never hunted, good rifle for Northeast?

W

Wheelgun

New member
I haven't been hunting before and was wondering what type of round is favored in the Northeast.

Hunting and firearms sports skipped over my fathers generation in our family and most of the info I have is probably out of date. I know there is a trend for lighter calibers, and am just curious as to peoples opinions on a good overall hunting rifle.

What I have now are my grandfathers Remmington 721 in 30-06, a 7.65 Mauser sporter conversion, and a 6.5x55 standard Sweedish Mauser. I have not shot my grandfathers rifle, but both mausers are good shots. The Swede is a fun gun and I noticed that the Win model 70 is also available in this caliber.

Thanks for any imput,

Wheelgun
 
That is the one I was leaning towards. I like that is was my grandfathers hunting rifle, and it is lighter than the two mausers. I have gotten a few comments from people stating that it was more gun than necessary.

I need to get it out to the range and become familiar with it. Then I'll know better. At this time the only bolt guns I have fired are the mausers and an old .303 enfield

Wheelgun.
 
I used a 6.5x55 for many years works fine , though I don't care for the reduced factory loads they have today. Also used 30-06, works fine too !!Just pick the one you're most comfortable with or the more accurate.
 
Dang it Rich, ya beat me to it. :rolleyes: To quote the late Col. Townsend Whelen, "The 30-06 is never a mistake."
Just to keep things honest, your other rifles will also work just fine. Me? I'll take the 30-06. :D :cool:
Paul B.
 
I bought a Winchester Mod. 70 in 270WSM. It's a good powerful round with a super flat trajectory. The only thing you lose over 30-06 or other 30 cal rounds is you can't throw REALLY heavy bullets down range for taking out big game. Unfortunately, now I live in alaska, so I'm going to be in the market for a bigger round soon.
 
Hi Rich, I suspect it's whatever the bugger eating moron in marketing says it is........

:eek:

:D

Wheelgun, I'd grab that 521, a buncha ammo and start shooting. IMHO, there is not much better for hunting anything up to elk size and a bunch of stuff that's worse.

You may want to upgrade your scope or add one. I'd also think about getting the trigger adjusted to about 3 pounds, crisp.

I've killed a bunch of stuff with an '06 up to and including Zebra.
 
Thanks again for all the replies. A friend set me up with a set of Leupold rings and a 3-9X40 Tasco scope for the 721. He said the rings were good, and if I like shooting with a scope I could always upgrade the scope. I still need to sight it in.

I am going to pick up a few boxes of 30-06 and see how I like it.

-Wheelgun
 
I have hunted with a 721 for years after I inherited it from my Uncle. He owned it since the early 40's. Its still accurate and sweet shooter. I think you would be hard pressed to beat it.

Kelsey
www.luvtohunt.com
 
.30-06 is a fine and versatile caliber, and you might well enjoy carrying your grandfather's rifle afield ;)
 
That 721 is a fine rifle for you. If you have trouble with the trigger pull, I would clean it of all the old gunk before I tried to adjust it. You can monkey with the trigger adjusting screw and the trigger stop screw and get it so just flicking it with the end of a glove finger while putting your finger into the trigger guard will set it off. Not good.

taa,
cs :D
 
Thanks again for the help everybody. I made it out to the range and started getting the 721 sighted in. I shot about a 3" group at 50 yards. Not great, but it's a start. I should probably move back to 100 yards next time and make some adjustments, but my main goal was to get myself, the scope, and the gun looking at the same space. Now if I can just keep my support arm steadier. On the bench things were a bit tighter.
The trigger felt pretty good, probably about 3-4lbs, although that is just a rough guess. It is close to that of my shotgun, so there wasn't much to adjust to. Different than the mausers though.
It was also interesting to see how much my breathing affected the gun. The scope realy brought that out.

Overall I am happy with the rifle. Hopefully I can get a bit more accurate with some practice.

Thanks again,

Wheelgun
 
Northeast Huh?
Humid, Wet, Cold.
I like the Ruger M77 MKII in 30-06.
It's lightweight, weatherproof,Accurate, and.... has a lifetime warranty.
Not to mention Ruger's Customer Service is top notch. They also make it in larger and smaller calibers. I just feel you can't go wrong with an 06.

What are you looking to Hunt???
 
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