Best beginner rifle (Vanity)

Vanity ^ | 10-18-03 | Me

[dogbyte12]

I am about to finally leave the urban jungle of Los Angeles and move down to both Louisiana and South Carolina. While I do fish out here, I have only gone hunting a few times with borrowed equipment.

I am interested in starting to hunt, and would love for any freepers to give me recommendations on a good beginner rifle, something that isn't so pricey, but reliable, as well as any other gear that I will need as a beginner.

I am not a stranger to handguns, or to military rifles, I qualified expert on both a .45 and an M16, so I am not starting from scratch, but I am looking for a rifle for deer hunting basically that will not set me back too much money, yet still be a decent value. I plan to not spend that much money so it can be economical. I do know how to fabricate a carcass, and would love to hunt for meat, without the cost of hunting making it more expensive than going to the supermarket.

Any help in this regard, web sites, consumer reports, etc, would be much appreciated. Thanks all.

[mamelukesabre]

UPS handles ammo all the time. It just isn't "assembled" ammo. Boxes of slugs, boxes of powder, boxes of brass, primiers, etc.

[mamelukesabre]

If it hasn't, then it was only recently that the 30-06 passed up the 30-30...I'd say.

[Centurion2000]

If you want a bolt-action, the Savage 110 is reputed to be an excellent bargain - inexpensive, quite accurate, and with an excellent, adjustable trigger. (I do not have personal experience with this one).

I do have personal experience with it and it is a steal. For about 800.00 total I have a rifle that will group quarter sized and under consistently at 100 yards with 180gr 30-06. Mine is a left handed bolt action so that added about 100.00 to it.

What I did.
Stock rifle
Trigger job at the gunsmith's 3# trigger pull
One stock Tasco sniper scope (mil dot) 8x32x40.

Works like a champ and I'll put it up against anything else someone can tote for under 2000.00.

[Double Tap]

UPS will also deliver loaded ammo. As much as you can pay for.

[SevenDaysInMay]

Savage.

Value.

Stainless steel.

Buy from someone's closet clearing. Lastly if you must, buy with yellow sheet registration.

What ever you do, pick a common caliber, .308 is very adequate, and get equipped to reload your own.

The FReeper standard is a minimum of 1,000 rounds cached for defense of our RATIFIED Constitutional Republic, against enemies foreign and domestic.

Always teach women and children to properly handle arms and to shoot accurately.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

[Tijeras_Slim]

First and foremost, congratulations on getting into the country.

I've done most of my rifle shooting, competitive and otherwise, with .22's. My high power experience is with a Remington 700 in 308. My most recent acquisition is a CZ 452 .22 bolt action. I wanted a blued, wood stock .22 that looked like a big game gun without having to cough up the $1000-1500 that Anschutz and Kimber want. The CZ was $325 and is a great shooter. I wouldn't think twice about getting one their centerfires. They make many in traditional patterns and calibers, and also have a nifty bolt action carbine with a 5 round detachable box magazine in either .223 (5.56mm) or 7.63x39 (the AK-47 round). This looks like a fast handling rifle for thick brush, plus either of these rounds is available in bulk for inexpensive practice. I'd hesitate to use the .223 on deer, but the other round with an appropriate bullet would do the job.

[El Gato]

way back in the day.

Wasn't that way back. I was in my first semester,freshman year, in college, when they passed that abomination that ruined it all. It was after all, 23 years, give or take a few months, after the end of WW-II, and "only* 35 years ago. Future historians will look on the time as "the crazy years". Unless of course those historians are working strictly under government control, in which case they'll be the "golden years" that led to the then current "utopia". A utopia something on the order of North Korea perhaps?

[I got the rope]

My 30-30 marlin 336 will group within an inch at 100 yards all day long.

You are one "soopabadass" my friend. Are you loading your own...if so...would you mind sharing some data with some us that are 30-30 impaired.

[TexasCowboy]

LOL!
Well, pard, if you can tenderize the meat at the same time as you're killing it.......why not??

