Which came first the bullet or the gun?

[RidgeHunter]

OK this may be a bit of a chicken and egg question but here goes.

I'm relatively new to shooting and getting into hunting.
I'm looking at buying my first hunting rifle and looking at one of the usual budget rifles. (big thanks to the sticky posted here on a first hunting rifle and all the great posts on first rifles)

What I'm finding is obviously there's going to be some trade off's with these guns, some I like the safety, some the magazine etc.

Originally I wanted to purchase something in a .308 but after during some reading I really like the 6.5 Creedmoor.
The problem is not all the lower end rifles come in 6.5 and finding one locally is even harder.

So would you choose a gun you like the features but maybe not chambered in the round you want, or pick a gun chambered in the round you want but not with the features you like?

 

[kamlooky]

Dependith.............do you reload?

 

[guntech]

First hunting rifle... pick a rifle with the features you want... pick an older popular common caliber over the flavour of the month...

 

[lledwod]

Gun first for me.

 

[dan belisle]

Guntech is correct. Rifle with the features you like in an easy cartridge, like 308 or similar. Do yourself a favor. - dan

 

[Suther]

First hunting rifle... pick a rifle with the features you want... pick an older popular common caliber over the flavour of the month...

This. Pick something that has common, readily available ammo for your first rifle. You want a 308, 3006, or 270win IMO. These cartridges can be found at any Walmart or crappy tire that sells ammo, plus small town hardware stores, gun stores... Anywhere that sells ammo will carry those 3.

Two big issues with something like 6 5 Creedmoor. First is ammo isn't cheap. With the other calibers I listed, a box of 20rds can be had for $22-26 depending on where you buy it. 6.5 cm won't have the cheap stuff (federal blue box, winchester super x) so you'll be looking at $35-40/20rds (or more) most likely. Second, if you ever forget your ammo, you'll have a hell of a time finding a box of 6.5cm compared to the others listed above. (and yes that happens, I did it earlier this year...)

IMO, 6.5 cm is a reloaders caliber. If you don't reload the cost of factory ammo sucks. Besides, a 270 win will do anything a 6.5 cm will as a hunting rifle. And everyone makes rifles in 270.

 

[Scotty454]

Finding rifles, factory ammunition, reloading components, people with experience, etc is going to be immeasurably easier if you go with a cartridge as prolific as the .308 Winchester. I would highly recommend it as a first rifle...

You might like the 6.5 Creedmoor better on paper, but it might not be the wisest choice.

 

[BigUglyMan]

It's one of those things. For a new shooter I agree wholeheartedly with the posters who have already said to pick a rifle that feels right to you and has the features you like. Some want a 60 degree bolt lift. Some want CRF. Some want a detachable mag. Some are terrified that blued steel will rust into oblivion. It's whatever you like and want. In those cases, figure out what you want and then pick a common chambering.

Now, for more experienced and quirky gun cranks you might well decide ahead of time that you want "X" chambering and then try to find a rifle that you like with that chambering available. You're not going to trip over factory offerings in 9.3x62 or 416 Rigby but if that's what you want no 35 Whelen or 416 Ruger will do.

 

[brybenn]

Being new to shooting and hunting the 6.5 offers no advantage over the 308 except slightly less recoil. No offense but to reap the benefits of the flavor of the week 6.5 cartridges the distances much be stretched out and that requires skill above entry level to make consistent hits
Even in areas that have a caliber restrictions there are better tried and true cartridges. I'm not knocking any of the 6.5 family but the 243 or 25/06 or 270 stack up even or better. They cost less to shoot. More factory ammo. More factory platforms. If big game is your thing the 308 or 30/06 are great. Boring but effective

If you just want the newest thing out there and want to push thru and learn then by all means buy whatever you want. It won't be your only gun for long
Game animals don't read ballistic tables of head stamps. Put an appropriately constructed bullet thru the heart and lungs and said animal will die
Marketing just gives us more to talk about around the camp fire in hunting camp

 

[NHunter]

.......new to shooting and getting into hunting......../QUOTE]

Key question: Hunting What..?

 

[RidgeHunter]

So I'm guessing some of you are saying go .308 huh? LOL.
OK I hear you, I just liked the idea of a bit less recoil for a day at the range but I guess I should just nut up.

