Looking to get into big game

[Waterfowler82]

Hello everyone. I'm new here. I grew up in a non hunting home. When I was in high school my uncle my uncle took me duck hunting. I was hooked. I now have a family and will always hunt waterfowl but I'm looking at getting into big game hunting. I live in Utah and I'm wanting an all around rifle for the deer and elk here. Seems like out west here the shots are longer shots. Not really sure. My birthday is coming up and my wife is planning on getting me a rifle. She asked some of my friends for advice. I was thinking a 7mm 300 wsm or a 308. Friends told her she couldn't go wrong with a 30-06.

 

[Engineering101]

Welcome. I think you will find this site very useful to your new hobby.

My first rifle (that I bought in 1968) was a Sako Finnbear 30-06. It is still one of my favorites however with the advent of the muzzle brake there are better choices if elk are going to be on the menu. A 300 WSM is not a bad choice but they are usually packaged in light short quick handling rifles which results in more recoil than most people can handle. A muzzle brake on such a rifle will make it fun too shoot and may allow you to spot your own shots at longer ranges. Plus you will tend to shoot it more if it doesn't kick the crap out of you. (You can get a Muscle brake or similar for around $115 if I recall and get it installed by a gunsmith for another $100 or so.) A brake will make it too loud to shoot without hearing protection but that is easy to solve. A set of ear plugs hung around your neck, muffs, electronic muffs all work.

 

[roninflag]

Water fowl- rifle is more important than the caliber. a remington sendero or a remington long would be at the top of the list depending on budget and how far you plan on shooting. . sako 85 , 75 or pre-garcia.

 

[lightflight]

7 Rem Mag.

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

A 30/06 is a great caliber. Its something you cant go wrong with. Its also not that expensive to shoot and you can usually find ammo everywhere for it. This is a great round to start with. I've killed anything from crows to elk with my 30/06. Savage makes a great factory rifle for the money. Extreemly accurate and very dependable. Remington 700 is also a very fine rifle. Make sure you don't go cheap on the scope. People on this site will post page after page of what caliber you should choose and why, but all will agree that you should get nice scope. It really makes a difference. You don't have to spend a couple grand on a rifle. You can get a nice factory hunting rifle for $800-$1100 that will almost shoot as nice as a custom. But plan on spending at least $500 on the scope.

 

[roninflag]

Water fowl- rifle is more important than the caliber. a remington sendero or a remington long would be at the top of the list depending on budget and how far you plan on shooting. . sako 85 , 75 or pre-garcia.

If i was in utah i would get either a 7mm rem or a 30-06. still the rifle is more important than the cartridge.

 

[FEENIX]

A 30/06 is a great caliber. Its something you cant go wrong with. Its also not that expensive to shoot and you can usually find ammo everywhere for it. This is a great round to start with. I've killed anything from crows to elk with my 30/06. Savage makes a great factory rifle for the money. Extreemly accurate and very dependable. Remington 700 is also a very fine rifle. Make sure you don't go cheap on the scope. People on this site will post page after page of what caliber you should choose and why, but all will agree that you should get nice scope. It really makes a difference. You don't have to spend a couple grand on a rifle. You can get a nice factory hunting rifle for $800-$1100 that will almost shoot as nice as a custom. But plan on spending at least $500 on the scope.

+1! Believe me, this is not going to be your last gun purchase.

BTW, welcome to LRH and enjoy!

 

[406precision]

I'll buck the trend and say 260...
If I were just getting someone started it would be with the following equipment.

Savage Arms 10/110 predator in 260

and a Vortex Optics - Viper HS-T 4-16x44 VMR-1<br />(MOA)

Then find yourself a mentor and start gathering up your reloading equipment and get ready for the ride. Big game hunting and long range shooting can be a very rewarding combo. Take the time to build yourself a solid foundation and work out from there.

Good Luck

Jordan @406

 

[cohunter14]

I would suggest going to a range and trying to shoot some of the different calibers available. That is the only real way to figure out how much recoil you can handle. I would also suggest that you post up more information of what you are hoping to accomplish with this gun. You did post on the 'long range hunting' forum, so we have to assume that you want to be able to shoot a reasonable distance. But how far is that? 500 yards? 1,000 yards? That can help answer your question a lot. You don't need the heavier recoiling calibers if you aren't going to shoot that long. You also don't have to buy a very expensive rifle if you are going to keep your shots shorter (the longer you get, the more accuracy you need out of your rifle).

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

I have the rifle 406 is talking about. I love it! The only problem with the 260 is the lack of factory ammo. To really enjoy it, you have to reload. The 30/06 dose not have this problem. Everybody makes ammo for the 30/06.

 

[azsugarbear]

I love the 30-06 and have owned several. Having said that, I would go with a 7mm Mag. Its' ballistics match the 30-06 at the muzzle with 180 gr. bullets, but is superior in down-range performance due to higher BC bullets. A premium 180 gr. bullet will get the job done on elk - even the tough quartering-to shoulder shot. Recoil is manageable w/o a brake. Good ammo available across the counter at all sporting goods stores. It is a caliber available in nearly every line of rifle from all major manufacturers.

If sub MOA accuracy is a must (for future long range shooting) but you are on a budget, go with a Savage and take you addl. savings and put it into good glass.

 

[WildRose]

I have the rifle 406 is talking about. I love it! The only problem with the 260 is the lack of factory ammo. To really enjoy it, you have to reload. The 30/06 dose not have this problem. Everybody makes ammo for the 30/06.

260 is easy to get. Maybe not every little Mom and Pop store has it but there's a lot of it available online. I will say that here even my little hometown small town gunshop keeps it in stock year round.

Just find a factory load you like after sampling some, pick the one that shoots best and buy it in bulk so you always have a couple of hundred rounds handy. When you get bored with shooting the factory stuff you'll have a good stock of once fired brass.

 

[gohring3006]

for your first rifle I think the 3006 would be a good choice its a good long range caliber with good barrel life if your not going to reload for a while the ammo is cheap I can get cheap Remington and Winchester ammo for about 1.00$ per round the cheap stuff for the others you mentioned can get pricey so if you want to shoot to get to know your rifle the 3006 is a perfect choice