Moose

The savage and marlin's are accurate inexspesive rilfes, not cheap. A shot out 303 or 30-30 for 100bucks, thats cheap. For a newbie they are are a great start and anyone with a pinch of skill can make meat with them. There are more expesive rifle but thats just for bragging around the campfire if your that type of guy.

Sure they are accurate, but some guys look for more than that in equipment. He has not said he is a newbie, maybe he wants something that feels good in the hands as well. The Savage/stevens/marlins are pretty plain offerings. They don't fit me at all, no matter how many times I pick them up, don't like the feel, and I dislike the internal magazines. If marlin put a floorplate in the laminate XS7 I would buy one...

Its not all bragging around the campfire. Why do people buy Toyotas and Hondas when a Hyundai or Kia will get them to work and around town? They get good mileage as well...

By your theory, companies that offer a few more frills and a little higher quality should be out of business then...

My main point was that everyone assumes that new members want the bottom of the line stuff here...
 
Hello im looking for a good rifle for moose hunting and id also would like to use it as a deer gun.

If you only want to own 1 rifle now for hunting. 30-06 Bolt is a best choice,
its handle all of games in the North America no problem.Beside if you don't
do reload,you almost get the factury Ammo any where ,165gr NP all you need.:welcome:
 
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Of course all of these calibers/rifles will work, but I would say the one you are confident with is the best choice. I personally like ones that are easy to carry, I shoot a 6.5x55 ackley, although I have never shot a moose that the standard cartridge would not have worked just fine for. The worst one is a borrowed rifle. You are not confident with a borrowed one, and it makes hunting less fun. I would rather hunt with my own 6.5 swede, or lee enfield, than a borrowed anything. As for sights. I went to iron sights for a few years, and they worked just fine for me, I hunt at reasonably close range, and the kill zone on a moose is fairly large. Again, it is what ever you are confident with. My 300 WM has a very cheap 4x Simmons scope that I paid under $30 bucks for on Ebay years ago. It works fine, and where I hunt 300 yards is a long shot, and 4x is lots for 300 yards, shooting at game like moose and deer. Gophers? Get a higher power scope. If you do buy a servicable but less expensive scope, take some of your savings and buy a good pair of binoculars.. For hunting they are as important as a good scope.
 
Who are you hunting with. Most of us hunt with at least one other person. If you are inexperienced, look at what they are using and ask questions. More experienced hunters tend to find what works best for their area, and they will normally be glad to answer any questions you might have. Just make sure they realize that you may be inexperienced with big game calibers and the resulting recoil. I have hunted all my life and have shot most of the calibers out there, and I have found the ones over the years that suit me the best, and that are best for different conditions. A couple of years ago I was approached by a good friend who had never hunted in his life, but he married into a hunting family and decided that he wanter to try it. Both of his brothers-in-law are big guys who have been shooting all their life and they both like the .300WinMag. He was looking at a .300 for that reason. I let him shoot mine. He decided that for his purposes, at that time, that a good quality .308 would work good. After using the .308 for a couple years and doing some shooting, he's now looking for a 7mm RemMag. The moral of the story is, I guess, to find something that works for you now. As time, conditions and experience change, your choice in a rifle might change too.
 
You'll get many differing opinions from this thread, this will just confuse you all the more.
Calibre and gun mean nothing it is shot placement, put that shot in the correct spot and you will have a clean clean kill no matter the size of calibre or brand of rifle.
What ever you decide on take it to the range and practice.
For me optics mean just as much as anything. Plan on spending at least half of your budget on optics.;)

My .02$
 
Supercub, for nearly 50 yrs my dad hunted and harvested deer with a .270 loaded with 110 gr hornady's(still does, so prob. closer to 60yrs). I hunted deer for nearly 30yrs with a .243 loaded with 87gr leads.
It's only the last 6 yrs or so I've started using bigger leads and calibres for deer, and thats because son started out using the .243.
 
Sure they are accurate, but some guys look for more than that in equipment. He has not said he is a newbie, maybe he wants something that feels good in the hands as well. The Savage/stevens/marlins are pretty plain offerings. They don't fit me at all, no matter how many times I pick them up, don't like the feel, and I dislike the internal magazines. If marlin put a floorplate in the laminate XS7 I would buy one...

Its not all bragging around the campfire. Why do people buy Toyotas and Hondas when a Hyundai or Kia will get them to work and around town? They get good mileage as well...

By your theory, companies that offer a few more frills and a little higher quality should be out of business then...

My main point was that everyone assumes that new members want the bottom of the line stuff here...

I agree with you..

I was just saying that either one are rather basic, (no frills rifle) is that all a guys really "needs". If a guy grows up with one rifle and learns how to shoot that all that counts.

Cheers

Seabass
 
Rifle loonies notwithstanding, a good run of the mill, middle of the road caliber and action, used or a package off the shelf, in a standard, non-magnum, non-premium cartridge, leaves a bunch of money for ammo, and the essential shooting practice. A dollar sent down range is worth a whole lot more than a dollar spent on the rifle, and a moderately priced round may get you twice the practice as some marketer's newest dream gotta have cartridge. So yeah, don't tell a guy asking about his first hunting rifle to buy an exotic, high priced (note I did NOT say overpriced) cartridge/rifle combination. Let him get hooked on hunting and shooting, and if the rifle part of that equation is what eventualy spins his rotor, he will come to the latest hot rod cartridge in a one-off custom soon enough.
 
Supercub, for nearly 50 yrs my dad hunted and harvested deer with a .270 loaded with 110 gr hornady's(still does, so prob. closer to 60yrs). I hunted deer for nearly 30yrs with a .243 loaded with 87gr leads.
It's only the last 6 yrs or so I've started using bigger leads and calibres for deer, and thats because son started out using the .243.

A 110 gr bullet from a 270 is a very different projectile than a 110 gr from a 30-06!

Ted
 
Not that I'd ever recommend it, I've been present with a moose taken with a Winchester 38-40.


You really have to know what your doing and make the shot count.

Thats reminds me of a story my grandfather used to tell about moose hunting with his 38-55. They hunted in parties in the old days and he said he knew when he hit the moose as his bullet never went through. Always stuck in the hide on the other side! Love to hear all those old hunting stories. :)
 
Thats reminds me of a story my grandfather used to tell about moose hunting with his 38-55. They hunted in parties in the old days and he said he knew when he hit the moose as his bullet never went through. Always stuck in the hide on the other side! Love to hear all those old hunting stories. :)

Let me guess, your grandfather hunted moose;

1) Just outside the boundries of PA National Park.
2) North of Paddockwood.
3) North of Foxford.
4) North of Love/Whitefox, or across the Torch River.
 
The most popular approach is a .30-06 bolt gun with a 3x9 40mm scope. Use 180 grain bullets for everything (no need for fancy ammo) and get good at shooting and knowing where to aim on game. Pick whatever your budget will allow, fancy's your eye and whatever feels good in the hand & shoulder. In general the more you pay, the more you get( most of the time).

Keep it simple and no browning A-Bolt or X-Bolt. Woodsman is right enough and don't spend too much money on fancy things and you are way way late in buying a gun for moose
 
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