Best all-around hunting rifle

[FreakofSnow]

I've got the go ahead to pick out a rifle for my birthday for the upcoming hunting season. So being a JONG to hunting and really guns in general, I figured I should get the ever-knowing opinions of the masses here. The guys at work have been suggesting just about everything. But the majority say to go w/ the 30-06. A few more say the .300 Win Mag and some say the 7mm. I'll be after deer and elk for the most part.

I know Lemon and few others might have something to say, lets hear it.

[hucksquaw]

i hear this ones good for huntin' talibanies

[zion zig zag]

Any of the three you had suggested are good options. I'd prolly lean towards the 7mm.

[Tuckerman]

I am not a hunter but a collector and just like to shot at non living things but I would say AR-14, M16, AK what ever I hate having to reload or yeah 7mm. Are in big open areas or tightly treed areas?

[Blurred]

dude, trust me and go with the .06. 300mag is way too expensive and overkill. Had a 30.06 that got necked down to a 280, and I killed a Moose with it. .06 is more than enough.

[Mountainman]

go with the .06 but consider a .270. i like to use my .243 for deer and .270 for elk if that helps.

[Snow Dog]

I've got the go ahead to pick out a rifle for my birthday for the upcoming hunting season. So being a JONG to hunting and really guns in general, I figured I should get the ever-knowing opinions of the masses here. The guys at work have been suggesting just about everything. But the majority say to go w/ the 30-06. A few more say the .300 Win Mag and some say the 7mm. I'll be after deer and elk for the most part.

I know Lemon and few others might have something to say, lets hear it.

I have a 300 win mag -- it will hurt your shoulder every time you fire it. I added a muzzle brake to mine and now it just damages my hearing. A 30-06 is a very nice all round cartridge. There's more than one 7mm -- 7mm-08 ( a little less power that a 30-06), 7mm WSM (a little more power), and 7mm mag (a little more than a 30-06).

For scopes I would go with at least a 3-9x40mm and preferably a 3-9x50mm scope (better in low light). Don't buy a cheap ($100) scope -- it'll come apart from the recoil.

Some of the 'value-priced" guns have plastic actions and should be avoided.

I prefer a detachable magazine because in BC you can't have a loaded gun in a vehicle (or an ATV or a bicycle). Loading and unloading is easier when road hunting.

[MOHSHSIHd]

its all preference really....ive shot large caribou with a 30-06 at over 200 yds. I have also killed 900 pound black bear with a light remington .260.


just practice shooting and sight in your scope using a stable bench, or barrel laser...

[lemon boy]

FoS-

I was in virtually the exact same boat as you earlier this spring and conducted a similar internet search but I get to use some actual redneck websites owing to my diesel prowess.

The big 30+ rifles (300wm, 300wsm, 338lu etc...) and the 7mm Mag can do horrible things to a deer/lope sized animal (now not so much on our big western mulies though).

I think probably your top three choices are going to be 06, 270, 7mm and the break between them is likely to be:

06- totally all around but relatively more moderate distances and more likely to go for something bigger than smaller (ie: might get a moose/bear tag)
270- totally all around but relatively longer distances and more likely to go for something smaller (ie: might get an antelope tag)
7mm - pretty all around but relatively longer distances and much more likely to not shoot smaller stuff

An elk is about as big a critter as you'd want to shoot with the .270 and you probably shouldn't shoot for a bone anchoring shot w/one. That said, I went with that this spring (still waiting to put some glass on it and haven't shot it yet ) got a nice 700 ADL (wood) in 270 for $456. Finding that on sale in wood is basically what tipped me between the 06 and the 7mm.

For glass check out: SWFA and a pretty good deal on a scope with a good price to value ratio: Burris Fullfield w/ free spotting scope
For sighting in, buy yourself one of the kick pads you put on your shoulder cause a couple of hours shooting will beat you up and might give you the flinches.

