distances with a low recoil caliber.......he can always go to a maginum later if hedecides heneeds to!
firstshot
-----------------------------
Make your first shot count!
10-07-2005, 06:55 AM
#24
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
RE: best caliber for your first gun
The best first gun IMHO would be the .30-06. Others have recited most of the rationale for this recommendation, but I will restate them.
The cartridge can be used for all game animals -- and has been used successfully to take a pretty good portion of the big game animals that have been taken in North America over the last 50 years. Granted, other heavier cartridges may be preferred for brown and grizzly bear, but this does not change the fact that .30-06 has probably taken a lot of the brown and grizzly bears over the last 50 years. Magnum cartridges may be flatter shooting, but this difference probably will not make a dime's bit of difference until the shooting gets out beyond 300 yards, and most hunters, myself included, probably should not be taking shots out beyond 300 yards anyway because they don't shoot accurately enough under field conditions at 300 yards to reliably place their shots on game animals where they need to be placed.
The cartridge is omnipresent. I imagine you can buy a .30-06 rifle in any action -- lever, pump, auto-loader, single-shot, and bolt action. I imagine every manufacturer offers at least one rifle chambered in .30-06. A wide variety of .30-06 ammunition is available, from 125 grains up to 220 grains. If you can buy centerfire ammunition in a store, they will probably stock an .30-06 load appropriate for the game animals known in that area.
I have heard people say everyone should have a .30-06 in their battery of guns. There are other cartridges that are better than the .30-06 for specific purposes -- maybe the .25-06 for pronghorn antelope, for example-- but the .30-06 is a good back-up gun formostgame. And in most hunting situations it is a good idea to have a back-up gun if possible.
The cartridge can be used for all game animals -- and has been used successfully to take a pretty good portion of the big game animals that have been taken in North America over the last 50 years. Granted, other heavier cartridges may be preferred for brown and grizzly bear, but this does not change the fact that .30-06 has probably taken a lot of the brown and grizzly bears over the last 50 years. Magnum cartridges may be flatter shooting, but this difference probably will not make a dime's bit of difference until the shooting gets out beyond 300 yards, and most hunters, myself included, probably should not be taking shots out beyond 300 yards anyway because they don't shoot accurately enough under field conditions at 300 yards to reliably place their shots on game animals where they need to be placed.
The cartridge is omnipresent. I imagine you can buy a .30-06 rifle in any action -- lever, pump, auto-loader, single-shot, and bolt action. I imagine every manufacturer offers at least one rifle chambered in .30-06. A wide variety of .30-06 ammunition is available, from 125 grains up to 220 grains. If you can buy centerfire ammunition in a store, they will probably stock an .30-06 load appropriate for the game animals known in that area.
I have heard people say everyone should have a .30-06 in their battery of guns. There are other cartridges that are better than the .30-06 for specific purposes -- maybe the .25-06 for pronghorn antelope, for example-- but the .30-06 is a good back-up gun formostgame. And in most hunting situations it is a good idea to have a back-up gun if possible.
10-07-2005, 11:26 AM
#26
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Central New York
Posts: 271
RE: best caliber for your first gun
ORIGINAL: Alsatian
The best first gun IMHO would be the .30-06. Others have recited most of the rationale for this recommendation, but I will restate them.
The cartridge can be used for all game animals -- and has been used successfully to take a pretty good portion of the big game animals that have been taken in North America over the last 50 years. Granted, other heavier cartridges may be preferred for brown and grizzly bear, but this does not change the fact that .30-06 has probably taken a lot of the brown and grizzly bears over the last 50 years. Magnum cartridges may be flatter shooting, but this difference probably will not make a dime's bit of difference until the shooting gets out beyond 300 yards, and most hunters, myself included, probably should not be taking shots out beyond 300 yards anyway because they don't shoot accurately enough under field conditions at 300 yards to reliably place their shots on game animals where they need to be placed.
The cartridge is omnipresent. I imagine you can buy a .30-06 rifle in any action -- lever, pump, auto-loader, single-shot, and bolt action. I imagine every manufacturer offers at least one rifle chambered in .30-06. A wide variety of .30-06 ammunition is available, from 125 grains up to 220 grains. If you can buy centerfire ammunition in a store, they will probably stock an .30-06 load appropriate for the game animals known in that area.
I have heard people say everyone should have a .30-06 in their battery of guns. There are other cartridges that are better than the .30-06 for specific purposes -- maybe the .25-06 for pronghorn antelope, for example-- but the .30-06 is a good back-up gun formostgame. And in most hunting situations it is a good idea to have a back-up gun if possible.
The best first gun IMHO would be the .30-06. Others have recited most of the rationale for this recommendation, but I will restate them.
The cartridge can be used for all game animals -- and has been used successfully to take a pretty good portion of the big game animals that have been taken in North America over the last 50 years. Granted, other heavier cartridges may be preferred for brown and grizzly bear, but this does not change the fact that .30-06 has probably taken a lot of the brown and grizzly bears over the last 50 years. Magnum cartridges may be flatter shooting, but this difference probably will not make a dime's bit of difference until the shooting gets out beyond 300 yards, and most hunters, myself included, probably should not be taking shots out beyond 300 yards anyway because they don't shoot accurately enough under field conditions at 300 yards to reliably place their shots on game animals where they need to be placed.
The cartridge is omnipresent. I imagine you can buy a .30-06 rifle in any action -- lever, pump, auto-loader, single-shot, and bolt action. I imagine every manufacturer offers at least one rifle chambered in .30-06. A wide variety of .30-06 ammunition is available, from 125 grains up to 220 grains. If you can buy centerfire ammunition in a store, they will probably stock an .30-06 load appropriate for the game animals known in that area.
I have heard people say everyone should have a .30-06 in their battery of guns. There are other cartridges that are better than the .30-06 for specific purposes -- maybe the .25-06 for pronghorn antelope, for example-- but the .30-06 is a good back-up gun formostgame. And in most hunting situations it is a good idea to have a back-up gun if possible.
10-07-2005, 12:07 PM
#27
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Amarillo, TX
Posts: 456
RE: best caliber for your first gun
ORIGINAL: TomFromTheShade
You can't go wrong with any of these:
.270 Winchester
.280 Remington
7mm-08 Remington
.308 Winchester
.30-06 Springfield
You could really throw a dart at these rifles and be fine with whichever one you came up with.
You can't go wrong with any of these:
.270 Winchester
.280 Remington
7mm-08 Remington
.308 Winchester
.30-06 Springfield
You could really throw a dart at these rifles and be fine with whichever one you came up with.
flip a coin, these will all work in any situation! don't let these guys sell you.
10-09-2005, 04:13 AM
#30
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NSW Australia
Posts: 74
RE: best caliber for your first gun
30-06
The ideal cartridge for all Australian game from Bunnies to Buffalo. With a 180gn projectile, the 30-06 is considered the minimum practical calibre for Sambar Deer.
If recoil is an issue, then maybe a 270.
The ideal cartridge for all Australian game from Bunnies to Buffalo. With a 180gn projectile, the 30-06 is considered the minimum practical calibre for Sambar Deer.
If recoil is an issue, then maybe a 270.