MmmDieselFumes
Member
Howdy yall. Been a long-time lurker, first time posters.
I've found myself with about $100 in Academy (a local sports & outdoors store, which sells firearms) gift-cards from Christmas, and so I thought I'd treat myself to a nice post-Christmas gift, since the GF got me a nice watch instead of something truly useful
(but don't tell her that). Anyhow, I've gotten myself into a bit of a stink about what kind of new rifle I want to pick up.
A bit about my hunting life:
I live in South-Central Texas and do a lot of deer hunting, with the odd exotic every once in a while. I go hog hunting pretty often, though varmints (ringtails, coons, squirrels, yotes, neighbor's cats, etc) are statistically what gives up the ghost most often when the trigger gets squeezed. I do quite a bit of plinking, though it's usually just the sparrow-game, or random plinking, but I always use the .22lr's for that. The places that I hunt offer no more than ~500yrd shots, other than one property's 900yrd field which never has much traffic, so we use it only for the rare friendly competition when someone wants to see who's hands shake less.
Shooting style:
Definitely not a spray-n-pray'er; I prefer the longer shots requiring accuracy over squirting mass volumes of lead. I haven't ever burnt out a barrel before (usually upgrade my rifles LONG before I ever have a chance to; most of my guns haven't gotten to 1000+rds, besides my AR's). I do not rely on "stopping power"; have always stressed shot placement (friends call me the HSK, head-shot-king. Though I'm quite adept at hitting other vitals). One-shot-one-kill has always been my modus operandi. Even though I prefer smaller, fast, flat-shooting rounds, high-caliber heavy recoil doesn't bother me in the slightest. I'll shoot a 50BMG with the same gusto as I'll shoot a 7.62.
Stock preference:
If it's wood, I generally like to refinish them myself to something pretty (I can't afford those guns that come new with a hand-rubbed oiled stock of flamed walnut, so I usually have to do it myself lol). Synthetic doesn't bother me in the slightest, since my guns do see some hard treatment (never found any joy in benchrest shooting, other than zeroing in), and lightweight is nice for when I'm out prowling about and shooting offhand-nonsupported.
Tinkering:
Definitely no stranger to R&R'ing guns. I love refinishing or installing altogether different stocks, doing trigger jobs, and making upgrades in general. I wouldn't mind building my own from scratch, but I'm not going to invest in all the other specialty tools I'd need (I have all the tools to build ARs, but that's where I cut myself off). Basically I prefer guns that have an aftermarket (unlike my Savage AXIS, which is a superb cheap MOA rifle, there's just nothing you can do with it besides doing a trigger job or replacing it with a basix/timney).
Debates:
I believe in frugality, but also love to try something new. Which means I don't necessarily mind buying a new caliber, so long as it's not inherently expensive (ie, I shoot a lot and HATE spending more than $25/box-of-20), though I definitely don't mind picking up a new gun in a caliber I already have another gun in.
I do not reload/handload (I know... No need to even bother preaching to me. Some day I'll do the smart thing), so the idea of sharing common ammunition between a variety of guns is very appealing to me (I currently use 17hmr, 22lr/mag, 223/5.56, 270, & 30-06 between about 15 different guns).
A quick note to the magnum-itus/30cal+ only crowd (not hating, just never had a legitimate need for one) to take out a hog, deer, or the like, you need not make that recommendation to me. I take game and varmint all the time with relatively small, fast, flat-shooting calibers. I tend to think I have the opposite of magnum-itus; I like taking out the critters with a single shot from a smaller caliber to highlight what accuracy, velocity, and shot-placement can do. At the appropriate range respective of caliber of course. I haven't met a bigger-game quadruped I couldn't take out with my 270 up to 500yrds yet. Though if Texas had bear or moose, I might then see the need for it.
Anyhow, some of the guns I've been debating with has been the Rem 700 ADL, T/C Venture, Howa Lightning, Tika T3 Lite, & Ruger M77. And no idea on what caliber I want just yet (if anyone wants to venture a caliber I might like, or tell me to keep up with the ammo-sharing method, feel free! Same for gun recommendations).
I was initially leaning towards the 700 in .308 because of their huge aftermarket and it'd be interesting to see how the .308 hangs with the rest of my calibers (besides being relatively cheap). But, I've heard the build quality of the 700 has gone down the toilet recently, and getting a gun that'll do 3" groups out of the box is hard. So now I'm thinking maybe not. If Savage can make the AXIS a MOA for $300 (reliably. I mean, mine does sub-MOA) out of box, I don't see why the legendary 700 should preform any less for more money. So now, I'm entirely open to suggestions.
Anyhow, sorry for rambling on and writing a novel. Just wanted to answer any questions I could think of before hand for anyone who's interested to read it. I guess I can sum it up quickly here:
Which Gun?:
~$500ish
Bolt-Action
No stock preference
Has an Aftermark
Weigh in:
Get a caliber I already have, or try something fun and new?
If new caliber, what's good and "cheap"? (220 swift, 22-250, 25-06, etc.)
