If you were buying your first hunting rifle.....

I bought a .308 for my first rifle, I bought a 6.5x55 milsurp shortly after. I shoot the 6.5x55 much better and prefer it over my modern .308 all day long. Both are great cartridges but the 6.5x55 is a little harder to find.
 
Know one hunter who uses a 270 for everything from deer, black bear to moose. He's not alone.

A lot of my friends are very happy with the 7mm Remington Magnum, which I would say is overkill for Deer.

I use a 280 Remington now, but I slew numerous deer and black bears with a 243.
 
308 Win. Best availability with ammo, will take most NA game animals, works in a short action rifle, many rifles cambered for it, surplus ammo .
 
Of the 3 you listed, IMO 308 or 3006. 3006 is back to back world War champion, 308 is its "little brother". You will do fine in and around Timmons with either caliber.
 
It sounds like 308 and 30 06 are the no brainer, go to calibres for hunting if we are talking the common do all calibres...with maybe 270 and 243 in close 3rd and 4th? Is that agreeabe? In terms of actions it seems you can get ANYTHING you could ever want in 308 but not necessarily the case for 30 06 just based on some quick looking around...is there an action that does one calibre better than another? Why for example would you choose a Sako or Tikka over a Remington or Browning? Is there a major difference in quality or better design or just personal preference?
Am I over thinking this? Are most rifles these days pretty much good enough for my needs and I should pick whatever I can afford that is comfortable and looks best to me?
 
30-06 Sprg and .308 Win. You cannot go wrong with either. Both will cover the deer-moose scenarios for your Timmins area. Lots of ammo available in several bullet weights for deer and moose. There are plenty of other great modern calibers and cartridges for moose and deer, but these two can do everything you need for your forested area, and staying within your distance skills range (see below).

Distance range: Since you are beginning, I recommend committing to staying within 300m/yards, sighted in at 200m/yards.
That will give you a common "point blank range" aim point for a point of impact of approx. +/- 3 inches when you can't determine the exact distance. If you don't know what "point blank range" means for hunting ammo, the internet will have plenty of info. Both 30-06 and .308 work well for PBR.

Within 300m/yards will also keep you out of extreme wind drift issues, unless the wind is howling, in which case, stalk as close as you can. I recommend you use support on the rife stock fore end on the longer shots for accuracy and precision.

Good luck, and it will be a fun and rewarding journey.
 
Is there any shame in using a clamp/tripod, I mean even for an excellent shooter you take alot of variable away with a nice stable platform? I could hit easily the target at 100 with the c8 at Borden but I was 16 with better than 20/20 vision. If I'm shooting now it'll be with a scope for certain and likely with shooting sticks as bare minimum, or off my pack from prone.
 
No shame in using a tripod! Also in a certain price range, let’s say 1200-1500 bucks you will have similar quality rifles so it is more a matter of preferences than anything else! 308 is plenty of rifle for deer and moose as long as you do your part and know your limitations(distance)! Buy the rifle that fit you the best, is the most confortable when you shoulder it! Then buy a good quality optic! Buy lots of ammo and shoot as much as you can, if you know someone that is a long time hunter shooter, ask questions, go to the range with them! Use rifles are sometimes a lot better than a new rifle for the same price!
 
I bought a 270 for my first rifle and bought 270 for both my sons ,one a 1959 model 70 lightweight which I wish I had back.We were non reloaders and you could always get cartridges in almost any store.Since then I migrated to a 280 AI and one of my boys has a .35 Whelen which is a bit of a burp for deer but he likes it .The other sons model 70 keeps trucking and he has perfect record with it
 
Bksrt8 said:
Just curious what calibre you'd be looking at as someone who has never actually hunted ANYTHING before.
I'm interested in medium to large sized deer mostly for eating not a trophy hunter in any way, and up to moose....Im looking at hunting in the Timmins area as that's where I'd like to purchase some property.
My thought is something in 308/300winmag or 30-06 because of ammo availability as I have no real desire (yet) or equipment to reload....that may change later.
The 6.5 family is intriguing as well but seemingly less ammo availability.
Any thoughts? Thanks for your time!
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There are so many fine cartridges out there that overlap each other as far as big game goes, it is crazy!
Your concern about factory ammo availability likewise is nothing to worry about these days as the popular cartridges can normally be found almost anywhere. The trick is to find what works in the rifle of your choice and buy a bunch of them.
That bring said, try and decide what gun fits you, then get one in just about anything you lke, be it 6.5, .277, .280,.30 or bigger!
Cat
 
Jahnj0584 said:
Maybe where you live...
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iron cat said:
These days a person can also order ammo online if they don't have a store close to them .
Cat
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Not exactly. In particular, anyone looking to purchase ammo online, who resides in the area the OP is talking about moving to, has had a very difficult time over the last few years. No courier that services the area has wanted to touch ammo shipments in the past few years. Which, as one can imagine, has made things rather difficult.

The main reason I recommended the 308 Winchester to the OP is that it was the first cartridge to hit local shelves again after the last ammo drought. Not only was it the first to come back, it was the first to come back with more than one flavor, as every major manufacturer started cranking it out before the other popular calibers. If a guy is just starting out and wants to make sure he's always got a steady ammo supply (or as close to it as one can get) in this neck of the woods, going with the plain oold 308 Winchester is probably the most logical choice.
 
Oshawa has a population of 170,000. Timmins over 40,000.

Unless Ontario is completely backwards (ahem Beer Stores keeping their stock in the back) should be able to get just about anything there.
 
Bksrt8 said:
It sounds like 308 and 30 06 are the no brainer, go to calibres for hunting if we are talking the common do all calibres...with maybe 270 and 243 in close 3rd and 4th? Is that agreeabe? In terms of actions it seems you can get ANYTHING you could ever want in 308 but not necessarily the case for 30 06 just based on some quick looking around...is there an action that does one calibre better than another? Why for example would you choose a Sako or Tikka over a Remington or Browning? Is there a major difference in quality or better design or just personal preference?
Am I over thinking this? Are most rifles these days pretty much good enough for my needs and I should pick whatever I can afford that is comfortable and looks best to me?
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Far as brand, just go to a gunstore and shoulder a few. The right one for you will be apparent.
Bolt or lever is personal preference. If want lever, Browning makes a BLR in either calibre. My scoped blr 30-06 is my go to deer/bear gun. For elk I use a scoped bolt in 338. For moose, it's an iron sights blr in 450 marlin(never shot a moose over 60 yds away).

All that is just personal preference. Whatever you decide will be the right rifle for you after you've put a bunch of rounds through it practicing.
 
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