Next year my brother will be graduating high school, and I was thinking about getting him a rifle for a graduation present. I am looking for something that will fit his needs now and into the future. He will be shooting a lot of varmints and deer with maybe a once-in-a-lifetime elk hunt sometime way down the road

Anyway, here are some cartridges that I am thinking about (I reload ammunition, so it will not be bound to factory fodder):

25-06
257 Weatherby
270 Winchester
308 Winchester
30-06 Springfield
270 WSM
300 WSM
7 mm Remington Magnum
7-08

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Personally, I am leaning towards either of the 270s, something in the 7 mm class, or the 30-06.

From your list i would pick either the the 25-06 or the 7mm-08. Since you reload, a 6.5-06 or 6.5-284 would probably be even better.

Of your stated options the .270 will do the job.Not listed in your options I'd go with the 6.5 X 55 in something CZ.

If Elk were not in the picture I,d look around for a nice .257 Roberts. roger

It's hard to go wrong with the 30-06. Very versatile and would prove satisfactory for years of hunting.

Mike

Jim, though I am a fan of anything Weatherby I am also a big fan of the venerable 30-06. It will certainly handle anything you listed. A light bullet will shoot very flat and at good range for varmit. Slightly heavier is very good for deer and a 180 or 200 will be good Elk medicine. At the same time if Elk sized game is not likely to occur in the near future there is absolutely nothing wrong with the 7mm Rem. Tough call but in what I'm reading here it would be the .257 Weatherby for the varmits and dear or the 30-06 for the same with appropriate bullets. Good luck with your decision.

Ken....

Jim, my first question is, how much shooting experience does your brother have? Is he used to shooting rifles? If not, the 7mm and the 300WM may be a little much. But if he's used to shooting, they may not be a problem.

With all that in mind, my first choice would be the 30-06. Next might be the 300WM. But if he can shoot the 300WM, then I'd look at a .338WM.

But as Mike Davis said, you can't go wrong with a 30-06.

mike

He seems to handle the recoil of a 30-06 very well, and is a pretty darned good shot. We already have three 30-06s in the house, but it just seems that the more I think about it I just cannot go wrong with the 06; although I think he might like something a little different. With that in mind how is thinking of either of the 270s or the 7 mm Remington Magnum.

Buy him either a 30-06 or a 308 Win. - he'll like either one because it will be his.

A first rifle aught to be the practical one and you're hard pressed to find anything better or more practical than either the 30-06 or 308.

Just my $.02.

"Once in a lifetime elk hunt"

Very easy decision...270 or 7mm-08

Although i am a big fan of the 300 Wby, I would say the all around for him would be the 30-06. Good for anything on the North American Continent, huge selection of ammo, Large selection of manufacturers. Besides, 2006 is the year of the 30-06!!

Riodat is right. You can get '06 ammo anyplace in the world and it will do anything you need in North America. Other things are more exotic or specialized but not necessarily better.
I have one of most large 30s but the 06 is still king.

My vote would be for a 7mm Rem Mag. None of the super mags. It will take any game in North America with the right bullets or opt as a varmint gun with lighter projectiles. Reasonable recoil. I think the 7 Mag is really hard to beat.

Another vote for the .30-06. It can be in a lighter, trimmer rifle than any of the MAG'S.
What that would be with the Mod. 70 Featherweight out of production and the new Remington CDL a bit on the heavy side (with a 24" barrel) I don't know. Maybe a CZ or Ruger 77.
Rich Elliott

Opinions are like navels and here's mine. I'm wondering what you mean by deer (wht. or black tail averaging <150 lb.s or 250 lb. muleys), and what ranges he'll hunt?
Of course 30'06 will do it all but with more recoil and or more weight than I'd want to lug around. I've had two 30'06s that I've probably killed 60 deer with, but a 30'06 hasn't been out of the safe since I have a .270 and 7mm08. The deer haven't noticed the difference. For ranges averaging under 150 I'd look at a 6.5x55 or .257. A 25'06, or .270 would meet meet most peoples needs for longer ranges. The truth is I've only killed one deer with my 7mm Mag I couldn't have killed with my .270. I don't know what it's like in Spokane but a Wetherby ammo can be hard to find here. Varmint-wise I wouldn't want to shoot anything on your list at PD's. 20 shots a day from even a 25'06 would be a lot. It would leave my ears ringing and my teeth loose. If it's serious prarie dogs I'd hold out for a 22-250 or .223.

