What caliber would you choose?

[Garbuster]

I believe all the calibers mentioned would be good choices. I think you need to consider the brand of gun as well. I had a .270 remington pump about 10 years and that thing kicked like a mule. I helped a buddy of mines son sight his Mossberg .270 in last year and it had alot of recoil as well. We had a hard time sighting it in because he was scared of it. On the other hand I've shot a Remington 700 and a Browning A-Bolt in the .270 caliber that had very little recoil.

[Eagles1181]

.234

No I would not take a shot at an Elk.

If you want to stick with the list you rattled off, no, one rifle will work, if you want something that will take elk, yes you will want a second rifle.

Eagle

[snuffer]

ruger hawkeye 308. 150 gn
kicks like a 243 , but it aint one!
i pick the ruger hawkeye because of the size of the gun is easy for them, but still powerful for dad and great in climbing stands, brush blinds, pack trips etc.

personally i like a model 70 270 for my gun of choice if i had to only pick one for life for me, but were talking kids also right.

[hcshooter]

7mm-08 or a 280 , i have both and neither have much recoil at all. Both my stepsons have shot them and they never shot a gun in their life before me.

I would shoot an elk with either caliber, they both have good range and with correct shot placement you can kill anything in your category.

[jeremy360]

This has .243 written all over it. They are flat shooting, not hard kicking, very accurate, and fun to shoot. Plus ammo is readily available. I had a .270...it stomped worse than any one ive owned, musta been the plastic stock.

MY VOTE IS A CZ IN .243 I held one of those the other day..and MAN what a fine gun, you CANT go wrong with it.

[Green Arrow]

7mm-08!

X2 great deer hunting round.

[ILUVBIGBUCKS]

How's the kick comparison with 308 and 270?

Very, very close on recoil with these two. I'd say the .308 with 150 grains will be less recoil then the .270 with 130 grains.

[ILUVBIGBUCKS]

The Savage 11FYCAK in 7mm-08 I think is the perfect rifle.
Youth Stock, Muzzle Brake, Synthetic.


That same gun in 270 would be great and you could use any of the big three ammo manufacturers reduced recoil loads until they were ready to step into the big stuff.

Good gun for sure but the youth models are only 1" shorter from butt stock to trigger. Also, the muzzle break is nice at the range but hell on your ears in the stand!

If I'm not going to be covering a lot of country by foot, I'll stick to my Savage heavy barrell rifles. I've got all savages and most are heavy barrell. I actually prefer the added weight when shooting out of a stand or even the jeep. It seems to be much easier to hold the rifle steady with the added weight. My son is 10 and he's been shooting the .308 in model 12FV for about 3 years now. He also shoots the .243 in the same model. I've got a Savage .270 WSM in a slightly lighter barrell that is fluted and stainless with a factory muzzle break. He also shoot sit as well but the break is noisy as all get out and when I shoot it the break is set to off!

[dtu11]

Because my brother has one that is extremely accurate and with the Managed recoil loads making the recoil 50% less. I'm leaning towards the 308.

This would have less recoil than a .243. The standard recoil based on the table earlier is 11.7 for a 308 at 150gr. Half of that would be 6.85 and the 243 would be 7.4.

That would make this rifle extremely versatile to go along with the awesome accuracy.

Now which model to choose?

- Ruger M77
- Remington 700
- Weatherby Vangaurd
- Savage

[psicoo]

I have been totally sold on the .270 for years. Great flat shooting rifleand will reach out and touch. 150 load.

[canny]

.308 or 25-06

[asttbe]

- Ruger M77
- Remington 700
- Weatherby Vangaurd
- Savage

Out of those I would choose the 700.
But, I have a friend that bought a Savage with the Accutrigger and that is one sweet shooting gun. The trigger break is really crisp. It has a limbsaver butt pad on it and I swear it feels like it kicks less than my sons single shot .243 (it is a 30-06)

[rocky47]

Go with two. 7mm-08 for kids, 30-06 for yourself.

[Outbreaker]

Go with the AR-15 with a collapsable stock. It will work for you and your kids.

Then go with either the 6.8SPC or the 6.5mm Grendel.

It kicks a much as a .223 (nothing) yet has the same knockdown power as the .243

[KC Huntin]

Ive been pondering the same question myself. I was actually pondering getting a TC Encore and adding different barrels.