hunting rifle

[chezball]

I am new to hunting, and need a solid, but relatively inexpensive rifle for Elk and Deer. I would also really like to use this for 1000 yard target practice as well (the idea of hitting something at 1000 yards just facinates me!). So I am looking for a one rifle/scope for both. I would like the whole combination to be less than $500, but if it really makes a difference I could go up to $900. Used is fine (probably preferable).

Could you all give me some ideas. As well I would love some specific web page pointers to scopes or rifles, or even essays on getting started.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[doubleg]

A good used 30.06 bolt rifle with a half decent scope. Use lighter bullets for the deer and heavier ones for the elk.

 

[PotatoJudge]

I'd get a used Remington 700, Win model 70, or Savage in 30-06 or 308. Keep the rifle in the $300 range and get a $3-500 scope. If the gun doesn't shoot MOA with it's favorite load, sell the rifle and try again (keep the scope).

The baseline Remington 700 is in the $300 range new (flat blue, synthetic stock). If you want a gun with wood and nice blueing, a clean used gun is the best bet.

 

[Bartkowski]

A good used 30.06 bolt rifle with a half decent scope. Use lighter bullets for the deer and heavier ones for the elk.

Thats what I would recommend, great for deer, fine on elk, not sure about 1000yard shooting, as I have no experience doing so, but go for it.

I like remington 700's, great guns, popular, so a used 30-06 shoudn't be to hard to come by.

 

[chezball]

Can you give me specific recommendations for scopes?

 

[Bartkowski]

It depends on your price range for the scope. A very nice scope for hunting in my opinion is about $400, but for 1000 yard shooting you will probably need some target, high magnification, bells and whistles scope. So is the $900 for the gun only or gun and scope?

 

[chezball]

Ouch! Really? A scope for 1000 yards is that much. Didn't know. I was hoping for $300-500 for a scope. Note, I am not trying to win any awards or contests, just have some fun.

Anything in that range?

 

[Bartkowski]

Yes there are very nice high quality scopes in that range, 300 will get you a fine hunting scope, but, again for 1000yards I don't know.

If I were in your position, I would look for a used remington 700 in your desired caliber, and then look for a quality scope. Start shooting and see how you do at 100, then 200, then 500.......if you even have those ranges near you. Anyway good luck with your search.

 

[GunTech]

You can get a fixed 10x SWFA SuoperSniper, which is great for 1000 yards, but may not be ideal for hunting.

Here's my basic recipe for a sub $1000 tact rifle for 1000 yards.

Savage tactical
Warne 20MOA Picatinny base.
TPS tactical rings
SWFA 10X supersniper

 

[esmith]

I would strongly suggest when you buy whatever rifle you are desiring that you go and feel several rifles that spark your interest before you buy. When you are shooting at that range everything can throw off your shot and you want to be as comfortable as possible.

 

[chezball]

OK, can someone explain the difference between a hunting scope and a 1000 yard scope?
I would imagine the hunting one needs to be much more sturdy, and able to handle the elements. What is a good hunting scope then?

 

[Mr White]

Hunting scopes are typically 3-9x. Long range target scopes are usually 20-24x. Target scopes have easily adjustable turrents where hunting scopes are typically set at a particular zero and left there. If you're not looking at shooting long-range matches and just looking to fling some lead at 1000 yard gongs now and then, a decent hunting scope will serve you OK.

Take a look at a Nikon Buckmaster 4-14. Very nice scope for the money. Better magnification than the typical 3-9. Good mil-dot reticle, easy parallax adjustment, coated optics, lifetime warranty. All in all a good scope for the money.

 

[browningguy]

You can pick up a Burris FFII 4.5-14 for under $400 most places online if you really want to shoot 1000 yards.

