Howdy, the issue I have come upon is what general purpose, frequent shooting rifle would be a good fit for myself. The rifle will be used for general target shooting at distances from 25 to 200 yards normally and occasionally higher when conditions allow. I have considered hunting though this rifle will more than likely be a fun gun that I can consider a good "survival" rifle and defensible if push come to shove (though doubtful as I have a small cache of 12 and 20 gauges as well as handguns). I Have looked at everything from Ruger Mini-Thirties to ak's to Savage .308's and .357 lever AND bolt actions and have come to the conclusion that I need outside advice. Price range up to $650. Any help would be appreciated.
General Purpose Rifle Choices
- Thread starter Eyes of I
- Start date
For me it would be a medium weight stainless/synthetic bolt gun chambered in 308. At that price limit this one if hunting were high on the list.
http://ruger.com/products/m77HawkeyeAllWeather/models.html
If SD were more important, I'd look hard at one of the budget AR's. Might have a hard time coming in at $650, but you should be able to do it under $700.
Even the budget AR's are a much better rifle and are priced less than the Mini-14's right now.
I think everyone should own at least 1 lever rifle, but from a practical perspective they don't really do anything as well as a bolt or semi auto.
http://ruger.com/products/m77HawkeyeAllWeather/models.html
If SD were more important, I'd look hard at one of the budget AR's. Might have a hard time coming in at $650, but you should be able to do it under $700.
Even the budget AR's are a much better rifle and are priced less than the Mini-14's right now.
I think everyone should own at least 1 lever rifle, but from a practical perspective they don't really do anything as well as a bolt or semi auto.
Crow Hunter
New member
There is really no such thing as "general purpose" when it comes to tools.
You can get one that applies to a certain "range" of circumstances/uses.
First you will need to define that primary range.
A rifle good for shooting elk at 300 yards will not be good for CQB and it won't be the best for target shooting from a bench at 600 yards.
Get a better definition of what your 85% use is going to be and choose a rifle based on that rather than trying to cover too many bases at once.
You can get one that applies to a certain "range" of circumstances/uses.
First you will need to define that primary range.
A rifle good for shooting elk at 300 yards will not be good for CQB and it won't be the best for target shooting from a bench at 600 yards.
Get a better definition of what your 85% use is going to be and choose a rifle based on that rather than trying to cover too many bases at once.
Thank you for the suggestion on the Ruger 77, I had looked at them but cannot find anyone with experience with them in the area I live in. As I stated originally, the normal range will be relatively close from 25-200 yards on a normal basis as that is what I'd feel comfortable shooting game sized targets at with minimal power scopes and/or irons.
Crow Hunter
New member
Please define this.
Rabbits?
Deer?
Moose?
Elephants?
All are "game sized", not all rifle calibers would be effective.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
I'm in the early stages of a rebarrel project on a Savage 11.
I keep digging and researching and reading.
I've never been much of a fan of the 243Win but all my research and questions keep bringing me back to it.
When I consider all the factors... Brass availability, bullet selection, dies available, load data, barrel life, performance on everything from paper to woodchucks to deer, recoil...
I keep ending up back at the 243.
I keep digging and researching and reading.
I've never been much of a fan of the 243Win but all my research and questions keep bringing me back to it.
When I consider all the factors... Brass availability, bullet selection, dies available, load data, barrel life, performance on everything from paper to woodchucks to deer, recoil...
I keep ending up back at the 243.
A good quality .308 or 30.06 will do any and all, of what you want. Plenty of accuracy, plenty of ammo, plenty of models to choose from.Your price range will easily get you into a quality used rifle with decent glass. Be patient--there is a world of excellent rifles out their for sale. You really need to define your primary "need" for this rifle. 25yds at a deer is not CQC, nor is 200yds at a yote the same as what is used for TSHTF. If you are gonna be a paper puncher then maybe get ya a model 10 HBR Savage in .308. Then if you want to go afield with it later, it will be very well suited for varmint shooting, a bit heavy for "walking around", but well suited for a deer stand. Get rid of any "Rambo" thoughts you might entertain, and concentrate on being a "rifleman". When you successfully master that, then it won't make any difference what rifle you have in your hand. Good luck in your choice.
G
G
tahunua001
New member
I notice for the most part that you are looking at 30 cal rifles? is there any particular reason you are excluding the 22-30 cal options? I am a fan of the 243 myself as a general purpose round. it takes a 308 case and necks it down from 7.62MM to 6MM which gives a much flatter trajectory over greater ranges and gives a 100 grain bullet a very respectful velocity of about 2400 FPS in most factory ammo. 243 is great for blackbear, wild hogs, whitetail deer and coyotes, which just about sums up the majority of virginia big game hunts. if I recall correctly, virginia has no restrictions on centerfire weapons for hunting so from a legal perspective you should be fine with anything above 22LR. 243 is most commonly a bolt action round so your average weatherby vanguard, remington 700 or ruger M77 should all fall into your budget. if you're looking for semi autos bushmaster and DPMS make AR10s in 243 but they are nearly double your budget
I apologize for any lack of description issues. I am still new to forums and need to remember I'm not able to speak in relative terms. I had mainly considered .30 calibers simply because they make for a logical close quaters to medium (300 yards) distance round with plenty of lethality for whitetail and the cheaper local ammo for .308, .30-06, .30-30 and .357 mag. More than likely this rifle will spend 95% of the time punching paper and steel but with my current job I may be able to make some attempts at deer season as well. I appreciation all the advice so far as I'm a fairly new shooter and only have expierence with shotguns and handguns so far (about to pick up new m&p 40, woot!).
