What tech specs do you want in a moose/bear/deer rifle?
- Thread starter Skogkatt
- Start date
Sheesh! - I think you need to realize that both calibers could shoot through two animals side by side... 308 is still available as military surplus, at a cost of 50 to 75 cents a round. Not so for 30-06, so you must buy commercial ammo at $1.50 or more a round. However, if you dont have access to a range, you wont be doing much practice shooting anyway.
BTW - If you really want to make your mark on the hunting world, you should consider a 6.5 caliber. Better ballistics than 308 past 300 yards, and less recoil. Perfect selection for a light, hiking-in-the-woods rifle.
BTW - If you really want to make your mark on the hunting world, you should consider a 6.5 caliber. Better ballistics than 308 past 300 yards, and less recoil. Perfect selection for a light, hiking-in-the-woods rifle.
308 win 270 win 30-06 280 Rem 7mm-08 are all equal out to 350 yds they all have about the same energy out to that range. Any quality rifle 900.00 - 1200$’s will shoot 1 moa at 100yds . Cheaper rifles wil shoot just as good savage axis �� ruger American �� the other important part good quality scope 400-600$’s and quality ammo premier grade . Then some range time will help
1000 correct answers...
Caliber - I recommend 30-06, 180gr. Pick a grain and stick with it... zero and hunt, get familiar with one ballistic curve. Easy to find rounds in even the smallest hunting store.
For a reliable hunting bolt action, I can recommend the Savage 110/111, (114/116 same action) I own a few, and all are quite accurate even with factory loads. If a newer rifle, get the Accutrigger or if older, the 3-screw 110 triggers were crisp.
The Bushnell Elite 3500 and the Burris Fullfield are both good value / function for hunting scopes. Nosler Partition or Accubond are excellent hunting bullets.
Caliber - I recommend 30-06, 180gr. Pick a grain and stick with it... zero and hunt, get familiar with one ballistic curve. Easy to find rounds in even the smallest hunting store.
For a reliable hunting bolt action, I can recommend the Savage 110/111, (114/116 same action) I own a few, and all are quite accurate even with factory loads. If a newer rifle, get the Accutrigger or if older, the 3-screw 110 triggers were crisp.
The Bushnell Elite 3500 and the Burris Fullfield are both good value / function for hunting scopes. Nosler Partition or Accubond are excellent hunting bullets.
308 is about as generic as it gets, and it works just fine for all the type of game you have mentioned you might want to hunt. 180gr soft points with proper shot placement will fill your freezer for years to come. Some of the entry level rifles are not as bad as some will lead you to believe. The Remington 783 is a good starter rifle in my opinion, as is the savage axis series. Don't go cheap on the scope either, yes you can use the scopes that come with some of these entry level rifles,but consider an upgrade to better quality soon.
Guns are fun, and so is hunting...but it gets sh*tty fast without good footwear and clothing. Another area to really spend some decent coin on these two things. Anyways, welcome to the wide world of hunting and shooting, have fun, enjoy it.
Guns are fun, and so is hunting...but it gets sh*tty fast without good footwear and clothing. Another area to really spend some decent coin on these two things. Anyways, welcome to the wide world of hunting and shooting, have fun, enjoy it.
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
If your first rifle is likely to be your only rifle, spend the money, you get what you pay for, and regrets later are expensive. If you're likely to become addicted like the rest of us, well, go crazy! Buy what you like.
The 30-06 enjoys a crazy popularity south of the border, as it was their military round. Thus, you'll see lots of glowing articles on it, and various arguments about it's superiority over the 308. Militarily, the 308 is superior for one reason, it's ammunition is lighter to carry, and smaller when packing large volumes. To the sports shooter (unless you're crazy about packing ammo) that matters not. It's also one of the main reasons why current rounds carried by the military of most nations are much smaller than even the 308.
Another is the 308's ability to use shorter actions (shorter bolt throw) enabling very slightly lighter rifles with shorter OAL for a given barrel length.
In the field, the 165 grain is my preference for both cartridges, and at that bullet weight, there's bugger all difference between the two, particularly from the receiving end.
There are a lot of fancy and expensive rifles out there, and many will fill the bill. If budget is a concern (or it's your wife's concern
) take a look at Savage. If you can get over the bolt handle, or actually like it, they are accurate rifles out of the box.
Also CGN's EE is filled with rifles that would do the job for you. But you need to be fast, the best deals are gone within minutes of their posting.
The 30-06 enjoys a crazy popularity south of the border, as it was their military round. Thus, you'll see lots of glowing articles on it, and various arguments about it's superiority over the 308. Militarily, the 308 is superior for one reason, it's ammunition is lighter to carry, and smaller when packing large volumes. To the sports shooter (unless you're crazy about packing ammo) that matters not. It's also one of the main reasons why current rounds carried by the military of most nations are much smaller than even the 308.
