Beginner Hunter Caliber Question

[NorCalFocus]

I am sure this will be a simple question.



But, would you all recommend, a wood or synthetic stock

[MJB]

I like wood.....when you drop it on some rocks it sounds really solid......and the scratches add character!

[mafbloggerdanny]

get a 308 so you can actually afford to practice

buying 30-06 ammo doesn't feel good

[sigstroker]

I'd take wood over most of the synthetic stocks that come on rifles like the Remington 783, Ruger American, Tikka Lite, Mossberg Patriot and Savage.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...ynthetic+Brown If I got something with synthetic stock, it would be something like this.

Agree, for the most part. For example, the Savage Axis is available with plastic or wood stock. The wood stock is more expensive, but I would rather have it on the Axis than the plastic one, which is fairly flimsy.

However, the stock on the Savage 12 is generally considered adequate.

[JTROKS]

I am sure this will be a simple question.

But, would you all recommend, a wood or synthetic stock

For a hunting rifle I’d go with synthetic. My first 270 Win had a wood stock, although it was bedded I still noticed how the barrel clearance shifts depending what season of the year it was. That was my only big game rifle back then so I knew it like the back of my hand. Stainless is also nice if you’re a hunter that won’t let overcast clouds stop you.

I came across this reading the other day, not trying to sway you on your caliber decision just info. https://skyaboveus.com/hunting-shoot...rtual-Shootout

I’m surprised that my beloved 270 Win is considered a 700 yard Elk gun with a sleek 150 grain hunting bullet. I haven’t seen a .277” lead-free 150 grain bullet designed for long range hunting, but a 140 grain lead-free should still do the job.

[Paradiddle]

To the OP - go synthetic. Even the flimsy Ruger American stocks are better then the junk wood on most low/mid priced rifles.

PLUS - no weather related nonsense to deal with if/when you hunt out of state or in the infrequent rain here.

Frankly - some mid priced rifles have very nice synthetic stocks - Tikka for one comes to mind.

Turners has the T3 Lite stainless in 30-06 in stock in the three I've been in recently (Orange, Chino, Lake Forest) - that's a $750 rifle if I remember. 6 pounds. Put a scope on it and have a super handy well balanced rifle that will outshoot nearly every off the shelf rifle without fussing with a ton of loads. Tikkas tend to be bizarrely unfinicky with ammo.

Put a Leupold VxII (or VX3i if you can afford it) and some tally light rings and you are set.

Then practice shooting from field positions.

Blued and wood look far better, and are more romantic, but for a working rifle it's hard to beat stainless and synthetic.

Once you get a little more of an "attitude" you can put a McMillan stock on it and really brag at the campfire.

LOL

[strakill]

I am sure this will be a simple question.

But, would you all recommend, a wood or synthetic stock

OP to answer this question I don't believe it is so simple. It boils down to preference and where & how do you plan to use your rifle IMHO. Synthetic mated with stainless would make an excellent all weather beat around rifle and wood & blued makes for a great classic look and is generally a little cheaper. I personally chose wood / blued for all my hunting rifles and shotguns. The reason is....I don't know. There is just something timeless about it for me.

[k1dude]

I have a wood stocked .375 H&H that was used in heavy downpours in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The stock was ruined. It also rusted out a good part of the gun since the wood water absorption occurred out of sight. But I didn't know the damage had occurred until years later.

I also had a wood stocked 12 ga that soaked up a bunch of water while duck hunting and it did the same thing to the shotgun as the .375.

The problem is you can have water in the wood and not even know it. You disassemble the gun to clean and lube it thoroughly and put it away. The water that soaked into the stock then does it's damage even though you thought it was thoroughly dry.

Both guns were expensive pieces.

That's why I prefer synthetic stocks on any hunting gun. There's zero chance of that happening.

[FishnHunt]

Here is a close out on T3 wood stock. https://www.eurooptic.com/tikka-t3-h...ith-rings.aspx
They have other calibers.
My main gun is t3 stainless synthetic 06 with Talley’s vx3 3.5-10 cds dial shooting 168 ttsx with limb saver.
if you ever hunt in rain for multiple days. You will be glad you had stainless.
Blued is fine too, you’ll have to keep them lightly oiled and wipe them dry and. It let them stay wet over night. Both, Blued and stainless

https://imgur.com/a/2LxZl

[TheReluctantCraftstronaut]

Hello everyone,

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

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

I was raised using my dad's 30-06 for hunting. Later got a .270 as my primary hunting rifle. Both are excellent and will take elk.

