Beginners rifle?
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Too many factors to consider, and not enough information from your end.
What are you going to hunt? Where? How big is the beginner? Male or Female? Their actual shooting/hunting experience? Once in a lifetime rifle? How much do they want to spend? Secondary uses? Recoil sensitivity? Reloading?
Lets assume that your beginner is in your location. That is British Columbia. You have Large White-tail Deer, Mule Deer, Elk, Moose, Cougar, Wolf, Sheep, Goats, Black Bear and the big brown furries that can eat you (Griz).
I lived for almost 20 years in the Fernie-Cranbrook-Creston area, so I am familiar with what is useful.
Anything that will shoot a 150 grain bullet at 2700 FPS Muzzle velocity will take all of the above. It is not Ideal for the Griz, but this rifle is for a beginner. A .375 H&H would not be suitable for a beginner.
A bolt action rifle is a bit simpler to use and understand. You have a choice of long action (30-06) or short action (308) sizes. My calibres of choice would be 30-06, 308, 270, 280, 7-08, 7mm Mauser, or 8mm Mauser. I definitely would not recommend a Magnum calibre for a beginner.
Now, let's assume that only factory ammunition will be used. If you are in a city that has a good gun shop, all of the above calibres are available. However, if you are not, have only the local hardware store for ammo, or if you travel and want to buy a box of ammo if the airlines lose yours, then this would cut the .280, 7-08, 7mm mauser and 8mm mauser from the list.
This leaves the 30-06 Springfield, 270 Winchester, and 308 Winchester.
These calibres are to be found almost anywhere in the world today.
I prefer the .308 for the shorter action, although there is nothing wrong with the other two. I would go for the 30-06 rather than the .270 because you can get or load a heavier bullet just in case you do run into old Griz. You can also get heavy bullets for the .308. My favorite rifle was a .308 Ruger International Carbine with a 18 1/2 barrel. I had no problem dumping an elk or moose with it, most of them with one shot.
So, we are down to 308 and 30-06. Most game is shot at less than 200 yards, so 300 yards maximum should be our criteria, especially for a beginner. While there is a lot of argument about velocity, energy and such, for all practical purposes an animal hit with either the 30-06 or the 308 using the same bullet will give the same results. You will get arguments such as "the 30-06 shoots 1.4 inches flatter at 300 yards. or something similar." Hell, I can not see what 1.4 inches looks like at 300 yards! What I am talking about is actual field experience over 55 years of hunting. Not what I read in some book or words passed along to me. Everyone has an opinion, this one is mine.
Next is the budget. Rifle prices have skyrocketed in the last 10 years. You can spend $1000 for a rifle or you can spend $350 for a rifle that will do practically the same thing. For a beginner, a good serviceable rifle, one that will do the job for several years, should not cost an arm and a leg. Spare parts, warranty, accessories, and other factors come into play. An average Remington, Ruger, Tikka, Browning, or such is in the $750-$850 range, then you have to add a good scope, sling, case, and cleaning equipment.
Probably the sleeper out there today, and one of the "Best Buys" is the Stevens 200. It is available in .308 and 30-06, and costs about $350. I have one in .223 that shoots under 9/16 inch groups at 100 yards, and one in 7mm-08 that stays in the inch area at 100 yards. It's not real pretty like a wood stocked rifle, but for a hunting rifle, it does the job. You can spend the difference in costs on a good scope and binoculars. Steiner Military Marine Binoculars cost about $250 and a good Bushnell or similar scope will cost $200-$250.
So, for the cost of one of the other rifles ($800 range), you can have a good hunting rifle, scope, binoculars and probably some ammunition.
Now, there are a lot of people out there that will tout their personal choices, but they have the money, or have upgraded. We are talking about BEGINNERS here. Most of us started out with an old Cooey .22, used it and got good with it, and then upgraded after a couple of years. We did not start off with a Cooper, Kimber, or Winchester 52. The same with higher powered rifles..........a 30-30 or a .303. We then used our experience to select a more suitable firearm for our personal needs and hunting.
My opinion. Hope this helps.
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