advice on 1st big game hunting rifle...

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ruger22

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A friend is looking to buy his 1st big game hunting rifle.

Deer, moose, black bear in alberta.

He is leaning to a lever gun.
2nd choice a bolt action.

He will be a one gun, factory ammo guy for a few years I suspect.
Naturally he gets the 2 cent gun counter advice "got to buy a tikka in 300 mag"
Any links to good info on the subject?
 
I would buy a bolt for a one gun guy in Alberta, depending on where he hunts he could have long shots. For the game he lists, a 30-06 would cover them all really well, the only lever available is a BLR and to me for the money just get a nice used bolt action from the EE here on this forum..

BTW the Tikka is nice, but very light. If the guy is a new shooter a really light rifle can give him recoil issues and a flinch once gotten is very hard to get rid of.
 
If your friend is leaning towards the lever guns, then the Marlin 444 is the starting point, but he will have to limit his range. Next, still in the Marlin line up comes the 45/70 and .450 Marlin, question is, can he deal with the increased recoil?. Of course, there are the BLR's and older Savages, I don't know enough about them to comment. My choice would be the .444 :)

And of course you had to ask about bolts, so i't a free for all now...
 
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in a lever gun I would look at the .44-.45 cal marlins.

personaly I would not recomend a new hunter start with a lever gun. yes I know many did, but a scoped bolt gun is simple, and gives you a much better selection of calibers.

in alberta I would probably look at a nice bolt gun (Rem 700) in .270, .308, or .30-06.
 
I would suggest a bolt gun in .308win. Or as Martin suggested, a 30-06. Lots of factory ammo choices and easy to reload for when he is ready.

Get your friend to try a few different rifles if at all possible in order for him to find the best 'fit'. Fit is important for comfort and recoil, and he'll be happier in the long run.
 
jiminthecorner said:
A BLR in 358 will fill all categories. I prefer a bolt but hard to find unless you build your own.JITC
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A .358win bolt is not that hard to find.;)

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:D
 
a 375 H&H would do wonders on animals. No maybe thats a little bug for a first hunting rifle LOL. A good .270 win or 300 win mag would probably do
 
I doubt he'd be happy with a 300 win mag unless he has some fillings he wants to loosen. The same good suggestions have been made over and over, .270, .308, .30-06, .7-08, etc.... Best to avoid the magnums for a first rifle but if that's what he wants maybe suggest something a little on the heavy side to help with the recoil and add a decent "butt cushion"

Course if he's not a really good friend you could let him buy a .500 A-Square Hannibal :)
 
Meat And Potatoes

A first rifle is like a first girlfriend, or first car, except more important. This handy tool will feed you. Don't think magnum, it isn't required, and his bank roll definitely counts. I am partial to the .270, but 7mm-08 to .280 Rem would be great. The 30-06 is versatile but even it can develop a flinch in wrong rifle. I'd probably buy a new rifle if they are sure that hunting is there thing. I has that shiney, feel-good thing. You'll break your cherry on big game together. :p. If you can afford it, get a new Kimber 84 classic in 7mm-08 or 308. I easily handles everything in Alberta in an easy to carry, light recoiling package. Top it with a Leupold 3-9x33 compact or 2.5-8x36. Both have more than enough magnifaication from foothills to muskeg. It'll pack nice, shoot nice and fill the freezer like nothing else.
But if the budget says stay under $1000, buy a Rem700, Ruger M77 II, orWinchester M70 in .270 or .280 Remington off of the EE, and buy a Bushnell 3200 3-9 or Burris 3-9 ( I favor the Burris, but both are reasonable).
Then shoot lots and lots out to 300yds, and buy a pair of shooting sticks and practice like crazy with them. If the gun groups under 1 1/2" at 100 yds caller quits and start practicing. Enjoy and good to see anther one hoining the ranks.
 
I went through this very thing not all that long ago and I settled on a 25-06, as I wanted a gun primarily for deer. Buy I also wanted a gun that I could shoot several boxes of ammo at the range in one day I so desired. The 25-06 is pleasureable to shoot, quite an accurate round anddeadly on most game once you practice alot with it. Itoo bought shooting sticks and all the animals I have harvested were taken with the sticks as my rest. Good selection of premium factory ammo is available at places like P&D in Edmonton. A good starter gun in my opinion is the Stevens 200, reatils for around $369.00. FS
 
Get a remington 740 in 30-06 and you can take down any game in north-america without thinking about it from BC to newfie elk, black bear, white tail. Get-R-Done!
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If we are talking about having only one gun,my choice would be for the most reliable gun available,which leaves out the semi autos,especially the Remingtons.
 
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