$2500 Budget-Which Deer Rifle & Scope?

[daddywpb]

That $2500 rifle / scope combo is gonna look great on the gun rack in the rear window of your Hummer.

My Ruger 77 / Nikon Monarch will kill them just as dead.

[butch50]

My $100 .303 Lee-Enfield with $50 4X scope, will kill them deader than yours

[Trxxx]

Cmon Butch, that's a bit extravagant. My Sharp Pointy Stick will kill them just as dead - it's all about placement.

Seriously, if I may express a generally dissenting opinion here - What a bunch of cheapskates!!!!

$2500 on a rifle/scope combo that's going to be good for at least 25 years of use works out at around $100 a year - not very much, when you think about it.

To answer the specific question, I'd go for a Sako 75 in stainless synthetic - calibre of your choice, you can't go wrong with 270, 7mm-08, or 308. For the scope, a good Leupold VXIII variable if you like variables, or a fixed 6x42 M8. If you are looking at European glass, you won't go wrong with Zeiss, Swarovski or Schmidt and Bender.

[butch50]

OK, your pointy stick trumps my WWII surplus rifle.

I can understand spending $2,500 on a rifle to hunt grizzly bear or cape buffalo with maybe - but I sure don't understand it for a deer rifle.

[Sum1_Special]

Agree, with butch.

I don't need a rich gun snob telling me I can't kill deer as dead with a WWII surplus rifle as I could with a $2500 rifle.

Even if I were to get one as a gift, I'd still probably sell it and get myself a tried and true Lee Enfield, Mosin Nagant, SKS, or Mauser. You don't need a rifle like that for deer, or any animal in North America for that matter, Now if we were talking about african game, that would be a different story... but even then.

[Trxxx]

I don't need a rich gun snob telling me I can't kill deer as dead with a WWII surplus rifle as I could with a $2500 rifle.

You will search this thread in vain for anyone telling you that.

That wasn't the question. The question was, with $2500 to spend on a rifle/scope combo, what would people recommend.

Anyhow, that sort of price range doesn't even begin to get in to custom rifle prices or gun snobbery. You'll get a very nice, good quality factory rifle and a very fine scope, which should last for as long as you will. It's a matter of taste and personal choice.

[308LAW]

I don't need a rich gun snob telling me I can't kill deer as dead with a WWII surplus rifle as I could with a $2500 rifle.

Not only, did anybody not say that, nor imply that but he asked a question and SOME of us tried to answer his question. You can kill a deer with a stick,run over it with a truck, shoot it with a gun, blow it up with a missle, its still dead, but to insult him or the rest of us because we are fortunate enough to be able to spend money on fine firearms is an insult and shows who is the SNOB!

[Sum1_Special]

Hey, relax I was only kidding... Kinda .

Last week a few hunters made an insulting comment about my old Mauser. Guess I took Trxxx's post as an excuse to rant. Sorry if you took offense.

A $1000 rifle with a $1500 top-of-the-line electronic night vision scope might make deer hunting easier, but I still prefer an 80 dollar 50 year old rifle with plain iron sights, and would actually recommend it over these fancy, long range, custom made, commercially made rifles. Each to his own, I guess.

[Dealmaker1]

Guys, Thanks for all of the input! To clear the air for some of you....

1. Ive been hunting whitetail deer for 15 years. Thats all I hunt and all I ever will hunt...Its just what I like!
2. I'm not a yuppy or a snob. I work hard and play hard with nice toys.
3. I have been using the same Browning 270 and nikon scope for several years and I'm ready to make a change
4. I dont drive a hummer...lol
5. A $2500.00 rifle and scope makes you nothing more than a fan of a fine firearm and some great glass.

Hope that clears things up!

Oh...almost forgot...I have narrowed my decison to 2 guns!

1. Kimber Montana 308
2. Remington XCR 270

Swarovski Scope!

Either of these with the scope sets me in around $2500.00 complete!!!


