Cheapo Hunting rifle for Newbie

[Rock45]

Greetings, All! I am considering buying a rifle for my Stepson who is interested in deer hunting with his buddies in northern West Virginia. He has been showing a lot of interest and has gone with them several times this year, but not being a hunter I really don't know what to buy. I would like to get some ideas on starter level rifles, I'm thinking .270, and what I could expect to pay for a good used one.

Thanks in advance for your help.

By the way, I know I can go to WallyWorld and pick up a NIB Remmy or Mossy cheap, I was looking for insight on a good used model...what to avoid, look for, etc.

Bryan

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The new Mossberg and Stevens rifles are good value. In my opinion, the nod goes to the Stevens. You can also special-order rifles through Wal Mart -- go to their website and check.

In used rifles, any big name -- Winchester, Remington, Savage, would be a good buy. Look for a gun that's clean, but not necessarily pristine -- a gun with a bit of wear tells you it was used, and it probably works.

 

[countertop]

For Northern West Virginia - I assume you mean in the Allegheny Mountains and Monohegla National Forest Area - there is lots of thick woods and long and tough hikes.

Gorgeous place and perfect for a lever action.

I'd say get him a Marlin 336 but you could also look at Winchester's too.

 

[dakotasin]

first... what kind of experience does your boy have w/ rifles? is he recoil sensitive? what kind of terrain are we talking about hunting, here?

i used to think the mossberg was a great value in new rifles, but i keep seeing negative reports on it like the one in the link. definitely a caveat emptor situation: http://www.handloadersbench.com/forum16/1413.html

the rifle doesn't matter so much as long as you stick w/ known quantities like remington, winchester, marlin, ruger, winchester... what does matter is sighting options.

a marlin 336 is a fantastic choice for thick-n'-nasty hunting. if you are going to scope the rifle, then brand of glass does matter, and if you go w/ a bolt action gun, you kind of need to scope it.

good used bolt guns are going to run $325 on up, and things like scopes can add significantly to the price. a good used marlin 336 is going to be in the $250 range.

what to look for: check out the crown of the rifle. a magnifying glass helps, but not necessary. there is a small radius at the bore. check that radius out to make sure it is smooth - no nicks or burrs. if you find one w/ a damaged crown, use that as a negotiating tool - to have a 'smith re-crown a barrel will cost about $50.
look at the face of the bolt. there will likely be some discoloration, even grooves in it, and that is ok. it is not ok if it is heavily pitted.
work the action and make sure there are no hang ups. if it doesn't operate smoothly in the store w/ no ammo, then it surely will cause headaches while trying to feed ammo.
the bluing at the end of the barrel can give an indication about how much the gun has been fired. not that it is a big deal, but just so somebody tells you the gun was never fired, or only fired 50 times or whatever. if the bluing is mostly gone at the muzzle end, it has been fired a lot. like i said, not a big deal, but sort of a 'lie detector'.

the 270 is a good cartridge, but it does have a lot of recoil to kids. i didn't see anything about age, or size of your boy, but also consider (in order of increasing recoil): 260, 7-08, 25-06. the 308, 30-06, and 270 are good ones too, but you may run into recoil issues for a new shooter.

 

[Bloodnut]

NEF in .243 (~$200 NIB plus scope) or Marlin 336 in .30-.30

In my experience most deer are taken at less than 100 yards - both of these rifles will do just fine (even beyond that range) while inspiring confidence in a new hunter that their firearm is not going to clobber them with recoil.

This has been my experience - YMMV.

 

[Bigreno]

+1 on the New England Firearms rifle. Especially in .243 cal.

I like single shot rifles with exposed hammers for beginners. You can tell at a glance if it's ready to fire or not and it can be carried broken open for added safety moving to and from the hunting area.

Without knowing the age/size of the child, I would say .243 would be an excellent cartridge for a beginner. Potent enough to take deer and has very managable recoil.

H&R New England Firearms Homepage Link

 

[Rock45]

Thanks for all the response...I should have been more explicit. The youngun' is 21 years old, third year of college, plays strong safety for West Liberty in the northern panhandle near Wheeling. He has shot several rifles that belong to friends and has stated that he is comfortable with the 270. I've had him to the range a few times and he seemed undaunted by the .45 acp and the .357 magnum...and would shoot the AR-15 all day if I would let him. Recoil is probably not an issue.

I looked at several of the new rifles today, and was very impressed with the Stevens rifle, scoped for less than $320.

Thanks again for the help, any more thoughts just lay em on me.

Bryan

 

[killzone]

Whatherby vengard package

Why buy it used when you can get it new and good quality
Whatherby Vengard package comes with a scope and case.
You would end up paying that much at the end anyway. I think its about 550 for the whole thing. Check out http://www.weatherby.com

 

[Bloodnut]

The NEF is available in calibers up to 30.06. I will stand by my original post, however, in saying the .243 or .30.30 will do the job in most instances. The fact that these two calibers are relatively mild in recoil is simply a bonus. I have come full circle after 20+ years of hunting, back to my .30.30 that I started with. I have a beautiful BAR in 30.06 which is a wonderful shooter, but it's simply more rifle than I care to tote most days. If most shots will be under 150 yards, then these calibers/rifles will do the job without tearing the waller off your a$$. But again, you can get the NEF in more powerful calibers. My .243 is a tack driver. Good luck.