[assgasorgrass]

How much experience in shooting do you have? If you don't have much, you might want to stay away from the Mag types, 300 Win Mag, 7mm Mag etc. What type of terrain are you going to be hunting? If you are bush whacking and in close quarters, nothing is going to beat a lever action, open sight 30-30. If you are going to be hunting open areas, high desert mulies for example, a flatter shooting long distance caliber may be in order, i.e. .270, 7mm mag, .280, 25.06, .243 etc. For the types of hunting, deer and elk, and the type of terrain I hunt these in, I shoot a Tikka 7mm Mag. I will tout the Tikka as one helluva gun. The action is smooth as silk. The kick is neglible for a mag rifle. I can keep my eye on the target through the scope after a shot. Going from a Savage 110 7 mag the difference in recoil was nothing short of remarkable. And out of the box, it isn't hype, those guns are dead nuts on. I prefer the Leopuld scopes, crystal clear optics, great service. You can get a solid Leopuld 3X9X40 for $229, $199 at Wally World. If you haven't shot a lot, I would think about starting with a .270 or .280. Flat shooting guns, not much recoil (depends on brand), good for deer, can be used on elk with the right shot placement, but definitely have a higher risk of wounding an animal on a longer shot or if something happens with shot placement, animals takes a step, moves whatever. good luck

[lemon boy]

btw- Hucksquaw, a few years ago I got to shoot a big fifty and if I had an extra 6K just sitting around I would own one, oh yessssss. The funny thing about a 30 pound rifle is it don't kick so bad a'tll

assgrass: I know a few folks who also love their Tikkas, have you checked yours against the recall (and I don't post this to take anything away from the tikka I came within a red one of getting one during my search: BOOM Pics!

[assgasorgrass]

didn't know there was a recall. I sent in the warranty card and haven't heard anything. Thanks for the heads up, I will check it out. Not affected by the recall, A) I bought a blued barrel, not stainless, and B) bought it in 2003, recall was for post Feb. '04 shipments. I'd still buy one.

this was the first critter I got with it a couple of years ago. I resized the pic, so don't know if it does it justice. I call him the "Broken Rack Buck". Actually a pretty cool story and hunt. I was going for the 30 incher, he is 28.5 at the break. Given where the break is, I reckon he was a 4X5. His rack was all messed up from the battlin' he was doing for his harem. Was with 12 does, when I glassed him.

[lemon boy]

OH! And a warning:

While you may have every intention of only needing/using this one rifle.... DO NOT EVER SELL IT AS THE ONLY ONE YOU'LL EVER NEED TO YOUR WOMAN.

edit= AG you do a skull mount on that?

[Sublime]

I did a little research on the 06 and found it was the best choice for all around rifle. Ammo is cheap www.cheaperthandirt.com and comes in diffrent grain loads so you can adjust to what your shooting. If your willing to jump through a few loops you can get a M1 Garand through the http://www.odcmp.com/.

[lemon boy]

M1 = Incredibly Heavy

[assgasorgrass]

Going to, he is still buried letting the bugs do their work. However, bought a house, closing on Friday. Going to have to dig him up and put a finishing boil on him and get a plaque. Every time I think about this hunt I get freakin' goose bumps. Hunt of a life time. I doubt I will ever draw it again. When I drew, the odds came out at 2.37% of drawing. That is why I bought a new rifle. I love BIG DESERT MULIES!

[assgasorgrass]

Check the ballistics. I don't know if this will come out since it is a results page. I compared the ballistics of the "optimum" factory load for a 7mm Mag, 30.06, and a .270, 160g, 180g, 140g respectively. Notice the bullet drop at distance for each rifle, trajectory. It is pretty eye opening when you think about your shooting distance and where to put your crosshairs. Another consideration is the knock down factor at distance, how much energy does that load have at distance? Anyway, this is some of the things I think about when choosing a weapon. For open desert type of terrain or cross canyon/draw shots, the 7 Mag is the gun for me.
7mm Remington Magnum
30-06 Springfield
270 Win.

