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    Default Buying your first rifle – Deciding on a calibre

    So, the hunting season is starting soon. This also means that in a matter of months, this board will be flooded with the one recurring question all new converts to hunting asks: “What do I buy for my first hunting rifle?” This post aims to give guidance on a very hotly debated topic, namely the choice of calibre for a first hunting rifle. In most cases, the unwitting new hunter will be convinced he is going to buy only one rifle (we know how that ends once the bug has bitten!) so in most cases, the rifle is expected to cover a wide variety of bases – an all-rounder.

    There are quite a number of calibres that will suit application as an all-rounder and in the end, personal preference, availability of a specific calibre in the brand you choose to buy and other “soft” factors will come into play. To narrow the calibre choice somewhat at least, it is important for the prospective first time rifle buyer to have an idea in which terrain he will mostly hunt (this will determine the range at which he is likely to engage his quarry) as well as his (or her!) likely target species. These two factors will result in a particular calibre being more suited to the application than another.

    Below follows a list of the most common “general purpose” calibres (and some other popular ones that might pop up in discussion) and a brief discussion of each calibre’s pros and cons starting from small and working upwards. To paraphrase Baz Luhrmann’s Sunscreen song, the only really reliable advice I have is that if you want to hunt more than once in your lifetime, buy your own rifle, it’s worth it. The rest of the information dispensed here is based on my own limited experience and reading. Someone will know more than I do, have more experience using a particular calibre than I do, even disagree vehemently with something I said, perhaps with good reason, perhaps with the emotion driven by a passion for a specific calibre. Listen to other opinions as well, in the end you have to make up your own mind and live with your decision!

    A note to novices: While we generally speak of a .270, the actual correct name is the .270 Winchester. Note that it does not refer to the rifle! Various manufacturers chamber rifles in .270 Winchester. The nomenclature is such to differentiate it from the rarer .270 Sabi, .270 WSM (Winchester Short Magnum) etc. The same applies to all calibres with the suffix generally being the name of the company that initially brought out the round (Winchester, Remington etc.), the name of the designer (Mauser, Brenneke) or place where the calibre was developed (Springfield).

    I have given bullet weights and velocities in places in this write-up but did not analyse that in detail. It was not the purpose of the article. Should you need these figures, Google is your friend. Wikipedia contains a lot but it is a good idea to check with other sources as the open source nature of Wikipedia makes the information unreliable by nature.

    .243 Winchester
    This calibre has a large following in South Africa, especially where shooting ranges are likely to be long. It is not suitable in the application of a general purpose rifle as it can not really be recommended for game larger than blesbuck. Yes, I know someone will say you can take larger game using the .243 with headshots or bullets of high quality and careful shot placement. The problem is, as a new hunter likely to hunt once a year, the skill needed to successfully do this likely does not apply to you. Do not make an animal suffer needlessly because you mistakenly believe you will be a better hunter if you can pull this off.

    The .243 makes for an excellent rifle for springbuck or other small game, mostly at extended ranges (around 200m or more). Meat damage at short ranges with most ammunition is likely to be severe. As a result, the .243 is in my opinion an excellent second rifle to buy, especially if you often hunt the Karoo, Northern Cape or other places where a fast bullet with a flat trajectory will be handy.

    6.5x55 Swedish Mauser
    The most popular of all the 6.5mm cartridges, the 6.5x55 is the minimum calibre that can be considered general purpose. It is slightly faster than the .243 with a 100gr bullet weight (around 3100fps) while at the other end of the scale it can push a 160gr bullet at around 2500fps enabling it to be used in the bushveld as well without extensive meat damage. While you can certainly take a kudu with it, there are options that will be a bit better. The new hunter may run into trouble with blue wildebeest and the 6.5 is certainly not recommended for eland by any stretch of the imagination.

    The 6.5x55 deserves a look into if you will hunt mostly in open terrain but occasionally in areas where shot distances are likely to be limited and you will mostly target game like impala. It offers low recoil which will help accurate shot placement, a big bonus if you want the kids to join in hunting. If you are not handloading, check availability of ammunition in your area though. Most 6.5x55 ammunition is imported from Europe so if you live in Putsonderwater, the local gunshop may not have it readily available.

    .25-06 Remington
    Hotter and faster than the 6.5x55. Too specialised to be a good choice for a first buy in my opinion.

