New to hunting and rifles

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NitwiT

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Greetings to all,

As a complete newbie to basically everything that is in a thread in these forums, I'm looking for some kind of guideline to picking out a first rifle.

I have only ever shot a .22 lee-enfield, (mod), and air rifles. This sudden change to big bore is brought by an intense desire to start hunting this year.

I'm looking for a rifle that will bring me game, but can also be used for target practice.

Any thoughts you have for me are always appreciated!

Thanks in advance
 
There are lots of good rifles for sale on the EE on this site. Giving advise on a rifle a new rifle requires more info. What are you going to hunt? What type of terrain are you going to be hunting? How recoil sensitive are you? I started hunting when I was in my 30's so I had to teach myself to shoot and handle recoil. I started with a winchester model 70 30-06 and then moved on from there. If I was doing it again I would buy a lightweight 308 and go hunting. A tikka if on a budget or a used Sako would be my first choice followed by a remington 700 or a winchester model 70. I would put a decent 3x9x40 scope and shoot as much as I could before hunting season.

Try out lots and see what feels the best.
 
My only input is buy cheap calibres so you can play with them to see which you like before spending big money......I bought several cheap rifles and got rid of the ones i did not like...started with 303 then went through several and found the 270 was perfect for me....now i am making another change and hopefully this will be last hunting rifle change for rest of my life....to 270 short mag
 
Find one that suit's YOU and are comfortable with for a first rifle.
If you get a chance go to a range and smooze a few of the shooters most will help in making your decision. Start out with the lighter calibers and work your way up.
I try to get out to Poco Mondays and Thursdays when work permits and would be willing to let you check out a variety of calibers and makes from 22 to 338 Win.Mag.
 
The best all around unit for hunting everything is a 270 with a clip. Spend 6-800 on the gun and 6-800 on optics. Don`t buy anything made in China.
I recomend a Remington 700 BDL DM 270 and a Leupold Vx-3 scope with Leupold PRW rings and Weaver bases. You get what you pay for, and this is the best bang fo rthe buck!
Make sure you like the feel of what you buy.
 
Welcome NitwiT,

Tell us a little more about yourself, the type of hunting you think you might do, what kind of terrain you'll be hunting, and most importantly what appeals to you in a rifle (bolt, lever, etc., stainless vs. blued metal, wood vs. synthetic).

Fact is that you'll get opinions that everything from a 243 to a 375 is the 'best' rifle for you!! But with some more information, even if you're not entirely sure what you want to hunt and where, we might be able to help you narrow it down a bit.

RG

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I think a 30-06 is about the best all around hunting rifle form gound Squirrel to mosse It will do the job.
remember this is MY opinion
 
A new rifle, look at the Marlin XL7 in 30.06. Add a scope and it is still a budget rig. It's a fairly new model for marlin and has been getting great reviews. It's a large enough calibre that it will take any game that can be found North America. Should also be able to find a decent selection of used rigs at most gun shops, but the price might also be near the same as new marlin with scope package. The above Marlin has been getting excellent reviews. The 30.06 also has a very good brand and bullet weight selection to choose from to take all different sizes of game. I'm thinking of getting one myself.

Here is a revview you can look at. Follow the link below. There are many more reviews that can be found if you do a search in google.

http://www.biggamehunt.net/sections/Hunting_Gear_and_Products/Marlin-XL7-Rifle-Review-10220812.html
 
I'll give you the advise I got as a youngster. The criteria we seek is that the cartridge we choose has a reasonable expectation of killing a big game animal with a single shot from any angle within the range limitations of the cartridge and the shooter. The minimum caliber for big game should be .257 in a cartridge that can provide 2000 fps velocity on impact. This velocity will ensure that the bullet expands as it was designed to and the velocity will be high enough to ensure sufficient penetration to produce a humane kill. This minimum criteria is sufficient for deer sized game, but it would be prudent to reassess this performance on larger game, although having said that I have personal knowledge of the .25/06 with the right bullet being an effective moose killer. Begin with a moderate cartridge of .30 caliber or smaller, and avoid names on cartridges that include the words: Magnum, Weatherby, Ultra, Rigby, belted, etc. The ammunition for these cartridges is more expensive than standard, as are the brass cases if you choose to handload, and the rifles are more difficult to shoot well.

