Rifle advice, please.

[DWS1117]

Looking to buy a first rifle.

It would be used primarily to exterminate coyotes and pigs that are p***ing off Grand Ma. Our family has a 350 acre plot of land in east TX. and the yotes are starting to get brave and comming up to the house, and the pigs are tearing up down by the creek. At this point am not looking at hunting anything else. Maybe later, but that is undecided.

The only rifle experience I have is with .22 and I don't think that will cut for the pigs and yotes. As for the rest of the family, well they are fence sitters and know very little about guns. So, I turn to you fine folks. Right now we have 4 long guns. None of them had seen the outside of the closet until I married into the family. I was in heaven when I found them. pulled them out, cleaned them, and tore up alot of cans a fruit, and a couple of dillos that were diggin in the yard.

2 rifles are .22's. One is a savage and the other is unknown. One is an autoloader and the other a single shot. 1 20ga shotgun and one combo .223 and 20ga over/under. Not sure of makes of those either.

So what woudl you reccomend? I will probably be buying new. Budget is about $400. $500 if I whine enough.

How would .223 do against yotes and pig? I have several reccomend a winchester lever action in 30-30. I like the idea but ammo seems fairly scarce and expensive (not reloading...YET).

Oh yeah, this would also be used for tearing up a lot of cans and fruit.

At some point in the future I will be looking at old military rifles but not yet. As I've, stated I would prefer something new.

What are your thought?

 

[4Truck]

I would take a long hard look at the .308. Ammo is plentiful, it may be a bit much for coyotes, but it will be enough for pigs.

 

[Dave R]

Yeah, nothing you have now is appropriate for hogs. 20ga slugs are close, but they don't have great range. .223 is a bit light, unless they are small pigs, vs. hogs.

There are many options, though.

If you want a lever gun, .30-30 is OK. .45-70 is better, but ammo is equally spendy. Question for others--is .44mag in a lever gun too light for hogs?

.308 would be fine. Savage 110 with scope would be within your budget. Remington or Winchester may fit with rifle only, but not with scope.

.243, 7mm, .30-06, anything is that class will do ya.

 

[cratz2]

Couple questions:

How big are the pigs we're talkin' about?

Are you wanting to scope the rifle?

Do you have any preference between a bolt action rifle or a lever action rifle?

 

[bad_dad_brad]

Lever action short range:

.30-30 Win 94 - if you hit him, there will not be much left.

Autoloaders:

.223 will do the job when the bullet is placed properly. A scoped 4X Mini-14 ranch rifle if you are on a budget, an AR15 is far more accurate, get a flatop with a variable scope.

All that said, any intermediate cartridge in a quality inexpensive scope mounted bolt action rifle (like a Savage) will take care of those yotes. Probably your best bet is between a .223 and .270.

Pigs, no clue, never shot one, but I hope the bacon is tasty.

 

[amprecon]

Why not get an SKS? Cheap gun, cheap ammo, accurate enough out to 300yds. Tough as beat h*ll, 10 round fixed magazine, semi-automatic. For someone on a budget, I can't think of a better deal for a pretty effective rifle.
It'll take care of everything from rabbits on up to decent sized deer & pigs.

 

[natedog]

I second the SKS for that purpose. $109 at JG Sales. Ammo is $60 per 1000

 

[No4Mk1*]

Any .30 caliber rifle that propels a 125 grain or heavier bullet at least 2200 feet per second will probably work well. If the pigs are big, a little more weight and/or velocity would be nice. If you will be shooting from 100+ yards, use a scoped rifle.

So if you need a scope, buy a commercial rifle. If you don't need the scope, you can really use any rifle, including "old" military rifles.

Be sure to use soft point ammo. All good soft point ammo will be expensive at about $10 per box of 20 rounds. If you use a caliber that the local hunters don't use, you may have to internet order the softpoint ammo, but that is not a problem and is frequently cheaper.

 

[Jedi_7.62]

Nate dog where are you shopping?

7.62 x 39 is cheap and plenttiful but I've never found it that cheap?

I usualy get a 1000 case for $90 - $100.

If I could get ammo for $60 a case my AK would be much happier and me too though the trees, tin cans and paper plates would feel my wrath much more.

Is there an online site offering that deal?

 

[Jedi_7.62]

My thoughts would be on a .308

I've got my eye on a model 10 savage .308 w/ scope for $410 new. Some day soon she is coming home with me.

You could get a mosin nagant for around $150 7.62 x 54 but difficult to scope.

SKS is nice but not sure how they are to scope.

If you are interested in the approval of non gun folks I'd go with the savage. Just a normal hunting rifle. But nice!!!

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

.30-30 ammo scarce and expensive??????? WHAT???????

Walk into any K/Wal mart and there will plenty of .30-30 ammo---more expensive than .223 or 7.62x39---but not by much.

A .30-30 seems perfect for the stated uses---but skip the Winchester and get a stainless Marlin 336--that will fit in the stated budget too.

 

[yzguy]

probably not the best scope, but will do. Its not like your spending a lot on a hunt or something, and you can always upgrade later...

http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=8281547