I'd like to add a vote to the "go used" pile.
There are SO MANY hunting rifles for sale on the used racks at every shop I visit and the majority of them are more powerful than you'll likely ever need, 99% of them will out shoot you in any hunting situation, and many dealers are getting desperate to move these orphans out.
For years (if not for EVER), the hunting community has been buying up the latest and greatest deer rifles -- lured by the promise of MORE POWER, MORE RANGE, and that the new kid on the block will kill a deer much deader than the old .30-30 your grandpa used (...that he used to kill several deer each year for like 40 years).
As the hunting population has dwindled due to decreasing rural populations and various other issues, 100s of 1000s of Dad's and Grandpa's rifle's have been sold off by uninterested heirs.
Nowadays, guys are desperate to make ends meet in a bad economy and a lot of their unloved last year's (or last decade's) rifles are being brought out and turned into (a little bit of) ready cash. (Probably so they can buy the newest SuperShortUltraMag -- or an EBR.)
I wish like MAD I could give a home to 1/10th of the great old rifles and shotguns I walk past every time I'm in a shop.
Instead of buying one of the craptastic 710s or 770s, or even instead of buying a great Savage, or some of the nicer bargain rifles being put out by Marlin, Stevens, etc -- with a little shopping (and even better if you check the classified) you could own any number of VERY solid classic rifles that will outlast YOU. And, almost every one I see is already outfitted with a very serviceable scope, rings, and bases -- and often a sling and recoil pad, too -- thus saving you several hundred more dollars on top of that!
Some classic guns still command a premium price. Vintage Win. model 70s are going to be expensive. Ditto, now, for model 94s. Anything rare and with collector panache is going to put a hole in your wallet. But, there is a vast majority of other second hand rifles that can be had far cheaper than their inherent value should dictate.
I'd look for a Marlin 336 (lever action) in .30-30 or .35 Rem. Or a Remington 7600 (pump action, most often in .30-'06). Or any "sporterized" military Mauser, Springfield, Enfield, etc., that looks like it was skillfully crafted. Or any older Remington 700 or Ruger 77, or "Post '64" Winchester 70. Or something old and a little out of the ordinary like a Savage model 99 lever action that might be gathering dust on a rack, overlooked by the Savage collectors. Or, or, or -- the list goes on!
If you go into your search looking for something specific, you might be discouraged because your dealers don't seem to have it. But if you walk into almost any shop and say, "I'm going to pick up every used gun on the rack and find the nicest deer rifle I can for under $???," you'll be surprised at what turns up. But I can just about promise that it will represent a better VALUE than any bargain gun on the "new" rack.
Looks like you need something larger than a .22 cal to shoot deer in your state. Well, that leaves .243, .257 Roberts, 7mmx57, .270, .280, .30-30, .308, .30-'06, .303 Brit, .35 Rem., and probably 20 other fairly common calibers which all will do the job VERY well. The gun has to be accurate, sure. How accurate? "Minute of Angle?" Hardly. Buy a box of three or four brands of factory ammo for whichever gun you pick up and one of them will shoot well inside of 4" at 100 yds (probably 2" or better if you're using good technique). That will kill your deer cleanly and ethically out to at least 200 yds, which is further than 90% of shots taken each year, by all hunters the world over.
I suppose you could always end up with someone else's problem. A gun that was ditched because it didn't shoot or has some mechanical defect. The chances are S-L-I-M. And if so, you take a small hit 'cause you didn't spend much to begin with, sell it at a loss and try again.
Sorry to rant, but I'm on a mini crusade to save the masses of unloved guns. Seriously, think about it!
-Sam
