TheArcane

While I own a handgun and am more familiar with it, I am fairly new to guns in general. I've only been shooting for a year or so, and have minimal experience with rifles. I have shot a couple .22s as well as several WWII era rifles that a friend of mine has. Of those, I seemed to have the most success with the SKS. I really want to focus on marksmanship more than anything, and I do know that I'm not interested in a .22. I want something that I could someday learn to deer hunt with, if I choose to go down that path.

I tried to look on several manufacturer websites such as Remington and Ruger, but am more overwhelmed than anything by the terminology I don't understand at this point. So if I could either get some suggestions on some good Rifles to start with, or some things that I should be looking for in the specs, that would be incredibly helpful. As far as my budget goes I would like to stay at least below $1,000.

Thank you for your time

Biggjimm

While I have several rifles & like certain aspects of each one probly my favorite & the one Ive been concentrating on lately is my Thompson Center Encore. With just a couple minor modifications they are real tack drivers & the fact that you can get just about any caliber handgun or rifle barrel for them & muzzleloading & shotgun barrels as well. As long as a single shot action is sufficient for you. I have a couple diff barrels for mine & am anticipating getting a couple more. Next on the list is .460 S&W barrel that will also fire the .454 Casull & the less expensive .45 colt for punching holes in paper & plinking tin cans & the like. I love mine & you can switch barrels & switch from the long gun to handgun grips in a matter of minutes. Whatever you decide on make sure you do some research & spend some times on sites like this one & find out all the info you can before turning loose of that $1000. Good luck.

Shoobee

The .243s are the smallest of the popular deer hunting rifles, and the .308 is the next larger and stronger size after it. In a modern version of the 1903 Springfield bolt action rifle design, named the Winchester model 70 or the Remington model 700, you get the greatest accuracy and safety out of these designs.

Mounting a scope on them adds significantly to your accuracy.

These are the most comfortable "high power" hunting rifles to shoot. The pain in your shoulder increases successively as you then move up the ladder to .270, .30-06, and then onto the magnum rifles.

Mossberg has great prices.

Sheridan

Take a look at these, but I might recommend a .243 (rather than a .270) if you want lighter recoil as a "new" shooter.

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=117270


http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=117249


http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=113410


http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=87768


http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=99595


http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=90826


http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=86358


http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=86703



Note: Spend most of your $1,000 on a "good" scope !

bronko22000

Man, that is like saying you're going to start driving soon and asking what car you should buy. Really. There are so many options to choose from. Different actions, chamberings. And with your $1000 budget that leaves you open to a lot of options. I suggest you go to the gun shops, expecially those with a lot of used gun and check them out. See what ones suit your fancy. Honestly you can't go wrong with a good bolt action rifle. And like the previous post, a .243 is what I would consider minimum for deer. But if you would consider going for bigger game like elk you need something with a bit more potency. The old 30-06 is a very versatile chambering. But not something you want to shoot often. Most shooting authorities say it's recoil is about as much as the average hunter can tolerate. But there are those of us who have been around rilfes for a long time and recoil doesn't bother us.

bigge_al

You have a few you have said Remington, Marlin, Browning, and Ruger even Savage these are just a few. Depending on the animal you plan to hunt determines caliber. Deer do not need larger caliber compared to a Moose which needs a large caliber. If you plan to hunt whitetail .243 or .270. If you plan on larger game I would look at .300 but the higher the caliber larger the kick as previously statement. I like 30-06 because it gives me a wide range of animals I can hunt from deer to elk.
Try local pawnshops for a rifle for around 500 you could pick up a nice gun.
A second thing to consider is the optics I like Leopold, Redfield, or Burris. I would stay away from Walmart scopes like Tasco or Bushnell. You need to consider range you plan to shoot the closer the target the lower power scope you need 3x9 would be a good start with a 40+objective the larger the objective the better the light gathering.

I also agree that a bolt action would be my first choice for accuracy, my second would be pump, then lever and last would be semi but that is just my order.

montanatburg

I would recommend the remington 700 model .270 cal. in the 180gr bullet, you can hunt deer and elk with it, it has recoil but not bad. you can find a new one for about $400 to $600 w/ scope. bullets run about $20 to $30 a box.

TheArcane

I appreciate all your suggestions, and I will start researching all of them. As far as the recoil goes I really don't mind a lot of recoil.

Shoobee

The less recoil, the more you will enjoy shooting your rifle and practicing with it.

There is no reason to have more recoil than you absolutely need for the size of animals that you want to hunt and at the distances that your shots are likely to be.

Big Z

This would be a good site to start your research... with the search function. There have been many threads people have inquired on what rifle make/model, and what caliber would be a good rifle for this or that. Please be more specific on what you are looking to do. "Practicing marksmanship" with a side order of "Could hunt deer with" leaves you with a lot left to break down, and not much for us to work with.

When you say that the terminology overwhelms you, what terms are you confused about?