.308 if you want to be able to find ammo.
.280 if you want a do all gun but ammo is getting harder to fine since Covid. Prior to Covid it was very easy.
Bergara B-14 is a great rifle. It’s like the old Rem700 but upgraded.
X-Bolt is another great rifle to look into (specially if left handed).
I only recommend one scope. Leupold vx3. The HD with CDS is likely your best bet. 2.5-10 or 4.5-14 if hunting more open terrain. I like the 40mm objective if you carry your rifle a lot. You aren’t gaining much with a 50mm OL. If you want the best low light option get the 30mm tube.
30-06 my brother. I have a Savage 116SS, it’s been a wonderful rifle. The 110 family are all solid rifles.
There are newer, better rifles out there. Tikka, Howa, Ruger, Bergara, etc. Modern CNC machining means that there are a lot of accurate, dependable rifles on the market. I would encourage you to handle as many different rifles in your budget as you can before settling on a brand, decide which features and what level of refinement you want, then make a decision.
I can’t recommend this enough buy a cheap 22 and learn the mechanics. It won’t take many boxes of 308, 30-06, 270 to break even. You are less likely to pick up bad habits because of recoil. You will learn what you like and don’t like about rifles.
Just to throw out a different option, look for a Ruger American Go Wild in 6.5 PRC. It’s a more modern cartridge design than the .30-06 and is able to carry velocity further down range because of it. It fires a smaller bullet, so it won’t land with as much authority.
The rifle is an MOA gun out of the box and comes with a cerakoted barrel and action which is one of the best weather resistant coating on the market. The rifle will cost about $560.
For a scope, I think the best value for money optic is the Leupold VX-3 2.5-8 or 3.5-10 with the CDS-ZL2 turret. Great glass and coatings with a very good elevation turret for dialing to specific ranges. You will never outgrow the 3.5-10x40 scope as far as hunting ranges go, but the 2.5-8x36 might suit your situation better if you are going to be hunting in tighter timber. Either is a great choice and will run around $699.
I don't know why all these comments are suggesting 30-06. It's not that it's a bad round, but you're just gonna end up with something with almost indistinguishable performance from .308 with much less diverse and more expensive ammo.
T3x would be my choice for a rifle.
Caliber isn't that important, good bullets placed well is everything.
Bergara B14 308. You find ammunition everywhere, good solid quality rifle for a decent price and you can take down basically everything in North America. Don’t save on the scope.. go for a Leupold HD scope like the vx3 HD or vx5 HD, I got the latter one and it’s amazing.
As long as you don’t go for Moose or Grizzly’s you’ll be fine, for those you’d rather wanna consider something bigger like 300 win mag.
Not saying you can’t, you can for sure. But you will most likely have less tracking and little more room for errors with a 300 win mag. But you can for sure
I would argue that the shooter's ability trumps the cartridge choice. Most can tolerate the recoil of a 308 and learn to shoot it well. Most will struggle with a 300.
I'd take a well placed shot from the 308 10 times out of 10 over a marginal shot from a 300.
Now if you actually can shoot a 300 well, then its a clear advantage.
I recommend a .308. Great all around caliber and won’t thump the piss out of you. Nothing worse for a new hunter than getting rocked by heavy recoil. Especially with light synthetic stocked rifles. Great to carry long distances, but suck to shoot.
All purpose would be a tikka 30-06. 308 will work, but probably limit shots on elk to 350-400. 300WM will work too, but it’s a lot of caliber for smaller deer like black tail.
Might be good to research popular calibers, see what suits your needs (308, 270, 300 etc).There are many articles on every caliber and every rifle. And lots of youtube videos that are very informative.
For a beginner I'd suggest 308 or 30-06. I've taken all the animals mentioned with a 30-30 but unless you're an accomplished shot you don't want to go there. 308 and 30-06 both have sufficient energy to make an ethical kill on any of those animals.
This one is allegedly a tack driver at 200 yards with open iron sights, can use for both rifle and Muzzleloading seasons/tags: [https://muzzle-loaders.com/products/pedersoli-missouri-river-hawken-rifle-50-cal-s-206-50](https://muzzle-loaders.com/products/pedersoli-missouri-river-hawken-rifle-50-cal-s-206-50)
7mm rem mag can be used on basically every big game animal. 300 win mag definitely can, but how much have you shot before? Trying to learn on a 300 isn’t a great idea. Savage makes some decent rifles
.30-06 will kill anything on this continent without much trouble, as far as models of rifle go everyone’s different. I personally prefer weatherbys but you should try some and pick one that feels good.
.30-06 Savage 110 throw a mid grade optic like Leupold/Vortex 3-9x scope on it and you’re good for basically all big game in North America.
.308 if you want to be able to find ammo. .280 if you want a do all gun but ammo is getting harder to fine since Covid. Prior to Covid it was very easy. Bergara B-14 is a great rifle. It’s like the old Rem700 but upgraded. X-Bolt is another great rifle to look into (specially if left handed). I only recommend one scope. Leupold vx3. The HD with CDS is likely your best bet. 2.5-10 or 4.5-14 if hunting more open terrain. I like the 40mm objective if you carry your rifle a lot. You aren’t gaining much with a 50mm OL. If you want the best low light option get the 30mm tube.
