Help me recommend a rifle

dusticles

dusticles

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My brother is new to shooting and looking to buy a gun to go after moose with. I started with a Vanguard Sporter in 7mm mag but don't think it was the best gun to learn on. I wasted a lot of rounds just working out the flinch =P

So I'm wondering, should he buy a gun to cover all his bases or buy something like a 308 to learn on.

I feel like a well placed shot through the boiler room with a light bullet is better than sending a 200gr bullet off it's mark.
 
If he's new to shooting he should get a 22lr as well for practice(everyone ends up with one...). That said 270, 308, 30-06, 280 rem, 7-08, etc etc. will all fit the bill for lighter recoil and moose. Some people are more recoil sensitive than others so where you got a flinch he may not(guessing he's shot your gun though). As for brand of gun just pick one in his price range that fits him well. It's all about how natural it feels in your hands and the rest of it inevitably ends up being a Ford/Chevy argument(within a given price range).

If it was me personally I'd probably go for a 300 win mag.
 
I am not a moose hunter, so I will just offer my opinion here FWIW.
A first hunting rifle should not be a hard kicking gun. Usually, there is some bench shooting required to sight in and that's a great place to get a flinch. Even a 308/30-06 can have too much kick to shoot sitting at the bench for some people. If he holds the gun too loosely, he can also get scoped at the bench, which my 7-08 did to me when I wasn't paying attention. BTW there was no blood, just a tap.
Many have used 7-08, 308, 30-06 and 6.5x55 on moose with good success so they should be adequate at reasonable ranges. Using premium hunting bullets is recommended, Nosler partitions and Barnes being very good bullets. A magnum calibre is certainly not required for moose hunting.
My suggestion would be to go with a Browning x-bolt, as they have a good recoil pad and get good reviews regarding felt recoil. Ask to have it bore sighted when you buy it. My calibre recommendation would be a 308, since it's very easy to find ammo and has a bit less kick than a 30-06. The 7-08 would also be a great choice. To start out, shoot lighter weight bullets or even reduced recoil loads.
First shooting should be done off-hand, not sitting, at close range targets. In this way, he can get used to the recoil and gain confidence in his ability to shoot it without fear. It won't be long before he is shooting full power loads from different positions if he has a "normal" tolerance for recoil.

Cheers
 
dusticles said:
My brother is new to shooting and looking to buy a gun to go after moose with. I started with a Vanguard Sporter in 7mm mag but don't think it was the best gun to learn on. I wasted a lot of rounds just working out the flinch =P

So I'm wondering, should he buy a gun to cover all his bases or buy something like a 308 to learn on.

I feel like a well placed shot through the boiler room with a light bullet is better than sending a 200gr bullet off it's mark.
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You should really ask "what cartridge should I recommend for moose?" Because that is the advice you will get from most. Few will mention what rifle to recommend.
 
Recommending a rifle is just like recommending a type of mate. Everyone has different tastes. Best thing to do is call up a few buddies with different calibres and have him try them. No point in recommending a rifle unless you know his recoil tolerance. My zastava 300 which is 10.4 pounds will kick less than someone's tikka t3 30 06. Best to try a few like 07 08, 6.5 and 308 and see what he can handle. I prefer a 6.5x55 with a 160 woodleigh bullets for moose, bear and deer.
 
How old is your brother? How big is your brother? What firearm experience does your brother have? None? Then he should learn to shoot with a .22 LR bolt action for a few months at the very least... then I would consider a .243, .257 Roberts, .260 Rem, 6.5 x 55, 7mm 08, 7 x 57 and stick with bullets less than about 140 grains. A light .308 rifle has a lot of recoil for a beginner. Canadian moose are not hard to kill.
 
