Assistance in choosing a first hunting rifle/caliber for my son

[270Shooter]

7mm-08 all the way!

If you decide you would like to get a new ruger, like the American. I can hook you up with one. I have a compact 7mm-08 American in the shop right now.

those rifles are affordable and generally shoot pretty well right out of the box in my experience.

[Dan-o]

Say he's on a hunt, driving to the camp. Suddenly he says, "Darn, dad! I left my ammo at home!" You turn the car around and drive to the nearest store (gas station with the "WORMS" sign on the door). While getting your wallet out of the velcroed pocket of your hunting pants (don't you hate those?) You ask the kid behind the counter, "Hey son, you got a box of (insert your rifle cartridge here)?"

If you say .30-30, he'll say "You bet!"
If you say .30-06, he'll say "Right over there!"
If you say  .257 Weatherby Mag, he'll say, "Huh?"

Been there. Drove another 20 miles and paid $50 for 20 shells. Something to consider when picking a cartridge.

 


Been there.

Grateful I brought the 7mm Mag, and not the 6.5 X 284.

[Dan-o]

P.S.   Everybody knows that the 7MM-08 is THE BEST CHOICE for a really cool starter caliber.   
(Or at least it's my favorite.)

[higunner]

7mm-08

[bobcat]

I think the 7/08 is a great cartridge, but just know that the recoil is going to be similar to the 270 and the 308.

For a young person you may need to use the reduced recoil loads, or if you're a reloader, make up some that have less velocity and a lightweight bullet, at least for practicing. For hunting you could probably use full power loads.