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Hi guys, just looking for a new rifle to use for general hunting. I want one which will take down a deer easily and effectively.
Also, in terms of the qualities of the gun itself, as I am a new shooter I want one with a milder kick, bolt action, and with good accuracy.
Any suggestions?
so the 308 doesn't have much kick?
+ 1Quote:
Originally Posted by 7mmwsm
Any off the shelf rifle (that fits you) in 243. Savage 16, Tikka T3, Rem700 springs to mind.
For a milder kick - have a good recoil pad on it - consider a suppressor to remove the noise and more recoil -Quote:
Originally Posted by newhunter2012
Then choose something mid range (not a magnum nor a little cal) - plenty of choice in calibres - and bullet weights
Oh and practice
any of the guns in the $800 to 1800 new range from your local hunting store and u cant go wrong really! all of them plenty accurate for minute of deer or better. t3 , remmy 700 , marlin , savage, sako a7 weatherby vanguards , howas, thompson, mozzies theres dozens. 7mm08, 308 and 270 would be the most popular deer calibre choices,again, you cant really go wrong with those three cailbres for anything up to red stag size under 250 metres i reckon matey. 7mm08 recoil is really mild for me (subjective here) but put a supressor on any of them any theyre pussycats.
All of the advice given so far is excellent. One bit that does get over looked a lot, though mentioned, imo is fit. Find a rifle that when mounted is naturally pointing where you are looking, preferably with a scope fitted. If you are having to re-adjust your sight picture everytime you mount the rifle you will loose time and likely miss plenty of shots from having to adopt a forced position.
Calibres, makes and models aside, natural alignment is a key marksmanship principle. You can enhance it with a decent fitting shooter. Even if it isnt a tack driver you will be better off when faced with unsupported shots when hunting.
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 bucksQuote:
Originally Posted by hunter308
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 :thumbsup: 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.
Typicle shooting coach talk there and excellent advice ei;the nut behind the but!.My first rifle I ever shot was the Aug styer and I was shitting myself but put simply that disapeard with repitition and constantly practicing bringing the rifle into the shoulder and pulling the trigger, round in chamber or not.I beleive get a rifle you can snap up to the shoulder and then get use to firing it.
What are you planning to hunt and at what ranges? All advice on rifles so far has been good, especially R93's. But chambering will depend alot on what you plan to shoot with it. Saying that you can't really go wrong with the good old .308. Easy to find cheap ammo and inherently accurate.
Just some advice because you are new to shooting . If you found it's not your thing you will never have any trouble getting out of a 308 stainless rifle . I sold mine last week, I lost. $ 280 over 20 yrs . Guns are cheep at the moment if I'd sold it two years ago would have made money .
Yeah +1 on the 308 tip. It's a good calibre for newbies and a good handy calibre all round. Failing that a 7mm08.
+1 For Tikka lots of after market bits as with Remington , hard ot beat Tikka off the shelf for the money .
You Tube
Gun Explodes ...: opps look's like a well none American rifle
Rifle burst test - Remington, Browning, Sako, Blaser, Mannlicher, Antonio Zoli, Howa, Tikka , American again .
The thing I have against the tikka T3 is the recoil pad that it comes with direct from the factory a thin bit of rubber over a bit of solid plastic and they call that a recoil pad? I have experienced the tikka t3 lite with stock recoil pad once I may as well have shot a magnum round, even the ruger m77 hawkeye has a nicer recoil pad even though that is thin it is more pleasant to shoot than the tikka. I just flat out refuse to buy anything that I have to spend an extra $80 just to be able to shoot the damn thing comfortably especially when paying over a grand for something like that. While I do not doubt the quailty of them you will never find one in my gun safe.
All just individual opinions ,i like them just the way they are, and shoot Tikka and finnlight in 30 cal mag.
Your not a closet tikka collector are you hunter 308?Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter308
Hell no .......FYM!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by andyanimal31
Marlin 7-08 would be my call, use lighter pills to start with if its to much recoil...but its pretty mild
New hunter you probably don't no if you coming or going . Poor guy we have waffled so much he won't no what to buy . He'll either come out of the gun shop with 10 guns or a bow and arrow .
or with a monster cannon like I saw get sold to a newbee the other day....He wanted a gun with grunt but was new to rifles ... he walked out with a 300RUM as a first centerfire rifle :wtfsmilie:Quote:
Originally Posted by Munsey
:wtfsmilie:Quote:
Originally Posted by leathel
I swear some of these gun shop owners don't have a clue.
