Which rifle should I get..?

rishu_pepper

rishu_pepper

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Hi everyone, long time member, first time poster. Just got my PAL in the mail a couple days ago and I'm itching to buy my first rifle. :D

I live in GVA and I plan to take this gun for some small-medium sized buck hunting, not to mention the odd gopher shootin' trip in the Prairies. So basically, I've narrowed it down to two choices, based on my budget of approx. $1000 (with glass).

Savage 10 Sierra/110 LE
Tikka T3 Lite

Their prices are similar, and I've read good reviews about both models. Style is not a big thing, and both the Sierra and the T3 Lite are lightweight, which I prefer. So question 1 is, which rifle should I get?

Then comes question 2, which calibre is ideal? At first, I leaned toward .223 due to its cheap price, but it might not be powerful enough for deer? Then I thought .243 might be a better choice. Or maybe some other (larger?) calibre?

As for glass, I can honestly say I know very little about them. I know which brand is which, and I've done some reading on forums and articles. Question 3: what's a good proper scope here, within the budget $200-300?

Thanks for helping out a newb! :p

P.S. I plan to buy new, can anyone recommend any good stores in the Lower Mainland? My buddy says good things about Reliable, but more choices would be nice.
 
If deer is the primary quarry, a 223 is illegal n most provinces, the 243 is the minimum calibre for big game. I would buy the T3, but I would get something a bit more powerful than a 243, maybe a 7-08.
 
The t3 is the most accurate out of the box rifle I have ever had. Very smooth bolt,detatchable mag, and great trigger. The .223 is a bit small for larger deer. The 243 is a great varmint/deer caliber although the 25-06 would be my 1st choice for this type of 1 rifle hunting/varminting. Put a bushnell 3200 3x9 and you would be right at the 1000.00 mark.
 
Savage 11 in .308, with bushnell elite 3200 3-9x40mm or 2-7x40mm.

OR Stevens 200 in .308 for around $400 and a new VXII 3-9x40mm

While the T3 is a good gun too, with gun, scope, rings/bases, and a spare clip you'll be closer to $1200.
 
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X2 for the 7mm/08. Plenty of oomph for deer, can be used for larger as well with the correct bullet, freaky accurate for varmints, comfy to shoot without alot of recoil.

As far as optics go: Look seriously at either the VX II's or Elite 32/4200's....I'd recomend something in either 2.5-10X40 or 4-12X40

Ryan
 
Question 1 go with the Savage

question 2, my first choice would be the 243. The 7-08 is also an excellent choice but the the 308, 257 roberts, 6.5x55, 260 all will get the job done as well. If you are shooting alot of gophers then the 243 makes the most sense to me. Just use a premium 100 grain bullet when you are hunting deer.

Question 3. Buy the best glass you can afford. Save some more money even for an extra 100$ the bushnell 3200 series are a good buy.
 
personally, i would forget about getting a combo deer/gopher gun. get a deer rifle and a 22 for the gophers, this will pay off just in ammo costs.

since you are in the GVA, 223 would be legal for deer and with proper bullets would do the job. but there are better deer rifles out there.

what kind of terrain do you expect to hunt in? if you are in the thick stuff, a 30-30 or a 44 mag lever action would be perfect and would lower ammo costs over just about anything else. or alternately, for this type of hunting, a cz 527 in 7.62x39 would be darn good as well.

if you plan on travelling to other regions in bc where longer shots might present themselves, one of the rifles you have listed in 308 would be a good choice.

as too scopes, i have a leupold rifleman that i think was $279 or some such and am happy with it.

so i say get two rifles, a day shooting gophers with a deer rifle is hard on both the shoulder and the wallet. my picks, go to tradex's website and select a rifle that is drilled and tapped (if you are set on a scope), lots there for $250-400 and go and buy a cz 452 in 22LR ~$450.

oh yeah, don't know what you have for a binocular, but i would rather buy a $190 M38 mosin nagant or a $250 M96 in 6.5x55 or 8x57 from tradex and hunt without a scope and spend the rest on a good binocular (not a $59 walmart special).
 
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GVA = you're in lower mainland?



Leupold VX-1 2-7x33mm

more scope then you'll ever need for hunting inside 300m, light at 10oz.

look hard at the Remington SPS rifles or Model 7's (but out of your choices I woule lean towards the Tikka)

I like the 7mm-08 or .308 win. these rounds will let you tackle moose well too. (avoid anything with x39 on the end.)




good luck.
 
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Thanks for all the replies!

I originally leaned towards the Savage, and the general consensus seems to favour the Savage, I think my decision is made here.

edit: I plan to buy a .22 in the near future also, but I try to think that this purchase doesn't have any bearing on my .22 buy.

Sounds like .223 is too small (I had no idea it was illegal), so that leaves .308 or 7mm-08. I don't know too much about the latter, though I read that it has a flatter trajectory (a good thing right? ;)) and recoil is manageable. Speaking strictly on a price, which one is more economical? In the beginning I plan to just buy factory-load, though in the future I probably would handload.

edit: .243 is still in the running. Which is cheaper, .308, .243, or 7mm-08?

I'm still unsure about the scope. If we're not talking about the price, which one is better, the Bushnell 3200 or Leupold VX-II? I have had no personal experience with either brands so..

edit: Actually, that brings up a good point about the deer hunting, where's a good spot for such activity that's closest to the Lower Mainland? My buddy and I are thinking of heading up to the Queen Charlotte's in a few months, but where would make a good long weekend trip from where I am for deer hunting?
 
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rishu_pepper said:
As much as I'd like to save money ;) I think I'll stick to buying new for my first gun. Less hassles at the store I guess.
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I wouldn't think twice about buying that gun, if I didn't already have 2 .308's;) (in fact I'm thinking about it right now)

You'll find the shops are more of a PITA, especially if you have to order the gun you want and it takes anywhere from 1 - 6 months.:rolleyes:
 
Hmm really..? I'm starting to think it might be a good idea to look at that gun. Obviously, I have no experience dealing with gun-buying between 2 people on a forum. What kind of paperwork do I have to go through? And what about payment?

(and blargon, let me have a go first, you already have two .308's ;))
 
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rishu_pepper said:
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Their prices are similar, and I've read good reviews about both models. Style is not a big thing, and both the Sierra and the T3 Lite are lightweight, which I prefer. So question 1 is, which rifle should I get?

Then comes question 2, which calibre is ideal? At first, I leaned toward .223 due to its cheap price, but it might not be powerful enough for deer? Then I thought .243 might be a better choice. Or maybe some other (larger?) calibre?
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1. Go to gun stores and handle examples of both rifles. With any manufactured product some come off the line more and some less accurate than the rest. You don't know until you shoot them, but both Tikka and Savage are making very accurate rifles these days, so both are a good bet. All else being equal, get the one that feels better to you when you shoulder it. If one is slightly more accurate than the other but not comfortable for you, you won't shoot it that well and you'll never realise that extra accuracy.

2. There just isn't an ideal calibre for both. I hear the .223 is allowed in your province for deer hunting, but it is a long way short of ideal and few bullets suitable for the purpose are made for .22 centrefire calibres. I suggest you go to at least .243 and consider .308 for deer hunting. If you can afford travel costs to the prairies for gopher hunting, you should be able to afford a used .22lr with a scope. If it really will make the difference, I'll lend you my Remington Nylon 66 while you are here.
 
Go to a store and handle the type of rifle you are thinking of buying. Some will just feel better than others for you. There are some Merlin scopes on discount from one of the members here and they have had good reviews.
 
rishu_pepper said:
Then comes question 2, which calibre is ideal?
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6.5x55 Swede. :)

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