Thread: Selection of caliber for new shooter(s)

Myself (M, 52) and my little guy (M, 11) are looking to get into rifle shooting, eventually hunting.
I haven't fired a rifle since I was in my mid-teens; I've taken my little fella to the NZHA range twice in a couple of weeks and he's doing ok on the club .22
I'm getting myself all set up for the NZ FAL and should have a gun safe sorted this week and can submit an application.
Question of rifle caliber to get, as I am getting conflicting advice.
Caveat, I can probably only get one rifle to last the first couple of years.
Thoughts:
A .22 (rimfire) has been recommended as the ammo is cheap, no other reason. It is ok for small game like rabbit.
The 17HRM has been recommended for greater range, accuracy, flat trajectory and stopping power on small game ("it will easily knock over a rabbit"). Range slightly further than the .22.
I've considered a .223 as the eventual aim would be hunting larger game (up to goat, I believe, with the 223) and get into the hills. 'Proper' hunting. Almost. Can get onto the 200m ranges.
I haven't considered 'larger' (more powerful) than a 223 as simply not ready.

Now, I know if I ask 10 hunters I'll get 15 opinions, but with that said, would welcome your thoughts and opinions.
Jeff

what is the rifles job going to be?

Id be pushing you towards something like a .243 for a low recoil but also big game capable
223 on big game is marginal for someone starting out

You're on the right track
.22LR for cheap fun and getting started learning the right habits.
Personally I think .17HMR is too expensive to feed compared to a .223 in this early stage.
Bill999 is spot on with his thoughts on .223 VS .243, More margin for error at just a little more expense.

To answer your question directly regarding the .22
It is perfectly adequate for rabbits and possums. If someone had to design something from scratch to shoot rabbits and possums, they would design a .22lr cartridge or something very similar. Although it is not recommended, there are plenty of people that use it on goats and even deer.
One thing to note with the .22 is that it is not allowed to be used in forest parks or national parks other than a select few areas where permits can be obtained. You can only use centrefire rifles of calibre .222 or greater. So if you do decide on a .22 you will need to know some tame landowners who will let you shoot their rabbits/possums.

Now the main thing to consider between .17 and .22 is that the .17 is much more of a specialist caliber than .22. The .22 has less range but it can do anything inside 100 yds that the .17 can do and more. Unless you only ever shoot beyond 100, then the .22 is the better option if you have to choose between the two.
Ideally its best to have both but it isn't crucial. Prior to 2003 we all lived without a .17hmr and most people coped just fine.

There are plenty of cheap 2nd hand .22 rifles around if budget is a big consideration for you then I would vote for a cheap 2nd hand .22 and a decent centrefire of what ever calibre you end up landing on.
If you make the right choice for the centrefire you are basically covered for all of the rifle shooting a beginner could hope to get involved with.
As soon as you get into any sort of real level of shooting activity at the range or on rabbits, having a .22 will save you money and pay for itself. It will save you around $2 everytime you squeeze the trigger with a live round in the chamber.

I also concur with Bill999 that with the centrefire it is better to go bigger than a .223. Last century it took me about 8 months at the age of 16 to go from only using a .22 on rabbits and possums to moving onto bigger stuff. I think that was about average for the time, at least for my peer group, but that span seems to be much shorter now. Basically what I am saying is that once you get into it, you will find that you and or your son are probably going to be looking beyond rabbits and possums much sooner than you expect.

.243

Get a 22 first.
Everybody needs a 22.
And then a couple bricks to put through it.
Shoot rocks,cans,and small game whenever you can.
This will make you learn how to hunt and get an accurate shot off quickly.
Most people that miss out on a chance at a deer do so because they haven’t done enough small game and fluff about when it comes time to shoot.

243

I'll go against the 243 as I think it's honestly a bit light on Reds. Will it kill them sure but not as well as something larger.

For a beginners gun low recoil is a good idea but making things simple and reducing the requirements when making a shot is ideal. You dont know what you dont know when you are a beginner and buying something foolproof is a huge benefit.

I'd put the Creedmoor above the 243 but even that's a bit light (my main rifles a creedmoor and it doesn't kill like a 7mm or 308 tend too).

I'd have to say for balance of killing performance, decent factory ammo availability, and suitable ammo etc I'd be looking at a 7mm08.

