should be NJ friendly... 
Posted on 12/05/2010 2:59:58 PM PST by NewJerseyJoe
Hello fellow banglisters. I know I'm going to open a can of worms with this thread -- as does every "What is the best [gun type]" thread -- but I don't know a better-informed group of people to ask.
After enduring three years of the very worst of the bad economic times (unemployment, temp jobs, etc.), I'm finally in a position to increase my personal armory, in the next few months. I need a rifle -- I have only a Henry .22 survival rifle. Not bad for what it does, but it's not the same as a "real" rifle.
The catch is that I can afford one and only one -- and I want to get the most bang for my buck. My considerations are:
If, in your opinion, I can't "have it all" with only one purchase, please tell me so.
Oh, and I should mention -- I live in New Jersey. Rifles that you would pick up at the corner store are ones that I might have to jump through hoops to get. :-(
I think anywhere it’s damn-near the perfect all around rifle. Lever actions is faster than a bolt and less chance of failure due to it being a lever action.
If he wants just a nice long range, sniper, or hunting rifle I would go with a .308 or .30-06 bolt. I am merely just going from his desire for protection, hunting, reliability, toughness etc. Most likely just to eat his .22 will take care of eating but if he has to take on a boar, dogs etc. or zombies.
Ammo is not at a premium since it’s a 30-30 lever and not a gas powered gun but there is crap tons of it around.
I have one and tho I have ar’s, m4, ak, h&k 94, rem700, savage, and the list goes on ultimately the win94 30-30 is by far my favorite.
Bolt Action:
Remington 700 in .308. Good, all-purpose round, solid, proven design.
Lever:
Winchester .30-30. Ubiquitous. Simplistic. Effective, especially at closer ranges. Proven design.
Automatic:
Saiga .308. Made like a tank, based on a proven design.
Kel-Tec SU-16 .223. Several variants to fit your needs (and New Jersey’s inane laws). Compatible with AR-15 mags and ammo. Lots of aftermarket parts. Not a proven design, but loosely based on an AR, but piston driven instead of gas. I’ve seen one torture tested, and it held up beautifully.
Single shot:
Rossi Trifecta - .243, 20 gauge and .22 long rifle out of one gun via interchangeable barrels.
In theory, you should be able to get anything here for under $700, if you look around and select the right variant.
Have fun.
should be NJ friendly...
You make a good point about the scope. It is a critical part of the package. I would opt for nothing less than a Leupold Vari-x II. I generally figure the scope should cost nearly the same as the rifle.
I have a hard time recommending the Savage as an all around rifle. The are bargain priced, very accurate, and have a nice trigger, but, my brother has several and says that he would never use them for serious hunting for trophies or dangerous game. He has simply had too many reliability problems with feeding. He is a certified armorer and firearms instructor and a pretty good semi-pro gunsmith, so I take his advice seriously. This is why I recommended the Ruger. There are lots of good guns out there, but as I do not know NewJersey_Joe’s experience level, I hesitate to recommend a used rifle. There are often bargains after deer season, as has been mentioned. If he is willing to get into reloading, almost any relatively modern deer caliber or better could be made to work.
A lever action in a good pistol round like the .357 makes an excellent all around rifle. It will kill four and two legged creatures, put food on the table if needed and protect the table if needed. You can carry aq back-up revolver in the same ammo so it doesn’t require a second ammo to stock. .357 rounds come in a variety of load and bullet. The jacketed hollowpoint is the best all round though.
Savage is building good accurate rifles with great reliability now, but I still won’t own one. They’re still the ugliest rifle ever built.
It’s always good to need as few different rounds as possible very good point. I’m not sure tho if they are worried about a side arm or not.
My SHTF prep is to arm folks with a rifle and sidearm in same caliber, from .22LR to 9mm to .357. My personal choice will be my Taurus .45 long barrel OSS DS. Have an M1 Carbine to accompany.
Since that list eliminates the AR-15’s, M-1, Mini 14, SKS, etc, etc it effectively removes half of the recommendations on this thread.
If you just want a boom stick that’s not on the list you can get a Mosin Nagant out of the crate and 440 rounds of surplus ammo for around $200. It’ll put a big hole in whoever you point it at, and the blast will probably knock down or scare away everyone else in a three mile radius.
One of my boys picked on up at a gun show here for $129.Took it out to the pasture to shoot ,both he and my grandson had 5 inch groups at 200 yards.Not a bad rifle.It will reach out and touch something.The grandson has it now deer huntin’ with it.
And like you say.Rounds are reasonable,just got to clean it after use.Folks should ptck that habit up no matter what kind of ammo they’re using.
Of course, everyone know you need a minimum of 6 weapons to have a full spectrum:)
You are the historian in the heard. Thanks!
Everything you said was right on and I just love my 94.
I can only suggest that you move first, and then think about what you will need the rifle for.
Since I live in Alaska and game is plentiful I will make my suggestions based upon a general safe caliber and type of rifle.
First off it should be weather protected either by any of the recent new coatings or all stainless steel.
Second it needs to be legal to use on most game and of sufficient power either close or long range, so then I would say get a Ruger 77 Mk2 in stainless, I have one, its a controlled fed round which means you can chamber it upside down. Its a bolt action, the original composite stock was ugly and a pain to shoot, I replaced mine with a Hogue rubber coated fiberglass stock.
Next is the caliber, the majority of professional guides up here swear by the .338win, its heavy enough for bear and between the different weights of bullets stays pretty much the same ballistics. But it isn’t a plinker and is an overkill on small game, but it will do the job on anything else.
The lightest caliber I would use is the .270, its taken down African game in many a hunt but is a poor choice for dangerous game in the brush.
With some modest gunsmithing a muzzle brake and a sorbothane recoil pad will tame the recoil of the .338.
The other most popular cartridge is the .300 and 7mm.
What would I carry if I had only one choice? It would be my M1A in .308 with Barnes bullets. Or a Garand in 30-06 a caliber that has the most options for bullet weights.
For the lower 48 that is a good caliber, and a decent Garand with a good barrel will bring home vittles.
But buying either the M1A or a Garand will cost some serious money. I have a Mini 14, and an SKS and both were pretty cheap, neither is terribly accurate though. For affordable accuracy its the bolt action. And a good scope.
Rule of thumb, the scope will cost just as much if not more than the rifle, never scrimp on the scope and the mounts.
The main reason that the 308 is so widely used for bench rest competition is it's inherent accuracy, low recoil extreme efficiency for the 308 bore and less but very important low muzzle flash characteristics.
These attributes are why the round is used so widely for Sniper missions. It's great accuracy is capable of 1,000 + meter shots.
The 30-06 based rounds are over bore capacity, create massive muzzle flash and due to the incomplete powder burn in the bore, create a very loud secondary report, giving away the position of the shooter. This fact also depletes accuracy as well. This is why this round is not preferred as a Sniper round. Also because the 30-06 round only betters the 308 by 100-150 fps so very little trajectory advantage is gained as a result.
For shots over 1000 meters, the Long Action Rem. 700 in 300 Win Mag. are used, (M-24A2) based on the same basic rifle platform as the 308, only a heavier barrel is used. (A #6 taper or larger)
For our beginner who started this thread, he would do much better with the easy shooting characteristics of the 308. (7.62 NATO) Because of the vast availability of ammo and components, bench loading this round is by far the best choice.
only people I want armed when the STHF is me and mine. I really hope to be the only ones around armed. :)
As you noticed I included the 308. I don’t believe the OP is looking to shoot competition he just wants a good all purpose rifle. All though the 308 fits in that catagory the 270 and 30-06 are better suited.
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