Rifle pre-newbie, what to buy?

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bikemutt

bikemutt

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I don't own a rifle and wish to change that this year. Purpose would be for target practice and hog hunting to start. The biggest thing I could imagine hunting is Elk. I'd have to use some sort of optics since my eyesight is not all that great anymore, although I can still drop birds and clay with my shotgun just fine.

I'd like to keep it in the $1000-$1200 maximum range. I have no plans to reload so ammo cost is a consideration.

Any suggestions from the experts for a solid first rifle?
 
Both good choices but how about a Vanguard S2 in 270 Win. Fits your criteria and with a decent Leupold or Vortex you'd be within budget.
 
$1,000-$1,200 with or without glass (scope). I'm a fan of savage personally and would probably advise .308 or 30-06 for a caliber for the stated purposes.
 
Low cost target practice and Elk hunting are at opposite ends of the spectrum. At what range would you hunt the Elk? Are semi-autos legal for hunting in WA, or are you restricted bolts, pumps, and levers?
 
I would look at Tikka T3 Lite SS in 30-06 and topped with a Luepold VX-3 (3.5-10x40)

That combination should do everything you should ever want it to. It will be light so hiking all day in elk country shouldn't be a problem, powerful enough to take an elk or anything else in North America, except maybe a grizzly. 30-06 ammo is everywhere and before the .308 came along it was the go to round for the military and competition shooters.
 
Targets and hogs possibly an elk down the road..
Id check out a new Winchester m70 featherweight in .308 which is about $800 give or take.the 308 has many uses and is easy to find at most stores that sell sporting goods. Then id look at Leopold scopes, probably the vx-2 in something close to a 3-9 power for $200-300.
 
Go shooting with friends until you find a rifle you like. Plan on getting a 22 rimfire first. You won't know what you want until you go shoot. Just know that if you buy something cheap (whether it's inexpensive or not) and shoot it enough, you'll regret it
 
.308 win and .30-06 are good for hogs and elk (w/ elk, probably keep it under 200 yards... but you should be doing that anyway, especially with poor eyesight), and are the cheapest of the cartridges that would suffice on elk (can get both for $0.45 to $0.60/round easily). As for brand of rifle; take your pick! You can get most bolt guns with decent optics for your price range. Go to a store and work some actions/squeeze some triggers. Same with optics... Stick with good quality scopes, try them out at a store, and pick whichever you like best.

Honestly, with that price range, I'd probably want to get a .22LR AND a hunting rifle for hogs and elk. That opens your caliber options up a lot more, though, it does limit your rifle options to more budget-to-mid-range territory.

Also, if your options are a slightly cheaper rifle and a better scope, or a higher-quality rifle and a lesser quality scope, I'd recommend taking the former. It is better to skimp on rifle (within reason) than on optics. That's my opinion.
 
MistWolf said:
Go shooting with friends until you find a rifle you like. Plan on getting a 22 rimfire first. You won't know what you want until you go shoot. Just know that if you buy something cheap (whether it's inexpensive or not) and shoot it enough, you'll regret it
Click to expand...
+1 Try your buddies gear out to see what you like. Buy a 22LR. Attend an Appleseed event to learn marksmanship.
 
For Elk, I'd do a .270 or .308. Since .308 is cheaper & plentiful, that decides that. You'll just need to get used to a little recoil.

Brand? I'd say Tikka or Winchester. Remington if you find a good used one. I'm not a fan of Savage for aesthetics.

Zeiss Conquest is a good, no, GREAT scope under $500
 
BIG +1 on the getting a less expensive to mid range .22lr AND centerfire hunting rifle for your stated budget. Shooting the .22 as often as possible will / can do ALOT for your proficiency, much more than the financial or recoil restrictions of the centerfire.
 
I'd 2nd getting a .22 rifle first. That will be the best bang for your buck and really one of the best ways to learn to shoot well. You can shoot 500-750 rounds of .22 for what 20 rounds of most large caliber centerfire rifle ammo costs.

My recommendation would be a CZ 452 or 455 if you can't find a 452 (I believe they are being discontinued). I also highly recommend investing in some TechSights as well, though the iron sights that come on CZ's are excellent right out of the box.

As far as a centerfire rifle is concerned, I've been pleased with my Savage Hog Hunter in .308 so far. I haven't shot it yet but the quality is great (even the cheap stock isn't too bad) and being a Savage I'm not at all worried about accuracy. Slap a Nikon Prostaff on top of it and for under $700 you'd be ready to go and still have $300-500 for a .22 rifle.
 
Another one for getting a 22 lr bolt gun first.

With a decent second hand one (I'm plump for CZ or Brno) you can do a lot of shooting cheaply and start to work out what you do / don't like in a rifle: COuld well save you money/hassle when it comes to buying your hunting rifle.

Calibre choice: I'd say go for .30-'06. Can shoot up to 220gr slugs for hog hunting and can go to light slugs when you want to reach out.

As a further point on optics: You pays ya money, ya takes your choice. As a rule better to spend more money on the glass than the rifle. For your purposes thing zoom lens. Not necessarily the greatest magnification range, but go for something that will transmit light well. You will miss far more opportunities due to poor light and not being able to pick out the cross hairs than you will to not being able to zoom in far enough. I suspect you'll notice this when hog hunting as they seem to like last light, or we go out for them under the moon. NB to check your local hunting laws on that on.

Another consideration might be to have a rail to mount your optics on with QD rings. This way if you want to hunt in close you can take the optic off and use the irons or throw a red dot on there.

As for ammunition choice: I would start off with something like 180gr in the .30-'06. Man enough for pigs, large deer, elk etc. Not going so fast as to do massive meat damage if you end up shooting close and if zeroed to 150/200yds you won't have to worry too much about hold over for much of your shooting as that'll land the shot bang on for your 8 inch disk Max point blank range which will work fine for game shooting.

As for targets: Take your ammo to the range in all conditions and watch how it drifts and learn the drops.

Above, enjoy your hunting and shooting!

ATB,

Scrummy
 
I just bought a new Remington model 700 for under five hundred dollars. The gun came with a 26 inch bull barrel. It is chambered in .308 winchester. I am waiting for my Leupold to come in the mail. I also had the trigger tuned down to 3.4 lbs. I did all of this for under 1000 dollars, the problem is, I have yet to shoot it. Lol.
 
Thanks for all the great information.

I'll start with the .22lr rifle, I think that's sound advice on all fronts.
 
And if you really want to do yourself a favor, take that .22 to an Appleseed marksmanship clinic. They are all over the country and teach the fundamentals of rifle marksmanship from field positions... just what you need. They are a volunteer org. so fees are very affordable ($70 for 2 days or $40 for just one day). You won't find better instruction in the fundamentals anywhere. www.appleseedinfo.org
 
You might contact your local range, show up and talk to shooters. try different types of rifles and calibers first. You can get a Remington SPS for under 5 hundred new these days, any caliber. .270, .308, 30/06 etc. I would get a Ruger 10-22, put a $30 3-9 Tasco scope on it and buy a few boxes of different brands of .22 ammo. Shoot paper until you find which one it likes.(most accurate) Then go buy several bricks of that brand and shoot it a lot. Buy a quality cleaning rod and keep your bore clean. When you step up to a centerfire, you will already have the basics down. Welcome to our addiction.
P.S. Buy the elk rifle, it will do fine for anything. The hog rifle choice might be lacking for elk.
P.S.S. Try different brands of ammo in your elk rifle also, it will also like one best.
 
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