Otherwise the FFII in 3-9 is a good hunting scope for around $190, also the Bushnell 3200 3-9 for around the same price. http://www.natchezss.com has the Browning 3-9 on sale for around $130 on closeout, these are a Bushnell 3200 with the Browning name on them, a very good deal. You really want a heavy barrelled gun for 1000 yard shooting with a 24-28" barrel, just the opposite of what you want for most hunting. Most '06's and .308's will come with a 20-22" barrel except for the varmint models in .308.

Other calibers that will work include the .243 Winchester,.260 Remington, or 300 Win. Mag (although that last one will kick a bit). Both 6mm and 6.5mm cartridges are very popular with the long range crowd. Personally on a budget of $900 I'd go for a Savage 10FP or similar model in .308 with one of the Browning scopes. That should be workable, if not optimum, for both and leave money for a bipod for the long range shooting, a decent 20 MOA base, rings, sling, gun case and ammo to practice with. I think the barrel is a little short (20"???) but you should still be able to keep velocity supersonic at 1000 with the right loads.

 

[rlwood29]

Absolutely agree with the previous posts; 700 Remington’s are very solid rifles, I am sure there are several other excellent manufactures as well but there are a ton of 700’s out there. I was in the same position 25 years ago and the old hands then recommended the same thing 30-06, Remington 700! “Good for anything in the lower 48” Now keep in mind that if you compare the ballistics between the 30-06 and the 308 they are pretty close so that should also open some options for a used gun. Did a lot of deer “sniping” at 200 to 450 yards with the 30-06 but you just can’t skimp on the scope. I think the scopes cost more then the guns on almost every rifle I own, but I can see horns at 600 yards and take sure shoots and see horns 15 minutes earlier and later then the other hunters I am with.

Now I believe if you are talking 1000 yard shots, you are in a bit of a different league. I agree with Bartkowski, first find out if there is a range anywhere close to you that you can even practice that kind of shooting, and second get some experience at 200 meter and 300 meters and see just what you are up against in taken 1000 yard shots. I have hunted with folks that routinely have taken deer at 1000 plus yards and know folks in competition shooting around here that shoot 800 and 1000 yards OFFHAND! But they are not doing that with $900 setups and they have been at it a long time. That said; I understand that the Marines shoot 1000 yards with open sights. I couldn’t shoot a tank, probably couldn’t even see it, at 1000 yards with open sights! Good Hunting

 

[trstafford]

Step up to a 7mm mag. Will shoot flatter to 1,000 and with heaver bullets will perform more than adequately on elk, deer are not a problem.

 

[Sunray]

"...between a hunting scope and a 1000 yard scope..." Magnification and weight. Hunting scopes are usually lighter with less maginification 8x being the highest practical magnification for a deer/elk scope.
Think .308 Win, using 165 grain hunting bullets and 168 or 175 grain match bullets. Matchking 168's for up to 600 yards, the 175's past there. A 165 grain hunting bullet will kill any game in North America and the .308 loves 'em. The .308 is a bit more inherently accurate than the .30-06 too. It has been used for 1,000 yard shooting since its inception in the mid 50's and will out shoot the '06.

 

[Legionnaire]

Look around. Good deals are to be had on used guns. Here's one at Gunbroker.com. I recently purchased a very similar setup: pristine Remington 700 BDL in .30-06 with a 3-9X Redfield Tracker scope, for $450. The gun looked unfired.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

To expand on the difference between hunting scopes and target scopes. With a hunting scope, you are typically going to need to put the bullet into a roughly dinner-plate-sized area to kill a deer or elk. For most of us, we are talking 200 yards or less. You sight in your Leupold (or whatever brand you like) scope on your modern bolt-action rifle and you probably have a ~2 minute of angle rig - maning that the point of aim will wander 2 inches at 100 yards. That still gives us -- (I am just guessing here, but that's really the point) -- what? 6 MOA to stay inside the dinner plate size with wind and distance estimations.

So....Hunting scopes are designed so that you sight them in once and stick with it regardless of windage and elevation.

Target sights and scopes are designed to adjust for windage and elevation on the fly. You are trying to hit a very small X-ring to beat other shooters. You also usually get "sighters" to see where you are hitting before you shoot for record.

