Thread: First Rifle Setup (need advice)

Hi all, as promised, here come the newbie questions.

I'm looking to buy a good value .308 rifle, with the intention of using it to hunt deer & goats. Im running on a budget of roughly $1600 for rifle, scope and suppressor.

Because of my budget and personal preference I've set my sights on a Howa M1500 in Stainless.

I've seen package deals around that sell the whole setup for ~ 1500, but they usually come with a Nikko Stirling Gameking or Panamax 3-9x40 scope (which I've heard aren't too great).

I've sent a few emails out regarding pricing. Gunworks reckon they can do the rifle with leupold bases for $985 and GW suppressor for $300 more, putting me at $1285. I'd then spend the rest on a scope from another retailer.

My questions are:

• Are the Nikko stirlings that bad?
• Should I go with the package deals or would it be cheaper and better value to create my own build?
• If I was to go my own way, what scope would you recommend for my budget?

I've heard good things about Nikon scopes. Would a prostaff be any better than a nikko stirling? Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Ben

Id look at second hand rifles myself as you are likely to get a much better quality setup for the money. Talk to Giles at tihape sports he is a champ for good deals (new)

Hi Ben .... for your budget and to save $ i'd recommend you look at 2nd hand deals - plenty of great rifles come up for sale that have had very little use. (especially post roar and as we go into winter)
SS Howa or Weatherby's (same thing different brand) are great buying and good/accurate rifles, some might say a tad on the heavy side but that's not a bad thing for your first boom stick. Another one to look out for is ss Rem 700's or even better Model 7's. Been a few 7mm08's on TardMe recently. Same goes for scopes - plenty of good 2nd hand scopes come up for sale. Nikons are good optics - a but underrated in NZ by many. But ProStaff is their budget line. A Bushnell 3500 or Burris FFII 3-9x40 would be my pick for your budget - both can be bought for $300 or less. Rifle $7 -800, scope $300 + rings $100 leaves you $400 for a suppressor.

Originally Posted by chainsaw

Hi Ben .... for your budget and to save $ i'd recommend you look at 2nd hand deals - plenty of great rifles come up for sale that have had very little use. (especially post roar and as we go into winter)
SS Howa or Weatherby's (same thing different brand) are great buying and good/accurate rifles, some might say a tad on the heavy side but that's not a bad thing for your first boom stick. Another one to look out for is ss Rem 700's or even better Model 7's. Been a few 7mm08's on TardMe recently. Same goes for scopes - plenty of good 2nd hand scopes come up for sale. Nikons are good optics - a but underrated in NZ by many. But ProStaff is their budget line. A Bushnell 3500 or Burris FFII 3-9x40 would be my pick for your budget - both can be bought for $300 or less. Rifle $7 -800, scope $300 + rings $100 leaves you $400 for a suppressor.

Originally Posted by matto1234

Id look at second hand rifles myself as you are likely to get a much better quality setup for the money. Talk to Giles at tihape sports he is a champ for good deals (new)

Cheers guys, I'll keep an eye out for any cheap second hands going around, and I'll definitely take a look at the Bushnells and Burris scopes. When it comes to buying second hand rifles like the Howa, what would be your limit as to how many rounds have been put through it?

A 308 barrel will last about 5000 rounds. I have bought quite a few rifles and only 1 has been brand new. There are some great 2nd hnad deals out there.

Originally Posted by stug

A 308 barrel will last about 5000 rounds. I have bought quite a few rifles and only 1 has been brand new. There are some great 2nd hnad deals out there.

Sweet as, thats more than I expected.

Hey if you have to have new then the Nikki would be ok until you figure out how much hunting you are going to actually do (please don't take that the wrong way"
Its infinity better than the "no brand name" scopes some retailers fit to their packages.
I helped a young guy sight in in new Remington 770 series purchased locally and it calme with a no name brand scope which was a dog, crosshairs on the piss and a clear as looking thru an empty coke bottle even. your howa/nikko Stirling would be way better than that
Good Second hand deals do come up on here if you don't have to have new.
remember with hunting its not just the rifle and scope you will need especially when getting started.

personally i if I were starting again something like a new or good s/h rifle in 308 would be the go and spend more on some decent binos as you will spend more time looking thru them than your scope.



Upgrade stuff as you find you need to.

Father's day see's the howa sold at GC for $699, there are new silencers around for as little as $200, rings can go as low as $50 and yep a cheap fixed power Nikko will do ($150 or so). Get a bag too $30. Guitar bags are for guitars haha.

Tip: Buy the lighter weight projectile winchester ammo for that rifle in .308.

Go second hand and if you can afford it I would look at a Nikon Monarch rather than Prostaff, have an older one on my 3006 and it's great, even dialable for those longer shots.

nothing wrong with the nikkos I run 7 of them on rifles ranging from 22rf to 308 and had no problems with them but if you are going to compare them to the top of the line scopes well then yes they don't stack up so well but its not a very fair comparison I'm mainly running air kings and night eaters

You really can't go wrong with the Stainless Howa packages in .308 even the Nikko scopes do the job.
I made a mistake in selling mine a couple of years ago and have just picked up another today for $999.

Sent from my SM-A310Y using Tapatalk

what!!!!
nobody has mentioned the finest firearm made!
the mighty second hand tikka!

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by andyanimal31

what!!!!
nobody has mentioned the finest firearm made!
the mighty second hand tikka!

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

I would have but they seem to cost more than new ones

picked one up for a mate in 308 with can and burris near new for $1500 so be patient and good things will happen!

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Be very very patient for a tikka second hand to show up, their owners seems to hide them away for ever.