Good All Around BIG GAME GUN

Hey guys,

So I should start this off by saying; I live on an Island (PEI) we have NO big game. All that I've hunted is squirrels, waterfowl and upland birds.
But I think I may try to take a deer this Fall/Winter in NB or NS. I am interested in purchasing a rifle, nothing fancy, and hopefully nothing expensive.
Whats a good all around big game gun for deer/moose/bear? Any help is appreciated!

Thanks guys, and Happy Easter Monday!

I've seen Savage and Winchester gun/scope combos in the $300 range. Pretty hard to beat that

I prefer the .270 caliber for all around big game

30-06 in whatever bolt action gun you can afford.

.308 would handle all that,,unless your talking Grizzler bears.Then I would want something bigger.

This would be my advice too.

I have three, 358 Winchesters. Fantastic rifle for deer, moose and bear out to 200 yards but you can not go wrong with a 30-06 or 270.

On another note, curious, is trapping allowed in PEI? If so what is there to trap?

lots of good advice so far. The 358 is one of my favorites. A 308/30-06 will do anything, including grizzly bears should you ever run into one. Tikka's or Savages are economical and very accurate.

We have around 80 active trappers (I think) on PEI. I just got into it within the past couple years.
We have Coyote, Coon, Mink, Muskrat, Beaver, Red Fox, Weasel, and Skunk. (might be missing one, not sure)
The trapping community is very small here, it's a small world.

Bullet construction is more important than caliber..... All around work horse, 7mm rem mag. A .270 with a 24 inch barrel is like making it a magnum round. Picks up a little velocity.

I’d get a gun for taking yotes also maybe 25-06.

Stay away from the Savage combos unless you’re young and have no concern for your shoulders. Sighted in a couple for some folks before deer season and those guns let you know you’re shooting a big game rifle...and these were 6.5 and .270. Plus the scopes are junk.
For a cheaper gun I’d go with the Ruger American. A .308 would do you just fine.

The 30-06 is never a mistake

-Townsend Whelen.

I'm young, and have no concern for my shoulders

Yeah if you can reload can't really go wrong with a 30-06

I have deer rifles in10 calibers. My favorite Ridley is a Remington 700 or Mod 7 of which I have several. I prefer the 7mm-08 caliber with a 140 grain lead bullet. Nothing fancy.

At your age, best you are able to use on of some ones during the big game season and try it out.
every caliber will have its perks.
Do they offer youth hunts much like they do for waterfowling.......there is your ticket to get in on it for next fall and have the use of a gun.
NB hunting is probably in cut-overs where you are waiting for deer to come out, so you will have 100-250 yd shots, so a 270 will be your choice
The youth I have seen use it don't flinch when shooting, and the gun can be re-barreled to a 308 for the moose hunting on the Rock.

it is really hard to go wrong with a 30-06 or even a 308.

it isn't the flattest shooter in the world but the 30-06 or the 308 will take any game in north America.

some might argue that the 308win is a little small for big bear , it is however more powerful than the 303brit and 308 is what your Canadian arctic rangers now carry for their hunting and bear defense needs.

don't be afraid to save longer and spend the money to get a good rifle with good future parts availability.

the cheapest rifle is just that and the cheapest rifle is still 300-400 dollars spending 200-300 more puts you in a life long tool. a gun you can hunt for your lifetime and maybe even pass on to a grand kid

I like 180 grain bullets in the 308 the right 180gr bullet in a 308 will take bear , moose, deer and really anything in North America at a reasonable range

picking a ammo that is more common allows you better access to ammunition which is a key part of making your rifle work

the 30-06 and 308win share the same diameter bullet the 30-06 guns are long action and thus a little longer but the gun can also push a 200 grain bullet if needed although 180s in the 30-06 are also quite effective.

