Personnaly, I would talk with grandma about buying her rifle. 264 will do everything you want and it will get a family gun back out hunting. If you already reload the cost of ammo shouldnt be a concern, dies are relatively cheap.
Need (my) perfect hunting rifle.
- Thread starter Advoc
- Start date
whitetailwoodsarcher
CGN Regular
I would pick up a 308 in any rifle configuration, it can pull everything off. if you want something with more power I would get a m77 in 338 win mag. been using it on the local mule deer this year, puts them down with ease. hopefully I can get a nice sask whitetail before the season ends Saturday!
Mumbles Marble Mouth
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Lower Mainland
Buying your first hunting rifle is exciting indeed. You can't go wrong with any of the more popular North American chamberings such as 243, 7mm-08, .270win, 30-30, 30-06, .308, 300WinMag, and 7mm RemMag or you could even go with one of the more popular European chamberings such as 7x57, 8x57, 9.3x62, 6.5x55,
Personal Favorites
270win & 9.3x62
Personal Favorites
270win & 9.3x62
Seriously??? Like wow dude.
Ok so you're new to hunting and if you are hunting with your grampa, you must be kinda young guy, so I'm gonna cut you some slack.
Please ask your dad if he would feel any better about getting shot by a 308 or a 25-06. The reason I ask you to present him with this to consider is to open his eyes to the fact that no cartridge in the world can claim to be specifically designed to kill people. Bullets kill anything they happen to fly into. Whether it be people, or cridder, the trick is to hit the animals whenever possible. A 308 Win is one of the most popular and readily available cartridges in the world so it's availability should be something you should consider. It's popular because it's an efficient and effective round. It sounds like your dad is about the last guy you should be getting advice from.
As for shooting 500 yards, regardless of caliber, you better start with your first rifle at 100 yards. 500 yards is an awful long way for a factory hunting rifle with factory ammo and a shooter with no shooting experience. After you shoot about 1,000 rounds out to 600 yards or more you might start thinking about 500 yard hunts.
Please don't take this as criticism because it's really just meant to keep you focused and realistic.
Good luck in the field and welcome to the hunt.
Sask.Elk.Guy
Member
- Location
- Saskatoon, SK
Hear me out on this one. I've hunted just about everything in North America for the last 35 years and used many rifles. What I use now, is the Tikka T3 Lite, Stainless Synthetic in .338 Winchester Mag. And before you all stand up in a fuss about recoil, my 12 year old son(5 years ago) shot it just fine, weighing in at 110 pounds.... I use the 200 grain Winchester Ballistic Silvertip and it has done many many one shot kills on everything. The weight of the gun is so light, it allows you to walk for miles without feeling worn out. The quality isn't super high, so I wouldn't use it for Grizzly bear, but other than that, it is in my opinion the best all around gun to ensure a successful hunting experience.
As far as price for the shells, when you have great ballistics and every animal is a one shot kill, it's money well spent, trust me. ADVOC, I know there will be those here that have never shot a .338 200grain that will not agree with me, but if you want to send me a private message to discuss any further questions you have, please feel free. Go Tikka and you will not be disappointed !
As far as price for the shells, when you have great ballistics and every animal is a one shot kill, it's money well spent, trust me. ADVOC, I know there will be those here that have never shot a .338 200grain that will not agree with me, but if you want to send me a private message to discuss any further questions you have, please feel free. Go Tikka and you will not be disappointed !
Well Gramps always jokes that we take 2 bullets with us in case we lose one. heh. I was looking for a larger calibre, as I said he uses his .300 Wby for everything, and since I already had a nice small gun in the .243 I figured I should get something bigger for the longer reach and the bigger game. Every gun has recoil so complaining about it isn't terribly productive. Still cost of ammo IS a factor because I don't want to spend 80 dollars every time I'd like to zero my rifle. Having said that, I haven't completely discounted the .338, but probably not the Lapua.
As for being new to hunting. I've been hunting for 15 years. Just not so much the last 8 or 9 (only been a couple times). I can make the long shots and I'm a very good shot I think, every animal I've taken except for 1 has been in the 300 - 500 range. Dad's been hunting for almost 45 years now and I certainly respect his opinion, and he did explain himself when he mentioned the .308 and I know he's fired everything under the sun that isn't a black rifle. But still I'm not here to defend my dad, I'm here to buy a rifle. Not new to hunting or shooting, have my fair share of experience for being 30, I'm just new to buying my own gun. Guns are expensive and I can't think of a better place than here to get good advice. It always pays to get a second opinion. Dad thinks owning a pistol is useless, but that doesn't mean I'm going to listen to that bit of advice from him
I read up a bit on the .264 Win Mag, and I'm happy with the idea of owning something that isn't necessarily common, thankfully it uses a common brass and is all around touted as a handloaders gun, but I don't know Gramps' plan for that rifle.