[El Gato]

Check out the list at the Shotgun News website.

http://www.shotgunnews.com/gunshow/

They show a Panama City show:

Panama City Florida: Collectors & Shooters Club, LLC - Bay County Fairgrounds - Nov 22-23 2003 334-279-9895

Plus these from Montgomery Alabama:

Montgomery Alabama: Collectors & Shooters Club, LLC - Civic Center - Nov 1-2 2003 334-279-9895

and this one that's already come and gone, but indicating that there is one in Mobile.

Mobile Alabama: Abba Shrine - Abba Shrine Auditorium - Sept 13-14 2003 251-666-8834

[blackie]

My personal favorite is a .30 06 Remington 700 BDL, I modified mine and it has detachable magazines.

[wardaddy]

can't use under .24 caliber in many states including here in TN.

[Hugin]

I have a 30-06 Rem 700 myself. While there is some surplus ammo still around (Korean mostly) it's scarce and getting scarcer. There is some steel cased Russian 30-06 coming on the market, though I have heard of some quality issues, and of course it can't be reloaded if you are into that. There is tons of old and current .308 surplus from all over the world (Korea, So. Africa, etc.) and will be for the forseeable future. Another benefit is that since the case is shorter it can be made in a shorter lighter bolt action. So if I were going to buy my first rifle today I would probably lean toward the .308. But one certainly can't go wrong with a 30-06, especially if he might be hunting larger game someday.

[Mulder]

I would go with a Remington 700 in .308 with a Leupold Scope. All together, it will run you from $1000 to $1500, depending on the quality of the scope.

If you want something less pricey, a lot of folks seem to be quite satisfied with the Savage bolt action rifles. I think they cost around $400.

[yarddog]

Thanks for the info. I will probably try to make the Panama City show although it is usually pretty small.

I have been to Montgomery and it is a pretty good one, as is Mobile. The only trouble is they are both a good distance from me.

I did make one of my best trades ever at Panama City. I traded a Smith & Wesson .22 auto even for a Carl Zeiss 10X40 binocular in mint condition.

[El Gato]

UPS will also deliver loaded ammo. As much as you can pay for.

Slight confusion here, if you trace back you'll see that the original referance was to the USPS, the Post Office.

[wardaddy]

Good advice. The Ruger 10/22 is a work horse.

I would note that for me at least as a boy, making the transition from BB to .177 pellet to .22 pellet to .22 LR was a lot easier and more graduated than the leap from .22LR to .270 or .30-06 or .308 or even .30-30 which is the standard jump up for southern boys after say 5th or 6th grade.

We usually had already gotten a good dose of scatterguns from Stevens .410 and 20 to eventually 12 before we were introduced to what was referred to as high powered rifles.

Oddly, pistols usually came last with wheelguns first naturally.

A comprehensive graduated instruction of firearms as a boy is a boon which cannot be overvalued.

If money is no object, one might look a Kimber .22 or Browning (Belgian of course).

[El Gato]

Well, pard, if you can tenderize the meat at the same time as you're killing it.......why not??

You got me there I guess, but I prefer to chew it myself.

[AnAmericanMother]

I'm late to the dance here, but my favorite all-round hunting rifle is my Ruger M-77 in .308. It's tack-driving accurate, light, handy, well-made, and the caliber is easy to load (plus you can buy cheap surplus ammo). My husband has the heavy barrel M-77 in the same caliber, but I think that's too heavy to haul through the woods.

I have my mom's old Savage bolt action in .30-30 - I hate it. Underpowered, and not very accurate. I know lots of folks swear by the .30-30, but it's an old cartridge design and there are lots better ones out there now. We also have an FN, a Garand, a gaggle of various .303 British military rifles (which are great shooters - especially my Long Branch sniper rifle - but tetchy and complicated to reload properly for), a Ruger 10/22 stainless (and that IS a good practice rifle, with a nice scope mounted on it you can blast away at paper targets, tin cans, and chipmunks all day long), and my dad's Big Bear Medicine lever action Winchester Model 71 in .348 Winchester (I would NOT recommend the latter for a first rifle, but it is dandy for stuff that bites back.)

[lodwick]

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