IDFtrooper, have you purchased your new hunting rifle yet? Just to breath a little more life into this post, I'll add my $.02 cents. I agree with the other posters almost to the man. The 30-06 is hard to beat as a first hunting rifle in standard caliber Weatherby, and the 257 Wby as a first Wby caliber. The -06 can be loaded up or down for small or large game, ammunition is easy to find, cost not an issue, and the recoil(generally speaking can be handled by most hunters and some huntresses)is manageable. Generally the -06 is very accurate with good brand name cup and core, or premium ammo with usage depending on what you will be hunting. The 257 Wby is an excellent choice for first Wby cal. (although the large caliber bug may bite you after shooting the -06, and you may want to go with a 300 Wby, who knows.) As a medium game caliber, you won't find anything that will dispatch game with more authority. It will flat impress you. The 257 will drop whitetails, mulies, antelope, black bear, etc, just don't try to extend its range or capabilities, and you won't look back. If you intend to hunt large game, the -06 is the better choice with the heavy bullet selection. Personally, for large game, my minimum caliber would start with .277 cal, but thats just me. Since you haven't posted since December of 2015, you left us dangling, post up and let us know if you've purchased your first hunting rifle yet. Good luck
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