New Hunting Rifle

[Killswitch.]

Hey everyone. I am looking to purchase a new hunting rifle for mostly deer and elk in alberta. I'd like some suggestions on brands of rifles you all prefer... i have heard great things about the vanguard series 2 and tikka.... i love browning blr but have heard they just aren't built the same as they use too. Would love some opinions.

 

[Superbrad]

I will keep it briefer than most... although my bolt rifle choices are different than yours... avoid the blr.... and you cant go wrong with the v2..... get a good scope and a v2 in 308 or 30-06 and you are set.....

 

[chappy]

i would favor the t3 but if i wanted a blr it would be a pre81. it would outlast you.

 

[TXS]

I'd vote for an Browning X-bolt, 270wsm.

 

[stuckon308]

I would just go with the V2 if I were you. Can't go wrong and you aren't spending crazy amounts of money. The T3, X-Bolt, and Sako A7 are all decent for the money as well.

 

[Magellann]

You can't beat a Winchester model 70, with a good scope its all you will ever need.

 

[saskcop]

Nothing wrong at all with the new BLR's. If that is what you like, you will find them to be a very nice gun and very nice for carrying all day long. Otherwise, any quality brand will do the job.

 

[burnt_servo]

Hey everyone. I am looking to purchase a new hunting rifle for mostly deer and elk in alberta. I'd like some suggestions on brands of rifles you all prefer... i have heard great things about the vanguard series 2 and tikka.... i love browning blr but have heard they just aren't built the same as they use too. Would love some opinions.

absolutely nothing wrong with a browning .... any of them .

if you like how a browning fits and feels when you handle it , go buy it . it will be a reliable rifle for you .

your best bet would be to go to a store that has a large selection and just start picking up rifles randomly and find several that feel good to you .

there will be a few that stand out , and they will become your favorite rifles , the ones you never sell or loan out , because there is something special about them .

 

[Mighty Peace]

Tikka T3 or a Sako A7 and a Sako m75/m85 rifle gets my vote.

 

[west250]

Go to a well stocked gun shop. Heft all the rifles you can - don't look at the price yet! Buy the one that fits you the best = happy hunter!

 

[FLYBYU44]

Father-in-law has a Browning X-bolt in 300WSM, it is a beautiful rifle, blued with a synthetic stock, very high quality and light as well.

 

[woodchopper]

well I have recently bought several Savages, good rifles for the $$ but their prices have been creeping up while others have moved down a bit. I have savages in 22-250, 243, 300WM.

the nicest rifle I have would be an older tikka 695, 25-06, very well built, my deer gun of choice.

I used a Ruger M77 for years but was never able to get it to shoot really well, acceptable but not really well... untill I put it in a synthetic stock and free floated the barrel, still I dont like the hinged floor plate mag, I like removeable mags. Its my backup gun for everything, 7mm Mag.

the worst rifle I had was a Winchester Mod 70, it would not shoot a decent group with any ammo and all the handloading I did resulted in nothing better then 2" groups, had a blind mag, but others have had much better luck.

I also have a bunch of other rifles that I play with but don't use them for hunting.

 

[powder burner]

I have a tikka in 30-06, and a blr in 7mm08. Tough choice on some hunts as both area pleasure to pack around. Both are fast handling / pointing rifles, and fast actions. The tikka is the more accurate of the two, but the blr isn't a slouch either for a hunting rifle.

The tikka seems easier to reload for. Like a lot more stuff than the blr seems to. I'm not a fan of pistol grip blr, or long action blrs.

 

[blasted_saber]

Love my Rugers

 

[the spank]

I always offer this advice when asked about rifle calibres? Imagine yourself on a trip and you discover you have forgotten your ammo and you are only near some little remote town with a general store which offers limited availability in ammo choices. Pick a calibre that you know there is a high percentage they will carry. You're not likely to find oddball calibres or even say spare magazines from manufacturers who aren't the big three. If it were me it would be a Browning, Winchester or Remington rifle in good old easy to find standard calibres. 308, 30-06, 270..... Something along those lines.

 

[horseman2]

I started with a Remington 700 in 30-06 in 1965.
Comfort is in what you become familiar with.
I varied into Ruger once, and was a marksman using Winchester 70's.
The signature pretty well spells out my feelings but DM's and I agree with The Spank's hard to find calibres philosophy.

 

[elijah_lee]

I use a modded mosin nagant in 7.62x54r with a bushnell banner 3x9x40 the x54r will take anything in Canada every time