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Hey everyone! I want to get into hunting and I was wondering what rifle would be best to get for deer and elk? I've seen people on other forums say 30-06, 25-06 and .275. I want to get a rifle before taking hunters safety and would appreciate any and all input. Thanks!
P.S. I'm really not worried about recoil because I've shot plenty of guns from AR-15's to AK-47's and shotguns.
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I shoot a 7MM Rem Mag and it works perfect for deer and elk. I have only shot four deer and two elk with it but that is because I usually archery hunt. The 30-06 will do just fine and so will a 270. I would see if you could find some friends or people that would let you try out these different cartridges and guns before you choose. That is what I did I tried a .300 a 30-06, .270, and the 7MM. I really liked the 7MM so that is what I stuck with. Shoot with what you are comfortable with.
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Can't go wrong with the 7MM. Offers a little more down range punch than the 30-06 or the 270. The best advice was already given, try and shoot some different guns and see what suits you best. Keep us posted on your decision.
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I don't think there is a "perfect" hunting rifle. They are like trucks, all of them will work, some will work better than other in certain situations. Go try a few different calibers before you decide on buying one. Or just be like me and get a few of them. I have 5 different big game rifles in my cabinet, and wouldn't mind having a couple more. That doesn't include the muzzleloaders or bows either.
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Im in the same boat as Elkaholic. I have a 300 win, 7mm WSM, 270, 30-06 and a 6mm and a 7mm rem mag. Depending on where im going, what im hunting from, be it horse, bike, foot, terrain, distance of shots, whatever dictates what gun I use. Thewre are a few more I would like.
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Okay if you had just one gun to hunt both deer and elk, which one would it be? I'm leaning towards the 7 mm rem mag but it looks like you get more rounds with a
30-06.
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I would do the 7mm WSM. this case is getting tough to find. Most likely you will need to hand load it. With that being said, My next choice would be the 7mm rem mag
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Just one, shoot several rifles in different calibers, don't buy anything which you can't practice with comfortably. I'm with the other guys on multiple calibers for the right job. I elk hunt with a .300 WSM, the rifle is a featherweight and I don't care who you are you will know you've been shooting it, I've got several .308's which are mild recoiling rifles. You need to be proficient with the rifle so consider the cost and availability of the ammunition. For a new shooter I would recommend any of the above peoples recommendations. If you were a family member I would tell you to buy a 30.06 (cost and availability of ammunition, recoil impulse, wide variety of commercially manufactured cartridges' can buy a box at most gas stations in a hunting community in a pinch). Do not skimp on your optics, they are as or more important than your rifle regarding accuracy, best rifle in the world will not group with a pos scope. You will likely have it for the rest of your life so I wouldn't buy cheap, it will likely cost you more in the long run when you have to replace it or it costs you a trophy you didn't make a good shot on. Just my 2 pennies
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FYI, ar15's and AK47's have almost no recoil. Recoil is absolutely something you should be concerned with as it will affect your ability to shoot proficiently. No person is immune from it.
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I shoot a Remington 30-06 and love it. 30-06 is a tried and true round and is perfect for both deer and elk. I like it because ammunition will never be hard to find for it as its a very popular round and it offers me everything that I need.
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I am not much of a hunter and I've had my eye on a 30/30 for a while but in answer to your question .270 or 30-06.
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If I were buying my first rifle to hunt deer & elk, I would not recommend the 270. I have one and always had to run down wounded elk. (maybe I shoot to far???) I upgraded to a 300 Weatherby mag & have never run down a wounded elk. However, a 300 Weatherby is probably too big for a deer.
I have friends that use a 30-06 for both deer and elk & overall this is a very good deer & elk rifle. As mentioned earlier, if you ever have to by some shells on the mountain, the 30-06 is more readily available. If I were to purchase one rifle to hunt everything in this state, I would get a 30-06 (based on 42 years of big game hunting).
My 2 cents.
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I would choose the Rem .280
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My wife and I have several 308 rifles and I love the caliber. I use a 300 win mag for larger stuff but also took my first two elk with the 308 with no problem. Shot placement is what matters. You have to be able to shoot a lot with the caliber you choose. The 308 was also a little much on the few antelope we killed, I loaded a few lighter loads for those after the first time. Get the right bullet and shot placement an anything 270 or up through 30 caliber will do.
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Ive hunted with both. Not much of a difference between a 30-06 and a 270. Compare a cartage from each side by side and you will see. 30-06 has slightly larger diameter in fact they are so close a 270 shell will seat in a 30-06 chamber, not perfectly tight i sure wouldn't recommend attempting to fire it. but not that much difference. Thought it was odd that 30-06 would get the job done but a 270 would only wound an elk. I believe its all about shot placement. a .22 would get the job done if it was placed perfectly.
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A .270 is made from the 30.06 case. It's.277 diameter vs a .308 diameter projectile. The 30.06 has a wider variety of projectiles. I dont shoot elk with bullet weights under 165 grains and prefer 180's at a minimum. Not many if any 180 grain bullets for the .270 that I'm aware of.
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Actually, the 270 is based on the 30-03 case, not the 30-06 so it is slightly longer. [  ] (just being pedantic) I've got a 30-06, 8mm Mauser (8x57), 7mm Mauser(7x57), and 257 Roberts hunting rifles. I'm not a big fan of magnum rifles simply because of the recoil, muzzle blast, and expense of feeding them.
You won't go wrong with either the 270 or 30-06. Or 280. Or even 7mm Rem Mag. I wouldn't use a 25-06 for Elk, but that's just me.
As others have said, shot-placement is king. Bullet construction is a close second, especially on Elk. One thing you need to do is make sure that you practice shooting with they gun and loads that you will using on the hunt. That way, you know the gun and get to know the trajectory of the bullet so that you don't end up missing or, even worse, wounding an animal.
Matt
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I stand corrected. Thanks for the info, I've been spewing wrong information for years it appears.
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[quote submoa]I stand corrected. Thanks for the info, I've been spewing wrong information for years it appears.[/quote]
I've always wondered why Winchester chose to use the -03 case as the basis for the 270. It never made sense to me, unless Winchester had a massive overrun of 30-03 cases from 20 years earlier and needed to do something with them.
Matt
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Could be. I knew the 06 was made off of that case. I always thought the .270 was made off of the 06.
Maybe they should do a hand loading section for BFT?
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