I'll add to take in consideration the yardage at what might be your longest shot, that may help decide on what rifle is needed. Here in WV i used to hunt with a friend that used a 12 gauge with slugs, he got his share of deer with it.
I'll add to take in consideration the yardage at what might be your longest shot, that may help decide on what rifle is needed. Here in WV i used to hunt with a friend that used a 12 gauge with slugs, he got his share of deer with it.
As mentioned, recoil is a big consideration. A flinch is kind of like training a bid dog not to be gun shy, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Buy him a light shooting cartridge like the 7mm-08 or 270 or 6.5 so he'll learn to enjoy shooting and develop good practice habits/techniques. The X-bolts are great guns for their 3 position safety (critical for a young shooter IMO) and accuracy. Let him pick the specifics (barrel finish, stock color) but make sure the gun fits him. Since he's tall it will be more about mounting the scope properly since you can add a recoil pad for length of pull. A recoil pad and muzzle break will also help with recoil. Buy lots of ammo and let him enjoy the setup and sighting in process then let him punch a lot of paper. My parents let me keep my rifle in my bedroom but no ammo. That enabled me to practice handling and cycling the action and safety and finding targets quickly in the scope (which I did for hours). Too many young hunters never touch their gun except on the bench or on the stand and can panic when those big horns show up or make a critical safety error that may ruin their hunting forever. Good luck.Originally Posted by dukhntr
THIS!!!!!!!
In just about every little ole Country Store you can find some 30-30, .270, .308, and 30.06.
Other Calibers come and go. At one point the "new and exciting one" was the .280. Every writer told just how much better it was over the .270. Gone now. Just a few still shooting it and shells are hard to find.
.257 Roberts was one of the "Go To" Calibers at one time as well. I have my Dad's. Trying to find shells for it is hard to do and IF you do they run $60-80 a box.
The 30-30, .270, .308., 30.06 may not be the Flashy New Kid In Town, but when the Sun Sets you know Ole Jimmy is at home with his wife and kids.
Pick any of the Above in a Gun he feels comfortable holding and never look back.
I gotta say i am totally impresed with my daughters 350legend...its a ruger american and for the money its a very accurate little rifle...shoots sub moa at 100yds with factory loads and it seems that ammo is widely available
Its the only cartridge i own that i dont have a die for...yet lol
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Exactly.
Worked at a Wal Mart Sporting Goods Dept for a couple of years and Guys would come in asking for stuff we never had and probably never would and they just couldn't understand why. They Stock What The General Pubic Wants. Period.
Based on that criteria I think a 30.06 or .308 would be a good fit. My exact recommendation would be a Remington 700 BDL 30.06 stainless barrel with black synthetic stock.
Think of it from a future perspective. The Creedmoor is nothing but a fad caliber. You can read a whole lot of issues with performance on big game. Ammo can be tough to find in tough times, Alot of industry folks call it The Needmoor. I had a buddy during pandemic that had one and couldn't find a round. The 30-06 you can find ammo from 125 to 240 gr bullets, so the gun will perform on all big game. I would not want to be shooting bear or elk with creedmoor. He may be starting now but he may get heavily into it and either cal you'll be able to resell. I've shot an 06 for 50+ yrs, killed Caribou, moose, elk, whitetail, mules and countless Coyotes. Is it the only cal I have, no, I have 243, 6.5x284 (given to me, use it for prairie dogs mostly), 25-06, 2- 30-06, 300RUM. Just my .02
Stainless Ruger 77 in 260 rem.
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Chances are, if he's serious about it he's not going to be buying a box at some lil country store. He will have ONE hunting load that he knows to shoot well. Personally, I'm a huge fan of the 7mm-08 for deer sized game. It checks every box. My advice is do NOT buy a used gun unless you've had the chance to shoot it. Many used guns end up on the dealers shelf because they did not group as they should. Finding a tackdriver will only increase his confidence and ability. Then once you find the load he shoots well, buy 5 boxes of the same lot if possible and know that he's set for ammo for several years.
Azure AZ200 (with stuff like cupholders, bathroom and table)
A lot of rounds out there for deer. But, why limit yourself to just a medium game round. A lot of fancy rounds out there now but people are just going back to the old 30-06. Easer to get and you can more up to heavy loads for big game like Elk, Bear or Mouse if ever someone wants too.
Ah the never-ending debate about the best deer rifle.......
Oh, come on now. The 6.5 CM is a "fad"? I think seeing as the military adopted it as their new sniper round for special forces (and likely throughout eventually) it pretty well secures it's spot on the shelf for the foreseeable future.
And "you read a whole lot of issues with it's performance on big game"? Well, I hear a lot of good reports of how well it performs on deer-sized game which is what we're talking about. I was at a tagging station 2 weeks ago when a guy brought in a buck dressed out at 218. He took it with a 6.5 CM. Said it's the 11th buck over 200# he's taken with it and all have dropped in their tracks. I wouldn't hesitate to take it elk hunting either but I'd probably be a little more selective on the shots than with a heavier round.
People use them on moose up here. Given the choice, I'd take the '06 moose hunting but the 6.5 is still adequate. I know folks in Norway who think Americans are silly using such high calibers for moose when the 6.5 Swede is plenty
We are finding this with the .260 rem. There is a new kid on the block in this style of essentially a .308 case necked down. Its kinda crowded. We load so its just cimponents.
I've taken 3 deer with mine out to 135 yds and I have been happy with the round. Mine is a AR platform, but I looked last year and couldn't find a bolt in stock. Guess I need to look again with my Cabelas bucks. I do have a die for mine, but haven't reloaded yet.
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My uneducated opinion .308 or 6.5CM. I believe I read awhile back the 6.5CM is now more produced than the .308. Both easy to find and not too much $$.
I’m a 270 308 spend almost or more on the scope than you do the gun.
If that is the case he will probably be more comfortable with a long action with a 24" barrel. That means 30-06 based cartridges.
The 257 roberts is probably the answer to what is actually the best deer cartridge but I would never recommend it to someone because of ammunition and component availability.
I like the old nostalgic stuff. If it wasn't around 50 years ago I don't want it.
I would go with 6.5 Creedmore for a couple reasons.
Plenty of caliber.
readily avalible ammo in multiple weights as it is the "hot caliber" now days.
low recoil.
Very accurate.
I have one and love it. I shoot 143 Hornaday Presicion ammo and shoot one ragged hole at 100 yards.
Tikka tx3 in 308 would be my choice
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