[dragthewaters]

I am looking to possibly buy a bolt action rifle for hunting and target, i will probably deer hunt mostly but any other game would be nice too, it needs to be pretty big, but i would like the ammo to be somewhat affordable so i can practice alot, I do not want to spend too much"the pistol purchase killed me" , around 40o dollars, i know i know i probably cant get much but i do want to sqeeze in al the rifle i can get, thanks

 

[Paul H]

.308 winchester, there is lots of milsurp 7.62X51 out there for inexspensive practice.

I'm very fond of the Ruger M77 MkII, my wife's ultralight is very accurate with all sorts of ammo, from 147 gr milsurp to 220 gr rn, and everything in between. I'd look on the used racks, we picked up ours for $300 in like new condition, only problem was the bushnell scope was broke, so it wouldn't shoot worth a hoot. New scope, and suddenly it shot just fine.

 

[dragthewaters]

and the .308 is big powerful enough to kill a deer and pretty decent ranges?

 

[KN]

Don't forget the savage to look at the Savage line, Hard to beat for the money. KN

 

[Lawdog]

dragthewaters,

The .308 will take any deer at any range you are capable of hitting them at. This is the cartridge used by military and civilian snipers for long range work. And I agree with KN about the Savage, from the ones I've seen they are very accurate out of the box. Lawdog

 

[Paul H]

and the .308 is big powerful enough to kill a deer and pretty decent ranges?

The .308 will kill deer at any range you are capable of making a killing shot, and will do the same for wild hogs, black bears and elk!

The only game in NA that I would personally not take on with a .308 is the grizzly/brown bear. Asside from that, the .308 has plenty of terminal performance for game large and small, inside of 300 yds.

Yes, there are more powerful and flatter shooting rounds, but darn few hunters that are capable of shooting them accurately enough in the field to exceed the range of the .308, and fewer still good reasons to shoot at game at those distances.

The .308 will do it all, w/o ripping off your shoulder, or emptying your wallet.

I almost forgot, it also holds it's own on the target range, and has heald many records for target shooting. It is also a very easy round to handload for, it is not tempermental or difficult to make shoot well.

 

[Zachary]

The .308 would be a good choice, as would the .270, .30-06, and my favorite, the 7mm-08.

As for rifles, I really like the Tikkas (as almost everyone on this board knows). Although I like my Remington 700s a close second. For the money, the Remington ADL is a great, yet economical, choice.

Zachary

 

[dragthewaters]

well i am not worried about my shoulder at all, , I am worried about my wallet though , so what you are saying PAUL H is that a 308 is easier to shoot with less experience?, I definetely want enough power, this rifle will only see a deer hunt about 4 days a year, i will be hunting in wisconsin but i live in IL, and we can not use rifle exept for on cyote, whitch brings me to that, will 308 be a decent round for cyotes?, basically i want the round that does everything , i know hard to sak for but i want it to be close, affordable and can be used on alot of game, thanks

 

[JBabcock]

You should look at "Howa" as well. Accurate, inexpensive rifle. Mine came from the factory with a 3 3/4 lb trigger. Awesome. Mines the Varmit rifle, but I'll probably by another in 22-250 in the hunting style.

 

[jamie]

Buy the Savage in 7-08, 308, 270, 25-06, or 30-06 and you will be happy. The price difference between any of these is minor, less than a buck. Truth be told the prices difeerence I paid for my premium .300 win mag rounds were only a buck more than the same in -06. They were all over a buck a shot though.

 

[Smokey]

There are many, many chamberings that would fill your needs. Follow the URL below to the Chuck Hawks site where you will find dozens of well-written and well-researched articles on a HUGE selection of cartridges and rifles, as well as lots of other good information.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2d.rifles.htm

 

[longwinters]

I really do not think you can beat the 30-06 for an all around rifle. But the 308 or 7m-08 would a close 2nd. I too would vote with Zachary and look at the Tikka rifles. I have seen nothing better, for the price, out of the box.

 

[Advocate]

I would recommend the .308 Win. I've not hunted with it, but have accompanied those who have and on deer out to about 250 yds, it's pretty much indistinguishable from the .30-06. It is cheaper to shoot, kicks less and appears to be more accurate. Like the foregoing poster, I too like Howa rifles. I'm thinking about a Howa 1500 short action .308 WCF for myself, personally. Shorter and lighter than my other rifles. I have a ton of .308 brass and good loading data. I think it would be terrific to hunt with.

 

[kc5rkg]

30-06

I have a Winchester M70 in 30-06. I really like the 30-06 caliber. I use 165 gr. for deer, but have the abililty to go up to 220 gr. if I ever go after larger game. The .308 would probably be my second vote!