Thanks a lot yall!
I've found myself with about $100 in Academy (a local sports & outdoors store, which sells firearms) gift-cards from Christmas, and so I thought I'd treat myself to a nice post-Christmas gift, since the GF got me a nice watch instead of something truly useful
(but don't tell her that). Anyhow, I've gotten myself into a bit of a stink about what kind of new rifle I want to pick up.A bit about my hunting life:
I live in South-Central Texas and do a lot of deer hunting, with the odd exotic every once in a while. I go hog hunting pretty often, though varmints (ringtails, coons, squirrels, yotes, neighbor's cats, etc) are statistically what gives up the ghost most often when the trigger gets squeezed. I do quite a bit of plinking, though it's usually just the sparrow-game, or random plinking, but I always use the .22lr's for that. The places that I hunt offer no more than ~500yrd shots, other than one property's 900yrd field which never has much traffic, so we use it only for the rare friendly competition when someone wants to see who's hands shake less.
Shooting style:
Definitely not a spray-n-pray'er; I prefer the longer shots requiring accuracy over squirting mass volumes of lead. I haven't ever burnt out a barrel before (usually upgrade my rifles LONG before I ever have a chance to; most of my guns haven't gotten to 1000+rds, besides my AR's). I do not rely on "stopping power"; have always stressed shot placement (friends call me the HSK, head-shot-king. Though I'm quite adept at hitting other vitals). One-shot-one-kill has always been my modus operandi. Even though I prefer smaller, fast, flat-shooting rounds, high-caliber heavy recoil doesn't bother me in the slightest. I'll shoot a 50BMG with the same gusto as I'll shoot a 7.62.
Stock preference:
If it's wood, I generally like to refinish them myself to something pretty (I can't afford those guns that come new with a hand-rubbed oiled stock of flamed walnut, so I usually have to do it myself lol). Synthetic doesn't bother me in the slightest, since my guns do see some hard treatment (never found any joy in benchrest shooting, other than zeroing in), and lightweight is nice for when I'm out prowling about and shooting offhand-nonsupported.
Tinkering:
Definitely no stranger to R&R'ing guns. I love refinishing or installing altogether different stocks, doing trigger jobs, and making upgrades in general. I wouldn't mind building my own from scratch, but I'm not going to invest in all the other specialty tools I'd need (I have all the tools to build ARs, but that's where I cut myself off). Basically I prefer guns that have an aftermarket (unlike my Savage AXIS, which is a superb cheap MOA rifle, there's just nothing you can do with it besides doing a trigger job or replacing it with a basix/timney).
Debates:
I believe in frugality, but also love to try something new. Which means I don't necessarily mind buying a new caliber, so long as it's not inherently expensive (ie, I shoot a lot and HATE spending more than $25/box-of-20), though I definitely don't mind picking up a new gun in a caliber I already have another gun in.
I do not reload/handload (I know... No need to even bother preaching to me. Some day I'll do the smart thing), so the idea of sharing common ammunition between a variety of guns is very appealing to me (I currently use 17hmr, 22lr/mag, 223/5.56, 270, & 30-06 between about 15 different guns).
A quick note to the magnum-itus/30cal+ only crowd (not hating, just never had a legitimate need for one) to take out a hog, deer, or the like, you need not make that recommendation to me. I take game and varmint all the time with relatively small, fast, flat-shooting calibers. I tend to think I have the opposite of magnum-itus; I like taking out the critters with a single shot from a smaller caliber to highlight what accuracy, velocity, and shot-placement can do. At the appropriate range respective of caliber of course. I haven't met a bigger-game quadruped I couldn't take out with my 270 up to 500yrds yet. Though if Texas had bear or moose, I might then see the need for it.
Anyhow, some of the guns I've been debating with has been the Rem 700 ADL, T/C Venture, Howa Lightning, Tika T3 Lite, & Ruger M77. And no idea on what caliber I want just yet (if anyone wants to venture a caliber I might like, or tell me to keep up with the ammo-sharing method, feel free! Same for gun recommendations).
I was initially leaning towards the 700 in .308 because of their huge aftermarket and it'd be interesting to see how the .308 hangs with the rest of my calibers (besides being relatively cheap). But, I've heard the build quality of the 700 has gone down the toilet recently, and getting a gun that'll do 3" groups out of the box is hard. So now I'm thinking maybe not. If Savage can make the AXIS a MOA for $300 (reliably. I mean, mine does sub-MOA) out of box, I don't see why the legendary 700 should preform any less for more money. So now, I'm entirely open to suggestions.
Anyhow, sorry for rambling on and writing a novel. Just wanted to answer any questions I could think of before hand for anyone who's interested to read it. I guess I can sum it up quickly here:
Which Gun?:
~$500ish
Bolt-Action
No stock preference
Has an Aftermark
Weigh in:
Get a caliber I already have, or try something fun and new?
If new caliber, what's good and "cheap"? (220 swift, 22-250, 25-06, etc.)
Thanks a lot yall!
