Which Rifle for a bow hunter?

[razortec]

I am a bow hunter who is considering purchasing a rifle, but I am not sure what calibre.
It would be an all around rifle, Deer, Moose, Elk and Coyotes.
I am told either a 270 or 30-06 would be my best choices, but not being a rifle person (40 years old and I own a Savage 22 only) I am looking for advice.
Would not load my own ammo, and would consider purchasing a used gun with a scope.
Thanks in advance!

[calgarychef1]

270, 30-06, 7mm, anything like that would be fine. If you intend on hunting with a rifle like you do with a bow you can get darned close.....then maybe a nice little 30-30 would suit you. My hunting group uses 30-30's for moose and they work nicely. If you want to do the long distance thingy then go to the above rifles. I shoot a 7mm and I like it a lot, you might be a little "gunshy" if youhaven't shot larger rifles before and in that case the 30-06 or a 308 would be more appropriate. A 7mm kicks like hell I find. I shot a 303 for awhile and it worked very well too, but only because I'm so damned sneaky and even with a gun I like the close shots.

the chef

[Grunter]

You will definitely want to lean towards a .270 or .284 if you want to be able to shoot coyotes as well as deer/elk... it would be more than a little challenging to get the right shot on coyotes with a .30 cal rifle other than maybe in a short mag version.

[newbie]

i have bin hunting rifle a wile always used 30-06 for moose and carboo

[Mikey]

Its personal preferance and the design of the weapon has alot to do with it ... Above chef says hes had a 7mm that kicks like a mule .... I have shot a 7mm with next to no kick ... I have a Carl Gustav 6.5x55 swedish ... has zero kick because the barrell is long .... Its a Sniper rifle fer sure ....

I used to have a Savage Model 99 .300 .... I loved that gun fer tight bush .... I also had a Savage 30-30 in the 340c model ...... a nice weapon for open sights ... great pack gun ... both were short and kicked a lot when fired.

for tight up close action .. I personally prefer a Bow ... but a 30-30 or a .270 will be good fer ya, if yer going long distance, look at a .300 mag or a .30-06 .... Factory Ammo is for those is common, I really like my 6.5x55 but its not a common rifle and therefore ammo isnt availible in every country store. I suggest you go to some shops and check them out ... pick up the rifles to get a feel for the stock .... If it dont feel right to you it wont shoot right for you.

fer a Varmiter you cant beat a .22-250 but that caliber is illegal and immoral to shoot big game with

If I could swing it I would pick up 2 rifles ..1 fer game the other fer Varmits

the best one fer all caliber I would say is a .284 or a .270

Mikey

[grizzly]

I'm real happy with my Remington 700 in .270, shot lots of whitetail and mule deer, antelope and probably 8 moose and found it quite adequate. I used to load up some 90 grain hollowpoints for coyote as well, but you didn't want to shoot them too close if you wanted to sell the furs.

I used to load up 130 grain shells for deer and 150 grain for moose, but I've switched to 140 grain Noslers and use them for everything. Ever since I started archery hunting the gun sits unused most of the time now, but it does the job when I need it to.

As with any weapon, shot placement is important. The .270 is probably marginal if you want to take long or quartering towards you shots.

Good luck in your choice! :cheers:

[Dillershortbow]

My personal perferance is a 30-06 with 165 grains it shoots flat enough for me and big enough for anyting i want to shoot but i hand load and i crank it up a bit. But i`am thinking of a short mag. You just can`t have to many toys.

[T-man]

What kind of terrain you looking at hunting in? How long do you think your shots will be?

If you don't have much experience shooting and think you might be a little recoil shy try a .308. Its a very common round and has more than enough punch to take elk/moose and is good out to 300 yards and isn't so fast to cause massive meat loss at close range. Plus it comes in many different types of rifles. I have one in a browning BLR. My long range rig is a 270WSM and I love it. Not much in felt recoil, although it has more muzzle blast than the .308, it actually doesn't kick as hard because of the better recoil pad. I load up 140gr Accubonds and use it on everything (these are available from factory) It is essentially a faster 270 Winchester so you can't go wrong with one of those either.

If I didn't handload and was hunting over regular distances I would pick either a .308, 270 Winchester or a 30-06 simply because they are common, ammo is cheap (which means more rounds for practice) and they are all effective on the animals you said you were going to hunt for.

[Kirby]

I'll second what Diller said, 30-06 with 165gr will do everything you need. HOWEVER, I am a big fan of the .308, almost the same balisitcs as the 30-06, and less action, and theirfore lighter rifle. But, a good 30-06 are easy to find, and every store that carries ammo with have some in, and this can be important, I managed to drive 4 hours for a hunt, to find out I left my rounds at home... Corner store saved my ***!

