Don't tell my wife I asked you this...
- Thread starter canoetrpr
- Start date
Boomer, cosmic:
Very sane words. I'm not running out to pick one up today. Just wanted to get some thoughts in case a great deal came by. Reality wrt. hunting is, as cosmic points out, I haven't hunted before. I have my first trip planned in November for a deer hunt. I love the outdoors. Chances are, I'll enjoy it. Who really knows though until I try it.
The vast majority of my enjoyment of firearms comes at the range. They will always be mostly used there for me. I also honestly don't see myself getting into varmint hunting for the sake of hunting. Maybe it is odd for someone who farms but I have no deep seated hate for coyote's at this point in my life. I manage the livestock appropriately and they haven't bothered me for a few years. My mind might change if I were to find a couple of calves or chickens killed or something more serious. If I setup a tree stand in my forest, I might see the need to control the coyote population to give deer and turkey better chance of survival. I certainly don't see hunting them as a sport as I have no need for their fur and I'm not planning on eating them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not holding anything against anyone who does hunt coyote's - it's just not something I plan to do - other than hunting a problem animal to me.
Thus the want for another rifle really isn't much about hunting at all. And goodness knows I don't really NEED another rifle. Just trying to figure out what to add to the collection if the opportunity comes up.
Very sane words. I'm not running out to pick one up today. Just wanted to get some thoughts in case a great deal came by. Reality wrt. hunting is, as cosmic points out, I haven't hunted before. I have my first trip planned in November for a deer hunt. I love the outdoors. Chances are, I'll enjoy it. Who really knows though until I try it.
The vast majority of my enjoyment of firearms comes at the range. They will always be mostly used there for me. I also honestly don't see myself getting into varmint hunting for the sake of hunting. Maybe it is odd for someone who farms but I have no deep seated hate for coyote's at this point in my life. I manage the livestock appropriately and they haven't bothered me for a few years. My mind might change if I were to find a couple of calves or chickens killed or something more serious. If I setup a tree stand in my forest, I might see the need to control the coyote population to give deer and turkey better chance of survival. I certainly don't see hunting them as a sport as I have no need for their fur and I'm not planning on eating them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not holding anything against anyone who does hunt coyote's - it's just not something I plan to do - other than hunting a problem animal to me.
Thus the want for another rifle really isn't much about hunting at all. And goodness knows I don't really NEED another rifle. Just trying to figure out what to add to the collection if the opportunity comes up.
One of my favorite "fun" rifles is the 17hmr, and the 17 super mag will be out sometime soon so maybe wait for that. Super cheap to shoot, accurate, zero recoil so they are awesome for practice. only downside is they aren't particularly good for hunting anything bigger than grouse.
Absolutely. First purchase ever was a CZ452. She's a blast.
Since you indicate that much of the time will be spent at the range I would have to echo the 6.5mm chamberings(includes 260 rem). The 6.5 suite of chamberings has the advantage of being amazingly accurate which is part of the reason so many bench rest guys use the caliber in a variety of chamberings. This will probably also help fuel your getting into reloading as ammunition is less common than many other chamberings.
Following that if your looking for cheap/easy to get for now, 223 would be what to go for. In a good gun with handloads one should be able to do 1000m shooting if so desired.
For gun choice I'd say buy something one step up from what you budgeted(cringe now and be grateful later on). To me brand is sort of arguing semantics as every gun is individual and will usually require some form of tweaking to personalize it. Get what feels good and take it from there.
Following that if your looking for cheap/easy to get for now, 223 would be what to go for. In a good gun with handloads one should be able to do 1000m shooting if so desired.
For gun choice I'd say buy something one step up from what you budgeted(cringe now and be grateful later on). To me brand is sort of arguing semantics as every gun is individual and will usually require some form of tweaking to personalize it. Get what feels good and take it from there.