    .270 Winchester
    We are now truly in all-rounder territory! The .270 is one of the most popular calibres around, still selling extremely well even though it dates from the mid 1920s. The advent of magnifying optics after WW2 really brought attention to the capabilities of the .270 so ammunition will be available everywhere a gun is sold in South Africa. The .270 excels at long range work with the 130gr bullet at 3200fps being the bullet on which the .270’s reputation is built. It will make short work of springbuck and even up to kudu shot at long ranges.

    As with all things, there is a downside: You will struggle to find factory ammo in anything heavier than 150gr at which the .270 is still producing around 2800fps at the muzzle. This results in lots of meat damage when employed at short ranges. Still, some people swear by it even in the bushveld, my own father being one. The only thing he sees is how quickly the buck goes down - this as a result of the same factor that creates the meat damage: A buck shot in the heart/lung area will result in the lungs being turned into a bloody mess. Small wonder I have to provide some of my dad’s biltong of late…

    The .270 is not suitable for eland and the tough blue wildebeest may be tricky, especially with the high impact velocities which can result in bullet failure if strong premium bullets are not used. A friend of mine has bagged several of them over the past seasons using his .270 though. If you mostly hunt open areas and are willing to live with some sacrifices on bushveld hunting, the .270 is a good choice.

    7x57mm Mauser
    This calibre is the darling of many South African hunters due to the association with the Boer War. So much so that I understand CZ had a recent batch of rifles chambered in 7x57 due solely to demand from South Africa. That should tell you two things: First off, the 7mm Mauser is well liked and well supported locally with ammunition readily available. Secondly, if a manufacturer had to make a special batch of rifles due to demand, you can deduce that the calibre is not in widespread manufacture any more. You may struggle to find a new rifle in 7x57.

    That said, the 7x57 makes a great bushveld cartridge. Pushing a 170gr bullet at 2500fps it is deadly on anything up to blue wildebeest without undue meat damage and mild recoil. Loaded with 140gr it can work in the open plains but it is not ideal for the application and your range estimation and knowledge of your trajectory had better be good.

    If you hang around some shops selling second-hand firearms you may come across a beautiful old 7x57. My wife has a 1910s vintage one with a semi octagonal barrel and some light engraving which attracts immediate attention when we go to the range. If you find such a fine rifle, you’ll fall in love with it and it will drive your buying decision. It will become your favourite and will serve you well.

    7x64mm Brenneke
    The reason we see so few 7x57s around. Immensely popular in Europe, I think there isn’t a European rifle manufacturer that does not chamber in 7x64mm (to the detriment of the 7x57). The longer case gives it a bit more legs than the 7x57, running at 10 to 12% faster for a given bullet weight than the latter according to Wikipedia. I have the nagging feeling that the 7x64 falls squarely in the middle of being ideally suited for long range or bushveld application. Maybe that means it’s a really good all-rounder. Certainly looks as if a lot of European hunters think so!

    While not as popular in South Africa as in Europe, the 7x64 is well supported locally. You will find both European and locally manufactured ammunition on sale and rifles from all the major European rifle makers will be available in this chambering. It is a good choice if you hunt at both long and short ranges, want something a bit different and eland is not on the menu. Being a “Continental” calibre, you won’t find the American rifle brands making anything that chambers this.

    7mm Remington Magnum
    The American obsession for speed delivered us the 7mm Rem Mag in the early 1960s. Faster than the 7x64, the 7mm Rem Mag is purpose-built to be used where shooting distances are long. It is even more of a meat bruiser than the .270 at short ranges although you can load to lower velocities if you intend to make reloading part of your shooting (as you should!).

    Due to its high speed, the 7mm Rem Mag presents the real possibility of bullet failure on larger game, especially at short ranges where the impact velocity will not be much less than when the bullet left the muzzle. In my opinion, you will have to reload to get the most out of a 7mm Rem Mag. While one can survive in the money department buying ammunition loaded with conventional bullets, buying premium ammunition off the shelf is prohibitively expensive. To unlock the true potential of the 7mm Rem Mag, the use of premium bullets will be required for some applications.

    Another drawback is that the 7mm Rem Mag is likely to be an expensive beast to feed, burning a lot of powder and using larger, less common cases (it uses the .375H&H case as basis for its design). You are also going to have to buy a rifle with a long barrel length to ensure you do not have about the same performance as a .270 Winchester with more recoil and muzzle blast. This will make your rifle heavier and less manoeuvrable, other aspects that will detract from its usability in the bushveld.