I'd recommend a Howa 1500 in 243 or 7mm08. Very cheap and decent action. As has been said though, try a few and see which you like the feel of.
Probably fitted with a cheep gun shop branded 3 - 9 power scope on cheep shitty mounts and they be telling him he'll be shooting deer at 800- 10000 yards .Quote:
Originally Posted by leathel
the tikka factory is 16368 km away. the remington factory is 14188 km awayQuote:
Originally Posted by 7mmwsm
1800 extra km isnt that much further.
tikkas are fine rifles. remingtons are fine rifles. I own both.
I rate them really highly. and I use my tikka alot more than my remington.
Well said.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill999
Quote:
Originally Posted by leathel
:wtfsmilie: Groan. Welcome to "Flinchville". Poor Bugger- prob take him 6 months to figure out he's not the problem......and another 6 months to get rid of the flinch.
Mate buy a 6.5x55.
T3 is awesome or a sako.
Think ruger make them .
Look into them they are a great all round cal
Good BC and a good talking point.
Not much gets away .
Tikka T3 in 260 rem
As a first gun? Choice of factory ammo is not the best or cheapest. Good calibre though.Quote:
Originally Posted by 260rem
Rem 700, Savage, Howa, Tikka, Sako etc.. 7-08 or .270
I shot a 6.5x55 T3 for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was impressed.
With a suppressor recoil was virtually non exsistant and it was bloody accurate!
you can eliminate some by what you want to use it for... IE if you are likley to mainly hunt bush 18-22" barrel, If you think you are going to get in to the LongRange side of things with plenty of practice 22-24" barrel
If you think you are not going to like carrying a heavy rifle that also helps the choices
Money you want to spend helps deside as A blaser will shoot very well and last a life time....but if things are tight get a cheaper rifle bare and get better mounts and scope than they offer in the package deals as that is where most of the rifles I have helped fix the way they shoot have fallen down.... A good sturdy set of mounts and a reliable scope will fix a lot of rifles that are supposadly shit rifles!
Detachable mag or not is another thing to think of....I hate detachable mags as they get left behind, lost etc. Hinged floor plate or not, Much prefer hinged floor plate myself to drop the rounds out.
Have a look and see what you like :)
If I was buying one ATM in the budget end of things Marlin or Howa would be the ones I would likley go...Marlin most likley. I saw a cheaper Mod 7 the other day.... new budget ones, sort of a SPS of the mod 7 world and later get the carbon fiber stock etc..
Oh yeah thats another thing to think about... are you the type of person to tinker... make better.... pimp your gear? Get one bits are available for :P
Lots of good advice in many of the above posts.
Get into a few shops and see what feels good to you in your hands and suits your build .
As you have said your a bit new to it go for a common caliber 7/08 308 .270 as they will do most jobs very well and theres a good range of ammo stocked at most places.
Sadly I have seen this first hand as a customer came in convinced he needed a magnum and no matter what we said he could not be convinced to even come out with us to the range that weekend to try out a few guns.Quote:
Originally Posted by James
He brought it back with only 10 rounds fired to go to a more manageable caliber
Can't go wrong with a howa! howa in 7mm08 would be my choice if i were starting over again. not much boot and ammo thats not going to break the wallet!
Go straight for a 223.....Sako, Tikka take your pick there are a few others around that give good value for money ....You will want one one day anyway so you might as well get it now..
Ammo...Reloads are so cheap you will end up not only shooting all the deer pigs and goats you want but you will use it on wallabys, rabbits and hares and because of this extra use you will gain the confidence needed to be able to consistantly place your shots where you want them. Confidence in your ability to put a bullet where you want to is just about everything in this game.
Your Wife and kids as they grow up will thank you for choosing this calibre..It wont make them flinch and your kids can use one from a very young age.
Think of a rifle more as a surgeons scalpel rather than a sledgehammer. You dont use a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. Get used to placing your bullet where it kills cleanly without destroying a great deal of good meat. With good bullet placement you should be able to eat right up to the bullet hole.