What is good hunting rifle?

[Jay the Plinker]

I have a ruger 10/22 and want something with a little more bang. Accurate and powerful enough to take down a white tale. I am a pretty bad shot so I would want something lighter to minimilize swaying and maybe a repeater. I'm also open to bolt action. Just looking for an entry level hunting rifle that can hit the rear Sid of a barn

 

[Eb1]

Keep practicing with your 10/22 until you are not a "bad shot" before you go shooting at larger animals and not killing them cleanly. i.e. Gut shots

 

[Zaven]

^^^^That

 

[Abel]

Yeah, you should be capable of hitting a softball sized target at whatever range you'll be hunting at.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Whitetail

 

[Jay the Plinker]

:banghead:

 

[JTJones]

If I were you, I would pick up a copy of The Art of the Rifle by Jeff Cooper. You can pick this up at Amazon for 15 dollars paper back. If you can find a Project Apple Seed rifle course that would be even better. Master your 10/22 then look at a good bolt action rifle to start with. When you are ready to buy your hunting rifle check back here. There are a lot of good entry level rifles out there.

 

[TurtlePhish]

something lighter to minimilize swaying

You'll want heavier for that, not lighter. Might need to start lifting weights if it's too heavy, but any hunting rifle made today won't weigh that much. More of a worry with target rifles, really...

 

[H2oPumper]

Marlin makes a nice bolt action for a fair price; sub-$300 if you do some shopping. It also looks like the Ruger American might be a decent one as well. I have several Marlin XL7/XS7's and the trigger is very good on them. My 14 yr old son uses the one in a 270 and he has put three shots touching using Federal Blue Box. Stick with a standard caliber, 30-06, 270, 308, or 243. The ammo is less expensive and will allow you to practice more without incurring obscene ammo prices. Check with your state for using a 243 for deer, I believe most allow it, actually MN allows .22 center fires now; just too unforgiving for me to consider that one on deer. For scopes, I have a Leupold VX1, Burris Fullfield II, and Nikon ProStaffs. The Leupold is the sub-par to the other two which are decent for the price; all are 3-9x40's.

 

[meanmrmustard]

I have a ruger 10/22 and want something with a little more bang. Accurate and powerful enough to take down a white tale. I am a pretty bad shot so I would want something lighter to minimilize swaying and maybe a repeater. I'm also open to bolt action. Just looking for an entry level hunting rifle that can hit the rear Sid of a barn

Things to consider:
Length of pull of rifle.
Caliber you will be comfortable shooting.
Weight of rifle overall, this is doubly important if you add optics.
Platform: semi auto, single shot, bolt, pump, double, lever...
Your hunting area
How you hunt:stalk, hike and hunt, stand hunt, tree stand, blind, over bait (where legal).

Answer some of these basic questions along with others posted by other members, and you may deduce the best rifle for YOU.

 

[Centurian22]

Turtle beat me to it; However I know what you're talking about for trying to shoot off hand (unsupported) with a heavy gun and having trouble stabilizing it. I second all the advice to learn to shoot better with the 10/22 and look into some books or professional training. Especially look in to different shooting positions and stabilization techniques. A sling and possibly folding/collapsible shooting stick will help alot. They come in single, bi-pod, and tri-pod versions and start at $10 and go up.

As to a starter rifle: I strongly recomend a Savge Axis XP bolt action, it comes with a Bushnell 3-9x40 scope already mounted. It is claimed by many (and opposed by others of course) as being one of the best entry level bolt action rifles. It has a free floated barrel, synthetic stock in black or camo, 4 round removable box magazine. I got one on a great sale at Cabela's for $329, though they are commonly found for around $375 +/- $25 depending on the stock and the store. I chose .308 and I am very happy with it. By far one of the most versatile calibers with one of the highest availability of comercial ammo and Huge selection if you get into reloading your own ammo. If you are concerned about recoil and flinch, and really can't try to overcome it through training (which I highly recomend) then I believe the Axis is also available in .270 and .243 which (as in all cases) given proper shot placement and ethical distances, would be suitable for whiteTail deer.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

[Fishbed77]

Keep practicing with your 10/22 until you are not a "bad shot" before you go shooting at larger animals and not killing them cleanly. i.e. Gut shots

Amen to that.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

If I were you, I would pick up a copy of The Art of the Rifle by Jeff Cooper. You can pick this up at Amazon for 15 dollars paper back. If you can find a Project Apple Seed rifle course that would be even better. Master your 10/22 then look at a good bolt action rifle to start with. When you are ready to buy your hunting rifle check back here. There are a lot of good entry level rifles out there.

Great advice re Cooper and that book. My personal advice is to get a 30-06 with a fixed 4x Leupold scope. It will never disappoint. If I had to do it over again I'd get the Ruger bolt action (M77). This will last you a lifetime and won't disappoint.

