Help Choosing my Hunting Rifle?

Question

So i grew up shooting bb guns, then moved to high powered pellet guns and by the time I graduated high school I had shot quite a few different types of rifles. I started going hunting with friends my freshman year of college, they've always had a spare rifle for me to use, but as we are graduating soon and moving to different parts of the country I thought its about time I went out and purchased my own.

I have for the most part narrowed my choices..slighty. Unfortunately there are soo many reputable gun makers out there its hard to really break down the choices to just a few. My criteria are:
1) Larger bore, .308, 30-06, .300 short magnum...possibly .300 standard magnum, ive never shot it, but one of my friends swears its the best thing ever.
2) Not single loading, bolt action is ok, I just hate having to stick a new round in by hand every time
3) Reliable and Accurate

Choices I have so far are:
m1a, expensive but ive always wanted one
Rem 700 SPS
Something from savage arms

By the way I live in CA so dont tell me to get an AR-15...trust me if i could I would already have one

Answer 1

Last year I recently purchased my first rifle. I got the remington 30-06 710 model I wouldn't recommend this rifle to any one. The model that is. The bolt was sloppy and I will probally use it for a trade in. I found another 30-06 in an old sears and robuck. Made like a winchester 70. Very smooth for a bolt and has iron sights for short distance shooting. Will also hold a scope for longer distance. I like the option of using both. My wife prefers a .270. The .270 has less bullet drop, and is more accurate. But they both have their good and bad.. With the proper ammo they will both drop good size game with the right shot. A .270 shoots a smaller bullet, faster loads, less bullet drop, and has less recoil. Especially if you get a semi-auto. A 30-06 is the most popular. Even with mine I had a lot of recoil. I want to put a muzzle break on it to reduce the recoil. With the right scope it will shoot out to over 1000 yards. Shoots a larger bullet that the .270 and has more punch on impact. Every rifle is designed for something different. You have to figure out what you want from your rifle. If your hunting in thick brush either of these might be too much. With more information I can tell you what I would choose but everyone has different taste. I wouldn't carry another AR if I had to. Think about how long your going to be walking and carrying this weapon. The lighter it is the more comfortable it will be to carry but also weight is the factor in recoil. If you can afford a 700 SPS then decide on the caliber that best suits your needs. I hope this helped some of your questions.

Answer 2

If you really want the M1A, by all means get one, but it won't be the best choice for hunting. I don't see the problem with single-shots, since you're only going to shoot once (one would hope) at medium game, but a bolt gun or lever action are the ones we all choose, for the vast majority.
I have quite a few small bore and medium bore rifles, and I have more Remington 700's than anything else. I'm a blued steel and wood guy, but to each his own, and I can pretty well always wipe down if I've spent the day in the rain.
I too think the 30-06 is the best choice. 308 gives up just a little too much with the heavier bullets, and the magnums burn a heck of a lot of powder for a minimal improvement in velocity. And I handload all mine---the choice seems even clearer if you're having to use factory loads.
This, by the way, is not an opinion based on what I have. I hate to be sacrilegious, but I don't have any 30 calibers. I've kind of skipped them between the 7 and 8 mm's, and I wouldn't recommend my 8x68 because feeding it is problematic, even getting brass to handload.

Answer 3

Have you considered a Browning BLR (Browning Lever-Action Rifle)?

You get the accuracy of a bolt-action with the compactness and speed of repeat shots of a lever-action.

With a detachable box magazine, it is quick to reload, if you have a spare magazine, and will use spire point bullets.

My BLR in .358 Winchester is the most accurate rifle I've ever owned, and is one of the most accurate I've ever shot. It is fully capable of making one hole groups at 100 meters and not much bigger at 200 meters. Other BLR owners I've spoken with had similar opinions. The only complaint I've ever made, or heard about them is about the shiny varnish used to finish the stocks.

