.30-06, 7mm, .270 or .308?

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Kajukenboguy

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Looking to buy my first hunting rifle but I'm debating on the round size.

I'm hopefully moving West for work and I want to hunt deer, elk, moose and maybe someday try for bear.

I've been hunting since a young age and I have experience with multiple different calibers. I have experience with a .30-06 round but never shot a 7mm, .270 or .308. I've done some recherche and I've read good things about the 7mm round (you can pretty much hunt anything with that). The .30-06 I'm used to shooting it and its good for what I want to hunt also. The .270 on the other hand I've heard its good for deer but nothing higher then that. Finally the .308 is good for what I want to hunt, its super popular and not expensive to get.

I'm looking for something that's not going to cost me an arm and a leg but something that I can rely on.

Any suggestions?
 
I would go with the 30-06 . It can take any size game in Canada....and you can get ammo anywhere . If you are not recoil sensitive , then the 30-06 is probably your best all around hunting rifle for use in Canada .
 
Look up the price of ammunition before you buy a firearm is cost will ever be a factor for you like 99% of us. All of those calibers are going to see you at the $0.80 to $3/more shot range depending on shot/type etc...
In the future I lay odds that the .308 will be the most common avail since it is a common military round today. Countries are quietly/loudly stockpiling munitions for the future in my opinion that is why there is a relative shortage and rapid inflation in ammo prices. If it doesn't all blow up we should see a large surplus of .308 in the future.

Personally I own rifles in 7.62 x 39. 7.62 x 54r, 8x57JS (aka 8mm mauser) and .22LR
Just haven't had the funds to expand to a .308 in a price/quality point I want. There are lots of deals right now on full combination rifles with scopes. For a starter entry a .308 or 30-06 in the $400 to $600 with a scope will get you started and drop a deer just as well as a $5000 Kimber but just won't be as comfortable/classy in its method. Kind of like driving to work in a Honda Civic Vs a Mercedes.
 
Oh and cheaper guns have less built into them to absorb recoil so if you buy a $400 gun/scope combo with a synthetic stock be sure to get a recoil pad of some type or you may dislocate your shoulder
 
.308 for me no questions asked. You can also get some MilSurp ammo for practice, something that's harder to to with other calibers. I'm still on my first 500 rounds of Lake City surplus. When I'm done fooling around with those I'll reload them with something like Campro 147's and keep on plinking.
 
I'd go 30-06. Ammo is pretty much available everywhere, plus the caliber will knock down almost everything that is huntable. I been using mine for 25+ years now.Having shot several moose and a truckload of whitetail deer.
 
philhut said:
Oh and cheaper guns have less built into them to absorb recoil so if you buy a $400 gun/scope combo with a synthetic stock be sure to get a recoil pad of some type or you may dislocate your shoulder
Click to expand...

He's looking for a .30-06, not a .458.

I'd suggest you shop for a rifle you like, in any one of those calibres, and live happily ever after. Or until you get the itch to buy another rifle.
 
Templar Knight said:
I would go with the 30-06 . It can take any size game in Canada....and you can get ammo anywhere . If you are not recoil sensitive , then the 30-06 is probably your best all around hunting rifle for use in Canada .
Click to expand...

My Father bought me a 30.06when I was 12 years old and 100 pounds. He loaded 125gr bullets for me for a year or two them went 165 for a decade and settled on 180s and been shooting them since.

Point and case: one rifle for a lifetime, and can always find ammo. If i cut in a notch for every animal I took, there would be no wood stock left.
 
It may be your first rifle, but likely not your last.

If your comfortable with the 06', then I'd say buy that. It's a very versatile round, ammo is everywhere and available in every variant. The 308 doesn't give up much to the 06' and in some loads offers exactly the same performance. The advantage with a 308 would be a shorter action and possibly a more compact rifle.

Try not to limit your rifle selection based on price alone. There are some good deals on entry level rifles, but there are also some overpriced models that aren't worth what they're listing for.

In my experience The term "buy once, cry once" pays dividends in the long run with regards to rifles/optics.

I have personally had good experience shooting/hunting with variants of the: Ruger Hawkeye, Win M70, Rem 700, TC Venture and Marlin X7's. They have been reliable, accurate, built well and fit me.