Thanks again guys!!!

[butch50]

More power to you brother. I personally wouldn't spend that on a white tail deer rifle, but I most certainly would on other kinds of guns .

[308LAW]

either would make a great choice and you wont regreat the optics.

[siotwo]

geese guys, don't be a "playa hata"

LOL, yuppy, LOL

Sounds like a lot of nasty green faced jealosy to me.

OK group hug and everybody take a bite out of this deer heart and come back, sit down at the campfire, and enjoy the hunt....with what ever you choose to hunt with.

I just checked out that Kimber montana...very nice. "stap a brick on it" and then it weighs as much as other rifles.....love it.

I think with a made in usa rifle, you should go made in usa leupold

I expect to see some pics when you get it set up, Dealmaker

XOXOXO

[Trxxx]

Last week a few hunters made an insulting comment about my old Mauser. Guess I took Trxxx's post as an excuse to rant. Sorry if you took offense.

No offence taken here, I know a guy who until recently used to use a "liberated" First World War Mauser for his deer shooting. Like the 303, no arguing that it doesn't work.

I still prefer an 80 dollar 50 year old rifle with plain iron sights

De gustibus non est disputandum. One of my friends is a gunsmith - the other day he was showing me a custom rifle he'd built - lovely rifle, price tag was 12,000 GBP or approx $20,000. Now that's too expensive for my taste, but it still all boils down to personal preference.

Dealmaker1 - looks like a good outfit whichever rifle you settle on - which Swarovski scope are you going for?

[fisherman66]

If given $2500 and told I must spend it on a rifle and scope...

I've always thought the falling block is the most efficient, exquisite and elegant action around. (sorry for the alleratation/illiteration perhaps)

Browning High Wall 45-70, .22-250, .270, 7mm Rem., .30-'06 and .454 Casull

Browning Low Wall (now Winchester's subsidiary Repeating Arms)Available calibers included .22 Hornet, .223 Remington, .243 Winchester, and .260 Remington.

Ruger #1 avaliable in most anything the heart desires.

Top with aforementioned European Glass just to piss my buddys off.


Edit <Then I'd sell the top notch, topped, trailer queen for a working man's rifle and a couple house payments>

[keens]

Sounds like you made a great choice to me...those Montanas are very nice...and of course the scope is top of the line...good hunting...enjoy your rifle.

[308LAW]

I've always thought the falling block is the most efficient

how does the lock time on the falling block compare to the Ruger #1 which is the Rugers biggest downfall. Slow lock time equalls more difficult accuracy. Bolt actions have very fast lock time that is one of the reasons they are the standard for benchrest. Don't get me wrong #1's are great rifles, I just dought the are the most efficient design out there.

[fisherman66]

I was refering to the use of OAL. Perhaps "efficiency" is not the best term. I won't argue that a falling block is more accurate than a bolt gun, but they certainly have the edge on many other actions. In a hunting gun it is rarely neccessary to wring that last bit of accuracy. Length is a premium issue though. Save me 4" and some weight and I will be more pleased with my hunter.

edited for spelliing

[308LAW]

fair enough I conceed

[guntotin_fool]

if i had that money and was buying a once in lifetime rifle. I would look at a dakota. hand made and really nice.

Of the two guns you have narrowed it down to. I really like the feel of the Kimber but have not had enough experience with them to make a long time decision based on feel.

The Remington, You know it is going to be accurate. That is a given. I would look at a custom shop 700 or a sporter 40X for Glass. I would not go with anything but Leupold. None of the high end euro glass I have tried have appreciable better optics than the VIII line of Leupold. I have experiance with brands Z L and S> The best of all have been the Lieca's but that is so slight an improvement for triple the money that i would not spend the money.

I would not buy a magnum. It is not needed for deer, and they burn out barrels much faster. I would prefer to shoot a 270, a 30-06 or a .308



Just my two cents