I will be using it mostly for deer but want something that could take an elk or moose. (provided a good shot at a reasonable range was available)

 

[Johnny_Zanni]

.308 recoil isn't to bad, but a 7mm-08 will give slightly less recoil and the ammunition is more available than 6.5creed but still not as available as .308 itself

 

[guntech]

So I'm guessing some of you are saying go .308 huh? LOL.
OK I hear you, I just liked the idea of a bit less recoil for a day at the range but I guess I should just nut up.

I will be using it mostly for deer but want something that could take an elk or moose. (provided a good shot at a reasonable range was available)

A .308 with 150 grain bullets doesn't recoil too heavily and is easy capable of taking elk or moose...

 

[Jim870]

So I'm guessing some of you are saying go .308 huh? LOL.
OK I hear you, I just liked the idea of a bit less recoil for a day at the range but I guess I should just nut up.

I will be using it mostly for deer but want something that could take an elk or moose. (provided a good shot at a reasonable range was available)

Between the 2 for your stated goal the .308 Winchester would be a very good choice. Most of the positive attributes for it have been listed.
However and this is just my opinion, there is little reason at this point in history to choose to hunt with a rifle and/or cartridge that doesn't excite you. Worst case scenario you have to stock up on ammunition which in my opinion if you're shooting factory ammo you may want to do anyway.

 

[Cameron SS]

So I'm guessing some of you are saying go .308 huh? LOL.
OK I hear you, I just liked the idea of a bit less recoil for a day at the range but I guess I should just nut up.

I will be using it mostly for deer but want something that could take an elk or moose. (provided a good shot at a reasonable range was available)

Have you looked at 243 winchester?

To answer your original question, sometimes i know the calibre i want and have to choose from available guns. Sometimes i know the gun I want amd have to choose from the available calibres.

In either case when I have come up against a wall and havent been able to find the right gun /calibre combo I have always stepped back and asked myself why. In this day and age with all the options out there, if no one is making what you are looking for you have to seriously reconsider why you think you need it.

 

[RidgeHunter]

However and this is just my opinion, there is little reason at this point in history to choose to hunt with a rifle and/or cartridge that doesn't excite you. Worst case scenario you have to stock up on ammunition which in my opinion if you're shooting factory ammo you may want to do anyway.

I guess that kind of gets to the point of my question. I didn't mean for this to be a debate of the 308 vs 6.5. I was more curious if people felt that the rifle or the cartridge (in what ever caliber) was most important. If you have to make a sacrifice would it lean towards picking a better round or a better rifle?

 

[Rifter]

Id go rifle first. This year i purchased my first hunting rifle. A Weatherby vanguard s2 in .308, and im happy with my decision.

 

[NHunter]

........there is little reason at this point in history to choose to hunt with a rifle and/or cartridge that doesn't excite you. ..........!!

I must be missing the exciting rifles and calibers. Can not recall the last time I was 'excited' about a shooting stick.....

 

[Ltbull01]

The target!

 

[Suther]

So I'm guessing some of you are saying go .308 huh? LOL.
OK I hear you, I just liked the idea of a bit less recoil for a day at the range but I guess I should just nut up.

I will be using it mostly for deer but want something that could take an elk or moose. (provided a good shot at a reasonable range was available)

Can't go wrong with a 308, really. And you'll never wish you went a different caliber if you forget or lose your ammo otw to a hunt. 270 has similar recoil, so if you want something with a bit more velocity that's an option too, as it's plenty capable of taking moose or elk.

Recoil on a 150gr 308 won't be much different than a 140gr 7mm08 or 140gr 260 cal, they're all producing about the same velocity/energy at the muzzle and Newtons 3rd law tells us that recoil will therefore be very similar

.308 recoil isn't to bad, but a 7mm-08 will give slightly less recoil and the ammunition is more available than 6.5creed but still not as available as .308 itself

7mm08 is not much better than the 6.5cm. Might find ammo a few more places, but it'll still be hard to find in a pinch compared to 308, 270, and 3006. Cost for 7mm08 will also be higher than 308 ect. When i was going through this debate for my first hunting rifle about 3 years ago, the cheapest 7mm08 around was federal fusion at $36 a box. Compare that to 270 (what i ended up getting) at $19-22 a box, and you can easily see the 270 is cheaper to feed, which means more practice for the same $$ spent. In the end, an accurate shooter who's comfortable with his rifle will kill more game, regardless of caliber, so for a first rifle I suggest whatever is cheapest to feed - which would be 308. The price on 3006 and 270 are only slightly higher (usually $1 a box) so they're good options too.