my first hunting rifle - Page 2

Colorado Redneck · May 19, 2012, 11:04 PM

171Raven--Do you have any experience with any centerfire calibers? Just a thought, if you can get your hands on various rifles and maybe find out what you might enjoy, that could help you with your decision.

308 ammo is pretty cheap compared to others, along with 243 and '06. For coyotes they ain't no such thing as overkill. So that may not be of concern. 243 using factory Hornady 58 gr. v-max gives great range and will knock the stuffin out of yotes. There are several 95-100 gr rounds in that caliber that will work fine for black bear and deer.

In looking over the prices for factory ammo it makes me very thankful I hand load. Dang---kinda felt guilty when that addiction nabbed me, but now it looks like it is definately worth the cost of equipment etc.

Newton24b · May 20, 2012, 07:40 PM

if you truly are concerned about price and have never used a rifle before, get yourself a remington 770 in 243. recoil is less then a marlin 336 in 3030.

its easy to consider a handi rifle or encore, but when you realize the cost of a second barrel, scope rings, and scope you can by a whole entire rifle.

Gosh darn, i once calculated the price as being the same for a scoped encore barrel in 30-30 as it was for my factory scoped 770

Saltydog235 · May 21, 2012, 07:33 AM

DO NOT waste your money on a 770.

Dustin746 · May 22, 2012, 09:45 PM

Seeing a lot of 30-06s on here so I thought I'd throw in an odd caliber. You could always buy a mosin nagant and get a scope mounted on it. The ammo is pretty cheap to and is a little bigger than a .308. Its a 7.62x54r. Not to mention the gun is really cheap, too

1tfl · May 23, 2012, 11:11 AM

My first recommendation would be a 308 bolt gun.
It will do anything you need done and ammo is widely available and price is reasonable.

bcarver · May 28, 2012, 11:35 AM

What you ask for is the 30-6 and 270.
A better choice is the 280 Remington but you will have to hunt ammo which is not too hard. For hunting purpose ammo cost is cheap. A box of shells will last a year once you sight it in. Just buy a 22 to pratice.

Savage99 · May 28, 2012, 12:13 PM

raven,

Welcome to the forum.

Most of us have many guns. Just buy some reasonable gun where ammo is available say in Walmart.

171raven · June 11, 2012, 09:40 PM

thankyou everyone for your valuable opinions after your responces opinions on other forems and a bit of my own resurch i have decided to go with the 25-06 again thankyou for the help

BigMikey76 · June 14, 2012, 11:03 AM

Sounds like a good choice to me. Works just fine for yotes, and it will reach up for the bigger critters, too. Have fun, and post lots of pictures

BIG P · June 15, 2012, 03:40 AM

25-06 OR 270...Flat,fast, fun.Nothing like a good hotRod!!!!

Texasfirearmfan · June 15, 2012, 02:30 PM

If your looking for a rifle that can take both small and large game, then you truly are limited to certain calibers. people are going to tell you that any caliber will take large game, they are going to say a .22 can kill a bear; and there are right a .22 can kill a bear along with anything else you shoot with it, but there is a reason other calibers were designed. for large game (elk, bear, and such) i would consider a 7mm Rem mag. i have experience with the caliber and can honestly say that it will make a good, long range, small and large game rifle. people will tell you that using a 7mm on small game would be overkill, but when your buying a rifle for both small/large game, its always going to be overkill/underkill to someone, it all depends on what your comfortable shooting. my personal load out for large game is:
RIfle: Remington 700 BDL 7mm Rem Mag.
HANDGUN: S&W 629 .44 Magnum

For small game my Loadout is:
RIFLE: Remington 700 .243
HANDGUN: Ruger 22/45 .22Lr
No caliber is perfect but this is just my 2 cents on the subject.
-Corey

Texasfirearmfan · June 15, 2012, 02:33 PM

My bad i didn't see the comment where you stated that you have already picked.
good look with your new gun! happy hunting!

-Corey

bulldawg1024 · June 17, 2012, 01:37 PM

30-06 should cover it

Colorado Redneck · June 17, 2012, 10:54 PM

My son has one, and it shoots great! I took a 4X4 mulie last fall with that gun, and I am really tempted to use it every time I go from now on! 100 gr. ballistic tips at 3250 fps will take deer and antelope, and 120 gr bullets are suited for elk. Lots of people will beller about the 25-06 being light for elk, but many elk are reportedly taken with 243's. Enjoy!

Scrumbag · June 18, 2012, 03:55 PM

For my money, a .30-06.

Most flexible in terms of bullet weights and what is likely to be sold.

Can be tailored for your needs so is a lot of gun in one.

My advice would be try and find a good second hand Mauser 98 type rifle with a decent length tube (avoid the recent fad for short barrels).

My pick would be a Brno or a CZ. Get a Tinmey trigger installed and away you go. Leave some cash for a flexible zoom optic, something like 3-9 ish (no need for a huge objective lens) but remember with optics you really get what you pay for. Ideally spend more on your optic than your rifle.

ATB and good luck with your choice!

Scrummy

May 19, 2012, 11:04 PM	#26
Colorado Redneck Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2008 Location: Northeast Colorado Posts: 837	What calibers have you shot? 171Raven--Do you have any experience with any centerfire calibers? Just a thought, if you can get your hands on various rifles and maybe find out what you might enjoy, that could help you with your decision. 308 ammo is pretty cheap compared to others, along with 243 and '06. For coyotes they ain't no such thing as overkill. So that may not be of concern. 243 using factory Hornady 58 gr. v-max gives great range and will knock the stuffin out of yotes. There are several 95-100 gr rounds in that caliber that will work fine for black bear and deer. In looking over the prices for factory ammo it makes me very thankful I hand load. Dang---kinda felt guilty when that addiction nabbed me, but now it looks like it is definately worth the cost of equipment etc.

