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I really want to get into deer hunting, but I need help with choosing the best rifle. I'm new to the whole hunting thing, and I want to make sure I'm getting good rifle to start out with. I know somebody on here can help me out. All suggestions are welcomed....

terrain? shooting distances? vegetation? weather conditions? targets?

different tools for different conditions!

No telling how many tons of venison has been harvested with a .30-30 or a .30-06. If you won't be shooting beyond 200 yards a .30-30 will do the job if you will be shooting out to around 400 yards then the '06 is a good choice as is a .308, .270, .25-06, and 7mm-08. One thing you probably don't need is any magnum caliber.

If your looking for a specific rifle, I like the Remington 700 in .308 I know some will disagree with me, but that's my choice.

My vote is for .308 - good for deer out to 600 yards, can punch paper out to 800-1,000+ yards with the right loads, not much recoil, and tons of ammo available. Weatherby Vanguard is a great rifle. I built a Howa 1500 heavy barreled target rifle (same action as the vanguard) and it would easily group under 1/2" at 100 yards. Savage is well known for their out of box accuracy and low price. Remington 700 is a great platform too, though I shot one once and the action wasn't nearly as smooth as the howa and weatherby vanguards I own. Could have just been that one rifle.

If you're on a tightish budget get yourself a Marlin 336w 30-30. Great caliber to start out with IMO. It's what I'm starting with. As long as you're not expecting to be taking 200+yrd shots it's perfect. You can also save money on a scope with a 30-30 because you won't need anything for longer than about 2-300 yrds.

ajwakeboarder wrote:If your looking for a specific rifle, I like the Remington 700 in .308 I know some will disagree with me, but that's my choice.

I'll agree with .308 as a great all-around caliber for hunting. Good for anything from black bear to raccoons (assuming you don't want/need to eat what's left over ).

I would stay away from the Rem 7XX, however. IMO, YMMV
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http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=548107" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Academy has the Remington 700 ADL for $379.99. Your choice of caliber 243, 25-06, 270, 7mm, 30-06, or 308. I'd go with a 30-06 as my first choice followed closely by the 308.

I'll throw another vote to the 30-30 or 30-06 choies. The choice between those two simply comes down to how far you'll be taking shots. Good Luck!

hmmmm
I never shot a deer, but yalls' answers made me think
no wonder all the other hunters looked at me funny when I got out my 7.62x39 Ruger Mini-30 Ranch Rifle ...


Of course I changed the stock because I didn't want the pretty wood it came in scratched up
so it kinda looked more like this

I figured I might encounter a "zombie deer" ... so I brought the 30 round mag ...

back just immediately before the "Assault weapons ban" I made all my military rifles (SKS deer rifles lol) into deer rifles for hunting and all my hunting rifles fit the definition of "assault rifle" by changing all the stocks just for fun



I hunted doves, shot a bird twice, didn't enjoy it ... I'm not a hunter, might be if I needed food. But no interest in hunting really so I really have no answer to the OP ... the hunters above know ....

Photos above are not my actual rifles, I sold mine, but they are very close to what I had..
My mini 30 wasn't as accurate as the ones they recommend ... but it sure was fun

Thank You! This is really helpful.

Many praises to the newer Savage rifles with the accutriger. They are said to be very accurate out of the box and at the bottom of the price range for a quality bolt gun. Less than $500 for a nice rifle. A scope is a whole new thread...

That's my Marlin 336W 30-30 with a Nikon 3-9x40 Prostaff Riflescope. Great starter rifle. The rifle runs around $380 and the scope was about $160. Marlin makes one that comes with a scope attached that runs about $420, but I don't know how good the scope is.

I took my first deer with a Mossberg ATR in .308 It was a good cheap rifle to get started and I still use it.