I have an older buddy of mine who wants to purchase ($600 max) what most likely will be his one and only rifle and has asked me for advice. My advice so far was for him to shoulder as many rifles as he can and operate them to see what he likes best. I have also told him the best rifle on the market for the money is SAVAGE.

The other perdiciment is caliber. Since he may use it for some hunting I was thinking something maybe in the 270, 7mm-08 or 308 range.

What will he hunt?

What's he want to do with it? Plink? Hunt bear, deer, pigs, varmints? Does he or someone close reload or is he going to use factory ammo? What kind of action, bolt, pump, auto, lever? For most NA game, I would start looking at the used gun racks in the local stores with an eye toward any of the quality brands (Rem, Win, etc.) in a caliber that works for the anticipated conditions (30-06 on down).

A lot of folk would be very well and adequately served with .308win for the term of their hunting life.
consider a good used M70fw.

308 would be fine, I have used nothing but a 270 for a lot of years. Everything I shot with it was dead right there. Then I went kind of nuts and bought a 338 win. I don't know what got into me. DW

quote:

Originally posted by dwheels:
308 would be fine, I have used nothing but a 270 for a lot of years. Everything I shot with it was dead right there. Then I went kind of nuts and bought a 338 win. I don't know what got into me. DW

Common sense?

You might have him look at the new Marlin X7 bolt gun. It takes some of the good things from other rifles and combines them in a rifle for just over $300. Top it off with a 3x9x40 Leupold VX II from e-bay (about $210) with Leupold dual dovetail mounts ($45) and you have a forever setup for around the $600 target price.

Oh.....30-06 is the way to go.

.

I think a 30-06 or 308 Savage is a great choice. He can't go wrong with either one.

Well if he is older he perhaps won't enjoy recoil too much. I know. Since he is a buckeye the largest game he'll shoot will perhaps be white tail. Don't often recommend a .243 for anything but in this case a Stevens Mod. 200 in .243 with a 3 X 9 scope ( nothing pricy) my just be the ticket. I take it the rifle won't be getting a whole lot of use?? roger

quote:

Originally posted by jcsabolt2:
I have an older buddy of mine who wants to purchase ($600 max) what most likely will be his one and only rifle and has asked me for advice. My advice so far was for him to shoulder as many rifles as he can and operate them to see what he likes best. I have also told him the best rifle on the market for the money is SAVAGE.

The other perdiciment is caliber. Since he may use it for some hunting I was thinking something maybe in the 270, 7mm-08 or 308 range.

This is the one I own in 7mm-08, easy carrying, reliable and the usual Savage accuracy. My son has taken two elk with his 7mm-08 carbine so the rifle and calibre will cover a wide variety of situations.

http://www.savagearms.com/10fm.htm

Advise him to choose the rifle he likes best. An '06 will probably do everything he'll want it to do.

There are many rounds that a one rifle man can be well served with. A 7mm-08 is among them and a very good one at that.

The obvious choices are .30-06, .270 and .308. I'd say it depends purely on the area where he'd be hunting and the selected rifle. There's nothing wrong with other choices, but common, relatively inexpensive ammo is always nice.

If he's not going to hunt anything larger than deer, or perhaps elk, the 7mm-08 would be hard to beat.

Shoots flatter & has better long range energy than the 308, light recoil & available in a light weight short action.

Savage Accustock has been getting some good writeups.

If he wants to go short action, 7mm-08 or .308 is the way to go. Otherwise go for a .270 or .30-06.

a few suggestions for the 7-08, certainly a good choice and more than adequite for anything that will not try to eat you on this continent. and it fits the short action desire. that said and if he's not going to do any reloading, i think the ammo makers fudge the velocities of the 7-08 to make it look better against other rounds with comparable weight bullets, at least at the heavier end of the scale, anyways.
there's always the good '30-06 also and no question about getting ammo no matter where you are. it will certainly do the job on anything you'd hunt on this chunk of land.
being a 7mm bore fan i might suggest the .280 remington.
should the opportunity arise to go elk hunting, it will handle the heavier bullet weights better.

Personally, I never could come to fully trust a one rifle person. Either they don't need the gun and they just use it for a prop of sorts or they tend to shoot them really well.

Much better he should get a couple-three guns.

- Stevens 200 in .300 Win Mag:

https://www.cabelas.ca/index.c...ection3=1465&ID=5426

- Replace trigger:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewP...productNumber=254387

- Paint stock:

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=17298

You can use Krylon plastic series paint. Cost to paint stock is $10-$12 depending on design.

I am painting mine this:

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca...005&highlight=krylon

Other ideas:

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=32620

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca...207&highlight=krylon

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca...401&highlight=krylon


Put this scope on it:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/si...icle-si39x40hhr.html

- Fill forestock with epoxy to strengthen it.
- Fill pistol grip with sand to add weight.
- Fill rest of buttstock with foam, top with 1/2" layer of epoxy to seal at screw holes.

