my first hunting rifle

1

171raven

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I am soon going to be getting my first hunting rifle but i dont know what cal I need. Im looking for somthing that I can use to hunt coyotes up to black bear(as is right now i cant afford more than one rifle) but wont be to much over kill for a yote. I also want a realativly inexpencive cal. Any advice would be extremly helpful, thankyou.
 
Saltydog said it well. Of the calibers he mentioned, I'd be inclined to go with the 270 or the 7mm-08 and avoid the 243 (seems a bit light to me, but I'm not a bear hunter), but they'll all do just fine. Have fun with the gun and caliber selection.
 
Hard to beat the 30/06 for an all around cartridge although many believe the 270 does. Ammo is easy to find and usually reasonably priced for both.
 
I would go with the .30-06. You can find ammo anywhere, you can find cheap ammo and you have a ton of options for what grain bullet to shoot.
 
Any cartridge from 243 win up to 30-06 sprg will work for all that you mentioned. (I don't believe there is such a thing as overkill for yote, unless you want the pelt) If you want the pelt use heavy for caliber bullets and they should pass through with less exit damage. For bear use the heaviest bullet for 243 and the mid range for 30-06. If a bullet/cartridge combo is good for deer it will perform as well on bear. I would not hesitate to use my 243 on bear. Bullet placement and construction is more important than cartridge choice. All the choices listed so far will work well but the 30-06 will have the most available ammo and more firearms chambered in it. Every major manufacturer in the world has 30-06 as an option. Tough decision. Save more money and buy 2 rifles then you can have twice as much fun deciding.:D
 
6.5x55 Swedish, 7x57 Mauser and .270 Win. anyone of this 3 cartridges would be my choice if limited only to one rifle, for yote, deer and blacky.
Low recoil, not burning a large volume of powder and good performance on small medium and larger game also.
 
What the rifle is chambered in, isn't really that important. Any of the standard cartridges from .243 up to .30-06 will kill varmints and black bear.

Start searching the used gun racks, trying things on for size.
If the gun comes to your shoulder easily and you get a good cheek weld without squirming around, then the rifle fits.

For most of the day a rifle is a dead weight. Getting one that weighs a ton is not a good idea. The other side of that is that the heavier the rifle the less felt recoil.
Hunting often involves walking through woods or brush. So a shorter rifle tends to be a better choice. The exception is when you spend your time sitting in a blind waiting for Bambi to walk by. Then a long barrel isn't a problem.

My rifle is a Winchester Model 70 in .30-06. I've never had a problem with it that wasn't my fault.
 
30-06 is arguably the most common and versatile cartridge available. Lots of great choices but on a budget for one rifle you cant go wrong.
Dont be afraid to check out pump rifles Rem 7600.
 
My first was a 7-08 and it's a great flat shooting rifle. It is a Rem 700 and I just updated the trigger to a Jewell twenty years after I got it. Feel like I have a new rifle!

Mark
 
OP wrote:
I also want a relatively inexpensive caliber.
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(changed for spelling sake)

For cheapest ammo, your options = 30/06 or .270

If I could return to day 1 of my hunting rifle search, I would go with a 7mm-08. It's like owning a sleeper car that could easily run with the big boys.
 
I have a .270, 6.5x55 Swedish, .300 win mag and .50 muzzle loader. I've used all of them for deer and bear. Don't recommend the .300 win mag for deer as it's a bit much and more expensive. For what you want I would use my Swedish or .270 but based on ammo availability and price I would recommend the .270. As far as felt recoil with the larger calibers, I personally don't feel it when the adreline is going during the shot. I guess it all depends on how excited you get when you see your target. :o
 
7mm08 is by far my favorite of all listed. Next would be the .243, then the '06 or 308. The 270 is a great round, just serves no purpose for me as a handloader when I load for 7mm08, 280 and 7mmMag.
 
"Inexpensive" is pretty limiting. I have great fondness for many of the cartridges listed by others, above. However, when ammo cost is a factor, the popularity of the cartridge is a major factor.

30-06, 270, 243, 308 are all very popular. All will do the job you specify. I am a big fan of the 7-08 but factory ammo tends to be big money for premium hunting rounds.

There are a lot of reasons to choose something like a 7-08 or 30-06 but, all things considered, 243 is hard to beat.
 
For keeping the ammo cheap, the .243 is a good option that won't be "overkill" on yotes. That being said, I don't see anything wrong with making them extra dead. :D The .308 and '06 options will also do fine with cheap ammo available and far more capability on the upper range if you ever want to take on larger game.

If spending a bit more on ammo is OK, then I would go with 7mm08. Extra punch available for the big critters, but without the recoil of the .30 cals. They do cost a bit more to feed, but a little looking around can score you some reasonable prices. I found some locally for $16.99/box. Not as low as others, but not too oppressively expensive, either.
 
Lots of great choices and it's really hard to say one is better than the other. From a price and availability stand point, it's hard to beat either a 30.06 or a .308.
 
Personally, I wouldn't set up on one cal. for the range of game you have...

You mention "overkill"... IMHO any .30 bigger than a .30-30 is O-kill on a yote usually... No problem with overkill 'cuz dead is dead and redmist is cool.

But you mention a bit of "penny-wise" sense so if a single shot is not above your ability... The NEF/H&R Handi-Rifle with 2 barrels factory matched right off the bat would cost less than a "mid-shelf" repeater in wood furniture...

If me it would be the .243 and .30-06... But if a repeater and it had to suit bear on down, it would be either a .30-06 or .308 with leanings towards the ought-six...

Brent
 
Im looking for somthing that I can use to hunt coyotes up to black bear
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All the attention seems to be on everyone's favorite rifle caliber on your thread 171raven. Just a thought. Why not take a look see at T/Cs Encore Rifle. Reason too: you can purchase different caliber barrels for it down the road as you require at a reasonable price. Why lock yourself into a one caliber rifle only if you don't have too would be my question to you. Big decision your about to make. And a tough one too. Good Luck Sir. _:)__SSMcG
 
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