11-22-2010, 05:36 PM
my two cents............ if you are or will be a reloder i would recomend any of the 7mm 0r .300 long or short magnums. they are very useful. your loads can adapt for any situation. myself i have reloaded ammo since i was 12. i have never killed an animal with a factory cartridge. on my last hunt i hunted with a friends friend who had a .300 ultra mag. he said it was a must for north idaho whitetail even though he haden't shot one. he had 180 grn. barnes x load. he shot a small doe and it ran off. it had to be finished later that afternoon with a .243. the shot was a bit back but still clipped the lungs. the bullet didn't open at all. i write this beacause you have to use loads for each species of game. this load would work well for elk but not so well on a 75 lb. doe. reloading gives you this flexibility. if you are just using factory ammo, using one of the magnums will cost you big $$$. and practicing when starting out with a magnum is a must.everyone has different recoil tolerances. i have a friend that shoots a .338 ultra mag without a brake and makes no noise about it. he weighs around 150 lbs. another friend weighs around 300 and he uses a 6mm for deer and a .270 for elk. a 30-06 is a great cartridge albiet boring. my uncle gets his elk with his every year one shot with a max load of rl-19 and a 180 grain ballisic tip. as for rifles i would get a rifle you can afford and put at least a decent scope on it ! i can't believe the guys i hunt with they will buy a 900 $ rifle and cant afford anything but a 60 $ scope. i would budget 60 % for the rifle and 40 % for the optics. hope you have fun with what ever you chose !
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