Rifle Advice for a New Hunter
I'm looking to start up hunting here very soon, and I don't have a clue on which rifle I should be looking for (because there are so many!) When it comes to pistols and AR's, that's where I feel in my element. But bolt actions rifles....whole new ball game. Here are some things that I'm looking for, and hopefully ya'll can help a friend out!
1. Looking to hunt anything from varmits to deer.
2. Want something that I will be able to use for a long time and grow into (the wife is only letting me have one bolt-action rifle, so I want to make this a good one).
3. Don't want to spend over $1000 for the rifle.
4. Find a caliber that will do the trick for #1 above, yet be affordable enough to punch paper with at the range.
5. I've heard that CZ, Remington 700 models, and Savage are the way to go...any reccommendations on specific models?
Any help would be great! Thanks
1. Looking to hunt anything from varmits to deer.
2. Want something that I will be able to use for a long time and grow into (the wife is only letting me have one bolt-action rifle, so I want to make this a good one).
3. Don't want to spend over $1000 for the rifle.
4. Find a caliber that will do the trick for #1 above, yet be affordable enough to punch paper with at the range.
5. I've heard that CZ, Remington 700 models, and Savage are the way to go...any reccommendations on specific models?
Any help would be great! Thanks
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Best bang for you buck is going to be a Savage 10/110. Ruger also makes a great bolt action rifle and would be another great choice. These will leave you some extra cash to put a nice Burris Signature or Leupold VX-II scope in it.
For hunting varmints-deer with paper punching included, I would tend to steer you towards a .243 Winchester. You can use 100 grain bullets(or close) for deer and 55-75 grainers for varmint. Ammo is easy to find and fairly reasonably priced.
I personally would use a .22-250 for everything you mentioned, but you said you are just starting, so the .243 gives you a little more margin of error for deer and still has little-to-no recoil.
Jon0 -
quote:Originally posted by Jon0322
Best bang for you buck is going to be a Savage 10/110. Ruger also makes a great bolt action rifle and would be another great choice. These will leave you some extra cash to put a nice Burris Signature or Leupold VX-II scope in it.
For hunting varmints-deer with paper punching included, I would tend to steer you towards a .243 Winchester. You can use 100 grain bullets(or close) for deer and 55-75 grainers for varmint. Ammo is easy to find and fairly reasonably priced.
I personally would use a .22-250 for everything you mentioned, but you said you are just starting, so the .243 gives you a little more margin of error for deer and still has little-to-no recoil.
Jon
I agree, the 243 is a logical choice.0 -
243 is the choice .. 0 -
Relative your choice of bolt rifle, I would refer you to the competition and reloading section. Specifically, the "out of box accuracy" thread. I posted a reply regarding the flexibility of the Rem.700 action! Some of this information might be of use to you. Regarding Cal., I agree the 243 is a good choice! But, I wouldn't rule out the 270 or 06 either, just an opinion! Have fun with whatever you decide.[:)] 0 -
Another vote for the .243. 0 -
I would vote for a Tikka T3 in 7MM-08, 308, or 30-06. Those rounds will handle varmints, and game up to Elk and Moose.
Best0 -
Bolt action rifle in 7mm-08
Can't be beat
CP0 -
M1 Garand 0 -
quote:Originally posted by tsr1965
I would vote for a Tikka T3 in 7MM-08, 308, or 30-06. Those rounds will handle varmints, and game up to Elk and Moose.
Best
Ditto!0 -
Josh ... Greetings to you and welcome to the GB forums! I hope that I am not the first, nor the last to welcome you to the GB forums! Think that you will agree that the forums and the folks that participate are great. Great source of information and feedback. Some folks have one or two opinions too.
Be sure too that if you have not done so as yet to use the above search for additional information on this and other questions that you have ! ! !
You have received some pretty good nominations already. Nothing wrong with any of them.
Where might you be living and hunting? Open, brushy, timber?
How long might the shots be that you will be taking?
What varmints? How far? How many in a day?
What deer: whitetail, blacktail, mule deer? How large are they?
What scope and magnification do you have, or are you getting, or will you be using iron sites?
These things would influence my choices. Especially weighing how dyed in wool you are or might be regarding varmints vs. deer hunting.
I would vote for these:
280 Rem Ackley
25-06 Rem Ackley
6mm Rem Ackley
280 Remington
25-06 Remington
6mm Remington
You can see my bias or favoritism clearly. Regarding nearly any cartridge, if it is good ... Ackley Improved, just makes it better.
