First post, help with rifle choice.

T. O'Heir -

I did not mean quite literally an air-soft scope. Was just a joke about the quality of it, it is made for .22 rimfire and all pellet rifles. It actually was 8$ at walmart.

And about the wax slugs, i bought some 7 1/2 shot target loads today and made a few wax slugs. They were fairly accurate at about 50 yards and hit hard, and for so cheap i can't complain.

My budget is around 500-600$ for a decent rifle and scope combo btw, and like i said in a comment, reloading is something i could do in the near future.
 
Other options to consider are surplus rifles: SKS, Mosin Nagants, and Mausers, and Lee-Enfields. Ammunition is inexpensive for the first three, and not prohibitive for the last. The base cost is low, and parts and customization are readily available. Rifles that have already been sporterized (altered from their original factory configuration in order to make them lighter and handier for hunting) can be had for even cheaper sometimes, because their historical collector value has been destroyed, but they can be excellent hunting and target fun guns. Surplus rifles are often high quality but very cheap, and they're great ways to get to know high-powered rifles.

Based on your budget, for example, you could get a Yugoslav M48 Mauser and a whole lot of surplus 8x57 ammo, plus a few boxes of hunting loads.

I'd particularly keep my eye out for a scoped sporterized mauser. There are many out there, and many are quite cheap.

Another option worth considering is the Ruger American. I've never handled one, but know several people who are pleased with them, and they have some interesting features for the price.

Mostly, find a gun you like! Good luck.
 
But here in NH including the place i will be hunting at doesn't really offer "clear" shots past say 50-100 yards. I feel like a .223 with good shot placement can easily handle that, isn't that so?
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While I still feel that it's a marginal cartridge for deer, but given your range parameter (short) ..... it could be done well with the right gun and load ......

The .223, with it's relatively tiny bullet, relies heavily on very high velocity for it's "killing power" ..... the problem that often comes up with the small, soft pointed bullets at these velocities is they fragment on impact, leaving large, but shallow wounds...... fatal, but not in the immediate sense required for swift recovery of your deer ..... Deer are not paper targets, nor armored vehichles, but living, breathing animals ....... poke a decent sized hole in their heart and/or lungs, and they WILL die...... and in short enough order, that it should be relatively easy to find them ..... punch a decent sized hole deep enough that the bullet exits out the far side of the chest and there will be ample blood on the ground to point the way to your prize that even Stevie Wonder could follow ......

To that end ........ IF one were going to use a .223 on a deer, the bullet should be one that is designed not come apart at expected impact velocities, is as heavy as possible, and should be driven as fast as possible ..... and To THAT end, the gun should have a rifle length barrel (20+") with a fast twist ( to stabilize the heavier bullets) ......

Hornady offers a 70gr GMX bullet that they claim to drive to 3050 f/sec with 37.1gr of CFE-223 ..... From a 20", 1:7 twist DPMS Ar-15 ..... that's 980 ft. lbs of energy @200 yards ..... on par with a 150gr 30/30 load .... without the holdover ...... if I could find a box of these (can not) and be assured the GMX would still open reliably at 2400 f/sec ...... this might make for a good second "little kids' gun" (Currently have a 7-08 Ruger Frontier that I download just a bit ...... but have two kids that both want to use it this season .....)

..... at the ranges you are contemplating, that load, as advertised, would have more than enough energy, bullet expansion and penetration to kill a deer if you put the bullet through the boiler room, from just about any angle (not recomending a Texas Heart Shot, whatever the caliber) ......
 
My friend's daughter just took her first deer with a Federal bonded 62gr .223. It did what it was supposed to.

Many people use .223 for deer, but it's not the first thing I'd recommend. If you do get one, choose ammo carefully, practice a lot, and know both your own and your cartridge's limitations. Then again, all that's true no matter what you get...just understand the .223 has more limitations than other suitable calibers.

These limitations, however, can be mitigated by getting cheaper ammo - get more practice and get some training with the money you save.
 
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