The way we arrive at our choices

[roadrunner]

Besides the possibility that daddy buys you your first gun - or hands down one thats been in the family for years?

Similar to the Lil-Rockslider or FNG just getting into shooting/hunting?

Or the dad looking to buy their kid their first gun and then pages and pages of monologs on how their viewpoint and "experience" is far superior to anyone else's?

 

[Mtndawger]

We are all coming at it from different backgrounds, levels of life experience, regional and cultural difference and goals. Sometimes there is just something about a particular cartridge that grabs you and it’s not about being fastest or most efficient or fashionable. Some guys want to tinker and some don’t. I scratched my 280ai bug and love that thing and now the trend is that it’s more gun than I need but I really don’t care. My next project will be 284 win mostly because my dad had a thing for it back in the 80’s. But also because it just seems cool to me. It’s a combo of historic, cultural and aesthetic factors. How we arrive is a reflection of our individuality.

 

[dieselchessy]

I started my kids hunting with 7mm-08’s. We own several.
They launch stuff around 2800. My 7 saum launches the same stuff at 3000 and my 7 rem mag launches the stuff at 3100.
Elk, bear, and deer haven't seemed to notice the small differences between them.

Id say the meaningful difference with a SAW would be obtaining quality brass, having barrels chambered, and maybe resale. Maybe a chrono could tell the difference at the range but nothing else will. In the field there will be no difference at all.

 

[EastHumboldt]

All these different cartridges are going to cause a lot of trouble during the zombie apocalypse/SHTF.

"Here we are in this dark cellar, Busted in cuz we saw all these cobweb covered ammo cans through the grimy cracked window. Turns out there's nothin in here but 7,000 rounds of .222 Ear-Geschplitten Super Awesome Ultra Extra Mag (.22 EGSAUEM). Too bad Cuz my Geissele AR is chambered in .338/BMG Thumpwhacker Powderguzzle"

The internet is a place where you can find a little wisdom floating on great seas of opinion, bloviation, and pontification. But you need a good strainer.

 

[Slickhill]

I think many guys will go through the minutiae phase in their shooting/hunting journey through life. Some convince themselves that whatever slightly different choice they arrive at is just enough “better” to be perfect and that’s okay.

I spent a lot of years working in a gun shop, with a lathe and mill and refinishing setup and access to wholesale pricing on parts and tools etc. So needless to say I ended up with some oddball stuff just because it was neat or different.

Later when I got out of that business and moved back home to where I can literally hunt year around and started shooting sometimes triple digits per year of animals I find that small velocity differences mean almost nothing. Part of me wishes now that I’d spent more on glass and good stocks and less on barrels and reamers.

 

[Rich M]

Similar to the Lil-Rockslider or FNG just getting into shooting/hunting?

Or the dad looking to buy their kid their first gun and then pages and pages of monologs on how their viewpoint and "experience" is far superior to anyone else's?

Pretty much.

Some folks are not willing to admit that other people have valuable insight and experience too.

We do have a lot of biased and parroted crap online that folks have to dig thru. We all have diff experience and diff situations - be neat if we could somehow harness the overall situation as part of the information gleaning process.

The parrots plug up the wavelengths.

 

[bnewt3]

Pretty much.

Some folks are not willing to admit that other people have valuable insight and experience too.

We do have a lot of biased and parroted crap online that folks have to dig thru. We all have diff experience and diff situations - be neat if we could somehow harness the overall situation as part of the information gleaning process.

The parrots plug up the wavelengths.

One particular thing I think hurts alot are the people that for whatever reason cannot put themselves back into the mindset of when they were a beginner, much less working with a beginner budget.

OP: "looking for my first rifle, eastern deer, i dont have any place I can shoot/hunt beyond 200 yards"

reply: "build a custom rifle, get it chambered in X too big cartridge and somewhere between uncommon and rare to find ammo on shelves, and put a YZ $3000 scope on it"

 

[bnewt3]

Im all for stepping up from a bottom tier Savage Axis or whatever.

But the only place to step up to is full custom $3000+ rifle? Really? Nothing in between?