You can choose a BLR M-81 in various long action calibers such as .300 WinMag, .30-'06 Sprgfld, 7 mm RemMag, or .270 Win. or the assorted Winchester Short Magnums. I'd stick with the short action cartridges, with the .358 Win or .308 Win being my favorites.

BTW, in my considered opinion, the .300 WinMag produces too little additional performance for the cost of extra powder, and increased recoil and muzzle-blast to be worth while. YMMV

The Browning M-81 BLR is not inexpensive, but it is a great rifle, and a good investment that will hold it's value better than most rifles. BTW, I don't blame you for wanting an M-1A, they are great rifles. But they are a little heavy to carry through the woods all day hunting, and you will need to get some five round magazines to be legal for hunting.

Good Shooting,
Doc

Answer 4

The absolute perfect cartridge for white tail out to 300 yards is the .270 as it offers the best ballistics with the easiest recoil. The .243 is capable of taking deer but you have to be a great shot and know what you need to hit. .223 is not powerful enough and is against regulations in almost every state. The .30-06 is probably the most versatile and IMHO is designed more for long range and larger animal hunting (elk and above). and the 7mm Mag is just too powerful for anything under 100 yards and will overpenetrate leaving a possibly wounded deer to track for a few hundred yards before it finally dies. Go with .270 and you can't go wrong. I also have a .25-06 and it has never failed to bring home the venison; I just wish ammo was less expensive. And a 7mm-08 is slightly less powerful than a .270 and is on my list of "will have soon" firearms. The Nikon and Leupold scopes are almost equivalent but the Leupold's are more expensive. The Bushnells are nice but their lower end scopes are not. My standard scope is a Nikon ProStaff 3-9x40. It is all I need to hunt deer out to 300 yards and is nicely priced compared to it's counterparts in teh Bushnell Elite series or the Leupold VX-II or III

Answer 5

Remington's are nice and pretty but I've never seen a savage that wouldn't out shoot it. The .308 / .30-06 will take most anything that moves so either is fine but the Mag's are harder to shoot so I would only venture into their realm if your going after really big game. Of course a .300 mag is a blast to shot if you don't mind a bit of noise and thump but only you know how much recoil you can handle so you need to find what really fits you well and decide what the biggest game you'll hunt will be. My personal fave is my Savage 116 FHSAK .300 Win Mag with a 4x12x40 Vari-X-2 Leopold scope. To me it kicks less than my .25-06 and does an admirable job on deer/antelope/elk and bear.

Answer 6

Any of those should take care of anything up through a moose or black bear and probably even a grizzly with good shot placement. The choice of caliber should be dictated by the intended prey. If you are not going after big bears, the .308 will be slightly shorter and lighter than an equivalent rifle in .30-06 or one of the magnums. Either of those will also be less of a chore and less expensive to shoot than the magnums.

I admit to being prejudiced. All my competition guns are Remington, so guess what I will pick?

Answer 7

Get the savage in 308. With the powders and bullets being used in factory ammo today it will do anything a 30-06 can do.

The M1a is a awsome rifle with plenty of history to back it up. Like you said spendy and they are heavy. Remington is a good gun but if you were going to get the sps I would tell you right off to drop the stock and get a laminated wood stock from richards microfit or Boyd's gunstocks (Who makes all the Remington laminated stock).

http://www.savagearms.com/11f.htm

Answer 8

30-06 or 308 caliber made by Remington or Savage.* I prefer the 30-06 myself, because you have a greater variety of bullet weights to choose from.* I prefer the 180 or 220 grain bullets.*

Answer 9

Get a Savage .270 win they will take down game like a 30-06 and they are more accurate and the ammo is cheaper to. I have a savage bolt action 270 and I can put 5 shots in a fifty cent peice at 150yd. and it is big enough to take down elk.

Answer 10

What are you hunting? Buffalo? Moose? Caribou in Canada? Grizzle in Alaska?
The caliber depends on the animal. But the best all-around is the 30-06.
Be careful don't hurt yourself.