May 28, 2012, 11:35 AM	#31
bcarver Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2007 Location: Jackson,Mississippi Posts: 743	270 What you ask for is the 30-6 and 270. A better choice is the 280 Remington but you will have to hunt ammo which is not too hard. For hunting purpose ammo cost is cheap. A box of shells will last a year once you sight it in. Just buy a 22 to pratice.

June 11, 2012, 09:40 PM	#33
171raven Junior Member Join Date: May 14, 2012 Posts: 8	ive decided thankyou everyone for your valuable opinions after your responces opinions on other forems and a bit of my own resurch i have decided to go with the 25-06 again thankyou for the help

June 14, 2012, 11:03 AM	#34
BigMikey76 Senior Member Join Date: December 3, 2011 Location: Bellevue, NE Posts: 432	.25-06 Sounds like a good choice to me. Works just fine for yotes, and it will reach up for the bigger critters, too. Have fun, and post lots of pictures __________________ “Some people are like Slinkies - not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.” A gun should be a tool in the hands of a deadly weapon, not a deadly weapon in the hands of a tool.

June 15, 2012, 02:30 PM	#36
Texasfirearmfan Member Join Date: June 15, 2012 Posts: 27	first hunting rifle If your looking for a rifle that can take both small and large game, then you truly are limited to certain calibers. people are going to tell you that any caliber will take large game, they are going to say a .22 can kill a bear; and there are right a .22 can kill a bear along with anything else you shoot with it, but there is a reason other calibers were designed. for large game (elk, bear, and such) i would consider a 7mm Rem mag. i have experience with the caliber and can honestly say that it will make a good, long range, small and large game rifle. people will tell you that using a 7mm on small game would be overkill, but when your buying a rifle for both small/large game, its always going to be overkill/underkill to someone, it all depends on what your comfortable shooting. my personal load out for large game is: RIfle: Remington 700 BDL 7mm Rem Mag. HANDGUN: S&W 629 .44 Magnum For small game my Loadout is: RIFLE: Remington 700 .243 HANDGUN: Ruger 22/45 .22Lr No caliber is perfect but this is just my 2 cents on the subject. -Corey

May 20, 2012, 07:40 PM	#27
Newton24b Senior Member Join Date: February 10, 2009 Posts: 959	if you truly are concerned about price and have never used a rifle before, get yourself a remington 770 in 243. recoil is less then a marlin 336 in 3030. its easy to consider a handi rifle or encore, but when you realize the cost of a second barrel, scope rings, and scope you can by a whole entire rifle. Gosh darn, i once calculated the price as being the same for a scoped encore barrel in 30-30 as it was for my factory scoped 770

May 21, 2012, 07:33 AM	#28
Saltydog235 Senior Member Join Date: October 20, 2010 Location: Pawleys Island Posts: 946	DO NOT waste your money on a 770.

May 22, 2012, 09:45 PM	#29
Dustin746 Member Join Date: May 8, 2012 Location: SE Alabama Posts: 32	Seeing a lot of 30-06s on here so I thought I'd throw in an odd caliber. You could always buy a mosin nagant and get a scope mounted on it. The ammo is pretty cheap to and is a little bigger than a .308. Its a 7.62x54r. Not to mention the gun is really cheap, too

May 23, 2012, 11:11 AM	#30
1tfl Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2007 Posts: 225	My first recommendation would be a 308 bolt gun. It will do anything you need done and ammo is widely available and price is reasonable.

May 28, 2012, 12:13 PM	#32
Savage99 Senior Member Join Date: May 17, 2004 Posts: 227	raven, Welcome to the forum. Most of us have many guns. Just buy some reasonable gun where ammo is available say in Walmart.

June 15, 2012, 03:40 AM	#35
BIG P Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2010 Location: North Georgia Posts: 1,464	25-06 OR 270...Flat,fast, fun.Nothing like a good hotRod!!!!

June 15, 2012, 02:33 PM	#37
Texasfirearmfan Member Join Date: June 15, 2012 Posts: 27	ops. My bad i didn't see the comment where you stated that you have already picked. good look with your new gun! happy hunting! -Corey

June 17, 2012, 01:37 PM	#38
bulldawg1024 Member Join Date: June 11, 2008 Posts: 25	30-06 should cover it

June 17, 2012, 10:54 PM	#39
Colorado Redneck Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2008 Location: Northeast Colorado Posts: 837	You will never regret starting with 25-06 My son has one, and it shoots great! I took a 4X4 mulie last fall with that gun, and I am really tempted to use it every time I go from now on! 100 gr. ballistic tips at 3250 fps will take deer and antelope, and 120 gr bullets are suited for elk. Lots of people will beller about the 25-06 being light for elk, but many elk are reportedly taken with 243's. Enjoy! Last edited by Colorado Redneck; June 17, 2012 at 11:03 PM.

June 18, 2012, 03:55 PM	#40
Scrumbag Member Join Date: May 22, 2012 Posts: 85	For my money, a .30-06. Most flexible in terms of bullet weights and what is likely to be sold. Can be tailored for your needs so is a lot of gun in one. My advice would be try and find a good second hand Mauser 98 type rifle with a decent length tube (avoid the recent fad for short barrels). My pick would be a Brno or a CZ. Get a Tinmey trigger installed and away you go. Leave some cash for a flexible zoom optic, something like 3-9 ish (no need for a huge objective lens) but remember with optics you really get what you pay for. Ideally spend more on your optic than your rifle. ATB and good luck with your choice! Scrummy