First Real Rifle?

I recently got a Lee Enfield. The 303 Brit is definitely an expensive round. I agree that 308 is a great deer hunting round and is more affordable to shoot. 30/30 lever is also a great bush gun, fun to shoot and very affordable ammo.
 
Can't go wrong with a 783 in .308 as they be nice units that shoot rather well with ammo they like. Not a big fan of .223 myself. Lots of scope options out there that work dandy and won't break the bank. Great platform for target rifle builds as well. ;)
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Consider a rifle chambered for a full sized cartridge and take up handloading at the same time. I can't tell you that handloading is less expensive than shooting a rimfire, but with cast bullets and a light charge of pistol powder, plinking and small game hunting becomes much more affordable. If you enjoy punching paper or ringing steel, you can handload to get the most accuracy possible from your rifle, something that's not possible with factory ammo. You can load better big game ammo than you can buy, and load it to velocity and recoil levels that suit your needs. If just starting out, and I had to choose between handloading tools and supplies and a scope, I would spurchase a rifle with good quality iron sights and load my own.
 
I would suggest that a 243 would be your minimum cartridge for deer. It is a great caliber to use a scope with and if you find a 90-100 grain bullet that the gun shoots accurately you'll be set for the hunting season. Roughly speaking you'll need to spend about $300.00 or more for a scope that is reliable enough to hold zero. I was at our local range three weeks ago and everyone that showed up (besides me) had inexpensive scope on their rifles and none of them could hold zero. So they wasted a lot of ammo and never achieved an accurate zero on the targets they were shooting at. My friendly suggestion to them was to go and get a better scope and make sure the bases and rings are doing the job they are intended to do.
 
Common rounds like 243. 308. 270. 3030 can be bought for slightly more than a buck a round and are designed for deer sized game. A 223 can work but proper loads are needed and often harder to find. With a 223 a precise shot is needed and i mean no offense but pellet guns and paper targets arent the same as shooting a deer. Especially your first. If you like the 783 buy one in a common caliber 243 or up. My buddy just picked up a savage axis in 270. Winchester grey box shoots so well out of it he isnt going to handload
Stick with the rimfire and shoot a box thru the deer rifle each time. Shooting alot gets expensive no matter what you shoot
 
Ok 22's whole lotta cheap fun , SKS whole lotta larger caliber cheap fun , Savage Axis in 308 cheapest most accurate out of the box deer gun your gonna find
Safe shootin
 
308 or 30-06 if you might go bear or moose hunting, too. Tradeex has Husqvarna 1600's in 30-06 in the $400 range. 243 if you are going to stick to deer and varmints. Your main hunting rifle should be something easy and cheap to find ammo for. I like a 6.5x55 (wife shoots an M96 sporter) but on my last trip to Crappy Tire I counted 20+ flavors of 308 and 30-06 ammo and only one 6.5x55. And zero 9.3x62 :-D. My father-in-law is finally going to upgrade from his 303 British. I convinced him to get a Tikka T3X stainless in 30-06 because he has zero interest in reloading and doesn't want heaver recoil than the 303. About $1000.

As far as scopes I run both Bushnell Elites and Leupolds. Tradeex sells Bushnell Elite 2-7x32 and 3-9x40 for about $225. I have both of those and they are perfectly good but I run a Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40 (~$600 if you shop around) on my main hunting rifle. It's a bit better in low light. Stick to Japan, USA, or Euro scopes and you won't have a problem. Some Philippine scopes are ok but Chinese isn't worth the risk.
 
Another vote for a 6.5x55 Husqvarna. Here is one with a Timney trigger included. I purchased a similar rifle a few years back! Excellent value on the dollar. Just pick up some bases and some rings!
https://www.tradeexcanada.com/content/swedish-m96-sporter-65x55-35

Rangeview Sports has the Elite 3500 scopes on sale.
https://www.rangeviewsports.ca/products/bushnell-elite-3500-matte-3-9x-40-multi-x-box
These are also excellent value. Especially at this price! I think they have a free shpping and no tax deal right now. Bushnell also has a rebate on for an Uncle Mike's rolling armor case for $20.00 and this scope applies. Ends October 31st.

Overall lots of value in a package like this. Excellent shooting rifles! Great scope for cheap!
 
I can highly recommend the Ruger American. I have the current model Ranch with AR mags and it is excellent, however the no frills model is quite a bit cheaper.

Also available in 7.62x39, which opens up other options for a cheap plinker that will also handle the heavier stuff.

I gave up on Remington a while ago. Just no.

OP, If you ever get down the Valley a ways, shoot me a PM.
 
I don't hunt big game (or deer :) ) but sure have allot of SKS, rimfire and .223 experience under my belt. While I've heard deer @ close range with 7.62x39 is a pretty good set-up, the accuracy limitations of both the ammo, AND guns like the SKS might result in a deer hunt not going your way. My buddies who use rifles for deer=.243/.270, and those are never long-range propositions either. The question needs to be asked whether or not the risk of a poorly placed shot (gun/caliber limitation~not the shooter necessarily) is one you can live with, or, if it makes more sense to get a heavier-hitter for the job. I can see where you're coming from with respect to the .223 logic, but in cases like this...I don't think there is 1 tool that will meet all the criteria you have.

