Rifle Recommendations?

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Accountable

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I'm thinking of buying a deer rifle. I haven't been deer hunting in what might as well be forever, so I'm clueless as to what's available. Price is definitely an issue. Any recommendations?
 
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dt3

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I think a good but decent-priced one would be around $700-$800, but it really depends what you're looking for. Bolt/lever action, or semi-auto? Caliber? All the fun stuff :D

Check out the Remington 700's, I've always been a fan.
 
Tim

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You can pick up some very inexpensive used 30-06 rifles. You can also get very cheap ammo for them as well. It's a good caliber with many options for ammo
 
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If there any good gun shops locally, you can check out their used gun section.

Hell, I remember buying a Enfield British 303 once for $70. I could take a deer at 200 yards with that gun. I looked like a piece of shit, but it shot true.
 
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I think Tim & I are on the same wavelength on this one. :D
My most recent experience is with an M-16. How does that compare to a 30-06?
 
Tim

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Accountable said:
I think Tim & I are on the same wavelength on this one. :D
My most recent experience is with an M-16. How does that compare to a 30-06?
Click to expand...

The M-16 can fire the .223 or 5.56mm nato round I believe. They leave the barrel a couple of a hundred feet per second faster than a 30-06 round which is .30 caliber. But the .30 round is twice as heavy as a .223 round. The result is twice the impact with less effective distance. So a 30-06 has much more knock down power which you want for deer hunting.

You will find people that love the .308 or the .243 or any other caliber out there... I just think the 30-06 is a very versatile round that has been around for a long time. So you can find many used guns in that chamber and many options for ammo.
 
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Zorak said:
Can you go hunting with fully automatic weapons?
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No ......... not legally
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Tim said:
The M-16 can fire the .223 or 5.56mm nato round I believe. They leave the barrel a couple of a hundred feet per second faster than a 30-06 round which is .30 caliber. But the .30 round is twice as heavy as a .223 round. The result is twice the impact with less effective distance. So a 30-06 has much more knock down power which you want for deer hunting.

You will find people that love the .308 or the .243 or any other caliber out there... I just think the 30-06 is a very versatile round that has been around for a long time. So you can find many used guns in that chamber and many options for ammo.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I think there's a firing range near my neighborhood where I can rent a rifle to shoot.
 
AUFred

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.270, .30-06 or 7MM will be enough gun for deer hunting where you live. Bolt actions are more accurate than other configurations. The .30 will allow you the biggest variety of bullet weights. Don't scrimp on your optics. A good scope will make a bad gun usable.
 
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dt3 said:
I think a good but decent-priced one would be around $700-$800, but it really depends what you're looking for. Bolt/lever action, or semi-auto? Caliber? All the fun stuff :D

Check out the Remington 700's, I've always been a fan.
Click to expand...

I've got a Remington 700 in .308 Win. Very fine gun. More than enough deer rifle.

Winchester Model 70 is another good bolt action as are the new Savage's with the Accutrigger.

Tim said:
If there any good gun shops locally, you can check out their used gun section.

Hell, I remember buying a Enfield British 303 once for $70. I could take a deer at 200 yards with that gun. I looked like a piece of shit, but it shot true.
Click to expand...

I've got an Enfield too. Made in 1917 and I'll probably pass it on to my grandkids. .303 Brit is roughly equivalent to .30-06 ballistically. Enfields are going for about $180 these days. There's also a modernized version made by Ishapore arsenal in India that shoots .308 Win.


Tim said:
The M-16 can fire the .223 or 5.56mm nato round I believe. They leave the barrel a couple of a hundred feet per second faster than a 30-06 round which is .30 caliber. But the .30 round is twice as heavy as a .223 round. The result is twice the impact with less effective distance. So a 30-06 has much more knock down power which you want for deer hunting.
Click to expand...

Not sure where you got your info but .30-06 was originally designed for effective terminal performance at 1000+ yards. .30-06 has even better performance when utilized with modern powder formulations.

Maximum effective terminal performance for 5.56 is around 300 yards and is really iffy at that range. The strength and weakness of 5.56 is is tendency to yaw and fragment at impact velocities above 2700fps. Strength because it makes for devastating incapacitating wounds in human beings and weakness in that fragmentation is inconsistent at best.

Infantrymen were originally expected to engage targets at extreme distances. A study done after WWII showed that most soldiers wouldn't engage a target beyond 300 yards. That fact combined with the increased controllability of a small intermediate power cartidge led to the adoption of 5.56. You have good performance within typical engagement ranges, easy contrability in automatic fire and for the same weight you can carry more rounds.

Its crazy all the amazing things you learn when you start rolling your own ammo for fun :D

All that being said, .30-06 is second only to the .30-30 in popularity for hunting dear for a reason. Its widely available and it works extremely well. Can't go wrong with it at all.

And that being said, it is entirely possible to hunt deer with a rifle built on an AR-15/M-16 platform. I just wouldn't do it with one chambered in 5.56. For deer sized animals its just not a consistent performer and in some states its actually illegal to hunt deer with a catridge with a bullet diameter <0.225 (.223/5.56 is actually .224 diameter).

There are a multitude of cartidges an AR-15 can be chambered in all the way up to and including .50. Some of the one's that are pretty popular for hunting purposes are

6.8 mm Remington SPC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

6.5 mm Grendel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

.458 SOCOM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

.30 Remington AR - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I personally have an AR chambered in 6.8mmSPC and love it. There's a picture of it in the weaponry thread too. I haven't done it yet but many many people use it to hunt wild hogs. With the right barrel specs it can push a solid copper 85gr Barnes TSX to 3200+ fps muzzle velocity, which will drop a 250lb hog like a bad habit.


Hope that helps some.
 
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