Scott

 

[Paul H]

well i am not worried about my shoulder at all, , I am worried about my wallet though , so what you are saying PAUL H is that a 308 is easier to shoot with less experience?, I definetely want enough power, this rifle will only see a deer hunt about 4 days a year, i will be hunting in wisconsin but i live in IL, and we can not use rifle exept for on cyote, whitch brings me to that, will 308 be a decent round for cyotes?, basically i want the round that does everything , i know hard to sak for but i want it to be close, affordable and can be used on alot of game, thanks

25-06, 260 rem, 6.5X55, 270 win, 7-08, 7X57, 280 rem, .308 and 30-06; all of them launch 120-150 gr bullets 2700-3000 fps. All of them shoot flat enough to keep shots in the boiler room at 250-300 yds with no hold over. They key is being capable of making the shot in the boiler room. If you make the shot, any of the rounds will work with equal effectiveness. If you muff the shot, even shooting an elephant gun won't pull your hide out of the fire.

The sole benefit of the .308 as I see it is the supply of inexspensive military surplus 7.62X51 ammunition. With milsurp ammo for practice that is 1/3-1/4 the cost of new hunting ammo, you'll get in the trigger time to become a proficient shot.

The other thing I failed to mention is, get a quality scope, and put it in solid mounts. A scope that craps out, or gets wacked out of alignment on a hunt is a huge liability. I'd much rather get a $300 used gun and top it with a quality new $200-300 scope, then a new $500 rifle with a $40-100 scope.

 

[dragthewaters]

well, i was looking at wal-mart and they have remington 700 synthetic rifles for around 360 and that is witha scope and scope mount, if i keep that gun and leter add say a 300 dollar scope, and this will definetely not be my last rifle, i am only 15 years old, i have a ton of years for my gear to get better, i don't need to start with a 2 thousand dollar rifle and 1000 dollar optics, i think i will get 308 because it is cheap to shoot, when i hunt i will use very high quality loads, but for practice i won't, I have to get a job and then start saving for a rifle, are those remintons any good and will that scope do for a season or 2, ? I would probably get all new stuff in 3 seasons or maybe less if i like deer hunting enough, the only rifle hgunting i can do in IL is on cyote.

 

[Zachary]

If you can afford it, get the 700 ADL synthetic, but without the scope, but get a Bushnell ELite 3200 3x-9x-40mm. This is a very good scope for about $150, but it has the rainguard feature which would come in handy in your part of the country where it gets quite cold and thus cause problems with external fogging.

Zachary

 

[dbuck]

Well, I'll put my two cents in. I have three hunting rifles in my inventory,
a Remington 700 BDL in 7-08 (My favorite) in ss which I purchsed at a gun show several years ago for 400.00 and I love it. I have two Howa's
1500 one in 308 in blue which I paid 415.00 and a stainless steel in 270 Wichester which I just bought the action/barrel only and paid 396.00 and put a Boyd's laminated stock on. I love both of my Howa's, the trigger on both is great, I adjusted them and it took every bid on two minutes on each rifle.

Your original question is about the ammo/price vs caliber for deer hunting and that put's the 308 at the top of the heap because their is alot of cheap ammo. Let me say one thing about the 308, for years I shot service rifle at Camp Perry using the M1A which is a 308. Ammo through these rifles or snipers rifles for that fact are not cheap ammo. You get what you pay for, as long as you just practice with it cheap ammo thats fine, but don't expect that ammo to shoot like somebody that handloads Nosler 165 Gr. BP's or Sierra 168 Gr. Matchkings. Buy quality ammo for hunting, but also take that same ammo and do some practice with it so you know how it shoots.

My top choice if I was purchasing it would be a Howa 1500 (Blue) syn. stock in 7-08, but I just love this caliber. Its a neck down 308, but this is just me. My second choice would be a Howa 1500 (Blue) syn. stock in 308, but you can't go wrong with a Tikka, but I've never own one, but we are talking about bang for your bucks and if you save 50.00, well 50.00 is 50.00. My 2 cents.

Buck

 

[Zachary]

dbuck,

I too own a Remington BDL SS DM (Detachable Magazine) in 7mm-08. What a great gun and great round. I think that the 7mm-08 has to be the PERFECT whitetail round within 200 yards. But, like you, maybe it's just me.

Zachary

 

[dragthewaters]

well I looked at wal-mart they mostly have weatherby vanguards, winchester m70's, and remington 700's, out of those what one is the best, the weatherbys have a cheap scope that i can replace, actually the winchester's had scopse too, out of those what would be the best, If i can get somthing for 400 dollars i will be more than happy