Looking to buy a couple of hunting rifles
 

The .30-06 is ,in my opinion, the minimum do it all option for North America. I don't think you're going to find too many people with a suggestion of something with less recoil than the '06 for big bears.

Even better, if big bears are on the menu, is the .338win mag or .375h&h or .375 Ruger. These will truly cover you for all North America big game.

However, if I primarily deer hunted and thought there was a possibility of someday hunting grizzlies, I would still stick with the .30-06. No reason to shoot a cannon all your life in the hopes of someday needing it. Shoot something more comfortable and have confidence in it if you ever have the option to go for bear.

-Jake
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I agree , if your looking at bears, big ones at that(brown, grizzly)
I would NOT go lighter than a 30-06 and even there I would be very elective on what bullets I would be using
and quite honestly, I think I would want bigger caliber than a 30/06 if they were a animal I was going after
I would say a good .338 or larger would be my gun of choice for them, its NOT that smaller calibers cannot kill they, they can, but its just, having extra HP is never a bad thing on dangerous game animals!

recoil can be controlled better by using better stocks, muzzle breaks, and or better recoil pads, and or selective loads

NOT all caliber rifles have the same recoil just based on caliber
weight of gun, type of stock, and of course load being used matters a LOT
so there are ways to help tame a larger caliber if you wanted, so food for thought to maybe look into before ruling out a larger caliber for bears at least!

in your post you said you were looking to buy a couple of rifles. if big bears are on your list might i suggest getting a rifle just for hunting bears. you have to remember that grizzly and brown bears eat meat for a living and you wouldnt want to shoot them with something that would just irritate them. id get a 338 or 375 mag just for bears. for deer and elk an 06 or 270, or 35 whelan would do the trick.

I think Mr. Slim is on the right road here .

I agree with what everybody else said above. Having said that, I noticed your title and post both mentioned "2 rifles" and preferably with less recoil than a 30-06. That is an easy solution that many of us have employed. A smaller caliber "deer rifle" for game you'd likely hunt in your home state every year (deer, antelope, black bear, etc.) and a bigger caliber "Large game rifle" if you decide to drop the big $$ on a brown bear, moose or even an elk hunt out West or in Alaska.

I use a 270 for as deer rifle because black bear is on the menu for me when I'm deer hunting. The 270 kicks almost as much as a 30-06. I use a Limb Saver slip on pad to reduce the recoil a bit and because my old pad wore out. If you wanted to go down a little in recoil and still be prepared for black bears, you could look at a 7mm-08 or maybe a 6.5Creedmoor. If black bear isn't on the menu, you could use a 243 which really cuts down your recoil.

For my elk rifle, I use a BAR in 338WM. It's a larger, heavier rifle and the recoil is more of a push than the sharper crack of my 270. I know it's a magnum caliber but it works extremely well on elk and moose. I'd take it on a brown bear hunt but those are some very pricey hunts. Hopefully this helps in your selection.

You said 2 rifles so you're not trying to get 1 rifle for everything. Figure out your calibers and then figure out the best way to manage the recoil. Could be recoil pad, muzzle brake, different stock, heavier rifle, etc. I'd stay away from anything that says magnum in its' name (you don't need it). There's a lot of 6.5 and 6mm options that are excellent for deer and under. I'd also take a closer look at then 7-08. With it, you can shoot 120 and 140 grain bullets at less than 3/4's of a 270's recoil. There's a lot of good options out there.

So a 6mm Creed instead of a 6.5mm? I'm curious and very interested in this choice. :biggrin: