Thread: new gun, any recommendations?

Go to a store and shoulder some rifles and find which one fits you the best. I am going to throw in another brand for you to consider seeing everyone else has over looked it and they are very accurate rifles for their price and that is the Marlin X7 I own one in 7mm08 bugger all noticeable kick to it and I have also fired the same brand but in the long action model in .270 and could not tell the difference between that and my 7mm08 good range of calibers .223, 22-250, .243, 7mm08, 308, .270, 25-06 and 30-06 so don't over look the marlin but very advisable to change the scope for a better brand. Just stay away from the savage axis, the remington 770 and any rifle with mossbergs name on it.

Originally Posted by hunter308

Go to a store and shoulder some rifles and find which one fits you the best. I am going to throw in another brand for you to consider seeing everyone else has over looked it and they are very accurate rifles for their price and that is the Marlin X7 I own one in 7mm08 bugger all noticeable kick to it and I have also fired the same brand but in the long action model in .270 and could not tell the difference between that and my 7mm08 good range of calibers .223, 22-250, .243, 7mm08, 308, .270, 25-06 and 30-06 so don't over look the marlin but very advisable to change the scope for a better brand. Just stay away from the savage axis, the remington 770 and any rifle with mossbergs name on it.

+1 on the xs7. have one with a vx3 on it and its crazy accurate. adjustable trigger, fluted bolt (kinda) and limbsaver recoil pad standard. alota bang for not alota bucks

awesome advice guys. I'm gonna have to experiment a little I reckon because I'm not too sure what recoil would feel heavy/light as I haven't shot anything for years. I'll let everyone know in due course what I end up getting and if anyone a bit more experienced is willing to lend some advice and teaching I'd be keen!

learnin heaps from this forum already, cheers lads

+1 on the .243 if you're starting out and unsure about recoil. Get good with it, and limit yourself to 250yds initially (it's a lot further than it sounds, and your limit will be a lot less than that to start with anyway ) and you'll kill almost anything you'd like to hunt in NZ cleanly.

Definitely +1 on the correct fit and recoil pad/suppressor,

Finally: +1 on Tikka T3 (It's hard to beat for value/accuracy in a first rifle- and I'm not biased at all: I will never own one).

You can do it james! save your clams and you'll get there mate Never say never!!! go the T3!
Personally i could see my next rifle being a total mongral mish mash of Barnard this and Tru-flite that. Probably a .243 with an after market lite stock. Not a target shooter whatsoever (ie i'll go a carbine with a light barrel) - might have a look at rifles that predominantly boast reliability in adverse conditions rather than anus retentive accuracy. My T3 sporter will outshoot my efforts at target shooting all day long.