Son's 2nd rifle?

[Phantom Hunter]

My son wants to buy another rifle. He has saved his money and is looking for a larger centerfire. He currently shoots a .257 Ackley. He is thinking of a .280, a .270, or a 30-06. He is 13 and is looking toward his first elk hunt. Which caliber would ya'll suggest?

Phantom Hunter

 

[Hankenstein]

They're all great choices if he's not sensitive to recoil. IMHO, the 7/08 would make a great choice...


Hank

 

[redrabbit]

Of the three for elk, I'd choose the 30-06 due to the greater frontal area of the bullet, but how about the 308? Good bullet selection also, and considering his age, less recoil than the 06.

Doug/Redrabbit

 

[m1fan]

300 WSM if recoil is not an issue...

 

[RLH]

.270, because my dad says so.

 

[fisrtcoueswas80inches]

my second rifle that i bought was a 30-06 i was about the same age. bought a beautiful gun, remington 700 bdl mountain rifle in lss. its a awesome gun but it hurt the wallet but i could not be ore happy with what i bought.
casey

 

[monsterbuck89]

It depends on your hunting area. The .270 will shoot flatter at longer ranges than the 30-06 but provides less punch.



Brendon

 

[Jake_Sorensen]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-04-04 AT 05:23PM (MST)[p]
I got my first rifle when I was 10 or 11 and it was a 7 mm wby., and I loved it, it took a couple shots for me to get used to the recoil my 2nd rifle I got when I was 14 which was my 300 win. mag. and that gun is my baby, I was by no means a big kid I was weighing in around 115 to 120 bills then but the more I shot it the more used to it I got, I liked it better than the 30-06's my friends were shooting, I have also heard that the 300 wsm has less recoil, so that might be a good idea in my opinion for a gun that he wouldn't grow out of I bought a 338 this year and when the hunt came around all I could look at was my 300 win, but if you want something with less recoil I would go with the 270 over the 30-06 (I know people love them but I'm just not a fan of them)but like its been said the 270 gives less punch than the 30-06 My uncle had a 270 I loved to shoot when I was younger, also the 7mm wsm might be good? just my thoughts and opinions.

Jake

 

[RELH]

If recoil is not a big issue, I would go with the 30-06 or 300 WSM. The 270 is a very good caliber, but since he already has a 257 Roberts, I don't see buying a 2nd rifle that is that close in performance to the one he already has. 308 is another caliber that he needs to look at also. I know that everyone has their favorite caliber, and a lot of them seem to knock the 30-06 due to it's age and being "too" common, but the 30-06 has probably killed more elk then any other caliber. It is a good performer and has a wide range of different bullet weights.

Good Hunting;
RELH

 

[Phantom Hunter]

My son has decided to go with the 06. My friend and I convinced him the 06 would do all he needs it to do with less recoil and expense than a 7 mag or 300 mag. We told him when he is older he can buy whatever he wants but for now the 06 will serve him well. Now to find a Rem. 700 in 30-06 at a price he can afford. He has saved his money and is buying this rifle on his own. Thanks for all the input.

Phantom Hunter

 

[Phantom Hunter]

Just an update for all those who offered advice. My son bought a Savage 110 at the gun show last week. He got a pretty good deal gun, scope, case, sling for a pretty fair price. He is now saving pennies for a Leupold scope. The way he saves money look out for him out west in a few years he will be applying for every tag in the west.

Phantom Hunter