I like the .270 because it is very flat shooting and less susceptible to the wind.

I like the 30-06 because it delivers more energy to the game and has a much wider selection of cartridges for off-the-shelf ammo and bullets if you load your own.

If buying ammo off the shelf, I have seen little, if any, difference in cost between the two so that's a wash imo.

I've never been limited by the .270 offerings, but I'm not as avid of a hunter as I'd like to be.

If you plan to hunt in CA with this rifle, keep in mind you may be looking for non-lead rounds, which are available for both, but more abundant for 30-06.

I rarely see surplus 30-06 ammo that is truly surplus or worth the cost of buying 1,000 rounds. So I wouldn't consider that a factor, personally.

Difference in recoil is negligible from what I can tell, so I wouldn't factor that in either.

One recommendation I have: I've hunted a lot with the budget friendly scopes that come in combos, including the current savage offering and I find that they are often good enough for accuracy when hunting at 200 yards or less, sometimes a bit more. And they are great so long as there is good lighting. But when deer are on the move in lower light, with brush/trees/other distractions, the glass really shows its weakness. I would consider saving up to buy a budget-friendly, but still much higher quality scope, to increase your chances and shooting enjoyment. Nothing more than a better piece of glass will make clarity of your target seem night and day.

[Ramsh00ter]

Stock shape vs recoil

If everyone started out shooting a 308 lever Winchester the sport would already be extinct.

Lynn, I will back up that statement. I have a Win 88 308 that hurts more than my 338 mag to shoot. Thing beats you to death. Total safe queen now, no desire to ever shoot it again.

Stock configuration is often ignored due to the desire to have something pretty or cool looking. Prime example is the Weatherby MKV.

My father hunted with a MKV 300 for years, could never get him to believe that it did not have any more power than my 300 Win. Showed him many times that I was getting more velocity with the same bullet, but because his kicked so much harder, it had more power. Typical Redneck.....lol

[TMB 1]

To the OP - go synthetic. Even the flimsy Ruger American stocks are better then the junk wood on most low/mid priced rifles.

PLUS - no weather related nonsense to deal with if/when you hunt out of state or in the infrequent rain here.

Frankly - some mid priced rifles have very nice synthetic stocks - Tikka for one comes to mind.

Turners has the T3 Lite stainless in 30-06 in stock in the three I've been in recently (Orange, Chino, Lake Forest) - that's a $750 rifle if I remember. 6 pounds. Put a scope on it and have a super handy well balanced rifle that will outshoot nearly every off the shelf rifle without fussing with a ton of loads. Tikkas tend to be bizarrely unfinicky with ammo.

Put a Leupold VxII (or VX3i if you can afford it) and some tally light rings and you are set.

Then practice shooting from field positions.

Blued and wood look far better, and are more romantic, but for a working rifle it's hard to beat stainless and synthetic.

Once you get a little more of an "attitude" you can put a McMillan stock on it and really brag at the campfire.

LOL

From what I've read the birch and beech they use on low and mid price rifles is stronger than walnut just not as pretty. None these are as flexy as the cheap synthetic stocks. Just keep wood sealed to deal with weather.

[LynnJr]

RamShooter
The average poster here is very young and many don't own guns yet. I took a poster here shooting and his first 5 shot group with my 300 WSM was sub quarter inch for 5 shots and the pictures were posted here.
When they see your avatar picture they think it's a banana peeler.
They don't have any idea about recoil because very few actually shoot that much.

FishnHunt
You are invited to shoot one of the most accurate rifles you will most likely ever get to see touch and shoot. There is no charge but you need to post a picture of your 5 shot group and honestly report how bad the recoil was.
I also invite you to bring your most accurate rifle and try to outshoot me. Any distance from 100-2000 yards.

[FishnHunt]

Lynn.
I want to see this rifle. Post a pic!
Look, I’m no sharp shooter! What I curently hunt with I’m moa shooter to 400 sometimes 500 yards. And I’m ok with that. And that’s my limit. I don’t have cheap gear but I also don’t need custom.
I’m a hunter, Not a paper puncher.
I’ve been around guns since 10 years old. And I’ll stand behind my first post on this thread of 10/22, 223 and 30/06 and you’re set as a hunter. I Don’t give a F about 338 LM.
Out of Last 10 years I have 7 elk on public land. Some are OTC tags and some are draw. What’s your average?

[diver160651]

?

What does this mean at the bottom of your post?

"Last edited by Kestryll; 01-10-2019 at 11:13 PM.."

Do people come in the threads to censor, edit and remove posts or is that a second user name?