Suggestions welcomed for general purpose/deer hunting rifle

I’m no expert but after reading a lot of reviews and handeling as many guns I could I opted to go with a Remington 783 in a 308.
The gun still outshoots my ability and has no problem staying Sub MOA.
The 308 ammo is cheap and can be found anywhere. You can even get some decent surplus ammo that shoots reasonable well for dirt cheap.
They only thing that sucks about the gun is the scope they package it with. Toss it away and get your hands on a Nikon prostaff or something a bit better and you’ll have a great hunting package at an affordable price.
 
camnorth said:
Thank you all for your comments, much appreciated, I will check out Trade-ex for sure. Doesn't seem like anybody has any love for modern Mossberg products (MVP, Patriot)? How about new production Rem 700's? Any issues?
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I purchased a 308 M700 SPS Tactical with a 16" barrel last year. The LGS had 2 in stock and I handled both, the one I bought had the smoothes bolt action. Other than that straight out of the box and a cleaned barrel it shot 1 MOA at 100 with both 150 gr and 180 gr cheap "blue" box Federal SP. The overmold Hogue stock is perfect for carrying around hunting rifle but forget mounting a bipod. I ended up upgrading to a Trigger Tech trigger and a Magpul stock.

Don't forget the Ruger Gunsite Scout in 308.
 
I would not buy a $1200 rifle to blast garbage corrosive ammo through it. This is why I can’t bring myself to buy a used one because I know some dumb turd put that kind of ammo through it.

They’re several good options in a .308 like the Remington 600 Mohawk.
 
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Yari said:
what kind of terrain will you be hunting?
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We have a little more than 20 acres, and there just so happens to be a small creek and deer run around 150 yards from the cabin. Cabin foundation is sitting up high on Canadian Shield so I have a nice perch. The area is fairly heavily forested, however at the time of hunt it should be more sparse but I will be clearing some shooting lanes nonetheless. Not a ton of hiking with the rifle.
 
Anyone have experience with the Zavasta M85's? I've been looking because in 7.62x39 I could be blasting surplus outside of the hunting application. Some decent load selections for hunting are available as well.
Handled a few rifles at my LGS this weekend. Savage Axis (camo stock, bushnell 3-9) handled well, stock was better than expected, smooth bolt operation.
 
Just picked up a nice scoped tang safety m77 for 600, can’t come close to the quality these days for that price. Great bluing, beautiful walnut.Some real gems lurking in the ee, very happy with it and glad I didn’t go the budget rifle route.
 
The M77 is a very good rifle, as mentioned. Also the tradex Husqvarna 1600 or something in a '98 action. Best guns you can buy for the $.
 
I am surprised that no one has suggested an SKS. Right caliber and its within budget. Mine is more than accurate enough with the right ammo. Brass cased seems to work the best in mine. This will be the first year deer hunting for me and I had planned on using it, then I got a BCL-102. If I get my doe tag, I'll use the BCL because I won't have to go humping around in the bush ( they literally walk into my yard ). If I don't get a doe tag, I'll take the SKS because its a few pounds lighter and I might have to work a bit harder to get a deer in the freezer.
 
hoytcanon said:
That makes sense....
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Hey, hey, SKS works mighty fine in my personal experience :). I shot three whitetails in two days with mine. Two does and a buck. Both does I shot back to back in the same group thanks to semi auto and light recoil. Three shots, maybe 5 seconds, and two deer down. Fill the freezer, mate.
 
camnorth said:
Anyone have experience with the Zavasta M85's? I've been looking because in 7.62x39 I could be blasting surplus outside of the hunting application. Some decent load selections for hunting are available as well.
Handled a few rifles at my LGS this weekend. Savage Axis (camo stock, bushnell 3-9) handled well, stock was better than expected, smooth bolt operation.
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Try find some reviews on the Zastava - hearsay says that they're a bit rough around the edges and accuracy is worse than what most people are used to from a bolt action. For a bolt action 7.62x39 a better bet is a CZ 527 or a Howa Mini Action. They're both in the neighborhood of $800 but the CZ is a classic wood-stocked rifle. I checked one out at a gun store and was sorely tempted to get one for my wife. But I got her a 6.5x55 instead so that she can elk hunt with it in the future. That's the problem with x39 or 223 (if that's legal where you are); you can't use it for anything bigger than deer.
 
weasel1 said:
What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm in Ontario, all hunting I will do will be under 100 yards. 7.62x39 is more than adequate.
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Truth be known, my son deer hunts with an SKS ... and he does quite well !

The 7.62X39 has similar ballistics to the 30-30 ... there's been 'LOTS' of game taken with that old one!
 
