Had a guy tell me my .243 wasn't enough gun before. The next evening I was helping him locate a deer that had run after being hit by his .270.
Much better to become proficient and hit where you need to than to depend on a larger cartridge to compensate.
Must be an awful lot of hunters who aren't proficient.
My older Son and I have been discussing a "first rifle" for his 14 yo Son, my Grandson.
Years ago, hunting deer & hogs mostly in South or Central Texas; I standardized boys & I to Remington Mod 7's in .243. We have been very happy with these little, very handy bolt guns.
Son has decided to start my Grandson on a Remington Mod 700 in .270 Win. No one else in our group has a .270. We all use .243 or .308. Son based this on advice of a couple "armchair experts".
What do you-all feel is the best for this?
Or, more honestly, help me push the .243 Win. !
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I have been hunting with a Husqvarna in 270 since 1969. Still use it to this day. Very mild cartridge for the average shooter, and can be used for every game animal in North America inside of 300 yards. I do consider it a bit light for Elk, although I have killed 2 bulls with mine. Both were less than 100 yards, used 150 grain bullets,had very good bullet placement. Get the boy a man's rifle and be done with it
Get the boy a man's rifle and be done with it .
That's OK if the OP reloads but he's better off buying a rifle that uses a common and readily available ammo. Something that could be found at Walmart or small gun shop. Something that could be bought at the spur of the moment just before a hunting trip. Places where Hornady Custom Lites might not be available.I would go with a .243
But...
I recently inherited a very nice older Remington 700 in .270. I wished it was a .243 at the time. I decided to load reduced recoil .270 ammo to .243 recoil and power levels with H4895 and 120gr Hornady .277 bullets. It is very nice to shoot. If I need a bit more power I can use full power .270 ammo.
Hornady and others make factory reduced recoil ammo. My goal was to load ammo that matched Hornady Custom Lite at a reduced cost for a friend and me.
So, if you come across a nice .270 at a good price, it might be worth getting it and loading or buying reduced recoil ammo.