me and dad were talking about my first hunting rifle

TCBF said:
- I go with the posters who say get what your Dad recommends. Let him choose your first rifle. A guy only gets so many hunting seasons with his Dad. You have a lot of years ahead of you to buy 308/7mm08/260/303/270/30-06/358win/223/220tac and so on.
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Yup!
Dad is right. The 7 mag is a good choice. The others are good too, but there is very little difference between any of the rounds mentioned. In any way.
The 7mag is only expensive to shoot if you don't reload....So....Reload!

Spend some of that $1,900.00 on reloading equipment and components.
Best money you can spend. Learning to shoot does not happen on a box or two a year.
 
I'd say that rather than pick a specific gun in a specific caliber, decide on more generic needs: "A bolt gun in a popular, readily available chambering", for example. You've got your dad's advice and several other opinions from here, now go to the store and see what they've actually got, in stock. Keeping an open mind and remaining flexible might save you a few bucks or even steer you towards what may become that future, special gun.
 
The .308 won't do it. Get the 7mm Rem mag. It's a long, thick, thunderous cartridge that will grow hairs on your chest. You can then beat your chest like Tarzan at the end of the day and take your first important steps into manhood. Women will swoon in front of you and their eyes will twinkle at your glorious big 7. :dancingbanana:

The .308 will never do that. :(

All kidding aside, caliber choice is a personal thing. Go google the calibers and see them on wikipedia. The most popular do it all calibers are .270, .308, .30-06, 7mm Rem. mag, and .300 Win. mag. (all in the order of recoil from least to most). Any of these will shoot flat enough, hit hard enough, and ammo will be readily available and affordable.

It might be also advisable to look at some ballistics tables to. There are may here that think the .308 is a glorified stone thrower and can only shoot as flat as a bow and arrow. Fact is, there isn't much real world difference between any of these up to 300 yards. (Also, consider the .308 is used by snipers to pick off enemies at up to 600 yards.)

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp
 
Woodsman said:
The .308 won't do it. Get the 7mm Rem mag. It's a long, thick, thunderous cartridge that will grow hairs on your chest. You can then beat your chest like Tarzan at the end of the day and take your first important steps into manhood. Women will swoon in front of you and their eyes will twinkle at your glorious big 7. :dancingbanana:

The .308 will never do that. :(

All kidding aside, caliber choice is a personal thing. Go google the calibers and see them on wikipedia. The most popular do it all calibers are .270, .308, .30-06, 7mm Rem. mag, and .300 Win. mag. (all in the order of recoil from least to most). Any of these will shoot flat enough, hit hard enough, and ammo will be readily available and affordable.

It might be also advisable to look at some ballistics tables to. There are may here that think the .308 is a glorified stone thrower and can only shoot as flat as a bow and arrow. Fact is, there isn't much real world difference between any of these up to 300 yards. (Also, consider the .308 is used by snipers to pick off enemies at up to 600 yards.)

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp
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glorious big 7??? thay already glamer at my pump 10 gauge
 
The 308 would be a good chosie for this province.as most shoots are not overly long.you can buy 308 ammo in any store thats going to sell ammo. and its not going to break the bank if you decide to take it the a range for some shooting practice.recoil is not over wellming and the 308 will take any deer you point it at.thats my .02 cents worth.
 
crazydave said:
TDC
Personally, I have yet to meet a single person who can fire a 7mm(or any magnum for that matter) off hand and hit a target at 100 yards let alone further.

While i agree that magnums aren't needed for the most part, if the above statement is your actual experiance you need to get out a lot more.;)
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Maybe he should find some new people to shoot with?:nest:
 
the wrench said:
Get the 7mag. You won't have to be so concerned about hold-over as with the .308. I use a 7mag exclusively and wouldn't trade it for anything.If you reload, you can download it if necessary, but the 7mm mag. is very versatile and flat shooting.
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20 yards... thats the difference! 165 grain 308 MPBR is about 295 to 305 yards depending on rifle, the 150 grain 7mm Mag is 320 yards or so, all the extra recoil, powder and expense for ammo for a measly 15 to 25 yards.
 
Woodsman said:
The .308 won't do it. Get the 7mm Rem mag. It's a long, thick, thunderous cartridge that will grow hairs on your chest. You can then beat your chest like Tarzan at the end of the day and take your first important steps into manhood. Women will swoon in front of you and their eyes will twinkle at your glorious big 7. :dancingbanana:

The .308 will never do that. :(

All kidding aside, caliber choice is a personal thing. Go google the calibers and see them on wikipedia. The most popular do it all calibers are .270, .308, .30-06, 7mm Rem. mag, and .300 Win. mag. (all in the order of recoil from least to most). Any of these will shoot flat enough, hit hard enough, and ammo will be readily available and affordable.

It might be also advisable to look at some ballistics tables to. There are may here that think the .308 is a glorified stone thrower and can only shoot as flat as a bow and arrow. Fact is, there isn't much real world difference between any of these up to 300 yards. (Also, consider the .308 is used by snipers to pick off enemies at up to 600 yards.)