My general purpose rifle is a (slightly) older synthetic stock Remington 700 ADL .30-06 with iron sights. I put Talley Quick Release rings on it with a 2.5-8x Leupold in them. To me, a GP rifle should have two sighting systems with back up irons the preference for the second sighting system. It's not much for close quarters, but take the scope off and it would do for a shot or two in a pinch.
tahunua001
New member
for the record, buying a gun because of cheaper ammo is a bad idea. a lot of guys started buying guns chambered in 30 tokarev because the ammo was less than 10 cents a round but in the course of 6 months the ammo went up to 30 cents a round because of poor supply but large demand.
that 30-30, 30-06, 357 and, 308 is not going to remain cheap forever(especially the 308).
if you're looking for something that still has the stopping power to drop a 150+ pound deer out to 200 yards then you may want to take 357 off the table. I've witnessed 30-30 make a 200 yard kill shot on a 200 pound white tail and 308 is essentially a rimless 30-30 with a little higher velocity and a little flatter trajectory so I would say that for your purposes a 308 would do the trick quite well. the ruger M77, remington 700 and weatherby vanguard all come in 308.
that 30-30, 30-06, 357 and, 308 is not going to remain cheap forever(especially the 308).
if you're looking for something that still has the stopping power to drop a 150+ pound deer out to 200 yards then you may want to take 357 off the table. I've witnessed 30-30 make a 200 yard kill shot on a 200 pound white tail and 308 is essentially a rimless 30-30 with a little higher velocity and a little flatter trajectory so I would say that for your purposes a 308 would do the trick quite well. the ruger M77, remington 700 and weatherby vanguard all come in 308.
Horsefeathers.
While it may not be ideal for every task and completely inapropriate for some, there are general purpose tools: a camp hatchet would be one......
For a gp rifle, Jeff Cooper's Scout Rifle Concept was as close to GP as I have seen.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scout_rifle
Ruger makes something very close to Coopers idea, though they want $999 for it..... Cabela's had them for around $850 las I looked...
http://ruger.com/products/gunsiteScoutRifle/models.html
In your price range, Palmetto State Armory sells AR kits and stripped lowers (some assembly required- you could use some gp hand tools like a 16 oz. hammer, a brass drift, a scratch awl, a med flat screwdriver, some duct tape and a pair of vise-grips to put it together, though more specialized tools would likely yield better results).
2.5x should work fine for close work ....learn to shoot with both eyes open..... so long as your head is in the same place on the every time, and the comb height is right, you should be able to look at the target and bring the gun up to your face and the croshairs should be on the target, if the gun is set up right.
That will work fine. Tons of people rocked 3 and 4 power ACOGs for years before they started throwing the micro red dots on top. If you've ever shot a target really close that is moving and time is important, I think you'll find not much aiming is actually going on.
Also, to OP, any Arsenal AK-47 will do and be perfect for just about everything short of long range hunting. You're not going Contrary to popular belief mounting optics isn't a bother, just get a rail that locks into the side rail. Also contrary to popular belief, the inherent accuracy of the AK platform is fine in well manufactured examples - especially Arsenals. Ergonomics are very favorable and the stock folds which is very nice when you want to pack it.
I can't say it enough times - Arsenal AK-47. It is a treat.
Crow Hunter
New member
I say Horsefeathers to your Horsefeathers.
You just restated exactly what I said while saying Horsefeathers.
A camp hatchet would be a good "general purpose" tool for the range of camping activities. It wouldn't be "general purpose" for other activities. Like tightening a nut or doing plumbing work or shooting white tail deer.
You can't buy a single tool to cover every instance in which it might need to be used. You have to define what you are going to do with it 1st and pick a tool that is the "best fit" for your primary uses. If you decide you are going to work on something do you just go and grab a random tool or do you get the tool that is most appropriate for the job?
I guess we have different defintions of "general purpose".
ETA:
I was wrong. I retract my Horsefeathers comment.
If you go by the internet definition of "general purpose" then you are right. If it has a broad set of uses, then it can be defined as "general purpose". In my own version of English, "general purpose" means that it is useful for "everything".
I still stand by by original point though. There is no tool that can "do it all". The job will define the most useful tool and the OP should choose a rifle that fits his 85% usage and he will be much happier and more effective.
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