Beginner Hunter Caliber Question

[Rockdog]

Hello everyone,

I have been floating around the site for a while, but I think this might be my first post.

I have a plan to learn to hunt, I am in my late 30's and have never hunted and I have limited experience with rifles. I do own a 9mm that I shoot around one a month.

I plan to purchase a rifle/scope combo, I have been looking at the Savage 111 trophy hunter XP. Take the NRA rifle for beginners course, then practice until I feel comfortable shooting at around 200 yards. After that, I want to attend a two day hunting school (classroom training and a guided wild boar hunt the following day). Then in a few years hopefully working my way up to a possible Elk hunt.

A little long winded, but my question is....

With my lack of experience, should I go for a .270, or the 30-06?

I know this has been a great debate, but I wanted to get the opinion of some of you.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Thanks,
Rocky

[Spyder]

I generally recommend folks in your situation buy a 308 for their first hunting rifle, or if it's going to be an only hunting rifle, that, for a variety of reasons.

My personal opinion on 270 v. 30-06 is to go with the 30 caliber. Neither will leave you wanting for much though so don't stress out on it too much.

I like your approach also. It's tough to get started out in hunting when you're past youth and don't have friends or family that can take you out and teach you everything from skills to ethics, but it looks like you're on the right track!

Lots of great knowledge here...you'll just have to sometimes wade through the chaff as well, like any forum.

[NorCalFocus]

Either round is going to work just fine for your goals. Your not gaining much either way. Me personally, I like the vast bullet selection you get with 30 calibers.You really only get a bigger adavantage from that it you reload. But you never know what the future holds.

[Spyder]

Also look at the CA Advanced Hunter Education classes. They're low cost one day classes on a variety of types of game and species, and are pretty dang good for beginners.

[Divernhunter]

30-06 is what I would and did choose.
308win is an excellent choice. It is easier to get surplus ammo for plinking than the 30-06 and there never was any surplus 270.

[JackEllis]

I would suggest you do the following:

Purchase either a .22lr or a .223, either of which can be had for a very reasonable price and both of which are cheap to shoot. Use them to practice shooting a rifle from the same positions you would use in the field - prone, sitting from sticks, kneeling from sticks, standing from sticks. .22lr can be had for as little as 4cents per round and acceptable .223 ammo for under 40 cents, whereas practice ammunition for the .30-06 and .270 starts at 60 cents and goes up from there.

Both the .270 and the .30-06 have taken just about every game species found in North America. I'm partial to the '06 because I have one but I wouldn't hesitate to use a .270 for pigs, deer or elk.

I'm a low volume shooter and I still go through about 200-250 rounds of .22lr per month. The cost difference between 5 cent .22lr and 60 cent .30-06 ammunition on say 2500 practice rounds per year come to over $1k, so a rifle that's cheap to shoot will pay for itself pretty quickly.

[MJB]

Start with dove and work your way up to BG.....a giuded hunt is worth the money but as far as learning it covers 25% of what you need to know. 50% is finding the animals, learning where to look, learning the land and so on. It can take 1 to 5 years depending if you have a mentor that will take you to the honey holes. The last 25% is gear shooting and being prepared.


And luck is the Trump card!

[Sputnik]

Also look at the CA Advanced Hunter Education classes. They're low cost one day classes on a variety of types of game and species, and are pretty dang good for beginners.

Good advice there. I did two (deer and pig) They have them reasonably close to the So Bay, too. Do them after you do the general Hunters Ed class though. In fact Hunters Ed might be prerequisite.
As far as rifles go: if you find a good deal on any common caliber be it .270, .308, .30-06 buy it. Or find a gun you find appealing in one of the calibers you're considering and go for it.
My hunting rifles are both .30-06 but I'm not so invested in my choice that I'll tell you thats the way to go. A .30 is pretty versatile though.

[diver160651]

[RandyD]

All of the above posts have good info. If you have already limited your choices between the .270 and a 30-06, they are basically the same cartridge. The only difference is in their neck diameter. The .270 is a faster and flatter shooting cartridge, but the 30-06 has more bullets available.

[NaClAddict]

Go .270. Shoots flatter. Google maximum point blank range by chuck hawkes for an understanding of why it’s important. Also, there’s more than enough.270 around,especially during shortages.

[FishnHunt]

I think starting with 223 is your best and cheapest choice to learn basic rifle skills. Cheap, almost no recoil. And it will teach you how to read wind.
With your 200 yard limit you are fine to take a deer.
Just use a premium heavier bullet.
Deer are not bullet proof. Shot placement over displacement!
If You ever decide bigger game such as elk. You’ll have better idea of what you like, want, need or all of the above.
IMO...With 10/22, tikka in 223 and tikka in 270, 06 or 308 you’ll be covered for almot anything with those 3 rifles.
Buy stainless. Blued rust too easy if you ever go to NW.
Don’t buy combo packages as you’ll have to replace stuff. Unless scope is Nikon, burris or vortex, you’ll be replacing the scopes. Trust me!
2.5-10 scope will cover you from the thick stuff to the open fields..

Something to think about the bigger caliber.
They all do something better than the 30/06, but none of them do everything as well as the 30/06.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

If you need to learn to shoot rifles, start with a .22LR and get the fundamentals down. At some point, you might even find yourself doing a good deal of hunting with that .22LR.

If you already have a working knowledge of rifle shooting and have narrowed your choice to a decision between .270 and .30-06, it will, in many ways, come down to a personal choice. My best friend loved his .270. But, when we'd hunt together, I'd take my .30-06. My uncle cherished his .30-06. However, I've listened to great (and a few not-so-great) debates over the virtues of both.

Between those two cartridges, I favor the .30-06 for many of the reasons already posted. For me, one of the overriding criterion is that I'm more likely to find .30-06 ammunition in just about any store which sells ammunition than I am .270; at least in the more 'rural' areas I've hunted and hunt. It may not be the brand or the exact bullet weight I'd want/prefer; but, were I to need something that goes *Bang* - for whatever reason - I wouldn't have much trouble finding an option. (That's not an 'universal truth.' It's just something that I've noticed over the years where I hunt. I tend to use my reloads anyway.)

ETA: As has been noted, combination packages might seem a, comparatively, less expensive option to get started. Just bear in mind that, in the long run, if you 'get serious' about hunting, you'll likely find 'inexpensive' is rarely the 'best' option.

[sigstroker]

Just a warning, animals smell pretty bad on the inside.

[edgerly779]

Either will do. 30/06 is better choice for Elk. 30/06 easiest to get different lead and non lead loads for. pm I have a new Remington 710 in 30/06 for sale.pm me.