Some more help and advice........

chatterbox · Post by **chatterbox** » November 5th, 2014, 9:36 am

Guys,

Harrison will be turning 16 in a couple years (I, know, now I am starting to feel old...........)
For his 16th birthday, we are looking to get him a deer rifle as his rite of passage. My in-laws and us, are going to split the cost.
If you were going out to get the perfect deer rifle cartridge, what would you get? He's a big boy 5'8", and weighs 131 pounds, and he can shoot my .308 with no issues at all. I was looking at a 7mm-08 just due to the flatter shooting cartridge, but bullet availability will be tops on the list.
I figure if I put one on lay away this year, I should have it all paid off before he turns 16. Will also be scoping it, so it should be ready to rock.
Any and all advice is appreciated! Thanks!
Secondly, what type of action? Thinking bolt, but a pump or lever action are also in the running.

Grumpy · Post by **Grumpy** » November 5th, 2014, 12:48 pm

I would go with the 30-06, can be loaded down for coyotes and loaded up for Brown Bear and everything in between. Ammo is cheaper than most big game cartridges and the availability is second to none. Ammo can be found in every hick town hardware store and IMO the caliber is an American Legend.

Gobbler · Post by **Gobbler** » November 5th, 2014, 1:02 pm

I like the 30 06 also. He is not going to be 16 forever he will thank you when hes 25. Plus what Grumpy said.

What ever you do don't listen to the gun dissection nut jobs that study every caliber and know ballistic tables by heart. They don't know real world like us normal people.

ICDEDTURKES · Post by **ICDEDTURKES** » November 5th, 2014, 1:38 pm

7mm08 is a great cartridge for anyone.. Truth be told I am going to a 243 after watching Sal whack truckloads of deer nothing else is needed if you use a quality bullet..

davisd9 · Post by **davisd9** » November 5th, 2014, 2:49 pm

Bolt 270 winchester, with the right bullet you can take on every game animal in North America except maybe the grizzly.

Post by **redarrow** » November 5th, 2014, 3:55 pm

You can't go wrong with the 30 06. Like Grumpy said. Load it up or load it down. I really like the 7 08 and another favorite is the old venerable .257 Robt.

Grumpy · Post by **Grumpy** » November 5th, 2014, 5:36 pm

davisd9 wrote:Bolt 270 winchester, with the right bullet you can take on every game animal in North America except maybe the grizzly.

.270 is a joke for elk tried it several times, several loads, none wanted to penetrate, went back to the 30-06 and even with deer, one shot and they don't run like hell and hide like the youtube videos, they drop just like the democrats did last night, dead in their tracks...

Waddle Whacker · Post by **Waddle Whacker** » November 5th, 2014, 6:00 pm

I think for a flat shooting deer rifle, the 270 is great. I can't speak for its performance on elk....I think I'd want something larger. I really like the 25-06 on whitetails, but ammo is much more readily available for the 270. The 30-06 is a great choice as well. That's what I shoot most of the time now, with 125 gr's of lead. Like grumpy said, the 06 is very versatile. While most folks I know shoot 150-180grs, I love it with the lighter, faster, loads. And I'd get a bolt gun for sure!

pedro · Post by **pedro** » November 5th, 2014, 7:26 pm

If nothing larger than WTD .243.

ICDEDTURKES · Post by **ICDEDTURKES** » November 5th, 2014, 8:09 pm

pedro wrote:If nothing larger than WTD .243.

Like button.. Its a damn ditch goat.. Put the bullet where it needs to go and they are dead in short order

As for the 06 vs 270 argument.. Very similar in all regards as far as factory loads but the 06 affords much more range of bullet weight for bear and elk etc.. Me personally I hate shooting an 06 or anything with more felt recoil..

Waddle Whacker · Post by **Waddle Whacker** » November 5th, 2014, 8:39 pm

pedro wrote:If nothing larger than WTD .243.