VELOCITY (ft/sec)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 160 UB PSP 2950 2724 2510 2305 2109 1924
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 180 UB PSP 2700 2480 2270 2070 1882 1704
Premier Core-Lokt UltraC 140 UB PSP 2925 2667 2424 2193 1975




LONG-RANGE² TRAJECTORY*
Cartridge Type Bullet 100 150 200 250 300 400 500
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 160 UB PSP 1.6 1.4 zero -2.8 -7.1 -20.8 -42.4
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 180 UB PSP 2.1 1.8 zero -3.5 -8.9 -25.8 -52.7
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 140 UB PSP 1.7 1.5 zero -3.0 -7.6 -22.5 -46.4

SHORT-RANGE¹ TRAJECTORY*
Cartridge Type Bullet 50 100 150 200 250 300
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 160 UB PSP 0.1 0.6 zero -1.9 -5.2 -10.0
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 180 UB PSP 0.0 zero -1.3 -4.2 -8.7 -15.1
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 140 UB PSP 0.1 0.7 zero -2.0 -5.5 -10.7

ENERGY (ft-lbs)
Cartridge Type Bullet Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 160 UB PSP 3091 2636 2237 1887 1581 1315
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 180 UB PSP 2913 2457 2059 1713 1415 1161
Premier Core-Lokt Ultra 140 UB PSP 2659 2211 1826 1495 1212 9



http://www.remington.com/ammo/ballis...cs_results.asp

[powderhound]

.280


56789

[FreakofSnow]

Man, this is good shit, I knew you guys were good for something . Here's my deal in a nutshell. Never owned a gun. In high school shot about 2 dozen times w/ my gun toting budys. But most of that was Arnie-wanna-be-M-31-cigar-in-the-mouth-sipping-on-40's-stylie. So in essence I don't have much "target practice" type shooting.

I will be hunting strictly in Montana for the first few years. In timber and brush, w/ the occasional meadows, probably not much more than a few hundred yards open. So my thoughts is that I need to have some knock down power at closer ranges. I am not going to be confident enough to go long, ie over 250 yards. I am really leaning towards the Weatherby WinMag 30-06, seems like 5 or more good solid hunting buddies have said it would be hard to go wrong for a first hunting gun.....no?

btw - i will be going for elk, deer and antelope to start with. No other big game till i get a betta flava for it.

[powderhound]

from you're description it sounds like the 30-06 is going to be more gun than you need. I'd also take weight into consideration if you'll be hiking much.

[Mountainman]

Let me know if you ever wanna go out and fuck some stuff up once you get the gun. I'm always down for some shooting.

[lemon boy]

FoS-

Ain't no such thing as brush/meadow hunting for the lopes dude.

Mox Nix between the 06 and the 270 IMO.

You will have a wider range of bullet choices with the 06 (good/bad) but it doesn't shoot as flat (antelopes) as the .270. The 7mag's lightest bullet is 140grs and I think you'll be wasting a fair amount of meat on an atntelope with it. That said, it will reach out a LOOOONG ways (clearly the 7 mag shoots the flattest of the three).

Play around with the ballistics table assgrass posted, note, in assgrass's table above for short range trajectory the '06 is zero'd at 100 instead of 150 for the other two.

Start going to gun stores and looking at them. When you find a good deal on a rifle you want in .270 or 06 buy it.

For either you'll have to work up what loads work in various weights for each critter and know how each effects your zero (or change your zero around).

[lemon boy]

and- get a fucking shotgun dude.

Bird Hunting = Way fucking fun.

[assgasorgrass]

Or just buy a bow.

[Flake]

Hmmmm...30-06 vs. .270 vs. 7mm vs. .300 mag, an insolvable question. In my opinion any will do (I own one of each). The actual rifle make and model that you get should require as much or more thought and reaserch. Remmington M700? Winchester M70? Browning? Ruger? Savage? Tikka? Sako? Weatherby? or any number of different makers. Weight, composition (stainless or blued?, wood or synthetic?) accuracy, price, fit and feel of the rifle etc would be things that I look at as much as calibre if shopping for a first hunting rifle.

The magnums may be a bit much as a starter gun, but not nessecarily. I'd just as soon shoot my .300 mag as my .25-06. Not because I enjoy recoil but the opposite. The .300 fits me better and has a better recoil pad resulting in less felt recoil.

Just my opinion. But what do I know? I'm only a hunting guide.