I'd avoid all "budget" "package" rifles on the market, and suggest as others have that a new shooter / hunter get a good used high quality bolt rifle and a decent scope. It makes absolutely no sense to buy one of those cheap, ugly starter rifle packages and then replace the scope, upgrade the trigger, and perhaps replace the flimsy plastic stock. Just do it right the first time. And I almost always recommend the .308, in my opinion the most versatile, affordable, available, "adequate for anything" with manageable recoil round on the market. The 30-06 and .270 and 7mm08 are just as good if the rifle you find isn't in .308. As stated before, you can't go wrong with the regular version Rem 700 ( not the SPS) or M77 Ruger or Win M70, and I'll add Tikka T3, Howa, CZ 557, and most of the Mauser M98 based rifles. There are other good ones, especially the european makes. Since you can't afford new, have someone with experience help you choose a good used one. They usually don't wear out and can be a great bargain. the trick will be to find a good used rifle with good iron sights - many are without sights. Irons are not such a bad idea if you have good eyes. A scope can be added when you can afford one.
A scope should cost at least half the cost of the rifle. You don't need any magnification higher than 9x for any big game hunting you'll do as a beginner, and the low power end is often more important for hunting in the bush - so no more than 3-9x and as low as 1.5-5X is perfectly OK, with 4x a standard for fixed power scopes. Fixed power scopes are almost a thing of the past, but work well, are cheaper than variables, and less "fussy" - all good things for a beginner. Look for a scope manufacturer that offers unlimited lifetime warranty and Canadian service. Then you know you haven't wasted your money on a used scope. Leupold is one that does.
The last couple of beginner hunters I set up were with used a Parker-Hale M98 rifle in .308 with used Leupold 4x scope. The whole package cost under $800. My sons shoot the same used Remington 700's I found for them years ago, with Leupold 4x scopes, in 7mm08. Both are happy and have wanted no upgrades or modifications. Both have taken deer and elk at various ranges. No problems.
 
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weasel1 said:
I am surprised that no one has suggested an SKS. Right caliber and its within budget. Mine is more than accurate enough with the right ammo. Brass cased seems to work the best in mine. This will be the first year deer hunting for me and I had planned on using it, then I got a BCL-102. If I get my doe tag, I'll use the BCL because I won't have to go humping around in the bush ( they literally walk into my yard ). If I don't get a doe tag, I'll take the SKS because its a few pounds lighter and I might have to work a bit harder to get a deer in the freezer.
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I actually own 2 SKS's. They are both decent shooters, however I do not like the irons on them, so instead of trying to get something fitted (peep sights, fire sights scope mounts etc..) I figured I would just purchase a dedicated hunter.
 
Longwalker said:
I'd avoid all "budget" "package" rifles on the market, and suggest as others have that a new shooter / hunter get a good used high quality bolt rifle and a decent scope. It makes absolutely no sense to buy one of those cheap, ugly starter rifle packages and then replace the scope, upgrade the trigger, and perhaps replace the flimsy plastic stock. Just do it right the first time. And I almost always recommend the .308, in my opinion the most versatile, affordable, available, "adequate for anything" with manageable recoil round on the market. The 30-06 and .270 and 7mm08 are just as good if the rifle you find isn't in .308. As stated before, you can't go wrong with the regular version Rem 700 ( not the SPS) or M77 Ruger or Win M70, and I'll add Tikka T3, Howa, CZ 557, and most of the Mauser M98 based rifles. There are other good ones, especially the european makes. Since you can't afford new, have someone with experience help you choose a good used one. They usually don't wear out and can be a great bargain. the trick will be to find a good used rifle with good iron sights - many are without sights. Irons are not such a bad idea if you have good eyes. A scope can be added when you can afford one.
A scope should cost at least half the cost of the rifle. You don't need any magnification higher than 9x for any big game hunting you'll do as a beginner, and the low power end is often more important for hunting in the bush - so no more than 3-9x and as low as 1.5-5X is perfectly OK, with 4x a standard for fixed power scopes. Fixed power scopes are almost a thing of the past, but work well, are cheaper than variables, and less "fussy" - all good things for a beginner. Look for a scope manufacturer that offers unlimited lifetime warranty and Canadian service. Then you know you haven't wasted your money on a used scope. Leupold is one that does.
The last couple of beginner hunters I set up were with used a Parker-Hale M98 rifle in .308 with used Leupold 4x scope. The whole package cost under $800. My sons shoot the same used Remington 700's I found for them years ago, with Leupold 4x scopes, in 7mm08. Both are happy and have wanted no upgrades or modifications. Both have taken deer and elk at various ranges. No problems.
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Thanks so much for the detailed response, I appreciate it.
 
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