What's a good rifle for hunting all ungulates??

[FirePower]

Have a look at this
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showth...0-Why-a-magnum

It kinda helps understand it a bit,,, sort of.
.380win .270 30-06 will do all you need and not hurt your shoulder or pocket.
.270Win Rules!

Magnums dont kill deer,,,, bullets do.

Agreed lad, 270 is the cats meow for sure.

[elksmasher]

The best rifle is the one that fits you.You will figure out the rest eventually,after many rounds of practice.There are some really good starting rifles,Marlin X,Savage,TC, and they are really reasonably priced some even come with scopes.Your first rifle should feel just right.Pull length,do the sights or scope fall naturally to your eye when you shoulder it,does the saftey and magazine make sense to you,does it carry on your shoulder comfortably.Does it shoot well right out of the box.Trigger pull ,crispness this is what is going to really affect your accuracy, is it pillar bedded or some other proprietary method of beeding(accustock)Nothing more depressing
than dropping $1500.00 and finding out you can't get your rifle to group at 100yds.It should be affordable,you don't want to be gun poor(can't afford the ammo to shoot it,Lots).Cartridge selection is trickey and a favorite subject around here,and everybody is right, all these cartridges are great choices for a first rifle.Find out what your friends shoot,buy some ammo and shoot their rifles at all distances,from a bench,standing,sitting on the ground,over your back pack,shoot some balloons,bang the gongs,etc.Educate yourself as to what you like and don't like,Then buy the rifle that fits you best with the best optics you can afford.Welcome to the fraternity.

[Mr. Dean]

I'm just starting out hunting and haven't yet purchased a rifle. I only want to buy a single gun right now, but will likely hunt a number of ungulates with it over the next few years. What is a good single caliber for hunting deer, elk, moose, caribou, etc? What is the real-world application for different calibers (ie: why do some people like .338 and others 30-06, etc)?

Any information is greatly appreciated
Thank you so much
Cody

My 1st gun was a 'Do All' purchase too and it ended up being a 300WM.
Not because I thought I needed it, but because it was a SCREAMER of a deal.

That was ~20 years ago and I still have it - The purchase was sound.

[mrhappygolucky]

my personal choice is a 30-06 cheap ammo, kills almost everything, and recoil is not to bad. the 30-06 allows for a lot of versatility drop down to a 150gr for smaller things or bump it up to a 220gr for the big boys. not a lot of calibers allow this range of bullet grains. but in the end it comes down to personal preference! go out and try shooting them and see what you like.

[Downwind]

Asking which calibre to buy is like asking what kind of beer to buy. Everyone has an opinion and all are probably right! What it comes down to is 'does the rifle fit you well?' (nothing to do with calibre obviously) and 'how much are you okay with spending for bullets?' As said previously, bullet selection for calibres like the 270, 308 and 30-06 are everywhere but the bigger thing is they are quite inexpensive compared to a lot of the other calibres out there. You can get a 45-70 and that is a great calibre that will take down an ungulate and doesn't kick like anything but the bullets are going to run you quite a bit more then the others. Start with one and then go from there.

[Vital Shock]

30/06 is a great, proven, classic round choice!

[ROEBUCK]

.375 hh no more recoil than a .300wm
minimal meat damage on deer(both my whiteys this year had small finger size exit holes)
and feels gooooood when you squeeze the trigger!
cant wait to kill a moose or elk with it next season

[Mr. Dean]

and feels gooooood when you squeeze the trigger!

That right there imo should be the thought of a purchase - BUY WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD and WANT.
This way, it isn't likely a 'mistake'.

If you buy on the premise of 20 people telling you that a ________ (insert calibre), and you do that, only to find yourself STILL wanting a _________ (again, insert calibre), the 1st purchase was a waste of funding for something else.

As for cartridges/chamberings, there isn't much out there that WON'T kill an ungulate - What's your heart leaning towards?

[vortex hunter]

338 win mag

[Weatherby Fan]

.375 hh no more recoil than a .300wm
minimal meat damage on deer(both my whiteys this year had small finger size exit holes)
and feels gooooood when you squeeze the trigger!
cant wait to kill a moose or elk with it next season

Roebuck you recomended a 375H&H..................oh right it doesn't have Magnum attached to it's name it's ok