Need some hunting rifle advice

[scooter123]

Ruger, Gunsight Scout Rifle in .308.

Bob

This is darned near perfect advice. BTW, I have one of these and no complaints at all.

1) It's about 700-800 bucks depending on how much of a bargain you get.

2) The trigger breaks very cleanly right at 4 lbs., IMO THE PERFECT weight for a hunting rifle.

3) It comes equipped with an excellent Ghost Ring sight, a forward mounting rail, and receiver mounts for a standard scope. So you can set it up for 3 different means of sighting. Personally I prefer a low power Handgun scope on the forward mount because it allows a wider range of view and the ability to use your peripheral vision.

4) There is a selection of polymer magazines available in 3, 5, and 10 round capacities. It also comes with a steel 10 round magazine but I prefere the polymer magazines because that steel magazine rattles around a bit and just feels "clunky". Whatever the law in your state is for capacity in a Hunting Rifle I believe that Ruger has all the bases covered.

5) Weight is right about 7 lbs. unloaded and the barrel length is 16.5 inches, so it's a moderately light and compact rifle. It also comes with mounting posts for detachable sling mounts.

6) There are now 2 stock options. One is a nice Walnut stock for us old fogies. Another is a gray well figured stock made with wood from the Laminated Forrest. Actually the laminated stocks are rather pretty if you happen to like gray.

7) Accuracy. With a cold barrel and the correct ammunition the Ruger Gunsight is a Sub MOA rifle. One minor negative of the forward mounting rail is that as the barrel heats up and expands that colder mounting rail will act to put an upward pull on the barrel. As a result in sustained fire the Ruger Gunsight will string shots vertically. Good news is that string is only about 1.25 to 1.5 inch long 20 rounds in at 100 yards, so from a Hunting standpoint it doesn't mean didly. However if it really bugs you the simple solution is to remove that forward rail.

 

[ColbyBruce]

Where in SC is he located? Any place near northeast GA?

 

[boykinlp]

Finally... someone suggested spending more on the glass than on the gun. But then what do I know. Its just nice to have a scope that you have confidence in. You can pay less, but then you get less.

I agree with this, but with the $1000 budget, it really limits what you can get in a rifle. Since shots are relatively close around here, I would use open sights myself. But.............

The youth, in this case, has some pretty limiting ideas. As much as gun buying advice, he needs some talking to by an experienced hunter who knows whereof he speaks. And yes, we all have our favorites. I'd ignore all of them and only listen to me...

Actually, I think the only one that may be the youth's is the camo and that is because his father sees him looking at camo guns while in the gun shop. His father thinks used is someone else's problems. The father is not a gun guy at all, and his son apparently wants to hunt with his friends. Oh and I'll get him in touch with you!

The kid needs to attend a gunshow and view and handle a whole bunch of different guns. And to show my open mind, I even own a plastic stocked rifle. But its black, no camo, and it roars (.30-378). But he doesn't it to harm Bambi in SC. So I'd suggest he do a survey before buying. Head out to every walmart around, and the local gun stores. Just take note of what calibers they have in stock. Then limit the caliber choices to things available.

The father is buying this as a surprise and a reward for good grades and helping out last year after school and all summer doing yard work for sick and elderly folks in their church. I'll check out the caliber availability and prices for them.

 

[boykinlp]

Where in SC is he located? Any place near northeast GA?

Greenville

 

[Snapping Twig]

BLR has a box magazine, so it can use modern pointed bullets. It's said to be as accurate as any bolt gun.

7-08 is fine, but don't overlook the .260! 6.5mm/.264 cal @ 2800fps using the .308 case is exceptional and kills well above any paper stats.
Long distance, wind bucking with BC & SD making it like a javelin.

Check out the CZ line too.

 

[Waywatcher]

Ruger Americans are made here, which is different than most of the others in its price class. From personal experience, warranty issues with Ruger are a piece of cake, and warranty issues with Tikka (Beretta) are a royal pain.

I would also suggest a ~$400 rifle, ~$500 scope, and ~$100 into a sling and some ammo. I'd stay away from the big bores, and would suggest .243, 7mm-08, or .270. (.270 is my personal favorite, and it was the first centerfire rifle I ever fired.)

 

[zzzippper]

Finally... someone suggested spending more on the glass than on the gun. But then what do I know. Its just nice to have a scope that you have confidence in. You can pay less, but then you get less.

The kid needs to attend a gunshow and view and handle a whole bunch of different guns. And to show my open mind, I even own a plastic stocked rifle. But its black, no camo, and it roars (.30-378). But he doesn't it to harm Bambi in SC. So I'd suggest he do a survey before buying. Head out to every walmart around, and the local gun stores. Just take note of what calibers they have in stock. Then limit the caliber choices to things available.