I'm also a fan. I still shoot my first deer rifle, a 6mm, pretty regularly. It's killed about 60 whitetails for me, and I can't recall ever having any issues. It just lacks versatility. I don't like to pack it in thick cover. Ammo is also tough to find these days, but I actually just found and ordered 5 boxes yesterday. Not much of an issue with the .243 though.

ICDEDTURKES wrote: Me personally I hate shooting an 06 or anything with more felt recoil..

Remington makes a managed recoil load for small children and people like you.

Grumpy · Post by **Grumpy** » November 5th, 2014, 8:43 pm

Yup, called lady and Little kids loads,,lol

ICDEDTURKES · Post by **ICDEDTURKES** » November 5th, 2014, 8:44 pm

Waddle Whacker wrote: Remington makes a managed recoil load for small children and people like you.

I had 4 muzzleloaders to sight in last year.. Two were being switched to Blackhorn and I ran into problems.. I betcha I ran 100 rounds through those 4 in a few days.. I have not recovered yet.. I really really need to set back down the 22mag again and a brick of ammo and get my head right..

That coupled with cases of duck and goose loads have killed me.. I had a misfire the other day on a flock of geese and was borderline embarrasing.. Good thing everyone else was shooting..

Seeing sal kill truckloads of deer with .243 has taught me there is nothing manly about shooting 06 and bigger cartridges on deer.. I may go buy a 243 tomorrow night, not sure..

davisd9 · Post by **davisd9** » November 5th, 2014, 9:09 pm

Grumpy wrote:
davisd9 wrote:Bolt 270 winchester, with the right bullet you can take on every game animal in North America except maybe the grizzly.
.270 is a joke for elk tried it several times, several loads, none wanted to penetrate, went back to the 30-06 and even with deer, one shot and they don't run like hell and hide like the youtube videos, they drop just like the democrats did last night, dead in their tracks...

Deer: 110 or 130 grain barnes TTSX
Elk: 150 grain barnes TSX

Sent from the Strut Zone

Waddle Whacker · Post by **Waddle Whacker** » November 5th, 2014, 9:33 pm

ICDEDTURKES wrote:
That coupled with cases of duck and goose loads have killed me.. I had a misfire the other day on a flock of geese and was borderline embarrasing.. Good thing everyone else was shooting..

I pictured this happening....my wife asked me what was so funny.

Shooter · Post by **Shooter** » November 5th, 2014, 10:13 pm

Yea, pretty much any centerfire will kill deer just fine. I proved it to myself last season using a 223 with 70 grn soft points, traveling at 1050 fps.
Put it in the bread box, and the deer ain't going far. Both of mine were dead inside of 75 yds.

Let the young feller decide what he wants. It will mean more to both of you 20 years from now.
My dad let me choose when I got started with deer. I chose a 243, and he found me an old 60s Rem model 600. Hunted with that for decades before I started buying my collection I have today. That little pop gun really put em down, as do most centerfires. They all do well.
My two largest bucks of my life have been with a 243, and a 30-06 carbine. Even though those two don't see battle anymore, I still have them, and I will die with them.
Too many brands out there that are making awesome rifles now. I'm a diehard Rem guy, but have at least one of almost every brand.
Can't really say nothing bad of any of them. I've had lemons in all, even a few Rems. They don't last long in my arsenal.

Most of my deer guns of today are customs. The only factory rifle I use now is Wifie's little Rem model 7 in 260. It has turned into one of the deadliest deer guns I've ever used.
I would strongly suggest you look into this one. Comes in 243, 260, 7-08, 308, along with some smaller ones. You can get it in several models.
A buddy has one in SS in 300 saum. He loves it but the shells are almost non-existant. Bought some dies and 200 pieces of new brass, so he is good to go for many years.

Good luck Mike, you'll be fine with whatever ya'll decide.

DC1. · Post by **DC1.** » November 6th, 2014, 12:34 am

Grumpy wrote:
davisd9 wrote:Bolt 270 winchester, with the right bullet you can take on every game animal in North America except maybe the grizzly.
.270 is a joke for elk tried it several times, several loads, none wanted to penetrate, went back to the 30-06 and even with deer, one shot and they don't run like hell and hide like the youtube videos, they drop just like the democrats did last night, dead in their tracks...