308 and 30-06 also have long barrel life , you gain proficiency through practice if with every round your counting down to an end making that end much further down the road.

long range flat trajectory comes at a price that price is barrel

the 308 and 30-06 do very well on game at 250 meters and less which accounts for most hunting. probably not many people should really be shooting much further an at least not without practice.

on the budget yet still solid guns end of things Savage and Mossberg have some nice offerings for new

Savage with the 110 line and Mossberg with the Patriot line , I like the patriot predator as a fairly budget yet it has a few upgrades over the base patriot line , my son has a patriot with the walnut stock , solid gun. looks and shoots well.

weight should be a thing to consider a heavy barrel sounds great till you have to carry it miles try for not more than 8 pounds for rifle and optic , my patriot predator is 8 pounds 2 ounces rifle and optic and cheek rest bag and sling. any more weight is ammo.

any rifle should have a sling , it doesn't need to be fancy , a US GI web sling doesn't look like much but it sure works and is infinitely adjustable.

a ruger , remigntion , Tika , sako, all offer good options

fit is very important , with a good cheek weld you should see through the center of the optic , length of pull and balance.

even if you can't reload you can't really go wrong with 30-06 some 180gr soft points will kill it all at a reasonable distance with proper shot placement

308 is my go to. And usually use 185 grain. It's taken plenty of deer elk and bear
I do have a 270 and 300 win mag I got a year ago that hasn't seen any animals yet. My daughter froze with her shots on a couple elk using the Thompson Center 270. The Savage 300 win mag came with a scope and was around $400. The 270 was on sale for under $300. Both were brand new and have adjustable triggers. The TC cane threaded too

Ruger "American" 30-06. As a FFL dealer for 16 years and a 30-06 shooter for 47 years that is my recommendation. I have hunted elk, black bear, mule deer, whitetail deer and antelope in several Canadian provinces and seven states with a 30-06 and 150 grain bullets.
Avoid cheap gun combo's with low end scopes.
Not all made in the USA guns are of the quality of years past.
Ruger does not appear to compete in the "race to the bottom" in cheap undesirable rifle production. They stand by their products also.

You must have a tender shoulder !! LOL Don't know what calibers kicked hard enough To feel it. THE savage AXIS has a built in recoil pad! I own 3 of the combo's and OUT OF THE BOX the 270 with 130 grain federal and the 243 with 100 gr corelokt ARE THE MOST accurate rifle I have EVER SEEN !! The 270 benchrest will shoot sub 3/8 in groups at 100 yrds ALL DAY LONG . The 243 had me walking up to the target to look after 3 shots because I thought it was sailing bullets. NO the entry hole was the size of a pea and all 3 rounds hit in same hole. BUT the simmons scopes that come on some are junk. The weaver on the newer ones are good for the price. BUT savage now offers a vortex model for 50 bucks more. I put vortex crossfire II on both of my deer rifles.

The ruger is a good rifle but not a ton of difference in mechanics. BUT savage will out shoot the ruger all day long

Larry got a question ? I have never owned a 30-06 but tons of guys around have them. I started deer hunting with a 6 mm and now shoot mostly a 270. IF you are using a 150 gr bullet in a 30-06 why not just use the same size bullet in a 270. After all a 270 is a 30 -06 necked down right? Never compared ballistics but would think the 270 would be flatter

30-06 will serve you well for any big game in North America. Perhaps you would feel undergunned for big brown bear but they have been taken with the 30-06 too. Shot placement is always key.

Chris

308. 7mm mag. 270. 30-06. 300 win mag will all work. Buy the best rifle you can find in one of those calibers you will be fine.

Another thought for u. 30/06 or .270 win. Ammo r 2 of the most common to find about anywhere u go to hunt.

How common is 303 British in Canada? For a first deer rifle for a non reloader or someone committed to a particular cartridge I'd recommend looking at what's readily available. In other times that would be 30/06, 308, 270 but being most common also means the ones bought up the quickest in these crazy times. 303 might be an option for our Canadian friends but I really don't know.

Another one to look at as far as availability goes might be 7.62x54R and one of the Mosin Nagant imports if that's a thing in Canada.

No ammo is common anymore. LOL.

If I had it to do all over again I would buy a 30-06 in either Tikka or Ruger. I am currently looking at a Ruger American in .308, but I have guns in a bunch of other calibers,
I REALLY like Tikka because they have the smoothest action I have ever worked. I have one in .223 for coyote.

