For my brother what caliber

[CHAGA50]

Hello all I'm asking this to better help my brother he is looking to buy his first rifle which will be for huntin white tail and maybe bear if hes able.hes not sure what caliber or rifle to go with and what I've recommended to him hes not sure on yet.hes looking at couple different rifles but he is on a tight budget of 500 just for rife but me and my dad will help with little more cash if he finds something he really wants.the caliber he is most interested in is different 6.5 cal,,270 win and maybe 308.he has shot and hunted with either my dads 308 or 30-06,270 or 50 cal muzzleloader.he wants to have his own rifle he is 17 right now and I'm not sure how he is on recoil any help would be greatly appreciated thanks

I would talk to him about a thumper , 35 Remington or 358 Winchester , I know these are not the most talked about but at close range with a black bear ! Marlin makes a great 35 Rem and its less recoil than a 308, if this is not an issue, 358 Winchester will absolutely stop anything on his list

 

[Murph1951]

IMHO go with a 30-06, best selection of bullets, can hunt any critter in the USA,and there are a ton of used guns available. My 1964 Remington BDL still shoots 1".with the Walker trigger. Go to gun shows and bring a bore light and look at used guns for a first purchased. You can not beat a older 700! My second choice for light skinned deer and such would be a 25-06. Just remember the scope you put on it will determine how well YOU shoot. Don't cheap out and get some ***.

 

[tomsd]

And pretty much every manufacturer today makes a good - entry level rifle for $500 - and I would look at the likes of Savage, Mossberg, Remington, Winchester, Ruger and others to find what fits best. On sale - you can even find a very smooth Tikka T3 for a bit over $500 - nothing better for that price.

And if I wuz going lever action - like my favorite .32 Winchester Special I grew up with hunting Mulies in thick timber in Southern Oregon - I would look at Browning's offering in a 30.06. Seems sweet.

 

[tomsd]

I would talk to him about a thumper , 35 Remington or 358 Winchester , I know these are not the most talked about but at close range with a black bear ! Marlin makes a great 35 Rem and its less recoil than a 308, if this is not an issue, 358 Winchester will absolutely stop anything on his list

Amen brother - from a old fart from Klamath Falls.

 

[tomsd]

IMHO go with a 30-06, best selection of bullets, can hunt any critter in the USA,and there are a ton of used guns available. My 1964 Remington BDL still shoots 1".with the Walker trigger. Go to gun shows and bring a bore light and look at used guns for a first purchased. You can not beat a older 700! My second choice for light skinned deer and such would be a 25-06. Just remember the scope you put on it will determine how well YOU shoot. Don't cheap out and get some ***.

Excellent advice as well.

 

[longrangebob]

7mm.-08 BUT if Bears R likely to be fairly Frequent … think .338-08 (these days 338 Ruger) … LRB

 

[JimFromTN]

I like calibers where the ammo is easy to find and cheap. I know the 270 win seems to be losing popularity these days to anything 6.5 but that is what I would seriously consider. The recoil isn't bad at all but If you are worried about it, get a 1 inch recoil pad for it. The great thing about the 270 win right now is that it is probably the easiest to find ammo for and its cheap. I love the 308 win. You can find really cheap ammo, cheaper than the 270, and get allot of trigger time for not much money but with all the nonsense thats going on right now and people hoarding, its been hard to find. I would recommend it over the 270 if you didn't have to worry about an ammo shortage everytime there is a panic. I have been wanting a 7-08 but the ammo is a little more expensive and a little harder to find.

 

[Murph1951]

And if I wuz going lever action - like my favorite .32 Winchester Special I grew up with hunting Mulies in thick timber in Southern Oregon - I would look at Browning's offering in a 30.06. Seems sweet.

A 32 Win Special has a real crappy Rate of Twist...It was designed for BP. So after a few hundred rounds the barrel is shot. I do like the old Winchester 94 (pre WW2) but would look for one in 30-30.I still see a lot of these being used in New England.

 

[Gater]

Hello all I'm asking this to better help my brother he is looking to buy his first rifle which will be for huntin white tail and maybe bear if hes able.hes not sure what caliber or rifle to go with and what I've recommended to him hes not sure on yet.hes looking at couple different rifles but he is on a tight budget of 500 just for rife but me and my dad will help with little more cash if he finds something he really wants.the caliber he is most interested in is different 6.5 cal,,270 win and maybe 308.he has shot and hunted with either my dads 308 or 30-06,270 or 50 cal muzzleloader.he wants to have his own rifle he is 17 right now and I'm not sure how he is on recoil any help would be greatly appreciated thanks

That's exactly what I tell my wife when she sees yet another gun on the bench. Oh no honey it's not mine it's for my brother wink wink nod nod lol

 

[JASmith]

In order of preference:

6.5 Grendel
257 Roberts
6.5 Creedmoor

 

[thwatson2]

308 or 30-06 easy to get ammo and most of your inexpensive rifles will have them in stock

 

[extremesolo]

Right now CDNN has a Ruger hawkeye synthetic in both 30-06 and 308 and they are $499. Solid rifles and a pretty good price on them.

 

[Walt Pence]

30-06 is always a good choice. It is suitable for anything in the lower 48 and beyond. Ammo is readily available just about anywhere in 120-200 grain bullets.

I agree, if you are going to have one rifle and be able to cleanly kill dear and bears, the old 30-06 will get the job done. With the use of new slower burning powders, it is also capable of doing new tricks that were not possible before. I question the humaneness of using a 6.5 to harvest bear.

 

[Rick parks]

IMO. All of the rifles mentioned above are good picks . If recoil is a concern a quality muzzle break can take the nasty out of any caliber they are relatively inexpensive and IMO improve accuracy