Kachok

My first hunting rifle was a 7mm Rem Mag, I did not realize until years later how stupid that choice was, darn thing left me black and blue every time I pulled the trigger, my magnum junkie best fried laughed at me until he shot it and it did the same to him. I thought dealing with slobberknocker recoil was just part of hunting, some years later I found a great deal on a 6.5x55 and after it flattened numerous head of game I never looked back, 6.5x55 and 7mm-08 are my main hunting rifles, you don't need 3,000 ft/lbs to kill a deer quickly. Sure I still have a 30-06 and a few magnums but they don't see much use.

redgreen

Don't knock the 270 Winchester off your list. It will do all that the 06 will with a little less recoil.

Kachok

Yeah I will second the 270 Win as well, it also gives alot of performance both down range and on live game for the amount of kick and unlike my 6.5x55 and 7mm-08 ammo is cheap and everywhere, not really an issue if you handload but if you buy factory it is something to consider. Recoil is in the medium range less then the 06 and a little more then the 7mm-08 but still enjoyable to shoot unlike the various belted magnums out there. Two of the three most experienced hunters I have ever known swear by the 270 Win and the other like the almost identical 280 Rem.

RWK

A 270 win. is all he needs.

Sheridan

After re-reading the OP..............Don't buy a gun/scope "package" !!!

In fact, the quality of the scope is far MORE important then the brand of the rifle you ultimately decide to get.

Nomercy448

This^^

Most any of the factory hunting rifles out there now, whether they're $375 or $2000, are inherently accurate enough to deliver 3/4 to 1 1/2" groups at 100yrds, which is plenty accurate enough to kill any big game to 300yrds. If you pick a rifle that has the features you want, with an aesthetic appearance that appeals to your eye, and a stock that fits your body, then you'll end up with a rifle that will kill.

Alternatively, not all scopes are created equally. I've always believed that to be true because I'd had good and bad luck with different scopes in different lighting conditions, but only really started to appreciate how true it really is a few years ago when I started shooting at an indoor rifle range that's dismally dark. Resolution, clarity, and transmission can make one scope completely different than another of exactly the same price.

This is particularly dangerous at the "budget friendly" end of the spectrum. Most of the high dollar scopes out there will all have great performance, some better than others on one aspect and worse on another aspect, but the lower end affordable stuff can vary widely. There are cheap scopes out there with decent glass that raised their price, but NO special features to keep cost down, and then there are cheap scopes out there with low grade glass to cut costs, but a couple bells and whistles that drove up their price. The bare bones scope with decent glass can be serviceable, but fancy features can NEVER make up for poor glass quality.

The biggest problem is this, to spin an old cliche': of course you can't hit what you can't see, but you also can't always be certain what you "see" is what you're aiming at with lower end scopes. Resolution, distortion, light transmission, parallax refinement, focus, etc. all determine what you're able to see versus the real world object at which you're actually aiming.

Kachok

Don't knock the package guns, I have one that I am quite happy with, only the rifle now wears a VXII and Reaper rings while the scope is waiting on my next 22LR

Topgun 3006

Huh? Do you know what the definition of "contradiction" is? If not, it's what you just posted! You are saying don't knock the package gun/scope combination and then turned right around and said you put an expensive Leupold on it and took the cheap one off that came as a package to put on a 22LR!

Kachok

It is called sarcasm, don't read too much into it, I was confirming what some have already said the scope/rings that come on those package guns are usually sub-par to say the least. Those Bushnell 3x9s are good enough for a 22 but I don't trust them on my deer rifle, had them go all crazy on me at the range when I put 30-06 recoil on them.

Topgun 3006

I won't from now on, LOL! Whatever, as the kids say nowadays!