Looking to buy my first gun!

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tphenix57

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Hey everyone,

I am a university student looking to get into hunting and sport shooting.
I am looking for anyone's opinion on what some of the best starter rifles are for sport shooting and hunting.
I have looked at some rifles already, the remington 783, savage 11 hunter xp, and was wondering if anyone has any opinions on whether those are good rifles.
Being a university student I will be on a budget of course looking for something in the range of $400-$600 range, that would be about as much as I would want to spend.
Any and all opinions are welcome!

Thanks!
 
Ya I have shot a .22LR before, the Ruger 10/22 to be exact and it was very easy to shoot and definitely cheap. I was thinking something bigger though as my first since I have shot my friends .308 and a few other larger rounds than a .22
 
Depends on what your hoping to try hunting and shooting. 22lr will not do anything but allow you to take the smallest of game. If you plan on hunting something like deer of waterfowl your options change. If you want to punch holes in paper or cans then see above.
 
Try looking under Hunting and Sporting Arms, on the TEC TradeEx site(top of page).
Many very good used rifles, at a good price. Some in common calibers, like 30/06, .308
 
I was thinking of hunting some bigger game, although I will probably get a .22 or .17 HMR for smaller game, any idea's on a good .308 in my price range?
 
Would you consider a red rifle? Picking up an SKS wouldn't be a bad starter. Lots of fun to shoot and surplus ammo is pretty cheap or you could spend a couple extra bucks and get the non corrosive. Another great thing about owning a mil surplus firearm is you can beat it up pretty bad and she'll still work well.
 
get a 22 first, something you can shoot all day. It doesn't have the big boom or a hunting rifle, but if your on a budge, a 22 + scope and all the ammo you want for 400.
 
my vote is to learn to shoot the .22
as you gain knowledge youll be able to point your search in a sharper direction more inline with what you want to do. when I started shooting I had zero interest in shotgun, only reason I shot one was because it was given to me; after a box of shells i was hooked on trap and this weekend im going duck hunting, deer with it come shotgun season as well maybe.

that said the recomendation to get a .22lr/12ga/lee or sks seems to be a pretty good suggestion. all affordable, ammo is cheap, and you can hunt a very wide variety of things
 
tphenix57 said:
I was thinking of hunting some bigger game, although I will probably get a .22 or .17 HMR for smaller game, any idea's on a good .308 in my price range?
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Is your price range for a complete package or are you looking for $400-$600 for a rifle, plus scope/rings/sling/case?

Typically if you buy a package deal from a manufacturer the scope/rings that you receive with the rifle are below sub-par. However they may work for a season to let you out to hunt, but you would definitely want to replace the scope as soon as you could. If you could drop a little extra, I'd look for a Howa 1500 or a Weatherby Vanguard S2 (same rifles really). Prophet river has package deals on the Howa's that come with a Nikko-Sterling scope for $799, or you could have them order a Vanguard S2 (blued with Synthetic stock) in. I purchased one recently and paid $529 + scope/rings and it only came to about $780. Far superior firearm to an Axis package that can be picked up for ~$450.

As far as caliber selection goes, everyone has their preferences, but anything from a .270 to a .300Win Mag would let you hunt any large game on the North American continent. Don't get me wrong, a .308 is an excellent hunting round, but don't disregard the 30-06's or the .270's.

You'll also find that picking up on a rimfire will be the most cost efficient way of working on your marksmanship technique. Firing a .308 will get expensive in a hurry compared to a .22LR. You still have to fire your hunting rifle to learn it, but a day at the range with a .22 will cost a lost less on ammo than a day with a .308.
 
Some very good points there, thanks a lot. And I was hoping that the rifle would be inbetween the $400-$600 range and leave me some room to spend on decent optics. What are your opinions on some good optics in the $200 range? Or will anything that cheap be again below par?
 
Gain access to the EE..aka.......Equipment Exchange.
There are some decent priced packages on there.
I can think of two that stand out and both have quality scopes on them.


tphenix57 said:
Some very good points there, thanks a lot. And I was hoping that the rifle would be inbetween the $400-$600 range and leave me some room to spend on decent optics. What are your opinions on some good optics in the $200 range? Or will anything that cheap be again below par?
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Been there :) and CGNs EE is a great place to start. I've found most of my stuff on the CGN EE or firearms canada. I've bought/traded through a lot of firearms and now have a better idea of what I like and what I need. I went from 'reloading' to precision loading (yes there's a night & day difference), so that also played a big factor. Are you going to load your own or buy commercial?

A multipurpose rifle target/hunting is a tradeoff between heavier barrel for higher count shot strings (before heat affects accuracy) and lighter barrel for hunting (where you hopefully won't need more than 1-3 shots). My personal opinion:


  • The best all around target/hunting compromise is the Savage 10 Precision Carbine in .308 Win (I bought mine used on EE and precision loaded it to half MOA i.e. half inch groups at 100y (with 178gn Amax and close to that with Barnes 175 LRX or 165 TTSX). The 10 PC has a tapered semi-heavy barrel, that's only 20" (which is perfect for .308, gives great accuracy and is still bush carry worthy).
  • The more accurate target/hunting combo: The heavier barrel Rem700 SPS Tactical. Both the ones I had were more accurate than the 10 PC but also more weight - but I did get my first deer with one ;) I was also planning on competing with it but now got a specific F/TR off EE.
  • The scope quandry. Yes, I've had the cheaper NcStar - no problems with the 2.5-10 tactical - but also nowhere near the quality of the Bushnell Elite 3200 Tactical 5-15x. Also, I'm super impressed with the Mueller scopes, which I believe are not well known but been working great for me. Obviously there are guys that can shell out thousands for high end scopes (Nightforce et al) but I'm not there yet (aside from the Sightron I'm getting with a Savage F/TR ;) A good mid-range scope and good rings (& base) DO make a difference. The Elite 3200 that I had was with me longer than most of my rifles, so if you get a good scope & rings, they can outlast your rifles (assuming you're like me and trying a variety). Again, should be able to find some good used scopes on EE.


Don't be afraid to buy used, there's a lot of great equipment out there. Just my opinion. All the best.
 
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tphenix57 said:
Some very good points there, thanks a lot. And I was hoping that the rifle would be inbetween the $400-$600 range and leave me some room to spend on decent optics. What are your opinions on some good optics in the $200 range? Or will anything that cheap be again below par?
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Decent hunting optics can be purchased for around $200. I paid $190 for the Redfield Revenge I put on my .300WinMag. I've put about 100 rounds through it at the range and haven't had to adjust it since i got it zero'd in at 200yd. I do plan on putting a revolution on it for next year, mostly because i'd found the eye relief isn't quite sufficient for the recoil of the round, and the revolution definitely has a bit more.
 
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