Suggestions for stablemate for 270 win

[The Oregonian]

Many good suggestions...as I think about it more there are some additional factors at play...

1) My son is only 3, so this is somewhat of an excuse for me to buy a new gun. I want one that will be suitable for him and yet be something different for me now. I think I can accomplish this, but if not, the priority is something that will be good for him.
2) I have no idea how recoil sensitive he is, but if I start him out on a 22, then AR-15, then this I can manage his recoil sensitivity, I believe. I developed recoil flinches at one point so I dropped down in caliber and shot an AR until the recoil sensitivity went away.
3) I can get the 'managed recoil' loads for the 270 and that, along with a muzzle brake, may drop the .270 recoil down far enough that I don't need to buy anything now (but do we ever really need a new gun - I think it comes down to want vs need).

The .260 seems like a good cartridge...I can always buy ammo in bulk to help make sure I don't run low on it. But that leads me to number four...

4) I may be over-thinking this whole thing and any of the calibers I mentioned will be within spitting distance of the others...but window shopping, picking out the "perfect" gun, and discussing calibers with other folks is always loads of fun...at the end of the day, it just needs to be able to kill larger deer / bucks and not kick too much for a youngster.

 

[mrclean5687]

Looking for a soft shooting rifle for deer, shooting out to 300 yards at most.

This will be my son's first rifle in several yrs so soft shooter is very important, and ideally will be something that brings different strengths to the table than the 270 I already have. *I also don't reload so I want something that will be too tough to find ammo. *I would also like to have a bolt action so some of the lever action calibers are out.

I know bullet placement is as / more important than caliber, but at the same time I want something with margin of error built in.

I am researching various options now but thought I would throw it out there for some experts to chime in with suggestions. *I am primarily looking at these options...

243 - seems to be a little small for some larger deer
25-06 - seems like a good choice but very similar to 270. *But maybe that is fine
7mm-08 - another good choice but tougher to find ammo and less ammo selection
260 - same as above

Thoughts from the experts?

Thanks in advance

Well got a never fired mountain eagle 300WM w/fox river muzzle brake and brushed chrome finish. also a nice Nikon Scope and the real kicker 200 rounds of Hornady custom bullets #8200 just depends on what you want to spend. This is a lifetime gun it will be listed here shortly if you want pics let me know.

cliff

 

[winmag]

Many good suggestions...as I think about it more there are some additional factors at play...

1) My son is only 3, so this is somewhat of an excuse for me to buy a new gun. I want one that will be suitable for him and yet be something different for me now. I think I can accomplish this, but if not, the priority is something that will be good for him.
2) I have no idea how recoil sensitive he is, but if I start him out on a 22, then AR-15, then this I can manage his recoil sensitivity, I believe. I developed recoil flinches at one point so I dropped down in caliber and shot an AR until the recoil sensitivity went away.
3) I can get the 'managed recoil' loads for the 270 and that, along with a muzzle brake, may drop the .270 recoil down far enough that I don't need to buy anything now (but do we ever really need a new gun - I think it comes down to want vs need).

The .260 seems like a good cartridge...I can always buy ammo in bulk to help make sure I don't run low on it. But that leads me to number four...

4) I may be over-thinking this whole thing and any of the calibers I mentioned will be within spitting distance of the others...but window shopping, picking out the "perfect" gun, and discussing calibers with other folks is always loads of fun...at the end of the day, it just needs to be able to kill larger deer / bucks and not kick too much for a youngster.

Both my boys will start out with -06's or 270's, just like I did, & every one of my cousins did.
I may even let them start with one of the WSM's with a good brake.

Our families theory was always "Dad buys your FIRST huntin rifle", chambered healthy enough to hunt Deer, Elk, Antelope & Bear, cause we live in Oregon, & hunt all those critters here. My dad could only afford 1 rifle per kid, so he picked -06's for us. Not too much recoil, & big enough to hunt everything we could hunt.

His theory, that a 270 was about as light as you'd wanna go for an Elk rifle is sound logic. Smaller guns can, & have killed em, but why bother when there's more appropriate cartriges for bigger, tougher game. It's always proven to work out for us anyway, & I am my fathers son, so we pretty much see things the same. Oddly enough we both look at any rig smaller than a 270 as a varmint gun. Kinda weird thinkin' for some folks who didn't grow up here I guess. But weve got lots of different critters in our mountains, & I never went anywhere undergunned. Dad saw to that.

Lots of things to consider for a kids rifle. There's a few more for ya to chew on.

I know my families way isn't for everyone, & I'm not touting it as gospel, but for a kid growing up hunting anywhere from about the Rockies, West, its got a proven track record of bringing smiles to kids faces, as well as bringing most of them home safe.

With a handle like "The Oregonian" howcome Elk weren't on the menue? Just curious.

 

[The Oregonian]

With a handle like "The Oregonian" howcome Elk weren't on the menue? Just curious.

Grew up in Georgia and hunted there...upland, ducks, and deer. Don't really know anyone here who hunts big game - all my friends hunt ducks and some upland. Starting to get back into deer hunting more but will probably be back in the South more than here. But one of these days I will get out and shoot some elk.

 

[Riverman]

I'm with Winmag, a 30/06 is a cannot fail option, especially if you do not handload. Like has been
said "it's is good for mice to moose." You can purchase ammo anywhere it is sold. It will definitely
take deer out to 300 yards.

My dad purchased one for me when I turned 13, that was 50 years ago. I still have it.

 

[The Oregonian]

I agree that there are plenty of folks that start out with a larger caliber gun than I am talking about for my son...but I am not going down that route. If I was, I would start him with my 270.

I am not interested in a 300wm as someone posted above. I am looking for feedback on a smaller caliber for my son...not to sound unappreciative, but the suggestions on calibers larger than somewhere around 7mm-08 fall outside of what I am looking for. I a familiar with those calibers as my first rifle was a 270, though I didn't get it til 18 or so. I have owned an -06 and my next larger caliber will be either a .280 or 7 mag, but that is not going to happen before I get a smaller caliber.

 

[bigngreen]

The 243 has been doing a wonderful job on deer for years no reason it would not now. I have several buddies who kill everything with them from coyotes to elk with no issues at all, a 105 Berger from a 243 will jack a deer up for a long ways!!!
I had two options when I started hunting, a 250-3000 or a 30-06, the 30-06 beat me like a red headed step child and I never could hit anything with it because it would brutalize me every time I touched it of. The 250-3000 however I could shoot and shoot very well so I ended up taking a lot of deer and elk with it until I could hack more rifle, I still us that little rifle from time to time and it's like packing a lightning bolt because I could shoot it and enjoy it so I got handy with it.
My daughter is 7 years old and getting good with her 22lr and want's to shoot farther so I have the parts gathered up to build her a 6BR, it's just a sweet little round and can huck a 105 Berger good enough to take the life from any deer in her range and she can shoot the heck out of it and get her skills to a higher level and enjoy it more rather than fighting the rifle. I'd rather her kill a deer with accuracy than horse power and I never want her to cringe at the though of shooting with her old man either gun)Just my two cents.

 

[Edd]

If I was going to buy a gun for a small child, a 250-3000 would be my top pick.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

If I was going to buy a gun for a small child, a 250-3000 would be my top pick.

+1
good output for the powder consumption. Wish I had one. Saw one in a stainless #1 a while back. Awesome looking rifle.

 

[The Oregonian]

Being that I'm a lefty, the 25-06 and 7mm-08 seem to offer the greatest choice in factory rifles. If I decide to go custom that disappears but not sure I want to drop $3k on a rifle.