What's nice about the 30-06 and .308 is you can walk into just about any sporting or hardware store and find ammo for them....during normal times anyway.

Moosetrot

I really like the .270. My first rifle was an .06.
I now kill a majority of my deer with a .308.

If I needed longer range accuracy all the time, I’d shoot the .308 but if I was to choose one gun for all around killing, I’d just carry my Marlin in .35 Remington. I really like that gun and it will kill most everything.

the good old 30-06 has been doing what you want for a hundred years and its doing it rather well. There is nothing on the American continent that it will not kill.

That is not a problem on our shelves up here.

303 are common . Wait around Myside someone on the island will learn you are looking for a gun....and the stars may shine on you.
Do you have your FAC ? or what ever it is called now !

if they are "giving" you the gun and the scope combo for 30 dollars more than the gun alone you can be assured the scope is junk.

no manufactuer "gives" anything away they get it for less than the difference in the rifle and the combo use the cheapest rings possible and don't worry about how well it will work for you. if they offer a vortex combo it will cost more and those are usable even though you still may need new rings and mount.

if you can't get 4 fingers from your brow to the scope in a salute seeing clearly , get a different scope any good big game scope should have about 3 1/2 inches of eye relief or more

the scope is very important if you are going to shoot a rifle with optic.

Nobody has mentioned the old 45/70. It will kill anything that roams north america.

Not much said about your distance in using a big game gun, here (Utah) it's quite possible to have to shoot over 400 yds. or so for your target, if so 30-06, 7mm mag, 270 all are a great choice as there is a whole lot of loads developed for them and already marketed if your not a reloader, be warned though that prepped loads are pretty expensive now due to demand. If you do reload, this is your chance to get a varied caliber gun that you can tailor your own stuff for, which is a great thing for taking any size game, but you still need at the least a medium size caliber for holding the knock down energy at a greater distance for larger game.

If your into just medium ranges 200 and under any of the other 30 calibers will due as well as the 25-06 and several others. So it's just not as easy to recommend one with today's selection !!

Has been mentioned about shoulder shock if your not used to shooting larger calibers, this can be eliminated if you take the time to prep your self accordingly to avoid a flinch when starting to shoot, by starting out with light loads, shoot enough to be comfortable with the gun and use a pad or cushion on your shoulder. Then use the heavier loads, you will notice a difference, however it's really relative to how much you need to shoot to be comfortable with your shot placement.

Personally I've never ever noticed a problem with heavy calibers at the range or on a hunt shooting them due to having shot rifles for such a long time, I'm ingrained to just not feel the recoil, the only time you do notice is on the range really and thats if your shooting quickly and not cushioned properly, on a hunt your much more involved with the quarry than the shot, and really wonder when you pulled the trigger usually if your mind set is what it needs to be.

Inexpensive is relative, but would avoid any combo deals as has been mentioned, they usually suffer heavily in the scope department due to cost. An average "good" scope now days will be as much as the rifle easily, and can go much higher depending on your optic needs, which is number one in long range shooting, you can forgo some in the lesser ranges to save you dollars though.
Good Luck !

.270 spoken here.

.30/06 or 12ga.

And shot placement is impotent. A .22 will kill an elephant.

30-06 For sure especially if you reload, large choice of lead and velocity also save the latest ammo crises you can by ammo for it almost anywhere. I have several A3-03s a couple of Garands and Remington and Win. all great guns.

Finally, someone mentioned the true all arounder. 12ga will drop anything that walks, crawls or flies within the limitations of it's reach. If your terrain and landscape is such that 75yds is a long distance view then all those others are wasted energy.

Absolutely!



Absolutely!

I second the 7mm Rem Mag I shoot 140 gr. Bonded for deer and lopes and 165gr for larger game

Don’t be playing around! Get a 30-06 and be done with it! 270, 308, 7mm , 300 mag. Or all good rounds. Just match your bullet to what you are hunting and distance.