If you have a bigger budget, I'd go with the Styer Scout with a Leupold 2.5x scout scope in 308. Cooper essentially designed that rifle.

There are other options but this is what I would do.

You can spend less but in general you get what you pay for. Don't skimp on your hunting rifle or scope. It will literally last your lifetime.

 

[adelbridge]

If I had to pick one hunting rifle it would be a semi auto. A lightly used Remington 7400 is a fabulous gun on a budget. A new or used Remington 750 is basically the same gun, current generation. I had a 7400 in .270 that shot MOA and didnt kick much. I sold it to buy a Browning BAR in .30-06. The BAR is a step up in perceived luxury but it shoots the same MOA. A step up in price from there is the Benelli R1.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Posts #2 says it all.

 

[osprey176]

I would suggest you STOP practicing until you read some books on shooting techniques and learn how to properly hold and support your rifle.Practicing poor form will only reinforce it, not correct it.The best way might be to get some training from a local rifle team coach,or even one of his students. Make a trip to a local competition and observe and learn.Shooters are a mostly friendly bunch and you should be able to find someone willing to give some instruction (after the match.)You don't have to be an expert target shooter to be good on game animals,but the fundamentals of rifle shooting are universal.Learn them.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

Seriously bro,
You're talking to a bunch of guys who love our sport and who want all of us to be responsible so that yahoos (I'm not calling you a yahoo...if you were you wouldn't be asking on a forum like this, probably) don't mess it up for us.

And, knowing that you want to buy a larger gun is something everyone here would support: so start small. Go the Axis rout mentioned above. But I would start with a 243. Or if you like history get a 30-30 Winchester 94 or mine, a Marlin 336.

Better: get the Axis in 223 and use it as a target gun so you can work on the basics you should be mastering with the 10-22 (never let anyone bad talk a 22lr!). You will have so much fun (but not hunting whitetail...) that you'll get good at it in spite of yourself. Then get the 308, or my fav...the 270. A couple of years and whitetail will be falling around you .

 

[MtnCreek]

Remington 870.
I would suggest a bolt action with fairly light recoil. The .243 was suggested above and that would be a great cartridge. I strongly suggest a bolt action. The bolt action will slow the pace; that helps when working on the fundamentals.

 

[mljdeckard]

The other day I handled a Ruger American Rifle in .243. I think I'll buy one to trade to my little sister to get back my dad's old 760 in .257 Roberts.

 

[Kachok]

No amount of fire power will make up for a lack of shooting skill, I would recommend getting with a good experienced shooter and learning the ropes from him before you shoot at anything live.

 

[Roadking Rider]

As you get to be a better shot I'd say a 30/30 lever action.

 

[gbeecher]

Keep it simple

I would suggest an economical bolt-action rifle in .243 Winchester, 6mm Remington or .25-06 Remington. A Mossberg brand is a good choice, along with Savage and Stevens rifles. Expect to pay from $300-$500 dollars. Otherwise look at a military surplus rifle such as the Mosin-Nagant or Mauser. The old milsurp rifles though will have more 'kick' because of their powerful cartridge. I own a Mosin-Nagant 1891/30 and it has a bit of a kick to it, though it's fairly comfortable to shoot, even with such a powerful 7.62x54R cartridge. (my shoulder gets a slight bruise after shooting 30-40 rounds at the range!)

 

[red rick]

I would have someone else shoot your 10/22 from a rest at 50 yards to see if it's you or the rifle.

If it's you than look for some training.

If you can't hit with a .22 it will be worst with a larger caliber and cost more money practicing.

 

[razorback2003]

Master the 22 before you get a centerfire rifle. Learn how to breathe, squeeze the trigger, different shooting positions. Also learn how to sight in your rifle with whatever sights you like to use. Also try different loads and again see how each group.

When you master all that with the 22 then move to a centerfire rifle for deer.

A good centerfire rifle for deer would be a bolt action (usually good trigger) with a very good scope. Bolts are also easier to clean than lever action, autos, or pumps because you just pull the bolt out. You should spend as much on the scope as you do the rifle. I would rather have a Marlin or Savage bolt gun with a quality scope like a Nikon Monarch, Weaver, Leupold than a Winchester or Browning bolt with a Simmons or Bushnell scope.

Good bolt action calibers for deer would be 243, 260, or 7mm 08.

 

[Red Tornado]

Sign up for an Appleseed shoot, they're all over the place and very affordable.

After that weekend, you'll be a decent shot, or at least understand the fundamentals to become one. Then, starter hunting rifles are all over the place. Everyone makes one now, and pretty much any of them will work. Pick one. Savage, Mossberg, Marlin or Winchester 30/30, Remington, et al, ad infinitum. Everyone has their bias, but if you can shoot at all, any will kill a deer just fine. It only matters what feels right to you, and that really doesn't matter much.
RT

P.S. Did I mention an Appleseed shoot is a great start.