Thread: First rifle advice

Yeah my 223 Weatherby vanguard, which is a copy of the Howa I think, is way heavier than my Ruger 270.

Bit more risk potentially, but second hand options often offer much better value. I got my howa 1500 around two years ago, scope and suppressed for $1k. Apparently a "box of ammo" through it. Upgraded scope and no complaints so far. I think there are often a few cases where folk like the idea of getting into hunting but end up only getting out a couple times before selling, which can work in your favour.

Yep, as others have said. Pick the one you like the look and feel of the most. other brand to consider is Ruger, or Mauser m18 I think it is.

Scope and rings is a good point:

stay clear of gun$hittys ranger scopes and rings... cheap inported chinese trash sold for a big markup.

With rings there are a lot of cheap ones out there and very expensive ones...

A ring that has proven itself over time is the talley rings, very commonly used with tikkas, but also available for howas (and many others), and reasonably priced. There is also a cheaper nikko stirling version available for howas... perfectly suitable.

as for scopes, some brands like leupold and burris offer lifetime warranty, even if you are not the original owner... Definately a way to get a good scope for a lower price.

Suppressors also are becoming more and more common. While i personally did not like them earlier nowadays each and every one of my guns has a dpt (which I like for its modularity) they are lightweight and even if i am only using 2 baffles (instead of 4) they make the guns much more pleasant to shoot while only adding about 50mm in length.

often show up second hand as well...

I would definitely encourage you to go second hand. There are some good rifles going for real bargains at the moment. Seem to be more rifles than buyers around.

Go to the gun shop, start at one end of the rifle rack and whichever one comes up to your shoulder/sight line most naturally buy it. They all come in the popular calibres but for NZ conditions the 308 is the one calibre that does everything if one rifle to do it all is your option mainly due to vast range of bullet weights available from 125gr all the way to 220gr and it's going to do it all out of a 19" barrel but hey it's all about the fun factor so whatever rocks your boat. Good luck on your journey.

I'd try buy something used, there are a tonne of rifles out there with barely 100 rounds through them.
You can go to gun stores and look at all the different rifles, but if you can find something that's already threaded with a suppressor and has a decent scope then you'll save a bunch of money.

If you find a package deal in a store make sure it comes with decent branded gear, there a bunch of "homebrand" scopes and rings out there that are basically rubbish.
You can usually find a cheap Burris Fullfield 2 (or similar) easy enough on Trademe, or on the forum here.

If you do buy a rifle package either from a store or Trademe, don't assume it'll be set up correctly. There should be plenty of videos on YouTube about mounting a scope properly and getting the eye relief set properly.
Also checking the rings are installed correctly, ring screws not stripped, etc.

Something like this, would be a great starting point.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...ing/5089198021

I wouldn't get hung up on cartridges, anything in the 243/7mm08/6.5 Creedmoor/6.5x55/270/308/30-06 range will be more than adequate.
So long as you can buy ammo for it then it'll be fine. I'd go for something as low recoil as possible. Low recoil plus a suppressor will be the best way to not develop a flinch, which basically every new gun owner does.

many specials are fitted with scopes they cant sell - I see all to often a special and look thru the scope and its one of those horrible bloody things with a multitude of little bars bloody awfull try and get a bead on a pig or deer right on changes of light and you just cant discern the bloody cross hair - nice big Posts coming into a small final cross hair called plex or euro 4 a - but as many have said dont turn your nose at second hand- a lot of bargains out there as second hand hard to sell at moment - the earlier Tikka models and early Remingtons -Rugers Winchesters many shoot way better than you can and lots of options

Howa all day long.and when finances allow,drop it in wooden stock.love mine.

Some good caliber suggestions above - all will do the job. I'll add some thoughts...

I know this area you're going to shoot in very well. Spent first decades of my shooting career living in, and for most part hunting in, the Waikato. Also went to Waikato Uni and belonged to shooting club there back in the day. 270 will be good but I'd recommend a 308 as better for you. They are both hard hitters and will drop anything to your 300 max range - but alot of your shots will be less than 100m in the bush terrain. 308 has edge because of constant availability of a good range of ammos at good prices. This is because it has been a world round - ie civil and military use around the globe - like 223. Its other advantage is you can chop it to 18" and 16" and it will still (rifle specific) retain excellent accuracy and stopping power. 270 does not handle chops as well. The advantage of shorter barrels is very clear for north. You may hunt/stalk through alot of dense Waikato bush and it is a BIG advantage to keep your rifle short to minimise catching long barrel/suppressor on over head vegetation. Inches matter - and we always liked to keep our firearms as short as possible.

My suggestion - I'd pick up a secondhand 308, cut it to 16 or 18" maximum, then fit a shorter fat type overbarrel suppressor. This will make it very easy to handle through the bush, but still hit like a Mack truck esp with good 180 grain softnose. This is/has been a common setup up there and examples will pop up on trademe etc. Rifle could be from a number of makes - new and older. Howa offer very good value, as will older Winnies/Remmies etc as someone mentions above.

Hope this helps - happy hunting. PS say hello to the old Uni for me .. Mudz

Cheers Mudz, will do ��

I grew up shooting in the Waikato. I used a 30/06 one mate used a 270 the other used a 308. We all killed lots of animals. No real difference between any of them. But this was the late ‘80’s early ‘90’s so no suppressors, all scopes were 3-9x and barrels were 22-24” and the stocks were wood.