Looking for first bolt-action rifle.

S

stan5677

New member
Looking to get into hunting here in Maryland in our rifle friendly counties. Want some opinions on a good bolt-action rifle white tails will be the order of the day here and possibly an elk hunt in the future so I'm looking for one caliber to do it all. Don't want to break the bank on a rifle so 500 dollars is my max on a rifle. Just looking for something accurate (I know that depends on my skills) and reliable. Don't need anything fancy with all the bells and whistles. any advice on caliber and model rifle will be greatly appreciated
 
Savage model 11 or 111 trophy hunter package with Nikon scope would be where I'd start looking. .308 or .30-06 would be my top choices for a do all cartridge with the .270 Win being a very close second. I actually prefer the .270 Win but I have several rifles to choose from if I feel I need something a little different, in the end the .30-06/.308 are a little more versatile.
 
Caliber- 30-06
Rifle- Remington 700, TC Icon, Ruger 77/Hawkeye, or Tikka T3
You can get a plastic stocked Remington 700 at WalMart for $400-ish with a scope already on it.
 
30-06 and both guns listed above.

Does your state have any special rules or regulations that limit calibers? I have to ask because some states are pistol calibers only.
 
As far as caliber, you can't go wrong with the common deer cartridges, .243,.308, .270win, and 30-06. These rounds have taken many deer over the years and are not likely to dissappear. If you are interested in handloading, that opens up a huge spectrum of rounds, more than I'm willing to type. As for rifles, its hard to not suggest a Remington 700 ADL. I've had the basic plastic stock version since the mid 90's in .270win and have taken a ton of deer with it. The only permanent modification I did to was installed a Shilen trigger 15 years ago before all the recalls happened. And you can get a base ADL w/ scope package very reasonable. The scope they come with, will work for a season or 2 or until you decide to upgrade. I was shooting a cheap BSA Cateyes for 17 years before it broke. I upgraded last year to a Leaupold VX2. HUGE DIFFERENCE!!! But the base package will get you in the woods for the season.
 
Howa/Wby Vanguard in 7mm08 or .308 will handle all your needs. Nice looking, accurate, uses a very common scope mount, and even comes in a ready to shoot package with a decent scope mounted.
I used to be a straight up Remington fan but cost and less than stellar performance have turned me.
 
Personally, I would look for a good used rifle. Take your time and shop around. You've got lots of time before deer season opens again.
 
Some of the new, low priced rifles, from Ruger, Mossberg, Savage, 'etc, are having very good reviews for reliability and accuracy.
Has anyone tried them?
 
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Probably the best of the "value" rifles you can buy new is (was) the Marlin XL/XS series. They were recently discontinued but there are still lots of them on dealer shelves. You can pick one up on Gunbroker pretty reasonably.
 
CAliber .30-06

Rifles under $500 If you want what I call a standard trigger:

Weatherby Vanguard S2
Thompson Center Venture
USED Winchester Model 70

I own one of each and love them all (all not in .30-06)

IF you DON'T mind a "accu trigger" (of which I am NOT a fan:mad:):
Ruger American
Savage
Marlin xl/xs
 
Savage in any of cal.'s mentioned

Great replies and I have to say Savage over the last 5-8 years has reallt stepped up their game with out of the box 1.5 MOA rifles. I have had the opportunity to shoot 2 of the Axiz Packaged rifles and both were very accurate. I liked the .308 the best just because of less recoil and a bit more accuracy then the ought six.
Make sure you try a few different ammo types to make sure you pick the one that works best for thin skinned game animal's and your rifle. On nice thing about picking a cal. your buddies use is that you'll always have a source for ammo should the need arrise.
 
For your specific application- which includes elk- and a $500 budget- which I'm assuming includes the optic- this would be my choice...

Ruger American in 30.06, with the Redfield Revolution 3x-9x package:

http://www.ruger.com/products/americanRifleRedfield/specSheets/6951.html

The Redfield has a street price of $200- which means you're paying about $300 for the rifle with rings, and the mounted optic.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/91077/Ruger+AMERSR+3006+WSCP+BLKSYN

I think this is a really tough deal to beat- the Ruger American outshoots many rifles twice its cost.
 
tobnrp has made a good point. My buddy has a Ruger American in .308 with the same Redfield scope. In clearity, its really close to a Leupold VX1. The rifle is amazingly accurate with factory ammo. I started reloading for him and we were able to get a 3 round cloverleaf @ 100yds pretty easily.
 
savage axis in a .308 or 7mm-08 action size,a scout rifle.

H&R and NEF make a good yet cheap rifle but its single shot. .243 or 30-30 is a good caliber for those and 30-30 is single shot so you can load spitzer tips.

remington,winchester sell there low ends at walmarts and small gun shops and people buy the name.with the savage or new england firearms you get a bit better than what you payed for.
 
With a $500 budget I'd be looking hard at used rifles too. 30-06 is never a wrong choice especially if elk are in the future. In some ways 308 makes more sense primarily as a whitetail round and it will still work for elk. The 30-06 just shoots the same bullets about 100-150 fps faster. That won't matter at reasonable ranges, but could make a difference at extreme ranges.

A 270, as well as at least a dozen other rounds would work equally well, but 30-06, 308 and 270 are the most common with easily available over the counter ammo that is suitable. The other options are more for enthusiasts who just want to be different, but for the casual hunter I'd stick with the basics.

There are several options well under $500 that will work. The Ruger American at about $350 is my favorite, but Savage makes a couple of options as well. the Remington 700 ADL's are priced at $377 right now at local Walmarts. All of these are functional accurate rifles, but with little craftsmanship. With a $500 budget a used top end rifle is an option.
 
My local wallyworld has a Remington 700, ADL,24"-1-10", .270 cal synthetic for 377.00.
That rifle could be a real shooter if one would change some parts, but a decent price for a starter.
 
Im a 700 fan but the accuracy of the Axis has really impressed me.

For the game you say id say 30/06.

The marlin bolt guns ive heard good reviews on and the 30/06 linked below was on sale for $250 +$6 shipping a couple of weeks ago... that would leave a lot of room for optics.

http://grabagun.com/marlin-xl7-3006sp-22-4rd-bl-sy70382.html


Academy has ADL 700's for $377... $379 @ wally world but they run them on sale for $297 at times.

The new Remington 783's can be had for under $300 shipped. I paid $289 for mine in 308.
 
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