Haha, not a tender shoulder. I just choose to not punish myself when sighting in a rifle. I can shoot the Ruger one handed all day long and not even feel it. Y’all can keep the Savages, because that’s what they are...Savage.

I have a savage axis in 30 06. Love the gun but the trigger sucked. I put a timney trigger in it and it’s a really good gun. I’ve heard good things about the moss berg patriot rifles also. I don’t think you can go wrong with 30 06

.30-06 in the BEST bolt-action gun you can afford.

Jim

especially with a rifled slug barrel with sabot slugs, it turned my 20ga into a 2 1/2 inch gun at 100 yards , with plenty of authority to take a deer or probably any game in NA 260gr at 1800fps

the down side is slugs don't have the range of a rifle , they recoil harder but man do they bleed when you punch a buck with a slug rifles not as much.

if your keeping your shooting under 120 meters no problem.

So what do you shoot 200 times a year
know where your safety is
Follow a moving target
and go -bang
12 guage
Best all round gun for you to use MySide

after seeing all those geese you slayed last fall in the youth hunt, it should be a no-brainer.
Hopefully by next fall you can travel across for a deer hunt

it most certainly will however he asked for all around gun and I think the 45-70 gun makes a great gun at 120 meters and under also ammo availability , here it is expensive 2.50-3.00 a round.

45-70 as a swamp buster , or short range bear gun , moose gun , anything you want dead at a range before you have to start compensating for the drop

if you sight in with a 125 yard zero puts you about an inch and quarter high at 100 and 10 inches low at 200 that means if your taking a shot and you think it is 150 yard but it turns out to be 200 yards the bullet would impact 7 inches low

there is a reason the strait wall states allow 45-70 , it drops like a rock after 150 yards

awesome short range bear buster , and I know it can be shot further but it takes a lot of knowing the range and wind and having your dope for every 25 yards past 100

If you're young, have no concern for your shoulders, and want to kill anything that craps in North America from any appreciable distance... 300 Win Mag. (That's my go-to recommendation, but I'm a bit biased.)

Seriously, 308 or '06 should serve you well. My choice if I we're going to focus mainly on deer would be 308. If the focus is bigger game like elk, moose, and bear... 30-06.

And I wouldn't be ashamed to pile on the .303 bandwagon either. It has killed a pile of moose.

Lots of good choices out there and a lot of production guns are fairly impressive with their accuracy these days for a fair price.

My biggest piece of advice is to spend as much on the scope as you do the rifle... More if you can. You'll never be sorry you spent money on a good scope.

Mike

If you have no concern for the shoulder forget all those nancy calibers and get a .328 Lapua Mag.

7mag
Hornady Custom 154gr SST
No tracking

If you’re after something cheap that will get the job done for all 3 of those animals then a 303 British is hard to beat. About 15 years ago you could buy them for $50-$75. I bet the price is up a bit now, but I’m not sure. That’s used of course!

If you want a new gun then maybe look at a 308. If Moose wasn’t in the mix I’d for sure buy a 25.06! It’s become my favourite gun and I use it for deer and the kids also shoot Bear with it.

I know people use the 25.06 for elk, but I don’t know now the toughness is from an Elk compared to a Moose. Moose might be a tougher animal. ?

.375 H&H you can take anything in North America with that.

I've taken three whitetails with one. I've always been a fan of belted magnums, I think they're sexy and I've owned a slew of them from .458 down to 7mm Mag. They all kill just fine.

Anything walking the face of the earth. It would be my choice if I could only have one.

My opinion is the fit is more important than the number or name.
Second is the terrain you hunt.
30-30
You notice some guys consistently take them with arrows?
They practice a lot.
Have fun with new rifle fever.

MySide,

If recoil is not a concern the 30-06 would be a good choice. If you'd like less recoil the .308 will do the same job. The 7-08 will have even less recoil and still kill everything. If ammo availability is an issue I would choose between the first two. Stick to middle of the road bullet weight for best overall results.

Anyone here bought anything on Firearms Canada?

