Suggestions for first hunting rifle

[roger]

since its your first one, id look at a blaser or a merkel...cant go wrong with a $15,000 rifle.

just kiddin, lots of non-weatherby type suggestions here....actaully check out the vanguard line.
its all about the fit to YOU, then your budget...much like buying work boots your going to need the right fit to be productive...have fun with your 'gun hunt'

[archeryelk29]

savage ... 270 wsm ... spend 250 on the scope

[CanuckShooter]

Here is a tip for you...don't buy what everyone is selling in the for sale threads....there is a reason they are all selling. It's like the Yugo automobiles, everyone that owns one will tell you they are great...but they are all trying to sell them. go figure.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by CanuckShooter

Here is a tip for you...don't buy what everyone is selling in the for sale threads....there is a reason they are all selling. It's like the Yugo automobiles, everyone that owns one will tell you they are great...but they are all trying to sell them. go figure.

Not all the rifles sold in the exchange are bad shooters or have problems.
All the rifles I have sold were very in good shape and good shooters.
I just have too man and am getting rid of the ones I know longer use.
Cat

[CanuckShooter]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Not all the rifles sold in the exchange are bad shooters or have problems.
All the rifles I have sold were very in good shape and good shooters.
I just have too man and am getting rid of the ones I know longer use.
Cat

Sorry, not what I meant. Don't buy the ones you see for sale the most often.....AND you can make some allowances for brands that have sold a lot. ie. you will see more Fords for sale than Nissans. More Remingtons, than Steyrs

BUT, if you see a lot of wsm or savage or vortex or some fairly new caliber like 325wsm or 17 hmr...well then buyer beware because the seller has a reason for selling, they may be perfectly fine but experience has told me that caution is a good idea when buying things....

[Flatlandliver]

[QUOTE=Zuludog;2373559]Pick a rifle that fits you in an all around caliber. 270, 308, 30-06, 7-08 will all do the job. Most rifles built today are more than accurate enough for most shooters. If you read this article it will show you that CZ, Savage, Sako, Tikka and others all make accurate rifles.

http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/minu...ut-of-the-box/

Fit and personal preference will be the deciding factors most likely. Ask yourself the following questions:

Do you want a wood stock or composite?
Stainless or blued barrel?
Light rifle or heavier? What type of hunting do you do?
Hinged floor plate or detachable magazine?
How much do you want to spend?
Do you want to carry a beautiful rifle but worry about it or do you see your gun as more of an utilitarian object and don't mind if it gets dinged or scratched?

Once you find the features that you want (or think you want ) narrowind down your choices "should" be easier.

This is good advise!
My two cents as well would be to avoid the "first rifle", "entry rifle" bs. That's a marketing ploy to sell cheap rifles. Buy a rifle you will want to leave to your kids.
Also, you will save avg. 40% off new prices by buying used. I don't think anyone here (especially if they have a higher post count) is trying to unload their junk. If your worried, see if they will let you have a gunsmith look it over. There's a ton of good smiths in Calgary and area.

[DanJ]

Buy a .270 win, a .308, a .30-06, a 7mm-08 or a .25-06 in a rifle you like. All good for what you want to do. Try to find one that feels balanced, you will spend a lot more time lugging it than shooting it at animals. You don't need a magnum of any kind but if you find a magnum rifle you like, end of story, buy it. A good .303 is never a mistake, I think .303 British is far more versatile than it gets credit for. Above all, you want a gun that fits and a gun that you like. I repeat: buy a gun you like, and like the gun you buy. I cannot quite put it into words, it really is like selecting a woman, when you pick up your rifle you want it to feel like it belongs in your arms.

That is not BS.

Me, I selected a Marlin bolt action in 7mm-08 for the same hunting you are planning to do. I have a sporterized .303 for brush hunting. Oh, and get the best riflescope you can afford.

[nelsonob1]

Here's a good one just up:

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...21#post2376621

[trooper]

Originally Posted by north american hunter

There is alot of savage haters on here, personally I like savages, but I would stay away from package rifles.

Agreed, I worked at cabelas for a while and customers had nothing but complaints with reference to package rifles. The manufacturers put cheap scopes on them and for the most part, they aren't even fitted correctly or even bore sighted. My advice is to buy a rifle and then purchase a scope separately then have a knowledgeable friend do the mounting and bore sighting for you.
All you need to do then is zero your rifle for a given range and type of ammo.. Then you're in business.

