Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game First rifle for young hunter; 7-08 vs 6.5 Creed

I was having the same debate last year when looking for a rifle for my son. In the end, I ended up getting a good deal on a Ruger Hawkeye in 6.5 CM from Mtnboomer. So far, he has used 123gr Scenars with good success on several deer. This year was his first year hunting elk, and for that I loaded some 140gr partitions and they worked just fine. I don't think you could go wrong either way, but I wouldn't dismiss the 6.5 where elk are concerned.