 

[stolivar]

sold all of my NEF and bought stevens and Savages

Nuf said.


steve

 

[22-rimfire]

I would hit a gun show or two and get a Remington Model 700 in 270 (270, 308, 30-06). I like the new walnut stocked Savage Model 114 American Classic. Beautiful rifle! You are unlikely to find one used though as they have been just introduced. There are composite stock versions also. Also, the rifle does not have open sights, so a scope would be in order. This rifle actually has me interested in buying another "deer rifle" when I don't need another one.

 

[DigMe]

I'm not shopping for a rifle currently but I like the looks of that NEF single. May have to put that on my list.

brad cook

 

[charby]

I would say get a 30-06. It is a damn good all around utilitarian round, just about take every mammal safely and humanely in North American with it. Lots of factory loaded ammo available for it and can find 30-06 rounds just about everywhere ammunition is sold.

Charby

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I would say get a 30-06. It is a damn good all around utilitarian round, just about take every mammal safely and humanely in North American with it. Lots of factory loaded ammo available for it and can find 30-06 rounds just about everywhere ammunition is sold.

Charby

As the late, great Townsend Whelen used to say, "The .30-06 is never a mistake."

 

[ScreamnEagle]

You can't beat a Savage for out of the box accuracy. The new onea have a free floating barrel, acu-trigger, and are piller bedded*, they have a package gun with a scope (Simmons 8-Point,3-9X40) already bounted and bore sighted for $339.00. Scope is kinda cheesey but is enought for the gun. I have it in a 22-250, most accurate out of the box gun i have ever owned. get a good scope and you will be driving nails with it at 200-300 yards easly.

Is in vertually every popular cal.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

I think it would be difficult to beat the new Mossberg ATR in 30-06. $244 at Wal-Mart.

I'd lean toward 30-06 over .270 unless one of you is into reloading. With 30-06, you can get less expensive surplus ammo for practice/fun shooting.

The Savage package mentioned above seems like a great choice as well. I used a cheap Tasco scope successfully for quite a while.

 

[Dale Taylor]

Dakotasin gives a good review, but leaves out the 6.5x55 Mod 96 swedish Mauses. Very light recoil, and can down any deer or hog. [email protected]

 

[ReadyontheRight]

I missed that review of the Mossberg above. Thanks for the heads-up! Pretty scarey if the gun goes off when disengaging the safety.

Swedish Mauser is another great idea. Classy gun and you might still be able to find one around $250.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Swedish Mauser is another great idea. Classy gun and you might still be able to find one around $250.

When Kimber was re-structuring, they got hold of a bunch of them and sporterized them. I have one that cost about $150, and I thank my stars I had sense enough to get that rifle when the getting was good.

 

[Rock45]

Thanks to all for the great input...the more info I have the less likely I am to regret it later!

Bryan

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

The Bass Pro Shop near me (Grapevine Texas) has Savage/Steven Model 200's on sale for $199, in .270 or .30-06 only.

If there's one near you, and they have a similar offer, you're not going to get a good rifle any cheaper than that.

 

[MCgunner]

When I was ten years old, I started hunting with my grandpa's .257 Roberts. I don't think, nor did my grandpa think, I could have handled a .30-06. I shot well with that Roberts. The Roberts is pretty well history (except for mine!), but .243 is still a great caliber for a kid on whitetail. Nothing wrong with a lever gun in .30-30. LOTS and LOTS of kids started with one.

 

[stevelyn]

While growing up in WV, .30-30s served me and my buds well.

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

Pay particular attention with used semiautos like the Remington 742, take a close look inside the chamber for pitting from rust. This is due to neglect from not cleaning the chamber. When the round gets fired the brass cartridge will swell and fill into the pits causing the round to get stuck and not extract at all.
Again pay attention to the bore of any rifle that you look at. Is it rusting closer to the muzzle? That's because the Hunter has probably been out walking all day with it slung on his shoulder allowing the rain to gain entrance into the muzzle and never gave it a second thought to swab the water out and lightly oil it down for the next hunting trip probably the next year.
Older military rifles shot corrosive ammunition so pay attention to riflings there.
Good luck if you go for a used rifle. I prefer Winchester 30.30

 

[Matt G]

Older military rifles shot corrosive ammunition so pay attention to riflings there.

That's a fact. I was reaching for my wallet while looking at a virtually perfect No. 1 Mk IV SMLE at a gun show for under $100 a few years back, when I had the good sense to pull the bolt and check the bore. Not just black; pitted and black. Sure it could be rebarreled, but that was going to be someone else's project. If it had had a shiny bore, I would have had a nice knock-around hunting rifle, in military configuration.