Rifle for a rookie

[BjornF16]

Have a read on this ice/snow comparison on a variety of rifles…

Ice/snow comparison between rifles

I have been asked by multiple people to do an ice and snow reliability eval between rifles/actions/triggers. Tthis is not a “test”, it is just a view at what generally happens. Doing a legitimate test requires more rifles and consistent conditions than I have. So… The rifles: 1). Tikka T3...

rokslide.com

 

[KenLee]

22lr and a spotlight.

Read through years of prosecution records - they show it is an effective caliber.

Stangers Baby!!!

 

[TXHunt]

Tikka or Bergara.

 

[awcopeland]

OP, not sure if you've purchased a rifle yet, but if you haven't do yourself a favor and check out gun.deals

The several firearms that I've purchased through their links have all come form legitimate dealers, but I'd recommend that if something seems too good to be true, to do a quick search on the particular dealer.

Most recently, I purchased a T3x Roughtech in 6.5 PRC for ~$850 + shipping & FFL transfer fee.

 

[Boarmaster]

If I thought and was determined to never buy another rifle then I buy the Tikka in 270. Not to much recoil and will perform excellent on all the game you mention east or west. Factory Ammo selection is great availability good as anything.

If you think you might want to buy another rifle in the near future for game bigger than whitetail size for that 1% then I would buy the 6.5 cm As that is as close to perfect for your 99% as you can get. The 1% you can make work with it. Honestly I don‘t know very many hunters that only have one rifle.

The Tikka is a rifle you can satisfied with a long time. If your a 99% eastern deer hunter then buy what is perfect for the 99%. I practice the 99% rule on all my outdoor gear.

 

[GAHunterJim]

Tikka for sure, they have a great reputation. As far as chambering, I have both the 6.5 CM and 308 (as well as others) and both offer available and affordable ammo. I find the 6.5 CM to be more fun to shoot as it has less recoil but the 308 is fine too. Pressed, I'd recommend the 6.5 CM for lots of shooting and hunting.

 

[Jim1187]

.308 has an advantage that no one here has mentioned yet, barrel life. If you are serious about 500+ rounds recreationally a year and you already have a .223 all be it an ar platform so you can sling 77 tmks or many other deer/ bear suitable options with it should you desire.

 

[wilallin]

Hello all. Thanks for all the input and suggestions. I ended up buying a Parker Hale (1200?) in .243

Not remotely what I was looking for but it seemed to be a good deal and it was from a family friend. Once I held it I knew I was gonna buy it.

My fiancee has expressed a lot of interest in hunting with me so I've no doubt I'll be buying another rifle before long, but for now this one has really impressed.

I have gotten numerous MOA groups off the bench at 100 yards. It seems to like 80gr TTSX and 100gr Federal the best of the 5 loads I've tried. I intend to get into hand loading in the near future but for now I think I'm going to stick with the 80gr TTSX for this hunting season.

I have a very small area to hunt in the woods here on the farm where I will probably take at least one buck this season. About 11 acres of my property so I'm thinking shooting high shoulder with the Barnes bullet will be the ticket to keep em from running off onto someone else's property. Does this sound about right?

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[wilallin]

I have not been shooting as much as I'd like, but I've put a little under a hundred rounds thru her so far.

Cleaned it after shooting and swapped the rings for some Leupolds. Nothing wrong with the old ones, just didn't really inspire confidence- flat head screws made me worry.

I then let it sit for a couple months, being busy as all hell with work, then took it out again a couple weeks ago. My groups opened up quite a bit.

I shot 3 3round groups trying to get my zero, and it wasn't great. Possible I was just rusty, but maybe it shoots better dirty? My final group was right about an inch. Not sure if I was just getting back in the groove, or the rifle was.

I intend to shoot another 9 shots, average the two groups together, and do my final zero adjustments.

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[awcopeland]

High lung will drop them and kill them. You take out the lungs, and provide enough shock to the spinal cord to get the work done without ruining a shoulder or two. Just my opinion. Others will probably disagree.

 

[wilallin]

High lung will drop them and kill them. You take out the lungs, and provide enough shock to the spinal cord to get the work done without ruining a shoulder or two. Just my opinion. Others will probably disagree.

Even with a mono metal bullet on a 120lb white tail?

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[Pharmseller]

Even with a mono metal bullet on a 120lb white tail?

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11 acres ain’t much. I live in 5+ so I know. Unless you want to knock on a neighbor’s door you need DRT (dead right there) placement. High shoulder is well advised.

And yes, if you cleaned the rifle you can often expect to see groups change. Keep shooting, she might settle back in.




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[wilallin]

11 acres ain’t much. I live in 5+ so I know. Unless you want to knock on a neighbor’s door you need DRT (dead right there) placement. High shoulder is well advised.

And yes, if you cleaned the rifle you can often expect to see groups change. Keep shooting, she might settle back in.




P

Thank you. I have access to another farm with about 250 acres I am gonna hunt on too. May use some more conventional shot placement and 100gr federal there. Long sight lines there, probably 500 yards, not that I would take a shot at nearly that distance.
But for my property, sight lines are 100 yards absolute max, with dense honeysuckle and brush. I think the TTSX with a high shoulder shot will be the ticket there.

Took it out today and got a .54" 3 shot 100 yard group. Best I've ever shot- I think it is getting back to where it wants to be. May not clean the bore again until after hunting season

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[awcopeland]

Here's an example of a high lung shot (skip to the 27 minute mark if you don't want the extra entertainment).

I understand there are multiple ways and opinions on killing animals, simply trying to arm you with the information to make your own decisions.

 

[SloppyJ]

Tikka in 30-06 would be my pick.

 

[wilallin]

Here's an example of a high lung shot (skip to the 27 minute mark if you don't want the extra entertainment).

I understand there are multiple ways and opinions on killing animals, simply trying to arm you with the information to make your own decisions.

Sure looks effective. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to try both

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[JDDuf]

Hope it works out for you!

 

[rkcdvm]

Both the Savage Lightweight Hunter and the Tikka T3X Lite work well; the Tikka will be a bit more refined.

I do recommend grabbing a rimfire rifle (ex: 22 LR) for working your fundamentals on your 100 yard range. This should allow you do do a lot of focused practice at lower cost. Each time you shoot you should be doing it for a specific purpose. This can also allow you to practice shooting from a variety of rests and positions; do look up the Kraft drill.

This is solid advice. Practice for cheap. Also if you’re worried about quality of gun, most make a pretty good rifle these days at base . You pay for bells and whistles. My son proves this point a few years ago with a Walmart savage ready to hunt rifle and was slinging .308 rounds at 600-800 yards in about 30 minutes.
With that said , tikka makes a very solid rifle, so does bergara . Neither are perfect but none of us are either .
Be realistic about your ability to shoot in high pressure situations .