Greetings everyone. I’m new here at HuntingNet.com and I just wanted to say hello and thanks for the info I’ve gathered while being a “lurker” here. I’m not an extremely experienced hunter, although I enjoy getting out when I can in the fall season. I did get myself a brand new hunting rifle setup this year, at least partially as a result of info given here. I bought a new Ruger M77 Mark II All-Weather rifle in .30-06 and topped it with a silver Nikon Buckmasters 3-9x40 scope. I know many people here are partial to Leupolds (and for good reason) but since I’ve always had good luck with Nikon cameras, I thought I’d give Nikon a try for a scope. So far, I love this rifle/scope combo. I went through 100 rounds (not all at once) practicing to get used to this rifle and it’s great. I practiced mainly with cheepo Remington Core-Lokt 165gr PSP but finally sighted in for the “big event” with Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertip 168gr. That bullet maintains velocity/energy levels at a much longer range due to the design, sufficient for any whitetail or black bear I’m likely encounter in upstate NY. Both loads shot an honest 1-1.5 MOA at 100 yards from the bench too, so accuracy is good. The Nikon scope seems decent too, time will tell how well it holds up. I’m not worried though, Nikon scopes have lifetime warranties.

My other (and equally loved) hunting rifle is an open sighted Marlin 336C in .35 Rem.

Wow, that was kind of a long-winded intro… sorry, but again, thanks and I look forward to participating more in these discussions.