1st rifle, don't know what to buy.

island grown said:
I picked up a Savage 111 package deal for $481.00 out the door. I through out the scope and put a Redfield Revolution 3-9x40 on it for $180.

For a cheaper package rifle, it will shoot better than I can. 1 to 1 1/2 inch groups from a rest at 100yrds.

Good package when your working with a budget.
Cheers,

Happy hunting
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I started out life hunting with a sported enfield. Never could get better than a 2" group at 100yds. I was told that that was fine for hunting, so I hunted with it. Over the years, I added more milsurp enfields (best one is a #5 original) but couldn't get the accuracy I wanted out of them. Good rifles, all, but not what I was looking for. Finally got a factory rifle, Mossberg 100ATR in both .308 and .30-06. They shoot 5/8" groups! WSS has Mossberg 4x4 packages on sale right now for $370. But you will need to upgrade the scope immediately.

Bought a Savage 111 youth combo in .243 for my wife 2 years ago. Not the best scope, but it still works. She has taken 4 deer with it out to 250yds. It is a VERY nice rifle and shoots sub MOA all day from a rest.
That being said, (price on this has jumped almost $200), I would buy one of the Weatherby Vanguard packages for the same money, and it comes with a Bushnell scope, sling, and hard case. I hunting buddy bought one this year in .22-250 for coyotes. I really like shooting it, wish I was in the market for a new rifle...:(

eta: Meant to tell you to get a .308 as a minimum.
 
Dman_21 said:
I think the Tikka T3 lite in either the .30-06 or .270win is the way I want to go. Everything i have read on them they are extremely reliable/accurate, and the used market on them, for this site anyways, is right in my price range. Thanks for the extra push, I think my mind is more or less made up.
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^^ Good call... :D
 
I have been shooting with tikka and sako for a long while now I have tried many others but I just cant compare the feel i get with those rifles I love them they are so smooth and accurate and just tough. The tikka brand does offer very competitive pricing and I dont think you can go wrong as stated before. when your ready to spend a few more dollars look at sako they are ###y. the only other rifle i own that i love as much is my a bolt medallion :) good luck on finding your rifle
 
How about a 30/30 lever?? Seriously, I have been hunting for 5 years before I discovered the simplicity and the accuracy of it and best of all, almost ZERO recoil! I came from hunting with a 7mm Rem Mag and I had a BAD case of trigger flinch. Call me a pussy if you will, but the most important thing when hunting with a game rifle is not to be flinching when you pull the trigger. I have learned that shot placement is everything! I have been using the Hornady Leverevolution in 160 grain. It is excellent up to 200 yrds and at $20 +/- for a box of 20, it won't break the bank and neither will the price of a Malrin 336 in 30/30.They regularly pop up on the EE and yes, a Marlin 336 in 30/30 is drilled and tapped for scope mounts. Now, if only I would have started with a 30/30 five years ago....
 
stefK said:
How about a 30/30 lever?? Seriously, I have been hunting for 5 years before I discovered the simplicity and the accuracy of it and best of all, almost ZERO recoil! I came from hunting with a 7mm Rem Mag and I had a BAD case of trigger flinch. Call me a pussy if you will, but the most important thing when hunting with a game rifle is not to be flinching when you pull the trigger. I have learned that shot placement is everything! I have been using the Hornady Leverevolution in 160 grain. It is excellent up to 200 yrds and at $20 +/- for a box of 20, it won't break the bank and neither will the price of a Malrin 336 in 30/30.They regularly pop up on the EE and yes, a Marlin 336 in 30/30 is drilled and tapped for scope mounts. Now, if only I would have started with a 30/30 five years ago....
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This also is great advice! A few months back I picked up my first 30-30 and I'm hunting with it this year. It fits me better than any other rifle I've owned, recoil is nil, ammo is cheap (I still handload for it though), gun and scope cost me (I believe) less than $400(both are used, marlin 336 with a weaver k2.5). I'm not a long range shooter by any stretch of the imagination so the ballistics of the 30-30 don't handicap me in any way (that fact that I hunt the forestry means theres not a lot of long shots anyways). With 170gr bullets I'd be confident using it for moose and elk at reasonable ranges.

Yet another option to look at.
 
For an entry priced rifle, I am going to recommend the Marlin bolts. I fondled one at the sportsman show and can say its MILES ahead of the entry priced Savage/Stevens in terms of looks and feel, and from all accounts shoots pretty well too.
 
Lots of used T3's in the $600 ballpark. I bought one last month in stainless for $600 shipped. I then promptly traded it for a Winchester 70 XTR Featherweight with a McMillan stock.

Anyways, they're around on the used market at the top end of the OP's budget, But brand new... you're right.
 
The used market is the place to go for a good quality gun that won't break the bank.
I've got one on the way right now. It's a Parker Hale Midland in 30-06, and the pics show it to be in excellent condition [we'll hope that the pics were correct]. It's coming for $300 shipped. I've got a Bushnell Scopechief VI in 3-9x33 that's been sitting around for a couple years unused. So for not much money I'll have another strong, reliable gun that can take any game I point it at. I don't need it, but I couldn't turn down such a deal either!

If I were looking for a good, but inexpensive first gun, this is the kind of rifle I'd be all over.
 
If i was shopping for a deer rifle with a $600 budget, Savage Axis XP combo and a used single stage press with a set of .308 dies would look pretty nice.
 
Husky sporter 6.5x55 from Tradeex,get a used M-8 Leopold 4x,and you'll still have money left over out of $500 for a couple of boxes of shells.Good to go for anything you'll run into in NorthAmerica[but don't tell my wife-she will want to know why I ''need'' all the rest of the rifles in the gun cabinet]NICE RIFLE TOO....well machined,nice walnut stock,superbly accurate and a caliber that has lasted over 100 years
 
Tons of advice for you to go with now. My first rifle is a 1957 Savage 99F in .300 Savage. I enjoy hunting with it as it is small, light, well-balanced, and has little recoil. There are many around on CGN in a variety of calibers for reasonable prices, well within your budget. Good luck in your search.
 
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