First Rifle
 

I am getting back into hunting after years of doing nothing but fishing. I want an all purpose rifle for bighorn, mulies, and elk. Any caliber recommendations? I was thinking 30-06 or 270...

RE: First Rifle
 

either the 270 or the 30-06 would be good choices. The 7mm rem might be a better option though. A little flatter and hits a little harder and not much more harsh on the shoulder. Seems to be the gun of choice out west.

RE: First Rifle
 

Well, since you said sheep, I'm going to assume that this needs to be fairly flat shooting. And you said elk, so it's gotta have some umph to it. If I was you, I'd either go with a .280, 7mm Rem Mag, 30-06 or a .300 Win Mag

RE: First Rifle
 

7mm rem mag

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A rifle that is all round enough for long distance sheep shooting or knockdown elk hunting is the .300 Win Mag.

Not your best friend at the rifle range . . . (can beat you up), But has all the ammo variations and balistics to do the job on all species from white tail up to bison.

RE: First Rifle
 

Welcome back! I would have to go with the 7mm rem mag. I shot my first bull elk two years ago with this caliber. The shot was 468 yards. Iwent with this caliberbecause I just wanted to invest in 1 gun...

Regards,

BWjohnny

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We think alike. GREAT all around round!

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The 7mmremmag would be a great choice.

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slayer i would have to disagree that 7mm is the choice gun out west, in fact here in IDAHO very few people shoot 7mm, most shoot 30-06 or 338.

buck i myself would go with the 270, thats what i shoot and it has plenty of knock down power but shoots flatter than a 30-06...a lot of people have told me that 270 isn't big enough for an animal like an elk, but if you put that bullet where she needs to go it won't matter how big your caliber is

just remember you gun needs to be reliable and comfortable to shoot...you won't have as good a timehunting if you break your collarbone because your gun is too big and you put it too high on your shoulder in the heat of the moment...and it does happen

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Nice shooting!!!!!

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I would go with a .300 Wby. Mag. Good luck.

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Too much recoil for nothing. Don't get a .300 Whty.

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Since you metioned sheep I would look for a lite handy rifle.Since this is a all-around gun I would metion several that come to mind.
Remington Mountain Rifle in .280 Rem or 30-06
Browning Micro hunter in 270 wsm or 300 wsm
Kimber Montana m8400 in .270 wsm,300 wsm
There are a slew of good calibers out there.Some of my favaorites are 280 Rem,30-06,7 Rem Mag,270 WSM and the .300 Win Mag or .300 WSM
BBJ

RE: First Rifle
 

Many good rifles and calibers will fit your needs no doubt.

My preference for Elk - Tikka .300 WM. With a slightly lighter slug (165 gr) you can use for whitetail or other big game. For Elk, I think it is a fine caliber with a 180 gr slug.

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Take a good hard look at the .300 or .338 Win Mag, you won't be dissappointed.

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I agree, the .300 Winchester Magnum will do the same thing with a shorter barrel, and less recoil.

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well i hunt with a 270. win. and for elk and deer it gets the job done. if you are gonna spend a good amount of money i would go with a 300.

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thank you...finally someone sees the light

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Get the .30-06. While the .270 is not bad, the .30-06 will give you more flexibility. There will be arguments about this, but some people feel that the .270 is doubtful for use on Elk. I don't hear this same kind of doubt about using the .30-06 using 180 grain bullets on elk. You can use the .30-06 for predator hunting on up to elk and moose with confidence. The .30-06 is probably the most commonly available ammunition. If you leave your choosen loads at home on the coffee table when leaving for an out of state hunt, you can find .30-06 loads with appropriate weight bullets for the local game at any out of the way hardware store or grocery store. Granted, .270 ammunition is pretty common too, but the .30-06 is probably more common.

Over time you may accumulate other rifles that are especially well suited to particular game -- .25-06 for pronghorn antelope and deer; .338 Winchester Magnum for elk; etc. -- but the .30-06 can be taken on all hunts as a back up in case your first string rifle gets damaged or the scope knocked out of adjustment.

Again, not to disparage the .270, but I think the .30-06 wins for versatility.

RE: First Rifle
 

I was in the same boat as you buckharden and went with the tried and true 30-06 in a Winchester M70 featherweight. With scope the whole package still weighs less than 9lbs too. Now several deer and one elk later I'm looking to add to my hunting rifle collection to be able to confidently harvest game at any angle and extend the '06 range a bit too. My 30-06 shoots all manufacturer's 165gr bulletstried thus far sub-moa to 200yds and like others already said I can buy more 30-06 ammo anywhere ... 30-06 ammo, even with premium hunting bullets are still pretty cheap when compared to less popular cartridges like Weatherby, etc. Recoil is also pretty mild (with the nice sissy pad I have on ittoo! :D) so quick follow up shots can be done as well.