There ya go, that will do you just fine . Now put a decent scope on it up to 9X but for the most part up to 6X will work just fine and put some venison in the freezer when the time comes. Punch a lt of holes into some paper before you do that though to get used to it.

Ive never bought from Fire Arms Canada, so cant comment there. The BSA rifles are OK from what Ive heard, ( Ive never owned one) but I wouldn't buy one. Hard to get parts for should you ever need too. I would stick with something thats more common. Check out Prophet River Arms. They have a good selection of used / new rifles and are excellent to deal with. I've bought my last 4-5 rifles from Clay.

270 is a great round also. The range of bullets for a 30-06 tops out at 220 grain. On the lighter side I have loaded down to 110 grain in an 06 for predators. The 30-06 has a much wider variation in bullet weights.

the P17 is a heavy gun even sporterized , the real question you should be asking is who can work on such a gun when it's 100 year old parts break.
if there is a person in your town who is knowledgeable on old service rifles and can help you then sure but if you have no resources familiar with the p17 I would pass

the P17 was one of the best Rifles of WWI no doubt

do you know why the Canadian rangers retired the Enfield No.4 ? parts , if the Canadian gov can't source parts in any sufficient quantity and finding people who remember how to work on them is a bit of a challenge the old smiths are retiring or dying off fast and while there are new smiths that are very competent and can work on them. it isn't the same and their time is big money.

315 seems like a deal now but if anything breaks , note it is missing a sight elevator already I would not buy it without , the other issue is having a knowledgeable person on P17 look it over like a gun smith or a person knowledgeable about P17 and their parts . when you buy online you are sort of sight un seen they can send you pictures , but you need to know what your looking for.

Mill Surplus and sporterized Mill guns can be great hunting rifles but they can also have some limitations.

I had a beautiful 1903A3 Sporter, even had a sporter contour barrel so it wasn't heavy it came with an old style scope mount that I then found would not fit any new scope I could buy went round and round trying to get a scope on it in a way I could mount it far enough forward , I eventually sold it I had 300 in it got my money out of it , I did find a base later that may have worked I would have had 40 more in the base and new drilling and tapping for probably a hundred more. those 1903A3 recivers were HARD so many people would tell me no they could not drill and tap you had to know you needed to die grind the surface hardness off before trying to drill. so I would have had 440 and change. btu it could have gone up from there if anything went wrong.

I walked out the door of the local shop tax and all payed for $424 on a 308Win Mossberg patriot predator , it had a 5 round detachable mag, adjustable trigger, threaded barrel , picatinny rail so I could move that scope way forward where I need it and it weighs in at a reasonable weight. Yes it has a plastic stock. I also don't worry about scratching it up busting through swamps , and that is often how I hunt. I can order parts for it , nothing needs to be fitted if anything was wrong with it it could go back tot he manufacture and get fixed under warranty , I wanted to hunt , buying a new hunting rifle gets you hunting with a purpose built gun. it isn't flashy but it shoots. if i had a complaint on the Mossberg it would be the plastic mag it does have a metal clip to retain it it works and feeds fine , it feels kind cheap but they don't cost that much and I have a few spares incase I ever do break one

a muzzle brake on a 308 is so gentle on the shoulder , you may not care about your shoulder but it is easy to develop a flinch from a hard recoiling rifle , it takes work then to stop flinching. my son developed a flinch , as we roll past the range I will stop and have him take a couple on the 200 yard steel , we don't even have to hang a target there is a steel plate at 200 yards , roll up toss the sitting pad on the hood , take a shot you make it or you don't , he had developed a flinch it happens, we caught it before he missed any game. ball dummy drills until he had beaten the flinch.

I have been looking at pricing and building rifles from surplus guns for 30 years , even when I could get a SKS for 99 dollars by the time I had it doing what a sporting rifle could with an optic I could buy a used sporting gun already drilled and tapped for about a hundred more.

when you start to travel for hunting costs to travel start to add up quick , you will not be sad to have spent couple hundred more on a good more current bolt action hunting rifle , weight is huge

Go to Canadiangunnutz.com and sign up for the equipment exchange. There’s a few good deals on there. It shows trader ratings too so you shouldn’t get screwed. I’ve purchased a few on there and never had grief

264 Win Mag

You dont need a big gun to kill deer of black bear(i have no experience with moose). I hunted with my new 6.5 Grendel excusively this year. Between myself and some friends that borrowed it, it took 6 deer with 6 shots. Ranging fron 20 yrds ro 300yrds. I have bigger guns but love the smaller calibers in smaller lighter rifles. Dead is dead.

