5 Best Cartridges & Calibers for New Hunters

GEAR I LIKE

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[lomax]

We have draw in youth hunts where I live and you should see what the dads bring out for their kids to shoot. 300 mags, 7 mags and all kinds of cannons just to shoot a white tail at no more than 200 yards max. I've seen them drop the gun when it goes off or flinch so bad that they miss by a mile. A .243 or a 22-250 is just about right for young people. Flame me all you want but theres no need in making a kid hunt with something thats gonna punish them.

[GJeeper]

You are one of the few channels that makes these types of videos based on experience and logic, rather than reading some ads or blog posts and assembling opinions on it so good on you for that.

[richwc]

My first rifle was a .270. My wife and daughters first were 7mm-08. Hard to beat the 7mm-08 for a first do all rifle. I think the .308 should have stayed in there too.

[fordracng]

If someone doesn't have cash to burn I always suggest 308, 270, 30-06, 6.5 creedmoor, 7mm-08 in that order. If they end up really enjoying hunting and shooting, down the road you can open up to 280AI, 6.5PRC, 7 Rem Mag, etc. If you're just hunting white tails, 243 is also a great way to go.

[Longtrailside]

One serious part you left out was the bullet selection for caliber. Which can regulate the recoil felt. The best all around is the 308. Hear me out. Its not the best at anything, but can do more than most at a low cost of ammo. New hunters can load a 110 grain round and get a deer, black bear. As they grow older they can step up the bullet size and hunt elk, moose. It truley is an all around cheap for cost hunting rifle.

[lawnfarmr]

I have actually had a fair few people ask me this before and my answer is always the same; Tikka T3X Lite with a Leupold 2.5-8*36 chambered in 308. The rifle will be accurate, affordable, unfussy with ammo and 100% reliable with feeding. The scope is rugged, has a dial up turret, has plenty of magnification for a beginner, and prevents the beginner trap of turning the magnification up way too high when shooting. The cartridge is super cheap to shoot and super easy on barrels, which is conducive to the single most important aspect for a beginner; easy to train with. Hornady produce Custom Lite ammo for it which produces just 13ftlbs of energy in a 7.5lb rifle, so you can practice with that all day without damaging your shoulder, wallet or barrel, yet when you want to step it up you can get some Nosler 168gr ABLR ammo or Hornady Precision Hunter and be absolutely lethal out to 500 yards (assuming of course you’ve done that valuable practice). The only other chambering that is nearly as good is the 6.5 Creedmoor, but if elk are on the menu the 308 still has the edge.

[jackbuendgen]

My wife is getting into hunting and we picked the 308. Less recoil than a 30-06, still elk capable, cheap to shoot, and it's available

[charizardballer]

This will be my first year hunting and I got a 270 WIN. Super happy with my pick!

[jeffreykcarlin]

Another video that gets you thinking. Until recently the 7-08 would be a go to for new hunters. Today I went to 6 sporting goods stores between Tucson and Phoenix and in 7-08 I only found Winchester BST or Vortex ammo, probably less than 20 boxes combined. The 6.5 PRC was in a similar or worse boat. 270, 30-06 and 7mag were a little better but hands down there was 308 ammo in abundance in every store I went to. I haven’t found any of my 308’s particularly finicky on loads and no animal on the planet will ever know the difference between getting hit with a 150 or 165 grain from a 308 or 30-06. I shoot everything on your final 6 list and love them. But in the current market, I would have to go with the 308. My sons have been shooting the caliber since they were around 10 with no brake. Today you can get a pretty good selection of rifles that either come with a brake or are threaded. And a good 308 with a 165 Accubond or Barnes TTSX is pretty good medicine for most any non-dangerous game in the lower 48. Thanks for the video, well thought out!👍

[GtcoUC]

I am a new hunter and there is something special about a 30-30 to me. I love lever guns and it’s a joy to shoot. The loads aren’t too powerful and training on it is very enjoyable.

[QuitoQueso]

As a new hunter, I went with .270 and I've been happy with it, and I don't know if there's a better option for new hunters looking for a "do-all" cartridge (short of handling brown bear). As a more experienced hunter and shooter, I'm now looking at expanding into the magnums with a .300 PRC. With those two I should be good for everything in North America and out to any distance that I can responsibly shoot. A faster twist barrel for my .270 is also in the works so that I can launch heavier monometal bullets.

[michaelnelson]

My son-in-law asked me this exact question about 6 months ago. We were looking for something with light recoil, ammo availability and low cost, flat shooting and something that could be used on a lot of different game. We ended up choosing the 270 Winchester. This is probably my favorite cartridge and I have taken deer, antelope, elk and my dad has even shot a moose. so it is pretty versatile. This is an awesome first caliber as well as a top hunting and shooting caliber.

I am not sure why you dropped the 308, I would have probably replace the 30-06 with the 308. Same bullets, but less recoil. A better choice for a new hunter. I think the 6.5 is great for deer, but lack for larger game. As additional note, I got a 7mm-08 two years ago and I am having a heck of a time finding any ammo. There are 4 stores that sale ammo and I have been checking for over a year and I just don't see any 7mm-08 ammo.

Great video, thanks for sharing.

[raymondmathewson]

For almost 30 years I shot a 338Winmag for everything! Nowadays I'll grab a 7mm08 for everything and be extremely happy. From antelope to elk. The 7mm08 is a darn fine cartridge!

[smoakngun]

The largest game I hunt is white tail deer in South Carolina. I use several cartridges. .25-06, 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Winchester and .243 Win. I have had great success with the .25-06. Low recoil, shoots flat, and cheap to shoot.

[M.H]

Absolutely right, 270 win was my first rifle, initially I hated it and my accuracy was all over the place, it took me some time to deal with the flinch. Imagine if that first rifle was 300 win mag or 28 Nosler.

[_emh]

Solid list. I'm a big fan of the 7mm-08 (looking forward to elk season in a few months) but a new hunter can't go wrong with any of your top five (or six). Winchester, Tikka, Savage, and Ruger all make new rifles in 7mm-08 and I'm sure others do too. Ammo is easy to find out east but I can find it at my local Scheel's here in Colorado all the time as well. A novice hunter today could grab a Tikka T3x Lite with a Leupold scope, a nice sling, a decent soft case, and a few boxes of ammo and keep it under or around $1, 000. Or grab a Ruger American with a Burris scope and keep it under $700. Lots of options. If the new hunter is only hunting deer and smaller game, then I'd probably have gone .243 Win. Cheers!

[carterthiessen]

270 is the way. If they would make newer 270s with 9 or 8 twist barrels, I'd probably buy another one, but mine is currently shooting 145 eldx at 3000 fps over rl19. A 6.5 prc doesn't really outperform it until you get past 4 or 500 yards which is at the ragged edge of ethical hunting distances.

[etherboy]

I agree with your reasoning but I favor the 7mm-08 due to its low recoil and versatility. If I were to put more emphasis on availability I would probably go with the 270.

[joethearcticfox]

7mm-08 if elk is a possibility, 6.5 CM if it's deer and smaller, and 30-06 if you want the widest variety of bullets.

[happytrails]

I did a similar video a couple of years ago and chose the .308 WIN. Why did I choose the .308 WIN? I like short action rifles, for those who don't reload .308's are easy to find, recoil is still easy enough to handle even in smaller lightweight riles, wound channel's are sufficient, energy level's good farther away than 99% of hunters should shoot, don't like long barrels that add weight and have less maneuverability. The 7mm08 is a great cartridge, but still not the killer like the .308 WIN.
Always like your video's Jim.