opinions on what gun to get.

[DEADTIME]

Whoa! Did you really just say that? Careful man. I've seen fights break out over guys saying they've seen elk shot with a .270 and you're suggesting a .243? The next post in this forum is gonna be some guy saying his uncle dropped an elk with a .243 at 300 yards with open sights, followed by a post by another guy saying he shot an elk at 20 yards with a .243 and the bullet ricocheted off it's hide. Let's just get back to the original topic

Bounced off its hide?.......

 

[nwwoodsman]

Bounced off its hide?.......

There was a good amount of sarcasm when I posted that. It just seems that when anyone talks about elk hunting with anything less than a .700 nitro express then there is a fair amount of disagreement amongst hunters on what makes a suitable caliber for elk.....And just to stir the pot a little, if I draw a cow tag this year I will be hunting it with a 30-30

 

[hermannr]

There was a good amount of sarcasm when I posted that. It just seems that when anyone talks about elk hunting with anything less than a .700 nitro express then there is a fair amount of disagreement amongst hunters on what makes a suitable caliber for elk.....And just to stir the pot a little, if I draw a cow tag this year I will be hunting it with a 30-30

Shot placement means more than anything when it comes to hunting. You can have a .375 H&H and not knock down a 100 lb white tail doe, or you can kill a Moose with a 5.56X28mm...with the proper shot placement, and you ar emuch more likely to flinch and miss with that .375.

My favorite "small person's" rifle in a 257 Roberts. My favorite too...and I am not a small person. With Proper shot placement the 257 Roberts will bring in an Elk.

 

[RoddyWA]

The 7mm Mauser has a very mild recoil. It is well made, can be modified for scope and sportster stock, good trigger pull, etc. My first rifle was a 7mm (7x57), I loved it. Got stolen in a burgulary, have finally got a replacement and am have the bolt forged for a scope, the barrel has been shortened to 22", I've ordered a new trigger, and when I recover from all of this I'll get a thumb hole stock to replace the sportster stock that is currently in place. Got to get a new set of reloading dies too. I'm really looking forward to having it on the hunt.

 

[Buko]

I agree with the above poster and just wanted to point out you can get a good surplus 7mm mauser for under $200. I would also suggest the 6.5x55 Swedish round - also available in low cost surplus rifles. The Swedes use this rifle to take a lot of big game every year and its a very flat shooter with low recoil. Both rounds are fantastic for deer and can take elk inside of 200 yards with proper shot placement - which is easier to do in a low recoil round.

Happy hunting!

 

[orygun]

I agree with the above poster and just wanted to point out you can get a good surplus 7mm mauser for under $200. I would also suggest the 6.5x55 Swedish round - also available in low cost surplus rifles. The Swedes use this rifle to take a lot of big game every year and its a very flat shooter with low recoil. Both rounds are fantastic for deer and can take elk inside of 200 yards with proper shot placement - which is easier to do in a low recoil round.

Happy hunting!

Like this!

This is not my gun, but it's one that caught my eye...

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/ri...varna-m38-6-5x55-sweden-1942-sporterized.html

 

[Third]

I like a bolt action 7.62x39, 5$ for 20 shots at walmart gives you no excuse to not take him to the range often, and real hunting ammo from, federal, hornady, winchester, corbon, etc., depending on which shoots best for the gun.

 

[Bradg450]

If I'm not mistaking its savage that
Makes a rifle that comes with a youth stock and a full length stock and it in .243 be perfect for those growing kids.

 

[Bradg450]

Shot placement means more than anything when it comes to hunting. You can have a .375 H&H and not knock down a 100 lb white tail doe, or you can kill a Moose with a 5.56X28mm...with the proper shot placement, and you ar emuch more likely to flinch and miss with that .375.

My favorite "small person's" rifle in a 257 Roberts. My favorite too...and I am not a small person. With Proper shot placement the 257 Roberts will bring in an Elk.

There was a hunting show and the whole thing was on a guy harvesting every north American big game with a Winchester model 94 30-30 lever gun.

 

[chetterbob]

iv killed lots of mule deer with my mod 70 223 at ranges of 150 yrds so it can be done then when he gets older he will have a great varmit rifle i used a 60gr speer sp none of them run more the 10 yrds.

 

[JC9995]

30-30, .243, or 7mm-08 are all good recommendations. 30-30 if your going to be hunting in the brush, the other 2 if your going to be in more open country.
As for hunting age. Not sure about Washington, but Oregon has the mentored youth hunts starting at age 9.

Good luck.... And thanks for taking the time to get the next generation into the outdoor sports! My son goes with me for the first time this year!

