Thread: First rifle

Originally Posted by Walker

If you want a inexpensive accurate rifle consider a savage.

+1 personally I would buy (and have bought) Savage (not an Axis though, one of the better ones) over Howa, Tikka etc. Accurate, reliable, one of the best factory triggers around, nice 3-stage tang safety etc.

But as others have said its very much a personal choice about what fits you best and what you like the feel of so handle all the options, just because someone else likes a rifle or a salesman says its 'better' doesn't mean it will be a better choice for you.

Calibre choice isn't that big a deal, any common deer cartridge will make animals equally dead. 308 and 7mm08 are very similar and popular for a reason as good all-rounders, I wouldn't suggest 270 for a beginner though because it does have a fair bit more noise and recoil (which can cause a new shooter to develop a flinch and miss things) without really having a performance advantage to make that worthwhile.