I'm looking to step up to at least the 300 wm and probably the 338 wm now. I've considered the new 300 wsm and the 325 wsm as well, but am leaning towards the more proven ones - and the long vs. short action issue isn't a concern for me. Also, I don't have anything against the .270 or 7mm for that matter. Many, many elk have fallen to both and I wouldn't hesitate to use either on elk myself. My proven 30-06 will become the back-up on hunting trips and the go to rifle when going after smaller game - like Alsatian discussed above.

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.338 Win Mag.

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If you're just getting back into it, I'd suggest you not get a powerful magnum cartridge of .300 or above.

In fact, I'd start with a .270 Win, .280 Rem, 7mm-08 Rem, .308 Win or .30-'06. All of these numbers will do everything you need and will not hurt so much at the range that you either develop a flinch or, worse, give up shooting again.

Once you've eased back into into it, you can get a big magnum if you think you need one....

RE: First Rifle
 

I dont know why a 7mm mag is not a good cal. for westerners. Hell I am about as far west as you can get, and there are quite a few peaple here that like a flat shooting cal. with the same ballis. as the 30-06.

You could say that I am one of them. I personally would not use a 270 out West for Elk. The average shoot herein NM and West Texasis around 300 yards.It is my fav. deer cal. when I hunt in Arkansas or Oklahoma, but not for anything heavier, BUT THAT IS MY OPINION.

Go with a 30-06 or bigger.

Good luck
hunter338

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i would go with the 30 06 i have one and i might add that it is very reliable

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I'd say get the .338 Win Mag, you can hunt anything in NAwith it, and punish the game when the bullet gets there.

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A Savage chambered in 30-06 Springfield.
Accurate,dependable,and affordable.
I personally feel that no other round covers North America as well as the .30-1906,especially forthe people who shoot factory loaded ammunition.

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30-06

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Another vote here for the30.06

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When buying my first rifle, I spent months researching to make sure I got the right one, thinking I would only own one rifle. It came down to the .270 and .30-06. Most magazine columnists and ammunition manufactures recommended the .30 caliber bullet over the 7mm / .270 for elk.

15 years later, I was still happy with my choice, but I envied the flat trajectory of the 7mm mag. This past spring I bought the best of both worlds - a Rem Model 700 in .300 WSM. It shoots the same .30 cal bullet as the 30-06 but delivers more energy and better trajectory then the 7mm mag. Topped with a Ziess 4.5-14, It is a GREAT long range rig.

If you don't handle recoil well, I'd go with the .30-06. Otherwise I'd recommend the .300 WSM or .300 Win Mag.

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I will take it one step further, and recommend the .300 Win Mag, over the .300 WSM, due to the .300 Win Mag having a better ability to handle bullet weights over 180 Grs, and availbility of ammo is better for the .300 Win Mag, I don't really care about bolt length, or rifle weight, so I chose the .300 Win Mag. But, if you really want to have a heavy hitter, get the .338 Win Mag, beware, though, as recoil on the .338 is very heavy.

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I've owned rifles from .22 to .416 Rigby. Load my own ammo 95% of the time. A 30-06 is nice, and as most of the gents stated, it'll perform anytime, anywhere with 125's thru 180's. Recoil is very acceptable!
My newest purchase was a 300 WSM a few years ago and boy let me tell you I love this round!
I load 165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips forall types of deer, antelope, etc.
Myblack bear and elk load is a 180 grain Nosler Partition. The 180 knockscritters down very hard! Yet to require a second shot. The accuracy of this round is .92" for my 165's and 1.13" for the 180's at 100 yds benched.
Once I got going with this round, I even sold my customized .35 Whelen which shot REAL well!!
Now I hunt with two guns. A .358 Winchester BLR 81 which I've hunted with for the past 16 years and the .300 WSM. I'd take these two guns with my loads anywhere in the US for any game that walks with complete confidence. There's the key word.... confidence. The .300 WSM shoots well, very accurate round, very tolerable recoil, lots of factory rounds available and is a handloaders dream. Spend enough time behind a good gun and you'll be ready to hunt anywhere. The .300 WSM gets the nod.

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It can difficult to rival the track record of the .30-06, but to each his own. I'd go with a .30 cartridge as a minimum. The .270, .280, and 7mm Mag can all do the job in good hands, but I'd want something bigger for a multi-use big game rifle.

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The rifles from 260 on up with the right bullet will do the job. Buy anyone of them, shoot it enough to become proficent with it and you will eat well.:D