Most 7mm08 ammo on the market is suitable for red deer whereas plenty of factory 243 on the market is targeted towards light game and predator hunting in the US. 6.5 creedmoor has plenty of options and it would be my second choice as likely that the precision hunter and the 143 eld x will shoot well and is a decent load.
308 is also a fine choice but has more recoil than the above. Realistically any of the 308 based cases 243, 6.5 Creed, 7mm08, or 308 will work fine with the lower down options giving less forgiveness and less killing power but typically less recoil better ballistics whereas the latter's have better killing power at the cost of recoil (which is still pretty mild especially with a suppressor). For me the best balance probably lies between the 7mm08 and 6.5 creedmoor.

Step one learn to shoot and become familiar with your firearm. .22 and .223 are the clear winners here given the ages involved and the cost of ammunition. Getting something in a Calibre suited to hunting the widest variety of game animals is a different issue all together and should only be a prime driver after you have learned to shoot not at the outset. A perfectly good .22 second hand can only be a couple of hundred dollars, even a good centrefire can be had for little more.
Start "small" sell or trade up as you wish

Hi Bill. I have my eyes on a new Tikka and scope. Whether T1X or T3X will depend on caliber selection.

Originally Posted by No good names left

You're on the right track
.22LR for cheap fun and getting started learning the right habits.
Personally I think .17HMR is too expensive to feed compared to a .223 in this early stage.
Bill999 is spot on with his thoughts on .223 VS .243, More margin for error at just a little more expense.

Yeah, I was looking at the ammo cost difference. My only 'concern' was pushing out to 100m both at the range and when talking to bunnies. My understanding at this time is that this would be 'easy' for the 17, getting harder with significant bullet drop for the 22.

Originally Posted by longshot

To answer your question directly regarding the .22
It is perfectly adequate for rabbits and possums. If someone had to design something from scratch to shoot rabbits and possums, they would design a .22lr cartridge or something very similar. Although it is not recommended, there are plenty of people that use it on goats and even deer.
One thing to note with the .22 is that it is not allowed to be used in forest parks or national parks other than a select few areas where permits can be obtained. You can only use centrefire rifles of calibre .222 or greater. So if you do decide on a .22 you will need to know some tame landowners who will let you shoot their rabbits/possums.

Now the main thing to consider between .17 and .22 is that the .17 is much more of a specialist caliber than .22. The .22 has less range but it can do anything inside 100 yds that the .17 can do and more. Unless you only ever shoot beyond 100, then the .22 is the better option if you have to choose between the two.
Ideally its best to have both but it isn't crucial. Prior to 2003 we all lived without a .17hmr and most people coped just fine.

There are plenty of cheap 2nd hand .22 rifles around if budget is a big consideration for you then I would vote for a cheap 2nd hand .22 and a decent centrefire of what ever calibre you end up landing on.
If you make the right choice for the centrefire you are basically covered for all of the rifle shooting a beginner could hope to get involved with.
As soon as you get into any sort of real level of shooting activity at the range or on rabbits, having a .22 will save you money and pay for itself. It will save you around $2 everytime you squeeze the trigger with a live round in the chamber.

I also concur with Bill999 that with the centrefire it is better to go bigger than a .223. Last century it took me about 8 months at the age of 16 to go from only using a .22 on rabbits and possums to moving onto bigger stuff. I think that was about average for the time, at least for my peer group, but that span seems to be much shorter now. Basically what I am saying is that once you get into it, you will find that you and or your son are probably going to be looking beyond rabbits and possums much sooner than you expect.

Lots of good info here, thank you. So much to learn about!
My budget considerations are less the initial purchase (looking at Tikka right now), but more so the ongoing cost of using a lot of ammo during the first year or so as we bring our skills up.
Then, of course, I'd also prefer, if possible to get a rifle that will do as much as possible to avoid having to buy a second rifle 'too soon' ... if you know what I mean.
Thanks for the info. Still reading!

Thanks for the input gents. Reading all responses from here and other places, it does seem that a reasonable path is a .22 and then a little later something bigger when we actually go hunting anything bigger than rabbit and\or at longer ranges. The ammo for the .22 seems about half the cost of the 17 and a lot less than the cost of the 223. (based on my maths where I looked at a well known dealer and took the 'averages' of the least and most expensive in each caliber).

I've yet to meet anybody with a FAL that doesn't own a .22 or several. Cheap and cheerful to hone in basic marksmanship and kill furry things. You can pick up a second hand beater for next to nothing.
Not going to enter the centerfire debate because there are no right answers just opinions. If you can shoot a few different rifles in different cartridges do it, especially if your young fullas going to be using it too.
Trick is you've got to hit what your aiming at first, regardless of caliber.

With the right gun, ammo and most importantly shooter, sufficient 100m accuracy to take rabbits is possible for .22LR. 75m definitely so. Bullet drop in itself isn't necessarily a problem.