Best Bang for your Buck

[Fullquiver]

I have a friend that is getting into whitetail hunting in West Virginia. He's on a budget. What would be your best Bang for your Buck first time rifle?

Cabela's has a sale starting on the 6th with many different calibers of Savage Axis on sale for $300 plus a $50 rebate so way less than $300 out the door. If I was interested in an inexpensive rifle I would be in that..

Savage Axis XP in TrueTimber Strata camo stock and it comes with a serviceable Weaver 3-9x40 scope..

 

[SaskHunter]

Honestly, for someone on a tight budget who hunts deer in a wooded area, a couple times a year and shoots a handful of rounds, I 100% recommend a Savage Axis in .270/.308/.30-06. I've owned several over the years and still own a couple, one is my wife's .308 and the other my trusted coyote rifle in .223, it is crazy accurate.

If he has some room in his budget I strongly recommend a Weatherby Vanguard S2 or Howa 1500.

 

[Brian in Montana]

Threads like this tend to produce a gazillion opinions and answers. Here's one more. I didn't see where Wyelkfan stated the budget parameters, so here's what I'd steer a friend to if asked.

Tikka T3X in .308 probably. IMO Tikkas are great little utilitarian rifles, pretty simple and reliable, comfortable to shoot and very accurate. You really don't have to do anything to them. The trigger is easily adjustable and great quality for a factory trigger. Just put on a scope and go.

If Tikka is a little outside the budget I also think an underrated "budget rifle" is the Remington 700 SPS. Again, pretty reliable right out of the box, and over time there is every kind of upgrade available you could want, if so inclined, add upgrades a little at a time as $ for such a thing is available.

 

[2rocky]

A good friend would loan him his rifle and go along to help show him how to "gut & gill"

 

[Nick87]

No personal experience but I've heard great things about ruger american line. I'll more than likely be picking a compact version for the oldest this Christmas.

 

[WVmike]

I don't know much about hunting in WV, would he need a scope in that thick timber?

It depends on what part of WV he is hunting in. The southern part of the state is steeper with small valleys or "hollers" as we call them. The eastern panhandle and the further north you go the more open areas there are. Where I live, there are corn and bean fields and open valleys where you could shoot over a thousand yards depending on where you are. The higher mountainous areas are thick with laurel so you might only have to shoot out to 100 yards if you're lucky so it just depends on where he's hunting. I would get something that allows you to do both if possible. Just my preference. I have used winchester model 70s most of my life but I did purchase a Weatherby Vanguard in 7mm this past year and it was under $800.

 

[Losing_Sanity]

Shoot, find a rifle you can afford and like to feel of and get it. The actual difference's in rifle's don't amount to a hill of beans. I happen to like older Remington's but the last two new rifles I bought were Mossberg Patriot's, darn nice rifles and inexpensive. Don't worry about getting a more expensive scope. For the most part that has always seemed to me to be more about ego than anything else. Been Hunting over 60 years now and have seen few POS scope's. Shoot I've even had a few Tasco's and with one exception they worked fine. People make buying a scope sound like a search for laboratory equipment. It's hard to buy a bad scope if you stick to name brands. Guy's looking for a hunting rifle, how hard can that be?

Don't fall out of your chair, but I do agree... I've had some budget class scopes that seem to work pretty well for me. Mainly because that's all that I could afford. Some even became my favorite. Sometimes when giving advice, we think in "our" present budget and not what it was like when we had no budget or in someones else's current budget. I do also accept the philosophy of, "get the best scope you can afford". Poor glass will make any rifle a POS real quick. Then, in many situations, you are stuck with living with it or buying another scope. The price of two scopes could have been a pretty nice one in the beginning. IMO...

 

[jeff_gibbons]

Hit the used gun racks and find a Remington 700 in one of the calibers above: 308, 30-06, 270, 280 etc.

Ask around at the local rifle range too. One of the old timers might throw a good young hunter a discounted good one

 

[Rkc0053]

Tikka, Bergara, Howa 1500 all in .308 or 30-06.

Man I couldn't have said that any better.