Thread: Looking for a good all around rifle

For a beginners point and squirt rifle I think that you need something between 6 and 8mm, firing a bullet of between 90 and 165 grains, between 2600 and 3100 fps.

Then you need to go and shoot it until you are competent, and enjoy yourself along the way.

As a rule, I prefer long, pointy, soft bullets - the deer we have in NZ are, with the exception of Sambar, less than 600mm through the body so you don't need armour piercing projectiles to get into the good bits.

For a beginner less recoil is easier to shoot well, but this can be mitigated by a well fitting stock and a good recoil pad (plus hearing protection - plugs, muffs and/or a can).

I've shot enough deer past 400m with a 6XC firing 87 grain vmaxes to have no concerns about a 243/6 Creed on deer at sensible velocities, so start there and go to it.