First Hunting Rifle?

[glock56534]

I am new to the hunting world and am looking to get a new or used bolt action hunting rifle. 90% of my hunting will be whitetail in Michigan. I am debating whether to get a .270, .30-06, or a .300 win mag, and not looking to spend a ton of money on it. I have been told the Savage 110 or the Remington 700 are great guns, can anyone point me in the right direction? I have heard good things about the savage, and it is very well priced (New for $500-$600, Used for $200-$350). Please let me know.

 

[Hokkmike]

Sounds to me like you are on the right track. Not my choice of caliber (I prefer intermediate sizes) but good choice nonetheless. My brother's Savage 110 in .30-06 has been nothing but reliable.

 

[strat81]

I'd say .30-06 just because if you ever plan to reload for it, you'll have a TON of options. Ammo is relatively cheap and there's a wide variety too. The rifles you are looking at are good choices to start with.

If you go new, you can get exactly what you want. If you go used, you're at the mercy of the market. In such case, any of calibers you mentioned should be fine for whitetail.

 

[Mr White]

You definitely don't want a .300 Win Mag as your first rifle. It would be unpleasant to shoot.

a .270 or .30-06 would be plenty to kill any game animal in Michigan, including moose if you have them up there. A .270 with a 130 gr bullet will give you a flatter trajectory at longer ranges, greater energy, and will drop any deer dead in its tracks if you do your part.

Both calibers are very common and there is a wide variety of ammo loaded for either of them.

 

[Legionnaire]

Of the three cartridges you mention, the .30-06 is the most versatile. The .270 is a great deer cartridge, though. And I consider the .300 Mag overkill for whitetail. Remington 700s are great guns; same can be said of most of the Savage line. My personal preference is for Remington.

Note, though, that there are several short-action cartridges that are also fine deer rounds, including .243 Win, 7mm-08, and .308. Despite being over six feet tall, I prefer a shorter, carbine-length deer rifle for hunting the hills of Pennsylvania. I settled on a Remington Model Seven in .308; my son hunts with a Model Seven in .243. Both have taken their share of deer.

So a lot depends on the terrain you will be hunting. If taking long shots from a stand over fields, I'd favor the ballistics of the .243 or the .270, and length or weight of rifle matters less. If hiking hills and woods, I'd favor a short-action cartridge in a carbine-length rifle.

Oh, and look for a copy of the book, The Rifles, the Cartridges, and the Game, by Clay Harvey. It's out of print, I believe, but available used from Amazon.com. Excellent discussion of different cartridges for different game animals, and the various rifles available at the time of printing. Very good discussion of why one might choose one cartridge/rifle combination over another.

 

[woof]

I would also consider something in the .308 family where you can have it in a shorter action. Personally, I like the two between the .243 and the .308, namely the 7mm-08 and especially the .260 Rem which is a 6.5mm-08.

 

[countryrebel]

30-06 or 308,you probably dont want a 300win for your first gun.

 

[glockman19]

Another Vote for the Remington 700 & .30-06 combo. It's light, reliable and can take any game you'll come across in Northern America.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

30-06 or .308 so you can shoot surplus military ammo for practice and fun.

Rem 700 or Savage 110 are great chouces. To go even cheaper, check out the Stevens Model 200. Basically a Savage 110 without the Accutrigger.

http://www.gunblast.com/Stevens-200.htm

You will want to spend at least $200 on a good scope like Leupold. If you want to go cheaper on a scope, look for a used Weaver K4.

Enjoy!

 

[Bartkowski]

Like others said, I would pass on the 300 mag. its not needed and you probably won't like the recoil. Savages are fine guns but if you have the extra money I would get a Remington 700, I think they are a better gun, and they can be found used at just about anywhere that sells used guns.

 

[skinewmexico]

Bass Pro had the Stevens 200 in 270 or 30-06 for $199. Hell of a deal. And a Savage will almost always be the most accurate out of the box, although that never seems to count as much as being about to say you own a Remington.

 

[Cueball]

Consider a Savage Model 12. They are available in 308 and have the nice accutrigger.

 

[Bartkowski]

Well, considering the price I purchased my Remington's at and the groups they shoot I'd say I did pretty good. I got a 7600 shooting 3/4in groups at 100yards and a 700 shooting near that. Each of which purchased for less than a new savage, let alone the price of the ammo, case, scope, and all else included.

So when I can get accuracy, with excellent fit and finish for the same price as a gun that is just accurate, which do you think I would chose?

 

[mustanger98]

Tell you what I did... I went and got myself a NIB Savage Model 11GL (hunter series, left hand) in .243Winchester. It also has the AccuTrigger which I like as well as any other trigger I use. I was out the door for just a hair over $400. This rifle has iron sights on the barrel... that's why I selected it... and by the 3rd round fired, with one adjustment, I was bustin' clay birds on the 100yd line (100yds is all my club's range has). Sure, I mounted a scope for a while just to see how I could get it to group... sub-1" with S&B and Winchester, both loaded with 100gr SP. I have no regrets from buying this rifle.

 

[rangerruck]

I would think that up in michigan, there would be a metric ton of available, used rifles in 270. which most agree is proly the best overall deer cartridge out of a bolt rifle , ever.

 

[mustanger98]

While .270 was Jack O'Connor's pet cartridge, I don't know if I'd agree that it's the best. .30-06 has been around longer and it's had the history of both military and deer hunting. Many, many, deer have been killed with .303British fired from British/Canadian/Australian crankbolt Enfields. How many K98k Mausers came back with American GI's who wound up taking them deer hunting. How many deer have been killed with .243Win., 7mm-08, .308Win., .260Rem., and how many other cartridges in bolt action rifles? Probably too many deer to count. Sure, the .270's a great older cartridge to hunt with, but it has a lot of competition for "best". But what do I know? I hunt mostly with a .30-30... which has also been chambered in bolt actions such as Remington's 788 and Savage's 340 among others.

 

[kumma]

Will you hunt in the southern part of the state? If so how about a Omega muzzleloader, or an 870 slug gun? A friend got a New 7mm-08 savage combo, it shoots great as is, well worth the 400 bucks, but his limited vacation time wont let him head up north to use it so he picked up an 870. Check out http://www.migunowners.org/ has classified ads. Williams gun sight has lots of used rifles listed on the site.

Lots of good advice, check out ammo prices, if your cheap like me you want to shoot more for less, thus my choice of a .308.