Advice concering hunting stuff

[Crapshoot]

I am fairly experienced when it comes to handguns and have a novice's knowlegde when it comes to tactical rifles. But I am getting the caveman itch to hit the trail with some buds who are alrdy avid hunters. I just don't want to look to much like a goof by asking a bunch of "obvious" questions. So I figured you guys might have mercy on me and help me out. I need help picking an affordable yet effective and allaround hunting rifle good for medium to large game. Brand names and cal. specific would be appreciated. Thanks fellas any info would be cool.

[pbwalker]

People bash it all the time, but I LOVE my Remington 770 in the .30-06 flavor. It's treated me well and if I were to drop it in mud, it won't bother me as the rifle and scope combo cost me $369.

[TexasFlash]

People bash it all the time, but I LOVE my Remington 770 in the .30-06 flavor. It's treated me well and if I were to drop it in mud, it won't bother me as the rifle and scope combo cost me $369.

Sounds like my kind of gun; does the job at a fair price...great caliber. IMHO

[Crapshoot]

What about the cal. 270 ? I've heard of it but nothing really about it.

[Crapshoot]

People bash it all the time, but I LOVE my Remington 770 in the .30-06 flavor. It's treated me well and if I were to drop it in mud, it won't bother me as the rifle and scope combo cost me $369.

Just looked it up on the Rem web-site and it looks awsome. Did you buy direct from Them or a private dealer?

[ghostrider]

There is a good calibre discussion here:

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... 87&t=23571" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


For lower priced bolt-action rifles, you could look at Mossberg:

http://www.academy.com/index.php?page=c ... 01883-2101" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It also depends on where you will hunt as well as what. For thick woods and short ranges, I would lean towards a lever action in 44mag, for open fields and longer ranges you want something flat shooting.

270, 308, and 30.06 are some of the most popular options.

[TDDude]

Since bolt action rifles are not that "sexy and desirable" right now, one can find great deals at pawnshops.

I won't attempt to recommend a brand. I have a Remington 700BDL and I love it but you might want something else. The best shooting rifle I’ve ever had was the one I had as a kid. It was a Santa Fe Delux with a Mauser action and a Redfield scope. It was ugly as hog snot but it never missed. I’ve never seen a Santa Fe Delux anything since and I know nothing about the company other than they made one heck of a good rifle.

I would recommend that you stay away from the Remington 770's and get something of higher quality but get it used.

BTW, the scope on the 770 is going to be the weak link. I've not shot one so of course that makes me the supreme expert but I have had experience with cheap scopes. When a good quality scope costs at least twice what a 770 does, I wouldn’t trust it. A cheap scope will turn an otherwise wonderful rifle into a Wild Willy shooter and cause you to make up a whole bunch of "the one that got away" stories. Inversely, a cheap rifle with a high quality optic will rarely miss.

Also, when looking for scopes, remember that many of the major manufacturers have a lifetime rebuild warranty. I know that Leupold does. SO, if you see a good scope under the glass that’s not attached to the rifle, snap it up.

When looking at a used rifle, your existing experience with pistols will help. Just look with a critical eye. Check the bore with a bore light. Make sure the action is smooth and tight. Look very closely for rust. Just common sense stuff mainly.

Ask permission to dry fire and make sure the trigger falls nice and crisp and that the action is nice and smooth. Handle a lot of rifles in various price ranges so you get an idea of how they feel.

Don't worry too much about it being dirty, as Pawnshops never clean what they sell. The good part about the gun not being clean is that it my give you an idea of how well the previous owner took care of it. You might want to learn the difference in how a pitted barrel looks as opposed to one that is simply filthy. You might go with a bore snake in your pocket and ask permission if you can run it through a couple times.

It may take a while to find what you want but the money saved is worth it.

I typically spend at least half of what it would cost had I purchased new.

[pbwalker]

People bash it all the time, but I LOVE my Remington 770 in the .30-06 flavor. It's treated me well and if I were to drop it in mud, it won't bother me as the rifle and scope combo cost me $369.

Just looked it up on the Rem web-site and it looks awsome. Did you buy direct from Them or a private dealer?

I picked it up at Academy actually. They had a sale going on at the time.

As TDDude said, the scope is the weak link in this rifle. I haven't shot at anything beyond 225 yards and I wouldn't be comfortable doing so with the scope setup. I've got a scope on my Christmas list, so we'll see how Santa liked me this year!

[troglodyte]

While you will get a lot of different "favorites" I'd recommend the 30 06, 308, 270, with the 25 06 as a outsider.

The 308 and 3006 are about as all-around as you can get. The 270 is poplular but is stretching the limits if elk are in your future. All three have lots of ammo choices and can be found in the smallest store selling ammo in Podunk, Anywhere, USA. The 25 06 is a great little round, just not always easy to find.

Remingtons always have a good rep. Savage/Stevens are inheritly accurate but are not that pretty. The Stevens 200 is downright ugly but it still shoots good.

Good optics are just as important (if not more important) than the rifle.

Not knowing your budget, Nikon Prostaffs are a good value. Leupolds are always a solid bet.

There are a lot of other good calibers out there and it seems everyone has their favorite. Not many will argue with the 30 06 as being the do-all caliber. Sure others may be flatter, faster, prettier, bigger, smaller, etc. but the 30 06 will get it done. The 308 is ballistically similar just a little shorter cartridge length.

Good hunting.

[troglodyte]

Computer issues

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

As stated above the Remington in 30.06 is great. Remingtons are known for their accuracy right out of the box. Another great rifle is a Browning. They are a lil more expensive though. One big difference between Remington and Browning is that the Remingtons come with iron sights and a lot of Brownings do not. I have a Browning A-Bolt and I absolutely love it (I got a heck of a deal on it).

I would suggest going with a 30.06 over a 270 for your hunting. Reason being you said that you want it for medium to large game. You can get the 30.06 in a light enough weight to hunt coyote or a heavy enough weight to hunt moose.

So instead of buying two different guns you can use one for all your hunting needs!

I hope this helps.

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

I forgot to add...

A family friend of mine sold me my Browning.

My options were Remington 700 BDL/CDL (cannot remember) or the Browning A-Bolt Medallion (both still in boxes).

I liked the iron sights on the Remington but I was putting a scope on it either way. What sold me on the Browning was that the bolt action was much smoother than the Remington's.

Just some food for thought.

[Crapshoot]

Thats all good stuff guys. I appreciate the feed back. Thanks a lot.(<<meant sincerely not sarcastically)

[gmckinl]

Been there, done that on this...

I would recommend not buying any rifle that does not lock the action closed when on safe. Thick brush grabs things when you go through it. On a boar hunt some years back I looked down and discovered I'd been carrrying an unloaded single-shot after going through some thick brush that grabbed the lever and opened the action. I left the rifle's one and only loaded round back there in the snow somewhere.

[TDDude]

Been there, done that on this...

I would recommend not buying any rifle that does not lock the action closed when on safe. Thick brush grabs things when you go through it. On a boar hunt some years back I looked down and discovered I'd been carrrying an unloaded single-shot after going through some thick brush that grabbed the lever and opened the action. I left the rifle's one and only loaded round back there in the snow somewhere.

Different but similar issue.

Back when I had a mauser action rifle, I had to be extra careful when crawling my way through thick brush. (Yes, if I knew game was on the other side of a berm or obstacle, I would crawl through the obstacle.) Twigs and such would snag on the mauser's safety tab and take it out of safe without me knowing it. Happened a couple times.

I never had an accident but it did make the short hairs stand up when I would reach up with my thumb and find that I'd been belly crawling with a hot rifle. <eeggssssrrrrhhhhh>