What cartridge to get?

[joelkdouglas]

Alrighty fellas (are there ladies that frequent this forum?)

I want a new rifle. I have a .30-06, and it is a darn good hunting rifle. However, I regret ever shooting more than 15 rounds through it per trip to the range, due to the recoil. I don't develop or have a flinch, but I usually come home with a bruise.

I will not replace the .30-06 for my hunting rifle. And I will shoot it just as much as I do now. But I want something that I can shoot more, to practice more, to improve my shooting.

I reload. The reason I posted this question here, in the reloading forum, is I want to decide on a cartridge before I decide on a rifle for it.

Also, I have a boy who's 4. If I got something like a .243 it could potentially be his first deer rifle. But I don't want that to be too strong a consideration, because I'm also thinking I'll just get him a .30-06 and use youth loads until he's big enough for normal loads.

What do you think, and why? 22-250? 223? 243? 30-06 with youth loads for me? 25-06? 260 Rem? 6mm PPC? 6mm Rem?

Any more fun to reload than others?

Thanks gents. And I know many of you are big Winchester fans, so I'll tell you I'll consider a Winchester. If it has a heavy barrel.

 

[stalker07]

My bid would go with the .25-06 Remington. Even with max loads and 120 grain bullets recoil is very tolerable. There is an excellent selection of .25 caliber bullets available to suit your needs from varmints to big game such as elk. The 115 grain PT is an amazing all around bullet. The trajectory is flat enough that you can get consistent hits way out there and it is perfectly suited to deer with a proper projectile.

 

[BK]

.223. Cheap ammo, light recoil, little muzzle blast, accurate as all heck, a ton of different bullets to try, lots of different rifles to choose from.

 

[Guy Miner]

"But I want something that I can shoot more, to practice more, to improve my shooting."

The .30-06 shouldn't be bruising you at all, not even if you fire 60 rounds. Could be the fit of it, or perhaps it needs a new recoil pad or perhaps it's not being held firmly enough. Don't know.

Buy a mighty fine .22 rimfire. Shoot the heck out of it. Shoot 500 rounds a week if you want. You'll get real, real good. The marksmanship skills you build with a good .22 will transfer directly to the .30-06 hunting rifle. This is not some radical new idea, it's been around for decades - practice mostly with the .22, then make sure you shoot the big rifle enough to be very familiar with it and go hunting.

If the .22 rimfire doesn't appeal, then I'd recommend the .223, as it also is inexpensive to shoot, accurate and fun. It's also very useful as a varmint and coyote rifle.

Regards, Guy

 

[CatskillCrawler]

"But I want something that I can shoot more, to practice more, to improve my shooting."

The .30-06 shouldn't be bruising you at all, not even if you fire 60 rounds. Could be the fit of it, or perhaps it needs a new recoil pad or perhaps it's not being held firmly enough. Don't know.

Buy a mighty fine .22 rimfire. Shoot the heck out of it. Shoot 500 rounds a week if you want. You'll get real, real good. The marksmanship skills you build with a good .22 will transfer directly to the .30-06 hunting rifle. This is not some radical new idea, it's been around for decades - practice mostly with the .22, then make sure you shoot the big rifle enough to be very familiar with it and go hunting.

If the .22 rimfire doesn't appeal, then I'd recommend the .223, as it also is inexpensive to shoot, accurate and fun. It's also very useful as a varmint and coyote rifle.

Regards, Guy

I couldn't agree more! 'cept for the coyote part..

You can get a very good .22LR bolt action and shoot the heck out of it. It will significantly improve your shooting skills and it's cheap. When your son gets to be 8-12, get him a soft shooting centerfire. He can shoot that .22 next year.

 

[wildgene]

...don't wanna rain on yer parade, Joe, but I think you're gonna need to prioritize...

...a youth rifle is not a varmint rifle is not a hunting rifle, you can compromise, get some overlap, give a little to get a little, but somewheres you're going to have to decide on a clear vision of what you want to accomplish...

