First Hunting Rifle Question, asking for a friend.....truly.

Joined
Nov 12, 2019
Messages
38
Location
South Carolina
Hey gang,
I got an interesting question from a friend and thought I'd toss it out to the wider collective knowledge base.

A good friend of mine texted me yesterday and said he was looking at hunting rifles and wanted to know what he needed to be considering. My first reply was, 'What is your price point?" His reply? "I'm not really sure." Turns out, he had received a call from his grandfather-in-law, who told him to pick out a hunting rifle and to consider it his Christmas gift.

Context: My friend hunts turkey and deer maybe two or three times a year on his GFIL's (grandfather-in-law) property and uses one of the rifles they keep there (a .270, the round he wishes to stick with). Unless something drastically changes, he's not a gear guy and doesn't really go down the rabbit hole on anything, unlike most of us on here. His reply to why he's shooting a specific brand of ammo will most likely be, "Because it was what they had at the store down the road." So...not obsessive about his gear. Having said that, he does understand and appreciate quality and wants to get something a step up from the "intro" lines that most companies make. His GFIL has money and is generous with it, so $1k to $1500 for a rifle would be a drop in the bucket, but my friend wants to be conscious about not trying to take advantage of his GFIL's generosity (as other family members have done in the past).

I throw this out to y'all because between 2 two year old, a job change, and another kid about to arrive, I've spent the last two years just cruising with what I have (Rem 700 in 30-06) and haven't been plugged into the wider hunting rifle world, so to speak, and don't want to give him outdated info limited by just my experience.

So any suggestions on rifle manufacturers that have served y'all well will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, folks!
 

hunterjmj

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Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Messages
1,204
Location
Montana
Heck, if he's only going to hunt deer he may as well stick with the 270 win. Also, if I just hunted around the farm I'd go traditional like a nice wood stock Weatherby Mark 5. If Remington still made the wood 700 BDL I'd go that route.
 

ericF

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Joined
Oct 4, 2016
Messages
628
Location
CO
Get a Tikka T3x. It will shoot great as is and if he eventually does become for familiar with guns it is a good starting point to modify. If I was building a gun for somebody new I would probably pair a basic Tikka with one of the Trijicon Credo scopes that is on sale at Europtics. If he wants something a little flashier there are an untold number of variations of the Browning X-bolt that he could choose also.
 

def90

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Aug 12, 2020
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Colorado
Tikka, Howa, Weatherby.. A ton more. Many more expensive rifles out there as well but there comes a point where you encounter diminishing returns and a rifle will only ever be as good as the guy pulling the trigger. Keep in mind a scope is just as or even more important than the rifle itself. I bought a Howa 1500 this past summer and a Burris XTR scope for it. Paid more for the scope than the rifle. Couldn’t be happier. As for caliber there will be a thousand opinions but the old .308 will kill anything in North America.
 
Joined
Apr 21, 2015
Messages
970
Does $1500 include the optic?

I’m thinking Tikka T3 of whatever flavor he likes, and then a decent scope like a Leupold v3i or similar.
 

SwiftShot

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Joined
Nov 16, 2019
Messages
461
Tika T3. In 270 should be easy to find. I think they only come Stainless. Anyway, that is perfect for deer and also perfect for anything else he decides to do.
 

philos

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Behind you
You’ll notice quite a few Tikka votes. I would also go with Tikka-for the price it is hard to beat the quality of a Tikka . I would go with a Tikka T3x and stay with 270 and call it a day.
 
Joined
May 30, 2022
Messages
319
Another vote for the T3x.

If that ends up being the choice, I'd recommend ordering Sportsmatch rings for direct integral-rail mounting (model TO48C, HT081, T084, or HTO73, depending on the optic); they're about as strong, simple and lightweight as it gets, plus they make it painless to remove the scope for maintenance and transport if needed.

(I spent way too much time looking at rings when I got my Tikka, and these are the ones to have, at least in my opinion.)
 

Northpark

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Joined
Mar 8, 2015
Messages
1,130
I like the browning hells canyon speed rifles in that $1k range. Top it with a vx3 of some flavor in Talley rings and he’s good to go for life.
 

Rich M

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Jun 14, 2017
Messages
5,106
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Orlando
Gotta go and shoulder a bunch of rifles at Bass Pro or wherever = see what feels best. These days the cheapest ones shoot as good as the pricey ones - the machining tolerances are so tight.

I'd say to stay away from Leupold as I've had issues with the newer models. Consider Meopta for a scope.
 
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
375
Location
North Pole, AK
Hey gang,
I got an interesting question from a friend and thought I'd toss it out to the wider collective knowledge base.

A good friend of mine texted me yesterday and said he was looking at hunting rifles and wanted to know what he needed to be considering. My first reply was, 'What is your price point?" His reply? "I'm not really sure." Turns out, he had received a call from his grandfather-in-law, who told him to pick out a hunting rifle and to consider it his Christmas gift.

Context: My friend hunts turkey and deer maybe two or three times a year on his GFIL's (grandfather-in-law) property and uses one of the rifles they keep there (a .270, the round he wishes to stick with). Unless something drastically changes, he's not a gear guy and doesn't really go down the rabbit hole on anything, unlike most of us on here. His reply to why he's shooting a specific brand of ammo will most likely be, "Because it was what they had at the store down the road." So...not obsessive about his gear. Having said that, he does understand and appreciate quality and wants to get something a step up from the "intro" lines that most companies make. His GFIL has money and is generous with it, so $1k to $1500 for a rifle would be a drop in the bucket, but my friend wants to be conscious about not trying to take advantage of his GFIL's generosity (as other family members have done in the past).

I throw this out to y'all because between 2 two year old, a job change, and another kid about to arrive, I've spent the last two years just cruising with what I have (Rem 700 in 30-06) and haven't been plugged into the wider hunting rifle world, so to speak, and don't want to give him outdated info limited by just my experience.

So any suggestions on rifle manufacturers that have served y'all well will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, folks!
Tikka or Bergara.

I personally hate the Tikka for no reason other then aesthetics but I tell everyone who is looking to spend more then $500 to look at them. They are probably the best bang for their buck period. And he can get a basic for about $800 or the fancy one my friend just bought for $1,200.
The Bergara are great, but their blueing rusts easily. Get a coated one - some sort of finish, they have a wilderness model or something that is good.
A third option would be the Weatherby Vanguard - they are also good rifles.

Those three, stick with a .270 as it is a fantastic round for everything in the Lower 48.
 

ETtikka

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Joined
Oct 28, 2020
Messages
537
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East Tennessee
I was in a similar situation about year 2005, after way too much research I bought a tikka t3, of course all my buddies called me a traitor. The t3/t3x has stood the test of time for best all around performance for the buck, and it’s not even close. Sauer 100 is the only competitor in the same price range. Tikkas are boring because they refuse to change a proven design
 
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