whats the right caliber for me

"...consider your stature and size..." Which has nothing to do with ones's age.
If you don't like or want a .30-06 due to the felt recoil, you won't like a 7mm Mag or .308 either. Go with one of the .25's.
Before you decide though, go look at Crappy Tire's ammo selection. Some very suitable cartridges aren't readily available everywhere. However, if Crappy Tire has a particular cartridge near you, they'll likely have it in moose country too. Nothing is worse than getting to your hunt camp in the middle of nowhere only to find your ammo is on the kitchen table.
 
Yup thousands of hunters each year are wandering aimlessly through the woods with a gun and their ammo at home on the kitchen table.
Geez whatever ya do don't go in to a gunstore for ammo... they might just have what ya need.:rolleyes:
Hows that for some heavy sarcasm?:dancingbanana:
 
check with some of the guys around and see if u can try different cal.Both my boys started with7x57 and have never changed.My 280 has been used by many small people try it you'll like it. & welcome
 
uphere said:
i'm 14 years old and looking for a moose rifle. i was thinking mabe a 280 rem or even a 7mm mag or something of that size, but not a 30-06.
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Uh oh..........someone got to this fine boy already.....ok lad, who talked you out of a 30-06? Were they aware that Remington makes low recoil ammo for the 30-06 that won't hurt your shoulder when you shoot?

Welcome to CGN. Nice to have you here.
 
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Just thought I'd mention that I did go hunting with a guy who did leave his ammo on the kitchen table. We were both packing 30-06's so I came up with a dozen or so rounds for him. It happens, and to some folks more than others.

We seem to be assuming that recoil is what has you concerned about an '06. If it is, then that low recoil ammo that "huntinstuff" mentioned might be worth trying. If you know someone who you trust to make handloads, I'd recomend you get a bunch of 110 grain hornady bullets loaded with a VERY little bit of powder and spend some time at the range. I have the loading info at home and I'm at work right now. Contact me through gunnutz if you decide to try this and I'll be happy to tell you the number of grains of which powder. Goes bang, puts a hole in the paper but NO recoil.
My son did that with his 308, then I sighted it in for high energy loads and he shot his first, moose at 300 yards.I asked him what he thought of the recoil, and he said "what recoil".
 
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19 years ago I was your age and saving my quarters and pennies to buy my first high-powered rifle. I had been shooting a .22 for about 10 years by then and was given my very own at Christmas in my 10th year. I was about 5 feet tall and about 135 lbs. I did a pile of research, prior to internet days, and bought a .30-06 knowing that I would likely want to use it on bears, moose and deer. I was careful to make sure the butt was in the right place before pulling the trigger and in turn it didn't kick the hell outta me. Also, I think the only thing thats' ever been shot out of it is 180 grain bullets if I remember correctly. As many others have said, ammo is available ANYWHERE that ammo is sold. If the store has only 2 boxes in the entire place you can bet one of them boxes will be .22 Long Rifle and the other is likely gonna be a box of .30-06, or maybe .308. It sure won't be 7mm mag or .280. Nothin' wrong with those calibres for what you want it for, but it's real tough to beat a .30-06 for all round performance on North American big-game, especially for a young man's first big-game rifle. The fact that it been around for a 100 years is the proof in the pudding!

CDW
 
Uphere lives in my neighbourhood, so any rifle he chooses needs to be chambered for ammo which is available at the local hardware store. Never the less, there are some very good suggestions posted.
 
get a model 7 in .308 and shoot the hell out of it. :D Ammo is available anywhere and different bullets for different game. good luck
 
MHUNT said:
Just thought I'd mention that I did go hunting with a guy who did leave his ammo on the kitchen table. We were both packing 30-06's so I came up with a dozen or so rounds for him. It happens, and to some folks more than others.

We seem to be assuming that recoil is what has you concerned about an '06. If it is, then that low recoil ammo that "huntinstuff" mentioned might be worth trying. If you know someone who you trust to make handloads, I'd recomend you get a bunch of 110 grain hornady bullets loaded with a VERY little bit of powder and spend some time at the range. I have the loading info at home and I'm at work right now. Contact me through gunnutz if you decide to try this and I'll be happy to tell you the number of grains of which powder. Goes bang, puts a hole in the paper but NO recoil.
My son did that with his 308, then I sighted it in for high energy loads and he shot his first, moose at 300 yards.I asked him what he thought of the recoil, and he said "what recoil".
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Now there's a good chunk of solid advice.
 
recoil is a non issue for me and neither is the size of the gun. i don't want a 30-06 because my dad already has one
 
If its a rifle striclty for moose your options are as varied as your imagination.

6.5x55sw

270win

280rem
7x57
7-08
7mm Mag

308win
300WM
303brit

338wm
338-06
338Federal

35 whelen
35rem
375 hh
450marlin
458wm


Or any of the new wssm's over 7mm
 
At 14, I'm going to assume that you don't have a high paying job yet. You might want to consider the price of ammo as well. I've noticed that .308 Win and 30-06 tend to be the most economical of the mid-sized rounds. If you get anything chambered with the letters 'WSSM' it won't take long for the cartridges to cost more than the rifle.
 
hi this is MHUNT's son jesse i am currently 17 i have been hunting since i was 16 months old when my father was left to baby sit i am not going to pretend to be a master or an expert i am far from it. but, when i first started to activly hunt, when i was 10, i was using a 308 my dad loaded up some extremely light loads for targets so i could get used to the rifle. when i was 11 i took my first moose near horsefly from 300 yards with my 308 (using high energy loads) it was more than enough and it didnt do a hell of alot of meat damage. plus the recoil was minimal. so from experience i would strongly sugest the 308.
good luck ---jesse---
 
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uphere said:
would 6.5x55 be a good moose round and i've heard 6.5mm bullets have great ballistics
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In Scanidhoovia it's their equivalent (ie used for just about everything and a "classic cartridge") of the 30-06 and the heavier bullets (such as the 156 gr. Norma Oryx and 160 gr. Hornady RN) have great penetration. If you can place your shots accurately, it should be fine.

:) Stuart
 
This may be repitition, but my Tikka lite/stainless in .270 doesn't "feel" like much more than my old 30-30. With an Elite 3200 it'll cost you about $1000 and I've never met a moose hunter who was against that caliber.

My advice: Get out with as many people as you can to go shooting and try out as many combinations as possible. Recoil SHOULD only be an issue when practicing or sighting in and you can always use a recoil pad to dial in your optics; most of only fire 1-2 shots during the hunting season.

Enjoy!

mike:runaway:
 
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