Personally i would just see what is commonly available in your area and go with that.

good advice!

One of the NB owners of a Canadian Tire move to a store he bought in Winnipeg. All the guns he brought were Stainless steel barrels from the other store he owned.
He took over this store because it had the biggest sale of guns for Canada.....little did he realise it was the salesman that was the feature...and when he left...poof

YES!
best advice yet.
He would be foolish and ignorant to buy a big magnum, or even an 30-06. I know the boy is NOT either!..but is seeking wisdom from others, which is smart.
He is only a teen and would possibly be flinching after the second shot. I have taught hundreds of boy and girl scouts to shoot and their ego's can be as large as an adults...."I can handle it." mentality will not end well.

Its all about WHERE you put the bullet, NOT how fast its going,
Practice at different distances will help put the lead in the boiler room!

Thompson Center Pro-Hunter in 7mm mag. Absolute tack driver. I'm shooting 150 grain winchester factory loads. At 100 yards, I have put 3 in the same hole. An old timer told me once, buy the best scope you can afford, then buy a rifle to put under it.

7mm08 is a terrific choice for younger shooters.

30-06, Bah, pumpkin chucker if you ask me.
Get yourself a Tikka T3 lite weight in a 300 win mag.
Flat shooting, lightweight rifle, and animal available everywhere. Perfectly suitable for any North American big game animals.
An affordable rifle also, one of the few affordable rifles that is good quality.

7MM REMINGTON MAGNUM will kill 'em all !!!!

walleyed

30-06 can be loaded for minimum recoil as far as shot guns come hunt antelope elk or deer where close shots are 150 yards and out to 400 yards and tell me how well your 12 ga. works. Yeah I have killed them at 30 yards but for an all around gun for big game your not going to beat an 30-06.

talk about a shoulder breaker lol

12 gauge slug hardest kicking load out their

yes or heck why not a 243 ! IF he is hunting deer or even elk with the right bullets. Bear hand him a 12 guage slug ......

Not true, the 375 has much more manageable FELT recoil rhan many small calibers in the opinion of most shooters who shoot the round.
Later, I will try to attach a video of a 14 year old girl shooting at 375 H&H in a model 70 Winchester. She had no negative experience shooting the rifle.

Cape buffalo rifle. Too big

Shot placement is also very important.

A 300 Win Mag is a lot of gun!

Waggler the HARDEST kicking gun I ever shot was a rugur break down single shot 375 H&H . It cut my eye brow bruised my nose and I had a headache for 3 days. Took it back to the guy that owned it and told him to NEVER bring it back to me I wasn't sighting it in

PLUS boy have to spend weeks wages on box of shells plus what ever it takes to sight it in.
270 & 30-06 (NORMAL TIMES ) can be bought for 18 bucks a box all day long at Walmart or duhnams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP_ZuT6QsLQ

here's a grown man shooting one not a 14 year old girl .

I second stay away from magnums. "an all around gun" will be basically in the middle , not a magnum and not a light bullet.

Fit makes a huge difference in felt recoil you may need a cheek pad to get your cheekweld solid and at scope level

right length of pull

more power = more range to some extent there is a very real point of diminishing returns. more powder ,more cost , more recoil for less and less added terminal performance.

heavier bullets are more forgiving if you hit bone .

really solid do most everything sends a 130 to 180 grain bullet between 2900 and 2500 fps

6.5 sweede
7mm-08
308win

check the ammo shelves see what is available
all fit this good hitters at reasonable range and don't recoil excessively
all have definitely taken moose , deer , bear , elk

if you can run them muzzle brakes further decrease felt recoil , they do however make things louder.

