First rifle purchase... looking for opinions

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.22 for practice pays for itself

Savage Arms MKIIF Rimfire 22 LR Rifle in Blue Finish $179 + ffl transfer from Dirt Cheap Guns = $204

2 bricks bulk ammo: $45

$250 for 1000 rounds of practice and you get to keep the rifle
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1000 rounds of .270 winchester @$18/box of 20 = $900

I don't think the prices of .308, 30-06, etc are different enough to bother calculating. They'll show roughly the same conclusion.

Sure, you will NEED to practice some with the .270, if that's what you end up with, but you can do most of the work with the .22 and develop your skills. Trigger control is trigger control. A 6" target at 100 yards is a 12" target at 200. I don't want to overstate the similarity, because a centerfire rifle is a much bigger boomstick. But I think you could get familiar with the additional weight and the exciting recoil in many fewer rounds than you can get basic accuracy.

+1 recommendation for Appleseed. They turned this newb into a decent shooter. All their shooting tips are online, but without the live coaching I'd still be a complete spaz. Having a coach spot your mistakes is important because bad habits tend to be unconscious. If we were aware of dragging wood or happy finger, we wouldn't do them.
 
+1 Peetzakilla

Oh my god. :rolleyes:

The advice stated by many for practicing with a .22lr BEFORE moving to a larger caliber for deer hunting is sound advice. You'll want to get your shooting technique down before moving to something more powerful that has more recoil.

Any of your mentioned 3 (.243, .270, .30-06) calibers will be more than adequate for hunting deer in Nebraska. If you see yourself wanting to hunt other big game in the future, like Elk, then I'd recommend a .270 or a .30-06. For the listed price that you have, the make/model that I'd suggest would be a savage axis model.
 
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With the numbers that JIMMYTHEGEEK posted, it is obvious that the .22 is the way to go for starting out. I'm gonna start looking around for sales or used deals. I'll let you know what I get and how it works out. I'll probably end up going to the .270 or the 30-06 after that, since the .22 will take care of most potential smaller game/varmint related needs. Thanks to all of you who have thrown in your 2 cents. Looking forward to posting my shopping and shooting results.
 
BM--I was in Scheel's(Omaha store) just yesterday and they were pretty well picked clean--they did still have quite a few .22's on the racks though.

I'm almost wondering if they are getting out of the gun biz in that store--I've never seen it that bare---they are also no longer carrying any knives there.
 
Thanks RF. If they are getting out of the gun business, they might be having some closeouit sales. It could also be that they had some good after Thanksgiving sales and haven't stocked back up yet. I'll keep my eyes out.
 
I have narrowed it down to .243, .270 and 30-06.

Well that narrows it down, from the lightest cartridge most people recommend to the heaviest.

Let me say that between those two rounds any standard cartridge will kill Bambi just fine. Don't worry about cartridge.

I've used the .30-06 for close to 40 years and each deer I've shot would be just as dead if I'd used any other legal round.

Pick the rifle first. There are more good rifles being made than bad ones. The main question is how a rifle fits.
If you put your a rifle to your shoulder and can look straight down the sights when you place your cheek on the stock, then the rifle fits. Remember that a rifle that fits when you're wearing a t-shirt might not when you're wearing a heavy jacket.

My own choice for rifles is the Winchester Model 70.
I can't think of a rifle that I haven't enjoyed shooting. The Savage/Stevens are very good rifles that don't cost much. You could probably get a good deal on a used one.

CZ USA makes some very nice rifles that might be out of your price range.

The Weatherby Vanguard is a rifle that gets recommended here frequently.

Of course Remington makes real good rifles at a variety of price points.

Since this is your first rifle consider getting a used gun. Bolt actions are really simple machines and if treated well they'll last well over a hundred years. So buying a used gun isn't like buying a high milage car.:) Well except for the similarity in salesmen.;)
If you choose one that's rust free, clean, with a smooth action that locks up tight, odds are it's a good gun.

I am also someone that thinks getting a .22 is a good idea. You get better the more you shoot and you can shoot a lot more .22 than centerfire.

Get some lessons and take the hunters safety course.
Find out were you plan to hunt and take the family there in the off season for hikes and picnics. Learn the land and find out where the deer are.
 
Looking through ads in the Sunday paper and Bass Pro Shops has a Marlin Model 795 .22 for $99.97. Looks like a great deal for a new gun. Anyone have experience with the model?
 
I have one I picked up for $115 awhile back... perfectly functional little .22 for plinking and target shooting. Decent little gun for the money

Only trouble are the mags, only available as 10-rounders, nothing bigger
 
Looks like you kick an ants nest with that question. Worst is I can agree with a lot of the posts left. I have taken deer with 30-30, 243, 270. 25-06, and 30-06 and all of them are out there in good quality rifles in price ranges from low to crazy high. Best I could suggest is skip the place with the 20 min. rant and look at other shops ask questions handle the rifles and see what you like best.
 
horse pucky

You could shoot a .22 long rifle until your fingers hurt and then shoot it 10,000 times more and still not gain the edge on a high powerd .30 caliber rifle. Im not a big poster here on the firing line, i like to read more than right, probably evident in my poor grammer and spelling. At the same time , this thread is surprising to me. I have seen many posts on here that were wrighten by verry compitant and profeshional gun guys and its a shock that any one of you guys would recomend .22 practice to imrove your hgh powerd rifle skills. I grew up with a .22 long rifle just like alot of you did im shure but if i could convay one thing in this post it would be the fact that shooting a powerfull center fire rifle is a comlpeatly diferant animal. maybe i am just playing the devils advocate here but when you are throwing 180 gr progectiles down range at 2,650 fps the dinamicks of basick triger control and follow through are compleatly diferant than that of a .22 long rifle. The punishing recoil and large wave of preshure relieced by the muzzle blast is somthing that takes time to become compfy with and if you are not compfy with it you will not shoot well. So , back to my origional point. You can get a .22 and shhot it till the cows come home but i dont see that fixing you up for a 30-06 . You get fixed up for a 30-06 by shooting a 30-06 lol and as far as the cost, i agree if you want to be a great shot with a .22 long rifle it is cheeper to do that than it is to become a great shot with a 30-06 lol. I know fellas some times its just staring you in the face lol.
 
