Uliimate All-Around Hunting Rifle

zakattack

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Saskatoon, SK
Hey all,

I am a new hunter, and a gunnutz virgin,looking at buying my first good hunting rifle. I want something that is Accurate, Reliable and Cost Effective. This is the gun that I will use for evrything from coyote to moose. I am not picky about what the gun looks like (im sure the deer/moose wont mind if my gun isn't the prettiest one out there!). When I buy this gun, I intend to use it for many years, so I want make sure I am happy with my purchase.

All of the experienced guys I know to have pointed me to anything in a 7mm Rem. Mag. I think I have finally settled on the Calibre, but now I have to decide which gun to go with. And I need some help. Out in in northern Saskatchewan, this gun is going to be used and in a lot of marginal weather, so I think a stainless-synthetic would be my preference.

I'm looking hard at the Tikka T3. I've heard they are very well built, lightweight, with a great action and excellent accuracy, but the $850 price tag doesn't even include the sight yet. Are there any suggestions you guys have that would be a good option for a guy like me? What are your thoughts on the Savages or the Weatherby Vanguard Series 2?

Ideally, I would like to get a nice stainless-synthetic, with a scope for under $1,000. My though is that I can always upgrade the scope later if it means a better rifle that will take me farther later.

Cant wait to hear what you guys come back with!

Thanks for the help!
 
30-06 or 308..in a tikka hunter,,keep it oiled. Try and get those combo packages with the Burris 3-9x40 scope. Although the 7mm rem mag is my favorite
 
remington sps package at cabbelas for 599 i believe three friends bought them and love them 4-12x40 scope sling and case great deal, can upgrade the scope latter. just my 2 cents
 
I wouldn't sell yourself short on the scope. You can't shoot it if you can't see it! I think a Conquest 3-9x40 is a very good scope for the mony. The other option is a Bushnell Elite 3-9x40, which can be had for under $200 now because of a $75 rebate. I would not suggest anything less than the Elite.
 
30.06 sprfld. Most versatile round out there.

100gr. (maybe less with some of the sabot rounds) to 220gr. dinosaur killer.
 
Hey all,

I am a new hunter, and a gunnutz virgin,looking at buying my first good hunting rifle. I want something that is Accurate, Reliable and Cost Effective. This is the gun that I will use for evrything from coyote to moose. I am not picky about what the gun looks like (im sure the deer/moose wont mind if my gun isn't the prettiest one out there!). When I buy this gun, I intend to use it for many years, so I want make sure I am happy with my purchase.

All of the experienced guys I know to have pointed me to anything in a 7mm Rem. Mag. I think I have finally settled on the Calibre, but now I have to decide which gun to go with. And I need some help. Out in in northern Saskatchewan, this gun is going to be used and in a lot of marginal weather, so I think a stainless-synthetic would be my preference.

I'm looking hard at the Tikka T3. I've heard they are very well built, lightweight, with a great action and excellent accuracy, but the $850 price tag doesn't even include the sight yet. Are there any suggestions you guys have that would be a good option for a guy like me? What are your thoughts on the Savages or the Weatherby Vanguard Series 2?

Ideally, I would like to get a nice stainless-synthetic, with a scope for under $1,000. My though is that I can always upgrade the scope later if it means a better rifle that will take me farther later.

Cant wait to hear what you guys come back with!

Thanks for the help!

A Sako A7 pkg.........comes with scope. 7mmRM or 30-06, usually around $1000. maybe look on the BuySells for a used.

I found a mint Tikka T3 stainless 270WSM with rings, sling and something else for $700 shipped for a buddy recently. Picked up a new Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40 with flip ups at P & D for $199.

$900 fully ready to go.
 
The 7mmremmag is an excellent choice, for an all around cartridge. The T-3 is also a good choice. The Vanguards series 2 is a good value, but I much prefer the T-3 trigger, and the T-3's fully floated barrel.
 
The Vangaurd 2 is a great deal, much more appealing than a Savage or even Tikka for that matter. The 7mm RM is a fine cartridge, but seeing that you happen to be a stubblejumper, I believe the .270 is a better choice (I grew up hunting on the prairies of Alberta). Less recoil and all the animals I shot with it out to 400yds died equally quickly as those I have shot with a 7mm Remington with less recoil and cost. It will kill anything up to moose without a hitch.

Here is the recipe I would recommend in your budget:
Vanguard 2 Synthetic in .270 Winchester 529.99
Weatherby/Talley LW Rings Low 49.99
Find a Burris Fullfield II on the EE for 180.00
That is $760 is add another $100 for tax and a sling.
Buy 4 boxes of 130gr Federal Fusion and go practice and you are at $1000 with a rock solid critter gitter.
 
