Graduating High School Rifle Present?

I bought my first rifle and shotgun this last January just after turning 16. I had hunted exclusively with Remingtons so an 870 and a 700 were the obvious picks. I found a used Remington 700 ADL Stainless/Synthetic in .30-06 and had my dad fill out the paperwork. I'm 6'2" and 190, and the recoil doesn't bother me. Even though I struck out this fall for deer and bear, we got hogs year round. .30-06 has been one of the best hunting rounds for N. America for the last 100+ years. I would say find a nice Remington 700 BDL or Winchester 70 Featherweight in .30-06. A clean, older rifle should be in your price range and your son will love it. Put a Leupold 3-9x40 on it and he will be set!
CApighunter

New Remington QC SUCKS! If you want a good 700 you either have to buy the high dollar ones or get an old one. I won't waste another cent on them, my last three were all defective.

Two thoughts

Nobody has mentioned Browning xbolt. Upper part of your price range. Michigan weather, think composite stock. They also come in wood stock.

Other thought is Thompson center Venture. Costs less than the xbolt and I believe made in the USA. Very accurate rifles. Can spend more money on optics.

Caliber? Recoil is over rated. Think about a 7mm-08. If you want more fps then think .270 win. Great deer rounds both. Granted, not as versatile as an 06, but the 7mm-08 will be a true pleasure to shoot for a guy his size.

If it was me i would stick with a 308 or 7mm-08 in savage model 14 or rem 700 but realy i dont think you can go wrong with any of the current bolt actions on the market win,ruger,tikka,howa they are all well built and if taken care of will last long time.most important is get a rifle that fits him well and doesnt cost a fortune to shoot so he can get lots of practice.I think i would lean toward 308 due to ammo cost and availability plus it has pretty moderate recoil

35Remfan,

Save up for the gift, but before making a choice & purchase, talk to your boy and ask him what he would like.

My Dad got me a Mossberg 500A 12ga pump shotgun for my High School Graduation 42 years ago. No, he did not ask me, but he already knew exactly what I would like because I was doing a LOT of bird hunting at the time (quail & dove) and all that I had to use was the old boltaction .410 that his Granddad gave to him back in the '30s.

I still have the Mossberg, btw.

A gun

yeah, A GUN. An 18 yo kid will be happy with A GUN. How do I know? I was an 18 yo kid once.

A Black gun would be COOL. He could show it off, brag how cool his old man is...
A Wood gun would be COOL. He could show it off, brag how cool his old man is...

He better be iron-clad in his gun handling safety procedures when he shows his new gun to his friends.

i'd buy a NOS rem 700 stainless KS. maybe go 7mag if you cant find it in 30-06.

My honest opinion is go Savage. They're the most accurate out of the box and don't have all the QC issues that have plagued other brands over the years. Savage stocks aren't the nicest to begin with, but with the money you save you could rectify that with a nice aftermarket stock or have the original stock stippled.

As for the caliber, you probably shouldn't go overkill here. I'd say .300 Win Mag should be the absolute max. Let's be honest: that will take anything in North America, easily, with power to spare. So will .30-06. For his enjoyment, .30-06 should probably be the chosen caliber. That way it won't be "That big rifle my dad gave me that I never shoot because it hurts too much and is too expensive to feed."

For the scope, Nikon is an excellent affordable choice. You can always spend more money on glass, but past a certain point you get diminishing returns. Nikon is generally a good stopping point on the cost / benefit curve.

If the teenager wants a rifle for a graduation gift, he wants a black rifle.

There are exactly ZERO teenage fledgling gun enthusiasts that want to start their collection with guns that look like something out of the 60's, no matter how much dad or granpa thinks its the cat's pajamas.

Click to expand...

I may have been the one exception to that. As a kid I drooled over the cap and ball revolvers and Kentucky rifles in the Cabelas catalog. As a teen I wanted a Winchester 73 and a SAA. I hated black rifles. I've since obtained one but I think a first rifle should be a classic.

A Winchester 94 would be a nice choice and you can hardly go wrong with a classic bolt gun in 308. Tell your son that you intend for him to pass this rifle down to his kids someday and then let him decide.

My father bought me a new Winchester 70 in 7mm Rem. Mag. for my high school graduation. My advice to you is to spend all your money on the gun and let him buy a scope later. My dad bought a Simmons Aetec to put on mine, and while I never look a gift horse in the mouth, I would have rather had him spend that extra $200 on a walnut Sporter, or a Classic action gun (mine is a synthetic push-feed).
Then I could have put a nice Leupold with my graduation money.

I would think about getting a lower Sako/Tikka T3 Hunter, a Win. 70 Sporter, a 700 CDL, T/C Icon, ect. Something above the entry level rifles.