New shooter preparing to hunt

Nåjd

Nåjd

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Lower Mainland
Looking to eventually hunt deer. No prior experience.

Contemplating:

Tikka t3x stainless 300wm vs 6.5 cr vs 6.5x55 all 24”

Also is it worth getting the hunter with a wooden stock? Is it worth getting Sako Finnlight?

Thoughts?

Thanks
 
The 300wm is pretty brutal un the T3.You can go with the latest fad or pick the 6.5x55 which I believe to be a better choice.
 
Ya know what.... i envy guys who are "just starting out"....... in their mature Years....

i peak for myself an many young australians, we get bought up with a shockin culture.... an that is why even when these guys grow old that the carnage continues.. often by their offsprings... an so on.

however, having getting into it late an with a world of knowledge per say, a mature opinion an approach, no mucho killing vibe and jut a wholllleeeee lot of Adventure an experiences to Gain, would be more exciting an fresh an enure a healthy future of hunting an hunters...

Congrats... Good luck bro!! Ask plenty of Questions, we all here to help... wlel most ;)
 
You don't need a 300WM to kill a deer.

My suggestion is you choose a different caliber with less recoil. If you are just starting out shooting & hunting, you will shoot it better.

Grab a T3 in 243, 6.5CM, 6.5x55, 7mm08 or even 308 for less recoil than the 300WM.

Cheers
Jay
 
As Jay said above, a T3x in any of those calibers would be a dandy deer rifle, make sure you budget for a decent scope aswell, id humbly recomend a leupold 3.5-10 or 2.5-8 in that range, if your luck is like mine the majority of your deer will be within 100 yards on low power, wood stocks are perfectly fine for hunting, my main hunting rifle is a wooden stock, and weather i was hunting deer when the drill was shut down because it was too cold for steel integrity of the equiptment at -52° in Bonneville AB through to shooting ground hogs in Ontario humid 30° heat and every diverse weather condition in between over the years, I never had an issue with the wood stock, plus I prefer the look of wood over my synthetic style stocks, so 2 points to wood for me, it all boils down to what you like the most, a T3x stainless fluted hunter in 308/260/7-08/6.5×55/6.5cm are all great calibers in that rifle, 308/7-08/6.5cm would offer the most diverse factory loaded ammo if you don't handload,
Cheers,
 
Here's a funny mental picture for ya...

As deer season approaches, the number of guys I see at the range increases AND 'guests'... Many of these guys show up with their belted magnums, and a lead sled loaded down with weight to sight in.

They are literally afraid of the gun's recoil & without the lead sled, likely shoot the rifle TERRIBLY!

I also wonder how many rifles are damaged by lead sleds because the recoil has to go somewhere...

OP, buy a manageable cartridge & go bigger at a later date if you wish...

Cheers
Jay
 
Where are you hunting? I see your location is Ottawa, Some zones do not allow rifles and are shotgun/muzzle loading only for guns in gun season. So if you have a spot lined up all ready, you should check the regs so you know if you should be looking at buying a shotgun instead.

Added Ontario wmu's that rifles are not permitted

64B (ottawa area west)
65 (ottawa area east)
68B
69B
71
72A
73
74A
75
 
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300wm is faaaaar too much gun for deer and will ruin excessive meat if you hit any major muscle group.

6.5*55 is a great calibre

Also, if you're a new shooter, stay away from 300wm and get something a little friendlier. That is a gun which can easily ruin your shooting form for a long time.
 
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From a lifetime in 64B, I think a 300 will limit the areas you can hunt. Now that I'm in 64A, I'm still not sure if rifle hunting is a good idea here.

A great rifle to get, but it might limit your options as far as local deer hunting is concerned. Imo, a great slug gun might open up a world of hunting opportunities for you, that. Otherwise wouldn't be there with a moose cannon, lol.
 
Nåjd said:
Looking to eventually hunt deer. No prior experience.

Contemplating:

Tikka t3x stainless 300wm vs 6.5 cr vs 6.5x55 all 24”

Also is it worth getting the hunter with a wooden stock? Is it worth getting Sako Finnlight?

Thoughts?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Your first deer hunting rifle should not be a 300WM. Most people can't shoot a 300 well anyway because of the recoil. Put it in a T3 and you're asking to develop a wicked flinch. You would be way better off starting with the Swede.
 
ive always hunted 63A

A thing people that haven't been in this area might not understand is that its a lot of dense bush and it sure isnt flat.
A long distance shot here is 150 yards on a hydro line.