...that said, if you want a 2nd hunting rifle, suitable for your son to grow into, accurate & fun enough for you to play w/ in the interm, I'd start looking for a lighter 7mm-08. You can load 100 or 110 gr. varmint bullets to plink w/, light 120-130gr. loads, med. to heavy 140-160gr. hunting loads, or some 155-175gr. match loads for killing steel out @ 500M. A .260, if you can find one in an actual rifle instead of a carbine, or 6.5 Creedmore, Swede, etc. would be good choices, or any of the .25's, but the 7-08 can be loaded down to near .243 recoil, or loaded up to match or exceed the .308...

...now if it's going to be your back-up deer, varmint, antelope, range, fun gun, hard to beat a medium heavy barreled .25-06, unless of course, you can find a Browning Varmint Stalker in .25 WSSM. :mrgreen: Of course, the 6.5's are the new darling for LR shooting & rightly so because they have everything, high BC's, moderate recoil,but the new .25 90gr. BlitzKing (0.393) @ 600fps faster matches the 6.5's out to a 1000yds. :shock:

...anyways, decide where you really want to go, & start comparision shopping to find what best suits your wants/ needs...

 

[Greg Nolan]

A 7mm-08 or 25-06 or 257 Roberts or a whole host of other calibers give you a lot of flexiblity. With the Superformance ammo in lead of unleaded you can power up and of course power down as needed. I went through this with my kids and a lot of it is what do they like. For you any of these will work. The question there is, "What do you like"?
An ought six does kick pretty hard but a good recoil pad and or muzzle break can take care of that. On the bench I use a Past recoil shield and there is no bruise and I'm talking 416 WBY, 458 Lott and 375 RUM. In the field you can wear the pad also. They make 3 sizes. One is for field use. one is field/bench and one is Magnum and it's too big for comfortable hunting use.
Good Luck
Greg

 

[DrMike]

I'm in agreement with Guy--a 30-06 should not be bruising you with just a few rounds at the range. Check the fit of the stock. Perhaps you need a different stock. Perhaps you need a new recoil pad. Put on a Pachmayr Decelerator or a LimbSaver pad. You can also load up some lighter bullets and practise from various positions at the range. However, this should not be a bruiser of a cartridge.

 

[FOTIS]

You handload?


http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Youth%20Loads.pdf


If you still want a new rifle then go 223 243....

A 30-06 should not be giving you any recoil issues....at all.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Joel, a .30-06 should not be a recoil issue, especially a Remington BDL. I think that you seriously need to install a Simms Limbsaver. I have one on my .45-70 and with Buffalo Bore type loads (325 grain at 2300 fps) it makes a tiger into a sweetheart to shoot.

As for a second rifle, I would look for a .243, .257 Roberts or 6.5-08 rifle that has a decent pad and is not too light or short barreled. Any of those would make a sweet backup rifle to your .30-06.
Charlie

 

[nshunter]

I had a 30/06 mountain rifle that kicked like a mule too, not fun to shoot at all. I ended up getting a .223 mainly to shoot and a .243 as a backup for hunting deer/coyote. Well I ended up using the .223 and .243 for eveything and sold the '06. I have since added a .270 wsm that kicks as much as the '06 but with a proper recoil pad it is much easier on the shoulder.

 

[BK]

Wow. I'm disappointed with some of you guys. The OP wants a new gun and you suggest a recoil pad? Y'all need to turn in your enabler cards, right now!

 

[joelkdouglas]

I agree, I shouldn't be getting a bruise with a .30-06. And it's not a big, black one or anything, but it's there.

I think it's partially the bench at the range--must be at a bad angle or something. When I shoot sitting I don't feel near the same amount of recoil.

I didn't use to get the bruise with the el-cheapo Rem stock and the Limbsaver pad. But then I put an HS Precision stock on her, and while she shoots significantly better, I believe the stock transfers more energy into me. But I'm not willing to trade back, as the rifle shoots significantly better.

I think the HS stock has a decelerator pad. I could switch pads back to the Limbsaver.

