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Buying a Rifle and need some help

2.4K views 12 replies 12 participants last post by  JerryHoward  
#1 ·
I would like to get a rifle and need some help. I am planning on mostly hunting deer in Michigan but maybe at some point looking to do an Elk hunt. I don't want to break the bank but I also don't want something cheap.

I know there are alot of different brands and calibers, but if you had to just buy one gun what would you get?

Brand?
Model?
Caliber?
Stock- Wood? Synthetic?
New vs. Used

Any help would be appreciated
 
#2 ·
You are going to get a lot of opinions on this one. I personally have a Winchester model 70 in 300 WSM and a Ruger 270. I chose the 300 WSM over the 270 for out west. It has a lot of energy and very fast. I have killed elk and mule deer with it. I did not blow everything up with it also. I shot 150gr winchester xp3 for mule deer and Federal 180gr trophy bonded bear claw for the elk. It is in synthetic and I am very happy with it. For a few bucks more I had the action glass beaded and made the trigger pull at about 3.5# to make it smoother. Optics have to be very good. I chose Nikon.

My 270 would have done the job on either one but I wanted a little more power so I chose my 300 WSM.

With some of the big gun sales they have every year at Cabelas,BPS or Gander I would think you should be able to pick up a pretty good gun at a decent price. The ammo industry has come a long way and you can match that ammo to the game you are hunting. I would choose my 300 WSM again if put in this situation. You can also check winchester website and look at the balistics section to help you with particulars on each gun.
 
#4 ·
DUDAN said:
I would like to get a rifle and need some help. I am planning on mostly hunting deer in Michigan but maybe at some point looking to do an Elk hunt. I don't want to break the bank but I also don't want something cheap.

I know there are alot of different brands and calibers, but if you had to just buy one gun what would you get?

Brand?
Model?
Caliber?
Stock- Wood? Synthetic?
New vs. Used

Any help would be appreciated
Go with the synthetic,, best bang for the buck.

Caliber is going to be a topic of varied opinion.

A 30/06 has probably got the MOST versitility, going from 100gr. head
up to 220gr.. So if your going out West to do 1 Elk hunt, maybe the 30/06 would be a good choice. It WILL get the job done, all you have to do is YOUR JOB.

As posted above in re; to the 110 model. I don't have one but a friend does & I do his re-load's for him (30/06) well I don't but he use's my equipment. A real tack driver with a wood stock. He's got it so fined tuned from 50yds. out to 200yds. that in comparing targets one would have trouble to see the difference in both targets side X side. that rifle has been out West & taken Mulies, Elk & Antelope. Farthest shot at one goat was estimated to be 300yds. give or take a few?

I have been reloading for many years & got all my rifles & pistols fine tuned for the piece. Starts to be a bit $$ if ya don't.
 
#5 ·
I am going to place my vote for the 30-06 . There is a big selection of ammo out there for the 30-06 . From bullet size/wieight , to the style of bullet in the round . It can be loaded for a variety of game .

I have an older Remington , model 742 , in 30-06 . It has a camo syn.stock , and a Leupold 3x9 vari - x II . Its an awsome shootin machine . Being an auto loader , I can shoot the eye out of a fly at 100yrds , and shoot him again , on the way down . :-D

I hunted in Mi. for many successfull yrs. with this gun . I always used the factory loads of Remington , with a 150gr. bullet , (PSP ) Pointed Soft Point . They just dont make it , when you put one thru the boiler room .

Good luck with whatever you decide to buy . Practice , Practice , Practice .
 
#6 ·
A .30-06 is hard to beat for versatility and availability of ammunition. I think the only downside, and I'm not sure if it is, is that it probably doesn't shoot as flat as some higher speed rifles in similar caliber. It's a lot more gun than you need for deer, but it's plenty for bigger critters.

You definitely want something around .3 caliber (.270, 7 mm, etc.) and you'll have a lot of choices for that reason. My suggestion is make sure whatever you get is something that ammo is readily available for. Go into Wal-mart and K-mart and see what they carry and limit your choices to that, unless you are more organized than I and plan ahead so you never run out of ammo. Speaking of that, I think I have 5 rifle shells left :eek:

Unless you think you will be doing a lot of long shooting, the .30-06 will work like a charm on deer, bear, elk, etc. and you can get heavy loads to plow through brush or light ones to reach out and whack varmits.
 
#7 ·
30-06 gets my vote too! I love my old 742 Woodsman semi-auto in wood! :-D

If you are interested in bolt action, Remingtons 700's are a great value as well, available in quite a variety of caliburs and styles. One of the more accurate guns out of the box too. :)2

Whatever you choose, do not go cheap on your optics! Get a good scope! ;)
 
#8 ·
I bought a Stevens in .223 to Coyote hunt with.. and I went with it because it was significantly less expensive than any other gun... however it shoots groups just as well as any of the higher priced brands.

Stevens is a the value Savage model, you get a 110 W/O the accutrigger and you can get awesome triggers for it that will drop your break to 10 ounces?!?! for 89.95... mine breaks around 3.5 which is more than sufficient for me.

As for a caliber... I am going to buy a gun for the same purpose, but I am going to get a .338 Federal, only for the novelty of the round. It shoots similiar to a 308 or 30-06 out to 500 with a little more energy, but I am not comfortable shooting over 3-400 anyway. If you want to go out west and shoot long distance then a 7MM or a 300 WinMag, or 300 RUM or 300 Weatherby mag.... etc is what you want for LONG Shots.
 
#9 ·
It's hard to argue against the 30-06, it's probably the most versatile cartridge out there. That being said, there are plenty of other very good choices too. The two that I'd consider are the 300 Win Mag and the .308 Winchester.

As for rifles, some of my favorites are the Winchester Model 70 ( I have one in .270 and one in .338 Win Mag) Ruger Model 77 (had one in 30-06 and liked it alot) and probably the gun with the most options and configurations, the Remington Model 700 (I've got two ADLs, a BDL and a Classic). It's hard to imagine a more versatile combo than a Remington Model 700 in 30-06. You literally could shoot any big game animal in north America including varmints like coyotes with that combo. Top that with a Leupold VXIII 3.5x10 and you would be golden (or the Nikon Monarch Series, or if money is no object, a Swarovski in 4x10).

If you're on a bit of a budget, like the other guys have said, the Savage 110 is one of the best bangs for the buck out there. I don't have one, but that gun consistently ranks right up there when tested against much more expensive models. If I had to pick between a higher priced gun and a higher priced scope, I'd buy the Savage 110 and put the money into the higher quality scope. Again, just opinions but hopefully of some use to you!
 
#13 ·
I'll second the 30-06. You can find a large assortmoent of bullet weights...the 30-06 will take just about any big game in the country....and the ammo will be easy to find.
brand wise, that's a personal choice. I have a Browning A bolt.
A friend just bought a Weatherby Vanguard. It was pretty reasonably priced. Shoots very nice.
But, what's just as important as the caliber/rifle, is the optics you put on it.