5 Best Cartridges & Calibers for New Hunters 

22-250 is a great round I used it to kill many of deer

Nothing listed accomplishes what a 7-33NOSLER WILDCAT CAN EXAMPLE A 190GRN A-tip seated fits out of the powder column in the shorter fatter nosler case loaded into a AICS detachable magazine thar only has a id length of 3.760" from a 30" barrel the 7-33 nosler launches 190 grn bullets G1 BC .838 at 3,200fps This out does all of the cartridges on this video delivering 1000FPE @1 mile (1760 yards) fact,

did you mean 6mm ? instead of 6.5 creedmoor ?

I have a pinned response from a backfire account.. Is it a scam?

amigo subtitule en español

200 yd Max you are spot on with those two choices. No need to ruin a new Hunter because of dad's ego in needing to have a big cartridge. I ruined my oldest boy for hunting by making him shoot a 30-06. It was just too darn big for him at the time. All because I was too cheap to go buy a new rifle.

Those are great choices. I would add a suppressed(if your state allows hunting with a suppressor)6.5 Grendel in a light bolt action. I have one for my "grandkids" to use, but I may claim it before they are old enough. Around 7 lbs, including the suppressor. The bare gun weighs 4 lb 10 ounces.

That's probably why back in the day, the .30-30 was a lot of people's first deer rifles.

Why would anyone "flame" that opinion? My first deer gun (6 or so) was a 30.06 and I know it made me flinch as a kid. Any time I shot a .270 or .243 I was more accurate. A few years later on the other hand..

243

I started out with the 30:06 back in '80 when I started deer hunting. When the ammo shortage hit, went with the .308 Winchester,....not a complaint about that cartridge either, can find it nearly everywhere in my neck of the woods, '06, can still be missing from the store shelves.

.243 win is a great deer cartridge. Necked down.308 . The 30/06 is still the best do all cartridge that is available everywhere

Why would a new hunter buy into an archaic platform?

@@thedalillama simply because it works and is proven.

Yeah the 308 can shoot very flat with lightweight bullets, flatter than the 6.5 CM of the same weight to distances that a new hunter will likely shoot from

If you look at his charts in other videos, he lists the average 308 Winchester load as 202gr at 2491 fps. Using these numbers, I can see why he would throw it out for being too slow. A 150gr at 2800 fps would be a decent load for a beginner.

Me too...308 still most popular in Africa....@2750fps....no problems in shooting anything in Namibia. 308 tamed this country☺

the 6.5 mm and the 7 mm in 308 length cartridges both outperform the 308 Win in all respect, they have higher BC and SD, carry more energy down range, drift less in the wind and have deep penetration. The .30 cal is just not as efficient in flight, it is just physics.

@@chrisdaniel1339 true, but my rifle and bullets shoot the same speed as my buddy's 260. Will never go for any other option though. Cheers

Yup cheap plentiful ammo with a nice selection of weights. Buddy spends a bunch on ammo and doesn't really spend much time on the range.

Could not agree more, 6.5 prc has no business beating out 308

Also, cheap practice ammo!

@@brettbaker5599 And always in abundance in stock, even if its nato rounds.

@HorchataFan You mean with it's numbers on paper right? Cause new kid on the block has a LOT of catching up to do to reach the dominance that 308 has been dishing out for decades.

I completely agree. The newer stuff is definitely “better” on paper. But you can go from predator/small game to deer and antelope to black bear and sheep to dang elk and moose lol. In the same rifle.

Depends on the rifle and bullet weight. I let my 270 go. Didn't need it for what I shoot and it kicked too much for me. I probably could have solved the problem with a better butt pad. I never tried loading it down and I should have.

Great choice!! I have been shooting for about five decades now. I tried just about every caliber over the years up to the 300 Win Mag, and the 270 Win is still my favorite. The newer 6.5CM is almost changing my mind, but when it comes to hunting season, I always seem to go with old faithful 270.

Blr in 7 mm08

One of my first rifles was a Marlin 336 in 30-30. I killed tons of big pigs and several Deer with it. Never shot anything twice. 200 yards and under its a perfect hunting caliber. The all copper bullets really helped the 30-30 find new life against medium game.

Savage 99c 308 win

Try on line

Agreed. No reason to put a young new shooter behind a 30-06 before a 308.

30-06 over 308 any day

@@jayhaddan7927 Why? Without a qualifying statement, what you said is meaningless.

7mm-08 factory has been a nightmare to locate even online for the last couple years. Had a few boxes show up locally and the price reflected how hard it is to come by.