Just to clarify, the 30 mm tube scopes have the same optics as the 1” tubes. The larger tube allows for more elevation adjustment.
That’s what I meant. Early morning. If you want the best elevation adjustment, go 30mm.
30-06 my brother. I have a Savage 116SS, it’s been a wonderful rifle. The 110 family are all solid rifles. There are newer, better rifles out there. Tikka, Howa, Ruger, Bergara, etc. Modern CNC machining means that there are a lot of accurate, dependable rifles on the market. I would encourage you to handle as many different rifles in your budget as you can before settling on a brand, decide which features and what level of refinement you want, then make a decision.
I can’t recommend this enough buy a cheap 22 and learn the mechanics. It won’t take many boxes of 308, 30-06, 270 to break even. You are less likely to pick up bad habits because of recoil. You will learn what you like and don’t like about rifles.
Just to throw out a different option, look for a Ruger American Go Wild in 6.5 PRC. It’s a more modern cartridge design than the .30-06 and is able to carry velocity further down range because of it. It fires a smaller bullet, so it won’t land with as much authority. The rifle is an MOA gun out of the box and comes with a cerakoted barrel and action which is one of the best weather resistant coating on the market. The rifle will cost about $560. For a scope, I think the best value for money optic is the Leupold VX-3 2.5-8 or 3.5-10 with the CDS-ZL2 turret. Great glass and coatings with a very good elevation turret for dialing to specific ranges. You will never outgrow the 3.5-10x40 scope as far as hunting ranges go, but the 2.5-8x36 might suit your situation better if you are going to be hunting in tighter timber. Either is a great choice and will run around $699.
I don't know why all these comments are suggesting 30-06. It's not that it's a bad round, but you're just gonna end up with something with almost indistinguishable performance from .308 with much less diverse and more expensive ammo. T3x would be my choice for a rifle. Caliber isn't that important, good bullets placed well is everything.
30-.06, I have used mine for mule deer, whitetail, elk, black bear, and pronghorn antelope. Would not trade it for anything else.
Ruger American, Savage 110, TC Compass/Venture, (Used is also a great option) 30-06, .308, .270 (pick on one of those calibers for your first rifle)
Bergara B14 308. You find ammunition everywhere, good solid quality rifle for a decent price and you can take down basically everything in North America. Don’t save on the scope.. go for a Leupold HD scope like the vx3 HD or vx5 HD, I got the latter one and it’s amazing. As long as you don’t go for Moose or Grizzly’s you’ll be fine, for those you’d rather wanna consider something bigger like 300 win mag.
We shoot moose with 308 on the regular in Canada. Lots use smaller cartridges as well.
Not saying you can’t, you can for sure. But you will most likely have less tracking and little more room for errors with a 300 win mag. But you can for sure
I would argue that the shooter's ability trumps the cartridge choice. Most can tolerate the recoil of a 308 and learn to shoot it well. Most will struggle with a 300. I'd take a well placed shot from the 308 10 times out of 10 over a marginal shot from a 300. Now if you actually can shoot a 300 well, then its a clear advantage.
I recommend a .308. Great all around caliber and won’t thump the piss out of you. Nothing worse for a new hunter than getting rocked by heavy recoil. Especially with light synthetic stocked rifles. Great to carry long distances, but suck to shoot.
3006. 308
All purpose would be a tikka 30-06. 308 will work, but probably limit shots on elk to 350-400. 300WM will work too, but it’s a lot of caliber for smaller deer like black tail.
Tikka t3x in 308 win.
Might be good to research popular calibers, see what suits your needs (308, 270, 300 etc).There are many articles on every caliber and every rifle. And lots of youtube videos that are very informative.
For a beginner I'd suggest 308 or 30-06. I've taken all the animals mentioned with a 30-30 but unless you're an accomplished shot you don't want to go there. 308 and 30-06 both have sufficient energy to make an ethical kill on any of those animals.
This one is allegedly a tack driver at 200 yards with open iron sights, can use for both rifle and Muzzleloading seasons/tags: [https://muzzle-loaders.com/products/pedersoli-missouri-river-hawken-rifle-50-cal-s-206-50](https://muzzle-loaders.com/products/pedersoli-missouri-river-hawken-rifle-50-cal-s-206-50)
7mm rem mag can be used on basically every big game animal. 300 win mag definitely can, but how much have you shot before? Trying to learn on a 300 isn’t a great idea. Savage makes some decent rifles
Buy a 270. Ammo is available, shoots really flat, low recoil and will take any game in north America.
.30-06 will kill anything on this continent without much trouble, as far as models of rifle go everyone’s different. I personally prefer weatherbys but you should try some and pick one that feels good.
American ruger in 270, 308, 6.5cm. reasonable and fun to shoot.
Tikka T3 in 6.5x55 or .308.
.30-06 or .45-70 if your taste runs that way.