Whch gun to buy?

[ishman]

After 40 years of whitetail hunting in our home state of Pennsylvania, my father has decided he is taking a 2 week trip out west this year. He will be hunting whitetail, muleys, and elk. He has decided that his old trusty 243 just wont do anymore and is looking to upgrade. He says he wants something that hes can shoot 300 - 400 yards (if his aging eyes will let him!) with enough energy to take down an elk but something he can also bring back home and still use for whitetails. I told him to look in the .300 range of guns. Meaning maybe a .300 win mag, a .300 wsm, .300 rem mag, or a .300 weatherby mag. Any advice on a good all around gun?

[1-GTOHunter]

I think a 7mm-08 would be a good choice,a .308 would also handle Big Game and they both would do well on Whitetail when He's back home!

[rthomas4]

I'll second the .7mm-08 or the .308. Very little recoil with either one, and both provide plenty of knockdown power.

[shaman]

Take your pick of the popular deer cartridges in PA and go for it. I would warn him away from anything with "Magnum" in the name, just because he does not need it.. 243 WIN will take an elk, but I would not recommend it. 308 WIN, 30-06, 270 WIN, 7mm-08, are just fine.

There are a couple of provisos:

1) Make sure he can handle the recoil
2) Don't expect to make 500 yard shots unless he's practiced them thoroughly back home.

In relation to the latter point, I was out one evening and saw a herd of doe on a hillside about 400 yards away. I knew my 30-06 load would not hit the deer if I aimed for the chest, but I just wanted to see what would happen if I shot at a deer that far away. I loosed a round at the nearest one, and watched. The round hit a good 8 feet below the deer's chest and skipped along the ground under their hooves, making them jump a bit. I tried again with similar results. On the third round, the deer decided to leave, and by that point I was blind from the muzzle flash. My point is that a deer at 400 yards is nothing like a deer at 200 yards which is nothing like an elk at 500 yards, and buying something with "Magnum" in the name will not change that all that much.

[ishman]

Thank you guys for the responses. Your input has helped out quite a bit. I believe ive now got him talked into a non magnum caliper. He shot my grandfather .270 this evening and handled it quite well. So hes pretty sure that hes gonna go that direction. But i made sure to tell him not to cheap out on his optics. Gonna need a good scope to go along with a new gun! Thanks again everyone.