SmallCaliberCentral

I got a call from my nephew last week and he said he wanted to start shooting and hunting. He's in his upper 20's and in med school. No one hunts or shoots in their family so it was a shock to both my sister and I. After talking we thought it was a good Idea to get a 22 as its very cheap to shoot and he agreed he would get a bolt 22. Then he called me and wanted to know if the 223 was a good round, we talked awhile and decided he would get a 223 bolt. He is very busy with life right now so he said he would be getting set up sometime in June when he's not so busy and the weather turns nicer. He called last night telling me he was at the store buying a Browning X-Bolt and topping it with a VX3 3.5x10.40 and he bought it in 30-06. Makes me laugh how we started a week ago with a 22 then 223 and he gets a 06. It will be great spending time with him at the range.
Cracker

The 30-06 will probably serve him well. But depending on what he is going to be hunting/shooting, I would say he should have started with a 223 or 204 Ruger, then progress upwards and onward.. But everyone of us has choices. Now he can work on one of the others. Bill K

With all due respect, this is actually kind of scary. Is your impetuous nephew planning on fitting a gun-handling and hunting/shooting skills class into his busy schedule before he starts blasting away with a .30-06? And how does a med student afford a gun/scope in that price range? Kinda reminds me of the kid who thinks he wants a motorcycle and the first one he buys is a 150 hp sportbike, which he goes out out maims or kills himself on. I'll bet the muzzle blast and recoil from that 06 will dampen his enthusiasm for big-bore shooting in short time; let's hope he wears hearing protection.
Can't knock someone with the drive and brains to become an M.D., though, and I'll give the guy a hearty thumbs-up there.

I may have made the impression he has never shot a rifle before, but he has been to the range with me. I had him with me when he was about 12 and his favorite gun that day was the 12 gauge. Recoil does not make him flinch. He has been going to the range with some friends and is not going to be blasting an 06 all over the country side. As far as being able to afford his new set up he has been working at Washington U doing Alzheimer’s research and going to med school there, he is very capable of affording what he picked up. He is a very bright kid and so is his future. He will master that rifle like he has mastered his life. He figured it was a good round for whatever he may want to hunt in North America. Then he does have the same blood as me and I have always done things backwards. My first handgun was a 44 mag, come to think of it my first rifle was a 30-06. Maybe it runs in the blood.