Help: New shooter looking for decent rifle

[angus-5024]

well another canuck! I understand your predicament with getting choice rifles, even the legal ones can be hard to find.

Your reloading situation presents a problem. Up here its even harder to find match grade, or even premium ammo with selection. Our brothers to the south have a fair bit more selection. I think that the 308win is on the very low end for elk and the 30-06 not far ahead but... i think that those are your best options given that you dont hand load. The 7mm Rem is a fair bit better for LR, but cost and barrel life is substantially worse. I would say to go with the 30-06, but keep your shots closer (300yards and less) on elk.
Congrats on your grandpa giving you the Mark 4, they're great scopes.
If you think that you can afford it go with the 7 rem or 300 win, and go buy some reloading stuff! i found all my gear for 300$ at an estate sale. I know that magnum can break the bank when they're your first LR rifle, mine was a 338RUm and it was frustrating. Good luck and if your ever coming to the Edmonton area shoot me a PM.

 

[McDewbie]

Angus, money isn't the only problem i have with reloading my own ammunition. I have no where to be able to load it as I live at home with my parents right now (laugh it up, I'm 18 and in college) and they aren't exactly happy with me even getting a rifle, So that being said, and you know what we can get in Canada, Angus you have any ideas what would be a good over the counter ammunition? Money for ammunition isn't a big deal.
Thanks, Evan

 

[roninflag]

if you don't reload it becomes even more important to get a Good rifle.

 

[angus-5024]

I've handloaded since day one, so I dont really know where to get good factory ammo. My best guess for a god price is wholesale sports, cabela's and bass pro shop, but 2 of those three arent in B.C. with the caliber you get just research the best bullets in that cal and look for ammunition loaded with them.

Could you maybe talk to the local gunshop/sportsmans club and see if an old timer would take the time to show you the ropes and maybe use his/her press? Thats what I did for 3 years.

 

[ogreshooter]

I am speaking as a "southerner" on this, as I have no idea what kind of ammo is available, and how hard it is to find for you.

Don't let "high cost" of ammo hinder you choosing a Savage LRH in a bigger cartridge. I have the Savage LRH in 300wm and I could not be happier with that decision.

I have shot the 30-06 for almost 20 years, and I do enjoy it. BUt if you decide that you want to take an ethical shot on an elk at 500 yards, I have to say GET THE 300 WINMAG. Downrange energy is way higher than 30-06 and 308. Not that these are not great cartridges, but the 300wm with the muzzle break feels like shooting my "little" 308.

Have a look at reloading equipment too. Get your parents involved (maybe coach your dad later after you get dialed in), and maybe they will ease up a bit.

All the actions listed are good to go for hunting. But, as said above also, handle them, shoulder them, and see if you have any friends with anything close and see if you can shoot them. That will be the big test. Shoot as much as possible before making your final decision, but don't wait till hunting season to decide.

Take a breath, relax, and see what you can get your hands on. Also, try gunbroker.com and the for sale section here. You can get decent to great deals on semi custom rifles. Have it shipped to your local guy, and all he has to do is transfer it to your name (again, "southerner". I don't know your rules up there on shipment of long rifles).

Above and beyond, shoot. Shoot a lot. Shoot whenever you get the chance. Get equiped to take animals at 500 yards and out. The longer you want to take an animal at, the more it costs in equipment. Range finders, binoculars, packs, all the associated equipment can be spendy. Buy used if money is tight. I have almost ALL used equipment for hunting except my rifle. Even my scope I bought used.

 

[McDewbie]

Ogre, I hear where your coming from with the bigger cartridge, but I'm wondering how much recoil there is, the only gun I've fired steadily is the 25-06 I have fired a 300 RUM a few times. And while I can manage the recoil on the 25-06 perfectly fine I'm worried what the jump to the 300wm will do to me, I know that the muzzle brake will provide alot of relief there. do you think its too big a jump? or am I just a pansy? on an unrelated note what is Scope "cant"? I am think of mounting my rings/ scope myself and I came across this enigma of a phrase and all of my googling just turned up threads about how to fix it, not what it was, so I was hoping you fine gentlemen could help me once again.
Thanks, Evan

 

[captainjoe]

I think this is an important issue to consider. Because at the end of the day, the most important thing is that you feel comfortable and confident with your rifle.

I know it is not to everyone's liking, but if recoil is a concern, we use shoulder pads on the range. We have been experimenting with heavily loaded big bore stuff and to be honest, why take the beating? So that's what we do. I find as well when I am in the field, I rarely remember hearing or feeling the shot when shooting an animal.

A good quality recoil pad on your stock will help. Also, if you aren't going to use a muzzle brake, be wary of the feather weight rifles in the high powered magnums. I personally prefer carrying a bit heavier rifle for recoil and stabilization purposes, but there are other schools of thoughts.

I do agree that unless you are going to push yourself to longer ranges, that the recoil is not necessary. The .30-06 or .308 can go reasonable distances and for 95% of the casual hunters that only shoot once or twice a year and can't ethically take a longer shot, these calibers are very practical, cheap to shoot and of course have a pleasant recoil. If you are going to practice a lot, pushing yourself in longer range shooting, but you aren't going to reload, the .300 win mag is a good cartridge because of the amount of factory ammo on the market.

