Hi guys,
a friend want to buy here first rifle to start here hunting experience. He want to hunt in the Alps roabocks to deer next season.
In this case I think a good choise can be an all round rifle like Remington BDL cal 270 Win or 280 Rem.
What do you think about?? What's your choise??
Thanks
Faina

I'd take 7x64 - brand - whatever triggers his fancy and fund - Sauer, Blaser, Mauser, Mannlicher...oh yeah I'd give a stutzen a close look.

In Europe, as Mouse said, the 7x64 is hard to beat just on account of availability and versatility.

If you can't find the rifle you'd like to buy (e.g. the M700 BDL) in 7x64, I would lean towards the .270 Win. Simply because the .280 Rem is a bit of an oddball caliber in Europe, and ammo (or components if you are a reloader) are a bit hard to come by.

A Model 700 is never a bad choice for a rifle, in particular if you are looking for something on the economic side. There are lots of second hand rifles available for about the same price as a new M700, though. E.g. a Steyr-Mannlicher, Sauer, Sako or another European brand, which tend to be a tad more refined than the M700. But if a new rifle for not so much $$$ is what your friend wants, a M700 is not a bad choice.

Remember, whatever rifle you get, don't save on the scope! You can easily get away with an inexpensive rifle, but it could spell problems to try to get away with an inexpensive scope. If you have connections in the US, a good choice for a lower price scope is the Zeiss Conquest series. In the US, they sell for less than half of what they cost in Europe...

- mike

Good advice from Mike there.
And an exellent place to buy scopes from USA these days with a low dollar is www.eurooptic.com. Especially Zeiss Conquest is a bargain.
Alex Roy who run the place is a gentleman to deal with

quote:

Originally posted by mho:
Remember, whatever rifle you get, don't save on the scope! You can easily get away with an inexpensive rifle, but it could spell problems to try to get away with an inexpensive scope.
- mike

Exactly + a good scope mount.

All very good advice above.

My $0.02 (remember - you're getting your money's worth!)

http://www.tikka.fi/

Tikka T3 Lite in either, .270 Winchester, 7x64 Brenneke or .30/06 Sprg.. Fantastic light rifle in the "inexpensive" category, would definately be my reco for a beginner. Rifle includes scope mounts & rings; so after topping it off with your Zeiss Conquest in 3.5-10x44 (3-9x40's eye relief is too long - at least for me) from a Stateside mailorder house and a sling you'll be up & running. Since Tikka is owned by Berreta now the Italian connection is there, too. No long foreign Customer Service logistics chain to deal with, either.

I don't love 7mm/270 calibers, I prefer a 30-06 Spgr, the suggestion of: " choose a GOOD Scope, choose good bases and rings, and then stay in the "inexpensive" category" is mine too. If you are not in a hurry explore gun shops to look for some good occasion, I saw recently a Steyr last model in 30-06 used but in new conditions and the price was really good.

In which region of Italy do you live? If you are near Milan Parini is a good territory to explore.

Indeed, hard to go wrong with a .30-06!
- mike

Personaly I use a Rem 700 BDL cal. 30'06 with much sodisfaction. It's even a garanty!!!
But my friend prefer somethink smaler caliber, so I think a good 280 Rem or 7x64 will be the best choise. Both of this have much possibility to various bullet weight.
Thanks
Faina

Hi Faina
You can't go wrong with a lighter rifle for a beginner. Maybe a 7x57 or 6.5x55? I don't know if these have the trajectory you want but they are easy to shoot and effective for red deer too.

7x64 without a doubt

The 280 Rem simply because I am a 7mm fan. May I ask why your choices have been cartridges that require long actions?
The 7mm-08 is also an exceptional round and with a 22" (550mm) barrel it makes a very neat all around rifle.

.30-06 is ILLEGAL in France. So that is out as a "European" rifle. .270 is also below minimum (7mm) calibre in some parts of Europe for some of the species your friend might want. So that leaves 7x64, .280 Remington...or 7mm-08?

In France you'll certainly find .280 Remington in most good gunshops and certainly at Kettner's Europe wide outlets. You might struggle with both 7x64 and .280 Remington in UK.

If you are certain that you WON'T be subject to a 7mm "minimum calibre" rule then I would choose the .270. You'll ALWAYS find cartridges for it anywhere in Europe and UK.