Kirby

[Mud Bug]

This is one of those questions that will give you 100 answers and all of them right...
I have a Ruger No.1 in the caliber ,7stw, it is fast, flat shooting, and hard hitting (the shoulder as well). I found that I flinch a bit (o.k. I flinch alot) while shooting at paper, but I never even feel it when shooting at game. I have just purchased a Browning BLR 308 cal. for the bush. Haven't shot anything but paper, but notice I don't have as much of the flinch thing happening either. I bought my son a Winchester model 88 308cal. this is his first year out hunting and he has no problem with the recoil. I bought the 308 because of the solid reputation of this caliber and the fact that you can go anywhere and buy shells. I like the 7stw because it is so fast and flat, but it isn't as easy to find shells if you are in a small town.....Anyways there is my 2cents, I'm sure you will make a good choice, There is no end to the options available. :flame:

[brotherjack]

The biggest thing you want to look for, is a rifle you can comfortably and confidently handle. Calibre is not nearly as important as most people will try to tell you. Comfort and confidence with the weapon in question is far and away more important than any other factor. (Though calibre may affect your comfort and confidence with the weapon - for instance, a cannon like the .375H&H will probaby have more recoil than you'll enjoy, and thus you probably won't be all that comfortable shooting it).

The pure physics of the mater is, any gun that can spit, say a 140-180 grain bullet a reasonable speed will kill any medium to big game animal you care to shoot with it (assuming you can hit the vitals), without making too bad a mess of the meat. .30-06, .270, even the old .303british, etc., etc., etc. will all make fine calibres for what you're wanting to hunt with it. I shoot an old .303 british myself (spent less than $100 on it, including 3-9 scope), and I've killed deer, elk, and bear with it - and never once has it proved too small a gun, nor too large. Probably would fix a coyote's wagon too, I betcha. ;)

Also, I recommend you make sure you pick a firearm in a caliber that's common (can you buy ammunition at Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart both? In different grain bullet sizes?). Also, check the cost - some ammunition can get pretty dang pricey compared to other similar calibres.

Anyhoo - just my $0.02 CDN funds.

[bdoa]

Buy the Remington Model 700 in a 300 win mag Caliber.

buy a stainless steel barrel, with a synthetic stock, it should come with a clip. if not buy a clip kit.

put on it the Bushnell Elite 4200 2 x 10 x 50 scope.

Shoot the 160grn. Bullet of your choice, each gun shoots each round a bit different, so shoot a couple other types before you decide what you want to use.

Get good with it and you will kill any animal you hunt.

If people tell you it's too big and will do much damage.. tell them they are nuts.... It shoots the same size projectile as the 30-30, and the 30-06, and slightly bigger than the 7mm. But with a 160grn. bullet it will shoot real flat.

I shot a nice buck a couple weeks ago with my 300, the bullet mushroomed beautifully, and never exited the deer. That deer dropped where it was standing.

I have a
marlin 30-30 for close range bear protection
winchest. 30-06 for thick bush hunting
winchest. 270 for coyote's and small deer
rem. 7mm mag for All alberta game
and the rem 300 win mag for All alberta game plus this gun is my fav. and not cause its the biggest, but because it is all round the best gun. I have shot moose with almost all the guns, they will work, this just works better.. plus being stainless steel, it will not rust if it gets wet..


That's just my opinion

[Patsplace]

For a gun when you're dressing and handling meat (Moose, elk, cariboo) you can't beat the 45-70 Marlin Guide Gun with heavy cast bullets. For everything else the 30-06 is the standard against which you measure everything.

My '06 shoots sub MOA with 165 gr. boattails but I hunt big game with a 200 gr. bullet and have recently (last two years) switched to Sierra Game Kings. 1.5 MOA and tons of energy at all ranges.

[russ]

Currently I have a .270 but if I were to buy a new rifle or re-barrel my current I would go with a new 7mm-08 or rebarrel the .270 to a .280 because IMHO the 7mm bullet has a better variety.

[Standing Bear]

Hi guys, I'm new on this site. I know some of you may think this rifle is a bit big but we have Grizzlies around our hunting area. I carry a CZ 550 American Safari 375 H&H Mag with ma all the time, the bullets i use are the 350 gr african Ph. The other guys also carry 45/70's, shot guns with slugs, it varies.

SB

[buckshot270]

I have been using a 270 with 130 grn ballistics and hollow points and have shot just about everything from moose to yotes and have no complaints. and my dad has been using a 25-06 with 117 grn and has shot many critters also with no complaints in 20+ yrs biggest thing is shot placement.

[Grayzer86]

I personally use a smith and wesson 243 for coyotes and whitetail. and a 270 for whitetail occasianally. I get a lot of flack for shooting a 243 but it does same hole groups at 100 yards and i have never tracked a deer more than 20 feet from the point of impact. My uncle does all his hunting with a 270 even though he also has a 30-06 and a 338 mag. He used to use the 338 for elk and moose but said since he started shooting handloaded barnes tripleshocks in the 270 he doesnt need the 338. like the guys said its all about placement, and i believe bullet choice. i have excellent luck with winchester/nosler factory rounds

[othmar]

I am told either a 270 or 30-06 would be my best choices

Quite rightly so. The .270 and .30-06 are very popular all around calibers because they work so well on almost everything. If you're not a gun person stay away from everything that says "magnum" on it. I've many different guns in my my cabinet but the .270 is the one that gets the most use and for good reason. This caliber is far reaching and the recoil is almost zero.
Would not load my own ammo, and would consider purchasing a used gun with a scope.
Thanks in advance!

No need to hand load. Todays factory ammo is good and accurate.

[emerson]

I use 308 with Federal Vitalshok 150 grn Barnes TSX.