First Rifle
- Thread starter AR1724
- Start date
can speak only out of pref. I have 0 experience. I have read heaps of advice and boiled down my opinion with input from others. For starters, comparing calibre feedback I've chosen a 308. I've gone with a stainless just for weather and look. I found a Ss savage axis 308 barrelled action on the ee on Facebook for 300$. Ordered a Boyds thumbhole stock. Putting me at 450. I will glass bed the stock when I receive it and spend another 500 on some quality optics. I'm getting a beautiful custom sub MOA first rifle that I will likely never part with. Happy hunting
- Location
- Beaverlodge, Alberta
4x as a low magnification for hunting IMO is too high. 3x is pushing it. A 3-9 would be my max mag for a hunting rifle. Guys did it for eons with zero magnification. If your animal is up close a larger field of view is much more important. Seeing your animals pupil at 500m, not so much! Nothing more frustrating than not being able to tell if you are going to shoot your animal in the guts or vitals because all you can see on low power is tan hair.
Light collection, optical clarity, and weatherproofing are much mor importnt on a hunting scope then big magnification.
Light collection, optical clarity, and weatherproofing are much mor importnt on a hunting scope then big magnification.
Where are all these M70 in 308 ?
And what .303Br do you have that is accurate enough for 500yd target shooting?
Same as above. Show me a 500yd .303Br. Remember, the OP wants a rifle that'll kill game AND longer range paper.
You should have kept your 2% of that dollar and spent it on reading the entirety of the OPs original post. I have a 340 in .30-30 and, even scoped, it is not a 500yd target rifle with factory .30-30 rounds. Handloads it is about 2.5 MOA at 300yds (it really opens up beyond 200yds). Although this may fit the groove for game (and it does) unfortunately, it does not fulfill the OPs requirements for a 500yd target shooter.
No such rifle exists and if it did the man’s opinion worth a damn would be the man that only owns one rifle. Like that rifle, that man doesn’t exist.
I own a Savage 99 in 308. This rifle is awesome in the bush. As handy as any Winchester 94 ever was and it gives me the ability to reach out a little further if I need to. On a good day with good ammo I will put 3 shots into 1.5 inchs. Too bad not all days are good days.
I have a Savage 114 with a 26 magnum contour barreled (custom) in 7mm Rem Mag. This rifle has the potential to be deadly accurate to 500 yards but being as I live in southern Ontario my chances of shooting 500 yards is rather limited. The purpose of this rifle is to have that ability if it is needed and although it is as pretty as Savage bolt actions get it is too heavy and long to be a good bush gun. The 5-15 scope on it isn’t all that great in the bush either, it’s equally as outmatched at 500 yards. This rifle also doesn’t seem to like the elements and although it was oiled almost every night on a fly in moose hunt it did develop quite a bit of rust. Stainless synthetic or traditional and somewhat pretty, another choice to be factored in.
I have 22-250 that I can shoot all day and cover 500 plus yards if I’m in the mood. I can throw countless rounds down the bore before the heavy non tapered barrel starts to heat up and begins sending rounds off course. But at 14 pounds and set up for prone shooting it really isn’t all that great close quarters. I can’t really see much at 20 yards through my 8-32 power scope either.
Let’s keep in mind that all of these rifles cost a fortune to feed. Where is the 22 lr.
But if I had to choose one rifle that could do all that is being said and do it well? It would be a stainless bolt action (pick your brand) rifle with an 18-20 inch barrel chambered in 308. BUT a caliber restriction may prevent its use in certain areas. A 260 (260AI), 284, or 270 would probably fix this for you but wouldn’t be as good in a short barreled configuration.
At the end of the day there will always be a compromise. If there wasn’t then we’d all own 870 three barrel combo’s and nothing else.
I own a Savage 99 in 308. This rifle is awesome in the bush. As handy as any Winchester 94 ever was and it gives me the ability to reach out a little further if I need to. On a good day with good ammo I will put 3 shots into 1.5 inchs. Too bad not all days are good days.
I have a Savage 114 with a 26 magnum contour barreled (custom) in 7mm Rem Mag. This rifle has the potential to be deadly accurate to 500 yards but being as I live in southern Ontario my chances of shooting 500 yards is rather limited. The purpose of this rifle is to have that ability if it is needed and although it is as pretty as Savage bolt actions get it is too heavy and long to be a good bush gun. The 5-15 scope on it isn’t all that great in the bush either, it’s equally as outmatched at 500 yards. This rifle also doesn’t seem to like the elements and although it was oiled almost every night on a fly in moose hunt it did develop quite a bit of rust. Stainless synthetic or traditional and somewhat pretty, another choice to be factored in.
I have 22-250 that I can shoot all day and cover 500 plus yards if I’m in the mood. I can throw countless rounds down the bore before the heavy non tapered barrel starts to heat up and begins sending rounds off course. But at 14 pounds and set up for prone shooting it really isn’t all that great close quarters. I can’t really see much at 20 yards through my 8-32 power scope either.
Let’s keep in mind that all of these rifles cost a fortune to feed. Where is the 22 lr.
But if I had to choose one rifle that could do all that is being said and do it well? It would be a stainless bolt action (pick your brand) rifle with an 18-20 inch barrel chambered in 308. BUT a caliber restriction may prevent its use in certain areas. A 260 (260AI), 284, or 270 would probably fix this for you but wouldn’t be as good in a short barreled configuration.
At the end of the day there will always be a compromise. If there wasn’t then we’d all own 870 three barrel combo’s and nothing else.
