Today's bullets make shooting almost anything within reason affective on all but the largest of North America's big game animals. I've used magnum 375's, 338's, 300's, 7MM's and don't have a single "magnum" in the safe today. My all time favorite big game round is the 280 rem, but I have taken a bunch with the 308 and 30-06. I now shoot the 280 AI almost exclusively for big game. I've also found that my longer range open country rifles work just as well in close.
For your situation I'd look no further than a Remington LH SPS youth in 7mm-08 with eigther a Leupold VX III 3.5-10X40 or Leupold FX II 6X36 in Talley LW rings. The above combination will last a lifetime, is easily upgradeable, and with good bullets will kill everything you wish to hunt with it here in Alberta.
Chuck
|