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Confidence is essential.

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This bull was quartering away from me, sharply, at 346 yards. The 140 grain Partition took out a rib way back on his right side and exited between his shoulder and neck on the left side. He dropped so fast I thought I missed.
 
Pharm.
Before pandemic, ammo shortage and hoarding. So let's say 2 years ago.
Cheaper 7-08, 25-30$ for 20 rounds. With limited availability.
Cheaper 223 5$ for 20
Cheaper 270,30/06 $15 -17 for 20
Cheaper 6.5 $11-15 for 20
Or Am I wrong ? Nah, I know I'm right.
When I purchased my first 6.5 CM I was at sportsman's and looked at ammo price and selection before choosing between the 6.5 vs 7-08. And I load my own.
 
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On a lucky guess I purchased a Ruger Compact in 7mm-08 for my wife. It indeed is a fantastic cartridge.
However, it IS NOT the equal of the 30-06 just as @pharmseller himself stated, even though he wasn't trying to make the point I am making. The 7mm-08 can't carry a super heavy bullet. Doesn't matter if I'm chasing brown bears, or not. That's where the 7mm-08 can't equal the old (very old) '06.
However, I'd not shy away from that cartridge. In fact, I think I recommended it earlier in this thread. Much like the current 6.5 trend, it shoots a fairly long for caliber bullet at a reasonable velocity and kills stuff. Plus it's a great cartridge in short barrels.

30-06. 115 years old and still what everything is compared to. :D But I killed my deer last year with a 30WCF (30-30). 170gr bullet went thru 23" of deer including the shoulder blade it blew apart on it's way in.

Pick something decent. Make a good shot. Dead critter.
 
On a lucky guess I purchased a Ruger Compact in 7mm-08 for my wife. It indeed is a fantastic cartridge.
However, it IS NOT the equal of the 30-06 just as @pharmseller himself stated, even though he wasn't trying to make the point I am making. The 7mm-08 can't carry a super heavy bullet. Doesn't matter if I'm chasing brown bears, or not. That's where the 7mm-08 can't equal the old (very old) '06.
However, I'd not shy away from that cartridge. In fact, I think I recommended it earlier in this thread. Much like the current 6.5 trend, it shoots a fairly long for caliber bullet at a reasonable velocity and kills stuff. Plus it's a great cartridge in short barrels.

30-06. 115 years old and still what everything is compared to. :D But I killed my deer last year with a 30WCF (30-30). 170gr bullet went thru 23" of deer including the shoulder blade it blew apart on it's way in.

Pick something decent. Make a good shot. Dead critter.
Of course the Mighty -08 can't sling the heavies, but so what? From a killing perspective (because that's what we do, we don't harvest, we kill) who cares how heavy the bullet is? Does a deer know it's been shot with a 220 grain round nose Core-Lokt (or whatever)? Does a 150 grain bounce off while a 200 grain kills?

I'd say no to that.



P
 
:s0003:
We all get too worked up about "specifics".
Like I said, I killed my last deer with a 30-30. Guess what? Dead deer. Filled the freezer.
 
Shot my last critter with the trusty 'ol 340 Weatherby Mag. Only needed 2 shots to put it down. Found it folded up in a sage bush 100 yards away, with nice entry & exit wounds. Plenty of blood to track. I even manged to pack it all out in one load.







Best 1/4oz of rabbit I've had in a long time!
 
View attachment 1023942

5x6 bull taken by my nephew, 7mm-08 and 150 gr Hornady ELD-X, 409 yards.

View attachment 1023943

Two Mulie bucks, both taken at over 500 yards, both 7mm-08, one with 140 grain Partition, the other 140 grain AccuBond.

View attachment 1023944

Perhaps my favorite photo, my dad's last bull. 7mm-08, 140 grain AccuBond, 225 yards.

Would these animals be any deader with a 30-06? I have a lot more pics, but you get the idea.

Let me be very clear, I'm not saying the 7mm-08 is better. I'm saying that it's just as good.



P
"...409 Yards."...

"...over 500 yards,..."

Then Dad waltzes in and shows the boys what he tried to teach them:

"225 yards."

MY favorite photo too.
 
Guys, let's not forget the original question... op looking for a good hunting rifle & caliber. No/little experience with rifles.

A gun/caliber is a tool, and you need to be confident, knowledgeable, and capable with whatever you use. Including holdovers, safely load and unload, operation, scope, and know what your capabilities are with it.

Whatever he happens to get, I just hope he spends as much time at the range AND the field getting as much practice before he tries to make meat... which means get a buncha ammo and practice with it, until things are second nature.

For me, shots are max to 100-125yds... and a 50's built savage 99 in 300sav works for me. I've used 35rem, .30-06, 30/30, 308 before... they all make meat... I wouldn't recommend any mag for someone just starting out. Would be a flinch-o-rama...

Good luck to the op, hope he has a mentor/hunting buddy he can learn from... who could even lend him a rifle for the season.
 
