What caliber would you buy?

It would be hard to find a gun store or walmart that did not stock .30-06 ammo.

Rpod86 said:

Our deer are kinda on the small side but some of the places he has 2 hunt you can stretch 1 out passed 500 yards

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I can understand why one would want to develop the skill to take an animal at long range, but perhaps your buddy needs to understand the difference between shooting and hunting. Hunting requires some skill beyond just being able to pull a trigger. Few people have the skills and equipment to reliably and humanely take big game at that distance. Be aware that even in plains states with virtually zero cover bowhunters routinely stalk to within 150 feet of an animal to take their shot. Compared to a bow even open sighted 30/30 lever gun has awesome range. It's just my opinion but a true sportsman/hunter should have the dedication and respect to wait for a shot with a high probability of anchoring the animal quickly.

Virtually every modern centerfire cartridge around 6mm or above is plenty for deer. Step up to a .300 Savage or above and it's enough for elk and [black] bear. Adequate of course means nominal, and one might certainly want a bit better ballistics if you're starting with a clean slate. Still, performance is just one of the factors in choosing a rifle, and I suggest it's maybe not even in the top three factors. Will he reload or will he rely on factory ammo? Is he a skilled shooter or a novice? Will he devote time and money to get out and practice, or maybe even take a rifle class? How sensitive is he to recoil? There are a few high-zoot magnums that shoot flat and pack a punch but if you go to Ammoseek there's not a round to found anywhere. If you're stuck with factory ammo how much will you shoot if the ammo is $3/round? Or $6/round?

I'd say a .308 Win is ideal for a high percentage of the things you'd do with a sporting rifle. Plenty of power for about any North American game save maybe big bears. Inherently pretty accurate. Plus it's widely available. And you can get 7.62x51 NATO which fires through the same rifles, at around $.60/round.

In my mind an exotic round should be reserved for your fifth rifle, not your first.

There can be only one. 30-06 with 150 grain bullets for deer and hogs, 180 or 200 grain for elk and bears. For a first gun you can’t beat the Ruger American platform. Accurate right out of the box. Good trigger. Light weight.

7rem mag or 3006 would do well.

Seedy Character said:

1. .30-06


2. 7mm Rem Mag








3. .300 Win Mag


In that order. I started with .30-06
8 years later, moved up 7 mag. Used it for 30+ years. Several deer 350-500 yards.
Sold it and bought a .260

Use .260 and .30-06 now.

Biggest difference, I reload for all of them.

Not being a reloader puts #2 and #3, way down the list.

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I agree with this from a ammo buying perspective. It allows a lot more practice if the person actually wants to make good hits on game that is far out there.
I don't own an 06 because I specialize my guns for each purpose and handload for them.

I call these threads, “ballistic masturbation discussions.” They are a hoot to read.

Unless the intended quarry can bite back, you’re likely served well with the caliber that you can manipulate and shoot well (read that as shoot accurately and not recoil substantially). You don’t need a magnum to kill deer or hogs or even elk.

This starts at 25/257 and really ends at 30/.308. Anything else is just fluff.

30-06 or 308. If shooting factory ammo with 150 grain 30-06 doesn't offer much over a 308 and the 308 has a shorter action. Few people have much business shooting at a deer at 500 yards.

If a person doesn't reload, the most popular cartridge would be the answer. I don't know what that is but I suspect it might be 308 Win. Runner up might be 30-06 or 6.5 Manbun. They all basically do the same thing out to 300 yds. Ones ability to shoot accurately far outweighs the cartridge selection.

In Missouri anything center fire is legal. I have never shopped for a certain caliber. I shop for price and condition. In my lifetime (82 years) I have owned several calibers. As of today I’ve wound up with a Marlin lever in 30-30. An Enfield in 303 British and a Ruger 77 in 280 Rem. For the life of me I can’t think of any situation where I would feel under gunned

Anchorite said:

I call these threads, “ballistic masturbation discussions.” They are a hoot to read.

Unless the intended quarry can bite back, you’re likely served well with the caliber that you can manipulate and shoot well (read that as shoot accurately and not recoil substantially). You don’t need a magnum to kill deer or hogs or even elk.

This starts at 25/257 and really ends at 30/.308. Anything else is just fluff.

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This thread isn't as bad as some.

Alot of these start into Weatherby mag's and the like petty quickly.

