Whitetail Rifle

[Blb8698]

Long story leading into a question. Until this year I always hunted w a bow. My uncles passed early this year and I inherited his guns. One of which was his hunting rifle an old savage 30-06 w an old savage 4x scope. This rifle hasn't seen the woods in 30 plus years. Had it checked out and all that cleaned up real good got shots through it sighted back in over the summer with my son. My sons 14 but a big 14 5'11 almost 200 pounds so handles the rifle well. His goal was to take his very first deer exactly how my uncle had it setup. Which he did a decent doe at 80 yards. Dropped it in its tracks. Now he's thinking he wants a new rifle for next year. What rifle, caliber and scopes would you recommend. He wants something that he can hunt with but also go to the range and shoot for awhile.

 

[oldillini]

Personally I like my 7MM-08. Easily will take down a whitetail and is capable for elk as well. Definitely less recoil than a 30-06. Very manageable at the range.

Lot of other calibers would be good (270, 6.5CM, 6.5 PRC, etc). The 6.5 PRC is really a popular one right now. I personally have no experience with the 6.5 PRC but am considering adding one.

Not sure where you are, but are there any restrictions on calibers for whitetail hunting where you are?

What's your budget? If limited, don't rule out a Ruger American. That is what my 7MM-08 is. Paid ~$450 for it in stainless a few years back. Swapped out the stock to a Magpul. With factory ammo easily get 1MOA and have got 0.5MOA with a couple handloads. Also love my Tikkas (my magnum calibers), but initial investment is little more.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Welcome and cool story.

plenty of folks will weigh in here. Some of them are big spenders and like off the run guns and calibers. Nothing wrong with that but Maybe think a bit about your budget. Those deer won’t be any more dead with that old rifle than if you buy $2k worth of semi custom rifle in some whacky wildcat caliber and $2k in nightforce glass. Assuming you don’t want to break the bank, here are a few thoughts:

- whitetail don’t take a ton of bullet. Pretty much anything from .243 up will do. 308 is plenty of bullet and cheap. 6.5 creed shoots softer and could be a bit funner for long, long ranges if he really wants to play Paper puncher. I like to keep it simple and stay with calibers I can find early anywhere, such as my local Walmart.

- if you/he like to tinker, maybe buy something with an entry price and you can upgrade it as he goes along (stock, trigger, glass, etc) if he really likes shooting.

- remingtons are great for aftermarket stuff if you want to make it a project. they have an ADL model for around $500. In that price point, the savage axis is probably the best out of the box option. If you want to step it up a bit, there are a lot of tikka fans around here (including me) and you can get their lower end stuff for under $700 on sale - same gun with blued finish and cheaper stock.

- scopes are another area where prices vary. IMO the best deals going for a decent entry level scope are the vortex crossfires. 3-9x is plenty of glass to get out to deer ranges. There are plenty of Nikon scopes still floating around and leupold v3xi is another option that can be had fairly cheap and will work great.

good luck and I hope your son enjoys shooting.

 

[PantherCity]

Tikka T3x lite in 6.5cm. Excellent ammo available everywhere and lighter recoil for lots of practice.

Scope: Trijicon Credo 3-9x40. Great reliable scope with illumination and excellent reticle

Sportsmatch rings.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bkbanks13]

7-08, 308, creedmoor. Pick what you like best. If he’s 5’11” 200 pounds he can shoot anything.

 

[Gwchem]

For a kid, stick with common cartridges. 308, 6.5 cm. He'll burn through a lot more ammo than a patient old timer, and other calibers can get pricey.

 

[mcseal2]

Consider ammo availability. In my area 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor are the only two that are reliably on the store shelves. Both would work well for what you describe.

The Burris Fullfield IV scopes have served me well for a pretty reasonable price. They are on the coyote guns I bounce around in my vehicles and hold up.

As for the rifle I don’t think there are many bad choices in todays market. I prefer a stiff synthetic stock that I can’t easily flex the forend on enough to touch the barrel. Many cheaper guns have flimsier stocks but shoot well. Browning Hells Canyon Speed has one of the better stocks before you get into the ones with carbon fiber, kevlar, or other higher cost materials.