The tactical rule of thumb is to spend 2x on the glass what you doo on the rifle. That precision isn't needed for hunting. But it is great advice to get to a gun show and try out every rifle for fit. And you don't need much cartridge for 150 yd max shots on eastern deer.

 

[LVSteve]

If they make one, I'd go Savage in 260 Remington with some nice low mag (4x max) glass.

 

[alwslate]

Ruger 77 MKII in .308. Leupold 1X4 or 1.5X5. The simple and rugged
Ruger action is no doubt the best hunting action available today in a
production grade rifle. The Savage is cheaper but is pieced together
with many small parts. Remington seems to be plagued with quality
issues lately but the 700 action is no match for the Mauser derived
Ruger anyway. Stocks can always be painted if so desired but camo
is of little real advantage in a hunting rifle.

 

[cowart]

There are now 2 stock options. One is a nice Walnut stock for us old fogies. Another is a gray well figured stock made with wood from the Laminated Forrest.

The OP specified "his son wants a gun with a camo synthetic stock".

The OP specified a budget of $1,000. Even with a discount, the gun's retail of $1039.00 is not going to leave enough room for a good scope. FWIW, Bud's price is currently $763.00.

 

[redneckemt]

Seen a couple of recommendations for .223-5.56 caliber rifles. Not legal for deer in all 50 states. Check local regs before purchasing 223/ 5.56 for hunting.




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[Cdog]

Give the money to the son and let him pick his own.

Plastique, camo, etc, ain't something that interest me, but as mentioned above the Tikka T3 Lightweight is tough to beat.

Even in magnum calibers as light as they are the recoil is still quite manageable. I've owned Tikka's in .243, .25-06, .270 Win, and .300 Win mag. I've setup and shot a booku of them for others and they shoot great.

Again as already mentioned, their plastique stock ain't much to look at and their supplied rings are lightweight, but when properly torqued work fine. I don't care for detachable magazines on my turnbolt sporters, nor do I like the one size fits all action length the T3 sports, but when you squeeze the trigger on one all those concerns fade away.

Bottom line, the T3 rifles are bargains.

 

[ljnowell]

Ya'll don't really have mobster deer there, hogs can be tough but not real bad. It seems to me that a .30-06 or a .308 would be more than sufficient. Savage has been making some very accurate rifles with very decent triggers. A 1k budget would leave enough to get a decent piece of glass on it too.

 

[SC_Mike]

Im fairly new to long range and hunt rifles but I've had good luck with an older Rem 700 in .270 with the wood stock. I've got a Nikon 3 x 9 scope and it shoots well.

I've also bought a new Rem 700 SPS Tact in .308 but have had to buy a Timney Trigger and new stock so unless you are willing to spend more money on items like that I would shy away at this point.

As far as scopes look at the Redfield Revolution. Owned by Leupold IIRC and around $200.

Just my experience.

 

[David LaPell]

If he wants a gun to hunt both deer and hogs and coyotes I recommend something in .257 Roberts, 7 x 57mm Mauser or maybe .243. I had a Ruger Hawkeye Compact Model once in .257 Roberts (now discontinued) and that was a great little gun. I know they are offered in .243 and 7mm-08 which would do the job as well as .308. They don't have a camo stock, but Bell & Carlson or Pacific should offer a stock. Just remember, whatever gun he gets, he should budget a decent scope too if he plans on going for a bolt.
Personally for the criteria he has of only about 150 yards for whitetail, I would be looking into a .30-30 or better yet, a .35 Remington.

 

[cowart]

look at 257 Roberts, if hogs aren't in the formula.

I recommend something in .257 Roberts

Really? How long would it take to find some ammo? Even Midway doesn't have any available. What are the chances that his LGS has a supply on hand?

 

[Arik]

Rem 700. Like the AR of the bolt action world, easily the most customizable bolt gun with a tried an true action. There is a SWAT version with an 18 in barrel

308 cal should take care of deer and hogs and is common enough to practice and hunt.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

For a deer rifle in the South, does it really need to be more sophisticated than a Marlin 30-30 and a low power fixed scope?

If he must have camo, Marlin made a 336CCamo.

 

[ColbyBruce]

Really? How long would it take to find some ammo? Even Midway doesn't have any available. What are the chances that his LGS has a supply on hand?

The above statement offers a valid point..what you need might not be sitting on a shelf in Wal-Mart, nor is it likely to show up there. However, a "WTB" ad here in the classifieds usually gets prompt response by a forum member who is willing to help another addict out. I personally have been treated well by many people here and try to pay it forward.

Unless it sold since last weekend, I know where some .257 Roberts ammo is.

 

[venomballistics]

My first thought, 243
it's a near perfect mutant that will handle white tails down to woodchucks and all critters in between.