270 is great. Correct bullet type and shot placement. That is the obvious. Hell, they used to take game with flintlocks. They knew how to shoot well.

"Ethical" is extremely subjective and up to an individual. Advantages at 4-500 yards are definitely worth considering for most good shooters.

Thanks to RL26, I’m pushing 150gr Accubonds at 3100 with excellent accuracy. Recoil is definitely noticeable lol

Many in the know want the 270 twist rate to be upgraded. Ron Spomer has brought it up. But .... marketing. New rifles, new cartridges. Sales.

What your asking for is a 6.8 western

@@micahdunleavy9227 You think so ? I shot National Match for over 25 years so I know how to dope the wind, now I shoot PRS out to 1000 yards. Add to that your shooting position is often compromised while hunting and with a light barreled rifle and a lower power scope it becomes even more difficult to hit that 1moa standard. A recipe for disaster and let's hope it's a miss and not a gut shot animal. I can ring 6" steel at 600 yards like phoning home but hunting isn't off a bench.

6.5 works fine for moose, so i doubt elk is any issue.

7mm08 is trash. Low powered and bad ballistics. 7mm rem mag is much better.

Just shot my tikka t3 270 today. If u hand load try 4831sc powder in 2506 3006 and 270. If you can get hands on hammerbullets there most accurate all copper bullets i found.

I haven't seen 7mm08 for sale in years

Weatherby vanguard and Howa 1500 are the best value hands down. Ruger American is cheap feeling .

​@@sinistersilverado965 then you haven't been looking had zero issues finding one here

7mm08 is trash. Low powered and bad ballistics. 7mm rem mag is much better.

Spot on mate love the 7mm08 has never let me down cheers Yogi Australia 🇦🇺🤙🤙

It was the inspiration for so many cartridges to follow. Loved by many. Truly a great cartridge. Should never fallen into the obscurity it has. Not dead though. You can still find ammo.

Very underrated, if you have never experienced one.

@@ronlowney4700 you are correct with ammo being hard to find. But it is one sweet shooting cartridge. Especially if you hand load, I get consistent 3/4 in groups will the Browning x bolt Western Hunter. Which has a very thin barrel on it. I've got a 30-06 270 6.5 creedmoor and a 308. I always find myself reaching for that 6.5 PRC for both deer and elk.

300wm is much more versatile than the 06 if you reload

@@rollandklontz Not sure, just looked at the Nosler Manual, agreed this is just Nosler but loads from 110 gr up to 220, WSM doesn’t go that light.

@@dancrane674 There is plenty of load data for 110gr bullets and 300wm. But why would anyone want to load 110gr bullets in any 30cal?

Well the first answer is someone thought it worthwhile or there wouldn’t be a 110 gr bullet available. I thought about it for varmints (coyotes) but went with 22-250. Also, loaded my ‘06 with 124 gr Hammer Hunters for deer and antelope this year. The groups and fps is great. WSM is a great short action cartridge no question.

@@dancrane674 Just to clarify i am talkng about wm not wsm. 30-06 and 300wm are both established and fantastic cartridges and both are incredibly versatile but the 300wm is better with heavier bullets than the 06.

Only real draw back is ammo availability over the last couple years. But even before that, it isn't as available as it's parent caliber 308.

@@mot0rhe4d40 so true…in fact, my most recent rifle purchase was a 308, for that very reason. I wanted the 7mm-08, but ammo cinched the deal

@@hikenmikes8262 I bought my oldest Her own hunting rifle in 243, I find myself second guessing not going 308. While ammo is starting to show up. 308 just has so many perks on its side.

As a 270 man I should have said 270. I should have been loyal. Sure it's a longer action cartridge will probably a little more kick than the 308 depending on the bullet size but the downrange devastation should be superior to the 7 mm 08. So why not buy once cry once and gets 270 to start

270 Win is just better than 7mm08

i agree

Just got one for my first rifle. Being off by 30 yards within 300 yards isn’t going to matter much

@@Eric-bh7jy awesome, you’re gonna be happy with 308 all around👍🏽

And in every platform. It would be just ahead of 270 & 30-06 for a new hunter because of the limited platforms they are currently in. Ammo for .308 is about the lowest priced and most available of them all.

@@Eric-bh7jy Great choice, 308 hits hard. Get some barnes ttsx bullets and hunt whatever you want within 300yds for proper bullet expasnion.

@@ronlowney4700 definitely can't go wrong with the 308 Winchester! I tried the 7mm-08 back in 2000 and fell in love with that cartridge!!!