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp
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by the saME TOKEN , 375 RUGER WILL DO ANYTHING THE 7mm will and more- how big do you want to go- a long barrelled 4 inch gun- they come on wheels , you know- from s the sublime to the ridiculous
 
two cents worth from a father with a 19 year-old son

This was part of your introduction to the CGN community.
nova_scotian_guy said:
well im from queens county ns ...my name is zach....im 6'3 350ish pounds and 19.....o and spell worth sh@t
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By this we can establish that you are a big boy, and also, you are right, you can't spell worth s**t,:pbut that does not matter right now.

Considering your size and weight, I would say get any darn rifle you are comfortable with. As mentioned in other post, depending on the type of hunting and the game involved, the choices will vary substantially. But, most important, find something you are at ease with and feels comfortable to you. It is after-all, your first rifle.

Go out and shoot with friends and family and have them bring their rifles. Try different calibres and types of rifles. Once you have shot different models and played around with them at the range, you will begin to establish which rifle you feel more at ease with.

Your first rifle is important and will probably be expensive for a 19 year-old. Take your time and make an educated decision. It's not like you will be buying a gun a week.

Just my two cents worth from a father with a 19 year-old son as well.

Good luck and enjoy.
Regards
Robert
 
If you want a Rem then get the SPS in 308. I shoot competition rifle as well as hunt deer in NS. Over in the precision rifle section someone asked what we precision shooters hunt with. Well I used a Win94 30-30 and an old 303 last year and I have lots of precision rifles as well as my main deer rifle, a very nice Sako. If you see the buck first its dead, caliber doesn't matter. I have a 7mmRUM, and most other calibers and I ordered a new Savage 16FCSS in 308 for my new main hunting rifle because I'm switching to stainless synthetic. I went 308 because I KNOW its just as capable as any other for hunting deer in NS.
 
And, IMHO, unless you're a VERY accomplished shooter, you should not be considering shooting at any animal that's outside the effective range of a .308, anyway.
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Exactly!

None of the cartridges mentioned here are bad but as a beginner you look for something that can be used across different applications, has lower recoil and blast an is cheaper to feed, especially if you don't reload.

.308 fits the bill very nicely, as does .270, 6.5x55, 7mm-08 (more expensive ammo in the latter 2 though). Get your .308 first, grow with it, then buy something smaller/bigger/faster etc when you knw what you want a need.

Howa 1500/Weatherby Vanguard (same rifle essentially), Rem SPS, Marlin XL7/XS7, Stevens 200 and Savages are all good affordable choices, pick each one up and see what you fancy and go with it.
 
Woodsman said:
Fact is, there isn't much real world difference between any of these up to 300 yards. (Also, consider the .308 is used by snipers to pick off enemies at up to 600 yards.)
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And further...

But to be fair those snipers have have a lot of training and practice.
 
have you shot a 7mm? if you are comfortable with it.... sure
the .308 is an all around versatile round as well, and has less recoil.
 
If I ever move back to Nova Scotia I know that there are maybe three calibers that I'd reach for in the safe. .243, .257, or maybe a 7-08 and that's only because I reload. If I didn't then it would be .243 all the way.

If you are going for a moose hunt in Newfoundland though that would be a different story. But for flat shooting, low recoil, easy to find ammo in the stores and good for the odd coyote you see out there the .243 wins hands down.

7mm Mag is a fine caliber and if you just want to have that caliber it is reason enough. Just don't talk yourself into it because you think you need all that extra punch. The only place you'll feel a big caliber makes a difference out there is in your shoulder when you are target shooting.
 
Go for the .308. It'll get the job done nicely for the type of hunting you describe with less kick, nore readilly available ammo, and has a much wider ammunition choice. Also lends itself to longer ranges as you get used to it,
 
i have a 308 and i love it. low recoil. cheaper ammo. plenty of killing power. you won't notice the ballistic advantage of higher recoiling guns unles your shooting beyond 300 yards. and those calibers will not be as fun to shoot at the range. 7-08 is good but bullet selection is limited. 7 mm rem mag is good but more expensive to shoot. the most common least expensive excellent calibers would have to be 308, 30-06, 270, 30-30. can't go wrong with any of those. besides the facts....get what YOU want. YOU have to shoot it and YOU have to be happy with it. if what you want happens to be expensive and kick hard then thats what you get cause you wont be happy with anything else.
 
308 or 270 in the Remington. Skip the 7mm Mag; not what I would call a good first rifle. I started with a 270 and shot 40 some big game animals with it since. Great cartridge.
 
waderow said:
have you shot a 7mm? if you are comfortable with it.... sure
the .308 is an all around versatile round as well, and has less recoil.
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This is what I was thinking. .308 will do anything you need it to, short of hunting rabbits. You should think of getting yourself a good little .22 bolt action as well, if you don't already shoot your dad's or something. Just a good cheap way to get out shooting, 500 rounds for 20 bucks (probably more these days:() you can't go wrong. Also a good round to introduce your friends to shooting.
 
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