Looks like the most common suggestions are 30-06/308 and 7mag which is a pretty gentle magnum, not kicking much more than a 30-06.

Edited to add: a 270 WSM wouldn't be an awful choice, if not particularly high on my personal list. Ammo is common, and kick isn't too bad for a magnum.

I got rid of my .30 cals a couple of years ago. Nevertheless, for his stated purpose, hard to go wrong with either a .30-06 or a .308, especially if handloading is out of the picture.

Has anyone ever gone deer hunting, ran out of ammo before filling their tag(s) and then went to Wal-Mart to buy more?

Rpod86 said:

And he don’t want to have to do any reloading.

My vote is 28 or 30 nosler.

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I wouldn't recommend either of those cartridges to someone who doesn't want to have anything to do with reloading.
Ammo isn't available everywhere, and god only knows what ammo availability will be like in 10 years.

Another vote for the '06.

Given he is not a reloader and has no desire for reloading I would have to go with 308Win or 30-06.

If he were a reloader I would suggest a 280ai or 7mm08. The 7mm08 used to be more common now it seems has started to fall by the wayside.

I'm surprised how many 280ai fans we have on here, I've been a fan for a long time, it's good to see others recognizing it for it's good balance and efficiency.

Fine Figure of a Man said:

Has anyone ever gone deer hunting, ran out of ammo before filling their tag(s) and then went to Wal-Mart to buy more?

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No, neve, not to me anyway. My sil has that happen last season, only had 3 12 ga slugs, managed a buck with 3 shots, but had 2 tags left, covid supply issues kept him from having more. Me, myself I always take more than I'll ever need usually 40 rds. I could fill every tag in my party and still have some left over to hunt another day.

I think it would be useful to find data showing which cartridges are selling the most. Even if not reloading, cartridges selling in high volume over the last couple of decades will still be in production 10 years from now. Probably the .30-06 is near the top.

As a reloader, I am happy with .30-06, 7x57 and .30-30. The 7 is a little thin on the shelves, but I can make it from .30-06. And I can make .222 from .223. Wouldn't own a magnum if they paid me.

No reloading ?

30-06

7mmRemMag

Want to go to a lighter rifle ? Then .308 ...

30-06 would be my vote. I have a 7-08 and a .270win but if I could wave a magic wand and make them .308 and 30-06 I probably would, but what I've got is certainly more than adequate, but I think .308 and 30-06 factory ammo is easier to find as are reloading components, surplus military ammo is also available and they are just about the most common CF hunting cartridges in existence.

I love my .270, it's laser accurate and might even be ideal for me since all I'm likely to shoot with it is whitetail deer but if your buddy is after Elk, he might be slightly better served with the heavier pills the '06 can accommodate.

Although if he found a good .270win, it's about just as common and available in stores as 30-06 and from what I understand, .270 is considered by many to be a handy lil Elk cartridge..... alot of non magnum long action cartridges seem to be dropping in popularity with each passing year, but I imagine the .270 and 30-06 will be with us for a long time still....

Fine Figure of a Man said:

Has anyone ever gone deer hunting, ran out of ammo before filling their tag(s) and then went to Wal-Mart to buy more?

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To put it simply NO. Being unprepared is the surest path to failure.

Fine Figure of a Man said:

Has anyone ever gone deer hunting, ran out of ammo before filling their tag(s) and then went to Wal-Mart to buy more?

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No, but we did have one guy show up with a 270 rifle and 30-06 cartridges. Took him a while to figure out why his bolt wouldn't close. Good thing it wasn't a 30-06 rifle and 270 ammo I guess.

My big game rifles are in-- .30-06---.270 and .308---take your pick.

Unless one is recoil sensitive i say 300 mag or 7 mag. In normal times ammo is the same price and readily available at Walmart for 300/7 as it was for anything else. Under a dollar a round for the cheap whitetail ammo. And they are enough gun for anything you should need. You can find most any gun in any configuration in the two. The only downside i see is recoil if that bothers you.

If one likes to reload then whatever you want.

If he likes the results that he is seeing from the 284? I would think the 7mm-08 on the light side and 7mm Rem Mag on the heavier side would be good choices.
If he wants a 30cal. 308 win or 300 win mag.

amprecon said:

It would be hard to find a gun store or walmart that did not stock .30-06 ammo.

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You can’t even find dove loads or 22LR in California Walmarts, just saying.