The 270 is a good cartridge. It’s definitely the flattest shooting of these three. I’m a bit sour on it for elk at the moment, however. My brother in law lost one last year on a hunt we did together. Wasn’t the cartridge’s fault. Appears to have been a combination of not ideal shot placement and poor bullet selection (150 SGK). Shot was only at 75 yards. We had good blood and what we think now was a single lung hit. There was a good blood trail in the snow for a while, and we tracked that elk for over a mile over a day. Never found it. Lots of things should have been done differently in hindsight. But that experience reinforced my preference for 30 caliber.

@@ronlowney4700 I tapped out my reply earlier from my phone and probably should have just waited. I don't disagree with you at all. When I said I'm "sour" on the 270 for elk, I intended it to come across as I was personally and unfairly dinging a perfectly good cartridge for an anecdotal bad experience that wasn't it's fault. Scores of hunters better and more experienced than I think the cartridge is great for elk. But bad experiences---even vicarious ones (my BIL flubbed the shot, not me)---still tend to leave an impression. Not that I was really considering it before, but I will never be tempted to shoot a cup-and-core bullet at an elk in the future. It may work, but a better bullet is cheap (if imperfect) insurance. We knew to use premium bullets before, of course, which brings me back to the main reason I recommend the 308 for newbies: ammo availability. My BIL's options for 270 bullets last year were several flavors of 130 cup-and-cores, 150 SGKs, or 150 SSTs. None of those are as tough as I'd like for elk. He picked what he thought was best of not-great options. If he'd have been selecting ammo for 308, he would have had more and better choices (at least where we live). This year the discrepancy in options is even worse as 308 ammo choices are almost "back to normal" (except for the price) whereas most everything else is slim picking. There is something for most every major cartridge locally, but that something may not be what you want. Having lived through a couple of ammo droughts now, I tend to keep plenty of powder, bullets, and primers on hand for my cartridges to make it through the lean times. Unfortunately, my BIL did not have anything useful banked for his 270 so he had to buy what he could find. Another of the many lessons learned (or re-learned) on last year's failed hunt. Here's a non-exhaustive list of a few additional lessons learned (or re-learned) the hard way last year: (1) Practice shooting how you hunt. 75 yards offhand is hard to do with adrenaline pumping if you don't ever practice the shot; (2) Don't shoot offhand if you can avoid it. The elk didn't know we were there, we had the thermals going in the right direction, and so we had time to get into a better position and use a tree. My BIL should have done so. He basically panicked and make a snap shot when he didn't have to; (3) Use a premium bullet; and (4) Give the elk some time if they run off. We saw lots of blood at the shot scene and so started tracking almost immediately. Dumb idea. We actually caught up to the elk a little later (he was running with some cows and calves) and busted them out again. I think he had bedded down and we bumped him. If we had waited an hour, I think we would have found him dead right there.

@@ronlowney4700 Thank you!

I just about said that’s how it is here in Montana. I agree.

@@ronlowney4700 been most everywhere from west of big timber and seen similar selections. I'm talking general box stores, cabelas, sportsmans, and Murdochs generally. The smaller shops are fairing a bit better but still limited unless you're shooting 308 or .223. What is available is 10-20 bucks a box more than it used to be even for stuff like federal blue box. Gun shows have great selections but they are outrageous on prices. I haven't seen a box of 7-08 on shelves in over 2 years and could count on 1 hand the amount of times I've seen new brass. 6.5 prc is only slightly better, I've seen it on shelves every 2-3 months for a day before it's gone and have yet to see new brass for it. 7mm is by far the most available of those 3 and I've only found one spot to have good stuff like Barnes and Hornaday on a constant basis and I wouldn't dare say where 😂

As a new shooter you should go with a 6.5 it has less recoil then the 308 …the 6.5 craze is new here in America but the 6.5x55 Swede has taken more Elk for the past 120 years then the 308 and the 30-06 combined. The 6.5cm is just an upgraded 6.5swede

@@yurikfarba7169 Yeah for sure, but a 308's recoil is fine. Put on a suppressor and its next to nothing.

@@Monscent unfortunately I can’t put a suppressor on anything here in NY. It all depends on the rifle too … I have a tikka .308 t3x lite that kicks more then my Benelli R1 300 win mag

You'll be fine hunting Elk up to 300 yards with good bullets and proper shot placement. 308 is the best mix of recoil, cost, and energy your can get IMO.

Mine (that I owned) as well, shot it from 10 years old to 44 years old. Still take it out for more open areas. Under 200 yards though, it's Grendel for me now. I started chasing deer with a ruger .44 magnum carbine at 8 and killed my first one with it. So both of the above are a power upgrade...lol.