One good thing is that if you do make a choice in a quality rifle and find that it is a mistake, it generally isn't too difficult to sell it on and buy something else. Good luck!

 

[spdrman]

I recently purchased a Savage 111 LRH in a 7mm and I love it, the first 40 rounds I shot threw it where just factory loads and I've put 17 handloads threw it, as far as accuracy with factory and my handloads all my groups have been under 1/2 inch shooting 162 grain SST's

When my friends and I started long range shooting we always thought the bigger the better so I bought a 300 win mag which isn't bad to shoot and my buddy went and bought a 300 ultra mag and that thing was not fun to shoot at all, the rifle was accurate but after about 4 shots we'd develope a bad flinch, my first long range setup was a 243 and being able to go out to the range and shoot all day comfortably helped my long range shooting alot, after that first summer my buddy traded is 300 ultra in for a 7mm and can shoot it way better than he ever shot the ultra.

I use to guide and had a few clients with muzzle breaks and after standing by those guys when they shot I swore id never own a rifle with a muzzle break, when savage came out with this new break I figured id give it a try since if I didn't like it I could just turn it off and I absolutely lvr shooting my 7mm with that break I really think it has less felt recoil than my 243 and I figure if im hunting in thick stuff where the shots are going to be quick and off hand just walk around with the break off and if you have a chance to shoot long range you'll have plenty of time to turn the break inn and put some ear plugs in

As far as caliber goes I chose the 7mm primarily cuz I just primarily rifle hunt deer and antelope and archery hunt for elk, if I elk hunted with a rifle more often I probably would of went with a 300 win mag just so I could shoot heavier bullets but if I do ever draw a rifle elk tag the 162 would still do the job just fine (I killed a 6x5 bull 2 years ago that scored 322 with a 105 grain bullet out of my 243 at 503 yards, shot placement is everything and I probably wouldn't ever do that again but I also spent the entire summer shootin rock chucks from 100-900 yards so I knew exactly where that bullet was going to go)

 

[McDewbie]

You think if I got it in the 300 WM with the muzzle brake and an aftermarket recoil pad that it would be manageable? or add some extra weight, somehow. personally I think I'd rather be over prepared then under. that being said I dont want to break a shoulder firing a gun. I think I'll stick with the .308 until some info sways me other wise. really appreciate the help you guys are giving me.
Thanks, evan

 

[joe0121]

huge fan of savage for out of the box accuracy. Remington for a custom build.

Night force scope are the best glass you can get for less than 1.2K.'

Savage in .300WM for long range and .308 for short stuff and a NF NSX scope would be a great start on the kinda cheap if you reload.

for real cheap go savage and SWFA glass fixed power.

But spend the money on the glass for sure.

My dream build if $ is no object.

Defiance action .338
Krieger #10 30"
AI stock
Timney trigger
US Optics SN3 scope.

 

[McDewbie]

I already have a scope, my grandpa gave me his "used" mark4 4.5-14x50 scope. Which everyone has told me is a great scope, maybe not on par with the one your talking about joe, but it should be more than enough for me.
Thanks, Evan

 

[joe0121]

I already have a scope, my grandpa gave me his "used" mark4 4.5-14x50 scope. Which everyone has told me is a great scope, maybe not on par with the one your talking about joe, but it should be more than enough for me.
Thanks, Evan

The mk4's are great glass don't get me wrong, and you cant beat the price!

 

[spdrman]

I seen no need to replace the factory Savage recoil pad if you go with the 111, Im not stuck on one make of rifles and own a little of everything Remingtons, Rugers, Savage, Winchester and Howa, out of all my rifles this is the first one I havent put a sims aftermarket recoil pad on, I see no need for it and if i could id buy the Savage pad and put on all my other rifles its amazing,

As far as managable recoil if you are considering the 111 LRH combine there recoil pad with there muzzle break and you wont have an issues with worring about it "breaking your shoulder" Im 6'1" weigh 175 pounds and I can shoot my 111 off a bench or prone with the break on and stay on target with my scope on 14 power, my 243 barely does that and I cant stay on target with my 300 win mag on 4 power, that right there says the rifle soaks up a huge amount of recoil, with all that great technology in the rifle why buy a smaller caliber when you can shoot a magnum just as comfortably

I have tracked a few "dead" elk that we where never able to find and that is about the most sick feeling in the world, would a bigger caliber have killed those elk, I dont know, but having more kinetic energy wouldnt have hurt anything, especially if you where to hit one in the shoulder, shooting perfect holes in paper is easy but you get a big bull elk in your cross hairs and get your blood pumping things can happin, so for a do all rifle, especially for elk hunting id suggest starting out with a magnum and a muzzle break and in the future when you can afford another gun buy a small caliber to plink with

 

[McDewbie]

Spdrman, I don't pledge allegiance to any company either, but I'm looking at the best gun I can buy for less than 1k and can shoot better than I so I can grow into it. and from what I've read that is savage. As for felt recoil you have a good 5" and 35lbs on me so you're probably feeling a little less recoil than I would, emphasis on the little. That's where my recoil related quarries come from, but again I know nothing (schultz!) so I defer to your unbounding knowledge in this regards. sorry if I'm sounding really dependant.
thanks, Evan