    While I have not read this criticism of the calibre elsewhere(and admittedly have no personal experience with it), looking at the energy figures of the 7mm Remington, it appears that recoil may be more than that of a .30-06 which is generally considered to be the recoil threshold of most shooters. We are all manly men but I can tell you from experience that heavier recoil will decrease your shooting ability, more so if you do not shoot often. Once again, quit the tough man act and consider that you may be more likely to wound game if your shooting ability is influenced.

    I read that Chuck Hawks over in the US sees this calibre as one of the great all-rounders. For me, I feel it is a bit extreme to the long range side of the equation, especially considering most new hunters are likely to feel uncomfortable shooting beyond 250m. If that is the case, you don’t need a rifle with this much legs at this much recoil. It should make a great calibre for an experienced hunter so add it to the wish list for later.

    .308 Winchester
    The ever popular .308 makes for a fine general purpose first rifle, there’s no disputing that. It is perfect for short range bushveld use at a recoil level that will be acceptable to the majority of adult shooters. Loaded with a 180gr bullet of premium construction, I’d say that this is about the entry level for eland so the range of target species is as wide as most hunters will ever need. It is not fast enough to produce its best work on open terrain where long shots are the norm but good knowledge of trajectory possibly aided by lighter bullets at higher velocity will make it an adequate performer.

    The .308 is also considered “inherently accurate”. This simply means that, all other factors being equal, it should be more accurate than another cartridge in the same type of rifle. While this is indisputably true with the short case aiding in consistent ignition shot to shot, I don’t think this should be a consideration in a hunting rifle. To really make use of that inherently accurate capability, you need a highly tuned sniper or target rifle. I doubt those good performers on the yearly Pro-Amm grouping shoot use regular .308 hunting rifles topped with 3-9x40 scopes.

    .30-06 Springfield
    More than 100 years old and still going strong, the .30-06 is still the most popular calibre choice in both the United States and South Africa if rifle and reloading sales figures are anything to go by. While there is good reason for this, it also comes with a caveat. Let’s look closer…

    Positives for the .30-06 are not only that it runs a bit faster than the .308 for a given bullet weight but that it can push bullets heavier than 180gr at useful velocities which is something the .308 can’t do. The performance of the .30-06 with a 220gr bullet in bushveld conditions is outstanding. Make this a premium construction bullet and you have something adequate for eland as well, being a bit less marginal than the .308. While not a long range specialist, it can be made to work in the open by correct adjustment of scope, knowledge of trajectory and load selection. Handloaders will have the possibility of loading a 130gr bullet in the .30-06 case which is near as identical to the legendary load of the .270 Winchester. The twist rate of the barrel, being optimised for heavier bullets, may have something to say about the accuracy of such a load though. That’s the fun of reloading for you.

    Then the negative: The .30-06 is right on the threshold for recoil tolerance for most adult shooters. If you think this does not apply to you, think carefully, the calibre has not earned the nickname “Dertig-nul-kwes” for nothing. I have a friend who learnt to shoot with a 7x57 and I recommended a .30-06 to him as his first own rifle. He now has one but struggles to master it, sometimes wishing he had settled on a 7x64. And at 1.85m and 90-odd kg, he is no midget either. Do yourself a favour and try to shoot a .30-06 of the maker you wish to purchase (stock design and rifle weight will influence felt recoil) yourself before you put the money down. There are plenty of .30-06s around so you should be able to arrange this.

    .300 Winchester Magnum
    A hot .30 calibre. Hot means fast and fast means flat trajectory. If you’ve read the article this far, you’ll know what that means: Flat shooter for the plains being it’s strong point, possible risk of bullet failure if shooting at something tough on short ranges. Extensive meat damage at short ranges to be expected if not loaded with well-constructed bullets at lower velocities.

    The .300 Win Mag is extremely versatile in the hands of a reloader, beating the other .30 calibres hands down in this department. It does come at the price of significantly more recoil (about 25% more energy than a .30-06 in identical bullet weights!). As nice as this baby is, I’d not recommend it for a first time buyer.

