Hello I’m newish to the firearms world I’m looking to get into hunting and target shooting. I’m looking to get a budget bolt action rifle to start off. I’ve done some research and I’m thinking about buying a ruger American predator in 308 or 6.5 creedmoor. The reason I’m leaning towards that rifle is because I’ve heard good things about it and the aftermarket support seems to be pretty good for that rifle! I’m open to Suggestions and opinions on this rifle. To me it seems like a good starting point for a budget rifle I’m not shelling out to much money to start and I have the option to upgrade if I like it or if it’s worth upgrading leaving it all stock. When I go hunting I won’t be going after anything big I would like to start with deer until I get comfortable shooting and making shots with in my range.
Looking to buy a budget blot action for my first rifle
- Thread starter Fitzy999
- Start date
Blastattack
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Winnipeg MB
Get a .22 bolt action. You won’t be getting out much to the range if you have to spend $1-$2 per round to practice. Build your skills with a .22, and when you have the resources, get something bigger and push it further. Shooting a .22 at 100 yards/meters has roughly the same challenge as shooting .308 at 300 yards/meters.
I'd get a sporterized Mauser 96 or Husqvarna 1600 from Trade Ex or another site sponsor. M 96s that were sporterized in Sweden by gunsmiths are very nice rifles, not military looking, and you can get them in 30.06 or other euro calibres that will handle the bears prowling around Calgary. I've bought 3 swedish hunting rifles from Trade Ex and they were all in nice shape, had signs of some honest use in the field but hadn't been shot heavily at a range. 6.5 x 55 is famously sweet but personally I am not sure I'd manage the shot placement well enough to rely on it for bear defence. The nicest rifle I've seen on any used rack lately is real pretty M 96 in 7x57 mm, sporterized in Germany, with a 4x32 Busnelll scope AND good iron sights, seen yesterday at site sponsor West Coast Hunting Supplies in Richmond BC (for $500, perhaps slightly overpriced). Not on their current used list but it's there. Rifles of this kind are inexpensive but not "budget" in the cheap sense.
Learn to shoot first with a bolt action 22 if you have not shot frequently before. Once you are comfortable with the basics then go after the rifles you mention. If you have experience shooting then get comfortable shooting whichever rifle you choose. Don't forget "hunting" is learning to shoot from various positions, and making an ethical shot. Learn to shoot from a knee, sitting, offhand (close range shot). It can also be an advantage to be able to shoot from either side (left/right).
twatermelon
CGN Regular
- Location
- 2642km from Tofino
Detailing your budget would help.
Agree on the bolt action 22. For $200 you can have a brand new Marlin or Savage that will be plenty accurate out of the box. You haven't spent much money and can save it for your next rifle/feeding it.
Agree on the bolt action 22. For $200 you can have a brand new Marlin or Savage that will be plenty accurate out of the box. You haven't spent much money and can save it for your next rifle/feeding it.
I'd get a .22lr for practise and then a centerfire rifle. As a newbie I'd stay away from the used Husky or sporterized Mauser offers. Yes, there are some good examples out there but there is also a large number of bubba'ed lemons with issues that may not be obvious at first glance.
A Vanguard S2 would be my choice rather then the Ruger American.
A Vanguard S2 would be my choice rather then the Ruger American.
Both 6.5 creed and 308 offer hunting and match loads. Find the rifle that fits and feels best. Buy it. Shoot it. Enjoy it. Neither kick hard and easily mastered. Buy some deer vital targets that outline the lungs and heart and start close and move further back as your skills allow
Mighty Peace
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Land of the Mighty Peace
Going new and for budget, look at Savage. Good shooters.
As suggested , maybe buy a used higher end rifle from the EE.
As suggested , maybe buy a used higher end rifle from the EE.
Mighty Peace
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Land of the Mighty Peace
Just was on Cabelas website. Me, am not a fan of Browning but Cabelas has a Browning AB3 Composite Stalker with Leupold Marksman 3-9x40 scope pkg deal in a 6.5 Creed for $ 949.99 plus free shipping on firearms. Might be something to look at.
They have a Savage pkg for $689.99 in the same caliber
They have a Savage pkg for $689.99 in the same caliber
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
The true cost of shooting is not in the rifle you choose, but in the ammunition it consumes. The first question you should ask yourself is, "What is it for?" If you intend to be exclusively target shooting, you don't need a rifle chambered for a round that is as expensive to shoot as the 6.5s or and .308s. Many will champion the .22 rimfire as a first rifle due to the low cost of the ammunition, but my opinion differs in that I think a .22 rimfire is a beneficial learning tool when used in conjuncture with a centerfire, but that it creates a mental barrier against the centerfire rounds due to the disparity in cartridge size, when used in exclusion to a centerfire rifle. Once a mental barrier has been well ingrained, like a flinch it takes much time and ammo to overcome it. If you have to pick between a rimfire and a centerfire as a first rifle, choose the centerfire, preferably a .223 for which less expensive surplus ammo can still be acquired, and consider handloading at the same time that you begin shooting.