 

[DeanMk]

Dean,
Not to pick on you, but to use your post as a point that everyone is different in what kind of recoil they handle well. I had one of the Topper 20 gauge guns and my impression is exactly opposite of yours. I had it for a long time, but only used it once to bust clays.... a whole box of clays! I shot it so fast and so much that I felt that it was prudent to leave it open and set it down for a few minutes to let it cool off a couple of times during the shoot. I could have shot that little bugger all flippin day!
While I don't think the little Ruger in 7mm-08 kicks that hard, I can tell the difference from the .243. I also remember how I thought that 1894 Winchester 30-30 kicked pretty hard as a kid. These days it's nothing to me. I can really appreciate the thought of working up the scale in recoil with a youngster.

Do you still have that old Mauser?

Hmmm, thought I responded to this already...

My problem with the Topper was that the stock was short. Not "Youth Model" short, but short enough to makes shooting painful.
Length of Pull should be 14.5", but was only 13 7/8". Stock shows no sign of ever being modified, so I may just happen to have a rare "blem" that made it past the inspectors.
The gun barely touched my shoulder when I had it up and ready to shoot, so my shoulder got pounded....also, I split 1/2 a box of clays between #8 Rabbit & Squirrel loads and #6 Duck and Phesant loads.
Forgive me if my quoted post made it seem that a 7-08 and a 243 would have the same recoil. u
Unless the 7-08 was in a heavier gun, the 7mm would have a sharper felt recoil.
The comparison was actually between the 7-08 and the 7mm Mauser.....and yes, we still have that gun.
I posted a pic of me, at 14, somewhere around here, holding that gun, while standing next to my prized 158 lb. Blacktail hanging in the garage, the day I shot him.


Dean

 

[DeanMk]

...oh yeah, AND STOP PICKING ON ME!

 

[DeanMk]

I agree with the above poster and just wanted to point out you can get a good surplus 7mm mauser for under $200. I would also suggest the 6.5x55 Swedish round - also available in low cost surplus rifles. The Swedes use this rifle to take a lot of big game every year and its a very flat shooter with low recoil. Both rounds are fantastic for deer and can take elk inside of 200 yards with proper shot placement - which is easier to do in a low recoil round.

Happy hunting!

Wow, $200?!
Man, I'm gettin' old!
My brother got his just before the '68 gun act became effective and I think he paid maybe $30+ for it...SHIPPED!
I'll have to try posting some pics of that gun for you guys.
It's a '95 Chilean Mauser.
...and fwiw, I lusted after the 6.5 Swede's as a kid, too.
I understand that round was developed to shoot a long, heavy bullet.



Dean

 

[DeanMk]

I posted a pic of me, at 14, somewhere around here, holding that gun, while standing next to my prized 158 lb. Blacktail hanging in the garage, the day I shot him.


Dean

I accidentally erased that part of the quote, but its a 7mm Mauser.
Here's the pic, I knew it was around here somewhere...

...and a linky to the thread, in case anyone's interested - http://www.northwestfirearms.com/hunting/68663-deer-hanging.html



Dean

 

[coop44]

Gonna get some flack about this, but, I keep a 95/34 steyr inthe back of my truck. With 205 grain ammo moving at 2500fps good for anything NA has to offer, it's my emergency shtf wildlife rifle. With a 200 budget the rifle and a few boxes of hunting ammo.or, rifle, brass,bullets and a set of dies should come in at a little over.

 

[DeanMk]

Gonna get some flack about this, but, I keep a 95/34 steyr inthe back of my truck. With 205 grain ammo moving at 2500fps good for anything NA has to offer, it's my emergency shtf wildlife rifle. With a 200 budget the rifle and a few boxes of hunting ammo.or, rifle, brass,bullets and a set of dies should come in at a little over.

In case you're curious, that's 2846 ft./lbs. of ME.
Compares favourably with .30-06 and 7.62x54R...but with a slightly larger bullet.
Nice. =)


Dean

 

[nw.style]

Opinions are like.... Well, Ruger M77 Hawkeye Compact in .308 w/slimline muzzle brake. WHY? Can take down deer and elk. LIGHTWEIGHT. Three position safety-can be unloaded with safe on. Mauser action with claw extractor, Strong bolt. No need for bases molded into the gun and rings they come with it AND.... YOU don't have to deal with the CNBC "Under Fire... The Remington 700" show on Netflix when your wife checks it out and asks what rifle the son shoots?

 

[DeanMk]

Isn't "Hawkeye" Ruger speak for Single Shot?
I remember the pistols.


Dean

 

[orygun]

Isn't "Hawkeye" Ruger speak for Single Shot?
I remember the pistols.


Dean

Now a days Hawkeye means the updated version of the 77 MKII. Mostly the stock is slightly reshaped and they now have the LC6 trigger. It's not great, but it's a nice step in the right direction.

Also, the Ruger Compact is a great little gun. Focus on "little". When they first came out I seriously considered a 308 for myself, but ended up buying a 7mm-08 for my wife. Glad I didn't buy one for me! The length of pull is ridiculously short for most men. This could be an easy fix with a longer recoil pad, then it would be a great gun.