Rifle window shopping for new hunter

[2rocky]

Spent a couple days extra in Spokane thanks to the Southwest flight debacle. Got a chance to take my girlfriend's 22 year old son to Sportsman's and Double Eagle to handle some rifles and have him get familiar with what he liked. I haven't "shopped" for a rifle in a few decades so nearly everything on the rack was new to me.

Joe was introduced to firearms by the Army and accompanied some friends into the field for moose while stationed there.

I told him we weren't looking for specific calibers but for him to find a rifle/safety position/ stock material/price point he liked. While there we talked about what ammunition was readily available. Looking at the ammo shelves, we saw plenty of 6.5CM, 308 and 30-06. I think in our discussion we narrowed it down to .308 and 30-06.

From my experience with a .300 WM I wanted him to have a rifle he was comfortable practicing with regularly. I think I'm going to ask his Maternal uncle to take him out to get some recoil practice.

He liked the Tikkas, Ruger American, and a couple others. My one and only large caliber rifle I bought used from a family friend gunsmith. Any shopping tips I can pass along to Joe ?

 

[Addicting]

Get as nice as he can financially swing. Nothing worse than buying cheap and trying to upgrade later. Cheaper ones don’t hold value like nicer ones.

Of those two mentioned I would go Tikka all the way over River American. No way I would ever choose a Ruger American if I had other options.

 

[VikingsGuy]

7mm08, .270Win, .308, .284Rem, and 30-06 are great all-around choices. Tikka's overall build quality - action, barrel, stock and trigger are all better than the Ruger - an easy choice if his budget doesn't force the Ruger on him. They also hold resale better in my experience.

The other recommendation is better to have a $750 rifle with a $900 scope than a $1200 rifle and a $400 scope. Buy the Tikka and get a Leupold VX-5HD from @schmalts. A rig that will shoot everything you need in North America and both will last a lifetime.

 

[std7mag]

7mm08, .270Win, .308, .284Rem, and 30-06 are great all-around choices. Tikka's overall build quality - action, barrel, stock and trigger are all better than the Ruger - an easy choice if his budget doesn't force the Ruger on him. They also hold resale better in my experience.

The other recommendation is better to have a $750 rifle with a $900 scope than a $1200 rifle and a $400 scope. Buy the Tikka and get a Leupold VX-5HD from @schmalts. A rig that will shoot everything you need in North America and both will last a lifetime.

What's a 284Rem?

There's a 284 Win.
And a 280 Rem.

 

[Ben Lamb]

@Addicting is spot on, and I'd add that anything he buys, he needs to factor in the cost of the scope, so he needs to know what kind of scope he's in the market for. Lots of folks cheap out on optics because they overbuy on the rifle.

That doesn't mean a VX5HD, but it does mean a quality scope with a solid reputation. Like a VX3HD

 

[fishing4sanity]

I might be reading between the lines poorly, but if he hasn't spent much time with bolt action hunting rifles, I'd suggest being patient and spending time shooting with you, the uncle & friends. He can find out his tolerance level to recoil and maybe which rifle just 'fits' him better. A good mentor could help a lot with fundamentals that will help for years to come.

 

[MTLabrador]

Tikka, .308, Leupold fixed 6x. Keep it simple.

 

[buckbull]

Found a scope for ya.

Leopold VX-5HD

No longer available.

www.hunttalk.com

 

[brockel]

Found a scope for ya.

Leopold VX-5HD

No longer available.

www.hunttalk.com

Hell of a deal on a great hunting scope.

 

[brockel]

Tikka in 6.5 creedmoor 7mm-08 308 or 270 topped with a leupold vx3 3.5-10. I think the tikka 30-06 is going to be a bit sporty in the recoil department for a new shooter.

 

[VikingsGuy]

What's a 284Rem?

There's a 284 Win.
And a 280 Rem.

my bad - meant 280Rem

 

[ridn9high]

I would look around and find smaller gun shops to price some guns before buying at a big sporting good store. I have two shops local to me that always beat everyone else in the area. For instance, I bought a new gun a few months ago and everyone had it listed for $915-929 plus tax and wouldn’t budge on price. Local shop ordered the gun and I paid $900 with tax out the door.

I’d look at a Tikka or Bergara. Out of the rounds you mentioned, I like the 308. Ammo is everywhere and the price isn’t too bad. Euro optics has a good sale on Trijicon Credos and Tenmiles right now. Great scopes

 

[Watts307]

Spent a couple days extra in Spokane thanks to the Southwest flight debacle. Got a chance to take my girlfriend's 22 year old son to Sportsman's and Double Eagle to handle some rifles and have him get familiar with what he liked. I haven't "shopped" for a rifle in a few decades so nearly everything on the rack was new to me.