A budget plinker~for sure, 22LR is the way to go. Those Cooeys are good (I've had at least 2-3 Cooey single shots) but I far prefer mag-fed bolt guns. I like CZ/BRNO/Anschutz most, but have put thousands of rounds through various Marlins/Savages/Henry/Chiappa/Taurus/Winchester/Norinco as well.

Scope~less than 10 years ago, you'd have had a hard time convincing me any scope was worth more than $150. lol I thought guys buying good scopes had deeper pockets, or were optics snobs. Well...that's true in allot of cases, but 4 things changed my opinion on that;

1. having several cheap scopes fail in a relatively short period of time (reticles flopping over, adjustment knobs that either don't function properly, or function at all, moisture finding it's way in in spite of never using on wet days, etc.)
2. my eyes aren't what they once were
3. shooting ANY gun allot will eventually reveal it's shortcomings, same goes for optics. Long shooting days=eye strain with the poor glass in cheap scopes
4. getting an opportunity to actually shoot guns wearing good scopes. My scopes (always well maintained) looked like someone had cleaned the outer edges of the lens with an oily rag. The good scopes looked like HD TV in comparison, and low-light visibility was staggeringly good.

I think it's the natural evolution of things, like fly fishing. At first you're so thrilled to be catching, you're happy to get 100 fish even if they're small. Big vest, cheap rod/reel, 10 fly boxes, thousands of flies, 8 hour days, etc. 30 years in, nice rod/reel, no vest, one fly box, maybe a dozen patterns, fish for the best 2-3 hours of the day, and only hunt for big trout...and totally happy even if you don't get one. lol (not that I ever get skunked :) ) I used to be happy with having multiple rifles, all equipped with the cheapest scopes I could get. Now, I'd rather have 1 rifle with a good (or very good) scope. I wouldn't suggest you have to spend a ton of money either, but once you decide a decent scope is a priority...believe me when I tell you that it'll actually elevate the shooting experience immensely. I was very stubborn about this for the longest time, because I never felt I could afford one. Then (thanks to a friend) got to try rifles equipped with Sightron SIIIs, US Optics, Swaro, Leupold, etc. Totally rewired my thinking on the subject, and it wasn't about bragging rights either.

Just my ramblings. The advice on "what rifle to get"~I'll leave for the deer hunters. I have personally seen how well the Savage Axis guns shoot, I've used .223 (x2) and .270 (x1). All 3 shot under 1" @ 100 yards with good (Hornady) factory ammo...and I'm no stellar shot either. All were the first generation of Savage Axis.
 
AngryChameleon said:
Hey all!

Been a long time lurker/casual shooter, but haven't gotten around to pick up my own hunting/plinking rifle! Here's some background, hopefully you guys can lead me in the right direction!

I thoroughly enjoy heading out into crown land and shooting, but find it can be expensive in a hurry. I have an old Cooey 75 that I typically take when we're doing skeet shooting, mostly because ammo is cheap and it's always fun (also the only thing the wife will shoot...)

I bow hunt turkeys, and plan to do some geese with friends this fall, but don't have a rifle setup that will suffice for deer, and don't plan on stalking one with my bow...

I was thinking of starting with a Remington 783 chambered in 223. The reason for this is that ammo is cheap so I don't have to break the bank to shoot consistently, but i've heard mixed reviews. Being from Petawawa, I may also have an easy access to some casings for reloading in the future.

What are your thoughts on this setup. Is there another ammo that is fun/cheap to play with that will achieve the same effect? Should I just get a used rifle instead?

Thanks!!
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buy a used Remington 700 or Winchester model 70 or tikka in .308.....you can buy a lot of surplus ammo in .308 for shooting if you really want to...it can kill any big game animal in North America inside reasonable ranges (not ideal for the great bears of course).

then buy a used .22 to plink with.

your first rifle should be a keeper. think "pass down to son/daughter/nephew/kid down the road/etc" buy something classic and wood. don't be too cheap. buy it used but buy half decent glass and look for used glass- it is a bargain- you can always upgrade the glass as you go along or get more into it.

I have upgraded glass on my first rifle 3 times (Winchester Model 70 XTR .308) and now it wears a nice Swarovski. I was making about 1/20 of what I make now when I bought it at 20. I killed my first deer, my first buck, my first boone and crockett buck, etc with that gun. I have sent it out to be accurized. I will never part with it. I hunt with it every single year and I can pretty much shoot what I want. It is just a rifle that I love and its a part of me even though it isn't really a "good" or collectible gun. Every time I get the urge to buy a beautiful gun (have had my eye on a Rigby Highland Stalker for 2 years now) I take it out and hold it and say...not yet.

when my sons get older one of them gets it. The other gets a choice of the rest or the guns. or maybe my daughter wants it. but it will never be sold. they can bury me with it if no one wants it.
 
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