Beginner Look for the right rifle.

[5tbarry]

I'm new to this forum so please excuse any rookie mistakes I make. I'm not a very experienced hunter and am looking to buy my first personal hunting rifle. I would also like to be able to put a reasonable amount of rounds through the rifle in a day at the range without it costing me a fortune. I know I need to keep improving and don't consider myself by any means an excellent shot yet. I am a college student and don't need something breaking my budget. I will be hunting mostly in Alabama so deer is the main and about the biggest animal I need to focus on. I have a list of four rifles that aren't too similar to one another. I've been looking at the FN FNAR, the Browning BAR (mainly safari with the BOSS system), the Benelli R1, and the M1A. I have looked at different calibers from .308 to .338 win mag. A bigger bullet is always tempting but the .338 win mag seems pretty expensive to shoot at the range enough to improve as a shooter. I have shouldered them and thought the Benelli was by far the most comfortable off the shelf with the gel pads. I stubbled on the FNAR Match and I was sold up till the point where the next thread I read on it said it was discontinued. Shame.

Anyways I know it's not narrowed down too far but if you can point me to a good caliber that isn't budget breaking or one of these rifles I would greatly appreciate it. My budget is around $1500 for the rifle thanks to some Christmas cash. Hopefully I'll be able to learn a lot from y'all on here. Thanks

 

[Nwflycaster]

If you are hunting mostly for deer why do you want to go for such a large caliber? I would suggest you look into a .270 caliber rifle. You could pick up a new rifle and good optics and still have enough left to buy some reloading equipment. You can find some second hand presses in great condition at very reasonable prices then save your brass from factory loads or buy a small amount of new plus other components and have at it. I would strongly suggest you also purchase a reloading manual if you do reload, they are invaluble for safety reasons as well as reloading load info.

 

[jim243]

How big a hole do you want to put in the animal. (LOL). Or how big an animal do you want to shoot?

Jim


By the way welcome to THR.

 

[Paladin38-40]

Bigger is not necessarily better

Deer are not difficult to drop. You need good shot placement and proper bullet selection with anything from .243 Winchester up. I have taken several Alabama whitetails with a .243 and 100 grain Sierra bullets. All but one was bang-flop. The one exception bolted, went about 50 feet and piled up.

Of the calibers you mention my suggestion is .308 Winchester, and reload your ammo so you can practice pleasantly and affordably.

 

[SleazyRider]

Amen to the .270! And I'd have a good hard look at the Ruger American, which can hold its own with the best of them for hunting. And with the money you'd save, buy a second rifle for target shooting---a bolt action .22LR caliber, perhaps a Savage or CZ. You'd have your cake and eat it too!

And a big welcome to the forum!

 

[almherdfan]

$300 for a 30-30. $200-scope. $1000 for whatever else strikes your fancy.

 

[Manny]

If your primary desire is for a hunting rifle the BAR would be my choice hands down as it is the most traditionaly "sporting rifle" of the bunch and I've heard counless positive reviews for them over the years.
As to caliber, myself, I'd do as the poster above recomended and get it in .270. For Alabama deer it'd be a match made in heaven, and if bigger game is on the menu a good stoutly constructed 150 gr bullet load such as a partition will harvest anything in the lower 48. If you're determined for a .30cal or bigger the venerable .30-06 would be hard to beat. I'd stay away from .308 as ammo for that is likely to be harder to come by for some time due to the new push for another AWB and the resultant panic buying. As great and versitile a caliber as the .338 WM is, it is far more powerful than you'd have need for unless you plan to hunt Alaska or similar.

 

[R H Clark]

Welcome!
I would not choose any of thoes rifles.None are optimum for hunting in Alabama or anywhere else IMHO.The Benelli is a possibility but not considered accurate by a lot of folks.Plenty accurate for hunting but just not the best choice.

You can certinly get a nice hunting rifle and scope for your $1500.You need to spend around $400 min for a good scope,although there are a couple decent scopes under that.

You have no need for any 338 in Alabama or anywhere else in the USA unless you are after brown bears. Anything from 243-7mmRM is a great choice.

For under $400 the Ruger American would be a good choice,as would a Model 700 Remington or model 70 Winchester or Tikka.If you have $2000 for scope and rifle you can pick up a Sako or Cooper.

