goalieman32

Every year that I have gone deer hunting (since I was 12) I have had to borrow a gun because I didn' t own one and now I think its time I get my own. I recently had my 18th birthday and I got some money to spend. I am willing to pay the money to get a good rifle that will last and will be dependable in my treestands. I' ve had my eye on a couple of the Ruger' s and was wondering what you guys might have for suggestions.

mauser06

these days its hard to go wrong with a gun purchase unless its an older gun or used...i buy most mine used just because im 16 and it saves me alot and i know what to look for but some arent worth a dime...it would be easier if you would tell us what you like in a gun and maybe some particular models and caliber you like....you should know what you like by now.....us blindly saying we like this gun is worthless.....i mean..come on..id never let someone pick out a gun for me.....i buy a gun because i like it....some people love the looks of wood....others synthetic....some like stainless....some hate it.....id say pick out a few you really like and then ask us if it is a pretty good accurate reliable gun...thats the way to go.....good luck on your purchase...pick a gun YOU like and enjoy it.....

handloader1

I think if you are going to buy a all round rifle, so you could hunt anything in North America a 300 Mag. would be a good choice. Good luck.

bigbulls

Just about any new rifle will do you good. Winchester, Ruger, Remington, Savage, Howa. Savage and Howa offer the most bang for your buck, although I don' t personally like the round receiver on the savage. Howas are kind of a sleeper and are becoming more well known and they are made with many features that most other rifles are do not have. They are definetly worth taking a lood at.

For cartrige the .270 and the 30-06 would be very hard to beat for a first rifle. Ammo is at every store that would sell ammo and it' s cheaper than most of the others.

Being 18 years old you probably won' t be going on any out of state elk and moose hunts any time soon? By the time that you can afford an elk or moose hunt you will be able to afford a new rifle. Even so these two cartriges will serve you very well on one of these hunts with the edge of having heavier bullets going to the 30-06.

ColoradoElk

I would go for the .270. When it is time for rifle #2, you will have a great battery if you went with the .300 Winnie, or maybe .338. Lots of overlap with ' 06 and 300. Spread things out a bit.

seattlesetters

I' d go with a .260 Rem or 7mm-08. Light-recoiling, very accurate and absolutely deadly on deer to all reasonable ranges. You won' t have much overlap at all if you buy a .300 mag later, either, although I don' t know that you would ever need a rifle that powerful for any other reason than you just want one.

Any manufacturer, like bigbulls says, makes a pretty good rifle these days, so take mauser06' s advice and buy what you like.

frizzellr

I have to agree with seattlesetters, especially since you mentioned hunting from a treestand. You have plenty of power from the 260 Rem and 7mm-08 Rem without all the recoil. You can also get them in short, light, handy rifles like the Remington Model 7 or the Ruger 77 compact.

PaJack

The quality of todays guns are hard to beat! My first pick for deer hunting would be a Remington Model Seven in a 7mm-08 but the choice must be something you like...

mlaubner

I agree with the previous posts on caliber selection.
Maybe a good choice would be to get a TC Encore?
One trigger pull with any caliber you choose, including muzzle loader and shotgun!
Just a thought...[:-]

mathewsconquest

As a fellow " Cheese head" , I would say you can' t go wrong with a 7mm-08 to a 7mm Mag. If you don' t see yourself getting another rifle for a long time after you buy this one, I would lean toward a 30-06 or 7mm mag. They will easily cover you for the biggest bucks in Buffalo County or black bear to mule deer, elk, antelope etc out west. Accuracy is much more important than knock down power here in the Badger state. Most bucks are taken from less than 75 yards away.

This weekend at the EAA Oshkosh, you can try almost all calibers of rifles from numerous manufactures at the Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoors Festival. Pull up Ducks untlimited to find out more.

Shoot until you find one that is comfortable.

Good Luck,

Mathewsconquest