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Picher · February 4, 2013, 06:17 PM

There aren't many guns that will be with you for you whole life. You'll decide you want something else in a few years (or less).

Find something you want to shoot or hunt with that fits you well, is light enough or heavy enough to meet your needs and is accurate enough for your goals.

I've not owned more than one heavy-barreled centerfire, which was too heavy to carry around, yet get great groups out of my sporter-weight barrels.

I'm very pleased with both my Tikka rifles, one a .223 Rem and the other, a .243 Win. You could do much worse for a rifle to enjoy for both accuracy and ease of use offhand and field shooting.

Other rifles that would meet your needs include Remington 700s in various forms that would meet your needs. I enjoy two of them, one a Stainless .270 Win.

Savage rifles are enjoyed for their accuracy and ability to more easily replace barrels. I used to own one when in school, but found that I liked Remington 700s better.

Ruger Americans are also pretty good rifles for the money. Many people like the Ruger Mod 77 MKII.

The only rifles to stay away from are the cheapest offerings from several firms. You have enough money to get something pretty nice.

You'll get many recommendations here, but without knowing just how the rifles would be used mostly, it's impossible to give a really good answer. My first centerfire was a .30-06, which was intended for deer, but ended up shooting more varmints than deer.

February 4, 2013, 06:17 PM	#4
Picher Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Maine Posts: 3,694	There aren't many guns that will be with you for you whole life. You'll decide you want something else in a few years (or less). Find something you want to shoot or hunt with that fits you well, is light enough or heavy enough to meet your needs and is accurate enough for your goals. I've not owned more than one heavy-barreled centerfire, which was too heavy to carry around, yet get great groups out of my sporter-weight barrels. I'm very pleased with both my Tikka rifles, one a .223 Rem and the other, a .243 Win. You could do much worse for a rifle to enjoy for both accuracy and ease of use offhand and field shooting. Other rifles that would meet your needs include Remington 700s in various forms that would meet your needs. I enjoy two of them, one a Stainless .270 Win. Savage rifles are enjoyed for their accuracy and ability to more easily replace barrels. I used to own one when in school, but found that I liked Remington 700s better. Ruger Americans are also pretty good rifles for the money. Many people like the Ruger Mod 77 MKII. The only rifles to stay away from are the cheapest offerings from several firms. You have enough money to get something pretty nice. You'll get many recommendations here, but without knowing just how the rifles would be used mostly, it's impossible to give a really good answer. My first centerfire was a .30-06, which was intended for deer, but ended up shooting more varmints than deer.