Personally,for a decent rifle and scope to hunt Alabama deer on a budget I would get a Ruger American 243 and a Leupold VX3 2.5-8X36 and some ammo.

If you are close to NW Alabama PM me and I would be happy to meet you at a range and let you handle and shoot a few different rifles.

 

[adelbridge]

remington 7400 or 750 in 30-06

 

[soloban]

Go to Anniston and buy an M1. .30-06 will drop any whitetail in AL.

Google "Civilian Marksmanship Program". For just over $500 you can own a piece of history, and powerful semi auto.

 

[Abel]

Get the BAR Safari with no BOSS in 243 Win or 270 Win. Add a Redfield Revolution 3-9x40mm. The BOSS is just so darned fugly.

But with that budget, I'd go with a Winchester Featherweight M70 and a Leupold VX-3 3.5-10x40mm.

 

[Robert]

Winchester M70 in 30-06.

 

[5tbarry]

That caliber range is just what the friends I have talked to like to shoot. I guess they might like a little bit more of a jolt than is necessary. I'm starting to look at some lower calibers and some bolt actions. I've always just been a little bit more drawn to semi- autos. I guess for some of the fun factor that comes with them. If y'all have any more thoughts let me know.

Thanks

 

[Savage99]

Were doomed!

A new hunter posts and all he wants is an automatic military rifle.

He likes the .338 WM.

Good grief.

Were doomed.

Really.

All they think about is guns to shoot at people with. Where did this get started.

Never mind. I give up.

 

[urbaneruralite]

Bolt-actions are much easier to live with in the woods. .308 is the cartridge of choice if you need to consider practice ammo cost. For your purpose the scope and mounts are the most important part. A Ruger .308 bolt action with a Zeiss 3-9x40 would be a good solid rig with money left over. Rugers come with good rings. Just have them checked and maybe lapped when you have the scope mounted.

 

[5tbarry]

I don't intend to shoot anyone. But my preference towards semi-automatic rifles is probably due to the fact that that is what I grew up around as an army brat. And out of those 4 guns only one is anywhere close to an automatic military rifle. As for the .338 WM I can't say you're wrong but I'd also rather have a gun I can improve with.

 

[Big20]

I suggest the 270 Win. also. The TIkka is excellent as is the new Ruger American. WIth your funds the Browning A-Bolt would be excellent. Still want a semiauto? Look at the ARs. In 7-08 or 260.

 

[soloban]

Double tap.....delete me

 

[MachIVshooter]

My budget is around $1500 for the rifle thanks to some Christmas cash.

With the rifles you mentioned, that'll barely cover tax (if that much), leaving nothing for glass, sling, ammo, etc.

I don't know how it is in AL, but generally, hunting requires much more than just a rifle in terms of gear. If you have others that can keep you in business with the camp gear, then you just need personal gear, which can still get expensive.

Unless you're absolutely dead set on an autoloader, I'd suggest getting into the game with a nice used bolt rifle and a decent scope, and spending the rest on things like a pack, boots, binoculars, rangefinder, etc. Bolt rifles are the most popular rig for good reason: They're accurate, they're reliable, and they're light weight. After a season or two humping around an M1A, you'll be eyeing that 7 pound Remington 700 or Browning A-Bolt pretty hard.

And you most certainly do not need a .338 mag for white tail deer! If you never intend to hunt larger game, the .243 is easy on the shoulder and the pocket book. If a rocky mountain Elk hunt may be in the future, consider longer range and higher powered rounds, starting with the .25-06 and including .270, .280, 7mm Rem Mag and .30-06. You do not need more than those in the lower 48 unless you hunt where really long cross canyon shots are likely.

I do most of my hunting (pronghorn, mule deer, cow elk) with a Remington 700 in .25-06 topped with a Leupold VX-III 4.5-14x. The only time my 8mm mag goes is if I'm after bull elk or moose.

 

[Deer_Freak]

I would try to find a 30/06. You will be better off to buy a used rifle for your first rifle. Rifles are a lot like women, what you think you need is not what you need. Unless you hunt with dogs you likely won't need a semi auto. You also need to check your game laws. The best rifle might be a shotgun.