Congratulations! You have just built a rifle that will shoot as well as any custom built out to 600 yards and look the same. You can also add Bondo and build a Monte Carlo cheek piece. Sand it perfectly.

quote:

Originally posted by miles58:
Personally, I never could come to fully trust a one rifle person. Either they don't need the gun and they just use it for a prop of sorts or they tend to shoot them really well.

Much better he should get a couple-three guns.

Personally, I'm usually afraid of a guy who owns one gun. More times than not they shoot it really well.

ddj

for all deer size game 7MM-08

6.5x55 or any of the 6.5 family...

stainless ruger 308 + Leup VXII 2-7. 308 ammunition still easier to find and cheaper.

My choice would be a stainless Tikka T3 Lite in 308.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti...m.asp?Item=143820650

have him pick anything he wants as long as its a 7-08.

quote:

Originally posted by stillbeeman:
have him pick anything he wants as long as its a 7-08.

Exactly right.

Any slightly sporterized mauser in the standard ole 8X57. Makes the 270, 280 and 30-06 redundant!

30-06 bullets from 110-220 pretty much covers it with the exception of dangerous game.And you could subdue many of those with a 220.

30-06 unless he is sure that he won't be hunting anything bigger than Whitetails, in that case 7-08.
get a cheap rifle, trigger job and put the money into a good scope. You can't shoot what you don't see. There is a relatively small difference between rifles, a huge difference between scopes.

I found a Weatherby Vanguard, 30-06, Leupold VX III 3 - 9x 40 mm scope, 85% in a pawn shop for $350 out the door.

Every time I go there I find a nice rifle for not a lot of $$$. Last week it was a Ruger 7mm and a Leupold.

Never had a used gun that wasn't nice. New guns are "used" as soon as they're out the door.

Tikka T3 in either 30-06 or .308. Both are versatile and ammunition is easy to find and less expensive than most commercial cartridges.

Hey Wm S Ladd what part of the country are you in?
I wished the pawn shops around here had decent prices, the rifles you described would have $700 to 900 $ price tags on them and Simmons scopes or something cheesy.

Get the guy a 30/06 and a 2-7 or 3-9 scope on it, spend as much or nearly as much on the scope and you will have a shooter for sure.
Good luck!

I would go for a 7mm-08 for less recoil and will drop up to elk size game. Also, if he is going to shoot factory ammo and price is of concern, the 08 ammo is typically a little less expensive than other rounds. Just my opinion as I own a .243, 30-06 and the 7mm-08 and it has become my take anywhere gun. Definitely shoulder as many as possible as feel and weight might play into what he decides on.

For a 1 rifle battery I feel the 30-06 covers everything on this continent within 300yrds.

Also agree that scope is paramount. Kudos to the Savage recommendation.

find a good used remington 700 , in a good comon cartridge. 308 30,06 270 , mabye even a 7 mm mag.
Around here old 700s go for 350 to 400 and that leavs cash for a decent scope.
He also might really enjoy a savage 99 in .308 or 300 savage...tj3006

So many suggestions...there are several good ones here. Hard to go wrong with an '06. Accurate, with a wide variety of factory ammo to choose from. The 7/08 is another good choice. Check the hock shops and gun stores for used guns. Most gun stores tack on a 20% coommission, you know.

Might want to check the classifieds on AR and the Campfire, too. Lotta guys have their spare medium bores up for sale now, with the economy the way it is. Some good deals out there.

Good scope is very important, too. Very important. An old Vari X II 3x9x40 is a great choice. Holds zero forever.

Blacktailer asked some very good questions up near the top. Consider what the eventual use will be.

Savage is a fine rifle for the money but I agree with the obove post about the tikka being a huge upgrade for very little more. Now that I'm done agreeing let me be the fly in the beer to end the '06 love in. Nothing wrong with the '06 (used one for 20 yrs) but I would consider a 300 win mag. It's available in savage and tikka in their cost friendly rifles. It simplely is flatter shoting more punch and for guy who is not planning to spend every moment of the day at the range is more forgiving if you misjudge the distance or don't know your rifle as good as you should. I'm sure this will draw some cross responses but since I changed over no way I could go back.

After about 30 years with my main go to rifle being an .06, I now prefer a .375 caliber. Having said that, if I were going to keep my hunting within the lower 48 states, and forced to just one gun, I would choose my .35 Whelen with it's 1.5-5 Leupold scope for everything.

7MM Remington Mag. Load it up, load it down. Some of the highest BC projectiles out there. Ammo availible everywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Sullivan:
My choice would be a stainless Tikka T3 Lite in 308.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti...m.asp?Item=143820650

+1 or tikka .243 i own several rifles remington winchester savage the tikkas are the best shooting that i have

Buy a 22 Hornet... 5 lbs of Blue Dot...

then call Hot Core and sit back and watch the entertainment begin...

be sure to have the local emergency number in his neighborhood...or his wife's cell phone #, in case you need her to call 911 when he has a coronary....