New hunter asking for advice on good quality minimal rig

[Jim870]

Thanks for all the replies.

So far it is clear that an insert is not such a great idea after all, so that is out.

It seems that an O/U in 12 or 20gaX3" with removable chokes is likely a good starting point. Any suggestions about which brand/where to get are most welcome.

I will leave the .22 and .308 for a later time and then buy a "proper" setup for them.

I would like more pointers about how to start hunting and I'm intrigued by the comments saying deer hunting is a better start. I assumed that birds would be easier because a) they fit in an apartment fridge and b) I have seen/helped plucking/gutting when I was a kid. I'm under the assumption that a deer will need a sizable freezer and thought that learning to skin a rabbit would help (of course if there are no rabbits/hares then this is a moot point)

Thanks for sharing what you did when you travelled this road, it is very valuable to me.

If you want to buy a cheaper O/U that you will likely part with at a loss in the future to upgrade to something that will last any of the Turkish or South American imports would likely get you by. With Baikal banned from import parts may become hard to impossible to find in the near future, CZ or Huglu would be my pick of the entry market brands. I have bought used for a while and sold or traded off a few of the other cheap doubles out there and my loss on investment would have afforded me a much better gun with ease. A used Browning, Winchester, Miroku, Franchi, Beretta or variety of other still manufactured European and Japanese brands would be where I would put my money for an O/U.
Still like myself and other posters have said for the dollars invested you could get yourself a very good pump action with both a slug barrel and a smooth barrel that still breaks down almost as small and if it makes her feel better the trigger mechanism can be removed on most in seconds and locked separately as well.

 

[Ardent]

Good luck, and glad to see fresh interest and a guy asking questions many are too uncomfortable to. If I was you I’d do it right, the first time. I presume money is an object, and the budget isn’t unlimited ($10-25,000 will open the doors to some really nice takedown and combination European guns). Ruling those out I’d get a pump 12 gauge, likely a Remington 870. The barrel comes off with the simple removal by hand of the magazine cap, and the gun’s now in two pieces. If more attracted to a double (I am too, not a pump guy) buy a Ruger Red Label 12 gauge, classy, responsibly priced. Next after your wife has warmed to the idea of responsible firearms ownership I’d acquire a nice rimfire like the CZ 455 Hoyt suggests. Then finally a .243 thru .308 Ruger 77, Kimber 84M, or Winchester Model 70.

Start with grouse, there aren’t many rabbits in much of the mountainous parts of BC (most of the province near urban areas). Then maybe waterfowl, then black bear (it’s easier than deer). Then deer / elk / goats / sheep / caribou / bison etc if you’re hooked. Good luck, have fun. It’s a rabbit hole, you’ve been warned.

 

[CrazyNut]

If he doesn't plan on hunting Bison (and since Grizz are now off limits) I'd say he doesn't need two centre fire rifles. A good rifle chambered in one of the common cartridges with bores between .277" and .284" is versatile enough to do everything from coyote to moose/elk.

in Ontario that will land you in the pokey!

max caliber is .275 for wolf and coyote.

 

[Iron Sighted]

in Ontario that will land you in the pokey!

max caliber is .275 for wolf and coyote.

A minimum caliber(or at least muzzle energy) I can understand, but what is the point of a maximum caliber?

 

[greatwhite]

Read again, you can use any size gun for yotes or wolves, there are some areas down southern Ontario mostly just a dozen or so counties that limit you to .275 or smaller. But most you can use anything. Here in Eastern Ontario and most of northern Ontario use what you heck you could use a 30-06, or heck you could use a lupa.

However for some reason they do allow the .270 which is actually .277. Go Figure

A person hunting small game may not carry or use a rifle of greater calibre than a .275-calibre rifle, except a muzzle-loading gun, in the geographic areas of Brant, Chatham-Kent, Durham, Elgin, Essex, Haldimand, Halton, Hamilton, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex, Niagara, Norfolk, Northumberland, Oxford, Peel, Perth, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington or York

in Ontario that will land you in the pokey!

max caliber is .275 for wolf and coyote.

 

[BigBraz15]

The other option I didn't see mentioned is a TC pro hunter. On one frame you can get rim fire, centerfire, muzzle loader or shotgun barrels. They are more costly than the h&r options, but would work well for this type of thing.

 

[bobdbldr]

A pump action shotgun can be taken apart in less than a minute, show your wife so it can also be stored in pieces, show her a bolt action rifle, take the bolt out and prove to her that without the bolt it is actually just a heavy pipe, you can also store that separately locked up! You have to teach yourself and her so both are comfortable, then buy yourself a 12ga pump, a bolt .22 and bolt centerfire and both of you have fun safely!

 

[Carbon12]

Read again, you can use any size gun for yotes or wolves, there are some areas down southern Ontario mostly just a dozen or so counties that limit you to .275 or smaller. But most you can use anything. Here in Eastern Ontario and most of northern Ontario use what you heck you could use a 30-06, or heck you could use a lupa.

However for some reason they do allow the .270 which is actually .277. Go Figure

A person hunting small game may not carry or use a rifle of greater calibre than a .275-calibre rifle, except a muzzle-loading gun, in the geographic areas of Brant, Chatham-Kent, Durham, Elgin, Essex, Haldimand, Halton, Hamilton, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex, Niagara, Norfolk, Northumberland, Oxford, Peel, Perth, Toronto, Waterloo, Wellington or York

The regulation is not as clear as it could be. I am assuming that it is referring to a maximum rifle bore diameter of .275" which the .270 Winchester, as an example, has a smaller rifle bore diameter of .270". The .277" is the bullet diameter used in the .270 rifle bore diameter. This make sense since the bullet must preform a seal in the rifle barrel when fired from the cartridge.

The Wikipedia article on "Caliber" states that:

"In a rifled barrel, the distance is measured between opposing lands or grooves; groove measurements are common in cartridge designations originating in the United States, while land measurements are more common elsewhere in the world. Measurements "across the grooves" are used for maximum precision because rifling and the specific caliber so-measured is the result of final machining process which cuts grooves into the rough bore leaving the "lands" behind."

My question is the following, does Canada follow the US standard for measuring rifle bore diameter across the opposing grooves .... or does Canada measure rifle bore diameter across the opposing lands? Better yet ... what is this regulation referring to? Maximum rifle bore diameter measured across the opposing grooves? I would be interested in some one giving a definitive answer to this because this question has been in my mind for years ... and my Googling this question gets answers that are all over the map ...