Within 50 fps or so anyways. My 160 gr handloads for the 280ai leave the barrel at 2950fps. Probably could stoke it a bit hotter but this load seems to be in the sweet spot.
i tried 280AI, 280 rem and 270. 280 is not a magic number. 270 outperforms both 280s. 150 gr. accubond reloader 26 powder 3100fps in 26" barrel ruger #1. and YES I HAVE A CRONOGRAPH..
 
It doesn't matter what someone else uses.

How well do you shoot and hunt with the rifle that you have...?
Stay within your limits of hunting and shooting skill...as well as the limitations of your rifle and rifle cartridge.

What is "best" is extremely subjective.
Andy
right andy we all forget this is a beginner. don;t buy a magnum. buy any caliber that suits you and you;r ability and practice,practice,practice buy something as common as dirt and one you can find ammo for, you'll be good
 
i tried 280AI, 280 rem and 270. 280 is not a magic number. 270 outperforms both 280s. 150 gr. accubond reloader 26 powder 3100fps in 26" barrel ruger #1. and YES I HAVE A CRONOGRAPH..

Out performs how? They all come from the same parent cartridge so with slightly less powder capacity I don't really see the 270 outperforming the 280ai, but with some of the more recent bullet options it certainly is all but equivalent. I purposely keep speeds down to modest levels and usually don't push too hard. Benefits are longer brass life, longer barrel life, and less recoil which aids in accuracy. With the advent of range finders and scopes with ballistic reticles and or dialing for drop, it is really a semantical argument. I just happen to have a lot of faith in my combo based on results as I am sure you do with your #1 in .270.
 
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Out performs how? They all come from the same parent cartridge so with slightly less powder capacity I don't really see the 270 outperforming the 280 ai but with some of the more recent bullet options it certainly is all but equivalent. I purposely keep speeds down to modest levels and usually don't push too hard. Benefits are longer brass life, longer barrel life, and less recoil which aids in accuracy. With the advent of range finders and scopes with ballistic reticles and or dialing for drop, it is really a semantical argument. I just happen to have a lot of faith in my combo based on results as I am sure you do with your #1 in .270.
 
Guys, let's not forget the original question... op looking for a good hunting rifle & caliber. No/little experience with rifles.

A gun/caliber is a tool, and you need to be confident, knowledgeable, and capable with whatever you use. Including holdovers, safely load and unload, operation, scope, and know what your capabilities are with it.

Whatever he happens to get, I just hope he spends as much time at the range AND the field getting as much practice before he tries to make meat... which means get a buncha ammo and practice with it, until things are second nature.

For me, shots are max to 100-125yds... and a 50's built savage 99 in 300sav works for me. I've used 35rem, .30-06, 30/30, 308 before... they all make meat... I wouldn't recommend any mag for someone just starting out. Would be a flinch-o-rama...

Good luck to the op, hope he has a mentor/hunting buddy he can learn from... who could even lend him a rifle for the season.
the .308 I will be using is a 1957 savage model 99f, dad bought new
 
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i bought my first 280 and was not satisfied with performance, so rechambered to 280AI. still not satisfied. so planned on re barreling to 26" 280 AI, in the mean time ruger#1 in 280 26" barrel appeared so i bought that thinking it would be better. best i could do was 3050fps with several loads and started seeing classic excessive pressure sighns, flattend primers, no increase in velocity etc. so ruger #1 in 270 appears so i bought that. so i decided to see for myself what was the better. 280AI needs a longer barrel to get the speed i wanted. so i was in pretty deep into this project,,$$ wise so cut my losses and sold both 280s. am satisfied with 270 performance in ruger and model 70 win. i'm not sure which one to hunt with, still time to decide before hunting season. as for 1000 yard shooting, cant find 1000 yard range so i wont be going there. i wont be making any shots at more than 500 yards or even 400 yards i prefer to get closer. it is more fun to see if i can hunt better instead of sniping at long range.
 
i bought my first 280 and was not satisfied with performance, so rechambered to 280AI. still not satisfied. so planned on re barreling to 26" 280 AI, in the mean time ruger#1 in 280 26" barrel appeared so i bought that thinking it would be better. best i could do was 3050fps with several loads and started seeing classic excessive pressure sighns, flattend primers, no increase in velocity etc. so ruger #1 in 270 appears so i bought that. so i decided to see for myself what was the better. 280AI needs a longer barrel to get the speed i wanted. so i was in pretty deep into this project,,$$ wise so cut my losses and sold both 280s. am satisfied with 270 performance in ruger and model 70 win. i'm not sure which one to hunt with, still time to decide before hunting season. as for 1000 yard shooting, cant find 1000 yard range so i wont be going there. i wont be making any shots at more than 500 yards or even 400 yards i prefer to get closer. it is more fun to see if i can hunt better instead of sniping at long range.
.270 short mag!
 

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