99% of deer ive eaten were shot at under 100 yards with a caliber that starts with 3__
 
I have a hard time imagining what it might be to start deer hunting from a "cold start" - no previous experience. Experience of guys like me who hunted Saskatchewan prairies might not be all that helpful in the Ontario bush. The rifle / cartridge is where a lot of Internet ink is spilled - really, my wife's and our son's first whitetail deer were taken with 85 grain 243 Win. So pretty much from there on up is going to work - the rest of it is up to the person behind the butt plate. But. Hunting is about being in the bush - usually - so land access - often needing land owner permission, how are you going to find your way back to your vehicle, have a plan for if you slip or fall and have to spend a night out there. And when you do kill an animal - need to know how to field dress it - get the guts out without stabbing or cutting yourself. Need a plan to get that carcass from where it fell, back to your transport. Then what - need a plan for how going to get the hide off. Need a plan for how is the meat going to be cut up into edible cuts - or processed into sausage, etc. Probably want to consider and figure out all those things ahead of time. And, a great number of your first ideas might not work out so well - all that is experience - how we all learned. As mentioned, without experienced mentors who will "take you out" and look after you as a beginner, I just can not imagine all the things to be figured out ahead of time - clothing, footwear, storage space, knives, skills. Good on you - very, very well worth thing to learn to do, and to learn to do well.
 
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Tikka or Sako lightweight rifles are both known to be decent kickers. The .300 WM will certainly emphasise that. If you can shoot it, go for it. If it is just for deer, and deer specifically, then .300 is just too much. Not to say that thousands of deer don't fall to the .300 every year, but there are more appropriate choices. If at some point you are hoping to hunt bigger stuff and you just want the one nice rifle, then it will certainly work. Use at least a 180 grain bullet of very stout construction to limit the meat damage on deer though.

Amidst all the naysayers on the use of .300 WM on deer, I will say that I used to use a .300 WM for just about everything. I shot truckloads of deer with a 200 grain Speer Grand Slam and the meat damage was quite minimal if shot through the ribs while avoiding shoulders, etc.

Your mileage may vary.
 
Potashminer said:
I have a hard time imagining what it might be to start deer hunting from a "cold start" - no previous experience.

As mentioned, without experienced mentors who will "take you out" and look after you as a beginner, I just can not imagine all the things to be figured out ahead of time - clothing, footwear, storage space, knives, skills. Good on you - very, very well worth thing to learn to do, and to learn to do well.
Click to expand...

It can be done nowadays with the availability of YouTube and forums like this, granted it’s a harder longer road to travel. I’m pretty much self taught and have had my share of success in the field but I was hooked hard after my first season, which I got skunked pretty hard on lol. It just made me want to learn even more what I should be doing. Nothing beats hands on mentoring though, I’ve got a couple friends who have been hunting the same amount or less than I and we all try to help each other out anyway we can.

I wish I had grown up in a hunting or shooting driven family, my dad got out of small game hunting not long after I was born and was an avid angler for the rest of his life so at least I grew up in a boat or camping and fishing in the bush.


OP, shooting a 300wm can work on deer I’ve seen a friend use one on a mulie buck, shot placement was key to minimizing meat damage. Shooting a 300wm a lot might be a bit punishing, the 6.5c or 6.5x55 will be softer shooting and great for a lot of mec-large game. You’ll be able to shoot it more at the range which will let you be more comfortable with your rifle in the field.
 
Yeah. During 1960's I am sure I was no more than 10 years old trapsing along with my Dad to "push bush". So, froze, wrong clothes, wrong boots, get turned around in the bush - all of that before I was 14. Helped to field dress and skid out many animals with my Dad or the crew that he hunted with - long before I shot one myself. Had helped skin, cut up, make sausage, and so on - was just the way it got done. Was very usual and normal to butcher domestic poultry or pork or beef - the meat cutting and so on was not new or unique - we had all the gear and a lot of experience among the people doing it - not so sure about that today? So when finally got my first deer, except for the shot, had pretty much been there before - including following the blood drops in the snow...
 
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For deer hunting you can't go wrong with a Tikka T3 in 6.5 Creedmoor. Factory ammo is cheaper and better selection than 6.5x55. It will kill black bears, too! And moose.

Last year I used a 300 WM 200gr and my wife used a 243 100gr at essentially the same velocities. The deer shot with 243 died just as quickly as the ones I shot with my 300 Winchester Maaaaagnum ;-).

No, the 300 isn't necessary for most animals. But it works on most animals. Which is why I have it. But it kicks too much so I was building a 6.5 semi-auto when the gun ban OIC kiboshed that.
 
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