[Tbutler]

Originally Posted by Snemetchek

You can get the Savage® 11/111 Trophy Hunter XP Rifle with Scope Combo for 550. Does anyone have history with this gun and scope? Does it work well?

I have a 7mm in this package for 2 years now and love it. I have no problems with it it has held a zero good and groups will. As for looks, the deer didn't care 1 bit how the gun looked. I am using hornady 154sst and they group very will image.jpg for the price you can't go wrong.

[ADH]

You're going to hear many different things on this site about what to buy what caliber to shoot etc. Lost of the answers are awesome and very helpful, many are not. The advice I would give is to go and shoulder as many different brands/styles as you can. Talk to some ppl on here. Im sure there are some excellent and knowledgeable people who are willing to take you under their wing. See if you can try different calibers. Feel the recoil try and determine what is manageable for you to shoot. No matter what brand or caliber you get the more you practice with it the better you will be. All of that being said, My choices for brand keeping in mind quality for the price are the tikka t3 lite, the browning xbolt, or if you really dont want to spend too much there is nothing wrong with the savage axis as a starter. As far as caliber goes I have always thought that the .308 is the best starter caliber for a young hunter. Plenty of power yet manageable. Take your time try things out see what YOU like.

[ADH]

oh and P.s. when deciding on a caliber. Take into consideration what kind of factory ammo is the most readily available. Im assuming that since you are starting out you are not doing a lot of self loads. Another reason why I like the .308 or 30.06

[Okotokian]

Would this be your first firearm? If so, a big game rifle wouldn't be my first purchase. If you hunt around calgary and have built up no priority for draws, you are going to be using that rifle for hunting one month a year (November).

Someone earlier mentioned getting a .22 and practice, practice, practice. Good advice. Also fun for small game you can hunt year round. Personally, I bought a shotgun before I bought a big game rifle. With that you can hunt upland game and waterfowl all fall.

If you really want a big game rifle, I'd pick a reasonable caliber that doesn't have too much recoil for a new shooter but has sufficient power to confidently take deer, elk, moose. A .270 or 30-06 are good traditional choices with lots of availability and ammo availability (like buying a F-150 as your first truck, rather than a Dodge dually 3500 with turbo-diesel, a black one. ). Brand? Every one has their fans, but every major gun maker makes reliable, accurate firearms these days (certainly accurate enough for hunting). Remington, Ruger, Winchester, Weatherby Vanguard, Savage, Browning, Tikka, all will be just fine. You don't need to spend $1000 on the rifle. PICK THE ONE THAT FITS YOU WELL AND FEELS COMFORTABLE.

[winger7mm]

I own one in .243 its a fantastic gun for deer hunting. Its real cheap on the wallet to. IMO I wouldnt get the package deal. I picked up the Vortex crossfire and new rings all in all run me about $600 with ammo and a couple other things. I recommend the Axis, A guy doesnt have to worry about beating it up and it shoots quite well for a "cheap" gun.

[rugatika]

Winchester model 70 featherweight in 30/06, 270, 308 etc.

FX3 6x42 scope. (although I've been eyeing up the fx2 6x36 scopes lately as well)

[FallAirFever]

There has been a lot of good advice so far. I'll toss in my 2 cents as well.
Like has been said rifles are a very personal choice and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, some guys look at rifles as a tool. They dont care if it looks pretty as long as it gets the job done. Some guys like to have a rilfe that gives them pride as a show piece, and functions well.

My suggestion is to decide on a budget, dont forget you are going to need rings, bases, ammo, cleaning supplies...... as well. Then shoulder as many rifles as you can, find the one that fits your budget, has the features you want and most importantly fits you. I have a Savage Axis in 308, it's okay, but I dont see ever buying another. For a little more money you can get a nicer Savage or a Weatherby Vanguard, which I also have one in 223 and really like.

As far as what to get it chambered in since it is your first and you may not know how recoil tollerant you are I would stick with a smaller case. So something chambered in 308 win or 7mm-08 will serve you well. My first big game rifle was a 270 win I had to put a decent recoil pad on it to shoot it much, I found 30-06 to be beyond what I enjoyed shooting as far as recoil went.

good luck in your search. let us know how you make out.

[Snemetchek]

Thanks everyone for all yourb input. This site has been a great help so far. I just found out yesterday my father in law is handing down his browning lever action 308 to me. It was his granddad so its easily from the 70's .... any advice or input on this gun would be great.