I suggest you get a target scope and use it for hunting. Competitive shooting will get you a LOT more trigger time than hunting - which is a GOOD thing. Check out the F-Class in high-power shooting. It's basically unlimited and allows for a nice scope and a bipod rest.

IMHO, $900 should buy you a VERY nice rig. Rem/Win/Ruger/Savage are great. ALso be sure to check out the CZ Varmint in .308. Claw extractor, set trigger, integrated scope mounts.

If you are leaning more toward competitive shooting, check out a Garand, AR15 or M1A for Service rifle. The Ar15 can't be used very well for hunting, but it's a blast to shoot...and you can just buy a $300 open sight 30-06 or 30-30 for hunting deer and elk.

As always...my bottom line recommendation is to get an M1 Garand while you still can. www.odcmp.com

Good luck! Lots of great choices!

 

[colt.45]

for my long-range adventures i have been using a super sniper 16x. it has some really clear glass for the money and a no-bull**** milldot redicle. the rifle it is on is a rifle me and my dad recently finished building. a rem700 that we slowly bought the parts for and had put together last december. havent shot it at the big 1000 but i figgure if we can do pretty decent at 600 and 800 then 1000 shouldnt be a problem. in your position i would go with a rem 700 police model. i have the shorter ltr version and with the extra 4 inches of barrel, 1000 yards should be no problem.

good luck

 

[yesit'sloaded]

I have heard good things about the Mossberg 4x4 in .308. Do you realize just how far 1000 yards is? At that range everything comes into play, the humidity, the temperature, even the Coriolis Effect, the spin of the earth. If felon Mark Whalberg can do it, it must be no big deal right The 4x4 also comes in 338 win. and 30-06. I think they are in the 300-400 range.

 

[grizz5675]

how about mossberg 4x4 in 338magnum

 

[esmith]

how about mossberg 4x4 in 338magnum

Which magum, RUM or win? Either way that isnt really the best for that long range shooting, you generally want a fairly flat shooting cartridge. Also unless a brake is attached either round is going to kick like a mule and if not shot in an experts hands who is conditioned to such recoil, it may cause apprehension before a shot and therefore causing someone to flinch throwing the shot off.

 

[rangerruck]

I agree 100% with guntech, with another scope being a Tasco Varmint, 6.24.42.
Also if you cant do this , get a CZ package rifle, for about 800 to 1000, in their tactical 550 or 750 package. will do the trick quite nicely.
calibers to look at are 6.5, 7mag, 308, 30.06, 300winmag.

 

[GunTech]

It's not the weight of the bullet, it's the BC. To comment on Sunrays's post, a 155gn Lapua Scenar has a BC of 0.508, the same as a 175gn SMK. The Lapua can be driven faster, for less drop at 1000.

I'll say roght now that it is going to be hard to build a rifle for serious competition at 1000 yards for under $1000, let alone a whole system.

If you want to shoot in tactical comps, a 10x scope will work fine - it was the power of chice for military snipers prior to the adoption of variable power scopes.

You can hunt with a 10X, but you will be handicapped at short range thanks to the restricted field of view.

Aside from the Savage previously mentioned, I'd look for a good used Reminton LTR, or an FN PBR. Both rifles are light enough for hunting, but have the accuracy for 1K shooting.

I'd also recommend 308, unless you handload. Even then, 308 is a great round. There is a much larger variety of bullets, particularly low BC match grade bullets than for just about any other caliber. 308 also has moderate recoil, so you want get beat up, and brass is available and cheap.

If you won't be hunting anything larger than deer, check out the 260 Remington. There is a plethora of high BC long range bullets that mnake it a great long range target round. Unfortunately, the number of rifles suitable for match use are extremely limited.

7mm mag, 30-06 and similar rounds are really hunting only rounds. You won't find any suitable match grade rifles in these calibers 'off the shelf'.

 

[GunTech]

What 1000 yards looks like: