Thread: First rifle advice

Keep an eye out on second hand guns too....Graham Campian has some nice ones that woul dbe in Budget and if you can save a few $$$ omn the rifle by getting 2nd hand, you free up money for a better scope.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/search?m...isting=1486103 The 6.5x55 Husqvarna model 1600 looks good too...



As for 270 versus other calibres, everyone has an opinion, but my advice is check out which calibres are most plentiful in the stores In both different brands and how much they carry in stock. Ballistically 270, 6.5/06,7mm08, 308, 30/06 et al are all very similar in ballistics out to 300m. Ammo is an expensive item to carry in stock for a shop so they carry more of the popular selling brands.

Welcome to the club.

A rifle either has a Picatinny/Weaver rail, 11mm/16mm/19mm dovetail or holes where a rail or bases can be fitted. With some it can be hard to find bases or a rail that fit.

With some rifles, (generally the dovetail ones) the rings attach directly to the rifle, with the rest you usually need to fit bases or a rail and the rings attach to the bases/rail.

The rings you buy need to be compatible with the rail or dovetail and as low as possible without being too low for the scope to be clear of the bolt.

Scopes will either have a 25mm or 30mm tube as well, so the rings need to be of the correct diameter.

You will easily source the mounting gear for a Howa and the forum can help if you’re not sure.

I was hellbent on a howa purely on package price as first rifle. Everyone convinced me to save if need be and go tikka. Glad I did, bought the Burris 4.5-14 package from HnF $2100 came with bipod/bag/rings. Bought 308 for cheap ammo and no shortages. Came threaded so added suppressor later (and cut down from 20 to 16). Have changed glass twice now too but as it came off the shelf took goats out to 450 yards. First centre fire I ever shot and plan was to have one gun in the safe. Been 3 years and haven’t bought a second gun yet so worked out pretty good in my book. Definitely recommend spending the money first time round.

Originally Posted by STC

I would recommend a stainless version.

dont get hung up on the s/s vs blued debate
not all s/s is created equal and the howas tend to rust as soon as you scratch them anyway ...stainless does not mean rustproof.
just have a look at how many blued rifles are still kicking around 80 -100 years on, you just have to look after them
.......and they are usually a little cheaper and no less accurate

Greetings @Kiwimaverick,
My first new rifle, closing on 50 years ago, was a .308. Choice was limited at the time to that plus the .270 and .243. Other calibres were available at the time but not that common. Today I would need to decide between the .308, 7mm-08 and the 6.5 Creedmoor but for a first rifle would likely stay with the .308 with an 8 inch barrel twist due to ammo availability and ease of handloading. A little boring but effective. Probably not the answer you were hoping for.
Regards Grandpamac.
PS. We can buy other rifles in the future so your first choice is not carved in stone.

after shooting from the top of the north thru the bottom of the south with a 308 i am now a devoted 7mmRM fan.

Just stick to your plan. Get a 270. 95% of hunters in NZ are using suppresors now anyhow so the "oh but they kick hard" argument is a mute point, and most the people who say they'll kick the shit out of you got told that by their uncles cousins best mates neighbor Ricky and they let it get to their head when/if they ever did fire one, or they think you have to have a rifle with some badass acronym name and head to toe kuiu gear to shoot a deer
Heaps of factory ammo, components etc, easy to reload for, you wont end up with no ammo or projectile availability in cycles like happens with the 6.5 and 7mm calibers in cycles over the past few years, shit tonnes of info out there on
possible loads etc and they just work. Can load 110s and smack over goats or long range hares on the cheap or stoke up 150s or 145s and go chase bull tahr round the alps.

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Just stick to your plan. Get a 270. 95% of hunters in NZ are using suppresors now anyhow so the "oh but they kick hard" argument is a mute point, and most the people who say they'll kick the shit out of you got told that by their uncles cousins best mates neighbor Ricky and they let it get to their head when/if they ever did fire one, or they think you have to have a rifle with some badass acronym name and head to toe kuiu gear to shoot a deer
Heaps of factory ammo, components etc, easy to reload for, you wont end up with no ammo or projectile availability in cycles like happens with the 6.5 and 7mm calibers in cycles over the past few years, shit tonnes of info out there on
possible loads etc and they just work. Can load 110s and smack over goats or long range hares on the cheap or stoke up 150s or 145s and go chase bull tahr round the alps.

AGREE.

my first rifle was a 270win that I got in 1996. Only reason I changed rifles was to swap from wood/blued to stainless/synthetic.
I have 110g hollow points for wallabies and up to 150g for bigger animals.
Put a decent pad on the back and suppressor on the front and forget about the bullshit of it kicking too hard.
Hold it into your shoulder properly and gently squeeze the trigger until it fires. Don't be scared, Don't jerk the trigger.
Do try and buy a suppressor to save your ears.

Thanks for your insight Ryan and Rumpy, I appreciate it. My thinking is that a 270 makes sense for the game at hand, yes a .243, 6.5mm, 7mm would do the same job, but on the off-chance I end up on a trip further afield, having one rifle with the legs for longer distances is a good choice.

Originally Posted by scotty

dont get hung up on the s/s vs blued debate
not all s/s is created equal and the howas tend to rust as soon as you scratch them anyway ...stainless does not mean rustproof.
just have a look at how many blued rifles are still kicking around 80 -100 years on, you just have to look after them
.......and they are usually a little cheaper and no less accurate

I get the impression that Howa blued rifles are more rust-resistant than their stainless counterparts.

.270 in either the browning or the howa will last you a lifetime but don't forget the scope aswell.
I have seen many good rifles ruined by crap scopes or crap rings.
I personally just picked up a good tikka package with a Burris scope for $2k that I am quite happy with but there is bound to be a browning or howa deal out there to be had.

The only downside to the howa I have noticed is they seen to be quite heavy in the standard format but there are some light weight versions out there.

Yeah my 223 Weatherby vanguard, which is a copy of the Howa I think, is way heavier than my Ruger 270.

Bit more risk potentially, but second hand options often offer much better value. I got my howa 1500 around two years ago, scope and suppressed for $1k. Apparently a "box of ammo" through it. Upgraded scope and no complaints so far. I think there are often a few cases where folk like the idea of getting into hunting but end up only getting out a couple times before selling, which can work in your favour.

Yep, as others have said. Pick the one you like the look and feel of the most. other brand to consider is Ruger, or Mauser m18 I think it is.

Scope and rings is a good point:

stay clear of gun$hittys ranger scopes and rings... cheap inported chinese trash sold for a big markup.

With rings there are a lot of cheap ones out there and very expensive ones...

A ring that has proven itself over time is the talley rings, very commonly used with tikkas, but also available for howas (and many others), and reasonably priced. There is also a cheaper nikko stirling version available for howas... perfectly suitable.

as for scopes, some brands like leupold and burris offer lifetime warranty, even if you are not the original owner... Definately a way to get a good scope for a lower price.

Suppressors also are becoming more and more common. While i personally did not like them earlier nowadays each and every one of my guns has a dpt (which I like for its modularity) they are lightweight and even if i am only using 2 baffles (instead of 4) they make the guns much more pleasant to shoot while only adding about 50mm in length.

often show up second hand as well...