 

[reggie_love]

If you're new to shooting I would recommend starting with a bolt-action .22

You want to build skills and good habits, and learn to make your shots count. Think of it this way: you wouldn't learn to fly in an F/A-22 Raptor, you'd start with a training plane first. With a .22 you can practice all you want because ammo is extremely cheap, and you won't be overwhelmed by the recoil.

For hunting I would recommend a bolt-action rifle as well. In my experience, Savage makes really accurate rifles with low price tags. I would buy one of these (maybe Model 10 or 110), and a .22 (for additional practice), and use the money left over to buy a decent scope and a sling.

Those semi-autos you mentioned sound cool, but they're not going to be the right tool for the job if the job is hunting. They're also going to eviscerate your budget, especially now that the gun market is in chicken-little mode. You won't have money for ammo, let alone scopes and other related gear. Don't take me to be a fudd: I love my ARs and the M1A is a gorgeous rifle, but you can barely afford those pieces and you're probably not going to have a good time if you blow your money on them (especially being new to shooting).

As for .338 Lapua Mag, that's for extremely long range shooting (think 1000 yards). You're probably better off with a .308 (or one of the popular hunting calibers like .270win, I don't know much about those) for any purpose you will encounter hunting or on most ranges. The ammo costs are out of hand; I had a rifle in .338 but I sold it because it turns out it was actually chambered in 5 dollar bills! You can forget practicing at those costs.

Tl;dr: Get a bolt-action Savage in .308 and a bolt-action .22, use the rest of your budget on scopes/slings/gear. You will have a better time shooting, you will be better at shooting, and you'll get the most value for your money. Get one of those high-end service rifles you wanted when you have more cash and more experience (maybe ask your folks as a graduation present? ). If you can afford it, maybe you should snatch one up before any ban hits, but given your budget I don't think that's a possibility.

 

[joeschmoe]

Spend 1/2 on glass, half on rifle. .308 bolt will fill your needs for hunting and "other" needs just fine. Seko, Tikka, Ruger, etc.

 

[xmanpike]

GLASS. If you really are going to spend time punching paper with this rifle, plan on spending a good amount on glass. I highly recommend Sightron Big Sky Series. They currently have a $100 rebate on a lot of their scopes as well. You can get the SBII3942 right now at a great price and it would be fine for both hunting and target shooting.

As for the rifle.....I absolutely love my Rem 700 BDL .270. That being said, there are a load of rifle that are guaranteed to shoot 3 bullets under an inch at 100yds. My personal recommendation would be to go for a Tikka T3 in the hunter or lite depending on whether you want synthetic or wood. and I agree with the multiple recommendations of a .270. Flat shooting bullet that will kill deer, hogs, coyotes, etc. with 130 gr bullets and if loaded up with 150's is capable of taking elk with good shot placement and a good bullet.

With the set up I recommended, you can expect to spend $600-700 on the rifle, it comes with rings, $300 for the scope, and spend the rest on ammo or reloading equipment.

 

[gdcpony]

$1500 and new shooter wanting to hunt deer?

First, get a cheap .22lr for your practice with a cheap scope. You might score this combo for around $200. Shooting will be dirt cheap and you'll improve your shooting vastly. I use my .22's to train Marines who have trouble shooting and they all come back experts (so far).

Next look towards the Savage Axis or an equivalent. My oldest's cost us $330 with a scope on it. It shoots around 1.5" @100yds so it isn't a bad rifle. The Savage can be had in allot of chamberings from .223Rem, .243Win, .308Win, and a couple others. I am sure other companies put out similar rifles.

You are about $600 into it and have two rifles.

Now, go look at reloading gear. I am reasonably sure you can get started for around $200 including components for your first batch.

$800 down.

Get a shotgun. I like 20ga, but any works. My expensive H&R Ultra Thumbhole was $500 all set up and is called the "meat bringer" by my family. I often leave rifles at home and just bring it. A better option for you though would be a pump gun that can be picked up for under $300.

$1100 down.

Save the rest for hunting items with your three guns. Or if you have everything else (camo, stand if wanted, etc.), save it for a bow, handgun, or what ever else you may want to hunt with in the future.

Have fun and pleasant hunting.