NJ-Bowhunter

I'm predominantly a bowhunter in NJ and I usually gun for the 6 day shotgun season (Rifle hunting in NJ with a Remington 1170) so I have very limited rifle knowledge. I now have my big chance to by a rifle and it will most likely be my last (wife is not a big fan). I'm going deer hunting in Texas next year on a friends ranch and may also get to Maine. I need advice on the best overall rifle for me to get - 30.30's or a 308 keep being mentioned by my friends....thoughts?

Gundigest

If I could only have one rifle it would be a Ruger all weather 30-06. They are about $550 so they are cheaper than Remington and Browning and every bit as good. My Ruger rifles all shoot good 1" or better at 100 yards and they come with scope rings which will save you about $50.

The 30-06 has the largest bullet range on the market, 55gr up to 250gr. It will and has killed every living thing on the planet. For deer hunting I use a 165gr bullet. Another very good advantage is that every little sporting goods shop in the country will have 30-06 ammo. In most cases it is cheaper than a lot of other calibers.

I would put a Bushnell Elite 4200 in 2.5-10x40 on it, if I could afford it, and if I couldn't I would put a Bushnell Elite 3200 in 3-9x40 on it. I own 4200s and 3200 and I like them both, they let in a lot of light and the rainguard coating is awsome. The 4200 is about $400 and the 3200 is about $200. Your scope is as important if not more important than your rifle, if you can't see it you can't shoot it. I also like Butler Creek flip open scope caps, they work very well and always stay with the gun.

I hope this helps, this is what I would have if I could only have one.

pa_yote_hunter

You might try a CZ-550 in 270. They are about 500 dollars, and i have heard nothing but good stuff about them.

ssternadel

Picking a rifle all depends on what you are doing. If strictly whittail, a .270 is a good choice, if hunting larger game (like bear and elk) you may want to get something in the 30 caliber range. For about the best all purpose rifle, I'd have to go with the 30-06. Arguably, it can effectivelly kill anyhting on the north american continent and then some. In terms of a brand, any of the big companies produce a quality rifle. You may want to check out remington, winchester, ruger, browning, cz, tikka, sako, and a number of others. In terms of optics, it is pointless to spend a ton of money on optics for hunting. You can spend over 1,000 on a zeiss or a swarovski that serves the same purpose as a leupold, simmons, bushnell, tasco, etc. On the flip side of the coin, an extremely cheap scope is exactly what i just said, an extremely cheap scope. If i was in your situation, i would have go with a remington 700 bdl ss in 30-06 and top if with a leupold vari-xII 3-9x40 silver. A rig like that would run in the neighborhood of 1,000 and with work will shot about 1" groups at 100 yards consistently.

White-tail-deer

Congrats on your opportunity to hunt Texas!! Sounds like fun.

I would buy a .270 Win, Remington 700 BDL or 700 LSS. Also, don't overlook the scope! I prefer Leupold. For Texas I would go for a VX-II 4-12x40AO.

superman8791

NJ...boy what a can of worms you opened here. ...the point is there are untold numbers of options here. The thing to do here is pretty much what you should do anytime you make a hunting equipment purchase....buy the best you can afford. As far as caliber the .270 or 30.06 are good all around and hard to beat. You can hunt anything from Coyotes to Grizzlies with these calibers. Whatever you do dont get cheap on the scope. All of these replies are great, the Bushnell elite and the Leupold are great choices. Personally i shoot a Leupold vari-x III and i love it, but ( and im gonna get in trouble when i say this), I dont think they are worth the money. In my opinion if i had it to do again I would go with the 4200 or even 3200 elite. They have just as good of light transmission and as qaulity of glass with raingaurd to boot! Good luck and enjoy TX.

Virginia7

If I could have only one rifle:

Remington 700 LSS Mountain Rifle in 270Win. Scope: Leupold VX-III, 2.5 - 8x with matte finish.

Link: http://www.remington.com/firearms/ce...e/700mtnls.htm

driftrider

You didn't say how much you're willing to spend.

I would say that if you are only ever going to get one and only one rifle, then you'd better save up and buy the best rifle you can get that suits you. I'd be strongly thinking about having a custom rifle built for you. Get the action you want, have a 'smith install a top-notch match barrel in whatever caliber you choose, blueprint and true up the action, lap the lugs, install a high quality trigger and pillar and glass bed it into a custom fitted stock. Of course, you can expect to spend on the order of $1800-3000 or possibly more. But it'd be uniquely YOUR one of a kind rifle, built specifically for you to be your perfect rifle.

Of course, if you don't have the money, or the patience ot time to save it, you could always go with a higher grade factory rifle as well. My personal first choice would be a Sako 75. These are as close as you can get to a custom grade gun from a factory. They run on the order of $900-1200, depending on model.

Mike

Deer-Slayer22

.270 would probably be a good all around choice.

Mykey

If deer is the only thing you're going to hunt my choice would be the 25.06. If you're going after something bigger or you'll be hunting in an area where you may encounter something bigger then i would opt for a 30.06, a 7mm mag or a 300win mag.