How heavy of a rifle does he want? and has he shot yours and found it more recoil then he likes?
In light weight rifles I would sugest he goes with a mild cartridge such as .260 rem or my personal favorite 7mm-08. I know personally in light weight rifles I find anything more intense then a .30-06 can get objectionable especially from the bench or prone.
.270win, .308win, .30-06 and 7mm-08 are all cartidges that should be easy to master and still capable of killing moose if you can get the bullet to go where it needs to out to 400 yards or maybe more.
As an all around rifle it would be hard to beat a .270win, 308win or .30-06 in a Remington 760 or 7600 top it with a nice 2-7x33 scope and you'll have all the bases coverred for all of Canada for anything except maybe the largest bears and bison.
 
Perhaps you could go with a Browning A-Bolt with the BOSS system. The BOSS system comes with a muzzle break that will significantly reduce recoil. This means you can have a heavier caliber at a lighter caliber recoil. The BOSS system also will increase the accuracy of the rifle. I have a .30-06 with the BOSS on it and recoil is low compared to one without, and its a real tack driver. An A-Bolt .30-06 BOSS could be a very good choice for your brother, or maybe he would like a magnum, either way the BOSS will help with the recoil. I know any Muzzle break will reduce recoil but the BOSS comes with a solid sleeve that you can put on in place of the muzzle break which eliminates muzzle blast to the shooter.

Here is video link about the BOSS system........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaCoUyjKaVk
 
Tabacco Brook said:
Perhaps you could go with a Browning A-Bolt with the BOSS system. The BOSS system comes with a muzzle break that will significantly reduce recoil. This means you can have a heavier caliber at a lighter caliber recoil. The BOSS system also will increase the accuracy of the rifle. I have a .30-06 with the BOSS on it and recoil is low compared to one without, and its a real tack driver. An A-Bolt .30-06 BOSS could be a very good choice for your brother, or maybe he would like a magnum, either way the BOSS will help with the recoil. I know any Muzzle break will reduce recoil but the BOSS comes with a solid sleeve that you can put on in place of the muzzle break which eliminates muzzle blast to the shooter.

Here is video link about the BOSS system........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaCoUyjKaVk
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Be happy that you have a BOSS system with the solid blanking sleeve. Because this additional feature was not always available, and some BOSS equipped rifles sold second hand & one may or may not have them with each rifle. The blanked out one, was an afterthought because owners complained to Browning of the sharper/louder report for the "unshielded" BOSS porting. Some Browning/Winchester owners actually paid for them and some did not.
Browning no longer supports the BOSS system. I think that's a flipping shame, but many manufacturers work like this these days.
 
A husky in 6.5x55 from tradex. Will do what he wants, quality firearm and he can learn proper firearms maintenance on a wood an steel gun.
 
Thanks for the input guys.

I think I really just wanted to hear some people on the side of the smaller bores. The rifle he chooses will poke a lot of paper.

Personally, I've only dropped moose with arrows so I figure it can't be that hard with a speeding bullet.

Took my bro to the range today and had him shoot a few things to compare recoil and to get an idea of what type of rifle he'd like. Most of all I was impressed on how he handle my 7mm. It's a Rem 700 SPS Stainless with a Vortex Viper 3-9x40 so she's light. Started on 22, then up to 308 and finished with the 7mm Mag.
 
Get you brother out to try a few different rifles, some 270's will kick the snot out of you and likewise a well balanced 7mm / 300 mag can be like a pleasant 308 or even a lighter loading depending on break and pad quality as well as stock design . Usually a lighter gun delivers more unpleasant energy once the trigger is pulled but a well designed stock can compensate for a lot of the kick factor. What works for me or you might not work at all for someone else and vice versa. A 308 or 30-06 can be loaded down and lighter but still effective factory loads can be found in many areas. My son and I were at the range this weekend and three young guys came in with a 308 semi auto and a .223. The way they were carrying on I thought they had an elephant gun (complete lead sled type rest with about 40 lbs of plate on it, shoulder rubbing etc and the good old grip it tight and hang on for dear life speech before every shot.) they let me and my son shoot and it had considerably less felt recoil than my sons .243 bolt action.
 
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