Do you know anyone that hunts or shoots a .270 or 30-06. If at all possible I think you should have a few shots out of a 30-06 before getting one, some people find the recoil of a 30-06 to be to much and when starting out you don't want a rifle that you aren't comfortable shooting as you can pick up some really bad habits that are almost impossible to unlearn.

If you are just hunting Deer IMHO you would be served just as well with a 243, .260, 7mm08, .308, 6.5x55, 25-06, .270 as you would be with a 30-06. My pick would be a .260 (a little light on factory ammo and guns, 6.5x55 (really is a great caliber), 7mm08 or .308, just about everyone makes a B/A rifle in 243, 7mm08 and 308 and I am pretty sure you can get the Win model 70, Howa, Tikka ect in 6.5x55. You just don't need a 30-06 for Deer, if you want to hunt Elk as well then by all means get a 30-06.
 
I dont think theye still chamber the 6.5x55 in the winchester model 70. I only no that becouse ive been looking for one and i think the only companys that are still chambering it are the cz and the tika . dont hold me to that becouse im not 100 percent shure but i think thoes are the two i was able to find.
 
Firefox by Mozilla has a spell check for posting to internet forums. Works pretty good. There are still problems with homophones and you're on your own with grammar.

Re .22 vs centerfire. Sighting is the same, trigger control is the same. Correcting for wind and bullet drop are the same. The only differences are the weight of the gun, the distance of the targets, and the amount of recoil.

Those of us that recommend the .22 think learning all those things which are the same between the two platforms might as well be done on the less expensive one.

I'm more than willing to admit that millions of young men learned with a .30-06 and most of them became good shots. But they had a rich uncle paying for the ammo and range time. Uncle also paid for an expert instructors to closely supervise and motivate those young men. BTW that same uncle also had lots of recruits learning with a .22 as well.
 
Horse what?

You could shoot a .22 long rifle until your fingers hurt and then shoot it 10,000 times more and still not gain the edge on a high powerd .30 caliber rifle.

Horse Feathers.

i am just playing the devils advocate here but when you are throwing 180 gr progectiles down range at 2,650 fps the dinamicks of basick triger control and follow through are compleatly diferant than that of a .22 long rifle.

More of same.

Shooting a .22 and a .30-o6 are different, but the fundamentals still apply. You just pay for poor shooting form when you touch off the .30 when it is not properly pulled into your shoulder. If you are being lazy when shooting a .22, you are only shorting yourself.

To the OP: I am a volunteer shooting mentor*, and live within 35 miles of you. I have a few rifles, including a .270 WIN, and if you would like to shoot them sometime, supply the ammo (or components for a caliber I reload for (which would be all the calibers I have, save 7.62x39) and we'll go shooting. If you want to shoot at TBH in La Vista, you can pay the range fees...... I have an informal place to shoot for free an hour south of Omaha (between Ne City and Auburn). PM me if interested.

P.S.- You do know that Muzzloader season is all of December? And antlerless season is open after Christmas through like the second week of January?

* http://outofoptions.wordpress.com/mentors/
 
As to what caliber/Rifle ...... I like the .270 WIN, but really, the best rifle is the one you have, provided it works reasonably well ...... if you don't have one, then it is wide open.....

For most deer hunting in Eastern Nebraska, you are looking at shots under 300 yards ...... and most will be shorter than that. Just about any rifle of .243/6mm or larger will work .... the .30/30 WIN and 7.62x39 are a bit limited as far as far as range, but will certainly work for shots 150 yards and shorter....

The best values are usually found on the consignment/used racks ....

I would not suggest going out and dropping $800 on a new rifle and another $500 on a new scope to go on it. It would be far better to buy a used rifle (or one of the Savage/Mossberg/Marlin bargain basement rifles with a scope already on it for $400-$500 and spend as much as you can on ammo or or a reloading set-up and components...... I can mentor for reloading, too.
 
I purchased a Ruger 10/22 in stainless (an All-weather) along with a cheap but clear Korean Bushnell scope a LONG time ago. This was my first rifle and I learned the basics of B.R.A.S.S. even with that lawyer trigger. After about 10 years I was able to shoot a squirrel in the eye at 40 yards with it.

It was then that I went shopping for a big-game rifle and learned how to hunt big game, only after lots of squirrels and rabbits. I chose the .30-06 because I knew it to be commonly available, a reloading benchmark, powerful enough for anything I was likely to encounter in the lower 48, and because I came across a great used deal on a rifle scope combo. Because of the time I had spent learning the fundamentals on the 10/22, that directly translated into my hunting success. The same year I got the -06, I shot a doe at 115 yards and never looked back :)

Get a .22, and regardless of the action it will help you. But I am partial to semi-autos when it comes to shooting the cheap stuff.

I also love my son/wife's Savage Axis XP youth in .243, hands down the best rifle/scope combo for $350 possible
 
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