Any and all of the chamberings mentioned by anyone here would work for all three areas of interest that you mentioned: punching paper, varmints and hunting up thru deer. All have great potential for accuracy, dependent upon the rig and yourself.
Just one bolt action ... boy, she sure knows how to make it rough on you! That might even be construed as outright torture!
It will be fun winnowing it down to one rig and that covers all of the bases.
The rigs that you are considering would fit the bill. Let us know what you end up doing.
Oh, do you hand load? That would make any and all that much better!0 -
another vote for .243 caliber Savage 0 -
well if you go with a savage the price is a bit more affordable so you can buy more then one, my preference is like 243,308,2506 and the rest is up to your preference. 0 -
jmil22,
I don't know if you see it yet but there is a pattern forming here with a few exceptions.
1. A case based off the .308 seems the most common. Where I'm from in NV, the .243 is a deer killing machine. Light, fast, with little recoil can dispatch a deer pretty cleanly. In a 1-9" twist it will push some serious target bullets out with the best of them. These are also outstanding to get the wife/kids out shooting. The .25 Souper (.308 case necked to .257") is a wildcat but worth looking into. .260 Rem. Same great case, same great efficiency. Offers varmint bullets down in the 85 gr. ranges and can stabilize all the way up to 160 gr. bullets. This round is big enough for anything in NA whether people want to believe it or not. The 7mm-08 is pretty much in the same category except everything gets a little heavier. At the lighter end more speed. At the heavier end higher BC. This only matters if you plan on doing some long range shooting with it. Same with the .260 This will also provide heavier bullets in the hunting side in case you feel that they can buck brush better than the lighter .243" and .264" bullets. The .308 speaks for itself as a do-it-all round. There are varmint bullets and now lighter match bullets for shooting at long ranges. It won't keep up with either the .260 or 7mm-08 but it will get there. It is without a doubt the most popular cartridge in NA right now.
2. The most votes have been for Savage. But there are some differences you need to know about Rem 700 S/A's, Savage 10's Win 70 S/A's, Tikka T3's, CZ's and Howa's. It all pretty much boils down to the type of extraction. Because I consider all of the actions strong enough to handle hot loads what ever you use. Also, all of the named and major action makers (in case I missed one) make rifles today that are well within hunting accuracy standards. By standards I mean, accuracy and power enough to kill an animal cleanly when you hit it in a spot that will kill it.
So, let us dig in to this. There are three types represented and all work. Starting with the weakest extraction type (yet strongest action), is the Remington (also Win post 64). A clip in the bolt face catches the case rim and a spring loaded pin pushes on the other side. It has happened that these have failed to extract on occasion. the clip wears or bends and in the case of extremely hot rounds can't hang on to a stuck case. That certainly isn't the norm. However, what this type allows you to do though is place a cartridge on top of the magazine and push load it in. Next is the Howa 1500, Tikka T3, Savage 10/11/14/16, Win 70 CRPF/PRF. These have an extractor arm that is spring loaded and snaps over the rim of the case. Some are more effective than others. But in general they work better than the clip in the bolt face of the Rem 700 and Win post '64. The one notable exception I use here is the Win 70 CRPF, or controlled round push feed. The bottom face of the bolt face is milled off and the round can either slide up from the mag, under full control of the bolt or it can be fed from on top and the extractor snaps over the rim upon chambering. Lastly is the CZ 527/550 and Win 70 pre '64/post 94. These are claw extractors that pretty much must be fed from the magazine. But in terms of extraction strength they are easily the strongest. Strong enough in some cases to actually pull a hard stuck case in half. You can force the claw over the rim if you drop a case on the mag but it can be difficult depending on the rifle. These are probably the most famous of dangerous game rifles because of this. I don't think you are going to really need this with gophers/PD's but who knows. All the above are good designs and have their pluses and minuses. Under normal circumstances they generally don't fail. I'm talking 99.83% of the time.
So, after all this you decide you want to look bigger, the 25-06 offers varmint weights up to elk cabable bullets with velocities to match. The .270 same, in fact as an all around hunting choice it remains one of the most durable. In spite of the fact some idiots say it's obsolete. And of course the venerable 30-06.
Some of the Mauser cases still hang on the fringes of coming back and not. the 6mm Rem, .257 Roberts (my favorite) 6.5x55, 7x57 (#2 favorite) 8x57. 125's in a 8mm are something to behold when they hit varmints let me tell ya!
It seems like there is a lot to grasp right now. But, if you just want the job done and are not into nostalgic or 'the next super round' then what I mention above will do you just fine. Think about the types of extraction and how you hunt and that may determine what you pick.
-good luck0
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