Thoughts on a hunting rifle
OK, need some advise here. I own three handguns now and feel they are adequate for my needs. 1 S&W 686, Browning HP in 40 cal, and a 9mm ruger P85. I now need to purchase a shotgun and all purpose rifle. The shotgun I already have picked out (Rem 870). But here is my thoughts on a rifle. I want to hunt, but havent since I was a teenager. I'm now 40 and retired military. I live in Kansas, but will move to east coast (South Carolina, Florida, Georga or my home state of texas) when my daughter graduates High School. I'm looking for a bolt action but the chambering has thrown me. For the dear in these areas, should I purchase 7mm, 308, 30-06, or something else. I intend to only have one rifle, so it needs to meet all the needs (deer, wild pig etc.) please give me your thoughts. Looking at the 600-800 doallar range. And please list optics as I want to be able to reach out to about 150-200 yards. All the hunting I did as a kid wias with my dads lever action chambered in 35 remmington. Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Thanks
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seems like just about anything n the .30 range would do the trick.
a lot here in Pa use .30-30, 30-06 and a few .308s thrown in
as to optics will leave that to others as i am mainly an iron sight guy...0 -
I have hunted with several different brands and configurations of hunting rifles and have settled on a Stainless synthetic Ruger MKII77 7mm with Leupold VariXII for the last6 years.
Great durability and the SS Synthetic has been great for all weather types of hunting.0 -
any of the 3 you mentioned would be fine308 and 30-06 both have large selection of bullets to chose from another common chambering around here is 270 win. Imho best bang for the money on scopes is nikon prostaff any of these questions if you ask 10 different people you will get 10 differnt answers 0 -
Go with the .30-06 in Savage and top it with Leupold or Burris. 0 -
I recommend a .308, or 30-06. either one will be plenty for what you plan to hunt. Good specimens can be picked up in your price range as well. As for optics, I am blue collar poor so I have no experience with the high dollar scopes. I can tell you I have been very happy with my Bushnell banner scope. Mine is a 3-9x50 variable power I picked up on sale at Bass Pro Shops for $99.00. 0 -
Get a Savage 110 in 30-06 and a Sightron S2 3-9 power scope. 0 -
I went to look at the ruger MKII77 and the Savage mentioned, also looked at the remmington 770 which seems to be the complete package with pre-mounted scope (all on line). I like the Ruger's looks better than the Savage, and the Remmington is highly reputable. There seems to be way too many chices out there, but really want to make this the only long gun purchase I make. Between the Ruger and the Remmington, which is probably the better weapon as far as accuracy, durability and longevity? 0 -
I own a Remington 710(the basic .270 that comes with a scope) and I took my first deer with it-1 shot no probs. The more expensive Remingtons are great rifles and the Rugers are as well--both if taken care of should last a lifetime. Your best bet is go to a good gun store or gun show and handle each one-they both have their own cosmetic and functional differences. If you are thinking of moving back to Texas be forewarned if you don't already know-most places that have deer are ranches that you will pay to hunt on- in there isn't much quality huntable public land -or you can get with some pals and lease some land. A pal of mine who was used to hunting in the Sierras in CA freely has found this out since moving to TX or maybe he has just been too lazy to look lol--- the .30/06, .308, 7mm are all great choices. 0 -
i've had 50-50 luck on the rugers half of them were shooters and the other half lucky to group 4" i have 280 now that does nice cloverleafs now. Every savage that I have has all been shooters have 4 rem 700 all four average 1" with ammo that they like 0 -
Jeff, I don't think you can go wrong with a Savage. The price is usually right and they are accurate right out of the box. I have a Bushnell 3200 Elite 3-9x40 that I am very pleased with. They can be had for $200 or less.
BTW, glad you made it to retirement. Welcome to the real world![:o)]0 -
Another vote for 30-06. The ammo is the cheapest for the power, and it has plenty of power. Plus it's available anywhere.
The best all around rifle/cartridge IMO.0 -
Weatherby Mark V in 7MM Weatherby Magnum.
It will be your life-time rifle.
As far as optics, you can start inexpensively and work your way up.
That caliber will take any game animal in the world.
Look up its' ballistics and compare it to those other cartridges that you are considering.
Doug0 -
"the dear in these areas".... for these I think a bottle of wine and some flowers would work better. as for the deer... go with the .30/06. 0 -
You'll get 20 different answers for rifles, find one you like and that fits you. You'll be carrying it a lot. Most are pretty good these days. I've always liked my dad's old remington in 257 Roberts, I like my Abolt and my sons savage shoots great.