30-06 is incredibly versatile and why it has been recommended so much , 308 is a 30-06 with more modern powder and wasted space removed for when they US army was looking for a 30-06 replacement but with the same ballistics as the M1 garand rifle our semi auto from WWII the M-2 ball load sent a 150gr bullet at 2750fps and the 308 will do the same with about
10% less brass
10% less powder

soldiers can now carry a 11th round for every 10 they were carrying and get the same performance with 308

why do we then say the 30-06 is more versatile , well the 30-06 M-2 ball load was downloaded to work with the M1 Garand rifle. before the M1 rifle M1-ball 30-06 load was being shot from bolt action rifles and machine guns the M1-ball load sent a boat tail174gr bullet 2650fps this posed a few issues with better bullet ballistics it could now shoot past the end of the firing range at many of the US army training ranges , as well as causing issues with the gas port pressures in the M1 Garand Rifle. the army realized it didn't want to redesign every rifle range , and change the rifle or have 2 types of ammo around also the sights on the older rifles wouldn't have the correct elevations for the M1Ball round the M1 round was really only around from 1928-1938 and saw no war time production.

killing 3 birds with 1 stone , the Army loaded the M2-ball with a 150 gr flat based bullet at 2750fps , reduce recoil , reduce gas port pressure , reduce over shooting the training range. what good was a better bullet if it shot beyond were most people could even see.

with modern powders and bullets all that potential is still there , you don't have to use it , you could run reduced recoil loads or 150gr soft point or you could run top end 168 180gr with high ballistic coefficient bullets and shoot farther not that you really need to for most hunting some prefer to run them with 200 or 220gr bullets for deeper penetration at shorter range , I am not sure that is needed but some swear by it and it works for them. that does come with some more recoil yet still short of Magnum

The minute you said TIKKA T3 you went off subject. Boy wants something inexpensive !!!! Rest is just garble Base starting price is 775 bucks!!!

I'm not concerned about recoil guys.
I'm 215lbs and 6ft tall. I'm hardly a small guy

my son is 6"2 and 300 pounds , doesn't make you not flinch but you should still be able to handle a decent rifle

308 is nice because in normal times it is very available and factory offerings can be had for right about a buck a round , if you get some fmj just for fun ammo about 70 cents a round , not sure what that comes to in CND but probably not much different

in normal times a magnum runs 2 dollars a round sometimes 3 or 4 , when your shelling out that kind of cash to shoot , people just don't shoot as much as they should.

trigger time is how you get good, one of the other posters mentioned you sight in off the bench to get a few nice groups then when you have that nice group and you know where you hit.
if your range will allow it steel , if your a home range then definitely order up a 6 or 8 inch steel plate they are around 20 dollars hang it on chains. now you know the game horse with a basket ball , your playing horse with a rifle not sure if you will have a friend to play with but you get the idea you carry your pack and your rifle and maybe a set of shooting sticks , you learn your limits what support do you need to make what shot. shoot in the wind , learn how it effects what you must do.

take notes

for short range targets under 100 yards , paper plates the small size with a number in marker 3 or more target stands you are walking along and your partner calls a number you get 5 seconds to have a round in it then work down if learn what you need to get a round on that target , and it doesn't have to be the middle any hit on a desert plate counts.
I did this with 5 targets stands and plates when my son was 11-12 he didn't like me very much on those days at the range , but when he shot his first deer he totally understood that deer came bounding in saw him froze at about 40 yards and before she could even change direction she was on the ground a slug through both shoulders .

I know some guys sit in a tree all day , day after day and when the deer walks in it is a complete ambush. when gun season is short and you need to move deer you get good at shooting them fast. you can practice the slow an precise also but don't let perfection get in the way of good enough especially on those shots under 80 yards.

