Help me pick a new rifle
 

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.

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

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.....

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

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.

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

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.

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

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.

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

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.

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

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.

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

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...;)

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

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...[:-]

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

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

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

What do you guys think of the Browning A-Bolt Composite Stalker chambered in 7mm-08? That seems to me like a nice gun. My stepdad has a Browning BAR II Safari semi auto in 30-06 and he loves it so I' m thinking Browning. What do you think?

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

Excellent choice!:D

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

If the Browning fits you good then I am sure it will be acceptable. I would suggest trying several different brands to see how they shoulder. If possible shoot as many different guns as you can before you make up your mind. 7mm-08 Rem is a great choice in cartridge.

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

The Browning and 7MM-08 will excellent choices! Good luck!

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

The Browning in 7mm-08 will be perfect!

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

My dad' s got an A-bolt in .30-06 that shoots beautifully, so I have nothing bad to say about the gun. I would support what the guys here are saying, though:

If you have the money to get a good, well-made, brand-new gun, go and feel each of the major companies' major lines of rifle. You' re not going to find a major brand rifle that is really bad (if you stick with, say, the 700 rather than the 710 in Remington, etc), so it' s simply the gun that you like the feel of the best. If you like the way the Browning balances, the way the bolt works, etc, then by all means, make that your gun. Don' t swear off Winchester, Remington, Ruger, etc, though, because you never know which one is going to fit you best.

As to the caliber, the 7mm-08 is a great one. The only thing you' ll have to worry about down the line is elk, moose, and bear. It' ll shoot rings around most other calibers, has great velocity, light kick... just a joy to shoot. It' ll make you a better shot. There are a bunch of them out there, though - again, don' t tie yourself down to a caliber, because there' s plenty of good ones to choose from.

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

When you get ready to buy one, be sure to try the trigger to make sure it is clean and crisp with no creep. If you feel movement in the trigger (creep) or it feels rough, you are probably going to end up having it worked on by your gunsmith. So try to avoid that problem when you buy it. BTW, Brownings usually have very nice triggers, but try a few of the better guns to get a feel for what is a good trigger before you buy. Good luck.

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

I have a Browning Abolt SS stalker in a 270 win very nice gun to shoot, I did get some trigger work done though to bring it down to 3 lbs from the factory 7 lbs setting. Even with the heavy trigger it was crisp and shot acceptable hunting groups(I just prefer a lighter trigger and have done this on all my rifles).

I agree with the 7mm-08 as a good cartridge, the 270 would also be a good choice. I agree check out as many as you can and pick the one that feels the best to you.

Also something to keep in mind is some money for a decent scope, mounts and rings to put on top of your prize.(all to often guys spend the wad on the gun and forget about the optics part, better to think about that first and spend accordingly)

Have fun & good luck!

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

Ok, I put an Abolt in 7mm-08 on layaway at the gunshop until I can get my dad' s gun to the shop. The reason is that he wants a reddot scope on his rifle so he said that if i got a reddot with my rifle, he would trade for his Nikon Monarch 3x9. I think I got a deal on that since the scope is only 1 season old. I really love his scope. When I pull up with that scope, I don' t have to search for the crosshairs. THanks guys for helping me out and I' ll let you know how I' m shooting with it when I go sight it in later this month.

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

Good choice on the abolt and the nikon scope too.I just bought my first Browning the first of the year and really shoots good out of the box,only adjusted the triger on it.
I have a 7/08 but its in a Rem classic and it sure is a deer getter.
Let us know how yours shoots

RE: Help me pick a new rifle
 

my favorite for first time rifle would be 30-06. just cant go wrong and every store i can think of including some backwoods gas stations carry the ammo for it just in case. good for moose to african plains game. on second thought all those new short magnums look pretty good too! :D