me and dad were talking about my first hunting rifle

What does your dad shoot? Just go with the standard 7mm mag, load it with 140 gr partitions, shoot a lot, learn to reload shoot some more. For NS deer it may be a bit much, but you never know what you'll be after next season.

My family almost exclusively shoots 7mag, 7/10 use it and no worries about ammo, we all shoot 175 gr/58gr 4831 for 2700 fps. Even at that 350 yds is a long shot, and we always try to get closer
 
I'd go with your first instinct, 308. cheaper to shoot, less recoil, less muzzle blast, one more round in the gun. It's plenty and to spare for deer, still lots for moose or black bear or caribou. Why pick something that's going to be unpleasent and expensive to practice with. For a one caliber hunting gun, i'd go 6.5 x 55 or 280. The 270 would be a good choice as well. Or split the difference tween you and your dad and go 7mm-08
 
"...would be for deer hunting..." Go with the .308. The 7mm Mag has excessive felt recoil and muzzle blast. There's no game in North America that needs a magnum anything either.
 
In Nova Scotia 95% of the time 100 yards is a long shot. Go with the .308, if you want something flatter shooting go with the .270 or 7mm-08.
I have hunted all over Nova Scotia and made a dozen trips to Newfoundland for moose and cariboo and have never needed any more in 50 years of hunting. jmho

Wayne
 
teenahlake said:
What does your dad shoot? Just go with the standard 7mm mag, load it with 140 gr partitions, shoot a lot, learn to reload shoot some more. For NS deer it may be a bit much, but you never know what you'll be after next season.

My family almost exclusively shoots 7mag, 7/10 use it and no worries about ammo, we all shoot 175 gr/58gr 4831 for 2700 fps. Even at that 350 yds is a long shot, and we always try to get closer
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he uses a old school 270
 
lowe160 said:
In Nova Scotia 95% of the time 100 yards is a long shot. Go with the .308, if you want something flatter shooting go with the .270 or 7mm-08.
I have hunted all over Nova Scotia and made a dozen trips to Newfoundland for moose and cariboo and have never needed any more in 50 years of hunting. jmho

Wayne
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DVXDUDE said:
go .270. Deer, Moose, bear. All with one gun. Can buy ammo anywhere. Lots of guns in that caliber too.
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There is little difference in performance between .308 .270 and 7mm-08. In fact the difference is far from noticeable. Both .270 and 30-06 have a case a full half inch longer than .308 and provide near zero ballistic gain. Excessive recoil and a waste of powder(for those that reload). The 7mm-08 is far more difficult to find than .308 and again offers near zero ballistic advantage. For someone wishing to shoot lots with minimal recoil with a capable calibre, .308 is the answer. Anything that moves on this continent can be taken with .308. There are those who believe in a "flatter" shooting cartridge but fail to realize that any two(or more) projectiles propelled at the same velocity will fall to earth with the same trajectory( Ballistic coefficient aside, although it plays little role unless the variance between said objects BC's is excessive). Unless you can gain velocity or propel a larger projectile at the same velocity, a magnum calibre will only increase recoil and cost. even if you gain the ability to propel a 220gr projectile at the same velocity as a lighter 55gr projectile, you will invariably increase the felt recoil. That aside, unless you need the deep penetration offered by the heavier projectile its benefits will be for nothing. Seeing how the OP is intent on hunting deer and possibly moose at a later date, the .308 is the ideal choice. 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. Magnum calibres excel at extended ranges where the loss in velocity is minimized and subsequently the potential energy loss is also minimized. Again, with the above being said, who has the skills to both identify an appropriate target(legal game), read and correct for the wind, the range, ensure their backstop is suitable, and then make the shot?? Long range hunting is risky business that many fantasize about but few can accomplish.

Stick with a common calibre like .308. It is capable of taking small and large game, its easy to find ammo for, its easy to shoot, its cheaper to shoot and in the end it will be more enjoyable to shoot.

7mm-08
http://www.winchester.com/Products/rifle-ammunition/super-x/power-point/Pages/X708.aspx

.308
http://www.winchester.com/Products/...power-max-bonded/Pages/default.aspx?c=308+Win

.270
http://www.winchester.com/Products/rifle-ammunition/super-x/power-max-bonded/Pages/X2705BP.aspx

TDC
 
I started out with a Remington 700 7mm Magnun. It is a great rifle and if you live in western canada it is a good all round rifle for deer, bear, antelope, moose etc because of the longer distances you are likely to shoot game.

If you live in eastern Canada I would go with the 308, which is why I use one when I hunt deer in Ontario.
 
Suka said:
Trust your Dad. If you and he have talked and He thinks a 7mm would be the right choice, say "Wow, thanks Dad".
Don't put so much faith in what others say. Your Dad is the one who'll be taking you shooting and hunting.

While we all argue and extoll the wonders of our personal favorite calibre's fact of the matter is that any one of them are quite capable of taking every species in N. America, and no one can argue that a 7mm isn't one of the better ones. (even though it's not my choice :) , but we can have a good natured arguement about that once you're a real deadeye with your 7mm)
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Good piece of advice.
My dad suggested the 7mm as my first big rifle. He was using a 7mm so it seemed like a good idea. I had used a .243 for a year or two before. I've had the 7mm for over 20 years now and I use it every year. I have no desire to buy a rifle in a different caliber.
I also doubt any deer, moose or bear would know the difference if it was hit with a .270, .308, 30-06 or 7mag or many others.
One in the boiler room and your gettin' out your knife.
 
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.;)
 
I'd throw in another vote for 308 - especially for first gun. It's cheap to shoot (and first gun gets shot LOTS) - it's easy on the shoulder and easy to find ammo for.

I'd buy a 7mm as a SECOND rifle maybe - just because the ammo cost is high. Shoot with 308 to keep cost down and keep your skills up, hunt with 7 mag when you go hunting.

I'd never own a POS 7RUM - barrel killing pocket book eaters.
 
223 Ruger M77 MII ... ;) ... if not, same make in .308 ... :D ... both stainless with synthetic stock and are lighweight for hunting ... put a 3-9x40 leupold on there and you're rocking ... good luck hunting whatever you choose!

Otokiak
Rankin Inlet, NU
CANADA
 
my first gun ever was a rem 700 7mm mag.
powerful,acurate heavy, high reciol and very expensive ammo. in hindsite i would have rather started on 308 which was the snd caliber rifle i bought. dirt cheam ammo drop anything in canada from moos to bear to tiny island deer. and much more acurate as a starting gun cuz you dont have to start off fighting recoil.
plus my first gun scoped me every dam time and i got a bad flinch off it that im still trying to kick almost 4 yeas later.

do yourself a favour and get a 308, dont make my mistake.
also the nice thing about 308 is there is now lever guns that can use it with hornady ammo. http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/308MarlinExpress/default.asp imagin that a gun custom made to a 308 catridge. i now use a marlin 45/70(im a leverloving left hader) i find levers to be a great choice for first time shooters because of there speed and ease of use

and i find the marlin platform to be much better than the remington i had, wich by the way i sold cuz the ejector pin stuck an aparent common issue cazed by a buildup of gunk and oil around the ejector,. however i got my gun snd hand and the problem started a year into ownership and remmington said itz caused by not taking apart the bolt every 5 years for a cleaning wich aint easy to take apart let me tell you.
 
- 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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