Ill put it this way, If I HAD to go back to being a one gun hunter, Im certian that the one that would remain would be a 280 Remington. For those who reload its like an 06 and a 270 rolled into one.

It plays right on the heels of the 7mm RM with considerably less recoil.

Awsome round, extremly versatile, And probably my all time favorite.

I just get nervous typing stuff like this when the wife is home... Aint givin up the other rifles.

For all practicality the 30-06.

Jim you have a bit of a varying hunting habitat near the Spokane area. So there are times your shots could be very close and on the other hand there could be some long shots. With that in mind I think my choice would be the 7MM Rem mag. The recoil is almost identical to the 06 with just a hair better trajectory.

It is impossible to have one rifle that is good for everything from varmints to elk. I would pick what was your MAIN game of interest and ask again. A 223 and a 7mm mag would handle everything.

If any Elk to be considered is part of a "once-in-a-Lifetime"
hunt "somewhere in the future" I suggest you worry about a rifle for that when you actually know when and where you are going to hunt elk.

Meanwhile get something that is more "useful" for the other game.

Asking a rifle to do BOTH varminting and Deer is asking a lot
and for most purposes calibers larger than 25cal don't really have a big selection of varmint bullets available....

And you'll get an argument from many on these forums for suggesting using anything as small as 7mm on elk...

Much less suggesting a 25cal on Elk

And that doesn't adress the issue that for game shooting
and varmint shooting rifles get setup rather differently
scoped differently at a minimum, frequently stocked differently.... heavy barrels.... lighter triggers... etc.

And many push the 6mm (243Win 6mmRem) as "dual use"
calibers but I'd recommend the 25-06 if you really want
a "dual purpose" deer/varmint rifle.

as for a rifle that can "do it all" if you accept the limited selection of projectiles for varminting then go with a 7mmMag

Speer makes a 100 and 115gr bullet.

Yes, you want to buy him a rifle, but the plan to buy one that'll "do-it-all" is doomed to failure, because even the most diehard fan of any given cartridge or rifle model
isn't honest enough about any particular choice to have
ONLY that rifle model or rifle caliber in their gun cabinet.

AllanD

I've shot varmints,deer and Elk with a 7mm-08. I like it. I gave my oldest son a 30-06 cause he's lazy and will never reload. With that said with a 7mm you can go high and low with bullets without alot of recoil.

Perhaps if you ask him you will find the correct answer.

As for me, guns 101 states; First centerfire rifle should, without exception, be a 30-06.
Build from there but keep the 06 forever. :-)
Regards,
GeoW

Here is my Idea, let your brother pick the caliber. Take him out one day and suprise him by letting him pick the rifle that fits him in the caliber he wants. Just set your price range that you are willing to spend and make a day of finding his perfect rifle.

My first 30-06 was my fathers rifle, at the time I wished it had been a 270. Whenever someone asked the question you asked I voted for 270 for about the first 10 years of my 30-06 shooting, now I have my second 30-06 and for the last 15 or so years have changed my vote to the 30-06.

I'd go with the 25-06 for varminting and deer. Later if elk comes to pass get another rifle.....a 30-06 at that time will be great.

I really don't see one rifle stretching from varmints to elk!

Really, any elk hunting is so far in the future that I think you would want to purchase something just for that. Mostly, the quarry is going to be coyote --> whitetail/mule deer for both short and long-ranges. It would make me a little jealous if he got a 25-06, since that is one that I have wanted since I was about 10. Anyway, I am leaning more towards the 30-06 and its derivatives i.e. 25-06 and 270. However, I think that the 270 and 30-06 may be just a little big for coyotes. Then again, the 270 is pretty darned flat shooting. Ho, humm... Decisions, decisions...

