Parents agreed to help me get a Deer rifle Some Suggestions Please

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Congrats Almond. Please come back later and tell us what you did and how it went. I don't know how long TN gun season is but if it's only a short period it'd be great to borrow someone's rifle for the season. If it's a longer season, buy... but I agree that your options will be narrowed this late in the day.

On the other hand... I did some hunting and even got me an 8 point buck. But frankly I decided I just didn't have the desire long-term. Borrowing a gun might let you know whether deer hunting's really something you wanna invest in.
 
If you have access to a Lee Enfield that would be my suggestion.

The .303 British is plenty powerful - it still has 1000 ft/lbs of energy at 400 yrds and standard muzzle velocities are about 2600 fps... It is also a .30 cal so its similar to say a .30-06 and .308. It is a little more umph compared to a .30-30 however its less then a .308/.30-06

They sell for only 100-300 MAX. 300 for a really good shape one...

The come standard with iron sights however mounting a scope is quite difficult.
 
jerry good point

you can look into a sporterized one or a mil spec one classicarms.us has them for like 150

check used a sporterized one is around the same [price

also look into sporterized 1903 springfields which are .30-06 you may be able to find a decent mauser which will do fine either sporterized or regular
 
you can get a brand new Stevens, Mossberg,or Marlin xl7, bolt gun, for that price, and maybe with a scope on it allready. Anything from 243 to 30.06 , out to 300 yds, will drop them hot and fast, as long as you can make the shot.

I just read some previous posts, and it looks like another dude above, picked my exact same rifles.
Great minds think alike...
 
Ok well I went out and did a little bit of browsing today and saw a few what I think good deals. I saw a Marlin 336AW I think? It had a Bushnell scope it was an old rifle but the bolt, receiver and bore were immaculate as far as I could tell. The price was $239 on this and was negotiable since it was at a pawnshop I have done a good bit of business at. The second rifle I saw was another Marlin 336W I think in 35 remington. I am curious as to the advantages of this round over a plain .30-30. It was iron sights only and was in very nice condition as well I think the price was $289. I also saw a Carl Gustfah(spelled wrong) sporterized by Kimber they said in 6.5x55 it was a little worn with no scope for $289 also. I have to have a rifle by Thanksgiving weekend so I kinda have to get something in the next week. I do have alot of time under my belt shooting rifles so whatever I get I will be taking out to the range and becoming familiar with it. Just for general info I am 19 and this will be the first rifle ever given to me as I got into shooting on my own, a rifle as a gift from my parents was never expected. They are not anti gun but always kinda let me support my own hobby. I am excited about getting the choice of going out and finding the gift but I also don't want to rush into any decisions. I am thinking iron sights might be the way to go since I am not very familiar with scopes. Thanks for all your suggestions so far. Josh
 
If the shot over 150 yards is pretty rare I'd definitely go with the 30-30.
Lever actions are best used by people with a little more experience - sounds like you probably have enough of that to use one safely.
 
Get the sporterized Kimber they said in 6.5x55. Then go over to Wal Mart and pick up and 4X tasco or simmons scope. Next year buy a really good scope.


This is a truly great rifle. 30-30 and 35 Rem level are good guns but the 6.5X55 is a much better cartridge.
It will be a gun you can be proud of for years to come.
 
250 acres isn't that big. I hunted on a 120 acre farm, lots of brush, nothing too long for shots. Was also required to use a slug gun, that reduces your range. Always a lot of deer hanging in the garage by the end of season.

I would recommend either a .30-30 with iron sights or something in a single shot (stick with cheap calibers at this point, you need to shoot 60-100 rounds to get a feel for the gun) and get a halfway decent scope. (Figure $200 for gun and $100 for scope).

I would recommend away from the milsurp side of things. If you had months to make sure you have a good milsurp that is one thing, but this is a week. That means you need to get the rifle, put a few boxes through it, make sure you can hit a pie plate 100% of the time at your max yardage and go from there.

Gear doesn't make you a better hunter. My uncle, who always fills his limit, uses a $300 used shotgun, wears sweat pants under some camo pants and a wool jacket. I took my first deer with a $100 used Shotgun.

Don't over think the gear at this point.

.30-30, single shot in ,.30-30, .270, .308, .30-06. Irons is they have 'em, scope if you can swing it.
 
If your pawn shop was close to me I would go over now and buy both Marlins and maybe the 6.5 as well if sound. The .35 Rem is popular now and will bring a premium. But 289 is good. The one at 239 sounds like a steal if you are certain you were able to give it a thorough inspection and didn't miss anything.
 
Does the swede have iron sights? If not, then that's out due to budget (adding scope). Get the Marlin in .30-30 win, and get thee to the range pronto to verifying that the scope is not broken and sighted in. If you can't sight it in quickly, then trash the scope and sight it in with iron sights.
 
I would suggest borrowing a rifle, shooting it a bit, and heading for the woods.

Take your time and buy something you really want in the spring and then shoot. Lots of folks buy "deer rifles" this time of the year and then sell them off come January/February. But you can get some good buys with the Marlin 336 rifle in the $300 area. 35 Rem is a very good hunting caliber with a slight edge over the 30-30 win.
 
Hi Josh! (I'm gutter from TGO, BTW)

Plenty of good suggestions in here so far, so I'm not really going to echo them. But have you thought about hunting with your AK? It might alarm some of the Fudds, but it's perfectly capable of dropping a deer with soft-point ammo.

I'm not suggesting that you just forego the gift rifle; but if you could use the AK for your upcoming excursion, then you don't have the hurry-up time constraint on picking up another rifle, and could take a little more time or maybe save up a little more cash on top of the gift allowance.

Also, while I don't consider myself a hardcore, steely-eyed deer slayer, I'd be willing to help you out locally, if you want to go out sometime.
 
hell if you want to go milsurp then get yourself a 8mm mauser. You can find a decent capture K98 for under 300. Or you can find a Yugo 24/47 for $150 that has matching numbers. The 8 x 57 packs a mean punch. If you wanted to mount a scope a trip to your gunsmith is all it takes. Bolts are easly modified to clear the scope. Check out the thread in Rifle country that says "another bubba with pics" to get a feel of what you would be looking at.
 
Well I went back for the 336AW with the Bushnell scope and it was gone so I got really a nice 336 I could tell it was a older one but I didn't think it was as old as it is. It is almost like new condition IMO it has two little blemishes on the bluing other than that I can't tell that it has been used other than shooting it at the range some. The wood is absolutely beautiful IMO. I got on google and found out it was made in 1969 and I am stunned at how nice someone kept it over the years I'd say its never been hunted with but it will be soon. Anyways I got it for 270 with tax TN background check and everything. So how do think I did? PS I will try to get some pictures up in a few days.
 
I would say you did well, especially if it is in fact from the late 60's. Some things were just made better back then and hunting rifles are one of those things in my opinion. Congrats, shoot the hell out of it.
 
Sounds like you did well. I also have an old Marlin 336 without the cross bolt safety (I don't like those safeties much).
I love mine. Eventhough I don't hunt anymore it's the gun I generally take with me in the truck when I'm going out into the woods for something.
 
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