If the rifle is intended as a big game rifle, the cartridge choice at one time was quite simple, since surplus .303, 308, and .30/06 ammo was all commonly available at low prices, and the FMJs could be replaced with soft points of equal weight without needing to tweak the powder charge. Today if you live in an province that mandates a .23" or larger diameter round for hunting, the only inexpensive surplus ammo you'll find is 7.62X39. Currently rifles chambered for this cartridge are made by CZ, Zastava, Ruger, and Howa. Is it the perfect all around big game cartridge? No that title is owned by the .30/06 in North America and the .375 H&H in Africa and Asia, but the 7.62X39 is a good introductory hunting round suitable for deer, antelope, sheep, and black bear. One fellow I know dumped a large moose with his 7.62x39 Ruger 77, and it only took a single shot. Do I consider it a suitable round for game that weighs in excess of half a ton? No, but it is suitable for game that weighs up to 500 pounds, that can be shot at ranges up to 200 yards. When loaded with a 150 gr pointed bullet a muzzle velocity of 2150 fps, sighted 2" high at 100 yards will zero about 150 yards and be about 4" low at 200 and 8" low at 230.
These figures are not particularly inspiring when compared to the 6.5X55, the 7X57, or the .308, but they are suitable for medium sized game taken at modest ranges. The key is that this is a round that can be fired frequently on a tight budget, and won't beat you up while you are learning the basics. With a current price of 25 cents a round for surplus ammo and the larger rounds costing about a dollar and a half each when loaded with soft points, you can fire 6 rounds of 7.62x39 for every round of the others. If you purchase some handloading tools, you can replace the FMJ surplus bullets with soft soft points, or cast lead bullets and still have affordable ammunition. Embrace this idea and shoot that rifle until you can make it do what it was designed to do when shooting from field positions. Then you can take up hunting with it. Shooting rabbits with a centerfire hunting rifle is a good way to hone your skills and can be done through much of the year.
Several of the rifles chambered for 7.62x39 come with factory iron sights. If you can put off purchasing a scope, that would probably provide you with the cash needed to acquire the modest handloading tools you need to get started (a Lee "C" press, Lee dies, a shell holder, a kinetic bullet puller, and a set of Lee powder measure spoons) or it might allow you to upgrade to a better rifle than you first considered. Again keep in mind that the true cost of shooting is more the price of the ammo than it is the price of the rifle.
If the rifle is intended as a big game rifle, the cartridge choice at one time was quite simple, since surplus .303, 308, and .30/06 ammo was all commonly available at low prices, and the FMJs could be replaced with soft points of equal weight without needing to tweak the powder charge. Today if you live in an province that mandates a .23" or larger diameter round for hunting, the only inexpensive surplus ammo you'll find is 7.62X39. Currently rifles chambered for this cartridge are made by CZ, Zastava, Ruger, and Howa. Is it the perfect all around big game cartridge? No that title is owned by the .30/06 in North America and the .375 H&H in Africa and Asia, but the 7.62X39 is a good introductory hunting round suitable for deer, antelope, sheep, and black bear. One fellow I know dumped a large moose with his 7.62x39 Ruger 77, and it only took a single shot. Do I consider it a suitable round for game that weighs in excess of half a ton? No, but it is suitable for game that weighs up to 500 pounds, that can be shot at ranges up to 200 yards. When loaded with a 150 gr pointed bullet a muzzle velocity of 2150 fps, sighted 2" high at 100 yards will zero about 150 yards and be about 4" low at 200 and 8" low at 230.
These figures are not particularly inspiring when compared to the 6.5X55, the 7X57, or the .308, but they are suitable for medium sized game taken at modest ranges. The key is that this is a round that can be fired frequently on a tight budget, and won't beat you up while you are learning the basics. With a current price of 25 cents a round for surplus ammo and the larger rounds costing about a dollar and a half each when loaded with soft points, you can fire 6 rounds of 7.62x39 for every round of the others. If you purchase some handloading tools, you can replace the FMJ surplus bullets with soft soft points, or cast lead bullets and still have affordable ammunition. Embrace this idea and shoot that rifle until you can make it do what it was designed to do when shooting from field positions. Then you can take up hunting with it. Shooting rabbits with a centerfire hunting rifle is a good way to hone your skills and can be done through much of the year.
Several of the rifles chambered for 7.62x39 come with factory iron sights. If you can put off purchasing a scope, that would probably provide you with the cash needed to acquire the modest handloading tools you need to get started (a Lee "C" press, Lee dies, a shell holder, a kinetic bullet puller, and a set of Lee powder measure spoons) or it might allow you to upgrade to a better rifle than you first considered. Again keep in mind that the true cost of shooting is more the price of the ammo than it is the price of the rifle.
Friends of mine just went thru this after looking at many rifles they bought used stainless.synthetic stocked Tikka T3's in 6.5 Creedmore and 30-06 off the EE.
I installed new lightweight Talley rings and a used Leupold VX3 2.5-8x36mm $350 on the 30-06 and a used Burris 4-14x scope not sure of the model or what they paid on the 6.5 CR for them.
We then headed out to the range to try out some factory ammo that they had bought cheap 140gr 6.5 CR was amazingly accurate = 1" - 1 1/2" 3 shot 200 yard groups the 30-06 sucked with their factory ammo but my 165gr Accubond reloads for my rifle gave them 1 1/2" - 2" 200 yard 3 shot groups.
They are now up in northern BC on a sheep, goat, elk, moose hunt.
I installed new lightweight Talley rings and a used Leupold VX3 2.5-8x36mm $350 on the 30-06 and a used Burris 4-14x scope not sure of the model or what they paid on the 6.5 CR for them.
We then headed out to the range to try out some factory ammo that they had bought cheap 140gr 6.5 CR was amazingly accurate = 1" - 1 1/2" 3 shot 200 yard groups the 30-06 sucked with their factory ammo but my 165gr Accubond reloads for my rifle gave them 1 1/2" - 2" 200 yard 3 shot groups.
They are now up in northern BC on a sheep, goat, elk, moose hunt.
