For my brother what caliber

[Deputy Sheriff]

Holdout for a Remington mountain SS , you will be glad you did.

 

[Martyn]

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

The truth is that the best rifle for your brother is the one that he shoots best, does the job you want to do and one that you can get quality Ammo for in your area.

From what you've said that he's shot before he's not particularly recoil shy and for both the .308 and 30-06 the range of both Ammo and projectiles for reloading is pretty much unmatched plus you can buy good feed for both of these calibres pretty much anywhere.

If bear is truly going to be on the menu then it's tough to beat something like a 180 or 200 grain Partition, I never had one get up from that, or an A-Frame or such. Unsurprising but good bullets is the trick here. They do recoil some but for practice on the range and on Whitetail with light to mid weight (130-160 grainers) will help get him get to know the rifle.

The rifle needs to fit well and as he's only 17 and probably has some growing to do something where you can adjust the LOP would be helpful. I do like Magpul hunter stocks for price and adjustability.

Hope this helps.

 

[JTComfort]

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

Thompson Center Compass in .308 and he'll be good to go. Great value and startling accuracy.

 

[freddiej]

opinions being like everything else; subjective to the person that is giving them as the best.
the 30-06 is a fine cartridge, the 270 Win is also, the 308 rounds out the top 3 most used calibers used for hunting. My personal opinion and experience with all three is this. the 30 calibers are a sufficiant for most every animal on this North American Continent. I own all three 270, 308, 30-06. my go to rifle for deer is my Tikka 270 Win. My 30-06 is my fun rifle because it is a M-1 Garand, my 308 is my PALMA rifle due to the platform being a M-1A (National Match). I have four 270's. I am saving to make that five 270's. this next one will replicate my giant middle finger to the 7MM Rem Mag cult. I will use the 7MM R/M-264 Win Mag case and neck it to .277". I built one that I loved then it got stolen; now I want it again.

 

[Tidus56]

I would suggest a Savage hunter in whichever chambering he wants. The stock that comes with it is the accufit that allows you to adjust LOP and comb height with spacers. It sure makes it easy to adjust to the hunter when you can swap those around and make adjustments as he grows. If I was suggesting a cartridge I would say a 280 AI on the heavier side and a 6.5 Creed on the lighter side based on how he does with recoil. Realistically there are about 50 chamberings that would work.

 

[Ol' Red]

I started my sons and daughter on .270. 25-06 is hard to beat and has less recoil in the same weight rifle.

 

[Critter Picker]

I started shooting a .308 for handgun silhouette 45 years ago. All of a sudden one day I thought, you know, this would be a really good hunting cartridge. It is great!

45 years later I think if I had used a 708 it would be same story.

Short action,light recoil, wide choice of both factory ammo and components, good ballistics. What more could you ask for?

 

[wv270wsm]

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

Just bought my youngest son a 35 rem for black bear hunting . It hammered a 240 ponder last week over hounds

 

[CHAGA50]

Just bought my youngest son a 35 rem for black bear hunting . It hammered a 240 ponder last week over hounds

Low recoil and a heavy punch works every time for beginners , Their going to decide what magnum they have to have later on , that's the fun part

 

[russ usn]

I love my 6.5 Creedmoor.....I put a Vortex Crossfire scope on a Ruger American and the gun makes me look good..........super accurate no re-coil...cant go wrong and it doesnt break the bank

 

[NorCalRiceGuy]

I have the same issue. I always cut the stock down and add a grind to fit recoil pad. Not really an option with cheap tuperware stocks.

The Savage AXIS II with 22" barrel comes with a 13.5" length of pull. First rifle I've ever had that didn't need the stock shortened. I'm 5'4 these days, shrinking as I age at almost 68.

 

[Shortmag11]

The caliber choices are almost unlimited for him. 7m-08, 30.06, 308, 270 etc etc. and for his budget I'd look hard at the Ruger American or the Thompson Center Venture II. Good luck!

 

[Paladin300]

Because you mentioned the possibility of hunting bear, with its primary purpose being whitetail, I am going to second 7mm-08 and 308. You can't go wrong with either. All three of my kids killed their first deer with 7/08's and 308's. They all fell where they stood. My oldest 24 still hunts with a 7/08 and my youngest 14 a 308. My daughter when she does hunt uses the 7/08. She's 21. They have a ton of other guns to choose from in various calibers but would fight each other over the 7/08, with 120 gr. bullets recoil is almost non existant. They all killed their first deer between the ages of 8 and 12.
Your brother should be able to find a nice used Tikka or a new Ruger American in either caliber pretty easily in his price range. I favor the Tikka as that is what my crew primarily hunts with. Both would make a excellent first gun. Blessings!

 

[BigJohnH]

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

Savage 110 in .308!