Thread: Good Rifle Brands

For your first rifle. - for a new hunter - I’d avoid a 300aac - lots of bullet drop! Makes it hard when you’re a new shooter and trying to judge distance. A short barrel 308 would be better.

Go for a drive to broncos Tauranga, they have a heap of stuff at good prices - I’d suggest upgrading the scope.

Or wait a bit and you’ll see the buy sell section here pop up.


https://broncos.co.nz/product/howa-1...or-bag#1138361

Analysis your budget and factor in ammo cost …..
I’d put my money on a hunter / shooter that has near worn out his barrel than the guy who has the flashiest equipment but because of ammo cost / disposable money it has had 5 packets of ammo through it in the last 5 years

Originally Posted by SpeightsDrinker

For your first rifle. - for a new hunter - I’d avoid a 300aac - lots of bullet drop! Makes it hard when you’re a new shooter and trying to judge distance. A short barrel 308 would be better.

Go for a drive to broncos Tauranga, they have a heap of stuff at good prices - I’d suggest upgrading the scope.

Or wait a bit and you’ll see the buy sell section here pop up.


https://broncos.co.nz/product/howa-1...or-bag#1138361

'll
Have seen some good stuff on here, I'll have a look if/when I'm out those ways as it seems worth it, otherwise I'll keep looking through trade me and guncity.

Actually not too worried about ammo cost. Yeah the prices seems outrageous but for the forseeable future i'll be lucky to get out twice a month let alone once a month

Preacher has given you some good advice , 2 nd hand is your best option for now in say 308 plenty of choices of ammo , if you can test on the range prior to purchase would give you confidence you are not wasting your money , dont be put off by the visual condition of a rifle , you should be able to pick something up for around a grand

if your worried about rust or don't want to do maintenance get a stainless synthetic ruger paddle stock or m77.Will not rust no matter how bad you treat it.i don't know what stainless they use but its damn near unbelievable

I have a stainless Savage and even after giving it a swim it didn't rust because I stripped the whole thing down including pulling the bolt apart and gave it a deep clean and oil. The other thing my gun safe is inside the house not out in a damp shed or garage, that alone can make a huge difference.

I also have cerakoted Mauser M18 which I found to be a much better fit to me than any of the Tikkas I handled or shot.

Also keep in mind the cost of a scope in your budget, usually about half to 40% of your total budget should go to a good scope

270 and 308 will do what you want, I second the buy secondhand advice, some real bargains around esp in 270 as they seem to be a bit out of fashion which is silly cos it's a great calibre

I've got a stainless Howa in 7mm08 and it definitely seems a little more rust prone that some stainless. No drama if you keep it maintained. If/when you get access to the buy/sell it may still be kicking around...

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....hoices-118812/

308 and 270 both excellent calibers. If you have never shot before id go with 308. Less recoil and the "flatter" shooting wont make any difference as you wont be shooting that far.

There are some real bargains out there secondhand, but also a lot of absolute trash.

Stainless still rusts if you neglect it but it will rust less. Some blued guns tend to get rusty spots as soon as you look away for a second.

A picky rifle that wont shoot properly will cost you more in ammo (as you are faffing around trying to get it to shoot) than a new one.

Make sure you have proper scope rings (often overlooked!) and a decent scope (burris are an affordable option that does not suck). Loose/shitty scope rings and/or a bad scope can cost you 100s in ammo as you are trying to figure out what is wrong.

You all are right definitely can’t skimp out on the scope but in saying that… Any brands I should keep an eye out for and which ones I should avoid?

Realistically it’s hard to find scopes that don’t zoom and hold zero. You just get what you pay for - some are feature rich for the money but they’ll compromise on something else - like glass or durability, I haven’t had a scope that’s a dud - but my leupold vx5 has been better than anything else I’ve had but it cost twice as much.

I really rated the G.P.O I had and regret selling that one as was mint for what I paid.

The scope is definitely the place to spend more money - I have mates with cheaper glass that’s fogged up after a few hours walking in the rain and been un-usable but it did hold zero and was good to go when it dried out.

if you spend in the $500-1000 bracket new you will get a warranty and you are in that middle quality bracket - now how good that warranty is well how long is a piece of string - others on here can advise which brands have shit warranty back up - second hand on here you will likely get a good buy trade me yeah maybe maybe not - me impressed with Vixen GPO Leupold Burris Vortex avoid the below $300 new scopes likely get what you pay for

Originally Posted by fourzerofouronyourdoor

You all are right definitely can’t skimp out on the scope but in saying that… Any brands I should keep an eye out for and which ones I should avoid?

Based on my own experience and that of others I would rather duct tape a toilet paper roll onto the receiver than use the type of scope and rings that one large reseller sells under the brand name "ranger" (the only exception being their 1-8 - which wont be relevant for you)

To add - avoid ones with no brand, they just say the zoom.
Probably avoid the stealth brand scopes aswell - that’s what my mate had that fogged.
- I had a gun city ranger and that was good for the money cause I won it from trademe for $1res but I wouldn’t pay new price for it.