Tikka T3's and Weatherby Vanguards have a strong following with their owners and are worth looking into.

I'm not a fan of the Mossberg or Savage Rifles, but to each their own.
 
BALONEY- IT'S THE way you put the rifle into your shoulder , ie how you hold it, - if it's cradled in there with your cheek on the cheekrest-properly, you will roll with the recoil. much in the same way as you take a punch- how do I know- well I shoot a 338 bar with 275 grain slugs- -as well as a savage 99 with 180's - and the savage was 150 with a 75 buck 3-9 bushnell scope- so that's less than 200- less than your 4 by half- it ain't the rifle, it's the NUT behind the trigger
when you dislocate your shoulder it's YOUR fault- YOU did something improperly- you can do that with a 12 guage too- lots of beginners do because they haven't learned how properly
 
Kajukenboguy, welcome down the rabbit hole. If you are able to stick to only one rifle, you are more self-disciplined than the rest of us!

Any of the calibers you mentioned will do the trick, though the .270 will probably take a little more attention to bullet selection for heavy game (ie. Nosler Partitions). I would have to agree with most of the other posters that either the 30-06 or .308 are the most sensible choices. You'll be happy with either one. You just have to decide if a short action or long action is your thing based on how the rifle feels.

But let's face it, your first rifle isn't all about making the most sensible choice. Sometime ### appeal is even better. So my vote goes to the 7 Mag. Buying a 30-06 or .308 is like buying a nice, practical car, when you really wanted something a little sportier. If you buy the 7 Mag, in a couple years you'll realize you should have gone for something sensible, but for the time being, you'll grin from ear to ear.

Dan
 
Thanks for all the suggestions its real appreciated.

I think I'll go to my nearest gun store, see the guns and hold them to see. Then if I get the chance I'll go to my nearest shooting range and try the 30-08 and a 7mm they have there to see which one I like the most (hopefully they have some ((since I already shot a 30-06 20x times I know how it goes)). If not well ill get both 7mm and 30-08 once down West with my future work and I'll try to buy my fathers 30-06 because he can't use it here, never hunted with it and doesn't use it at all (not even for target).
 
Shooting 180 gr bullet and up, 30/06. 150-168 gr bullet, 308 Win. Both cartridges are available anywhere in the world where ammo is sold. Oh, don't cheap out the rifle. Buy once, keep for your lifetime.
 
well, what is the average ammo prices for ..

30-06
308
270
7rem
7m08


ive used these non magnums a bit an would use a 270win over a Magnum 7, and had I been a Canadian proberly the 30-06 simply due to the 30 cal cup n core bullets in 180gr will, kill, anything.


WL
 
If it were me it would come down to what I was hunting the most. Any of the 4 calibers you listed will work, but within their own limitations.

Are you shooting longer ranges? If so than the 7mm would nudge to the top of my list.

Do you mostly hunt deer and the elk/moose/bear as a maybe in the future, on the side, but primarily deer, I would likely go with the .270.

Are you going to be hunting thicker areas with closer shots? I might gravitate to the .308, the others won't do anything better until you get farther out, and some bullets that work well at longer ranges don't work as well close up with the faster/hotter calibers.

Don't know, or could be any? I would look to the 30-06 as the more jack of all trades of the 4.

That being said, the advantages/disadvantages between the 4 aren't huge by any stretch, and any of them will get the job done for you.
 
I grew up a ".30-06 fanboy" and hated the .308win for no reason other than I figured anything with 5-10% more horsepower such as the .30-06 over the .308 just HAD to be better. I have turned 180deg and now love .308 It often comes in a shorter , lighter package than a .30-06 rifle, and it can be slightly more accurate, all things being equal. I have all the above calibers you wonder about in my locker, and of the 4 it is the .308 almost 90% of the time. Plus it doesn't beat the hell out of me when I'm hungover.
 
308 is 10-20% more efficient on powder , the rest are tamato- tomoto. Find a rifle that fits and feels good and learn to love the one your with until you can afford to upgrade
 
If you intend to hunt big game or go on Safari for dangerous game I would choose the .30-06. The .308 has enough power for anything you would normally hunt in North America and is readily available in most shops. Many people like the flat trajectory and horse power of the .270, but heavier bullets in .30 cal make a difference if you are after big game.
 
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