Looking to buy my first bolt action rifle

[Jagger2307]

I'd be rethinking chambering if I were in your shoes. If this is a first/only bolt gun, you'll be way more deadly way further with a 6CM or 6.5CM and a big pile of ammo you burn through every year vs a 7PRC and a smaller pile of ammo (budget and recoil means we all shoot little stuff more and better).

If you don't shoot many hundreds, preferably multiple thousand rounds a year, none of us has any business shooting game at the kind of ranges where 7PRC gives an advantage over a CM sized case.

Stainless Tikka
6CM prefit barrel (especially since Canada and no suppressors)
Rokstok when it becomes available to you.

Wouldn’t be shooting moose elk or bear with a 6cm

 

[Jagger2307]

Does that budget include the scope? If so, what scope do you have in mind? And if not, what is the scope budget?

No scope not included looking at either the Burris veracity ph2 or a arken ep5 or maybe a zero tech trace hoping to be 2000kmax for scope so 5k usd total package I shoot gas gun targets at around 650 (for now have the space to shoot up to about 1400ish yards if I can even hit it) and hunt a lot of big game moose is open season for me in my zone and so is elk so they’re common and black bear is 2 tags a year open season

This is a lot like a first girlfriend - no matter what your first choice, tastes will change and you’ll see greener grass elsewhere, so there’s no need to over think it. In fact it might be better to buy a used rifle, shoot it for a summer until the newness wears off, sell it for the purchase price, then buy the gun you want. As long as you’re paying no more than market price for a used gun, it’s free to shoot as long as you want. Free. Literally free.

 

[JohnJohnson]

No scope not included looking at either the Burris veracity ph2 or a arken ep5 or maybe a zero tech trace hoping to be 2000kmax for scope so 5k usd total package

Honestly not sure any of those mentioned scopes are what you should be looking at. As a side thing I'd personally flip the budget and do $3,000 on optic and $2,000 on the rifle but that's just my opinion.

 

[eric1115]

Wouldn’t be shooting moose elk or bear with a 6cm

I used to feel the same way. Now I'm 6mm for everything.

Check out the .223 and 6mm threads, those photos are a real eye opener.

 

[Lando]

First rifle I'd get this in 6.5 CM or 6.5 PRC if you want a bit more speed:

Sako S20 Hunter 6.5 PRC 24" Bbl 1:8" Rifle JRS20H319

Sako S20 Hunter 6.5 PRC 24" Bbl 1:8" Rifle JRS20H319 For Sale

www.eurooptic.com

Think of it as an upgraded Tikka, better stock, better trigger.

 

[_S_R_]

If you’re only going to use a rifle a few times a year, pretty much any decent one around $1000 will do the trick and last forever. I’m really liking the new Tikka Drover.

But if you’re gonna use it all year for everything from mouse to moose, you might want to spend a little more. The Seekins PH2 is perfect for that. Just don’t go for a magnum like I did – not really needed.

If you want something flashy and top-notch, go for it!

Just get what you can afford now, make sure it’s good quality, and easy to feed for both practice and hunting.

Good luck!

 

[JohnJohnson]

Wouldn’t be shooting moose elk or bear with a 6cm

The first part of your research in this should be looking into how bullets kill things.

2:40 - 7:40 in the below video is an alright 5 minute summary of the basics of it. I promise you I don't like react content or clickbait titles either but his explanation is pretty succinct.

 

[LostWapiti]

First rifle I'd get this in 6.5 CM or 6.5 PRC if you want a bit more speed:

Sako S20 Hunter 6.5 PRC 24" Bbl 1:8" Rifle JRS20H319

Sako S20 Hunter 6.5 PRC 24" Bbl 1:8" Rifle JRS20H319 For Sale

www.eurooptic.com

Think of it as an upgraded Tikka, better stock, better trigger.

These are really nice but unfortunately really heavy for hunting and it’s all proprietary so no aftermarket support.