I know I don't really want to take the Lee Enfield out hunting, and there's a gun that proved itself in war, yet I've never heard anybody talk about how much they loved to use it for game. So I think there's a bit of merit in talking about what the cartridge was designed for. Bullets kill, yes. Unequivocally that's what they're for. But the one thing I hate is hunting for your animal after you just hunted for your animal, and they're a lot tougher than we are.
As for being new to hunting. I've been hunting for 15 years. Just not so much the last 8 or 9 (only been a couple times). I can make the long shots and I'm a very good shot I think, every animal I've taken except for 1 has been in the 300 - 500 range. Dad's been hunting for almost 45 years now and I certainly respect his opinion, and he did explain himself when he mentioned the .308 and I know he's fired everything under the sun that isn't a black rifle. But still I'm not here to defend my dad, I'm here to buy a rifle. Not new to hunting or shooting, have my fair share of experience for being 30, I'm just new to buying my own gun. Guns are expensive and I can't think of a better place than here to get good advice. It always pays to get a second opinion. Dad thinks owning a pistol is useless, but that doesn't mean I'm going to listen to that bit of advice from him
I read up a bit on the .264 Win Mag, and I'm happy with the idea of owning something that isn't necessarily common, thankfully it uses a common brass and is all around touted as a handloaders gun, but I don't know Gramps' plan for that rifle.
I know I don't really want to take the Lee Enfield out hunting, and there's a gun that proved itself in war, yet I've never heard anybody talk about how much they loved to use it for game. So I think there's a bit of merit in talking about what the cartridge was designed for. Bullets kill, yes. Unequivocally that's what they're for. But the one thing I hate is hunting for your animal after you just hunted for your animal, and they're a lot tougher than we are.
I currently use a browning a-bolt medallion in .300wsm. Fairly flat shooting and enough power to take down anything you are hunting. Also, if you are reloading the .30 caliber offers many different grains to shoot. It's just a very versatile caliber. One thing you can also do is check the ballistic charts for trajectories/energy and match the correct caliber to whatever you plan on hunting. I chose this for moose and deer hunting, I reload but haven't been able to reproduce the factory load of the Winchester ballistic silver tip cartridge that I use. more loading is needed, just need the time to do that also.
Other flat shooters to think about are the 7mm mag, 270wsm. Just remember, the heavier the bullet grain, the more distance and energy...but you loose speed.
that's my 2 cents
Other flat shooters to think about are the 7mm mag, 270wsm. Just remember, the heavier the bullet grain, the more distance and energy...but you loose speed.
that's my 2 cents
The .300 is great if you can shoot it, but honestly most people are better off without one. As a general rule I feel that those that have to ask aren't likely candidates. If the recoil doesn't effect you its practically a no brainer. The .270 Win or 7mm Rem are light recoiling solid choices that are solidly mainstream.
If you want something a little different the field is full of useful cartridges. The WSMs are worth a look, and the .270 and 7mm Weatherbys have a lot of reach without knocking you out from underneath your hunting hat. I wouldn't write off the .257 Weatherby either, since your actual time on moose and elk seems to be very limited.
A great choice if you really want something different is the 7mm STW. For a 400-500 yard deer , moose, elk and practically anything else caliber it doesn't get much better or much easier. Don't even look at it is you aren't a handloader.
If you want something a little different the field is full of useful cartridges. The WSMs are worth a look, and the .270 and 7mm Weatherbys have a lot of reach without knocking you out from underneath your hunting hat. I wouldn't write off the .257 Weatherby either, since your actual time on moose and elk seems to be very limited.
A great choice if you really want something different is the 7mm STW. For a 400-500 yard deer , moose, elk and practically anything else caliber it doesn't get much better or much easier. Don't even look at it is you aren't a handloader.
Mumbles Marble Mouth
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Lower Mainland
Your dads opinion is complete rubbish and if it was my dads own opinion, I sure as hell wouldn't respect it. What dad teaches isn't always right. Do you realize how much sense your dad doesn't make thinking that the .308 is a bad round because its meant for killing people? FFS, your .243 is just a necked down .308. So because it uses a different bullet makes it ok? Its still a military casing. Did you know the US Army was planing on adopting the 6x51mm NATO before the 5.56x45 came along? In fact, you could buy Springfield M1A M14 rifles in .243 awhile back.