 

[Rich M]

One particular thing I think hurts alot are the people that for whatever reason cannot put themselves back into the mindset of when they were a beginner, much less working with a beginner budget.

OP: "looking for my first rifle, eastern deer, i dont have any place I can shoot/hunt beyond 200 yards"

reply: "build a custom rifle, get it chambered in X too big cartridge and somewhere between uncommon and rare to find ammo on shelves, and put a YZ $3000 scope on it"

Yup - that comes in when folks are trying to impress or to sell products for a sponsor.

I really like my Ruger Am Gen 2 Predator 243. A Tikka might work, anyone every hear of those?

 

[Slickhill]

In the case of a rank beginner I think the internet and all the instantly available choices and opinions are probably in reality just more noise and confusion.

Within reason the 200 yard aspiring whitetail hunter needs info on how to find deer way more than he needs to be pouring over ballistic charts and worrying about cartridge and rifle choices. He needs basic shot placement advice and the rudiments of where and when to sit. Put him within 100 yards of some trees dropping acorns with about any rifle as long as it’s zeroed and if he can be still he should be in business.

My grade school aged kid kills deer and pigs every year. He knows we have to sit still and be quiet and he knows where he’s supposed to shoot them anatomically. We practice shooting all year. He has shot game with several different rifles and cartridges. He has never read anything online or in a hunting mag about cartridges or killing power. He’s never asked if the rifle he’s using is powerful enough, he just shoots them where he’s supposed to and gets his picture taken and his hands bloody. It only matters as much as you make it matter.

 

[EastHumboldt]

In the beginning it was easy. I only had so much money so I bought a ruger tanger 30-06 with a crap tasco scope from my brother who got it in a car deal for boot and wanted a $100 to take out some chick.
I had $50 left in my checking account and the power bill was due so luckily I had a half a tank of gas and the rifle came with a plastic bag with about 30 mismatched rounds in it. Dang straight, I went hunting…..
These days is more complicated with a bigger checkbook and the internet but really after 40 some years of doing this hunting thing I pretty much know what blows my skirt up. So I would say experience leads me.

This right here takes me back. Very similar beginnings. Bought a NOS 1962 30-06 R700 walnut blued in 1987 from my boss who picked it up in Greenland when he was in the airforce. $180. Went down to a true value hardware and bought three boxes of shells for $7 a pop and a $29 Tasco scope. Killed deer with that rig for 15-20 years. Pro ly a 2 moa gun, so I learned to stalk. Wore blue jeans and wool plaid shirts.

Then I read an article where Dave Petzal said the Tikka T3 was one of the best affordable production rifles in the world, so I started jonesing for one. My son got me one for Xmas maybe 12:years ago, and I have since gone down the rabbithole.

For the budget conscious practical Hunter, you could have a lot of fun and kill some critters with a savage axis combo in any caliber you can readily get ammo for. Or if you can afford it and it floats your boat spend the big bucks on a custom combo that will hoot the hairs off a gnats ass at 500 yards. It’s your money your fun… do it your way.

 

[madtinker]

When I bought my first (and still only) rifle as a 14-year old, I found a catalog and compared trajectories. I did not want to worry about range, so I bought a rifle in the flattest-shooting cartridge I could find. I chose savage because someone told me they were good. If I were to re-do things, I would have considered cost of ammo and recoil. Still, it does work for me so I keep using it.

 

[Skerhunter]

Im all for stepping up from a bottom tier Savage Axis or whatever.

But the only place to step up to is full custom $3000+ rifle? Really? Nothing in between?

No but there are obvious trade-offs, just depends on the end goal. Most people’s expectations vs costs don’t align anyway (want custom performance for entry level price).

I help set up two “beginner” rifles this year.

One the kid was already recoil sensitive thanks to grandpa. Max range of 100 maybe 200 yards. He got a ruger gen2 22arc, trijicon huron and suppressor. Shot his first buck no issues.