Another is the 308's ability to use shorter actions (shorter bolt throw) enabling very slightly lighter rifles with shorter OAL for a given barrel length.
In the field, the 165 grain is my preference for both cartridges, and at that bullet weight, there's bugger all difference between the two, particularly from the receiving end.
There are a lot of fancy and expensive rifles out there, and many will fill the bill. If budget is a concern (or it's your wife's concern
) take a look at Savage. If you can get over the bolt handle, or actually like it, they are accurate rifles out of the box.Also CGN's EE is filled with rifles that would do the job for you. But you need to be fast, the best deals are gone within minutes of their posting.
Here’s my opinion. The 30-06 is hard to beat and is a great choice. With the advancements in ammunition it’s come a long ways. If you aren’t shooting must past 300 yards the difference between it and the 308 isn’t much. I’ve ran Tikkas, brownings, Winchester’s , weatherbys , and Remingtons and it really comes down to what fits you best. Choose anyone of the above that fits your budget and fits your LOP load it with a 180 grain bullet of your choice and top it with the gold standard 3-9 x 40 scope and you will be set up good for most situations to get you going. The 30-06 is not punishing to shoot like some make it out be. Practice lots and you will get used to it. But if recoil intimidates you it might not be a bad idea to shoot a buddy’s gun just to see what your in for. I don’t recommend the 300 win mag to start they do recoil enough to create bad habits. The 308 is easier on the shoulder for sure and it’s housed in lighter shorter actions than the 06. All the guys here have given you great advice. I would stay away from entry level budget rifles. There’s a pile of good used stuff on the EE that would fit the bill for you. Anyways have fun putting the set up together. If your on this site it definitely won’t be your last. Lol.
Not sure about the "tech specs" the OP mentioned, but the above suggestion is a very good one.
The 308 and 30-06 are so close to each other in performance that you or any game you shoot at would not know the difference.
My first rifle 45 or so years ago was a 30-06. Shot a couple deer with it and moved on to more powerful cartridges. I’ve shot a dozen bears, an elk, a wolf and several moose and deer. Every animal I’ve taken in the last 5 decades could have been taken with that cheap, Parker Hale 30-06 I originally bought.
Recently I had a younger shooter ask me a similar question. My advice was walk into a big box store that sells ammunition, look at what they have on the shelf. Likely, 308 win, 30-06, 300 win, 7mm Remington mag. Any one of these will cleanly dispatch anything you will likely encounter in North America. You can buy bullets for them anywhere, and they are not the flavour of the month so will be around for a long time.
Presently I’m shooting a 300 wsm for the same reason, I don’t reload anymore so went back to a caliber I can buy at the local CT store.
30-06 and 7mm mag are good all around calibers with good power, wide bullet selection and manageable recoil in a hunting weight rifle.
Recently I had a younger shooter ask me a similar question. My advice was walk into a big box store that sells ammunition, look at what they have on the shelf. Likely, 308 win, 30-06, 300 win, 7mm Remington mag. Any one of these will cleanly dispatch anything you will likely encounter in North America. You can buy bullets for them anywhere, and they are not the flavour of the month so will be around for a long time.
Presently I’m shooting a 300 wsm for the same reason, I don’t reload anymore so went back to a caliber I can buy at the local CT store.
30-06 and 7mm mag are good all around calibers with good power, wide bullet selection and manageable recoil in a hunting weight rifle.
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
If budget is a concern, figure the price of ammo into it. '06 and '08 prices are not bad, but the prices of some other cartridges are not funny at all.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
I agree 100%. But I find that the 300WM tends to be at the upper limit of what the majority of shooters can perform with and is likely too much rifle for someone who is just now looking for their first rifle. I also didn't see where our new hunter is from. What is more than sufficient in Nova Scotia's whitetail woods may leave you wanting in an elk meadow in Alberta or a moose bog in Newfoundland. Then we get into the actual shooter himself. Big guy? Smaller lady? Some shooters find the 180gr 30-06 combination to be a handful, especially in a light rifle like the T3.
What I would buy, at 6'5" 288lbs and almost 30 years of centerfire shooting experience, has little bearing on what a new shooter should consider. Of course the old combination of a 30-06 and a 3-9x scope has served countless new hunters well and is generally a fairly safe bet. But without more information it's hard to say whether it is the best one or not.
It's easy to get wrapped around the axle with so many things to consider, and endless rabbit holes to go down when debating one cartridge against another. I'm not sure that I would want to trade places with the OP and be starting fresh. I recently took up archery and bowhunting and the feeling of going from a place of fairly solid knowledge to absolute square one was unpleasant.