The swede is often overlooked

My guess is, 1) he didn't think about it, or, 2) ammo availability. If the new hunter has access to a hunter who reloads, the 6.5 Swede or 7x57 are darn hard to beat. For even less recoil, .250 Savage or .257 Roberts.

@@wdtaut5650 I'm in western Canada , the 6.5 and 7x57 are on almost all hardware store shelves. But it would be a issue with 250 and Roberts , it would be a 100 mile drive to get ammo , lot farther for many . I think I've only seen 257 Roberts once in my life

6.5 is annoying boutique cartridge it’s made for paper target hunting. 30/06 is available everywhere

The 6.5 creed is a lie in a cartridge lol. People are doing way too much things with a 6.5. borderline unethical sometimes. This is coming from a guy who owns one. I'd rather use my 708

I think it would be if we were in anything resembling a normal economy.

Agree 100%

It’s a balanced cartridge but if doesn’t do anything any better than those all around it. Just no reason for it to thrive.

7mm rem mag is superior, 7mm08 has trash ballistics

​@tesla82111 I have both cartridges and agree however it depends on what your using it for. For shorter range deer hunting here in the northeast I will take my 7mm-08 almost always. If you regularly have longer shots, want a long action and are ok with having alot more recoil then the 7 mag is great. They are 2 different cartridges that are good for different things.

@@ronlowney4700 I agree.... I might even go with a 243 or 260. Obviously, I am an adult man.

The 6.5x55 Swede is go to hunting cartridge for whitetails.

Hear ya! I haven't mentioned my 243 up to this point in all the blabbing I've been doing on this thread but with a 100 grain Nosler Partition I'm pretty confident I could kill anything in North America but a Griz. I could kill a Griz but he might get me before he expired so I wouldn't try. ( I miss my 243. It's been at the gunsmith's for like three months trying to get the barrel threaded. That toad probably muffed the job and doesn't want to call me. }

Savage model 99’s do kick hard for some reason. If that’s the same model.

Try putting on a good aftermarket recoil pad on your Savage 99: I did on my Savage 99C in .308 WIN, and now it has the same kick as my .270 WIN which is not punishing.

Great points, and it was my choice as a new hunter and I dint regret it. But I was 20 and had experience shooting. I'd suggest 308 instead to mitigate recoil

I’m with you. Most hunters are probably hunting less than 150 yards. Especially here on the east coast.

If that's the only rifle a new hunter buys then I agree...new hunters eventually become seasoned hunters ..and the 06 is capable of 600 yd shots with the new LR bullets available for it now. It's the one cartrige that will never due

Not so much availability as the deciding factor. It's versatility. Much of what's available is FMJ imported stuff. Do you really want to go after a deer with a pointy FMJ .30 cal?

@@ronlowney4700 Depends where you live amd hunt ..if you live in grizz country and hunt deer and elk I think 06 would be a good starter rifle I started hunting at 14 and shot an 06 in alaska been doing it ever since But practiced with 243 before that

Fair point. Old, out of shape men need the slower .308 rather than its faster 7mm-08 cousin. 😆

I'm with you on wood and steel. Love my FN 'Winchesters'. I do get tired of babying them however. I should order composite stocks for them.

@@nohandle257 I wouldn't worry about it. If it gets a ding or something it's just character but I wouldn't be abusive but I wouldn't be overly cautious either

I’d agree although I’ve seen several 6.5 creed elk hunts end successfully

That is my thinking exactly

I have a 25 06 I found in a gun store a year ago. It was a mint condition Kleinengeunther. ( or spelling to that effect ) The guy was Ray Weatherby's chief designer at one time. It's a Texas thing these Kleinengeunthers. Beautiful gun. Looks like a custom Weatherby. Cloverleafs decent factory ammo. And it's not even free floated. Has little wooden pegs near the front of the fore end supporting its svelte tapered barrel. Soon's it cools down a bit and the pigs come out in daylight I gotta get it out and shoot it.

@@ronlowney4700 Nothing wrong with .270. Not likely going for Elk where I live. Black bear probably biggest animal to be hunted. The 120 partition will do just fine with Lil less recoil. And BC not really that important as shots generally under 200. Still .270 is a great round . Have great day

Of course I can't post pictures here but a good friend of my good friend killed a 400 lb cinnamon black bear in New Mexico with a 6.5 Creedmoor from 400 yards. Scarry big bear and I have the pic.