Joe was introduced to firearms by the Army and accompanied some friends into the field for moose while stationed there.

I told him we weren't looking for specific calibers but for him to find a rifle/safety position/ stock material/price point he liked. While there we talked about what ammunition was readily available. Looking at the ammo shelves, we saw plenty of 6.5CM, 308 and 30-06. I think in our discussion we narrowed it down to .308 and 30-06.

From my experience with a .300 WM I wanted him to have a rifle he was comfortable practicing with regularly. I think I'm going to ask his Maternal uncle to take him out to get some recoil practice.

He liked the Tikkas, Ruger American, and a couple others. My one and only large caliber rifle I bought used from a family friend gunsmith. Any shopping tips I can pass along to Joe ?

Having worked jobs over the years off and on selling and handling guns, working for Sportsman's as well. I can only go off standard guns and supplies and what we had to offer, so I'm not gonna be the guy to bring up specialty guns, custom guns or over the top priced companies.

I think 300 PRC, 7MM PRC, 30-06, 300WM, 7mm Rem Mag are epic but every state and store seems to have different availabilities etc.

There is a somewhat price gap in between guns like Ruger Americans and Savage Axis which are practically the same thing and around $350-600 and the Tikkas etc. around $800 plus.

I would 100% recommend to get the next step up if financially possible. Good goods will last a long time and unless you want to buy another one just because, a good rifle in a quality caliber can be used for all hunting needs practically.

I recently shot a new to me rifle, Savage in 30-06 with a muzzle break and was absolutely shocked how much it helped the recoil compared to Savage .308, which are fairly similar. I would 100% make sure to have one put on or get a gun with one.

The Tikka T3X Superlite is probably one of the best guns on Sportsman's rack. Around $800 you can get a lightweight and tough as nails synthetic style stock. Stainless barrel and action. Fluted Barrel, an accuracy guarantee, excellent customer service etc. Tikka is owned by Sako Precision Rifles and is under the bigger umbrella of Beretta which is great considering the quality control and consistency.

The Tikka also allows for specific rings that go straight into the receiver without need extra material and weight like a picatinny rail base. They also make a bigger brother version in the Roughtech which is epic and comes with muzzle break but is around $1200.

Besides the Tikka, I would recommend Bergara. Bergara started out making specialty barrels for companies and now makes there own rifles. Their barrels are probably better than most and more accurate and longer lasting rifling. They are a little heavier which will aid in recoil and durability. However they do make a Premier Mountain ( I believe is the name). Which is like a Weatherby backcountry 2.0 but better and cheaper. Bergara also makes a lot of different type of stocks for specific handling and shooting likes. Also it has a legendary Remington 700 type action which is strong, simple and smooth.

Either way you cannot go wrong. Other honorable mention would be some of the better model Savages, like the 110 Storm.

I wouldn't personally recommend any newer model or year Remington's and Winchesters, possibly Mossberg's if I remember correctly. These brands have all passed hands to many times. All rifles we got sent form these brands were from random foreign importers etc.

 

[WVTXn]

Glad the OP posted this thread. I'm in a similar scenario. I even considered buying a practice rifle (300winmag) just to ease into things and not worry about abusing the actual hunting rifle. Or am I overthinking this? As to the OP's question... is a used rifle also an option as a starter? Or a just buy a Savage axis & sell it on the cheap or trade for quality ammo later when you buy the lifetime rifle? Sorry for the rambling.

 

[OpenSeason]

Take into account your Glass and Rings and ammo. It often is an afterthought. Good glass is worth every penny.

 

[6mm Remington]

280AI or. 30-06. Good for everything.

Winchester Model 70 EW. SS
Ruger Hawkeye
Tikka
Bergara

 

[Addicting]

Glad the OP posted this thread. I'm in a similar scenario. I even considered buying a practice rifle (300winmag) just to ease into things and not worry about abusing the actual hunting rifle. Or am I overthinking this? As to the OP's question... is a used rifle also an option as a starter? Or a just buy a Savage axis & sell it on the cheap or trade for quality ammo later when you buy the lifetime rifle? Sorry for the rambling.

That is all a waste of money. Buy the best rifle you can in the caliber you want and shoot it.

 

[WVTXn]

That is all a waste of money. Buy the best rifle you can in the caliber you want and shoot it.

Cool. I kinda figured the shortest distance was a straight line. There I go again over thinking things. Thanks.

 

[WVTXn]

Sorry to highjack thread....
Savage 110 or Weatherby Vanguard?

 

[VikingsGuy]

Sorry to highjack thread....
Savage 110 or Weatherby Vanguard?

The vanguard is a rebranded howa 1500. Prefer TiKka and Begara over them, but Vanguard/howa are also good values. Savage 110 is clearly better than Ruger American but not as good as Vanguard/howa in my experience.