I have a guy who I just started to hunt black bear with; my son's high school best friend. We went black bear hunting in Maine this year, first day out, first time hunting, he shoots a 362 pound black bear. On the way in to get the bear tagged in I told him he ought to buy himself a lottery ticket as well. Anyway...I put a 35 Whelen together for him for this hunt, so....he's set up quite well for black bear hunting or even whitetail deer hunting. He called me last night, asked me what my opinion was on a "one" caliber, over the counter, second rifle. He wanted something versatile, relatively easy on the recoil, and accurate "sub MOA" rifle that he could purchase over the counter. He will probably be using this rifle as a back-up rifle for his next bear hunt or his next deer hunt. He saw that my son and I always take "at least" one or two back up rifles in case one of the rifles we are hunting with fall out of the tree stand along with us, or....gets run over the the outfitter's truck; I'm sure most of you can attest and have experienced what I am writing about!!
I told him that I would choose either a 30-06 or a 7mm Remington magnum as the cartridge of choice. He too had done a lot of reading and research so the rifle is either going to be in 30-06 or 7mm RemMag. My question is what would be a good over-the-counter, accurate rifle for him to purchase, he is in the $2000 range for a budget. The only two makers I could think of were Browning and Kimber, but I am sure there are a few others that I am not familiar with. He definitely wants a bolt action, 30-06 or 7mm RemMag, accurate and in the $2000 +- budget range. Oh.....as for the lottery ticket statement I made to him. When we got back to camp he sent some relatives of his "who live in Montana" photos of his bear. The relatives told him that they did not know he liked to hunt and offered him to come out and hunt with them next season, all expenses paid, all he has to do is get to Montana; we live in Rhode Island. So I guess the rifle will also be used for mule deer and elk!!?
After I got Quintus' reply I looked up the Christensen Arms "Ridgeline" that looks like a really nice rifle, anyone have any input on these rifles?
I told him that I would choose either a 30-06 or a 7mm Remington magnum as the cartridge of choice. He too had done a lot of reading and research so the rifle is either going to be in 30-06 or 7mm RemMag. My question is what would be a good over-the-counter, accurate rifle for him to purchase, he is in the $2000 range for a budget. The only two makers I could think of were Browning and Kimber, but I am sure there are a few others that I am not familiar with. He definitely wants a bolt action, 30-06 or 7mm RemMag, accurate and in the $2000 +- budget range. Oh.....as for the lottery ticket statement I made to him. When we got back to camp he sent some relatives of his "who live in Montana" photos of his bear. The relatives told him that they did not know he liked to hunt and offered him to come out and hunt with them next season, all expenses paid, all he has to do is get to Montana; we live in Rhode Island. So I guess the rifle will also be used for mule deer and elk!!?
After I got Quintus' reply I looked up the Christensen Arms "Ridgeline" that looks like a really nice rifle, anyone have any input on these rifles?
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