Yes and once you flinch its hard to stop. My papaw called it dodging. Yep dodging the old shotgun. Best test is hand someone an empty gun and tell them to shoot at something. Seen lots of big fellars move back as the gun goes snap....

ball/dummy is the most effective way to train it out , shooter lays the gun on the bench then turns around , the parent or instructor or partner loads either a empty piece of brass or a snap cap or a dummy that has been made by someone who reloads no powder or primer or a live round and makes sure the safety is on.

first dry fire about 5-10 times what ever it takes to get the student to not flinch . then the ball / dummy begins , start with dummy or two or three then a live round.

when they jump on a click, they get they are doing it. you are going to give them a lot more dummy than ball nearly every ball is followed by a dummy or two or three.

both parties always treat the gun as loaded

it might take you an hour at the range to shoot 20 rounds , you can do a lot to cancel the flinch in one range session , over a few you can really help them.

I have dummy 12 and 20ga rounds to do the same with the shotgun, only time you don't load your own gun.
you can hear if I just close the empty pump shotgun , the dummy they can't tell it weighs the same , and feels the same just no primer or powder.

A buddy of mine has a TC compass he likes. Shoots pretty good for a $500 gun. Came with a scope that he eventually swapped out but served it’s purpose the first year.

[u][u]

3 great choices.

I prefer short action rifles. 7mm-08 will be the next rifle I buy, and a good choice for MySide IMO.

That's a good round.

I would go with 270, 30-06, or 308. Those are all good big game guns. If you want something with major dropping power go with 338 or 375 caliber

I switched to 7mm-08 years ago and love it.

50 BMG

I have the Ruger American in .308 and my son has one in 7mm08. Both are serious deer killers out to 250yds. Probably farther but that shot just hasn’t been needed yet. Both shoot clover leaf groups at 100yds. I will say if you’re a lung or heart shooter don’t use SST’s in cover. We call them Western bullets, you better have open country where you can see them fall. Every buck shot with them have run 50-75 yards with no blood or exit holes. Once found the insides are pure mush, they are dead at the shot but don’t know it.

By far the hardest kicking and most uncomfortable gun I ever shot was an H&R single shot 12 gauge rifled barrel shotgun.
Single shots are lightweight, many have poorly designed stocks and do kick like mules.

And;
Proratman, I don't think there is one Country on the continent of Africa that allows a 300 win mag to be used for Cape Buffalo, and if you did find one, I'll bet not one P.H. would allow you to pursue Cape Buffalo with a 300 win mag.

A Tikka is not an expensive rifle in this day-and-age. I can find them all day for about $650.
What kind of rifle worth owning (other than used) can you find for under $600-$800?
A plain old Model 70 is now about $1200 new I think.

.35 Whelen

I'd go with this if you want to start out cheap

Get your dream gun later

I think MySide can handle a decent sized rifle. I’m 5’3” 155 pounds and I can handle whatever you hand me. It’s all about what you can shoot well though. Just because you can handle a 30-06 doesn’t mean you can effectively Han a 30-06. Or whatever caliber

BLR 308. 775 dollars in New Brunswick. Lifetime gun to do all you want done. And a short action so lever works good

https://www.gunpost.ca/firearms/rifles/miramichi/308-blr-model-81.

If you need to poke something out there a ways. 300 win mag ruger. Zytel stock. all weather model. Ordered it with factory open sights for in case. If I bugger up the scope I am still hunting. Installed a timney trigger. Hits hard. Even way out there . Saw several at Cabelas in Kansas City the other day. Had them in their classics gun room. Stock ,no scope and none I saw had iron sights. They were asking 1600. A little high IMO but they are a fine rifle. Built to stay together and accurate. Except the stock trigger. The stock trigger is horrible.

PS yes those fingerprints were wiped off with a little gun oil when I got home.

img]https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/usergals/2021/04/full-320-93406-photo_74.jpg[/img]

found another picture

Nice iron Danny.

I just fitted my 300WM with a Boyd's stock... Itching to try it out.

Mike

I love my Mosin Nagants! Got several back in the good old days. I and my buds ring gongs at crazy long ranges with irons. But we walk em in with several shots...or more. But for short range hunting 100 yards or less its a great gun. Ammo is still on the shelf around me and 30-06 is gone. In my hunting grounds my 336 Marlin in .35 Rem does all I need.