Perfect Rifle

[Heavyiron]

Any of the short action cartridges listed will work well. Try to stay away from hard kickers, they may develop a flinch. 243, 250 savage, 257 roberts, 6.5 cm, 260 rem, 7mm08. All will work well. The 6.5 cm may have the best selection of guns and ammo available though.

 

[Caveman0101]

.280 Rem will do all that with little recoil out to 1200 yards or so. My second choice would be 270 then 260. I have two sons also, my oldest is a big kid 6-2" 220 just turned 17 but he's always loved his 280rem with a muzzle brake and a recoil reducing stock he can watch the bullet hit the target. My youngest is the opposite he's 14 and hadn't broke 90lbs yet so I went with the same setup but 260rem. He was amazed a few weeks ago when he watched his own shot drop a cow at 450 yards. Accubond long range in 142 and 150gr is the pill that seals the deal from 50 to 650 on everything from pigs and WT to elk.

 

[kwcoop]

You guys here are the best, I had my sons shoot my dads old 308 at the range and the kick did not seem to bother them, so I decided to get them both the 280 AI savage, I can load it down for antelope and deer yet kick it up for elk, it shoots nice and flat out to any range these boys will want to shoot at their age, if they want later on to shoot a banger it will be up to them....Again to all Thanks....

 

[hunter67wa]

Great! Sounds awesome I think they will enjoy it. Good luck.

 

[jebel]

Thoughtful choice. Sounds perfect.

 

[lancetkenyon]

A reasonable step up from that, in my opinion, is the 300 WSM. It has plenty of power for elk, it can be loaded down for smaller game, and has a bit less recoil than the 7mm Rem Mag (though I like that caliber, too).

I could not disagree more. I am not sure what it is, but a 9# .300WSM pushing a 168 has way more recoil than a 9# 7RM pushing a 168 at the same speeds. Some weird burn column or recoil impulse.

As for the .280AI, I love mine. No need to "load it down" for deer and antelope. Run a full power hunting load with a 160-180 for everything. Hit them where it hurts and they will die.

 

[WyoHunter1]

Put a muzzle brake on the 280 or whatever caliber you have and turn them loose.

 

[Deviant]

I am updating my two twin boys rifles, they have been hunting with model 99 300 savage, since I have two of them my budget is a little stretched. I have read these posts from all of you for years and respect your input, I am looking at a rifle that can be used to hunt pronghorn antelope up to and including elk, I am a avid hand-loader but a little stumped on a rifle that will do it all ....I know I am asking a lot of a rifle for all of this...."help all of you"......

6.5 PRC if you want factory ammo and brass or 6.5 GAP if your an avid reloader. I personally would never shoot anything bigger than a deer with a 6.5 Creedmoor. Another good option is the 7mm wsm. Less recoil than a 7mm rem mag and the short action is lighter for a hunting rifle. If you put a brake on these recoil will be minimal. My wife can shoot my 8 lb 28 Nosler all day long with the APA brake on it.

 

[yoteslayer]

I would also say a 7 mag pretty hard to beat for all round cartridge and components are Readily available to

 

[Canhunter35]

good choice on the 280ai

 

[Alibiiv]

I am updating my two twin boys rifles, they have been hunting with model 99 300 savage, since I have two of them my budget is a little stretched. I have read these posts from all of you for years and respect your input, I am looking at a rifle that can be used to hunt pronghorn antelope up to and including elk, I am a avid hand-loader but a little stumped on a rifle that will do it all ....I know I am asking a lot of a rifle for all of this...."help all of you"......

How old are the boys and how much shooting experience have they had?

 

[Alibiiv]

I would look at the 7-08 for a short action and the 280AI for a long action. Just depends on their age and recoil tolerance.

I had a Browning, Micro Medallion in 7mm-08 with a compensator on it, a first-grader could have shot it. Just didn't/don't want to be standing next to it when it went off!! It's a really light rifle, with lots of long-range potential and quite accurate for a young hunter. If your boys are shooting a 99 in .300 Savage they really ought to be able to shoot this rifle without any reservation at all.

 

[Rogue]

My boys both used a 30-06 with a break. Each have killed Elk and Antelope out to 300 yards.

With the break, the recoil is very tolerable.

 

[Capt RB]

Send the rifles to LRI and have him thread/install his cathedral brake. You can most likely get a break on the price if both are done. If you have a good smith or they are already threaded a beast 4port would be a great present for them.
Watch the muzzle in this video. This is the LRI brake in action