The .303 British is still super popular with hunters. Don't know why you don't hear about them being loved for hunting as they have taken down every single game animal in existence including elephants. Everyone back in the day hunted with a surplus Lee Enfield like how today a lot of people hunt with a surplus SKS. The .303 British was just recently used by a fellow in the Yukon to take down the new world records biggest moose.
The .303 British is still super popular with hunters. Don't know why you don't hear about them being loved for hunting as they have taken down every single game animal in existence including elephants. Everyone back in the day hunted with a surplus Lee Enfield like how today a lot of people hunt with a surplus SKS. The .303 British was just recently used by a fellow in the Yukon to take down the new world records biggest moose.
Last edited:
If you are really focusing on longer 400-500 yd shots then I would probably choose the 7mm Rem mag. I have never shot it and have no desire to own one, as I own a 270 and a 300 win mag and feel I need nothing to fill that gap. But for what you describe I think it would be a great choice. Second would be the 300 WM, especially if you are handloading, load up a fast 165gr TTSX for deer at long ranges, and a heavier 180 or 200 gr bullet for moose and elk
I've always found the .308 to be a sluggish cartridge at longer distances.(Just like many other lackluster cartridges) Since his father has a long history with the 25-06, and the family group includes fast steppers like .270, .264 and .300 Weatherby I've little doubt that that they've noticed that high impact velocities tend to kill faster. A .308 isn't going to show up in that group and impress anyone.
Funny story my buddy always tells my the .243 is too small for deer and its a POS well 2 weeks ago my younger brother tagged out on a nice buck with his .243, he took 2 steps and was toast. My buddy was shocked when we caped him out cause he couldnt find a bullet. I told him it went right through like its common sense kinda thing. Well he fought me cause his .308 doesnt go through deer sometimes and that .243 is useless an on and on. Well last friday I shot my buck with a .270 win 130gr nosler accubond. It wasnt a great shot not going to deny it. The buck ran about 220 yards and into some brush and piled up but after giving him time, it was to dark to track so we went home. On the way home he was giving me a hard time saying "thats why you use a 308 not a .270 or .243, ive never had a deer run, they all fold! The military use them for a reason blah blah blah" The next day after finding my buck, I took him out cause he still had a tag. He is a good shot with is Win mod 70 featherweight in .308 win. We saw a nice buck standing at 175 yards so he shot it. Perfect shot, double lung and all. He was using 150gr soft point Fiocchi(Spelling?) round. Good bullet and all, well that deer ran 300 yards still with a double lung! I said to him "never had a deer run hey?" he wasnt impressed that I brought that up.
But moral of the story is you cant judge a caliber without knowing its capabilities. He underestimated the .243, called the .270 useless and was bragging up his .308, well the next day his deer ran farther then any of ours combined.
Use what you are comfortable with, anything from a .243 and up will take deer, but you have to be comfortable with it and know its capabilities and its limits. Buy what you want and dont listen to what others tell you about what is garbage and what isnt. All will do their job if you do theirs.
But moral of the story is you cant judge a caliber without knowing its capabilities. He underestimated the .243, called the .270 useless and was bragging up his .308, well the next day his deer ran farther then any of ours combined.
Use what you are comfortable with, anything from a .243 and up will take deer, but you have to be comfortable with it and know its capabilities and its limits. Buy what you want and dont listen to what others tell you about what is garbage and what isnt. All will do their job if you do theirs.
Just picked up a Winchester 1886 Extra Light in 45-70 and redid the unspectacular walnut stock with Tru-Oil (still curing).
The stocks on the 2 x Miroku Winchester rifles I bought recently are good walnut but they have a lack-lustre greyish factory finish on them.
They definitely need "something".
Really like the pointability of this 7 pound gun with the 22" barrel.
Action was stiff at first but after a couple of hundred dry cycles or so it has smoothed out really nice.
Going to hunt this gun with the factory semi-buckhorn irons while my eyesight permits and maybe put a scout scope on it if my eyes go south at some time in the future.
The stocks on the 2 x Miroku Winchester rifles I bought recently are good walnut but they have a lack-lustre greyish factory finish on them.
They definitely need "something".
Really like the pointability of this 7 pound gun with the 22" barrel.
Action was stiff at first but after a couple of hundred dry cycles or so it has smoothed out really nice.
Going to hunt this gun with the factory semi-buckhorn irons while my eyesight permits and maybe put a scout scope on it if my eyes go south at some time in the future.
Own 3 - 300 Win Mag rifles: T/C Icon (bolt), Ruger 77 SS All Weather (bolt), Browning BAR (semi auto).
"Kids stuff", especially the BAR.
I have a Remington model 7 (18.5" barrel, 5 pounds) in 308 Win that kicks harder than the 300 Win Mag BAR.
RememberTheSomme
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