.22LR is an interesting idea. I was thinking of getting one for rabbits anyway--I enjoy a nice Lapin a la moutarde (that would be rabbit in a mustard cream sauce).

 

[Guy Miner]

My all-time favorite rifle is a Marlin 39A lever gun. Quality built. Accurate. Handy. It just feels good in the hands. Some years I put 5 - 10 times as many rounds through that old rifle as I do from my center-fire rifles. And it's great on small game.

My son was practicing with it recently:

I've also got a nice old Win Model 52, but it's a true match rifle and mighty cumbersome for hunting. Each son also has a Ruger 10/22 semi-auto rifle. All of them are decent, but the 39A is by far and away my favorite. Between the four .22 rifles and my .22 pistol, we go through bricks and bricks of the rimfire ammo every year. Inexpensive swinging metal targets at 50 yards are a lot of fun and can be quite challenging.

Regards, Guy

 

[SJB358]

I would really like to get a M39 22LR. I don't own a nice 22LR and I should. I just get to caught up in my centerfires sometimes. I do like those little lever rifles though. Scotty

 

[cloverleaf]

I am super recoil sensitive. My disability makes that a given and three tears in the rotator cuff means it reminds me fairly quickly. That said I would agree with the advice here. Shoot,shoot shoot, your .22 and develop some other loads for your '06. If you like the rifle and you can shoot it more, over time you will be proficient with it like no other. Thats what you are after, in the end. Now, if ya WANT a new rifle...... Thats entirely anoither issue. CL

 

[Woodycreek]

Practice with the 22LR is a great idea but getting a 243 or 25-06 sounds good also :mrgreen: My 243AI is almost always with me at the range.

 

[efw]

I've got a 30-06 that is lightweight and has a "classic style" stock w/ straight comb. It beats the crap out of me. I always just thought it was the weight, but I've since fired rifles fitted w/ longer stocks and monte carlo cheekpeices and that makes a HUGE difference.

Its a fit thing.

That having been said, my 9 yo son and I LOVE my 6mm-250 (almost identical to a .243 Win) and my .257 Ackley Improved (almost identical to 25-06). They're great shooting rifles and I get a lot of practice from 'em.

Of course the .22 lr is FANTASTIC for practice and I've gotten a great deal of experience offhand shooting w/ mine. Get one that fits you well and you're off to a great start. I like bolt guns, and found mine in a pawn shop. I paid $65 for it and treated it as a project rifle, refinishing the metal and stock, free floating the barrel, and bedding the action. It shoots like a champ now and is like an extension of my right arm. The key is to take the time to practice constantly from field positions, getting off the bench and strapin' up w/ the sling:

Good luck,

efw

 

[JD338]

I agree with the others, get a good recoil pad on the 30-06 and put some trigger time behind a 22 rim fire.
If you can get your self a 257 Roberts, you will love it!

JD338

 

[Polaris]

My personal vote would be for one of these 4. I am biased towards vintage calibers and the rifles to match. If you're into modern shiny guns there are calibers available that match the ballistics of these.

1. 257 roberts. A fine, flat shooting deer-antelope cartridge. Very mild report and recoil. Been around quite a while, lots of rifles chambered for it. Probably still some currently made.

2. 250 savage. A really cool and underrated cartridge eclipsed in popularity by the 243 win. Avail in short action, very accurate rifles such as the Rem 722 and others. Also my dream light deer gun in a savage 99. Just a neat old cartridge in the deer-antelope range.

3. 6.5X55 Swedish Mauser. A flat shooting, hard hitting, mild shooting round with a reputation for top accuracy. Avail in some current boltguns as well as euro import and sporterized mausers. Enough gun for game up to elk with the right bullet.

4. 300 savage. Wonderful old cartridge. Basically shoots like a downloaded 30-06. Will take game up to moose. Look for a rem 722, they are really nice, well built great shooters from the 50's and 60's.

5. 22 rimfire. CZ 452 or Norinco JW15. They are built like a fine europpean sporter, even the chinese ones. Put decent glass and mounts and they can bounce beer cans at 200 yards.