Good Beginner Hunting Rifle?

[aje5837]

Hello Everyone, Where I live in Western NY, the government recently lifted the rifle restriction for deer hunting. I've been looking to pick up a good Hunting Rifle I could start with. Any recommendations? I'm considering a Savage Model 10/110 Trophy Hunter XP in a .243.

Also, now through the end of the month their is a $75 manufacturer rebate. Does anyone know if Savage offers these rebates frequently?

Thanks in advance for the insight!

-AJE5837

[WildBill45]

The .243 is a great deer rifle whether new or an old timer...

Not familiar with the promotional deal.

[jmr40]

Not a bad choice at all. And not just a beginners choice. If the biggest animal anyone ever plans to hunt is deer a 243 is probably as good as it gets.

[baddarryl]

Recently got my kids a Savage Youth Axis .243 with scope from Dick's for $269 after rebate. Simply can't beat that. Easy recoil, accurate, deadly round. What's not to like?

[aje5837]

Thanks a lot for the feedback! It sounds like the Savage Trophy Hunter .243 would be a great choice for me!

[Vt.birdhunter]

Savage is one of the best accuracy deals you can get for the money.
If your thinking of a step up in $, check out CZ and Tikka. Worth every cent.

As mentioned, .243 is a great on deer size game with low recoil.
If your looking for a bit more versatility, a .308 would also serve you well.

[taylorce1]

Hunted pronghorn with a guy this year that had the Trophy Hunter XP with Nikon scope. Good rifle and it was accurate and he got his first big game animal ever with it. However, he lost the magazine out of it during the hunt and had to shoot his doe with the rifle as a single shot. I did find his magazine for him after he shot his doe, he lost it when he laid his rifle under a fence to climb over.


I'm not opposed to removable or detachable magazines for hunting rifles but that is a risk you take with them. My preferred style are blind magazines but you have to remove the cartridges by working the bolt just enough to strip them from the magazine. Second favorite is a hinged floor plate, which can come open on occasion and drop the cartridges but unless it looses the spring and follower you just snap it back into place and reload.

[Thunderkiss]

AJE5837, I have a model 10 trophy hunter .243. Groups are .5-.75 with 85 gr Sierra hollow points at 100 yds. This is the first time I can remember Savage offering the rebate, I took advantage of it myself and got my son an Axis II youth model in .243.

[riflemen]

If I was looking for something affordable that would be the guy, I like 243 too, But I am hooked on 7mm-08 since the first time I fired it... I think savage makes the 11/111 in 7mm-08 may be worth looking into...

[Doyle]

I far prefer a 7mm-08 to a .243 on deer. I just don't like light bullets.

[Thunderkiss]

I also like the 7-08.

[Blindstitch]

.243 is a great choice. I've used an assortment of 30 caliber rifles and they work great. But at the same time I watched my grandpa go from 30-06, 30 remington, 30-30, 270 and stopped at 6.5 Arisaka. At the same time he was building and tweaking a .243 but shot some of the biggest deer I had ever seen with the 6.5. I have a feeling if the 6.5 wasn't there he would have finished his hunting career with a .243.

Since then I now have the 6.5 and it's going out with me this weekend. I like shooting it and although it's similar to a 30-30 with a 300 fps boost I believe it's a great choice but the next logical decision would be 243.

For someone starting from a clean slate and only planning to shoot deer size game 243 does the job. Don't let people think you need a 30-06 or equal in a situation when it could be considered overkill. Just focus on shot placement.

[taylorce1]

Originally Posted by Doyle

I far prefer a 7mm-08 to a .243 on deer. I just don't like light bullets.

Light bullets, "What you talking about Willis?" A 85-95 grain are the same as a 120 grain bullets and 100 grain bullets are the 140 of the 6mm world. If you are comparing SD and BC of hunting bullets you'll notice they are very similar if using the same type of bullet. There are light and heavy bullets for any given caliber. Pick the right bullet and for NY white tails to big western mule deer you'll not see any significant difference in performance on game nor will the deer that you shoot with it between the 7-08 or .243.

