Which cartridge 7-08,280 or 30-06

Jordan Smith said:
Definitely true on all counts, but I'm a rifle nut and a tinkerer by nature. Buying and using only one rifle would drive me crazy with boredom.
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Ya, I get that, but this thread is supposed to be advice for someone starting out, not someone already well versed and gun wealthy. A knowledgeable shooter doesn't often wring his hands over which cartridge his new rifle should be chambered for; choosing a round for an expensive double rifle might lead to some sleepless nights, but not for the rifles and rounds were normally associate with general purpose hunting rifles. Once you've acquired a stable of rifles, it makes little difference what the next one will be, but IMHO, the "first rifle" should be as shooter friendly and as versatile as possible to encourage the new gun owner to shoot frequently and carry it often. The .30/06 is often quoted as a mice to moose rifle. Now I said earlier that any cartridge from 6.5 up is suitable for North American game and that more attention should be given to the rifle than the cartridge. I stand by that comment, but if our new guy isn't a handloader, cartridges like the .270, .280, and the .30/06 have huge benefits with respect to the versatility of factory ammo. I do consider the .30/06 the upper limit of the equation though, and it could be a mistake though for our new shooter to choose a 6 pound .30/06 and pick up a couple of boxes of factory 180 gr '06 ammo and head off to the range. For a new shooter, that particular combination doesn't fall into the shooter friendly category, so if a very light rifle is what he's after, a 6.5 or a .270 would be a little kinder and just a deadly. As to the OPs interest in grizzlies, I would have no problem bear hunting with a 6.5, provided it was loaded with an appropriate bullet, I just wouldn't choose a 6.5 as a protection rifle; there is a difference.

I would encourage a new shooter to handload, and I would introduce him to the .30/06 with 150 gr bullets loaded to 2700 fps, which should produce similar recoil as a .303. Once he has become comfortable with that level of recoil and blast he can try a heavier bullet or increase his velocity. My wife's practice load in her 6.5 pound .30/06 is a 180 Remington bulk bullet at 2500, but her bear load is a 180 gr TSX loaded to 2700.
 
rookie wildcat said:
Okay, since we are playing pokey-chest a little here, how about we load the Barnes 250gn Original in the .30-06. It will slam out at over 2300fps, carrying almost 2500ft-lbs of energy. Since many on here are fond of quoting how a Barnes bullet of one weight is better than a regular bullet of the next higher weight, then we should easily have something in the neighbourhood of besting the .300WinMag with a 240gn Sierra SBT. Since people feel pretty safe hauling around a .300, then the job is done.

Myself, if I could only have the one gun, it would be a .30-06.
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The 250 gr Barnes is an uber-cool bullet for heavy game in timber. Know where you can get any? A similar bullet that is easier to get, I get mine from Tradex, is the 240 gr Woodleigh. The 240 gr Sierra MK has no place in a hunting camp, long range game shooters excepted, but the 240 gr Woodleigh is my bear bullet in my .30/06. There is a a couple of provisos with these long heavy slugs though. My wife's '06 Husky has a 1:12 twist and doesn't stabilize them, so if your '06 doesn't have a 1:10 or faster twist, I would stick to lighter bullets, I load 180 gr TSXs for her rifle. The other problem is that the impact velocity must be pretty high to maximize the expansion potential of these bullets, so for optimum results, the 240s and 250s are close range bullets.
 
rookie wildcat said:
how so?
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The whole premise behind comparing light-weight Barnes bullets to heavier C&C bullets is that the Barnes bullets (X/TSX/TTSX/MRX) are solid copper, and tend to penetrate deeper than almost anything else out there, while still expanding reasonably wide.

The Barnes Original is just another type of C&C bullet. It's certainly a cool bullet, because they made/make them in heavy-for-caliber offerings, but it's not anything like their X/TSX/TTSX-style bullets...
 
Boomer said:
Ya, I get that, but this thread is supposed to be advice for someone starting out, not someone already well versed and gun wealthy. A knowledgeable shooter doesn't often wring his hands over which cartridge his new rifle should be chambered for; choosing a round for an expensive double rifle might lead to some sleepless nights, but not for the rifles and rounds were normally associate with general purpose hunting rifles. Once you've acquired a stable of rifles, it makes little difference what the next one will be, but IMHO, the "first rifle" should be as shooter friendly and as versatile as possible to encourage the new gun owner to shoot frequently and carry it often. The .30/06 is often quoted as a mice to moose rifle. Now I said earlier that any cartridge from 6.5 up is suitable for North American game and that more attention should be given to the rifle than the cartridge. I stand by that comment, but if our new guy isn't a handloader, cartridges like the .270, .280, and the .30/06 have huge benefits with respect to the versatility of factory ammo. I do consider the .30/06 the upper limit of the equation though, and it could be a mistake though for our new shooter to choose a 6 pound .30/06 and pick up a couple of boxes of factory 180 gr '06 ammo and head off to the range. For a new shooter, that particular combination doesn't fall into the shooter friendly category, so if a very light rifle is what he's after, a 6.5 or a .270 would be a little kinder and just a deadly. As to the OPs interest in grizzlies, I would have no problem bear hunting with a 6.5, provided it was loaded with an appropriate bullet, I just wouldn't choose a 6.5 as a protection rifle; there is a difference.

I would encourage a new shooter to handload, and I would introduce him to the .30/06 with 150 gr bullets loaded to 2700 fps, which should produce similar recoil as a .303. Once he has become comfortable with that level of recoil and blast he can try a heavier bullet or increase his velocity. My wife's practice load in her 6.5 pound .30/06 is a 180 Remington bulk bullet at 2500, but her bear load is a 180 gr TSX loaded to 2700.
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I agree with you, but keep in mind that we all were "starting out" at one time or another. ;)

The first rifle should be versatile and shooter-friendly, which means .270, .30-06, .308, 7-08, 7RM, etc. Any of those cartridges would fit into that category. To think that the .30-06 is the only or the best option for "mice to moose" is a very limited point of view, IMO, when others work just as well, and user-friendliness is comparable to the '06 with any of these.
 
My first hunting rifle was a 270 Weatherby that my grandfather had given my dad and I got to borrow it.

The first rifle I ever acquired was a Ruger M77 tang safety in 30-06...

what more can I say...

:)
 
After reading the posts,I'm in agrement with most who have stressed the need for a pleasant shooting, hard hitting,economical choice.:cheers:

Since it has come down to a multi-disciplined, uber efficient, all around cartridge that will let the new:canadaFlag: shooter enjoy is "Lightweight Rifle", and will keep him in the field, and at the range longer because of the avalibility and economics of his caliber choice,...........well.......,

His/her first 7mm-08,270,30-06 should be a .308 Winchester!!:dancingbanana::dancingbanana:

After all,...... it *Does it all,... so efficiently , like no other*:nest:
 
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