Thread: Good caliber to start hunting with?

Originally Posted by 10-Ring

When I was young I wanted to shoot lots of dears with my gun too.

I still do! However wanting to and the harsh reality of middle age family man are two different things

All of the above plus

243
6.5x55
270
7mm08

Or if you want something slightly more exotic

260
280
284
6.5x47
6.5x284

The deer don't really care

Any of those tho 223 and 308 are probably the best choices due to the availability and price of ammunition.
As a new shooter? you will need plenty of practise

How much shooting have you done? best to go to a NZDA night and range day, you might get to try out some different calibers. Get a .308 unless you have problems with recoil, if so look at 6.5 x 55 or .243. There is so much to your question, the rifle, the load the type of hunting etc...

OH BTW welcome! you seem newer than me to this forum.

I have done target shooting most of my life so im not new to shooting and thanks haha

Originally Posted by TyrinnS

I have done target shooting most of my life so im not new to shooting and thanks haha

That is good, but what are you used to shooting?
,22?

Why yes but you could do better than the gun city scope

Alright I am in .
You have to take into account what you are shooting and how far.
Bear in mind that most guys with the bigger calibre are shooting longer range and put in alot of practise on paper.
learn on something with less kick and then update if you feel the need later on.
One thing I got wrong was going to cheap on the scope .
buy the best scope you can afford.
For the ranges I shoot my 270 is too big and I are considering changing to a 243.
I love my 22-250 but its a little small for larger game in the bush but its so accurate out to 300 m.
oh yeah go the Tikka value for money .

THIS GOT SOO OUT OF HAND LOL

Chuck doesn't lie veitnamcam.

Rifle Recoil Table

I think its a pretty normal conversation between a group of similar minded enthusiastic people. Not out of hand at all. Conversations wander round, over and under but always remain within a bullets throw of topic.
You should relax your expectations a little and enjoy.
There are many calibres and all are good when used for the right application, of course the odd ones are better than others for various reasons (price, availability, pure joy even).same with scopes as well.
No I don't think its out of hand at all mate.

Unless you are down in the .222/.223 territory (ie pew pew pew) the weight of rifle; width of recoil pad; suppressed or not; muzzlebrake or not are all factors that make more of a difference to how it boots

I can tell the difference between a 30.06 and a .243 by the kick but if the set-up is the same and blindfolded I don't think I'd tell a 7mm-08 vs a 308


Aside from all this talk of what kicks most, 308 ammo is cheap and readily available so there's that going for it

Not that I'm biased mind you

This has been a great thread
When I started hunting deer at 17 - we all bought a 303 - various versions of cut down wood and generally no scope
Most of us transitioned to a 30.06, 7mm, 308 or 270 - with a 4*32 scope
I was a scrawny buggar - (see on hunting pictures thread) and most of us regularly went to NZDA target range where we got a real smack in the shoulder for the day
A lot of deer got shot in the early days with one like old Henry Irwin (pic below) used from when he went bush after WW2 - he made his living for 20+ years from skins with that rifle
But - hey - I am not knocking new technology - a lot of the cullers used 222 - there are fantastic options out there today - go for it
Good on you Dougie - lots of people will learn from your skills and posts on here - you could teach me plenty
I made mistakes when starting on fallow about six years back with my 270 - probably with wrong projectiles - I was then talked into getting a 22.250 but quickly resolved that disaster with a 243 and fantastic results - I hate having runners

AH no don't get a Ranger scope. Get a Nikon, Burris, Leopold, Weaver etc. You will be crying when it goes out of adjustment/fogs and you miss a big deer! On the other hand A T3 is a good choice for a first rifle.

Personally I reckon Tikkas are overrated - they're ok, but no better than their competitors. In any case go to gun shops and handle a few different brand/models of rifle in your price range before you decide what to get, they all have their own fit and feel and the most important thing is to get one that suits you rather than a salesman or some guy on the internet.

Calibre-wise as others have said - 243, 6.5x55, 7mm08, 308 all good options, or 270 if you don't mind more recoil and noise for the same effect.