New hunter needs some advice on rifles
 

Hello all!

I'm in need of some general advise on getting a hunting rifle. I'm looking at getting my first rifle and am leading towards bolt action. The guys I hunt with all use Remington's so they aren't the most unbiased group.

Basically, I'm looking at what manufacturer tends to make the best bolt action rifle. For me, best means which manufacturer makes a rifle that will last the longest without having to go above and beyond the regular maintenance and cleaning. I don't mind having to take some time to sight it in, so "out of the box" accuracy isn't a number one priority. I'm treating this as an investment, so I'm looking for a rifle that will perform at a high quality for a long time.

Feel free to add your opinions and any advice you might have!

Thanks.

No pun intended but that's a "loaded" question. There are many very good choices currently. A lot depends on your budget, the type of hunting you will be doing and how the rifle physically fits you. For general purpose bolt action rifles I'd look at Winchester model 70's, Rem model 700's, Savages and Ruger's. For lever actions I'd look at Marlin's. For single shots either TC or H&R will do the trick. BTW, welcome!

Gives us your budget and include what you expect to use this bolt gun for ?

Do you have a additional budget for a scope ?

......and welcome !

Well if you don't mind spending the money go for either a Remington 700 or a tikka t3 they both are accurate and require little maintnance. Put a good leupold or nikon on it and you'll be set. As for callibor 270 30-06 7mm-08 308 25-06 all would work just fine.

Don't forget to check what you are allowed to hunt with. It would suck to spend money on something you can't use.

Thompson Center Icon Classic or Venture, depends on your budget!

You want to be one of the guys right? Fit in with your group? You say most of them shoot Remingtons? I wonder why--Let's see, you are leaning toward a bolt action, Remington makes some of the best--good all around caliber? Ok, good dependable all around caliber--well the thirty 's are a good place to start--so let's say 30-06 in a Remington 700, priced from $400 and up. There you go, problem solved------Ok, that would be a first choice for me, but in all honesty, a Weatherby Vanguard would also be a good choice, or a Tika, possibly a Ruger, very strong and dependable, but a little pricy and let's also mention Browning----any of these will last a lifetime, are relatively low maintenance and can be very accurate--------John

First, Welcome to the forum.

Out of the box accuracy refers to a gun shooting very small groups without bedding the action, free floating the barrel, recrowning the barrel, or adjusting the trigger. Sighting in a rifle means you are moving the sights to match the bullet's impact.

As the others have stated, let us know your budget, and we can recommend rifles in the price range.

Thanks for all the responses so far! I would mostly be using this rifle for deer hunting. My budget is $1000 for rifle and scope...at least right now. If that won't work, I guess I will have to save some more! Thanks again!

I'm also in the market for my first and probably only big game rifle. I've always bowhunted, but want to try gun hunting and also plan a moose hunting trip to Alaska.

After a lot of reading up, I'm probably going to go with a Tikka T3 Stainless 30-06 with a Zeiss Conquest scope on top. Right around $1k and there isn't anything you can't do with a 30-06!

For 1k total gun, rings and scope its hard to beat one of the new Savages. Accustock, Accutriggers are real nice and they're very accurate out of the box. You might even have enough money left over to get you a few box of rounds to sight it in!

You can not go wrong with a Remington 700. The SPS stainless can be had for around $500, leaving plenty of budget room for a good quality scope.

$1000 will get you set up well. Go for one of the Rem 700s in -06 and get a decent Leupold scope.

I'm only recommending the Remington simply because you say most of the folks you shoot with have them. That will get rid of any questions that might arise from different locations of safties and different ways of pulling them apart, etc.

Will also reccomend the remington 700 sps not becasue your buddies shoot them but because I love them. I agree with the good leupold scope. As far as which caliber to buy it in that depends on what you are hunting.

sir,just about any rifle will give you years of excellent service if taken care of properly.i currently hunt birds with a 1929 browning 12ga.my rifle is a 1951 remington 721 so you do your part and it will serve you well for years.you might consider a 30-06,its very versitile and is excellent for deer elk and what ever.pleas checkout the TC venture rifle.

Take a look at these;

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/prod...ducts_id=86358

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/prod...ducts_id=86703

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/prod...ducts_id=90826

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/prod...ucts_id=113410


Optics;

http://www.opticsplanet.net/burris-2...ect-scope.html

http://www.opticsplanet.net/zeiss-3-...-reticle1.html

http://www.opticsplanet.net/nikon-mo...flescopes.html


A few ideas for your consideration.

Marlin XL7 30.06 with a Nikon Prostaff 3x9x40.

500 Bucks

Will shoot every bit as well as the most expensive rifle you can find.

Only weighs 4.5 lbs - you can carry it all day.

Composite stock won't swell or warp, If you scratch it, who cares ?

Dial it in with Rem Coreloc 180's & you can hunt anything in America.

God Bless America !!!:patriot:

I second the Marlin XL7/XS7. The synthetic versions lack character, but so does a model 700 SPS. We found one in a full wood stock, and it looked remarkably nice, nothing like a cheap gun. Got it for under $400. Shoots good, lightweight, decent recoil pad makes that '06 feel like a 30/30. Throw a decent scope on it, and you have a good rig for life. Probably the best looking rifle of the workingman's rifles.