Any commercial Mauser 98 in 6.5x55. No it's not stainless/synthetic, but really? How hard is it to wipe down and oil a rifle at the end of the day? Come on.
 
The Vangaurd 2 is a great deal, much more appealing than a Savage or even Tikka for that matter. The 7mm RM is a fine cartridge, but seeing that you happen to be a stubblejumper, I believe the .270 is a better choice (I grew up hunting on the prairies of Alberta). Less recoil and all the animals I shot with it out to 400yds died equally quickly as those I have shot with a 7mm Remington with less recoil and cost. It will kill anything up to moose without a hitch.

Here is the recipe I would recommend in your budget:
Vanguard 2 Synthetic in .270 Winchester 529.99
Weatherby/Talley LW Rings Low 49.99
Find a Burris Fullfield II on the EE for 180.00
That is $760 is add another $100 for tax and a sling.
Buy 4 boxes of 130gr Federal Fusion and go practice and you are at $1000 with a rock solid critter gitter.

I agree with most of this except the used Burris. You can get a new, better Bushnell Elite for the same price.
 
Any commercial Mauser 98 in 6.5x55. No it's not stainless/synthetic, but really? How hard is it to wipe down and oil a rifle at the end of the day? Come on.

It depends whether you are stuck on a mountain for 2 weeks chasing goats or sheep while the moisture is such that everything is getting wet to the core.
 
Any commercial Mauser 98 in 6.5x55. No it's not stainless/synthetic, but really? How hard is it to wipe down and oil a rifle at the end of the day? Come on.

A little off topic here but... after I wipe down my wet rifle I wonder if there's still moisture in the barrel channel that is warping my wood and/or rusting the underside of my barrel.

So then I want to remove the barreled action from the stock to wipe down ALL the metal and let the wood completely dry off. Then the next morning when I'm up early to go hunting I know my rifle isn't really sighted in anymore. It MIGHT be still at zero, but until I check it with a couple shots, I don't know for sure.

So this is why I prefer to have a SS rifle in bad weather. Most of my rifles (into the double digits) are wood and blued. And those are the ones I hunt with most of the time. But I always have as a backup a stainless synthetic rifle in the truck. So when it's raining or sleeting, I don't have to HOPE everything is okay.


So I agree with the OP. IF you have a one gun battery, then the first one you buy is a SS gun. But... if you're hunting everything from coyotes to moose, then, really, you buy a 30-06. ESPECIALLY if you're new to hunting and shooting. It's just not a good idea to learn on a magnum of any kind. You're way more likely to develop a flinch.

Get a 30-06 in a Tikka SS. Put on a Limbsaver recoil pad. Then put on your Bushnell Elite 3200 scope. Then take it to the range and learn that rig inside and out. Don't go messing with different weight bullets to begin with. That'll just confuse you. Get some 165 gr Federal Fusion rounds. After it's all sighted in to hit between 2.5" and 3" at 100 yards [this measurement is at the CENTER of your 3 shot group] then practice a bunch at different ranges. If you can hit a paper plate 5 out of 5 times FROM FIELD POSITIONS, not the bench, then that is a range you can safely shoot at an animal, from THAT position. ie: Just because you hit the plate 5/5 at 250 yards from a laying down prone position, doesn't mean you can shoot at the moose that's 250 yards away from a STANDING position.

So, that's my advice. Take it or leave it.
 
Some great advice here! I would also vote for the 30-06 as the best "do it all" chambering. Stainless Synthetic helps with the wet and nasty weather, but remember, what did everyone do before those were around? They used wood and bluing, without some laborious evening cleaning session, and the rifles were still in excellent shape 50 years later.

Get the best optics you can afford, place them on a rifle that FITS you properly in the chambering of your choosing, and enjoy the days in the field!
 
Get the tikka in stainless with synthetic or laminate stock with a leupold vx-2 or vx-3 3x9 scope or the canadian model and stay away from all bushnell scopes.
 
A t3 lite in a magnum caliber is going to kick like a mule, 30-06 can be all that is tolerable in a lightweight rifle. I like single shots but if I were looking for a repeater that was my do everything gun, it would be a marlin 308 mxlr. I had an xlr 30-30 at one time and that is the only rifle I ever deeply regretted letting go.
 
I want something that is Accurate, Reliable and Cost Effective. This is the gun that I will use for evrything from coyote to moose. I am not picky about what the gun looks like (im sure the deer/moose wont mind if my gun isn't the prettiest one out there!).

Mosin Nagant.
Reload for hunting with TSX.
 
Back
Top Bottom