Second guns goal was being able to shoot deer to 350 yards and wanted no BS. This family has had issues with crappy scopes and gen1 rugers in the past. They got a custom 22 creed, tijicon credo and suppressor. 3 different kids got their bucks in one shot, with no issues. The spent a total of 2-3 hours hunting.

Huge price difference between the two but everyone got to their end goal. Both spent way more than they wanted to though .

 

[bnewt3]

No but there are obvious trade-offs, just depends on the end goal. Most people’s expectations vs costs don’t align anyway (want custom performance for entry level price).

I help set up two “beginner” rifles this year.

One the kid was already recoil sensitive thanks to grandpa. Max range of 100 maybe 200 yards. He got a ruger gen2 22arc, trijicon huron and suppressor. Shot his first buck no issues.

Second guns goal was being able to shoot deer to 350 yards and wanted no BS. This family has had issues with crappy scopes and gen1 rugers in the past. They got a custom 22 creed, tijicon credo and suppressor. 3 different kids got their bucks in one shot, with no issues. The spent a total of 2-3 hours hunting.

Huge price difference between the two but everyone got to their end goal. Both spent way more than they wanted to though .

I am not at all saying a custom rifle has no place ever.

What im saying is in my example, we are talking about a beginner who knows nothing or very little except that they arent going to be shooting at deer any further than 200yds. On what planet does it make sense to recommend a full custom rifle? Their money would almost certainly be better spent at a shooting school, on plenty of ammo, good binos, etc.

Your examples are of people who it at least seems like they had opinions to begin with.

IMO they are 2 completely different scenarios.

 

[Skerhunter]

I am not at all saying a custom rifle has no place ever.

What im saying is in my example, we are talking about a beginner who knows nothing or very little except that they arent going to be shooting at deer any further than 200yds. On what planet does it make sense to recommend a full custom rifle? Their money would almost certainly be better spent at a shooting school, on plenty of ammo, good binos, etc.

Your examples are of people who it at least seems like they had opinions to begin with.

IMO they are 2 completely different scenarios.

I think most people would agree with you when discussing simply shooting one deer a year at 200 yards! Factory gun with a good scope is all you need (specifically a tikka 223 ).

Problem is usually the posts on here involve “but I also want to shoot elk at a billion yards in a few years” or I’m look at XYZ factory over priced gun that costs $2500+. I think that’s where a lot of the “just get a custom gun” comments come from.

 

[bnewt3]

I think most people would agree with you when discussing simply shooting one deer a year at 200 yards! Factory gun with a good scope is all you need (specifically a tikka 223 ).

Problem is usually the posts on here involve “but I also want to shoot elk at a billion yards in a few years” or I’m look at XYZ factory over priced gun that costs $2500+. I think that’s where a lot of the “just get a custom gun” comments come from.

Once you are into high end gun prices, for sure. I see the merits of a custom gun.

I think its the mindset that you CANT hunt unless you have a custom gun that bothers me. Or even worse, once you get a custom gun and that $4000 scope, no matter the distance, game will drop.

 

[Marble]

A lot of good opinions and info here. I too find it rather interesting how people makes their choices with hunting gear. Could be budgetary, brand preference, doing what you have seen work by someone you know,,,and so on.

I early on I was guilty of it also. I like to tinker with reloading and putting together new rifles. I enjoy it, but I am also over it. I have too many to choose from now and too many that just sit in the safe.

I get asked fairly often on what caliber/rifle brand someone should buy. I have my opinions, but always encourage people to make their own choices on what they like, what feels good in their hands and what gives them confidence.

I always enjoy the look on people's faces when they ask what rifle and caliber they get. They want to shoot out to 500 yards. I tell them any modern rifle in a cartridge of their choice will work. But they don't want to hear that.

Out of the piles of animals I have killed, it's never appeared as if the caliber I shot them with was the reason they died.

 

[bnewt3]

I always enjoy the look on people's faces when they ask what rifle and caliber they get. They want to shoot out to 500 yards. I tell them any modern rifle in a cartridge of their choice will work. But they don't want to hear that.

In not sure "any" is what I would say. (the Backfire/UR Mossberg Patriot comes to mind) But certainly most. I absolutely get your meaning.