Grumpy, you ever try a 140gr Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw in the .270 ?

blunderbuss · Post by **blunderbuss** » November 6th, 2014, 5:32 am

Grumpy wrote:
davisd9 wrote:Bolt 270 winchester, with the right bullet you can take on every game animal in North America except maybe the grizzly.
.270 is a joke for elk tried it several times, several loads, none wanted to penetrate, went back to the 30-06 and even with deer, one shot and they don't run like hell and hide like the youtube videos, they drop just like the democrats did last night, dead in their tracks...

Years ago my son shot a very large Alaskan Moose with his .270, hand loaded Nosler 150 grain Partitions, it's all in the bullet.

First choice for deer would be the .243, great shooting, light recoil, deadly.

ICDEDTURKES · Post by **ICDEDTURKES** » November 6th, 2014, 7:03 am

blunderbuss wrote:

Years ago my son shot a very large Alaskan Moose with his .270, hand loaded Nosler 150 grain Partitions, it's all in the bullet.

I shot those 150 Nosler Partitions for years.. My Ruger 77 is the most finicky POS.. The partition is not usually known as the impressive bullet on paper, but oddly enough that 77 likes them.

Spuriosity · Post by **Spuriosity** » November 6th, 2014, 8:53 am

Not sure why all the talk of elk rifles and bullets since the OP asked about a deer rifle. The 30-06, although a great round and super versatile, is overpowered IMO for whitetail deer. You can't go wrong with the gun the OP suggested. The 7mm-08 is a great deer round, as is the .260 Rem, the 6.5x55 Swede, the 7x57 Mauser, the .257 Rob. and similar cartridges. Of those, the 7-08 has the best ammo availability. The 7mm-08 shoots flatter at 300 yds (and beyond) with a 140 gr bullet than the 3006 does with a 150 gr bullet* (Rem factory Corelokts) and does so with just over half the recoil. The only real advantage the 3006 has over the 7-08 as a deer rifle is the price and availability of ammo. I have identical Tikkas that weigh 8 lbs scoped, chambered for 7-08 and 3006, and I sure enjoy shooting the 7-08 more.

chatterbox · Post by **chatterbox** » November 6th, 2014, 9:36 am

Gentlemen,

Thank you all so much for the replies! The advice was excellent!
I think that Shooter gave some good advice. When he turns 16, we will go to the gun store together, and let him make his choice. To be honest, I never even thought about the .260 Rem! That is another great idea!

Thank you all again!

Mike

Hognutz · Post by **Hognutz** » November 6th, 2014, 10:05 am

30.06 in any flavor you like. (my choice would be a bolt) Mount a Leupold scope that's in the budget.. The kid will be set for life..

ICDEDTURKES · Post by **ICDEDTURKES** » November 6th, 2014, 10:45 am

Spuriosity wrote:Not sure why all the talk of elk rifles and bullets since the OP asked about a deer rifle. The 30-06, although a great round and super versatile, is overpowered IMO for whitetail deer.

Yup and the fact is any shooter and especially a young shooter is going to shoot better with a 243 7mm08 260 etc and keep better shooting mechanics shooting smaller cartridges.

ChiefBubba · Post by **ChiefBubba** » November 7th, 2014, 12:45 pm

Great thread and very informative. Chief

mossy835 · Post by **mossy835** » November 9th, 2014, 12:24 pm

I think Jack O'Conner proved the usefulness and killing power of the .270, I reloaded for years and yes the 30.06 has a greater bullet weight selection and if you reload it would be a one rifle for this continent. With that said I have killed one shot various deer breeds, elk and one 350 pound black bear. Over in Utah where my dad moved and lived until he died the locals shot some rather large mule deer every year with the .243. When I was hunting the Speer grand slam and the .270 took what I shot with ease but my hunting partner did the same with his 30.06. I believe it is what the person likes and has confidence in that will usually work if you place the bullet in the proper place.
I agree with the persona above let him try a few different calibers and then make his own choice

Gobbler Nation