A good starter rig?

270 win

Active Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
35
I'm looking for a good starter rig to get into long range hunting. I'm only 14 but can shoot fairly well for my age. With my 270 I can shoot 1.5 inch groups at 300 yards. I'm fairly recoil tolerant, I can shoot my dads 30-06 with 165 grain handloads all day accurately. So, I'm wondering what you guys would call a good starter rig. My budget will be around $2000. I'd like to shoot elk at 500-600 and deer at 700yds. Any replys would be greatly appreciated.
 
my vote would be for a remington sendero, great gun for around 1100
but does not leave alot for optics, brass bullets ect to get going.
Aslo are you planning on packing this gun all day? the sendero is on the heavy side/.
 
What caliber do you suggest the sendero in? And I know it doesn"t leave a lot for optics, but I know good optics are something you NEED so I can save my money a little longer for it. I've heard a lot of different things about huskamaw and grey bull, but have never had any experince with them. Have any of you had experince with either of these scopes?
 
If your good with recoil and you get into a senduro (a little heavier) you could go with the 300 win mag or 7mm Rem as about the best option for what you wanna do. dont know about optics. I use a Mark 4 leupold and really like it. couple guys I know use the Vortex Vipers and like them, though they arent quit as nice as the leupold they're way cheaper with a great warranty.
 
I've also thought about a custom rifle. Would i be able to buy a remington 700 sps, in say a 7mm rm, 7mm RUM, 300 wm, and put a heavy shilen barrel on it?
 
You can find some really good deals looking for used starter rifles. Cabelas always has a nice selection of nice used guns and will ship anywhere to your FFL dealer for $25. You can find a really nice shooting used or new rifle for under $700. Any of the common calibers everybody mentioned would do well and I could name many more. For the money a new Tikka T-3 light can be had for around $500 in 300 wsm and it will be very accurate right out of the box and be reliable in the hunting situations you described. It is easy and cheap to load for with little recoil and a Nikon monarch scope in the $375-$400 range will be plenty to get you going just fine. I have several new in the box in 2.5-10 and 4-16 mil dots I can sell you under $350. My personal tikka 300 wsm has a 2.5-10 mil dot on it and it would make the shots you described for under $900 new in the box. I can also name about a hundred more.
 
I'm looking for a good starter rig to get into long range hunting. I'm only 14 but can shoot fairly well for my age. With my 270 I can shoot 1.5 inch groups at 300 yards. I'm fairly recoil tolerant, I can shoot my dads 30-06 with 165 grain handloads all day accurately. So, I'm wondering what you guys would call a good starter rig. My budget will be around $2000. I'd like to shoot elk at 500-600 and deer at 700yds. Any replys would be greatly appreciated.


I have a Rem Sendero 7mm Rem Mag that is for sale, along with a Ziess scope. Let me know if you are interested.
 
As some of the other posters have said there are many ways to go. Here is one option.

Gun:MidwestHuntersOutlet.com: Savage Arms Rifles/Shotguns model 111 long range hunter .300 wi

Scope:Vortex - Camera Land NY

Base:EGW Savage RB (Round Back) Picatinny Tactical Rail Scope Mount - $39.99 : Evolution Gun Works , World Class Precision Parts

Rings:Burris Xtreme Tactical Picatinny Style Rail 30mm Rings 420166 420167 420164 420165 420162 420163 420160 420161


This whole setup should be less than $1,600. The long range hunter comes calibers other than the .300wm, such as 7mm, and .300wsm, to name a couple.
 
With my 270 I can shoot 1.5 inch groups at 300 yards. I'm fairly recoil tolerant,


If that is true, then you do not need a rifle.

Instead spend your money on optics such a a high quality scope and binoculars and rangefinder. Those alone will break your budget. With the money you do not have left over invest in a reloading kit so you can maximize the performance of the rifles that you have available to you.
 
Although I agree with BB

If you think you need a new rifle I would get a.

Savage Model 12 VLP DBM in 300 WSM

Get it bedded and the trigger adjusted.

Then put an Sightron SIII 6-24 on it.

but that's just me.
 
You can find some really good deals looking for used starter rifles. Cabelas always has a nice selection of nice used guns and will ship anywhere to your FFL dealer for $25. You can find a really nice shooting used or new rifle for under $700. Any of the common calibers everybody mentioned would do well and I could name many more. For the money a new Tikka T-3 light can be had for around $500 in 300 wsm and it will be very accurate right out of the box and be reliable in the hunting situations you described. It is easy and cheap to load for with little recoil and a Nikon monarch scope in the $375-$400 range will be plenty to get you going just fine. I have several new in the box in 2.5-10 and 4-16 mil dots I can sell you under $350. My personal tikka 300 wsm has a 2.5-10 mil dot on it and it would make the shots you described for under $900 new in the box. I can also name about a hundred more.

+1 WITH L.T.L.R. (exept the Tikka stocks dont fit me as good as the Winchester) But Tikka has a reputation of being quite accurate! and 300wsm is my favorite allround caliber for North American hunting. L/R Potential, and plenty of gun to get the job done. Light wt due to short action etc. Great for packing all day, and stacking anything you point at. Guess what caliber Im getting next....... Its the perfect ''go between'' from my 30-06, and 270wsm to my bigger magnums like 300wby and 338 win mag.
**However, if you can shoot your 270 that well theres no reason not to build it up and trick it out to get even more performance out of it** Just something to think about.
 
Last edited:
The only problem with my 270 is, that it is a new marlin xl7 and there are no stocks, barrels, or triggers out for it, that i have seen. If you have seen any of these please let me know.

I've also thought of building a nice starter rifle. starting with a base model remington 700 sps, in 7mm RUM, 7mm RM, 300 WM, or 300 wsm. Then putting a new barrel on it, having the action blue printed, trigger tuned, and put a bell and carlson medalist stock on it.

Centerfire Rifle - Model 700 SPS - Remington Centerfire Rifles

Welcome to Shilen Rifles, Inc.

Rem 700 w/safety

Bell and Carlson
 
Do what I wish I would've done. I don't know what rifle you currently have, if it is a good platform, for about $600 rebarrel it in 280ai, 6.5x284, or straight 284, with long bullets in that long action. There are some great bullets and powder for those combos. I think you will like a custom barrel. Spend the rest on a good scope that you can keep for a while.
Spend your future money on reloading supplies and shooting experience, When your your done growing, you'll be ready for a big caliber, which can get expensive, but still have a great mid-range gun that you will most likely carry on most of your hunts because a lot of guys are loyal to their first rifle that they learned on.

Plus almost everybody needs a 6.5 or 7mm of some sort in the safe.

You will get a lot of people telling you that your 270 shoots great, which it does. But I have seen alot of 270's and 25-06 shoot 1 1/2 inches at 300 yards and then throw up 6-7 inch groups at 400.

Good luck, you WILL get hooked.
 
Il love to see a young guy get the bug. My kid got it, last year he shot big game, at all overt 300 to 540 with my 223,257 WM,7RM, 325 WSM, AT 14 YRS old. Now he is 15 and he wants to pack my 340WM. I havent even got to take game with that wide a variety of calibers as he did. Good optics are a must, and I agree with above posts. Keep shootinggun)
 
Warning! This thread is more than 13 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top