@@nohandle257 ex wife shot her elk at 300 and blew through both shoulders hitting the top of the heart with a GMX and dropped it

@@dylanbagdasarian2444 GMX is a deadly bullet.

my first rifle was a ruger m77 mk2 25-06 and I still have it but it's not shooting the amazing groups it use to im thinking bore is shot but I can let it go

@@dustinemerson7828 It takes thousands of rounds to shoot out a barrel, even on a 25-06. I recommend taking it out of the stock, deep clean it, reset in the stock and torque the action screws. The remove the scope and retorque everything when resetting. That should fix it.

Well I've had it since I was 12 im 29 now and I used it like a 22 so I'm pretty sure I've hit that couple thousand round mark by now buy ill tare it down and deep clean it and torque it to spec before I take it to a gun smith

Agreed. Fantastic, low-recoil cartridge and versatile on any game up to and including deer and antelope. If the new hunter isn't chasing elk or moose, .243 is a fine choice.

I just got the tikka tac a1 in 308 I’m not disappointed

There’s not a lot of difference between 6.5cm and 308 at 0-500yds for that matter either. Idk why ppl want to ignore this, the data is everywhere. With a practical range cap for a mild short action cartridge, 308 doesn’t give up anything meaningful on a vitals shot on an animal. At 0-500 the real question isn’t trajectory or wind drift between 6.5cm, 7-08, or 308; it’s if a smaller caliber can accomplish the same task with less recoil. The 308 bullet weights just buy you better odds on terminal efficacy on larger animals. Those 165-168g in 308 are stupid versatile at 0-500.

@@FreebornOutdoors congrats, I've been eying the tikkas, really nice rifles. I firmly believe 308 is great from anything in north America excepting the different species of brown bear.

@@pbbananas good points! and I'm in no way a traditionalist. I'm seeing the benefits I listed in my original post and realizing that some other round would be much better for long range target shooting, but for hunting the 308 can do just about anything needed on this continent. Cheers

@@ronlowney4700 Nice, that's most of what the newer rounds are doing anyways. building in room for longer bullets, and upping the twist rate to stabilize them. The shorter fatter cases do make for a bit more efficiency, but that is negligible compared to the factors you solve with a new barrel. And there really isn't much a 270 can't do. I hope the new barrel works out great.

@@ronlowney4700 63.5 grains of RL 26 and the 200 grain nosler accubond .588 bc and mv of 2700+ fps is still cruising at over 1800fps at 600 yds and still retains over 1500 ft lbs of energy as well still .plenty enough energy for moose or elk . All that out of only a 22 inch barrel !

@@ronlowney4700 I started at 58 grains and slowly worked my way up .at 63.5 grains I was getting 2740 fps so I backed off And am at 2705.witj incredible accuracy Tbh no signs of excessive pressure even at 2740 the sweet spot semmed to be 2700 accuracy was sub moa at 100 in pre 64 featherweight .recoil wasn't much stiffer not sure if you've used reloader 26 but it gives great velocities and is cold temp stable which is great since I'm from alaska

@@ronlowney4700 You're absolutely correct about that regarding big magnums not killing any faster than the 06 using a good bonded bullet like the accubond . I use the 200 grain accubond because of its higher bc of .588 at 2700 fps with outstanding accuracy as it has the energy out to 600 for reliable minimum expansion of that bullet (1800fps) and I now have a load that easily handles everything from deer to moose without question .

@@ronlowney4700 I chose it because I want to hunt white tails in VA this season. Short ranges and it suppresses REALLY well. Plus it's a Ruger American that takes AR mags, which is cool and lots of fun.

You can't go wrong with that cartridge. Just not going to shoot something very far away. You need to get a suppressor and run some 220 grain subsonic. Those are super quiet!

@@louiscapasso4452 I have it suppressed already. Subs are expensive so I've been plinking with 125g. Even with that, I can have a casual conversation while ringing steel down range. It's not "quiet" like subsonic, but it's only the sonic "crack" that you hear echoing, which mostly goes down range, and thus the gun is phenomenally pleasant to shoot suppressed.

​@@letsgobrandon416 It's even more fun in an AR pistol. I highly recommend it since you already have a suppressor.

@@ronlowney4700 so do I, but you can't go wrong with a 300 blackout. Great for plinking, coyote hunting, you can make your feet hunt interesting and use it there. Suppressed and full auto it is amazing how quiet it can be. Honestly even though they're running thousand feet per second I wouldn't want to get hit by a 220 grain bullet.

You could be on to something there.

Somebody get this guy his own show