New to hunting.

[1Nut1DER]

Hello All,

I’m sure I’ll be getting a bunch of razing on here but, I’m about to start hunting and was looking for a good caliber to start with. I’m planning on going Elk and Deer. I’ve done some research but everything I find is unhelpful.

 

[ReaperOfMars]

Welcome to the forum.

I hear 22LR is pretty good.

Hopefully someone on here has an answer of value.

-r

 

[1Nut1DER]

Lol .22LR… Thanks for the input bud. I might look into .22Mag

 

[ReaperOfMars]

It’ll kill your dog just fine, ask the AFT.

 

[1Nut1DER]

Hahaha. I think we need to be friends.

 

[Ballistic Therapy]

I would suggest a good quality 30.06.
It will kill anything in North America.
I have killed more deer and elk with a 30.06 than any other caliber.

 

[428cj]

Yes, a 30.06 is a good round. Also the 308 is also very good.

 

[Gatsby]

Welcome. There's a pretty fair discussion on this in the Outdoors forum:
https://www.arizonashooting.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=7280

There's a lot of us that use .30-06 still, and in my case I use commercial Core Lokt 150's. I reload for everything else (including '06) except for that beautiful Ruger No. 1

 

[Doc]

Sub’d for all the overkill and underkill suggestions.


Can’t wait till you guys fight about nothing. Lol

 

[AZ_Five56]

For a single round that will cover all big game, I will usually suggest 300 win mag first. 30-06 and 308 are two options that oftentimes have better ammo availability these days, and they'll probably be a little cheaper to shoot.

You mentioned that you were interested in hunting deer and elk, but what range do you feel comfortable making an ethical shot? That might help better determine an appropriate round for you.

 

[G34]

7 Saum for big game
243 for small.

 

[TheAccountant]

A 308 will work just fine at distances you should be shooting from as a beginner. There are enough people out there wounding animals with big magnums they can’t shoot.

 

[AZ_Five56]

[highlight=yellow]A 308 will work just fine at distances you should be shooting from as a beginner.[/highlight] There are enough people out there wounding animals with big magnums they can’t shoot.

This is why I wanted to know how far they felt comfortable shooting. If you're hunting elk under 300 yards, 308 is more than enough. The ammo is usually easier to source, and it's going to be a lighter rifle with a short action.

 

[TheAccountant]

[highlight=yellow]A 308 will work just fine at distances you should be shooting from as a beginner.[/highlight] There are enough people out there wounding animals with big magnums they can’t shoot.

This is why I wanted to know how far they felt comfortable shooting. If you're hunting elk under 300 yards, 308 is more than enough. The ammo is usually easier to source, and it's going to be a lighter rifle with a short action.

I don’t really care what the OP’s self-assessed comfort level is. There’s enough game that goes unrecovered in a bush with three legs or gut shot because people think a cartridge with “magnum” in the name means they can take 750 yard shots. If you have to ask what cartridge you should be using because you’ve never hunted before, then you shouldn’t be attempting to take game at more than a couple hundred yards. It’s not a knock on OP at all, we were all there at one point, but there should be a realistic understanding of limitations. A magnum for a beginner hunter will likely do more harm than good.

 

[Doc]

This thread isn’t disappointing. LOL

 

[knockonit]

ca',mon, pooter round like 06, go for it, go big or go home, 300 WM, 270, 7mm go get'm rounds, ugh
Rj

 

[zonie77]

If you don't have a lot of hunting experience I highly recommend taking the hunter safety class. I took it because my kids were taking it. I was impressed with how much I learned about hunting. The safety stuff is in there but there is a lot of hunting info.

 

[xerts1911]

.375 Winchester
Welcome to the forum

 

[delta6]

This thread isn’t disappointing. LOL

Truth...
1st.. No "razing" here, 1Nut1DER. Honest question deserves an honest answer. This is one of the places you should be to ask.

I'm sure most who are posting have harvested less than 10 big game animals in all their lifetime's and most of their information they have is from the internet.. viola..instant commando's.
Now.. back to the OP's question: " I’m about to start hunting and was looking for a good caliber to start with. "

.308 is a good choice. Ammo is plentiful and cost is reasonable. More $ to practice with versus most suggested rounds. The .308 will kill every animal in North America and 99% of all animals in Africa, cleanly. Recoil is moderate and their are plenty of bullet choices.

To suggest a caliber, suggesting that the OP "will be ethical" is a totally different conversation. Caliber has nothing to do with ethics.

For once, would you guys stop with the "dick measuring" contest and help answer the OP's question and leave your self serving opinion out of the conversation.

delta6

PS: DevilDocAZ ... good posts :clap:

 

[TheAccountant]

Come in, proclaim your superiority, make some poor ASSumptions, and then claim others are having a dick measuring contest and not answering the OP. Classic.