[Pathfinder76]

Get a stainless Ruger chambered for 270 Winchester for your first rifle and then never half to replace it.

[SportHuntingHelp]

Bought a Ruger M77 30-06 19 years ago and it is still my go to rifle.

[grouse_hunter]

Personally, I bought the best rifle I could afford and put a moderately priced scope on it. Sako 85 Finnlight in 300 Win Mag with a decent Bushnell on it is what I have. This year I will upgrade the scope to a Zeiss or Swarowski and will have an excellent long range/mountain gun.
It is my only big game rifle and I've put about 500 rounds through it in 7 years that I've had it. So far I've taken 17 deer and 1 elk with it, from 20 to 300 yards. I've practiced plenty and I'm very comfortable with my gun. I have no intention of getting a different rifle to fill the role of my Sako.
What I'm trying to say is that you may not necessarily want to buy a cheap "practice" gun, but rather invest in a reliable, quality tool which you will get accustomed to and use for many decades.

[ReayMan]

257 WBY, 25-06, 7mm-08. All great deer guns with low recoil.

[twofifty]

Originally Posted by Snemetchek

Thanks everyone for all yourb input. This site has been a great help so far. I just found out yesterday my father in law is handing down his browning lever action 308 to me. It was his granddad so its easily from the 70's .... any advice or input on this gun would be great.

Sounds like you've stumbled upon a good rifle.

Does it have a scope mounted on it?

How does it feel when you shoulder it...do you have to creep up and down the stock to see a clear sight picture or does everything pretty well snap into view?

[fitzy17]

I love my Weatherby Vanguard Series II

[het4human]

The one package gun I really liked was the Sako A7, a little pricier than the savages for sure, but an amazing shooter.

[ReayMan]

Originally Posted by fitzy17

I love my Weatherby Vanguard Series II

X2

[u_cant_rope_the_wind]

Red Rider Daisy BB gun to start out with

[Rdamours]

My first was an old 303 Lee Enfield Take a look at them all in the stores as you may see something that grabs your eye.

Go to one of the stores and get the feel for one of them. It's a personal decision but lots of ammo selection in most major calibers. 308 or 3006 have lots of grain selections to shoot and brass is readily available should you ever want to get into reloading.

I'd at least take a look at a Stevens 200 ( made by Savage) and catch them on sale for around 299 like I did. Buy better scope mounts and a better scope than the package and come out at about the same price.

I also posted some building a rifle based on that action should you want to try that years later as well.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...t=savage+build

[Highlander44]

7mm08 in a Remington 700, with a Remington you can get any aftermarket part down the road if you want to customize it-don't worry about the trigger issue-take it to a gunsmith and get it tuned for $50, its well worth it. With a 7mm08 you can take any deer/elk/moose with good shot placement. 7mm bullets are accurate and very efficient in the wind. Have a look at the Ballistic Coeficients of the 7mm's-they are hard to beat. the 30 cals would be my second choice, and 270's would be last- sure they have taken lots of game, but offer little in bullet selection and the BC's are poor compared to the rest.....

[Huntsman]

I bought a stainless Encore in 2005 and haven't looked back. It allows you to "test drive " different calibers if that's your thing. I'm currently shooting and hunting with; 50 inline muzzle loader, 280 Rem and 243 Win barrels.

You can also consider a lever action 30-30. That's all my grand dad used for deer, coyotes, moose and elk.
Good luck in your decision.

[Lildog]

Originally Posted by Zuludog

Pick a rifle that fits you in an all around caliber. 270, 308, 30-06, 7-08 will all do the job. Most rifles built today are more than accurate enough for most shooters. If you read this article it will show you that CZ, Savage, Sako, Tikka and others all make accurate rifles.

http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/minu...ut-of-the-box/

Fit and personal preference will be the deciding factors most likely. Ask yourself the following questions:

Do you want a wood stock or composite?
Stainless or blued barrel?
Light rifle or heavier? What type of hunting do you do?
Hinged floor plate or detachable magazine?
How much do you want to spend?
Do you want to carry a beautiful rifle but worry about it or do you see your gun as more of an utilitarian object and don't mind if it gets dinged or scratched?

Once you find the features that you want (or think you want ) narrowind down your choices "should" be easier.

Good luck with your decision. NOW have fun picking out a scope. lol You probably should upgrade your glass if you buy a package scope from a retailer.

Excellent advise. As a newbie I thank you.