Thread: Advice for first centrefire rifle

Originally Posted by Been Upto

Cheers for the advice bro, I have a little jw15 .22lr to plink with, do you reckon id need a .223 aswell?

The JW is a good start. Trouble with the .22 is that they have such blunt round that loses energy so quick, which means that the effective range is about 70-80m unless you have had a lot of practice.

The 223 will take you out to 200m+, which is closer to what a .308 is capable of. The trajectories aren't the same, but they are much more similar than going from a .22 to .308.

Looking at things from a different point of view: What are you going to hunt?

Originally Posted by Max Headroom

The JW is a good start. Trouble with the .22 is that they have such blunt round that loses energy so quick, which means that the effective range is about 70-80m unless you have had a lot of practice.

The 223 will take you out to 200m+, which is closer to what a .308 is capable of. The trajectories aren't the same, but they are much more similar than going from a .22 to .308.

Looking at things from a different point of view: What are you going to hunt?

That makes sense, I plan to hunt deer mainly. But from what I know we dont have many in Taranaki. But yeah Goats and deer is my main goal hunting wise. Although ill admit Ive a complete noob when it comes to hunting. Never shot a deer before

My 2 cents 223 is a great caliber, low recoil and cheap, it is however a "varmint" caliber and effective on small game and fallow/or goats out to about 200 yds.
That being said I have taken goats @ 270 yards but this really is getting out there for the 223.
Definitely worth having 1 but if I was set on shooting deer I'd probably take something bigger.
Buy both you'll love it

If I was you deff get a surpressor on the .308 I know another new be hunter and new to rifles got sold a .308 as his first rifle with no can and he missed his first few deer because he developed a flinch.
If I was you I would look at a .260 or 6.6x55 tikka.
Yea we don't have a lot of deer in the Naki but plenty of goats. Best to join the local deer stalkers meeting this Wednesday night great way to get on hunts with other older hunters.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

https://www.guncity.com/howa-m1500-s...calibre-317388

this would be my pick, stainless/synthetic.
of course you could pay $400 more for a bit of engraving on the side that says "wetherby" as its the same rifle
chuck on a decent scope and go for it.

I like tikka but sadly I think they are over priced for what they are in nowadays
Id go for a howa they are as good as a tikka imo but at the price point of 900 ish as apose to
A tikka for 1500 or more depending on the model
That’s 500 you could spend elsewhere like a good scope

Yes I would Suppress it less noise less recoil

Im not a fan of 308 but it will shoot a deer no worries
I would go 7mm-08 but it’s your money and rifle so up to you

i have a bushnell 4.5-18x40 c/w burris z rings for sale that would do the job well on a howa

Originally Posted by 25/08IMP

......Best to join the local deer stalkers meeting this Wednesday night great way to get on hunts with other older hunters.....

Sound advice

I have 2x Howa's in 223 and 7mm08. They are set up the same way, both suppressed. When I swap from the 223 to the 7mm08, the muscle memory is the same. The 223 is cheaper to learn on, and doesn't kick.

Think of it like this:
to buy factory 7mm08 per box of 20:$40-$80 $2-$4 per pop
223 per box of 20:$25-$40 $1.25-$2 per pop

(These figures from Wild outdoors, Gun city sells premium Federal for $99 per 20)

So a day at the range spent learning swiftly gets expensive. If you shoot 40 rounds of 7mm08, it will set you back $80-$160.

Originally Posted by 25/08IMP

If I was you deff get a surpressor on the .308 I know another new be hunter and new to rifles got sold a .308 as his first rifle with no can and he missed his first few deer because he developed a flinch.
If I was you I would look at a .260 or 6.6x55 tikka.
Yea we don't have a lot of deer in the Naki but plenty of goats. Best to join the local deer stalkers meeting this Wednesday night great way to get on hunts with other older hunters.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

That sounds like the right way to go about bro. Thanks for the input ill definitely look into joining to the deerstalkers hopefully they can point me in the right direction

Yea there is always some of us old buggers that will take young fellas out for a hunt.
They are also just starting there range shoots for the year which is a good way to try out rifles of different cal etc. PM me if you want meeting details etc or contact details.

Originally Posted by Been Upto

That sounds like the right way to go about bro. Thanks for the input ill definitely look into joining to the deerstalkers hopefully they can point me in the right direction

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

The reason that I went Tikka was I could buy one with a threaded 18 inch barrel off the shelf. No gunsmiths up here and couriering a rifle is now a hassle.

Sounds like a fine first choice for a rifle man. Whack a suppressor on there and rock some tally's for rings. No point going rail for most uses, just extra weight.

308 will do the job, nothing wrong with 7mm08 or 6.5 creedmoor either. 18-20" barrel is a good compromise of handy in the bush with still enough speed for open country.

Throw a wtb post up in the buy and sell section also, often some good deals going around, there's blokes on here change rifles more than their undies

Originally Posted by rambo-6mmrem

I like tikka but sadly I think they are over priced for what they are in nowadays
Id go for a howa they are as good as a tikka imo but at the price point of 900 ish as apose to
A tikka for 1500 or more depending on the model
That’s 500 you could spend elsewhere like a good scope

Yes I would Suppress it less noise less recoil

Im not a fan of 308 but it will shoot a deer no worries
I would go 7mm-08 but it’s your money and rifle so up to you

Cough, what is this "just as good as a Tikka" business? Remember the great @Toby described the Howa as an improved Sako.

Shop with an open mind, go into a few stores and pick up and fondle a few rifles. Choose what 'feels' and 'points' best for you. There will be one that you don't want to hand back, buy that. If there are two you don't want to hand back flip a coin. Don't look at the coin when it lands, buy the one you were hoping the coin said to buy.

Calibre doesn't matter too much, they're much of a muchness in all honesty. Buy one in a reasonable chambering from what is available for the rifle you want. Tikka, Savage, Browning, Howa, Sako, ... there are plenty of good makes out there

Personally I would go with the Tikka Superlite.
Superlite vs a lite with threaded barrel - price will be about the same.