[Thunderkiss]

I load 85 gr sierra, 87 gr vmax, and 95 gr SST for my .243. 139 gr SSTs for the 7-08. Both rifles produced the same result. Dead deer.

I think you will like the .243.

[riflemen]

I used to hunt with 243 when I was a kid, now my son has that rifle, I can tell you I took my share with both 7-08 and 243, I have seen the damage both rounds inflict and how fast both rounds drop an animal with well placed shots, the 7-08 ammo I load and use does a much better job than any 243 {I wasnt loading back then} I ever shot.

Also as far as the recoil, I don't feel a huge difference between the 2... If I were new to hunting and looking to get a new rifle in a white tail caliber for medium distance and tree hunting I would go with the 7-08, hands down a more capable round.

I use 139 gr sst with the 7-08, I took a 205lb 10 pointer in KS, my rifle is 0 at 300 and he was around 500 yards out, I had him in my binos calling and calling be he couldn't hear my call so I screamed a call at the top of my lungs, he perked up and looked over {I swear he looked right below me at the tree I was in}, sure enough he started walking in, I was watching him through the range finder now checking his distance, he kept looking like he was going to turn around, and my ride out of the woods was due anytime and would surely scare him away!!! I was stressed, it was also the last day of a 9 day hunt and I had a tag with no deer!!!

So I as soon as he came close to 300 I put the range finder down grabbed my scope and put the reticle on him, but now he was coming square at me, I tried to turn him with some loud claps but he was walking right at me, I decided to do a front hear shot {first and only I ever took} he dropped before I could get my eye back on him, I thought I missed him so I went to the binos, he was gone... When my ride came I drove over and there he was right where my rifle left him...

[PatientWolf]

IMHO the Savage 10/110 is a great choice and you'll find the .243 is a great flat and gentle shooting cartridge.

[Thunderkiss]

"Also as far as the recoil, I don't feel a huge difference between the 2"

[JasoninSD]

The .243 would be a fine choice for whitetails and the Savage rifles are generally quite accurate. I have shot a pile of deer over the years with a .243 but to tell the truth, I too prefer the 7mm-08. I just feel a little better about using a heavier bullet. But, dead is dead and I don't think I have lost a deer to either. I have usually had better blood trails with the 7mm-08.

As for the Savage rebate, I do not recall seeing that in years past and $75 off makes that an even better deal.

[Doyle]

My 8 y/o might disagree with you. The scope on the 7-08 got him, he is a lot happier with the .243.

Scope bite is a combination of choosing a scope with insufficient eye relief, improper scope mounting, and incorrect length of pull. Using the right combination of those 3 you can shoot the biggest magnum and not get scope bite.

[Ske1etor]

Originally Posted by Doyle

Scope bite is a combination of choosing a scope with insufficient eye relief, improper scope mounting, and incorrect length of pull. Using the right combination of those 3 you can shoot the biggest magnum and not get scope bite.

How you brace for the shot matters too. My 10 year old nephew shoots my tikka lite in .270, Marlin 30-30 and my .308 AR and has never been bit.

[Thunderkiss]

Doyle, it was also maybe a little bit of his daddy trying to rush him into a gun

[Picher]

I like Hornady GMX 80 grain bullets for the .243 Win, but if had to use factory, would stick with 100 grain bullets.

Varmint bullets should not be used on deer. Sooner or later, a deer will probably get away to die in a very bad way. It is a hunter's responsibility to kill as humanely as possible.

[Picher]

Unfortunately, beginners often don't know how to properly care for a rifle. I encourage people to buy stainless steel rifles instead of blued, and to learn how to clean and protect them. Stainless isn't rust-proof, but much more forgiving.

[Thunderkiss]

Picher, I've never used the GMX bullets before. How was the expansion with them? Very good advice on not using varmint bullets for deer. I coyote hunt more than deer hunt with my .243. Deer hunting I use SGK and for coyotes I use the vmax.

[hartcreek]

Nothing wrong with a .243 but you just stated that the state just opened up to rifle hunting so a carbine in a hangun caliber that you already hunt with would work also.