 

[rcook10]

Agree with gwchem: anything short action is all thats necessary inside 500. 308vs 6.5 for ammo availability. I will always be a 308 man due to its versatility but nothing wrong with a 6.5. Tikka would be a good option for versatile aftermarket options (i seem to recall loving to tinker and customize at that age) and if he wants to reload with the 308, getting a long action mag will really let him sling the heavies with a good amount of oomph.

 

[Saintsfan1977]

308. Accurate, cheap and find ammo anywhere.

 

[TN2shot07]

It pains me to say because I don’t like to buy what most people have. For someone looking to start out right now I can’t see you going wrong with a boring old 308. Ammo is everywhere (cheap to top shelf options) and if he ventures up from deer it has plenty of versatility for anything in the lower 48.

Don’t buy a budget rifle, one step up is generally worth saving a little more for and the shooting experience is much more pleasant. If you’re buying new: The Tikkas are great rifles, I don’t personally like a detachable magazine on a hunting rifle. The standard bergaras have a traditional floor plate and will accept Remington 700 accessories if you want to customize later.

I would go with a midrange priced scope, most likely a Leupold VX3HD 3.5-10 or a Vortex Viper 2.5-10 and drop it in some Talley rings.

 

[Vrybusy]

Hard to beat a .308 with a good scope. That rifle is capable of harvesting any game in North America. Many rifle manufacture options out there. Ammo is available and at a reasonable price as compared to many other calibers. If you're concerned with recoil or flinching, you can get one with a muzzle break, with the option to move into the suppressor realm later. Good Luck!

 

[loganwayne]

Find out your states regulations. If there is a muzzleloader or straight wall cartridge. I would talk to him and see what his thoughts are about opening up a longer firearms season. Even if he wants a rifle to shoot long range. I'd also consider a muzzleloader. For around 350 you can get a cva wolf with scope, powder, primers and sabots and be ready to hunt for a few years

 

[nettereo16]

Find out your states regulations. If there is a muzzleloader or straight wall cartridge. I would talk to him and see what his thoughts are about opening up a longer firearms season.

This is a good point. He's already got a workable deer rifle in your Uncle's 3006, he could upgrade the scope and keep the family history. By buying a muzzleloader he could very well add 2+ weeks to his deer season!

 

[ResearchinStuff]

What characteristics does your son value in things? Accuracy, weight, trajectory, aesthetics?

There are lots of options, but some are clearly better at certain things than others.

 

[MallardSX2]

Rifle: https://www.remarms.com/rifles/pump-action/model-7600/model-7600

Scope (4-12X40) : https://www.leupold.com/shop/riflescopes/series/rifleman-rifle-scopes

Rings: https://www.talleymanufacturing.com/product/remington-scope-mounts-models-4-6-74-76-750-7400-7600/

Caliber: 30-06 or the .308

You can thank me later.

 

[Rich M]

Why not just use the 3006? New scope is easy enough.

What kind of distances do you want to shoot? Just WT or do you want elk too?

Inside 300 yards, get a 350 Legend - cheap, easy to shoot. I went from 3006 to 243 and 350 Legend. Prefer the Legend for deer.

300+ yards, 7mm-08, 6.5 CM, 308 come to mind immediately.
Don't feel 243 is enough gun, at least with plan jane 100 gr factory ammo.

 

[Yoder]

If you want to shoot a lot I would get a 308. You can get cheap military surplus and 308 is always available. Otherwise there are 100 different choices. Right now I'm liking my 270.

 

[S-3 ranch]

I’m a tight budget hunter, imo a savage apex or ruger American, Remington adl
in any common caliber 243, 6.5cm , 270, 308 , with a vortex
you can always buy some better quality glass later
or just better quality glass now 30-06 is awesome

 

[Boarmaster]

I like a 7mm08 myself but if I was starting over today I would buy him a stainless rifle with a synthetic stock. Probably my pick for a deer would be a tika t3 in 6.5 CM. Plenty of ammo available and options galore. I would buy a variable scope in that 2-10x range with a 40-42 objective. Which scope is up to you and him. Most of my rifles have VX3s or Swaro Z3 variants. I find those are where cost and quality come together for my budget and taste. In my opinion this type of setup represents a great all around hunting rifle for most conditions.

 

[vonb]

Take your son and let him choose. He’ll know what he likes better than anyone here.