A lot of calibers will do what you want. Some always gravitate to the standard, 30-06 great cartridge, 308 great to. I like the 270's better, and 2nd would be the 7mm's. I bought my son a 270 wsm and like it so much I think I might buy one myself. For the ranges your talking you may want to look at the 7mm-08, but all listed above will work.0 -
If you want one gun then go with a 30-06. You can shoot anything form 150 gr (or less if accelerators are still around) to 220 gr without reloading. That covers everything from p-dogs to bear and moose. 0 -
What elkaholic said. 30-06 will cover anything you want to hunt in the lower 48. Savage makes a good, inexpensive rifle. But I am curious about the new Marlin bolt action. Has their version of Savage's "accu-trigger", and lists for just over $300. All the reviews I have read have been very positive. 0 -
The 30/06 will kill any North American big game, great round. I personaly have a Savage 110 in the '06. Can't beat the accuracy for the price. As far as scopes, just about any of the big makers are fine. Price wise, check out the new Simmons MASTER series. I got one in 3-9x40 on my Savage and took a big buck this past season at 235 yards, one shot, one kill. Couldn't be happier![:D] 0 -
30-06 0 -
either the rem 700 savage or some say the cz is a good shooterin 308 with a leupold vx-II cannot be beat 0 -
Savage 116 FCSS in 30-06 topped by a Nikon Buckmaster 3-9X50 BDC
http://savagearms.com/116fcss.htm
http://www.4scopes.com/buckmasters.htm0 -
get a savage in .308 0 -
wow, savage from "rugerman" wtg ruger man.
Anyway, Remington or Savage, 30-06 or .308, Nikon is best lenses, Leupold or Burris will do. A really nice scope is Shepherd with rangefinding circles dual reticle. One shot sight in, circles do the rest. Check them out before you buy one of the others.0 -
quote:Originally posted by jeffery.boyd
OK, need some advise here. I own three handguns now and feel they are adequate for my needs. 1 S&W 686, Browning HP in 40 cal, and a 9mm ruger P85. I now need to purchase a shotgun and all purpose rifle. The shotgun I already have picked out (Rem 870). But here is my thoughts on a rifle. I want to hunt, but havent since I was a teenager. I'm now 40 and retired military. I live in Kansas, but will move to east coast (South Carolina, Florida, Georga or my home state of texas) when my daughter graduates High School. I'm looking for a bolt action but the chambering has thrown me. For the dear in these areas, should I purchase 7mm, 308, 30-06, or something else. I intend to only have one rifle, so it needs to meet all the needs (deer, wild pig etc.) please give me your thoughts. Looking at the 600-800 doallar range. And please list optics as I want to be able to reach out to about 150-200 yards. All the hunting I did as a kid wias with my dads lever action chambered in 35 remmington. Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Two big problems here:
1) you seem to think you have all the handguns you need, and
2) you seem to think you'll soon have all the long guns you need.
Get help.
[8D]0 -
30-06 in your brand. as far as optics i have LEUPOLD,NIKON and BUSHNELL.if i were to buy a new scope today it would be a BUSHNELL without a doubt hands down. for the price and waranty you cant beat it 0 -
I dont really feel the Size of the South Carolina deer warrents a 30-06 . I use a Ruger model 77 in 257 Roberts 0 -
Browning A-Bolt 300 wsm 0 -
Best guns for the money right now are Tikka and Savage. Remington's have had a lot of quality issuses of late. I am a big fan of .308, all cal's mentioned are quite acceptable for your purposes. Optics are important, and I often spend more on my glass than I did my steel. I like burris scopes and you can feel safe buying used as they have a lifetime guarantee weather you are original owner or not. In your price range I would buy Savage rifle and used burris 3-9 scope. 0 -
It is hard to beat the good ole' 30-06 for versatility. I say that one is the one to go with if you are planning(or not planning), on having just one. I would also venture out to say, that my pic of a rifle would be a Tikka T-3 all day long. There are others out there less expensive, that come with a $20.00 scope, but the Tikka will not make you wonder what if.......? my choice of scope would be a Burris, or Nikon. 0 -
seems we are all on the same page today .30-06 or the 308 are both great choices .cant go wrong with either .do some reasearch and reading before you make a final choice .dont overlook the 270 or 280 ,both are very good and may be right for you . there are many factory loaded ammo choices to choose from . 280 is a great round also . go to your big gun store and look at the ammo offered ,open the boxes and have a peak .
remington ,ruger ,or savage are good choices . look at the 700 rems,i prefer the older ones .winchester is good also if you find one .ask some of your friends maybe they have a gun for sale .
scopes .the big names hunters talk of are nikon,burris and leupold . someone mentioned shepherd here ,they are fun also .get the most you can afford and dont overpower it .
if you send me an email i have several websites you can use to do some research (hdwrenchski@aol.com)
good luck ,wrench0 -
In that part of the country I would go with a .243Win. Plenty of knock down for any of the game mentioned with less felt recoil. It can also be used for varmints too. - flat shooting little bugger it is. You can get it in a bolt or Lever action. Ammo is easy to come by in most every store that sells ammo - even hardware stores. In my opinion that is what I would do. 0
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