Jim

For someone's only centerfire the classic answer is 30-06, as most have already stated. I'd suggest an alternative to your list however; the 7X57. It's a classic caliber that fits your criteria, is a joy to shoot, and will give him a gun that is just a little different. The 7-08 is the same ballistically but everyone and his brother has one these days. It's nice sometimes to be just a little different. Plus the 7X57 is the origional, the 7-08 is the copycat.

TerryR

While I kind of go along with Terry on the 7x57, my vote would still be for the 30-06 and even that one is not perfect.
However, I did do one elk hunt up in Washington State on the Olympic Penninsula and believe me that is some tough thick cover hunting. I haven't hunted Eastern Washington, but I imagine it's not too much different from Eastern Oregon which I have hunted. I think that the 06 with a good 180 gr. bullet would be just fine for the eastern portions of both states, but on the Olympic Penninsula, I'd damn well look at a good 200 or 220 gr. bullet. In Western Washington, I'd also look at stainless and synthetic. They get an awesome amount of rain up that way.
About the only drawback that I see to the 06 is having to resight the rifle every time you change loads. If you're shooting 125 gn. bullets for coyotes today and plan for Roosevelt Elk tomorrow, those 220 gr. bullet won't go where they're supposed to without resighting the rifle.
I have a close friend that uses the 30-06 exclusively for everything. He dows like I do and loads the 180 gr. Sierra Pro-hunter for everything except heavy game like elk. For elk and up, he loads the 180 gr. nosler Partition. It just so happens that in his rifle amd mine, the same charge works for both bullets. I admit 180 gr. bullets are a bit much for gophers and coyotes, but do you ever learn where your rifle shoots If anyone is interested in that idea, work up with the Sierra bullet first, then drop back two grains and work back up with the Nosler. So far, this has worked in my 30-06 and .300 Win. mag. As always though, YMMV, but it's worth a try.
Paul B.

My son is getting a ruger MKII stainless with sites in 338wm. Detachable scope mounts and a 2.5 to 8 Leupold with BC reticle. Just the rifle for every thing. But then he all ready has a MKII in 30-06 a NO.1 in 25-06.

Lend him a 30-06 for deer hunting. Buy him a .223 for varminting. His shoulder and wallet can both afford to shoot it a bunch. Varmint seasons are long. If you get him hooked, it won't be his only rifle for long.

Yes, the 30-06 is a great "only" rifle, but a 223 is a great "first (of many)" rifle.

25.06

7-08

I'm with Wstrnhuntr, they should have named it the 7mm-06

the 280

30-06..............He may go elk hunting more often than you think!

One rifle option:
257 Roberts for deer and varmit.
Barrow one of the 30-06's for Elk.

This from a true 30-06 fan.

Best option:
223 for varmint, practice, fun.
30-06 for everything else.

JPK

quote:

Originally posted by woods:
I'm with Wstrnhuntr, they should have named it the 7mm-06

the 280

Actually, they did. I think it started as the 280 Rem, then renamned 7mm-06, then renamed 7mm Express, and now back to the 280 Remington. Complete circle and still a damn fine cartridge.
GeoW

I'm totally on board with JPK on this one!

I've used a Roberts a lot and think it is one of the most missed out on jewels! From Chucks and yotes with 75gr, to big deer with 100's or heavier it is exactly what a dual purpose rifle should be. Nate

P.S. And I agree with the wait for the elk hunt ideas. It's a great reason to get another rifle!

Give the '06.

I got a .375 H&H WHitworth for my high school graduation present back in '88. Out of the cartridges you mention, I would lean towards the .270. WIll handle the deer, varmints, and elk just fine. Personally, I would look for a pre-64 M70 with a lot of finish wear but in good shape mechanically. But just about all of the major makes are good rifles.

If he likes a 30-06 you cant go wrong.
Or 270 or a 280 to be different.

sense this is a gift the new remington CDL is a butifull rifle.