    .303 British
    Another rifle deeply rooted in South African, even African, tradition. With an actual bullet diameter of .312” the .303 British is larger than the .308” of both the .308 and .30-06 but operates at a slower speed than either. To be brutally honest, this means the calibre is inferior to them as not only do you have slower speed but slightly lower sectional density which will have a negative effect on penetration. As a result of this, I’d mostly rule the .303 out for work on eland provided you have something else available. Regardless, it makes an adequate bushveld cartridge up to there and if you can find an accurate enough rifle, with the usual sacrifices it can do a reasonable job on longish shots. Of course, recoil should be less than the .308 and .30-06, especially because many of the old rifles tend to be heavy brutes.

    A lot of game has been shot in Africa using the venerable .303 and a lot will still be shot with it in future. If you choose this classic, the most difficult part will be to find a rifle in decent condition. Many of the Lee Enfields (and possibly the P14s) in circulation have worn out barrels from extensive use, including some old style corrosive primers. Worn out barrels translate to inaccurate rifles and while 2 inch groupings at 100m may be acceptable for hunting use, some rifles fail to meet this and rebarrelling a .303 is, in general, not worth it. Neither is a salvaged Enfield action worth much. Even some P14 actions have flaws in them which make them potentially worthless to build a custom rifle on. Still, there are some beautiful old .303s out there, many being customised Lee Enfields or P14s. Make sure before you buy though.

    8x57 Mauser
    Hailing from the same time and also having a military heritage like the .30-06 and .303, this warhorse has similar ballistic properties. In fact, it mirrors the .30-06 in many instances. As a result, much of what is said under the .30-06 will apply here.

    Once again, you are unlikely to find a new one anywhere. You’d likely buy this if you meet one by chance, it looks good and you like having something unusual. Ammunition should not be a major problem if you have access to some of the larger gunshops. Be careful though, the 8x57 comes in many guises each with slight differences that will impact the ammunition you can use. 8x57S, 8x57JS (or IS) is the most common two names and they have a subtle, but important change in bullet diameter.

    There are several other 8mm variants out there. 8x60 and 8x64 to name just two. All will have larger cases (the second number in the European designation is the case length in mm) containing more powder resulting in more speed and more recoil. As a result, my observations under .300 Win Mag applies. The 8x60 is an exception though, it is similar in performance to the 8x57. It originated to circumvent a ban on German civilians owning military calibres after WW1. Rather than surrender their sporting arms the Germans came up with the novel idea to just change the dimensions of the cartridge and ream out their existing firearms to the new dimensions.

    Going even bigger…
    Moving upwards in size from here, there are a lot of calibres that someone may mention. Some of them, like the .338 Winchester Magnum, is simply too specialised in application to consider. Rarities like the .318 Westley Richards will not appeal to first time buyers. Others, like the 9.3x62 Mauser and especially the .375s (both Ruger and Holland&Holland) is really incredibly versatile and someone might recommend them. I would dissuade a first time buyer to steer clear of them despite their versatility as I believe recoil and operating costs make them unsuitable for the guy or gal just starting out. I’d add them to my wishlist for when I want a second rifle (or third, or fourth…) Despite what you think of how often you hunt and what your budget allows, once this hunting and shooting bug bites, you will be looking to find a friend for the all-rounder standing alone in your safe.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Buying your first rifle – Deciding on a calibre

    Okay, to the mods, I had some spare time and the idea was to get this as a sticky so we avoid having multiple threads popping up asking the same question - usually happens from mid hunting season to November

    If it is any good (and I'm sure some Gunsiters will have an opinion on what I wrote), sticky it. If not, bin it.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Buying your first rifle – Deciding on a calibre

    I enjoyed the read and I learned a few new things. Thanks!

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    Default Re: Buying your first rifle – Deciding on a calibre

    very nice post

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    Default Re: Buying your first rifle – Deciding on a calibre

    Very cool, thanks

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    Default

    Good post

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    Default Re: Buying your first rifle – Deciding on a calibre

    Wish I had everything neatly summarised like this when I was deciding on my first hunting rifle calibre! Very nice read, thanks T!

  8. #8

    Default Re: Buying your first rifle – Deciding on a calibre

    Thank you.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Buying your first rifle – Deciding on a calibre

    very helpful thanks

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    Default Re: Buying your first rifle – Deciding on a calibre

    Nice piece. Makes me want to buy my second rifle now.

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