What is the best rifle for a guy on a budget?

[257 ROB]

I'm kinda on a budget of about 1000 dollars and I would like to find a rifle that is nice but not one that im scared to use. I hunt in a mix of woodland and prairie but the farthest shot would be 400 yds.

[Norbrat]

I see no-one has replied to this; not surprised, really, as it's a "How long is a piece of string?" type question! :)

What do you plan to hit at 400 yds? Big game, little game, steel target, paper target?? That's going to define your calibre choice.

Does you budget include cost of optics?

For a basic rifle, the Stevens seems to be well reviewed for it's price. Or the Weatherby Vanguard, which seems to be on offer starting around US$400.

Otherwise you could consider an ex-military rifle; there are some Swedish Mausers at Gunbroker for around $200 - $400.

The Weatherby Vanguards are actually made by Howa and I recently bought a new stainless Howa 1500 .308 in a Hogue overmolded stock, available here in Oz for around AUD$1000. I found a Tasco 3-9x40 scope on eBay for about $100, and had the trigger tweaked for about $50, so that's me set up for a good price.

Good luck in your search.

Norbert

[257 ROB]

My cost is just for the rifle,I was looking and I can get a Remington 700 cdl boone and crockette for about $850, do you have any experience with the 270 wsm? And I will be shooting at big game and 400 yds would be maximum.

Thanks for replying

[Norbrat]

Well, that Rem is certainly a bit more upmarket than the Stevens or Vanguard! :p

Don't know much about the 270WSM; the WSM calibres are not that popular here but I've seen a couple of shooters using them at the range.

There is a bit of a discussion about the WSM's in the "Factory Weapons" forum.

I think the WSM's fill a niche for those who want "Magnum" performance in a short action, but I can see that can cause issues with recoil in lighter rifles. And you do lose some magazine capacity due to those fat cartridges.

And I think it would be quite difficult to safely download a WSM cartridge, while it is quite easy in something like a .308 and even a 30/06.

I'm getting too old to punish myself with recoil, so a milder load is usually my choice. If I really need a high power load, I can easily just select the appropriate reload. The .308 gives me that versatility.

And here in Oz, the only game for which a stiffly loaded .308 is too light for would be the water buffalo in the Northern Territory. Seeing that is 3000 kms north of where I live, the .308 is more than enough for me.

Cheers, Norbert

[armyrat1970]

I really don't see why you need a larger caliber that 30-06. Savage makes fine rifles at very reasonable cost leaving you with enough money for other options like scopes, slings, carrying cases and ammo. You're not hunting elephants and the 06 will easily drop any large game out to 400yrds.
Scopes run through the alphabet as far as the best. I like Redfield and Simmons but there are many as equal or even better. Tasco for one as Norbrat mentioned.
Leupold, Weaver, Bushnell to name a few others. They all make fine scopes.

[Norbrat]

I agree the -06 is more than adequate for any game weighing under a ton or not out to actually kill you!

400 yds is a looooong shot; you'd better know EXACTLY what the range is and what your bullet's trajectory is going to be at that range.

A fellow shooter here used to pick off goats up to 600 metres away with an -06, mainly because it would have been almost impossible to cross the gullies in the rugged mountain ranges. But he also had topographical maps with him so he could work out the exact range, as well as a ballistics chart taped to the butt of the rifle and he shot from a rested position.

257 Rob, I see you are having a bit of a discussion on the Hunters Forum about a 6.5x55. And you are in Canada, right? Here in Oz we have long range rifle shooting clubs, with competitions often based around older mlitary rifles. I would highly recommend you see if you can find a local club which does similar shooting and go along and have a go. You will learn a LOT very quickly.

[257 ROB]

Down wher I live all there is, is archery clubs and just regular rifle clubs. The reason I thought the 270 wsm would be good out here is most of the time my shots are 300 yds. Another rifle I was looking at was the Ruger Hawkeye in a 280 or any other rifle in that caliber. I'm only 13 so I don't want to go to big. But I have shot my dads 30-06 and liked it.

[armyrat1970]

Down wher I live all there is, is archery clubs and just regular rifle clubs. The reason I thought the 270 wsm would be good out here is most of the time my shots are 300 yds. Another rifle I was looking at was the Ruger Hawkeye in a 280 or any other rifle in that caliber. I'm only 13 so I don't want to go to big. But I have shot my dads 30-06 and liked it.

13 years old heh? When I was your age the only weapons I had ever fired was a BB gun and a 410 shotgun, and you are already using 30-06's. Stick with the 06. You have a varity of bullet weights and the 06 shoots plenty flat with many of them out to the ranges you are talking about.

[257 ROB]

Yah I like the 30-06 my dads is an old ruger m77, he shoots 165gr sierras and they do a number on deer. The price of rifles have gone uplike 25% in the last 5 months and they are going to go up another 25% after christmas. The Remington 700 sps is nice but for $750 I can spend $100 more and have the cdl or a ruger. Which one would you go with?

[257 ROB]

I handled a weatherby vanguard the other day and liked the feel of the gun itself,until I opened the action. I tryed the trigger and was not impressed, it felt like a a raw egg when I pulled it; it was sticky and when I let go of the trigger I had to pull it back into place. So weatherby is out.

[armyrat1970]

I handled a weatherby vanguard the other day and liked the feel of the gun itself,until I opened the action. I tryed the trigger and was not impressed, it felt like a a raw egg when I pulled it; it was sticky and when I let go of the trigger I had to pull it back into place. So weatherby is out.

Check the Savage. Been around for a long time for some reason.

[rokdog13]

Ive got a weatherby SUBMOA in .270 WSM that is a great gun. shoots well. good trigger nice stock. the submoa is a little more than the regualr vangaurd but its worth it.
A friend has a Savage with the accutrigger in .300 WSM good gun better trigger less money I believe. They make the savage in ,270 wsm, also.
I like the accutrigger.

[jlb300]

For the money I am gonna buy a Savage. I think the Weatherby trig.'s suck. Peorid. Check them out. I love mine.