In guns as with most things you get what you pay for. You are often better off with a used quality rifle than with a rifle that was designed as a low budget item in the first place. Get the best you can afford, but if you need to economize, economize on the rifle and not the scope or mounts.

If possible, take up handloading at the same time as you begin to shoot centerfire rifles. You can load the ammo to the performance level you prefer (provided it is within the limitations of the cartridge) and it can make your rifle far more versatile as you will have ammo to suit every job, rather than a new rifle to suit every job.

Learn field marksmanship. Going to the range and shooting from the bench teaches little that will be of value in the field. Learn to shoot from field positions, learn how the increase in range and wind effects your bullet strike on the target. Be more concerned with the distance of the bullet hole from your aiming point and less concerned with group size, particularly groups made up of a large number of rounds. I'll stop now because I'm beginning to ramble.
 
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It all depends on what you want to hunt,and where you intend to hunt,but cartridges such as the 308win,30-06,and 7mmremmag will work for all big game that you might encounter,and all three have recoil that is tolerable for most shooters.
 
This is what I would do:
Get a bolt-action controlled feed rifle in 308 (Ruger M77 Mk II), with a good scope (Leupold) in 2-7 or 3-9. You won't ever "need" another big-game rifle. "Want" - yes.
 
Well everyone is going to have an opinion, so I'll give you mine. My very first rifle was a .30-30 Marlin. I got it before I got a .22lr, so yes it actually was my first. Since then, I have owned more then 50 different rifles in various chamberings so I have come to a few conclussions.

First off, I'll start with a .243 Winchester. You are going from pellet guns to a hunting rifle, that's not as big of a change as you might think, but big enough. You said you want a hunting rifle and a target rifle, the .243 is excellent here. This is going to be your first year hunting, I'll be blunt, don't expect to shoot anything. You may, and many do, but I suggest fully appreciating the hunt first, the killing second. Next, a .243 will treat you really well. It won't pound you into tommorow but has plenty of power for deer sized critters, and some larger ones too. It does well as a target/varmint/deer rifle cross-over, and you will learn to shoot it well. It will teach you many things, if your prepared to learn them.

You want to go bigger? A .270 Win, 7mm-08 Rem, .308 Win or .30-06 SPFLD will do anything you could ever ask. They are more than powerful enough with more recoil, but not really punishing. Bigger yet? A .300 Magnum of some flavour is almost too powerful, but their very popular.
 
Holy smokes, that was a flood of info!

Thanks to all, and I'm sorry I wasn't more specific, I didn't have any idea what kind of info you needed!

So, I'll try fill in some blanks

A)Go big or go home type personality.
B)Long range marksmanship is ever more appealing
C)6'7 in height, longer reach, so a larger rifle is a better fit
D)Wish to be able to take this rifle to hunt moose, deer, elk, cariboo, grizzly, black bear, anything I can get a tag for
E)Mostly lower mainland region, alot of alpine in kamloops area would qualify as the shooting area

On the same note, I went to the Tradex Boat/HUnting/Fishing show, and fell in love with the feel of teh Tikka T3 tactical rifle, they only had a .227 there, but I would be highly interested in looking into the same rifle, used, in a 300 or 308 bore

By long range marksmanship, I mean that I want to end up shooting out to over 1000 yards
 
Methinks one can't go wrong with a 300 win mag, the ammo is widely available, and one can reload it down to replicate any of the other 30 cal cartridge you might want to play with. :D

As for rifle go with what fits your frame and your budget.

Personally...
In bolts I'm a fan of Tikka.
In semis it's Benneli.
 
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