Hunting rifle

[scubasteve]

Don pretty much covered the bases. I prefer the 30-06. In some towns, the local C stores sell ammo for it. Comes in handy when you forget your bullets at the house.
.308 ain't bad either. Have a soft spot for the 7mm Mauser and .257 Roberts. The 25-06 is regaining popularity after many years.
I like short barrels and a stock that shoulders easy. Wood and blued steel make me swoon. Plastic and s/s have their place.
I've killed most of my deer in the swamp with a Marlin .44 Mag lever gun with a Weaver 4x scope. Made a lllllllooooonnnnggggg shot in Nth.LA with my Husqvarna 30-06. Carry my Remington 742 Carbine in '06 on a lot of hunts.
Don't get one rifle. Get one for each day of hunting season.

 

[dzelenka]

Don pretty much covered the bases. I prefer the 30-06. In some towns, the local C stores sell ammo for it. Comes in handy when you forget your bullets at the house.
.308 ain't bad either. Have a soft spot for the 7mm Mauser and .257 Roberts. The 25-06 is regaining popularity after many years.
I like short barrels and a stock that shoulders easy. Wood and blued steel make me swoon. Plastic and s/s have their place.
I've killed most of my deer in the swamp with a Marlin .44 Mag lever gun with a Weaver 4x scope. Made a lllllllooooonnnnggggg shot in Nth.LA with my Husqvarna 30-06. Carry my Remington 742 Carbine in '06 on a lot of hunts.
Don't get one rifle. Get one for each day of hunting season.

Amen!

 

[Silent Thud]

I would have to say .50 cal., without a doubt. You have got good range, knock down power and it also assists in cleaning/gutting the deer!! Excellent choice!! Its a win-win situation.

 

[dzelenka]

I would have to say .50 cal., without a doubt. You have got good range, knock down power and it also assists in cleaning/gutting the deer!! Excellent choice!! Its a win-win situation.

I bet that would be especially sporting to shoot from a tree stand.

 

[Barney88PDC]

This makes me remember something I read not too long ago about the .50 cal. Some one asked if it was a shoulder mounted weapon and if you could shoot it standing up. LOL well some guy replied that my gun weights X amount (I think 30ish pounds) and I have managed to raise it to my shoulder for a few seconds and peer down the scope. But I dont have the NUTS to pull the trigger while it is there LMFAO!

 

[CajunTim]

I fired a fellow members Barret from the shoulder and yes it was heavy and I am old, fat, lazy, weak and not balding but the recoil and the Barret was less than my stock .308. Now the weight I'm not sure what it weighed but we use to shoot the 240 from the shoulder at least when the Lt wasn't looking

Now when it came to the Barret I wasn't as brave as some as one guy didn't even use his ear plugs to fire it

 

[CajunTim]

The .30-30 Winchester is the best selling centerfire sporting cartridge in history, bar none. Yet, because it is chambered primarily in lever action carbines that most gun writers' disdain, practically no one pays any attention to either the cartridge or the rifles that shoot it. Except consumers, that is, who have made the Winchester Model 94 and Marlin Model 336 the best selling hunting rifles of all time.

.

 

[Ritten]

Now when it came to the Barret I wasn't as brave as some as one guy didn't even use his ear plugs to fire it

Now THAT'S just stupid. A sore shoulder will heal, but shooting something with that much concussion will permanently damage your hearing.

 

[Lone Ranger]

A 30-06 is hard to beat due to the fact there are many factory loads available. It is the most versatile caliber and recoil is not bad. It can be found in most stores that carry ammo anywhere in the USA. It is practical for almost anything in North America and flat shooting loads are available such as Hornady Superformance. The .270 winchester would be my other choice for a beginner. Recoil is pleasant and this is a very accurate round with a very flat trajectory. Ammo is easy to find.

 

[jetmech1983]

Wow. almost 2 year old post brought back from the dead.

 

[S&W4ME]

For a new shooter who is not into guns a whole lot and wants something to hunt with, I would say a 30 30 lever gun should do fine. Easy to load and operate and not punishing.
.

This

 

[dzelenka]

Wow. almost 2 year old post brought back from the dead.

Some are good enough subjects to revisit.

 

[sandman7925]

30.06

 

[jetmech1983]

Some are good enough subjects to revisit.

True enough.

 

[scooterj]

7mm-08 for me

 

[longnkrnch]

30.06. Nothing better in North america. You can hunt any north american game with it. It is accurate and versatile. There is no more versatile caliber for the reloader. I have taken game out to 500yds in Wyoming with it.

 

[Win1917]

For new shooters I would say look at all the rounds with good availability and then of those choose one with low recoil and on down the list. So for me I would say 270, 7-08, 25-06 would be the top 3 choices. 308, 30-06, and 243 would be the next choices. 308/'06 because of higher recoil and 243 because it's on the low end of the power range. Personally I think a 260 is an excellent combination of low recoil and game taking ability but I wouldn't recommend it because of hard to find ammo.

 

[Uncle John]

Here are my choices going up the ladder. 6.5X55 SE in a CZ-USA 550 FS, 30-06 Remington 700 CDL, 325 WSM Browning X-Bolt, Marlin 45-70. One of these will fit any deer hunting situation anywhere.