Thread: Good caliber to start hunting with?

Originally Posted by Ricochet

Chuck Hawks says the recoil's too much for my delicate shoulder.

You better get a .222 then.

Yup chuck don't lie, as you can see all the non magmum have virtually identical recoil.
When you grow up and fire a rifle you will either wee your pants and run home to mummy then lobby for all those nasty firearms to be banned, or realise there is really no difference in the non Magnum calibers and rifle weight combined with stock shape have more to do with felt recoil than what's stamped on the bottom of the case.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Yup chuck don't lie, as you can see all the non magmum have virtually identical recoil.
When you grow up and fire a rifle you will either wee your pants and run home to mummy then lobby for all those nasty firearms to be banned, or realise there is really no difference in the non Magnum calibers and rifle weight combined with stock shape have more to do with felt recoil than what's stamped on the bottom of the case.

I wee'ed but it was OK, was on concrete and it was a .50

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Yup chuck don't lie, as you can see all the non magmum have virtually identical recoil.
When you grow up and fire a rifle you will either wee your pants and run home to mummy then lobby for all those nasty firearms to be banned, or realise there is really no difference in the non Magnum calibers and rifle weight combined with stock shape have more to do with felt recoil than what's stamped on the bottom of the case.

That was harsh, Chuck would have said it with more finesse.

How to harden up to recoil from girly calibres:

Step 1. Find someone with a proper rife ie .375 H&H or preferably bigger as I don't think the .375 has much recoil.
Step 2. Fire 10 or so rounds through it from the bench or prone if you are brave.
Step 3. Pick up your teeth if you were brave and went prone.
Step 4. Never worry about the recoil from a piddly little .308 again as belted mugnums will now seem like puppies.

It would be interesting to do a blind fold test into a clay bank one day, guess the calibre.

Or start hunting with a sporter 303 lightened so much it barely has any wood left to hold the brass " recoil pad" before you are old enough to have even started thinking about how you are going to get your first root.
Best start out shooting rabbits with it. This will get you used to shooting offhand and after a few hundred rounds of that you will barely be aware of any push at all.

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

unless the A7 is old "stock" Not unusual for gunshops to have 2~3 year old model guns on the shelves re-priced as the MRRP goes up.

btw Is there a way to tell?

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

Great stuff️