Beginners and Too Much Gun

[GSPV]

A bud took his brother deer and hog hunting. I loaned the brother my Tikka action, Manners stock, custom barrel, 7x47L.

The brother loves my little rifle. Raves about how great it shoots. I mean *raves*.

Then immediately says he’s going to buy a Tikka T3 Lite in 270.

Noobs, man, noobs. :/

IMHO, beginners need a lighter recoiling rifle that they will go spend time with at the range without it beating the crap out of them.

 

[jds holler]

IMHO, beginners need a lighter recoiling rifle that they will go spend time with at the range without it beating the crap out of them.

I agree with that thought with beginners in particular, and all of us in general. jd

 

[Evan]

No substitute for practice, and practice isn't very effective or fun when it hurts.

I'd push him to get a 243 or 6 creedmoor (don't know which is available in the Tikka lite)

 

[JMayo]

Kinda agree. I have a friend with a 300 mag. That sob hurts to shoot. He wanted to sight it in at my bench rest range. Wouldn't shoot it more that 5 times.

But still, it's what he is proud of so good for him.

 

[PatMiles]

My granddaughter, 12 years old, wanted to start hunting with her dad. The son has a Tikka lite 6.5 Creedmoor which we had her shoot ONCE. Needless to say it hurt her so I put together an AR-10 in 6.5 CM. The pics tell the rest of the story. She has a deer hunt starting Wednesday.

 

[jghoghunter]

My granddaughter, 12 years old, wanted to start hunting with her dad. The son has a Tikka lite 6.5 Creedmoor which we had her shoot ONCE. Needless to say it hurt her so I put together an AR-10 in 6.5 CM. The pics tell the rest of the story.
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Good for here that is awesome. She looks very proud. I love to see young kids getting involved in the outdoor sports. Way to go grandpa!!

 

[snert]

daughter (5'3" ) started on a 22, then a 222, then an M1a. She loves her 222 and now her 700VS 308. She hunts deer with a youth model 700 243. No fan of heavy recoil, and why? No need for it.

 

[GSPV]

I have a bud in NY. He and a friend called me and asked my opinion about a M700 SPS in 300 WSM. Said he would get a killer deal on it.

I asked him what he wanted to do with it. He said that he wanted something to just shoot at paper at the local 100-200 yard range.

I told him that no matter what he paid for it, it wouldn’t be a good deal because it would beat the crap out of him and he’d put it in the closet and not shoot it.

He (my friend’s friend) bought it anyway. Shot it once. Put it in the closet. And there it sits.

There is the occasional person that is super recoil tolerant. Just like there is that occasional person that is 7’ tall. For the rest of us, a heavier rifle in a milder-recoiling cartridge is the much better path to learning to shoot a rifle. IMHO.

 

[Bbear]

I went through the phase of heavy-kickers. No more. Do most of my hunting with either a 243, 25-06 or 6.5x55 now. For bigger game, I have a mild-kicking 264 WM and a 308. I have some 'fun' guns that I take to the range to make empty cases to reload, most notably an AR in 5.56 and a Tikka in 223.
I started my Grandson out with a BB gun shooting soda cans off the deck. He's 9 now and still shoots an AR in 6.8 SPC. No need for recoil to scare anyone off of the shooting sports.
I'm amazed at the number of people that seem to think you have to have some super-kicking round to shoot targets or game animals. Practice makes perfect and if you don't care to shoot the cartridge/gun combination, sell it or trade it for something you WILL shoot.

 

[rr2030]

Some people, even though they are exposed to experienced shooters, giving good advice, and in some cases demonstrating that advice, make poor decisions. Unfortunately, many first time gun buyers get horrible advice right at the local gun store. Case in point: Many, Many years ago I was at a chain gun store in the SF Valley, "Turners" to be exact. One of the counter men was showing guy, that never before owned a firearm, some handguns. The customer was looking for a home defense gun. By the time I left they were filling out the paperwork on a Desert Eagle in .50. Talk about bad decisions.

 

[Evlshnngns]

270 is not that bad for kick. Covers a lot of ground while he saves for his next rifle.

 

[SSL]

"Macho" kicks in too many times when it comes to firearm selection. I have a 4 3/8" Ruger .44 Magnum that a guy had my FFL buddy order for him along with a couple boxes of Buffalo Bore 300-grain cartridges. It and the cartridges were returned on consignment within a week at half the original price. There were only 12 cartridges fired.

 

[Lee in Texas]

I think that "magnum fever" is kind of pushed by the manufacturers, too.

 

[GSPV]

270 is not that bad for kick. Covers a lot of ground while he saves for his next rifle.

Shot a T3 *Lite* in 270? PCertainly not bad for hunting. For a total noob sitting down at the bench to learn to shoot? Snappy. Very snappy.

 

[Evlshnngns]

Shot a T3 *Lite* in 270? PCertainly not bad for hunting. For a total noob sitting down at the bench to learn to shoot? Snappy. Very snappy.

Mine weighs 7.6#, it is snappy. Reload some 110gr with a medium charge, fun target or coyote load. If I only had one rifle, a 270 would do a fine job.

 

[GSPV]

Mine weighs 7.6#, it is snappy. Reload some 110gr with a medium charge, fun target or coyote load. If I only had one rifle, a 270 would do a fine job.

The T3 Lite is 6 lbs, 3 oz. The noob doesn’t reload (he’s a noob). The upper end of his hunting will be whitetails and pigs, and he’ll be doing it in the southeast. A 243 and the like is all that he’ll ever need unless he goes out of state to go elk hunting...and that’d be a great excuse to get a second rifle.

 

[Syncrowave]

A 270 recoils?

Who knew?

 

[Kracken McGraw]

The T3 Lite is 6 lbs, 3 oz. The noob doesn’t reload (he’s a noob). The upper end of his hunting will be whitetails and pigs, and he’ll be doing it in the southeast. A 243 and the like is all that he’ll ever need unless he goes out of state to go elk hunting...and that’d be a great excuse to get a second rifle.

A .223 in that rifle would meet 98% of his needs, and have a boatload of fun with it.

 

[mike a]

Ok I'll bite. What does noob mean?

 

[Intheshop]

Isn't just beginners... and it isn't just the shoulder and eyeballs that suffer.